Silence finally descended on the kitchen. Everyone, even Richard, looked at Mary and Ellen as if waiting for them to make sense of an increasingly terrible morning.
Mary looked at Ellen and rolled her eyes slightly. She had no idea what to say. This was not the way Dan had wanted things to go. It wasn’t how she’d wanted them to, either. Leaving town sounded very attractive.
Finally Cassandra spoke. ‘Did you already know … you came to tell us, didn’t you? What happened?’
‘Other than she didn’t die of natural causes, we don’t know much.’ Mary looked around the room at the shocked faces and decided someone had to take charge. No one else seemed able, so it looked as if it was up to her. ‘If you’ll all sit back down, Ellen and I will tell you what we do know.’ She paused and glanced over at Ellen, who nodded. ‘Chief Dunham will be able to answer more of your questions when he gets here.’
‘Who would want to kill Miss Emilie? She was frustrating, but that’s hardly …’ Gloria seemed uncharacteristically at a loss for words, but not for long. ‘How did she get out of the house? I thought Caleb set up an alarm of some sort.’
‘I did. It’s a motion detector.’ Caleb stared at Richard. ‘He told me not to set it last night. He said he and his sister were right there, right next to her, so they’d know if she got up. Didn’t quite work out that way, did it?’
The flush returned to Richard’s face. It ran up the sides, onto his cheeks, turning his ears a vivid shade of red. His words came out razor sharp. ‘That “motion detector” alerts you through a monitor set up in your apartment. It may be a good thing when no one else is here but we don’t need you to monitor our movements. It was hardly unreasonable to think we’d wake up if we saw her light or if she left her bedroom. I certainly didn’t think she’d slink down the stairs in the dark.’
‘Miss Emilie didn’t slink. She got … confused. She wanted her breakfast at midnight, decided to go for a walk and forgot to come back. If she woke up and worried about that blasted dog, it would be just like her to decide to go look for him again.’ Lorraine reached into the pocket of her robe then pulled the remnants of a tissue from where she’d tucked it up her sleeve and tried to blot the tears that rolled down her cheeks.
Mary reached over the table, pulled another napkin out of the plastic holder and handed it to her. ‘I’m not sure I understand. You …’ she nodded at Cassandra, ‘… and Richard are sleeping upstairs?’
Cassandra had turned as white as Richard was red, but she managed to answer. ‘Yes. As I said, I’m in what used to be Aunt Eloise’s room. There’s a connecting door between it and Aunt Emilie’s. Richard is in his father’s old room. Aunt Eloise took over my grandparents’ room when they died. It’s the largest room, but neither of us wanted to … It hasn’t been cleaned out since she died, and I’ve been doing that the last few days. It’s in a mess so no one—’
Her brother interrupted abruptly, ‘Mrs McGill isn’t interested in any of that.’ What he probably meant was it was none of her business.
Maybe it wasn’t, but Mary was quite interested. She asked Cassandra, ‘Did you leave the door open between the rooms?’
Cassandra nodded. She reached for a napkin and blotted her eyes as well. ‘Just a crack. I was sure I’d see if she turned on a light. The bathroom’s down the hall, so I thought I’d know if she got up.’
Mary nodded. That made sense. ‘But you didn’t see a light?’
‘I never woke up all night. I didn’t hear her, and as far as I know she never turned one on. First I knew anything was wrong was when I peeked into Aunt Emilie’s room. She wasn’t there.’ The last came out with a little sob. She pulled out a chair across from Gloria, who hadn’t waited for an invitation to seat herself, and sank down on it. Lorraine immediately got up, went to the counter and poured a mug full of coffee. She added milk from a white pitcher and ladled in two heaping teaspoons of sugar, stirred and returned to the table, setting the mug in front of Cassandra, who smiled weakly.
‘Good idea,’ Mary said in a deliberately brisk voice. The one that had got everyone’s attention when she’d taught home economics in middle school. She pushed her chair back, startling Millie in the process. ‘Let’s all have a little coffee. It will settle our nerves. Shall I get it, Lorraine?’
Without waiting for an answer, she headed for the counter. ‘Are the cups in here?’ She opened one of the cupboard doors but it held only plates and bowls and an old teddy bear cookie jar.
‘Lorraine will take care of the coffee. Please come back and sit down, Mrs McGill. Tell us what happened to Aunt Emilie.’ Richard gestured at the table.
Mary turned, barely avoiding Lorraine, who seemed intent on obeying Richard’s instruction. Caleb, Lorraine’s husband, stared at her back then walked over and took the chair at the other end of the table, opposite Richard. They glared at each other.
Caleb addressed Lorraine without taking his eyes off Richard. ‘You know how I like my coffee.’
Richard said nothing. He continued to stare at Caleb.
Mary said, ‘I like mine black and so does Ellen. Thank you, Lorraine.’
Richard blinked, apparently surprised she’d thanked Lorraine. Mary walked back to the table and pulled out a chair next to Cassandra and across from Gloria, leaving only one empty one. Millie, who was right beside her, gave it a thoughtful look but changed her mind when Mary tugged a little on her leash. She crawled under Mary’s chair instead and settled down, her head on Mary’s foot. Ellen raised both eyebrows at Mary and walked over to where Lorraine stood in front of the coffeemaker, seemingly unable to decide what to do next.
‘Go sit. I’ll handle the coffee.’
Lorraine did, dropping heavily into the only empty chair. Mary waited a moment, looking around the table. Gloria stared at her intently and Lorraine stared at the table, not looking up even when Ellen slid a mug of coffee in front of her. She put full mugs in front of Caleb, Mary and Richard and dropped a handful of spoons on the table.
‘I’ll stand,’ she said.
Neither of the men made a move to get her a chair. It was as if neither of them heard her. They were too busy glaring at each other.
‘So, what happened?’ Richard snapped the words out as if asking for a report from a particularly inept aide.
What a joy this man must be to work for. Mary decided it was time – past time – to say what she knew. Her own questions could come later. ‘I found her. Or, rather, Millie found her when I opened the hall this morning.’
Lorraine gasped and the tears started to flow once more. This time Ellen reached over her, pulled out a napkin and handed it to her.
Gloria looked up from staring at her hands folded around her mug with what Mary thought was a speculative expression. ‘Of course,’ she murmured. ‘You’d be the first one there. You always are, aren’t you?’
Mary wasn’t quite sure how to take that, but like many of Gloria’s comments it seemed best to ignore it. ‘Millie headed right for the dressing-room area the minute we walked in. I followed her, and that’s when I found her.’ She paused, wondering how much she should tell them. They’d found out she was dead through no fault of Mary or Ellen’s so she might as well tell them a little more. Dan could tell them how she died. She didn’t think she could manage that in any case. ‘She was sitting on a chair in the dressing area, in her bathrobe and slippers. There was no doubt she was dead.’
‘What did you do then?’ It wasn’t just Cassandra’s voice that shook. Her hand no longer seemed steady enough to safely hold her coffee mug. She set it unsteadily on the table and looked into it instead of meeting Mary’s gaze.
‘I called Hazel.’
‘Who?’ Richard’s head jerked up and outrage sounded in his voice. ‘You called a friend? I thought you said …’
‘Hazel is nine-one-one. She’s our emergency dispatch officer.’ Ellen’s voice was mild but Mary knew that look. Richard Plym had not made a good first impression.
‘Hmmm.’ Richard took a sip of his coffee but it didn’t warm his voice. His boardroom inquisition tone permeated the next question as well. ‘And then what?’
Mary decided he wasn’t making a good impression on her, either. ‘Millie and I waited in the kitchen area for Dan and his troops to arrive.’
‘I don’t understand.’
Mary thought that was the first time she’d heard Gloria say she didn’t understand something, but she simply said, ‘What don’t you understand?’
‘How did she get in? Wasn’t the door locked?’
‘I don’t know how she got in. I was the last one out last night and I locked the door behind me and left the outside light burning. I knew it would be dark when I got there this morning. But when I arrived, the light was off and the door unlocked. Actually, it wasn’t even completely closed. Millie knew something was wrong right away. She led me right to poor little Miss Emilie.’
‘How did she die?’ Cassandra’s voice was low, and this time she looked directly at Mary, her eyes misted. ‘How do they know it was murder?’
Mary sighed. This was going to be the hardest part. Why, oh, why did they have to put that on the radio? She’d asked them not to. ‘You’ll have to ask Dan.’
A sob broke the silence – Mary thought it came from Lorraine. Then everyone started to talk at once.
‘Oh, no,’ moaned Cassandra with a quick glance at her brother. ‘Why would anyone …’
Richard responded with, ‘What the hell was she doing there at that time of night, anyway?’
Gloria replied with certainty, ‘Looking for something.’
Caleb burst out, not bothering to soften his scathing tone, ‘What would a feeble old lady who wasn’t in her right mind be doing looking for something in a locked church hall in the middle of the night?’
Mary thought she couldn’t have put it better herself. ‘I don’t know,’ she told Caleb, but it was really addressed to all of them. ‘I don’t know how she got in or what she was doing there. Obviously someone was with her, but I have no idea who.’ She broke off and turned toward Lorraine. ‘You were with her yesterday, and Joy Mitchell said she was looking for something. What?’
Cassandra’s eyes were dry but starting to mist. ‘That was my fault. I’ve been cleaning out Aunt Eloise’s room and made up several boxes to donate. Her bedspread, lots of her clothes, books, things like that. Somehow Aunt Emilie’s stuffed dog got into one of the boxes. When she was having hysterics that she couldn’t find it I remembered seeing it in Aunt Eloise’s room and realized it must have gotten into one of the boxes. They went down to the church hall to look for it but, evidently, it wasn’t there. I have no idea where it got to.’
Mary did, but she didn’t think this was the time to relay that information. ‘There was also a white clock – one that belonged to her mother. Did you mean to donate that?’
Cassandra responded somewhat faintly, ‘I thought it was just some cheap little thing … pretty but that was all. I had no idea it was an heirloom and she’d feel that way about all that …’
Mary was almost positive the word she left out was ‘trash.’
Lorraine seemed to shrink down in her chair, her arms crossed in front of herself as if something would come flying off if she let go. ‘She saw it and picked it up. She kept asking me why it was there, saying we weren’t in her room, were we? The clock belonged in her room. Then she got distracted and started talking about Willis again. She was working herself up to a complete meltdown.’
‘Did she bring the clock home?’
Tears started down Lorraine’s cheeks again. ‘No. I wouldn’t let her. I wish I had, but right then all I could think about was getting her home.’
Mary thought for a minute. ‘Are you sure she didn’t stick it in that big purse of hers?’
‘Quite sure. She wasn’t carrying the purse.’
Mary didn’t think she’d ever seen Miss Emilie without her purse, an ugly big black thing with a huge old-fashioned clasp. If she didn’t take the clock, who did? ‘What happened when you got her home?’
‘We finally got her to eat something, but she was so upset I gave her some of that sedative the doctor prescribed and she calmed down. I left the bottle here in the kitchen in case she got herself all worked up again in the night. See?’ She pointed to the kitchen window. A prescription bottle sat in the middle of the sill. ‘It calms her and helps her sleep, as well. Doctor Peterson prescribed it because she’d get so worked up when she couldn’t remember something or lost something.’
Mary glanced up at Ellen, who was leaning against a counter, one hip cocked, sipping her coffee. She had a good view of almost everyone’s face, Mary realized – everyone except Gloria’s. All she would be able to see of her was the back of her head. But she could see the tightness in her shoulders, the way her hands clutched her coffee mug. Ellen straightened up as if she was about to say something but was interrupted by the doorbell. The chimes sounded in the kitchen then sounded again. Someone wanted to make their presence known.
‘Now who? Unless that’s the police, please tell whoever that is that we can’t be disturbed right now.’ Richard gestured at Lorraine with a motion that couldn’t be misinterpreted.
Caleb scowled, but Lorraine pushed back her chair and started out of the room. Millie raised her head off Mary’s foot and began making little whiney noises. Mary wondered why but not for long. She forgot about Millie as Glen Manning, a tall, blond man dressed in a beautifully cut navy blue suit, a shirt so white it hurt your eyes and a discreetly striped blue and green tie walked into the room carrying a bulging briefcase and wearing a worried expression.
He pushed his glasses firmly back up on his patrician nose as he surveyed the room. He smiled at Mary and Ellen, let his eyes roll over Gloria and addressed Cassandra. ‘Good morning, Mrs Brown. I’m so sorry we have to meet again under such tragic circumstances. Mr Plym, I know we had an appointment for later today, but when I heard the news I thought I should come over right away.’
‘Why?’
Richard wouldn’t get any prizes for good manners, but then, today was proving difficult. However, if he thought he could intimidate Glen, whom she knew well, he’d met his match.
‘Because Miss Plym’s death changes things and we need to talk. However, if you wish to wait … I believe the police should be here soon. We can talk after they leave, but you’re going to have to tell them about the money, and I thought we should discuss that …’ It was quite clear Glen was anxious to talk to them.
Cassandra stepped in. ‘I told you last night, Richard.’ Mary could have sworn she spoke through gritted teeth. ‘Things have changed and we need to … I assume Mr Manning is correct – the police will be here soon?’ She looked at Ellen, who nodded. ‘I think we should hear what Mr Manning has to say before they get here.’
Richard’s ears had turned red again; Mary was pretty sure with anger or perhaps frustration.
He nodded. ‘All right.’ He looked around at the rest of them and his scowl deepened. ‘We can go in my grandfather’s office, if you like. My sister and me and Mr Manning.’
Mary watched the effect this cryptic statement had on everyone in the room. Gloria’s head had snapped up at the mention of money. The sullen look she’d had since she arrived disappeared and a look of intense interest took its place. But Mary thought there was a trace of something else … what, she couldn’t tell, and she didn’t have time to explore her thought.
Lorraine burst into tears. ‘The police, oh, of course they have to come. My poor dear Miss Emilie. Will they have to search her room?’
‘I can’t imagine why.’ Richard’s voice was tight with anger. ‘She wasn’t killed here.’
Caleb didn’t look any less distressed but his reaction was anger and it was all aimed at Lorraine. ‘Don’t be a fool. What would they look for in her room? There’s nothing to find up there. Lorraine and I are going home.’
There was a heavy emphasis on ‘home.’ He grabbed Lorraine by the arm, almost tearing her out of her chair. There was no sound in the room except Lorraine’s sniffling as they left and the door closing with a bang behind them.
‘I think we should leave as well.’ Mary stood but Millie was ahead of her.
She’d been straining at the leash since she’d heard Glen Manning’s voice and was determined to greet him. The strained atmosphere in the kitchen didn’t seem to affect her as Millie stared at Glen, her stub of a tail wagging.
Mary let go of the leash and the little dog trotted up to him, jumping up against the side of his leg, waiting to have her ears rubbed.
He obliged. ‘Hey, Millie. You’re looking good but a little shaggy.’ He quit stroking her and looked at Mary. ‘Tell your mom you need grooming.’
‘I know she does. I’ve been meaning to call you. Where should I take her?’
Glen Manning would know. He and his partner, John Lagomasino, had cockers of their own. They also owned the only pet store in Santa Louisa. They’d inherited it from Evan Wilson, who’d been cruelly murdered last Christmas. They’d also inherited Millie, Evan’s dog. However, Mary and Millie had formed a bond while Mary helped find Evan’s killer, and they’d had no wish to break it. Mary and Millie had stayed together. John, one of the county’s most skilled surgical nurses, had insisted they keep the shop along with their regular jobs and Glen had agreed. The combination of John’s enthusiasm and Glen’s acute business skills seemed to be working. The shop was thriving. However, Glen’s next announcement surprised her.
‘John and I talked Krissie McDaniels, who’s the best groomer in the county, into coming to Furry Friends. We’ve opened a new pet grooming area just for her. Of course, it was John’s idea and I think it was a good one.’ He smiled, gently pushed Millie off his leg and looked at Gloria, who hadn’t moved.
Ellen picked up her coffee mug and Mary’s, walked over to the sink and set them down. ‘If we can do anything, Cassandra, please let us know. I think you have both our numbers.’
Cassandra nodded. ‘Thank you. I’ll be in touch.’
But Cassandra didn’t really seem to be paying any attention to them. Her attention was on Glen Manning, her need to hear what he had to say obvious.
Mary picked up her purse and Millie’s leash and started to follow Ellen toward the door, then stopped. ‘Glen, how did you hear about Miss Emilie? On the radio?’
‘Not exactly. John had it on and when he heard there was an accident at the church he was afraid it was you. He knew you were going in early. So he called Hazel and made her put him through to Dan. When I realized who … anyway, that’s why I’m here.’ He smiled and started to turn back toward Cassandra, but stopped.
‘Mary, before you leave – we’re still on for tomorrow? Krissie will be in around noon, but we’ll need you to open at ten. Did John go through everything with you? How to do the cash register and all that? The man from the zoo that’s taking the Komodo dragon will be in to get him at about eleven. Be sure you don’t go near that thing, and don’t let Millie, either. I’ll be glad to be rid of him. He may be a baby but he scares me to death.’
Ellen whirled around to stare at Glen Manning and then at her aunt. ‘You’re going to run the pet shop in the morning?’
Mary nodded. ‘Only for a few hours. The hospital needed another surgery nurse and called John in. Glen has a meeting and can’t be in the shop. John said they had someone coming in around one but I didn’t realize it was a new groomer. Anyway, Millie and I said we’d do it. Should be fun. I’ve never run a pet store before.’ She smiled.
Ellen sighed, shook her head and once more turned to leave.
Gloria sat where she was, not moving.
Ellen looked at Gloria and then at Mary, who shrugged. They both looked at Glen Manning. Before he could say anything, Richard took charge.
‘Miss Sutherland …’
‘Mrs.’
‘What? Oh, yes. Mrs Sutherland, it was kind of you to come, but as you can see, right now we have things we need to take care of.’ There was no mistaking the dismissal in his voice, at least Mary didn’t think so. Evidently Gloria didn’t hear it.
‘I’m here to help. I took care of Miss Eloise all those weeks after her first stroke. I helped with Miss Emilie. I feel like family.’ Gloria’s eyes narrowed, her mouth closed tightly, her chin jutted out slightly. Mary had seen that look on Gloria’s face before. At thirteen, Gloria had been in Mary’s home economics class and had seen no reason to learn to make tuna casserole. They’d had quite a tussle. Mary had won. She wondered who’d win this one, but as stubborn as Gloria could be, and as much as she could wear down her opponent, this time Mary’s money was on Richard. She was right.
‘I appreciate your interest, Mrs Sutherland, but you are not family. Should we require your help sometime in the future, we will call on you. Good morning.’
Richard’s polite rudeness had the desired effect. They were all three out on the street, headed for their cars, almost before Mary realized what had happened.
Gloria looked a little dazed and very angry as she stood by her car, looking back toward the house. ‘That is the rudest man I’ve ever met.’ She seemed to be talking as much to herself as to Mary and Ellen. ‘I gave that old woman the best care possible and gave the other one a lot of my time as well. For free.’ Her face tightened and so did her fists. ‘He’ll be sorry.’ With that she climbed into her car and drove off.
Ellen couldn’t hold back her laughter as they watched her. ‘Old Gloria’s not used to being so neatly dispatched.’ But her smile faded. ‘However, I’m not so sure I want to list that house. It’s not going to be an easy sale and Richard’s going to rank right up there with the best sellers from hell.’ She ground her teeth. ‘Where do you want to go? Home?’
Mary came back with a start. She’d been watching Gloria’s car turn the corner and been remembering how she’d reacted to snubs when she was in school. Richard just might want to watch his back. What Gloria thought she deserved from the Plyms, Mary couldn’t imagine. She’d been paid for her care of Miss Eloise and had volunteered care of Miss Emilie over Lorraine’s objections, but it was obvious Gloria thought she was owed something. Luckily, it was none of her business. She opened the back door, motioned for Millie to jump in, closed it and climbed in the front. ‘No. Back to the church. I need to see what, if anything, needs to be done.’
‘Are you really going to work the pet shop tomorrow morning? Don’t you usually go back to the hall to do any final cleanup?’
Mary nodded. ‘I had a whole crew staying to clean up tonight. Ysabel has something scheduled tomorrow morning, so I thought I’d be free. It will be interesting, and John and Glen are paying me in dog food.’
Ellen started the car and slowly pulled out of the Plym driveway. ‘You don’t need to work for Millie’s dog food.’
‘I know that. But they needed someone and they trust me, and I can take Millie. After all, she used to go there every day when Evan was alive and owned it. It’ll be fine.’ Mary fastened her seat belt.
‘Do you ever say “no”?’
‘Of course,’ Mary replied with dignity.
‘When?’
Mary thought but couldn’t come up with anything, at least not right then. Maybe she should say no to some of the things she was asked to do. Right now, she was feeling pretty wrung out. It had been a terrible morning and she didn’t think the day would get much better. She thought about the conversation going on in the Plyms’ study right now and wished she’d been able to sit in on it. There was something very odd about all this. Missing toy dogs, missing clocks, rude nephews and a murder. She wondered if Richard Plym was there because he thought he was going to get control of Miss Emilie’s money. Could he? Even if he did, it didn’t make him a murderer.
‘I wouldn’t have minded saying “no” to doing this. It wasn’t fun.’
‘No,’ Ellen said as she turned into Main Street. ‘It wasn’t. I don’t remember ever being in a room where there was more tension.’ She turned into St Mark’s parking lot and stopped. ‘What was Glen talking about? What money?’
Mary had been wondering about that very thing. ‘I don’t know. Something about the trust?’
‘I’ve heard … don’t get yourself in a snit. I know you hate gossip but this comes from a friend whose mother had her money invested with Ed Kavanagh. She’s almost broke because he did such a bad job these last few years. My friend told me Glen is trying to reorganize all their remaining investments and is doing a great job. Ed Kavanagh managed the Plym trust. I can’t help wondering if it’s in trouble too.’
Mary drew in a quick breath. Could that be true? Poor Miss Emilie. No. She would no longer be affected by it. Could that have something to do with her murder? She didn’t understand how. Right now, she didn’t understand anything. ‘Dan will figure it out. Thanks for the ride.’
Ellen leaned over and gave her aunt a quick kiss on the cheek. ‘I’m off to the office. I’ll talk to you later this afternoon. Don’t do too much and wear yourself out.’
As if she would. Ellen drove off, then Mary and Millie walked toward the church to see what needed to be done.