B
y the time we arrived back at the cottage, my fingers were numb and my eye was throbbing, but we’d all calmed down. Luna and Sandy greeted us at the door, and we found Liam in the kitchen making tea.
He raised his eyebrows. “What happened to your face?”
I lifted my hand and felt the heat radiating around my left eye. “Oh, I got hit by a door.”
“Are you okay?” He stood in front of me and placed his finger gently around my eye.
I grimaced.
“Does that hurt?”
I moved his hand away. “Yes, it does.”
I grabbed a plate and added the rest of the pumpkin cookies. I stopped and listened to my body, “Well, now that you mention it, I do have a slight headache.” I didn’t mention my fingers.
I turned around and carried the plate to the living room, where Reanna and Gran were sitting on the couch. As I set the plate on the coffee table, Gran grimaced as she looked at my eye. “Oh, you’re going to have a beauty of a black eye.” She picked up a cookie and sat back. “You need to put an ice pack on that.
Reanna nodded. “I can already see it bruising. I am so sorry, Molly.” She picked up a cookie and took a bite.
I took a cookie as well and tried to think of a story to tell Liam. A few minutes later, he brought in a tray of tea and four cups.
“So, what were the three of you doing tonight that Molly got a black eye?”
I looked at the two other women. “Um, we went to the pub, and I walked into the bathroom door.”
He raised his eyebrows. “The pub? I’m surprised I didn’t see you there. I stopped by there on my way back from Ballyquicken to speak to Aiden.”
Crap! “We must have just missed you then,” I said, taking another cookie off the plate.
Liam filled the teacups and then said. “So, it had nothing to do with the call that came over the police radio of someone breaking into Herb’s house?”
Gran and I shook our heads, while Reanna asked, “Why would you think that, Liam?” Only Reanna could pull off looking that innocent. No one could resist her crinkled, freckled nose.
“I don’t know. Maybe something about Constable Mills seeing your car parked two blocks from Herb’s residence and your propensity to break into houses?”
I placed my hands on my hips and tried not to smile. “I can’t believe you would think we would do such a thing.”
He looked at me and grinned. “Did you find out anything?”
I laughed. “No, not a thing. If he was blackmailing people, he hid the evidence somewhere else.”
Gran got up and went into the kitchen. I watched as she walked across the room. “Maybe it wasn’t blackmail? Come on, this is a sleepy little town. How would Herb be able to find out people’s secrets?”
I looked at Reanna.
Reanna smiled. “Gossip. It’s amazing the things people tell me when they come in to the shop.” She picked up her cup of tea and took a sip.
“How about you, oh, outstanding detective?”
He grinned. “Didn’t you say he was a taxi driver before he took over the tour business?”
“Yes. Why? What are you thinking?” I sat down in the chair next to Liam’s, facing Reanna. Gran came back in the room and handed me an ice pack, along with some aspirin.
“Put your head back and put this over your eye.” I took a sip of my tea and swallowed the aspirin, then laid my head back on the chair and put the ice pack on it. The cold felt good on my eye, but a little chilly on the rest of my face, so I repositioned it better.
Liam answered me. “A lot of secrets come out at night. Maybe Herb kept his eyes and ears open and when he learned something of significance, he took advantage of it.”
Reanna added. “Good thought, but Herb spent most of his evenings at the pub, which left little time for learning people’s secrets.”
Gran added. “Maybe he found them out at the bar. People drink too much, they talk. Herb was such a fixture there, maybe he overheard things.”
I sat there with my head laid back on the comfortable chair, my eyes closed, the icepack numbing the left side of my face and listened. And wondered. I took the icepack off my eye and sat up straight, and asked, “Think about where people learn secrets.” I set the icepack on my jean clad leg, and looked at the group.
Reanna handed the cookie plate to Liam and smiled. “Before they’re all gone.” Then looked at me. “I tell you my secrets. So, someone you trust.”
“Right. Or they overhear them. Whether on purpose or by accident.” Gran added.
Liam took a bite of a cookie and once he swallowed, added, “Or they witness the behavior, or whatever it is he’s going to blackmail them for.”
I got up and put the icepack back in the freezer and grabbed my notebook from earlier and started a new page and wrote what we’d discussed before I forgot it.
Reanna asked. “Does it matter where he learned them?”
I tapped the notebook with my pen. “Maybe. Maybe not. Just something to think about.”
I flipped the page back and looked at my updated to-do list. “Maybe I’ll speak to Katherine at the café tomorrow. I’m sure the argument she had with Herb was probably the same thing mine was, but I’ll double check.”
“Who else do you have?” Gran asked.
“Martin McDonald and Tom Doyle, and maybe talk to Faye White one more time.
Reanna’s eyebrows raised. “Tom Doyle? Isn’t he the mayor’s legal counsel?”
Liam nodded. “He is. I don’t know him well, but since I have nothing else to do, I can try to speak to him tomorrow.”
Reanna added. “Martin usually comes in for a coffee. I can try to speak to him if I’m not too busy.”
I made notes on the page.
“Sounds good. We can all meet here tomorrow night.” I set the notebook on the table.
Just then, Liam’s phone buzzed. He took it out and looked at it. “It’s Dillon. He wants to know if I can meet him at the pub tomorrow night.”
“Oh, well, that sounds fun. Maybe you should.” I tried to hide my smile. It buzzed again.
“And Aiden and Callum are coming too.” He looked at me, his eyes wide. “How come I get the sense you had something to do with this?”
I laughed. “I did. That was before you became an honorary member of our investigative team.”
I pulled out my phone and texted Dillon. “Change of plans. How about everyone meet here tomorrow at six?
I told the others what I’d just done and looked at Gran. “I’ll pick up some pizzas on my way home from work tomorrow.”
Reanna stood up. “I’ll bring dessert, but I’d better get going. Thanks for dinner. And for you know, that other thing.”
I got up too, and we hugged. “Anytime.”
The dogs and I walked her out to her car and when I came back in, Gran was on the phone. She handed it to me. I looked at the screen and grimaced when I saw who it was.
“Hey Dillon. Reanna just left.”
“That’s what Gran said. Now what’s this about a surprise party?”