Chris pulled up to Marlow House just as Danielle and Walt returned from Astoria on Thursday afternoon. He had come from his office, which was why he drove instead of walked. With his pit bull, Hunny, by his side, he sprinted up the side driveway, meeting Walt and Danielle just as they were about to walk into the back door leading to the kitchen.
Upon seeing Walt, Hunny began squirming from head to tail, lowering her head as her bottom wiggled uncontrollably. She made whimpering sounds. Walt immediately squatted down and welcomed the young dog, roughly scratching along her neck and accepting wet kisses while calming her with his mentally conveyed words.
Chris looked down at the pair and shook his head. Hunny was now sitting, the image of a well-behaved dog. “I don’t get the attraction. Frankly, I question Hunny’s judgment.”
“You’re just jealous that she listens to me,” Walt returned. He stood up, leaving Hunny sitting quietly by his side.
“I’m going to start calling you Dr. Dolittle,” Chris said.
Danielle walked into the kitchen and chuckled, leaving the two men and dog to follow her into the house.
“I’m familiar with the books, but I only read the first one,” Walt noted.
“Books? It’s a movie,” Chris told him.
“You’re both right,” Danielle said as she tossed her purse on the kitchen counter. “I remember reading the Doctor Dolittle books when I was a little girl.”
“After the first one came out, I bought it for a friend’s child,” Walt explained. “I remember reading it to her.”
“I shouldn’t be surprised it was a book first,” Chris said as he took a seat at the table.
“Making yourself at home?” Walt sat down at the table with Chris.
“Where have you two been? I stopped by earlier,” Chris asked.
“We drove over to Astoria for the morning,” Danielle explained.
“Shouldn’t you be at work?” Walt asked.
Ignoring Walt’s question, Chris asked, “Danielle, I wanted to talk to you about something.”
She joined them at the table while Hunny curled up on the floor by Chris’s feet.
“Do you want me to leave so you can talk to her alone?” Walt asked.
“Yes to the first question, no to the second,” Chris said.
Walt frowned. “I only asked you one question.”
Chris laughed and then said, “No, it’s okay, Walt. You don’t need to leave.”
Walt stood up.
“No, you really don’t need to leave. I was just kidding,” Chris said.
“I’m not leaving, but I thought we could all use something to drink. Iced tea?” Walt asked. “Beer?”
“Too early for beer?” Chris asked.
“It’s almost noon,” Walt said, walking to the refrigerator.
“Tea for me, Walt. Thanks.” Danielle then looked at Chris and asked, “What did you want to talk to me about?”
“I got a letter from one of my uncles yesterday.”
“The uncles who contested your parents’ will?” Walt asked as he handed Chris a beer.
“Yes. I only have two. They’re the ones who contested the will. I was going to bring the letter with me so Danielle could read it, but I forgot it at the office. Basically it was an apology and claimed they never intended to contest the will so they could keep my inheritance, but they were worried about me and wanted to protect me.”
Walt handed Danielle a glass of iced tea and asked Chris, “And you believe that?”
Chris shrugged and said, “I should have brought the letter with me. It made me start questioning things. That’s why I stopped over yesterday.” Chris looked at Danielle and said, “I wanted to talk to you about the letter.”
Walt joined them at the table with a can of beer.
“In what respect?” Danielle asked.
“It doesn’t matter now, since I called them.” Chris took a swig of his beer.
“So how did that go?” Danielle asked. “Did you accept their apology?”
Chris shook his head. “I said it made me question things—but forget what they put me through? I’m not there yet. Not sure I’ll ever be.”
“So why did you call them?” Walt asked.
Chris shrugged. “I figured they probably knew where I was, which they did. I just didn’t want them showing up unexpectedly. So I figured I would talk to them.”
“What did they say?” Danielle asked.
“They wanted to see me. Offered to come here. So I lied. I told them I wouldn’t be here. Told them I would be traveling abroad for the foundation and wouldn’t be back until Christmas.”
“Does that mean they’re coming for Christmas?” Danielle asked.
Chris looked at Danielle and shook his head. “I didn’t even consider they would come then. I figured Christmas is, what, seven months away? But nope, I tell a lie that I think is going to let me avoid them only to realize I practically agreed to see them.”
“Before you told your lie, you should have consulted Danielle. That’s her field of expertise,” Walt said before taking a drink of beer.
Danielle scowled at Walt and swatted his forearm, causing him to spill some of this beer. “Oh, stop, you brat. Any lies I told were to get out of some mess you probably started!”
Walt glanced down at the beer on the table and asked Chris, “Did you see that? She assaulted me!”
Danielle rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to Chris. “You could always tell them you don’t want to see them.”
Walt grabbed a napkin off the table and wiped up the spilt beer. “She does have a point.”
“I know I could, but I’m afraid they would just show up anyway. And if they do, I would like some control. So…well…that’s why I wanted to warn you…”
Walt and Danielle exchanged glances and then looked at Chris.
“They’re going to be calling you to make reservations,” Chris said. “I lied and told them you were closed today and wouldn’t be open until tomorrow. I wanted a chance to warn you they were calling.”
“What do you want me to tell them? That we’re full and can’t take their reservation?”
Chris cringed. “I know you weren’t planning to take guests this Christmas. But if they can’t stay here, well, they’ll just stay somewhere else. Frankly, I’d just like the moral support if I have to deal with them.”
“I suspect you would also like a second opinion in regards to their sincerity when they show up,” Walt suggested.
Chris nodded. “Pretty much.”
Police Chief MacDonald was just getting off the phone when Officer Brian Henderson knocked on his office door. MacDonald looked up to the doorway and motioned him in.
“Did you hear about Ben Smith?” Brian asked when he entered the office.
“Hear what?” MacDonald asked.
“He died in his sleep last night. I’m pretty sure it was a heart attack. His wife woke up this morning and found him dead next to her in bed.”
“Sorry to hear that. But when it’s my time to check out, that’s how I’d like to go.”
When Brian left the office a few minutes later, the chief picked up his phone and called Danielle.
“Hey, Chief, what’s up?” Danielle asked when she answered the call.
“Not sure you heard yet, but Ben Smith died.”
“Died? What happened?”
“Probably a heart attack. When his wife woke up this morning, she found him.”
“Is there going to be an autopsy?” she asked.
“I doubt it. He was in his eighties, and he had a bad heart.”
“I’m really sorry to hear that. Ben was really nice to me when I moved here. I really liked him. I think that’s one of the reasons it bothered me so much after I found out what he and the others were trying to hide from me.”
“Did he ever apologize?” the chief asked.
“Sort of. But it was awkward. Actually, the last time I saw him—and the first time I had seen him since I found out what he and the others were up to—was when we picked up the portraits from the museum after I bought them from Walt.”
“To be honest, I was surprised you picked them up. I figured you would leave them there until the exhibit with the originals opened.”
“I probably would have, had I not been so annoyed at the time. But they never really wanted the reproductions; it was just a ruse so they could get to the papers Beverly had given me. I didn’t see the point in prolonging the charade. Anyway, Ben was there; he seemed embarrassed. Told me he was sorry for everything and never meant to hurt me.”
“You never told me that,” the chief said.
“Well, we haven’t had much time to talk in the last few weeks. It has been a bit hectic for all of us,” Danielle reminded him.
“So what did you tell him?”
“I didn’t say much. I was sort of cool. But I did tell him I appreciated the apology. I suppose if things were different, I might regret not being more forgiving.”
“What do you mean?” the chief asked.
“It’s possible I might see Ben before he moves on,” she reminded him.
As much as Lily Bartley loved teaching, she was counting the days until summer vacation. Being back in the classroom had kicked her butt this year, reminding her she was not a hundred percent back to her old self in spite of the fact it had been almost two years since her coma.
When she got home, she was greeted by Sadie, her husband’s golden retriever. Although, even before she and Ian had exchanged vows, she had considered Sadie as much hers as his. Before looking for Ian, she took a detour to the kitchen and filled a bowl with double fudge ice cream. Bowl of ice cream and spoon in hand, she found Ian in his office sitting at his desk, Sadie trailing behind her.
While eating her ice cream, she shared her day with Ian and then listened to what his agent had said about Walt’s book. He then told her about Walt and Danielle’s trip to Astoria to see the jeweler.
Sitting on the small sofa in Ian’s office, Lily wrinkled her nose and said, “Really? She’s having a ring made?”
“That’s what Walt said.”
Lily ate a spoonful of ice cream and silently considered what Ian had just told her. Finally, she said, “That is so unlike Dani. She doesn’t even wear jewelry. Aside from her birthstone ring, but I haven’t seen that for ages.”
“She wears jewelry. She wears earrings.”
Lily rolled her eyes. Before taking another bite of ice cream, she said, “Pierced earrings don’t count unless you change them every day. Dani always wears the same pair.”
Ian shrugged in response.
“Seriously, though, she’s really going to have a ring made from the gold?”
“That’s what Walt told me.”
Lily shook her head. “Now, that sounds like something I might do. But Dani? Any idea what kind of ring she’s going to have made?”
“Walt didn’t say. Just that they were going to a jeweler in Astoria to see if he could do it.”
“I bet that’s Aaron Michaels. Remember, he’s the one they had look at the Missing Thorndike.”
“They didn’t say which jeweler.”
“Oh, I know what she should do!” Lily said excitedly.
“What?”
“If she’s having a ring made from Walt’s gold coins, I think she should get the emerald back from the museum. She only loaned it to them, and considering that BS they pulled, she’s not obligated to leave it there. An emerald from the original Missing Thorndike would be really cool in a ring.”
“That reminds me, Ben Smith died this morning. They say it was a heart attack, died in his sleep.”
“Wow…no kidding? I know he was old, but that surprises me; he was always so active.”