Chapter 11

I swung off Penelope’s back and tied her to a tree without waiting to see if Griff was getting off Caesar. I laughed as I dipped my hands into the pool again and again, feeling the cold water tingle my skin. Griff walked up behind me, a wide smile on his face. “You like it, eh?” he asked.

“It’s amazing! I had no idea this was here!”

“For the few people who come into these woods, even fewer of them know about the falls. It’s pretty far back along the trail.”

“Thank you for bringing me here,” I said again. “How could I live so close and not realize this is here?”

“You need time if you’re going to explore, and I don’t think you’ve had lots of time to do that,” he said.

“And now with Annabel gone…” My voice trailed off.

“Any word on what’s happening with the castle? And the employees?” he asked.

“Only that Hugh, Rhisiart, and Andreas’s baby are going to own the castle together. And Sian is making decisions on the baby’s behalf.”

Griff whistled. “That promises to be ugly,” he said, shaking his head. “They don’t get along on a good day.”

“I know. I ate lunch with all three of them earlier and there wasn’t much conversation. And Cadi is furious. She’s gone back to London until the funeral.”

“Why is she mad?”

“She’s always mad about something. But this time it’s because she can’t believe a third of the property was left to an unborn baby and that Sian will be making decisions on the baby’s behalf. I suspect she’s mad because she and Sian are both Annabel’s daughters-in-law, but only Sian will be able to participate in making decisions about the castle.”

“But Sian wouldn’t be making any decisions if Andreas hadn’t died.”

“I know that, and you know that, but Cadi doesn’t often listen to reason.”

“What does Hugh have to say about it?”

“Not much, at least so far. He was just listening to Cadi’s harangue right before she left for London, and I haven’t heard him say anything about it since then.”

“So any word about your job? And everyone else’s?”

“Not yet. I imagine we’ll hear something soon. They can’t keep us in the dark forever. Mr. Hadley, the barrister, thinks Maisie and Brenda should just go on as they’ve been doing because the family will want the castle to be clean and they need to eat. But as for me, he said I’ll have to wait to see what the family decides about the castle’s future, since I’m the one who pays the bills, answers letters, that sort of thing. And I don’t know about you and the stable hands—I would think you’re rather like Maisie and Brenda. If they want to have horses, they need grooms.”

“But Rhisiart wants racehorses, and I want nothing to do with them,” he answered, an edge of anger creeping into his voice.

“I guess we’ll have to wait and see what happens. But in the meantime, even if they want to sell the horses, they still need someone to feed them and care for them until that time comes.”

“I guess you’re right. Sounds like I don’t need to pack my bags tonight, but I won’t be surprised if it happens in the near future.” He stroked Caesar’s muzzle. “I’d buy Caesar, no doubt, if Rhisiart wanted to get rid of him. Heck, I’d try to buy all the horses. But I certainly don’t have that kind of money and I don’t have a place to keep them. I’d hate to see these horses get sold off.”

“Me, too. If I could scrape enough money together I’d buy Penelope. But maybe Rhisiart will want to keep the horses that are in the stables now, even if he does want to expand to include race horses.”

Griff cocked an eyebrow at me. “Maybe, but I doubt it.”

Griff had brought a snack in a saddle bag and we ate sitting on a big boulder by the side of the pool, watching the water cascade into it. The rushing sound it made was simultaneously soothing and enervating. Griff had sliced vegetables and brought a jar of homemade hummus, and it was just what I needed after the ride. We fed the remaining vegetables, as well as the carrots Griff had brought with him, to the horses after we finished eating and the horses seemed to enjoy their snack as much as I did.

“Do you live in the village?” I asked, suddenly realizing I didn’t know much about Griff personally.

He nodded. “I have a small cottage on the road leading out of the village. You’ll have to come by sometime.”

“I have a lot more time to do things like that now that Annabel’s gone,” I said ruefully.

“Any word on when her funeral is going to be?”

“No. I suppose that’ll depend on how long the autopsy takes.”

“Do I need to ask…” he began.

“No. The ambulance driver who took her to the medical examiner’s office told me it depends on the complexity of the autopsy.”

“So we’re in a holding pattern right now,” he stated.

“Yes.”

“Come on over here. I want to show you something,” he said, beckoning me near him. I walked over to where he stood and looked where he was pointing. There was a mossy log lying on the ground, and nestled inside a knot in the log was a tiny gold star. It was made of metal; the elements—the wind, the rain, and spray from the waterfall—had deadened its gleam, but it was enchanting.

“Oh!” I exclaimed. “It’s beautiful! Someone must have left it here,” I said, stating the obvious.

“There’s a belief among the villagers that if visitors to the falls leave something shiny for the fairies, the fairies will keep the water in the forest clean and in good supply.”

“What a lovely story,” I said. Then, looking around, I began to notice more gold baubles I hadn’t seen before. There was a string of gold beads looped around the branches of a tree overhanging the falls, a group of gold trinkets scattered about the ground, and a once-sparkly Christmas ornament hanging from another tree nearby. I patted my pockets. “I wonder if I brought anything sparkly with me.”

“Here, I’ve got something,” he said, fishing in his coat pocket. He held up a one-pound piece. “Leave this for the fairies,” he said, handing it to me.

“Thank you! I don’t have anything shiny on me,” I said, taking the coin from him. “Where should we leave it?” I looked around, hunting for a good spot.

“Over here,” he said. There was another log lying on the ground near his foot. He took a sharp stick and carved a tiny slice in the soft log. “Put the coin right in that slice,” he suggested. “It should be secure in there.”

I placed the coin in the log and stood back to admire our handiwork. “We’ll have to come back here again sometime to make sure the coin is still there,” I said.

“I’ve never known anything to be stolen from this place,” he replied.

“Do you bring all the girls here?” I teased.

“No, just you,” he said, smiling. I felt a funny tingle and I could feel my face flushing.

He had been standing near me when I bent down to put the coin in the log. When I straightened up he reached for my hand to help me, though I didn’t need the help. His hand was warm. He pulled me close to him and kissed my lips, then held me away from him and looked at me intently. “I’ve wanted to do that for a long time, Eilidh. Do you mind?”

I knew I was blushing. More than anything I wanted him to do it again. “I don’t mind at all,” I said with a smile. “You can do that anytime you want!”

He obliged, kissing me again, then we walked over to where the horses were tethered. “I suppose we should be getting back, though I wish we could spend hours here.”

“We can sometime,” Griff answered. “But you’re right. We should get back and see what’s going on at the castle. I get the feeling we’re in for a roller coaster of a ride with those three in charge.”

When we were both on our horses and ready to leave, I took one long backward look at the waterfall and the fairy glen. I could hardly wait to visit again.

The horses walked a bit faster on the return trip to the stables as if they, too, sensed the need to get back and learn what may have transpired in our absence.

And there was plenty, as it turned out. I left Penelope in Griff’s care and hurried back to the castle to get an update from Maisie and Brenda. When I opened the huge front door and stood in the front hall listening for any sounds, I heard nothing. Silence prevailed, as it had done earlier.

I went in search of Maisie and Brenda and didn’t have to look far. They were in the kitchen, talking in strained voices.

“What’s up?” I asked, walking into the warm, cozy room.

“You’ll never guess, Eilidh,” Brenda said breathlessly.

“What?” I asked.

“Brenda was upstairs dusting the sitting room when the call came in about the autopsy results,” Maisie said.

“I can tell her. I was the one who heard,” Brenda said, shooting her mum a frustrated look.

“Okay, you tell her,” Maisie said.

“Tell me what?” I asked, exasperated.

“Annabel was poisoned.” Brenda’s words fell like a rock. I sat down in the nearest chair and stared at her.

“That can’t be right.”

“It’s true,” she insisted. “Hugh came into the room while I was dusting and he asked me to come back later to finish. I was telling him I was just finishing up when the phone rang. He shooed me out of the room, but I stood in the hallway to listen. He talked to the person on the phone and I heard him say, ‘Yes, I’m Annabel’s son.’ Then he listened for a minute, then he said, ‘You’re kidding. She was poisoned? By what? Who did it?’”

“Did you get the answers?” I asked.

She shook her head. “No. I left and came down here to tell Mum right after I heard that. I didn’t want him to know I was listening. He’d sack me for sure if he knew that.”

“I can’t believe this,” I breathed. “How could she have been poisoned? Who would have done such a thing?” I looked at Maisie. “Do you suppose someone in the castle did this to her?” Which one of her sons, or her daughters-in-law, could have done this?

“This is all going to come back to me,” Maisie said, her voice rising with anxiety. “People are going to think I put something in the food.” She was breathing heavily and I was afraid she was going to faint. I stood up quickly, took her arm, and led her to the chair I had vacated.

“Brenda, will you please get her a glass of ice water?” I took the dish towel Maisie was clutching and tossed it over to the counter. “Maisie, look at me,” I directed in a stern voice. “You have to pull yourself together. There’s no reason for anyone to think you poisoned Annabel. The police are going to be looking at every possibility, and there are lots of ways Annabel could have been poisoned.”

“Name one,” she said.

I thought for a moment. The truth was, if Annabel had really been poisoned, it certainly seemed plausible that the poison was administered in her food. That would put Maisie in the crosshairs of the police investigation even if we all knew neither Maisie nor Brenda would ever have done such a thing. If the poison had been administered in Annabel’s food, then either Hugh, Cadi, Sian, or Rhisiart could have done it. Even I would have had an opportunity to do it.

“Well, even if she ingested the poison, it could have come from any of the ingredients you used.”

“But other people would be sick, too,” she said.

“Okay, then maybe Annabel got something in her system when she ate a meal at a restaurant with one of her friends.”

“Don’t you think we would have heard if there were an outbreak of poisoning deaths? Wouldn’t we know if one of her friends was poisoned, too? No, Eilidh, I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but there’s no getting away from it—this looks really bad for me.”

There was nothing else I could say. I couldn’t think of any words to placate her troubled mind and soul, so it was best for me to stop talking. I put my hand over hers and we sat at the table like that for several minutes. Brenda sat down with us and stared into her lap. I wondered what she was thinking. She hadn’t been sniffling as much since Andreas’s death, but I found myself thinking that could be for two reasons: she was getting used to Andreas being gone or she wasn’t using cocaine because Andreas wasn’t there to sell it to her.

I immediately felt ashamed for believing the worst could be true of Brenda. More than anything I wanted to think she was moving past the grief she felt when Andreas died and wasn’t crying as much.

I vowed to keep a closer eye on Brenda, for her own sake. I was sure Maisie was doing the same thing, but it couldn’t hurt to have two sets of eyes looking out for her.

Rhisiart came down to the kitchen just a few minutes later. “Eilidh, can you come upstairs, please? We’d like to talk to you about something.”

I could feel Maisie and Brenda watching me as I left, but I didn’t look at them. They knew I would share with them whatever I learned. Or whatever was asked of me.

Rhisiart led the way into the drawing room and closed the door behind us. Hugh and Sian were already in there. Hugh greeted me and motioned for me to have a seat.

“We’ve heard from the police about the results of Annabel’s autopsy,” Rhisiart began. I raised my eyebrows, hoping he wouldn’t realize I already knew that.

“The medical examiner has concluded she was poisoned.”

“That’s terrible,” I murmured. “With what? How?”

“They haven’t given me that information yet,” he replied. “But I expect we’ll learn before very long. If they know she was poisoned, they must know what poison was used. But that’s not why we asked you to come in here.”

I glanced around the warm, dark space. Anyone looking in would have wondered why such a somber group had gathered. There was a dichotomy in the room I didn’t care for: Hugh and Sian sat together on a divan and Rhisiart stood behind them. I, the interrogee, sat across from them in an armchair. I wasn’t sure where this discussion was leading, but I didn’t like it. I waited for someone to speak.

Finally Rhisiart cleared his throat, then addressed me. “Have you had any discussions with Maisie or Brenda, but Maisie in particular, regarding her relationship with Annabel?”

So that’s what this was all about. They were already trying to blame Annabel’s death on Maisie and Brenda.

“No,” I answered. “I haven’t spoken to either of them about it.”

“We still have to speak to the police about the situation, but it seems likely that poisoning would have come from something Annabel ate,” Rhisiart said.

I nodded, unwilling to divulge the conversation I had shared with Maisie and Brenda. I hadn’t lied to Hugh or Sian or Rhisiart—Maisie and Brenda and I had not discussed Maisie’s relationship with Annabel. I was simply answering questions truthfully. If my interrogators didn’t ask the proper questions they wouldn’t get the answers they sought.

“The police will likely be here soon,” Hugh said, and at that moment the door gong reverberated through the front of the castle. We all looked at each other, no one saying a word. Brenda would answer the door and announce the visitor. Or visitors.

Indeed, Brenda came into the drawing room just moments later, escorting two police officers. She left, closing the door behind her, after taking tea orders from Hugh and Sian. She would probably not be eavesdropping on this conversation. I wasn’t sure I should even be there.

One of the officers mentioned that immediately. “We will need to have a word with each of the household staff, but perhaps we should just speak with the family for now,” he said, giving me a pointed look.

I took the hint. “I’ll be in my room if anyone needs me,” I announced. I was glad to leave the room, though I wondered what the others would say once I left. It occurred to me for the first time that I might be questioned as a suspect simply because I had enjoyed such a close relationship with Annabel.

But they certainly wouldn’t view me as a suspect, would they? The thought would be laughable if it weren’t so horrifying.

I wanted to go straight down to the kitchen to warn Maisie and Brenda that Annabel’s sons and Sian were looking in Maisie’s direction as having poisoned Annabel, but I didn’t dare leave my room after telling the police that was where they could find me. I would have to be more careful about the family seeing me speaking to Maisie or Brenda. If I wanted to help the two women, I would have to downplay our friendly relationship.

The first thing I did once my bedroom door was shut and I had pulled out my mobile phone was text Sylvie.

Bad news.

What?

Annabel poisoned. Family asking questions.

Who poisoned her?

Don’t know.

With what?

Don’t know. Can you come over?

Be right there.

When she got there we sat on the floor in my room in front of the fire, talking over the shocking news.

“Who could have done such a thing?” she asked.

“I don’t have any idea. Everyone liked Annabel. She didn’t have any enemies that I knew of, and I knew just about everything there was to know.”

“You mentioned there had been abuse in the house growing up. Do you suppose Hugh or Rhisiart finally snapped and killed her because of what happened when they were little?” Sylvie suggested.

I spread my hands wide. “I have no idea. It scares me to think there could be someone in this castle who hated Annabel enough to kill her. And how does that person feel about me? I was closer to Annabel than anyone.”

“Don’t say that,” Sylvie said with a shiver. “The person who did this to Annabel obviously had a problem with Annabel, not you.”

“I hope you’re right.” I paused for a moment.

“Could one of her boys, or Cadi or Sian, really hate her enough to kill her?” Sylvie had no answer.