Chapter 13
I paused to listen. Crickets chirped in the night. I didn’t hear any more whimpers. I slid my key into the lock and heard a moan.
Where was it coming from? Lights over the three-car garage illuminated the driveway. Opposite the garage was a high fence, hidden by tall bushes.
“Hello?” I called timidly.
“Gah.”
Okay, someone was out here. But where? “Hello? Keep talking. Where are you?”
“Gah.”
Well, that didn’t help at all. I peered at the dark bases of the bushes but didn’t see anyone. Maybe I would see better if more lights were turned on. I walked to the back door of the mansion and had raised my hand to knock when I realized the door hung slightly ajar.
I pushed it open. The lights were off inside. Something wasn’t right. I pulled out my phone and was pushing the numbers 9-1-1 when the lights of a car entering the driveway brightened the area considerably. The blue light on top flashed. I put my phone away.
Sergeant Jonquille stepped out. “Hi, Florrie. Having a problem?”
I explained what I had heard.
“Stay here,” he said. “I’ll have a look around.”
He walked inside. In two seconds, I followed him.
He proceeded cautiously, flicking on lights as he went.
I stopped in the kitchen and looked around. Everything appeared to be in order. But where was Mr. DuBois?
I flicked on more lights and accidentally hit the switch for floodlights to the pool area. I had never been out there before. It was located on the back side of the garage.
And there, on the concrete pool surround, lay a body.
“Sergeant Jonquille! Over here!”
The door leading to the pool area hung wide open. I dashed outside and kneeled by the limp form of Mr. DuBois.
“Are you okay?” I asked, which was stupid because I could see that he wasn’t.
He lay on his side, wincing. There wasn’t much I could do except place a hand on his shoulder and try to say something soothing. “We’re here now. Everything will be fine.”
Jonquille radioed for an ambulance.
I patted Mr. DuBois’s shoulder, which he probably resented, but what else could I do? I didn’t see any blood, so maybe that was a good sign.
“Do you know him?” asked Jonquille.
“Maxwell’s butler.”
Jonquille bent over him. “Are you in pain?”
DuBois moaned.
“What happened?”
DuBois could hardly speak. “Chased . . .”
“Someone chased you out here?” I suggested.
“Gah.”
The ambulance arrived quickly. One of the emergency medical technicians pulled me aside to get basic information. I didn’t know his age or whether he had any allergies. I didn’t even know his first name. I wasn’t any help at all.
Meanwhile, a backup policeman arrived and searched the mansion with Jonquille.
I waited outside, keeping an eye on Mr. DuBois. It appeared he had broken his wrist and possibly a leg. At least he hadn’t been stabbed by a spear.
It wasn’t until the ambulance whisked him away that I entered the house. I found Sergeant Jonquille and the other officer upstairs in Maxwell’s bedroom.
What appeared to be a Warhol of Maxwell dominated the bedroom. The pop art version of a younger Maxwell in four different colors hung on a wall the color of heavy cream with a dose of nutmeg. I had never seen a leather bed before. Blocks of rich tan leather covered the headboard of the platform bed and more matching leather lined the edge of the platform. The bed was made perfectly. In contrast, clothes had been thrown out of the drawers of an antique dresser. On the opposite side of the room, stunning windows overlooked the street. Leather wingback chairs and a small table nestled in front of built-in bookshelves that stretched to the ceiling next to a fireplace. The perfect corner to curl up and read.
“Florrie!” said Jonquille. “Great timing. Can you tell us if anything is missing?”
“This is the first time I have ever been in this room. But I would hazard a guess that the drawers don’t usually look like they’ve been ransacked.”
Jonquille tilted his head and peered at me. “Really?”
I pointed at the bed. “Clearly Mr. DuBois made the bed. I hardly think he would have left the drawers in such a mess.”
Jonquille suppressed a smile. “I meant that I was surprised you have never been in this room before.”
“This is the first time I have ever been upstairs.”
He raised his eyebrows and shook his head. “Okaaaay. So as far as we can tell then, this was most likely an ordinary burglary. Some enterprising thief probably read about Maxwell’s incarceration and thought it would be a fine time to burglarize the house.”
“But he didn’t expect to encounter Mr. DuBois?” I asked.
“Evidently not.”
I guessed that made sense. Still . . . “How do we know this isn’t related to Delbert’s murder?”
Jonquille nodded. “It could be, but we often see this kind of thing when a house is empty and there’s a lot of publicity. It’s like a written invitation to burglarize the house.”
“So what now?” I asked.
“We’ll take fingerprints, but it’s unlikely we’ll catch the perpetrator.”
I didn’t like the sound of that. “In other words, you have bigger crimes to worry about.” I clapped a hand over my mouth in regret as soon as the words slipped out.
Jonquille didn’t appear to be offended. “More or less.”
It was a long night. While I waited for the fingerprinting to be done, I tried out keys from a key rack until I located one that worked on the back door. I locked up after the police left, and drove to the hospital.
Mr. DuBois was still in the emergency room when I arrived. They were reluctant to let me in until DuBois signed a document authorizing my presence.
He looked fine, but the nurse assured me that they had administered morphine, which was taking the edge off the pain. His fingers had been attached to something that looked like a medieval torture device. His hand hung in the air with a weight attached to his elbow. The nurse explained they were separating the bones so they could be positioned in place.
Unfortunately, he had also broken his tibia, a bone in his lower leg.
“Mr. DuBois?” I leaned over him and smiled.
“Miss Florrie.” He reached for me with his free hand and clutched mine. “Thank heaven you found me. You must phone Strickland, Wheeler, and Erba immediately. The number is in the library desk. Call the private number to reach Ms. Strickland directly. She will make the necessary arrangements.” He closed his eyes briefly as if gathering strength. “You will look after everything, won’t you? Maxwell and I are counting on you . . .” His voice faded and he appeared to have drifted off.
The nurse assured me that was normal under the circumstances.
Dawn was breaking when I left the hospital. I stood at the entrance for a moment, watching Washington come to life. Had I really only moved a few days ago? It was Tuesday morning. I hadn’t slept in twenty-four hours and all the strangest things that had ever happened in my life had occurred within the last three days.
I took a deep breath, found my car, paid for parking, and drove straight to my parents’ house in Vienna, Virginia.
They were surprised to see me. I knew I was slowing Dad down, and he had to get to the office, so I talked fast while Mom cooked eggs sunny-side up. Explaining everything that had happened, I slid bread into the toaster, and concluded with, “So I’d like to take Frodo back with me if that’s okay.”
At the sound of his name, Frodo, a large golden retriever, ambled over to me, wagging his tail.
“Honey, I don’t like the sound of this at all.” Dad poured milk into his coffee. “Frodo is wonderful but he’s not much of a guard dog. He would lick someone to death before he bit anyone.”
“I know that. I just want him to be alert and let me know if he hears or smells anyone.”
Mom sat down at the table. “It’s such a lovely place. I understand why you want to live there. Now that Delbert is dead, I thought things would settle down. Are you sure you want to stay? You could come bunk with your dad and me while you look for a new place.”
I sat back in my chair and considered. “I totally understand what you’re saying. But I feel like I would be deserting the professor and Mr. DuBois in their time of need.”
My parents exchanged a look.
“That’s what we get for raising her right,” said Dad. “This is all your fault. She gets that from you.”
I only half listened to my parents argue about which one had instilled values in Veronica and me. I wasn’t about to let the professor down. “The doctor said Mr. DuBois would probably be released from the hospital today. DuBois told me to call Maxwell’s attorneys. My best guess is that they’ll arrange for a nurse around the clock because he won’t be able to take care of himself.”
Mom reached over and clutched my hand. “They’re lucky to have you looking out for them. And I feel better knowing that a nursing staff will be right next door.”
I finished my eggs, kissed each of them on the cheek, and left with Frodo, his food, his bed, and his favorite toy, a stuffed butterfly.
When I got home, I checked on Peaches first. She and Frodo had met before. I was pleased to see that Peaches showed no fear and even touched noses with him.
I fed her on the counter because Frodo would have finished her food with two quick licks of the tongue. Satisfied that all was well in the carriage house, I latched Frodo’s leash onto his halter, locked my door, and crossed the driveway to the Maxwell mansion.
I was glad I had brought Frodo. The house was silent and a little eerie. I had no reason to think anyone could be hiding in the house, but Frodo would have let me know, which dispelled some of the spookiness. I unlatched his leash inside so he could follow his nose. We went straight to the library. I found the personal number for Ms. Strickland and called her.
She was horrified by the events of the previous night. I took a little satisfaction in the fact that, like me, she thought there must be a connection to Delbert’s murder.
“How’s the professor doing?” I asked.
“As well as can be expected under the circumstances. I think he regards it as one of his adventures. I must tell you that Maxwell holds you in the highest regard, and it has been a big comfort to him that you’re keeping an eye on everything. The news about DuBois will make him flip, though. The old fellow has been with him so long that he’s like a beloved cranky uncle. I’ll arrange for around the clock nursing care for DuBois. And I think we should hire a guard to keep an eye on the property. Is that okay with you?”
It was perfect. “I appreciate that. Have the police given you any indication when we might open Color Me Read again?”
“They’re not being as cooperative as I would have liked.”
“You mean Detective-Sergeant Zielony?”
She groaned a little, which made me much more comfortable with her.
“He’s a gem, isn’t he?” Her voice was ripe with sarcasm. “If he gives you any grief, you just refer him to me, okay?”
I felt much better after speaking with her. Finally, I had an ally. Someone I could go to if necessary. And a guard on the property would go a long way in alleviating any residual fears about living there. I sat back in the desk chair and gazed around the library. Who would have ever thought all these strange things would happen? Had they all been triggered by my moving in? Or by keeping Delbert out? Or had Delbert and his mother wanted him in the carriage house for a reason? But why? Was it part of Liddy’s quest to regain possession of the mansion?
Mom was right. I had probably landed in some kind of bitter family feud. Except for one thing. What was Delbert doing in the bookstore in the middle of the night? And who could have been there with him?
I checked the time. Jim would be wondering where I was. I locked the back door and left, stopping by a coffee shop takeout window where I bought coffee and four bear claws, two for Jim and two for me.
When I approached the bench near Color Me Read, Jim ignored me entirely. He held out both arms to Frodo, who went straight into them as though Jim were an old friend.