Chapter 65
“I have had a life which, for variety and romance, could, I think, hardly be exceeded.”
-Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Autobiography
On the way back to my apartment, the weather changed abruptly and got warm. The brilliant blue sky was cloudless, but it didn’t help to cheer me. I was still tired and dispirited. And now I was too warm in my turtleneck.
I rang Tom Joyce.
“’Lo, DD.”
“Hi. You sound better. Did you hear the news?”
“About Dodd? Yeah.”
“Like I told Karl, I’m not sorry he’s dead.”
“Me either, but I keep thinking maybe he was coming back on I-90 to get us. What if we had run into him on the way back to Chicago? I’ve been pretty nervous about it.”
“Now we don’t have to be nervous anymore. Listen, are you still at Debra’s or are you back home?”
“Debra’s been fantastic, but I’m going home today, jiggety jig. And thanks. Your Uncle George and Auntie Elizabeth delivered my van.”
“You owe Debra big. You weren’t yourself with that concussion.”
“That’s what Debra said, too. I was having trouble parrying your slings. But I’m beginning to feel like myself again, so watch out.”
“Good, ‘cause I’ve missed the real you. How’s Wolfie?”
“He’s still limping a bit on his back left leg, but you can’t keep a good wolf down. I don’t think he’ll have any lasting effects. DD, I talked to Karl Patrick today.”
“Oh, His Serene Force of Nature?”
“My God he’s good at what he does. You’re lucky to know him.”
“He told me about your agreement,” I said. “Did you sign it?”
“Yeah, I signed it. He told me about yours, too. Did you sign?”
“I did.”
“Something he didn’t tell you, though, DD. I talked to Ivy Douglas about finishing the appraisal, and she wants me to. Also I explained everything to her about the Grange diary and the Doyle notes.”
“And the envelope too?”
“Yeah. I felt I had to. Everything was the property of the estate, after all.”
“And?”
“She’s agreed to let me keep the notes and the envelope and do whatever I want with them as long as I tell the full story of the Grange diary and the Doyle notes as a firsthand account of the incident and give her and the estate full credit. I’m only glad she didn’t ask me what they were worth. If she had, I’m sure she would have wanted everything back.”
“That’s what you hoped for. What did Karl think?”
“He put it in writing as part of the agreement, and she initialed it, so it’s official. Karl gave her some incentive. He told Ivy Douglas that with all the finagling Dodd and Nurse Holder did with the Foundation, she might be able to get that portion of the Dowager’s will quashed and she’ll get some extra big bucks out of the estate.”
“Congratulations, Tom. What are you going to do with the Doyle Notes and the envelope?”
“I think I’ll have Newberry Library put them on display so the world can see them.”
“Then everyone can see it and read your story.”
“I regret I was so unfair to Philip Green. In the end, he gave his life to save the diary and the notes.”
We talked about going to the memorial services for both Morgan and Philip Green. Then Tom said, “DD, I want to apologize for forcing you to go with me to The Haven. I wasn’t thinking straight. I almost got you killed, and I know you got into big trouble over it. I’m really sorry.”
“Don’t worry. Everything’s been taken care of. I’ve got my job back and even got a bonus.”
“How did that happen? I thought you said Goodson was spitting nails when he fired you.”
“He was a bit livid. In the end, Auntie saved the day. She and the twins ID’d the guy I was working with as my stalker. Someday over a brew I’ll tell you the tale of how I got rewarded for completely screwing up a case.”
“No kidding. La Dragon discovered who was pulling all that crap on you?”
“She and Cavalier. He was a big part of it.”
“Oh, I meant to tell you DD, Debra and I found another wild theory out there that Prince Eddy didn’t die of influenza in 1892, but that he lived hidden away in Glamis castle in Scotland. We found a photograph dated 1910 purporting to be Prince Eddy at age 46, eighteen years after his recorded death”
“You mean that after the Pardon, the Royal family hid him away for all those years?”
“It’s been done, DD. It is farfetched, but it’s feasible. In the early 1900’s, Prince John, youngest son of King George V, was hidden away with caretakers in Wood Farm in Sandringham.”
“Yeah, I saw that on Masterpiece Theatre.”
“Even more recently, two of Queen Elizabeth II’s Bowes-Lyon cousins, Katherine and Nerissa, were reported as dead in Burke’s Peerage, but in reality they had been admitted to the Royal Earlswood Mental Hospital in 1941 and hidden away until 1986, nearly 50 years. Maybe this was the real end of the story for Prince Eddy.”
Suddenly I didn’t want to talk anymore. I was sure that Tom was returning to normal, and I was glad, but I didn’t have it in me to go on. I almost felt like crying, but we Scots never cry. I was tired and depressed as we said good-bye.
I slid into a parking space near my building. Dragging up the stairs to my apartment, snippets of the past week flooded my mind. I’d been caught Breaking and Entering - well, criminal trespass - and gotten away with it. I was almost killed. I’d gotten fired and blacklisted and then rehired. I’d lost Mitch. I’d helped solve one of history’s mysteries and gotten rid of my pissant stalker. That was the week that was, as they say.
I reached my door and fumbled with the lock. It opened, and Cavalier greeted me with a ‘where have you been’ yowl. Some of that smoke smell still lingered, so I decided that another hot shower might relax me. I needed to sleep for a week. I turned on the hot water and stripped.
I cussed when my doorbell rang. It was probably the twins wanting to rehash yesterday’s triumph. I grabbed a towel.
I jerked open the door and stopped.
It was Scottie Stuart.
I blinked. He looked just the same. He was smiling.
“DD, I’m back. The danger is over, and the Feds let me go. I couldn’t think of anything but you.”
The soft sound of his voice closed around me. Everything was suddenly right. The hot water was forgotten. I clung to Scotty. The towel dropped.
I briefly thought of Mitch. Was this my surprise package?
And then Scotty closed the door.