Murder by Arrangement (Edna Davies mysteries Book 5) (18 page)

Peppa also
helped to shove the trunk farther from the wall, allowing the women to examine
the hollow area beneath the stairs, but no cats were to be found. Instead, when
Mary crouched down to shine her light in the hole, she spotted an opening in
the rear panel.

Sounding
slightly panicked, she sputtered, “They’re in the wall. They’re gonna get
stuck.”

“Nonsense,” Edna
said, putting a hand on Mary’s shoulder to calm her. “If the noises you’ve been
hearing have been those cats all along, they must have found a passage from
your father’s room. You said there was a secret staircase somewhere in the
house. I think we’ve just found it.”

“Exciting,”
Peppa said. “It’s what I love about these old places. Full of nooks, crannies
and secrets.” She gave a hoot of laughter. “Let’s go see where they’ve gotten
to. Your father’s old room, did you say?”

When the women
reached the floor below and entered Mr. Osbourne’s former bedroom, Auntie Bea
was sitting in the middle of a braided run, watching sedately while two
half-grown kittens, one black and the other white, tumbled and wrestled before
her.

Peppa ignored
the antics as she looked around the room, focused her eyes on the right-hand
wall against which stood a canopied antique bed. “Must be here,” she muttered,
getting down on hands and knees and throwing back the spread to shine her
flashlight underneath. Seconds later, she lifted her head, eyes glowing with
triumph. “Yep. It’s here all right. Paneling’s been pushed aside. Bet you never
noticed it was slanted cause of the fabric behind the headboard. When’s the
last time you took that down to have it cleaned?”

Mary scowled,
obviously offended. “Get’s done every year.”

Edna spoke up in
Mary’s defense. “If I know kittens, they probably found a weak spot in the wood
and played with it until it broke loose.”

Mary brightened
at the idea. “Yes, and I bet Auntie Bea helped so she could follow her charges
when they disappeared.” Turning to look fondly down at the Maine Coon, Mary
explained to the others in the room, “She’s fiercely protective of Snowball and
Charcoal.” Speaking to the other women, she said, “I’d better close that up
before they get stuck or hurt themselves. Who knows what else they might find
in there to get themselves into trouble.”

That said, she
went downstairs and returned with a hammer and nails. As she crawled beneath
the bed to secure the panel back into place, two spirited kittens decided to
help. When she was able to stop laughing enough to plead for some assistance
with her four-legged friends, Tuck got down on hands and knees on the opposite
side of the bed. Peppa placed a hand on the mattress, preparing to join Tuck
when Edna stopped her.

“A moment, if
you will, Peppa.” Edna took hold of her friend’s arm and drew her gently away
from the activity. “I need to ask about Clem. Why are you so certain that he
didn’t die of a digitalis overdose?”

Peppa was
keeping her eyes on the other women, and Edna suspected she would rather be
beneath the bed, checking on Mary’s work, if not supervising it. The old
librarian spoke a bit sharply, as if the facts were common knowledge. “He’s got
… rather he
had
a thyroid problem that caused his heart to beat slower
than normal.” She turned to look at Edna, her forehead wrinkled with confusion.
“Is that really what they’re saying? He had digitalis in his system?”

Edna nodded. She
was speechless as she considered what Peppa had just told her. “So any sort of
medication for a fibrillating heart …”

“Right,” Peppa
interrupted. “With Clem’s condition, it would slow his heart down to the point
that he would faint … or worse.”

“Cause his heart
to stop,” Edna concluded.

“Darn fool.”
Peppa shook her head and turned away, but not before Edna saw the moisture in
the old librarian’s eyes.

Without another
word, she moved back toward the bed and the sound of more laughter and
hammering and meowing coming from underneath. Edna remained where she was, lost
in the thought,
I should go to Lily’s and check Clem’s belongings.

Chapter 24

Once the bedroom
and adjoining bathroom had been inspected for any other loose boards or
potential hazards, Mary shut the cats up for the night. After checking on Hank
and Spot to assure them that all was well, she led the women downstairs. In
order to unwind from the night’s excitement, the four women sat at the dining
room table for another hour, drinking tea and talking about old houses, secret
passages and cats.

“It’s always
been amazing to me,” said Edna, “that a ten pound, scampering cat can sound
like a heavy-footed child.” She knew Mary was still feeling foolish over making
such a big fuss over a ghost in her attic. Not only that, but the crime
enthusiast had admitted to being afraid to investigate alone.

When Edna
finally went home and to bed shortly before midnight, she slept fitfully. She
was worried that Matthew wasn’t telling her the entire story and wondered how
Albert was really doing. Was he in pain? Had he set his knee rehabilitation
back when he fell off the boat? Had he picked up some sort of harmful bacteria
by swallowing sea water?

When she finally
stopped agonizing over Albert, her thoughts turned to Mary’s cats finding the
hidden staircase to the attic. Peppa’s theory was that the passage was the
master’s means of visiting the maids’ quarters. Tuck thought it more likely the
runaway slaves used the stairs to mount to the top of the house in order to
hide in the false front around the chimney, or perhaps they hid between the
walls, on the steps themselves.

Protection
,
Edna thought, turning over and bunching the pillow beneath her head.
Fiercely
protective.
Mary had said that about Auntie Bea and the kittens. Edna came
fully awake from a half sleep, half dream state. Who else had said that to her
recently? She relaxed again when she remembered it had been Louise Callahan.
Duke was fiercely protective of Bobbi. Wouldn’t let John Forrester harm her.

Who else? Edna
struggled in her mind, tensing again as she turned onto her right side and pulled
the covers up to her chin. Thinking back, she pictured herself in Lily Beck’s
sun room, listening to the woman. Rosie.
Rose has always been fiercely
protective of Violet, from the moment that baby was placed in her arms at the
hospital.

Violet … what
was it that Lettie had said?
Lily’s medicine didn’t make him better,
meaning Gregory. Had Lettie given something to her father in hopes of curing
him, but killing him instead?

Rosie … Rose
,
Edna’s head throbbed with the word.
Clem was holding a rose. Was it meant to
be a clue? Must talk to Charlie … must talk to Charlie.
Edna finally fell
into a dreamless sleep at four o’clock.

She awoke three
hours later, feeling groggy, so she decided to get up. Downstairs, she phoned
Charlie. When a sleepy voice answered on the third ring, she said, “Sorry I
woke you, Charlie, but since you’re up, come for breakfast. There are things we
need to discuss. Scrambled eggs and popovers in half an hour.”

It took the
detective closer to an hour before he knocked on the back door and let himself
in, carrying three pink roses that he handed to Edna. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”

“Why, how
thoughtful.” Edna accepted the flowers, giving her favorite policeman a peck on
the cheek. She knew that pink denoted admiration and wondered if he did, too.
She was certain Starling would receive multiple red roses from him sometime
today and smiled, thinking of how kind this police detective could be. “Help
yourself to coffee and sit,” she commanded, retrieving a small vase from a low
cupboard and arranging the roses for the table. “I thought you’d be late, so
held off cooking the eggs. Won’t take but a minute, though.”

As they ate
breakfast, the small amount of chatter was confined to food and the weather.
Charlie finally wiped his mouth, laid his napkin aside, and rose to refill both
his coffee cup and Edna’s. Resuming his seat, he said, “Okay. What’s so
important you got me out of bed at this ungodly hour?” His grin belied the
gruffness of the question.

“Peppa told me
last night that Clem wouldn’t have taken digitalis.”

Charlie nodded.
“Peggy King told me. Matter of fact, the thyroid condition was on the autopsy
report.”

Edna waved a
hand dismissively. “So, if he didn’t overdose, either accidentally or on
purpose, then someone else must have given him the drug.” She looked across at
the detective with her most serious expression. “I’ve been thinking about this
most of last night. If Clem wasn’t taking a rose to Peppa, why did he have it
in his hand and why clutched so tightly? Furthermore, what was he doing in her
neighborhood? How did he get there?”

“Million dollar
question,” Charlie said, sipping his coffee as he studied her face.

When he said
nothing further, Edna continued. “What if he discovered who poisoned Gregory
Haverstrum? I can only think it had to be Lily or Rose or ... heaven forbid,
Violet. He might have discovered the poison and confronted the killer. It’s the
only thing that makes sense of his death.”

Charlie raised
an eyebrow. “Violet?”

Edna repeated
what Lettie had said about Lily’s medicine. “It really doesn’t bear thinking,
but I have to admit, it
is
possible.”

Charlie leaned
forward and, putting aside his coffee, clasped his hands together on the table.
“Okay. Let’s, for a moment, suppose someone in the Beck’s household killed
Haverstrum and Peppafitch found out. Where’s the proof?”

“That’s what I
was hoping you’d help me with,” Edna said, feeling a twinge of excitement over
the prospect of some positive action. “I want to get into Clem’s apartment.
There must be something in his place that might provide a clue. Maybe he left a
note,” she added, feeling the steam go out of her enthusiasm.

“Peggy looked
around his apartment Sunday morning. Didn’t spot anything out of the ordinary,
from what she told me.”

“But she didn’t
know about the digitalis then. We have more information on what to look for
now.” She told him what she’d read about “mad honey.”

Charlie didn’t
respond as eager as she’d hoped. He looked at his watch. “I have a meeting with
the chief that will probably last most of the morning. I’m not promising
anything, but I will meet you at the Beck house this afternoon. Say about
one-thirty?”

Edna knew her
face had fallen. She wanted to leave immediately, not waste any more time.

He reached
across the table and gently squeezed her wrist. “We don’t have a warrant, nor
do we have much of a reason for snooping in Clem’s rooms. All we can do is ask
Lily if we can go look around. If she says no, I’m afraid that will be it.”

Edna tried to
feel optimistic. “She won’t say no. Why would she?”

As it turned
out, Edna didn’t have to wait until the afternoon to visit Lily Beck. An hour
after Charlie left, the woman herself phoned and invited Edna to lunch. “My
daughter and granddaughter are with me through the weekend. You were so
gracious to Violet, I’d like to return some of your hospitality. Violet, also,
asked particularly if you could join us.”

Edna was both
nervous and excited as noon approached. She went through her wardrobe twice,
trying to decide whether or not to wear a dress, but eventually settled on
charcoal-gray woolen slacks with a forest-green silk blouse. The choice was
made when she thought of rummaging through Clem Peppafitch’s living quarters.
She’d be more comfortable in trousers.

She was so
preoccupied that she nearly forgot to phone Charlie. Thinking that his meeting
must be over after nearly three hours, she was disappointed when he didn’t
answer his cell. She wanted to tell him personally about Lily’s luncheon
invitation and let him know that he needn’t meet her later. When the “speak
beep” sounded, Edna sighed and left a message.

“You won’t
guess, Charlie,” she began. “Lily phoned after you left this morning and has
invited me to join her, Rosie and Lettie for lunch. I’m certain I can come up
with a plausible reason for her to let me into Clem’s apartment. No need for
you to meet me at her place. It should be fairly straight-forward for me to
search his place, and since we’ll be driving together to the airport this
evening, I’ll fill you in then with whatever I find. I hope your meeting went
well.” With that, Edna hung up, got into her coat and left the house at eleven
forty-five.

Chapter 25

“It’s about time
you got here. Did you forget your key?” Lily Beck’s voice came out as the door
was swinging open.

Traffic being light,
Edna had pulled up onto the bungalow’s driveway several minutes earlier than
expected, but decided to ring the bell instead of sitting in her car. Most
hosts she knew were ready before the guests were actually due to arrive. Of
course, there were exceptions.

“Am I late?” she
said, taken aback by Lily’s brusqueness.

Lily’s
expression softened, but only slightly. “Of course not. I thought you were my
daughter.” She drew the door wider to let Edna into the hall. “Unless you’re
very hungry, I’ll hold lunch for a while. Rose took Violet shopping and they
haven’t returned yet. I don’t know what’s gotten into her. I told her
specifically to be home before noon.”

Edna saw her
chance to visit the garage and to distract Lily’s irritation at the same time.
“It’s really no problem. I can wait to eat.” Uncertain and a bit nervous as to
how Lily would take the request, Edna plunged ahead. “As a matter of fact, I
would like to ask a small favor of you, and perhaps now would be a good time.”

“Oh?” Lily
frowned, looking wary.

“Yes. You see, I
was hoping to get a look at Clem’s apartment. Peppa is a friend of mine, and I
know how distressed she is over his death. It would be too upsetting for her to
inspect his place herself. I imagine she’d feel she had no right, since she and
Clem have been divorced for so many years. I thought if you would allow me, I
could look over his belongings to see if there might be something personal of
his that she would like to have. You know, an old photograph or a watch.
Something along those lines.” Edna knew she was babbling, but Lily was simply
standing in the hallway, staring at her. When the woman still said nothing
after Edna paused for breath, she decided to play her last card. “Perhaps in
the process, I could box up his effects, so the apartment can be cleaned for
your next handyman or tenant.”

At the
suggestion, Lily finally reacted. “Of course. Wait here. I’ll get my coat and
the keys.”

Minutes later,
Edna stood beside her host at the side door to the garage which stood slightly
ajar.

Lily shook her
head as she pushed the door wider. “Rose and Violet are too careless about
closing doors. They know I don’t like things left open.”

Not an
auspicious beginning
, Edna thought as she followed her host into the
building.

The black Impala
was parked in the first bay. Clem’s battered old pickup stood in the fourth and
farthest. Partially hidden by the truck’s bed, a set of stairs rose to a small
landing, then turned and ran up the far side of the building to the apartment
above. Between the empty second and third bays were a snow blower, a
gas-powered rototiller and an electric lawn mower. The machines, lined up
neatly, one behind the other, looked old but well maintained.

The room itself
was immaculate. Pegboard had been mounted on either end of the back wall. The
one in front of the Impala held hammers, screwdrivers, wrenches, plyers and
assorted other small hand tools. On the wall facing Clem’s vehicle hung saws of
various sizes, along with automotive and gardening tools. Below the pegboard at
the far bay was a workbench, beneath which stood a backless bar stool. Under
the stairs leading to the overhead rooms, Edna spotted the tops of several
toolboxes lined up along the wall beyond the hood of the truck.

“And they left
those lights on.” Lily was obviously not pleased. “Costs money. I suppose my
granddaughter has been playing in here again.” Her annoyed tone drew Edna’s
attention away from the examination of her surroundings, and she looked up to
see that the long florescent ceiling lights over the third space and over
Clem’s vehicle were indeed aglow. “And that door.” Another burst from Lily.
“Those cupboards should be locked. Someone’s been in my pantry closets.”

She hastened
around the car’s hood and headed for a row of tall, shallow cupboards built
into the middle section of the rear garage wall. When Edna approached behind
her hostess and looked over Lily’s shoulder, she saw shelves had been built
from floor level to about six feet. Quarts of beans, tomatoes and pickles were
arranged two deep. Pints of jams and honey were double-stacked, as well. On top
of each cupboard were old cookie and candy tins, most painted with Christmas
scenes. Edna supposed they were empty, but only because her own would be. She
perked up instantly when Lily removed a jar of honey from a shelf at eye level
and turned to hold it up to the light. It was less than half full.

“Looks like Clem
helped himself to my supplies.” She sounded more surprised than upset. Edna
shivered at the woman’s cold tone when she said, “Guess he got what he deserved
then.”

“What do you
mean?”

“I mean,” Lily
said, turning to face Edna and extending the jar for a better view, “that this
is the honey I told you about. I kept some, even after the beekeeper’s warning
that it could make me sick. Since the hive sat next to my Lily of the Valley
shrub, he figured the bees fed on it to the exclusion of other blossoms.” She
frowned for a second or two before adding, “Didn’t think it would be lethal,
though.”

“If that’s true
that the bees fed off the Pieris japonica, what you’re holding would be what’s
known as ‘mad honey’,” Edna said, as a piece of her puzzle fell into place.
“I’ve been reading about it in Mrs. Rabichek’s journal.”

“And what have
you read? Will it indeed make someone sick? Please don’t tell me it would be
fatal to whoever ate it.”

“It shouldn’t.”
Edna thought the time was not right to inform Lily about the thyroid condition
that caused Clem’s heart to beat slower than normal and that this honey would
have repressed the rate even more. Since they were on the subject, however, she
said, “I have learned quite a lot about herbal remedies in Mrs. Rabichek’s
journals, to the extent that I’m thinking of putting some of the plants in my
yard to use.” Hoping she sounded naïve enough, she went on. “Something Lettie …
er, something
Violet
said makes me think that you might be knowledgeable
about natural remedies.”

Lily’s eyes
narrowed as she studied Edna. “Oh? What did she say to make you think that?”

“Well,” Edna
hesitated, wondering how thin the ice was on which she was treading. “She
happened to see a sketch I made of a Christmas Rose blossom and mentioned that
she saw you making medicine from the flower.”

Lily’s face
flushed. “I don’t know where she got that idea. Violet’s watched me propagate
plants many times, but I don’t remember ever telling her that I was making
medicine.”

Edna felt her
temper begin to rise and tried to keep irritation from her voice. Was Lily
hiding guilty secrets? “She told me that your medicine didn’t make her father
feel better. What did she mean?”

Instead of
answering, Lily turned to replace the jar on the shelf, so Edna wasn’t able see
her expression. “I’m sure I don’t know.”

Edna thought
she’d better be careful in phrasing her next questions. She didn’t feel good
about using the child this way, but she had to get Lily to talk. If upsetting
her would do the trick, then Edna had to try.

“Does Violet
have access to these cupboards? You said you thought she might have been
playing in here.” Edna raised a palm to indicate the overhead lights, reminding
Lily of her earlier remark. “If she misunderstood and thought you did make
remedies, she could have taken something from these shelves to help cure Gregory’s
flu two years ago. Do you think that’s possible?”

“Nobody has
access to these cupboards but me.” Still with her back to Edna, Lily chose a
small key on the ring in her hand and locked the door. By the time she turned
around to face Edna, Lily seemed to have regained some composure. Brusquely,
she said, “I must have forgotten to close and lock the door properly. It
probably swung open on its own.”

“Children are
very inquisitive and seem to know things we are certain they don’t,” Edna said.
She carefully avoided any mention of the missing honey which would make it
fairly plain that the cupboards weren’t as secure as Lily implied. “Do you
think your granddaughter might have discovered where you keep your keys?”

“I hide them in
my kitchen,” Lily said, sounding smug. “Even if she found them, they’d be only
a bunch of keys to her. She wouldn’t have any way to know they open doors here
in the garage.”

Edna wasn’t
convinced. The girl could have seen her grandmother use the keys. Children do
have a memory for small details, as Edna only knew from raising four of her
own. Now was not the time to argue the point with her host, however. More
important matters needed dealing with. “It is conceivable that Violet
misconstrued something you said, but you should be aware that she is intrigued
with what she considers your ‘medicine.’ Her comment leads me to believe she
gave something you made to her father, thinking it would make him feel better.”
Edna paused there. She didn’t want to voice the obvious. If Lettie gave ranunculin
to her father, she’d be his unwitting killer. The honey was here in the
cupboard and might have been what poisoned Clem, but where was the Christmas
Rose potion? Was there some still here in the garage? Pushing the distracting
thought to the back of her mind, Edna said, “I’m afraid I have to mention
Violet’s comment to the police. They’re going to want to question her.”

“You’re not
going to say anything to the police.”

Both women spun
around at the sound of Rosie’s voice. Edna wondered how long the young woman
had been standing on the other side of the Impala and how much she had heard.
At that moment, Rose rounded the hood, swiping at the pegboard as she passed
between the car and the back wall. “Nobody’s questioning my daughter.”

“Rose?” Lily
spoke her daughter’s name as a question. After a brief hesitation, she said,
“It’s about time you got home. Lunch will be cold, but we’d better go eat.
Where’s Violet?”

Edna suspected
Lily was trying to divert Rosie’s obvious anger. Edna’s eyes didn’t leave the
younger woman’s face as she stopped beside her mother and glared at Edna.

“Rose, put that
thing down,” Lily snapped. She was holding her key ring tightly against her
chest with both hands. Edna thought she could see fright in the woman’s eyes as
she stared at her daughter.

Lily’s comment
made Edna look at the hand Rosie had half-hidden behind her thigh. In it was
clutched an ice pick. The five-inch, narrow shaft looked rusty and there
appeared to be a crack in the old wooden handle, but Edna knew the point would
be sharp … and dangerous … and deadly. Her eyes sprung back to Rosie’s and she
took an involuntary step back from the malice she saw in them. Having heard of
the woman’s erratic behavior from Irene, Edna suspected Rosie was losing
control of her emotions, but never expected to see the madness in her eyes as
was now evident.

“Nobody’s taking
my daughter from me.” Rosie hissed the words.

Edna wondered if
it were even possible to reason with the woman, but she had to try. “You asked
me to help, Rosie,” she said in what she hoped was a reassuring tone.
“Remember? The truth needs to come out, if the suspicion and bullying are to
stop. We talked about that. You and your daughter should be able to live in
peace, but that won’t happen until people know what happened two years ago.”

Rosie shook her
head, still angry. “Lettie was never supposed to be the one to suffer. Our
troubles should have been over once Gregory was dead.” She gave a short
menacing laugh. “He thought he could take her from me and leave me with
nothing.”

“Rose, what are
you saying?” Lily’s voice was firm. “I think you should stop talking now. We
should go back to the house. Lunch is …”

 “Don’t you
know?” Rosie interrupted, sliding her eyes quickly toward her mother and back
to Edna. Clearly, she believed that Edna posed a threat and needed to be
watched carefully. “He was going to take Lettie away. I couldn’t let him do
that,” she said. She lifted her arm and pointed the ice pick at Edna. “Nobody
is going to question her, either.” She took a step toward Edna.

“Hold it right
there, Miz Beck.”

Edna had little
time to enjoy the sound of Charlie’s voice as Rosie leaped. Her left arm
wrapped around Edna’s neck as she circled and spun to look back at Charlie in
the open doorway. It had taken Rosie less than two seconds to pull Edna against
her chest and press the ice pick against Edna’s throat. 

Charlie moved
his arms out to the side with his hands spread, palms down, in a placating
gesture. “You don’t want to do anything foolish, Miz Beck,” he said, walking
slowly around the Impala’s hood. “Just put the pick down and let Edna go.” As
he spoke, he continued to move slowly in their direction.

“Do as he says,
Rose.” Lily spoke harshly, as if to a recalcitrant child, but stayed where she
was, her hands still held protectively against her chest.

Rosie began to
back away from Charlie, pulling Edna with her. “Don’t come any closer.” Her
voice wavered slightly and some confusion seemed to creep into her tone when
she said, “We’re going to get in the truck. Nobody is to follow or she will
die.” As she spoke, Rosie kept backing up while Charlie kept walking steadily
toward them.

Edna wanted to
get a foot behind Rosie’s ankle to try and trip her, but she was having
difficulty simply staying on her feet as she was dragged backwards. Holding
tightly to the arm around her neck to keep from falling, she realized Rosie was
very strong. Edna changed her grip on the woman’s arm, preparing to sink her
fingernails, however short, into the flesh.