Murder by Arrangement Page 14

  Albert had phoned at five that evening to tell her they would be out on the boat with cellular reception unpredictable. She took that to mean he may or may not turn on his mobile. He went on to say that the weather was near-perfect, as were ocean conditions, so they were going to enjoy another peaceful night at sea. He assured her he was doing fine, and hoped she was finding time to relax and catch up on her reading while he was away. She felt only a small pang of guilt over this last thought.

  Preferring not to dwell on this feeling, she concentrated instead on regrets over missing a chance to speak with her husband. She was happy to know the trip was going well, and hoped it would help Albert’s rehabilitation, although she wasn’t certain if he would get sufficient exercise for his knee on board a cabin cruiser. Sighing with resignation over what was out of her control, she listened to the next call.

  “Edna, it’s Tuck. Call me when you get this, please, no matter the time. We need to talk.”

  Tuck must have been waiting near the phone because she picked up on the first ring. “We have to do something about Peppa,” she said after she and Edna exchanged brief preliminary greetings.

  “What do you mean?”

  “She just sits by the phone, waiting for word. I have no idea when Clem’s autopsy results will be in, but she isn’t doing herself any good by moping around the house. Knowing her, I bet she’s imagining the worst.”

  Edna thought for a minute before a plan came to mind. “Why don’t you bring her here for breakfast tomorrow morning? Tell her to bring Rufus. I’ll ask my neighbor to join us. She’ll bring Hank, her Labrador. If introducing the two dogs doesn’t distract Peppa, I don’t know what will.”

  “Who’s your neighbor?” Tuck asked.

  “Mary Osbourne. I don’t know if you two have met, but she grew up here so she must have been one of Peppa’s Saturday morning kids. She’s a bit of a distraction herself.” Edna was certain that Mary’s ghost theories would provide another diversion for Peppa.

  Tuck sounded skeptical but agreed. “I suppose that will do for an hour or so, if I can persuade Peppa to leave the house. Afterwards, though, I’m afraid she’ll go right back home to brood.”

  “Maybe we can take care of that, too. Between now and then, I’ll ring Charlie and find out if he’s heard anything,” Edna said, ending the call. Before she phoned the detective, however, she dialed Mary’s number.

  “Sure, I know Peppa.” Edna could hear the delight in Mary’s voice as she accepted the invitation to breakfast. The pleasure vanished with her next words, though. “I was sorry to hear about the professor. I didn’t even know he’d moved back to town when I heard he’d been run over by his ex-wife. Is it true?” Always on the alert for the latest news around town, Mary was probably hoping to pump Edna for more details.

  “Yes and no,” said Edna, purposely vague. “When you see her tomorrow, please don’t mention it. She’s upset enough over what happened, and we want to take her mind off it for a while. Besides bringing Hank with you, I was thinking you could tell them about your ghost.”

  The silence that followed this request lasted so long that Edna thought perhaps Mary had hung up. She was about to speak when Mary said in a near whisper, “It’s not a runaway slave.”

  Edna gave an inward sigh and wondered what was coming next. “You’ve been reading more history?” She made the statement sound like a question, knowing Mary would explain without even that much encouragement.

  “Not exactly. I found something. Tell you about it at breakfast. The ghost is the spirit of someone who knew my grandfather. Makes sense, too. I bet Father knew this guy was haunting the house and didn’t want to scare Mother. Nanny would have moved out, if she’d had any idea there was an unseen presence in the nursery.” Mary chuckled. “That risk alone would have been enough for Father to keep anything supernatural under wraps.”

  Edna nearly laughed aloud as she thought of what Mary would have been like as a child, and Mr. Osbourne’s terror that he and his wife might be left in complete charge of their precocious offspring. A whirling dervish around her elderly parents, Edna was certain. “Do I get a hint?”

  “Rather tell you in person,” was Mary’s curt reply.

  Edna still thought the entire idea of a ghost was pretty far-fetched, but Mary sounded too serious for Edna to make light of her neighbor’s notion. She would wait to hear the latest flight of fancy, but she believed that the real culprit must be a bird or an animal or the wind.

  After finishing her call to Mary, Edna rang Charlie’s mobile. To her amazement, he picked up almost at once.

  “Not busy?” she asked.

  “Tonight’s been quiet. I’m wrapping up some paperwork before heading home. I can use an early night.”

  Surprised that he was still in the office, Edna quickly reconsidered merely speaking to him on the phone. “Have you eaten today?”

  Charlie laughed. “Is that why you called?”

  She didn’t directly answer his question. “Since you aren’t already comfortably ensconced at home, why don’t you swing by here first? I’ll fix something for you to eat, and I’m thinking you wouldn’t turn down a nightcap.”

  “You’re right about that.” He paused, then said almost accusingly. “That’s not all, is it?”

  “No,” she said. “I want to hear whatever you can tell me about Clem Peppafitch, and I’d rather hear it in the coziness of my living room with a glass of wine in my hand. ”

  Forty-five minutes later, Charlie was sitting on the couch across the coffee table from Edna. She’d grilled ham-and-cheese sandwiches and added homemade oatmeal-raisin cookies to his plate. Knowing he’d prefer something stronger than a glass of wine, she raided Albert’s whiskey and vermouth supply to fix the detective a manhattan.

  She made small talk while Charlie quenched his thirst and took the edge off his hunger. When he finally put the plate on the coffee table and settled back with the rest of his drink, she asked the question foremost on her mind. “Have you heard anything from the medical examiner about Clem?”

  “I hadn’t before you phoned tonight,” Charlie said, “but after you mentioned it, I thought I’d contact someone I know who works in the lab.”

  “And ...” she prompted when he stopped talking to sip his drink. She suspected he was teasing her by dragging out the suspense.

  “Digitalis overdose.”

  It was so sudden and unexpected an answer that she didn’t think she’d heard correctly. “What?”

  “So far, it looks like he died of a drug overdose,” Charlie repeated. He frowned. “They’re still waiting for the complete toxicology screens, but it’s fairly certain that the poor old guy was dead before he was run over. Peppa didn’t kill him with her car. It was unfortunate and simple coincidence that he collapsed across her driveway.”

  “Do you really believe in that much of a coincidence?”

  Charlie shrugged. “Hard to say until the investigation is over. Peggy King is the lead detective on this one. Patrol’s been going house-to-house, asking if anyone saw what happened Saturday night. One rookie found a neighbor just this morning who corroborated another neighbor’s story about a man stumbling in the direction of Peppa’s house shortly before ten Saturday night. This new witness had turned off the downstairs lights before going upstairs to bed when she noticed it was snowing, so she put on a coat and went out to call in her cat. That’s when she saw what she described as ‘an old drunk weaving his way up the street.’ He was ‘three sheets to the wind’ with his head down and shoulders hunched, so the witness said she hadn’t recognized him. That sighting was about a half hour before Peppa said she got home.” Charlie rattled the ice in his glass, watching the liquid swirl. “Could have been too much medication combined with booze that did him in, I suppose.”

  Edna thought for a minute or two while she sipped her wine and stared into the fire. Charlie was quiet, too, seemingly waiting for her to tell him what was on her mind.

  “According to Tuck
,” Edna began, speaking her thoughts aloud and turning to look at the detective, “Clem Peppafitch had been sober for several years. We think he came back to town to make up with Peppa, so it doesn’t make sense that he’d fall off the wagon.”

  “What are you thinking?” Charlie frowned at her.

  “That there could be reasons other than alcohol that Clem was staggering or reeling or whatever it was he was doing to look as if he were drunk.”

  Charlie shrugged but nodded. “What would you guess?”

  “I don’t know.” Edna looked down into her own glass for a few seconds before pushing the question to the back of her mind. Gazing back at Charlie, she asked, “Why didn’t that person come forward Sunday morning? Surely everyone on the block must have seen or talked about all the police activity at Peppa’s house.”

  Charlie looked at her with a raised eyebrow as if surprised she would ask. “People seldom want to get involved. Some wait and hope the police won’t come knocking on their door. When we do track them down, they still don’t always admit to something they saw or overheard.”

  Edna switched the conversation back again to Clem himself and shook her head in sadness. “I’m sorry if he was drinking again. I’d have thought he’d stay sober if he wanted to win Peppa back, if that really was his purpose in moving back to town, as Tuck suspects.”

  “Now that you’ve brought it up,” Charlie said, leaning forward to set his glass on the coffee table. “I don’t remember hearing anyone at the scene mention anything about booze. I’ll check that out tomorrow with the M.E.’s office. See if they found alcohol in his blood and, if so, how much. I’ll talk to Peggy King and John Forrester, too. They were both at the scene Sunday morning, close to the body. Either of them would have noticed if Clem had been drinking. Someone drunk enough to be unsteady on his feet would have reeked of the stuff.”

  Edna didn’t want to think about John Forrester, so she changed the subject. “I’m relieved for Peppa. It must be bad enough to have run over her ex-husband, so I don’t know what it would have done to her if she were responsible for his death. When will you tell her?”

  “Since it’s Detective King’s case, I called her after talking to my lab friend. She was tucked up at home but said she’d go over and see Peppa. Peggy’s another of the Saturday morning story kids, you know. She was glad for the chance to ease Peppa’s mind a little.” He grinned at Edna before adding more soberly, “Until all the test results are in, about the only thing we can do is inform Peppa that it wasn’t her car that killed Clem.” He turned his wrist to look at his watch. “I imagine Peggy’s giving Peppa the news right about now.”

  Chapter 20

  Wednesday morning, Tuck and Peppa drove up shortly after nine o’clock in Tuck’s big blue Lincoln town car. Edna quickly put on her coat and boots and went out to greet them. It was true that she had asked Mary to bring Hank over, thinking that introducing the two dogs would be a nice distraction for the librarian, but that didn’t mean she wanted the two dogs greeting each other for the first time inside her house.

  The retired librarian looked better, but not nearly back to her former self. Tuck, however, was absolutely bubbling. She had gotten out and was shutting the driver’s side door as Edna came out of the house.

  “Good news, isn’t it, Edna?” she burbled as Peppa pushed herself out of the passenger seat.

  Edna, nearing the vehicle as Peppa stood, heard the librarian mumble, “He’s still dead,” as she pulled a blue knit cap snugly onto her tight gray curls. “Wasn’t digitalis,” she said in a firmer voice, looking Edna straight in the eye. “Told that to Peggy last night.”

  “But you’ve been cleared. You are not to blame,” argued Tuck, coming around the hood to stand beside her friends. “Don’t you feel better about that?”

  Instead of answering, Peppa reached to open the back door. Rufus’s head emerged, and she attached a lead to his collar before allowing him to jump down onto the driveway.

  Edna was confused. Ignoring Tuck, she spoke to Peppa. “Last night, Charlie told me Clem died of an overdose of digitalis. Do you know something different?”

  At that moment, Rufus, tail wagging, looked beyond Edna toward the back yard and gave a single sharp bark, as if to say “Good morning.”

  The women all turned to see Mary slogging across the yard in calf-deep snow, following Hank who was bounding toward the group, his own tail wagging furiously. Distracted from her conversation with Peppa, Edna gasped, wondering if Hank were about to lunge at Rufus. She thought the bigger Rottweiler would clearly come out the victor. He was at least twenty or thirty pounds heavier than the smaller lab, clearly more muscle than fat. She was beginning to panic, wondering what to do if a fight broke out, when she heard Peppa call delightedly, “Hank? Hank, is that you?”

  Turning to ask “You know Hank?” Edna saw Peppa bend down and remove the leash from Rufus’s collar.

  “Of course” said Peppa. “Tom Greene used to bring Hank along whenever he did handy work for me. Hank and Rufus were great friends. After Tom died, I heard someone had adopted the Lab, but I had no idea Hank’s new owner was your next-door neighbor. If I had, I would have brought Rufus over to visit sooner.”

  As they talked, Edna watched the two dogs. At first they had run up to each other, sniffing and wiggling happily. Suddenly Hank raced several yards away and spun to face Rufus. Dropping his head and shoulders, Hank waited for the big dog to accept the challenge. It took Rufus only seconds before he ran forward to leap onto the younger, friskier dog. Before Rufus landed on him, however, the black Lab jumped sideways, causing the Rottweiler to skid past.

  “Let the games begin,” Peppa shouted and laughed, clapping her hands. And indeed the games did begin with Hank prancing around the bigger dog and then taking off as fast as the snow would allow, around the south side of the house to the backyard. After a slight hesitation, Rufus took off after him. Several seconds later, the women watched as the two dogs came back into view and raced toward the stone wall that bordered the south side of the Davies property.

  After watching the canine antics for several minutes, Mary strolled closer to the small group of older women. “I guess they know each other, huh?” she said, thrusting her hands deep into the pockets of her thick green-and-brown camo jacket. “I remember you from story hour at the library.”

  “Of course, you’re Mary Osborne. I remember you as quite an outspoken young lady.” Peppa grinned up at Mary with a twinkle in her blue-gray eyes.

  Edna, always amazed that Mary seemed to show up at exactly the right moment, noticed that Peppa was beginning to look more her old self. That thought brought Edna back to Peppa’s earlier comment about the circumstances of Clem’s death. She need to ask about that, but not standing out in the cold morning air. “Shall we go in? I’ve a fresh pot of coffee brewing.”

  “I’m ready,” Tuck spoke up, rubbing her hands up and down her upper arms. “I haven’t had a drop yet this morning.”

  Mary whistled for Hank. Obediently, he stopped wrestling with Rufus and came running. Since the Rottweiler was right on the Lab’s heels, Peppa didn’t need to call her own dog. Edna led the way down the brick path, recently shoveled by the Benton brothers, and the back door to the mudroom.

  When everyone had shed coats, hats, boots and gloves, and the canines had been toweled off, Edna turned and saw Benjamin sitting nonchalantly in the doorway to the kitchen. Smiling to herself, she knew her cat was up to something. Sure enough, the black Lab walked jauntily into the kitchen past the ginger cat. The massive Rottweiler, hurrying after his friend until he spied the feline, decided his best course of action was to back up and stand still until his mistress came to rescue him.

  Having taken off her coat, Tuck reached for Peppa’s and draped them both on the seat of the nearby parson’s bench. She then placed a hand between Peppa’s shoulder blades and propelled her gently toward the kitchen with Rufus following meekly behind. Benjamin, his point made, preceded them with slow, dign
ified steps as if he were leading a parade.

  “Something smells wonderful, Edna,” Tuck said. “What have you made for us?”

  “I thought a spinach quiche would taste good. Cantaloupe and apple-cinnamon muffins to begin.”

  “Yum.” Tuck sat at the kitchen table next to Peppa and reached for the bread basket as Edna poured coffee. Mary took the chair opposite her old story-hour host.

  Rufus settled on the floor between Tuck and Peppa after Benjamin jumped silently onto a chair against the wall, where he commanded a view of the room. As was his habit, Hank dropped down in front of the cat’s perch and laid his head on paws, ready for a nap.

  “Are you working this morning?” Edna said to Mary, cutting the quiche and serving her guests. She noticed once her neighbor had removed the jacket, Mary wasn’t in her usual casual attire, but wearing plain white slacks and a mint green tunic.

  “Doin’ a favor for one of the other hospital volunteers,” was all Mary offered before reaching for a warm muffin.

  The next twenty minutes or so seemed to Edna to drag as she tried to hold up a cheerful conversation with some help from Tuck. Despite the pleasant distraction of the dogs’ reunion, Peppa seemed to withdraw back into her own thoughts, and Mary seemed tense with suppressed excitement. When, at last, the meal was over, plates cleared away and coffee mugs refilled, Mary spoke to Edna.

  “Can I tell ‘em about my ghost now?”

  Before Edna could answer, Tuck piped up. “Ghosts?”

  That was all the encouragement Mary needed. “Yup. A smuggler. Ran whiskey down the coast during Prohibition.”

  Edna nearly choked on the sip of coffee she’d just taken. She should know better than to take a drink as Mary was about to drop a bombshell. “So you’ve definitely decided it isn’t a runaway slave?”