Murder in a Basket (An India Hayes Mystery) (19 page)

Chapter
Thirty-Three

To give myself peace of mind, I needed to talk to the other two beaders, Beth and Jendy. After that, I promised myself I would stay away from the case. Mains was the cop. He knew what he was doing, after all. Or so I hoped.

Jendy and Beth were
not members of the co-op, so I wouldn’t be able to find them that way. Luckily, I remembered the large packet of vendor information that Carmen had given me at the start of the festival. Inside there was a listing of the crafters participating, including their phone numbers. The packet was upstairs in my office. I ran up to the third floor to retrieve it.

Bobby was in the office, working on a lesson plan.
“Well, hello there, Sherlock. Erin told me all the details about your run-in with the campus newspaper. All in all, this whole thing has the makings of an excellent story.” He tapped his chin with his pen.

Like I was a painter outside of
the library, Bobby was a budding romance writer. He’d recently signed his first book contract and now walked around the library with his chest puffed out like a proud hunter who’d felled a lion. I was proud of Bobby, too, and of myself, since I was always his first reader and grammar corrector. Bobby’s grammar is atrocious.

I winced as he brought up
Erin. This was the perfect time to talk to him about her. I didn’t look forward to it. I closed our office door.

Bobby laughed.
“You don’t have to tell me everything now. Wait until your shift at the reference desk is over.”

“
This isn’t about that, and the reference desk can wait.”

Bobby closed his laptop and folded his hands on top of it.

“It’s about Erin.”

Bobby made a face and reopened his computer.

“You need to stop socializing with her outside of the library. People are beginning to talk.”

“
People? Which people?” he snorted.

“
That student reporter Erin told you about made a snide comment to Erin about it today.” I paused. “She even threatened to write about it in the paper. You could lose your job, and worse, you would have a hard time finding another job at any college with that type of reputation.”

“
We are just hanging out.”

I clenched my jaw.
“That’s not how Erin sees it. I’ve seen how she looks at you.”

He snapped his laptop closed.
“Is it similar to the way Derek looks at you?”

I felt like I had been punched in the gut.
“That’s different.”

“
Is it?”

“
Yes, it is, I’m not encouraging him. Bobby, Erin is head over heels for you, and you’re making it worse.”

“
So agreeing to solve his mother’s murder isn’t encouraging him. It sure looks like it to me, but what do I know?”

I sighed.
“Promise me you will be careful.”

He opened his computer again.
“Sure. Now I think you’d better get back to the desk.”

Behind the reference desk again, I had a sick feeling in my stomach while I consulted the
crafter list. I hated fighting with Bobby, but it seemed like we argued more often these days, ever since his last romance had ended in disaster, a disaster I’d played a large role in.

I was in
luck; Beth was the owner of a gift shop downtown.

At four, I left the library and went directly to
the Pumpkin Hutch. The store was on a side street but in view of the square. It sold antiques and collectibles. I had been inside once before, many years ago. The front door said the shop closed at four. The door was unlocked, and I stepped inside.

A jack-o
’-lantern-shaped bell rang when I entered the store. All the displays were built around the upcoming holidays, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. The store was empty, and I stopped and inspected a basket of hand-knit pumpkins, imagining what Templeton would do to them if he got his paws on those bright orange balls of yarn. Near the register, there was a large permanent display of the three beaders’ jewelry. I noticed some of Celeste’s designs among them. Loose beads and clasps were also for sale if shoppers preferred to create their own pieces.

“
I don’t want to talk about this anymore,” a voice rose in anger. It sounded like Beth, and she was in the back of the store. Behind the cash register was a doorway.

“
We have to talk about this. We have to help her.” The second voice was Jendy’s, I was certain.

“
I’m doing what I can.”

“
It’s not enough.”

“
It has to be.” There was a pause. “Did you lock the shop up?”

I hurried back to the front door and opened it as if I
had just come in, pulling it hard so that the pumpkin bell rang loudly.

Jendy stepped into the room.
“I’m sorry, we closed at four.” She blinked when she saw me. “What are you doing here?”

Beth
appeared behind her.

I thought quickly.
“I wondered how Celeste is doing. I know a good lawyer she might want to talk to. His name is Lewis Clive. He’s been a huge help to my family for years. There might be a conflict because he works for the Lepcheck estate, but he’s a good lawyer and could refer Celeste to someone.”

“
Celeste already has a lawyer, but thank you for your concern. Like Jendy said, the store is closed. If you’d like to come back tomorrow to buy something, we will be open at nine.” Beth opened the cash register’s drawer and started counting dollar bills.

“
How is Celeste doing?” I asked, ignoring the dismissal.

“
Fine. She’s fine. It’s all a misunderstanding. She’ll be home very soon.”

Jendy rolled her eyes but didn’t say anything.

“Believe me, I know how tough this can be. I’m happy to help you any way I can.”

Beth’s eyes narrowed.
“I think you have done enough damage. Celeste doesn’t need your help and neither do we.”

Fine, I thought. I offered help
. I came and appeased my conscience. Mains can take it from here.

I could
have been wrong, but I thought Jendy looked reluctant to see me go.

Chapter
Thirty-Four

The next day, I decided to pay my favorite lawyer a visit during my lunch break. Lew was no longer taking my phone calls.

When I got to
Lew’s office, his secretary was at the front desk. She was about forty, wore glasses, and had her red hair pulled back in a severe chignon. She was also new. Lew had trouble keeping secretaries. He blamed it on the cigarette smoke, which permeated his office, but I think his barking of orders was the more likely reason. “May I help you?”

“
I’m here to see Lew. Is he available?”

“
Name?”

I gave her my name, and she picked up her phone.
“Mr. Clive, there is an India Hayes here to see you.”

I heard Lew through
the receiver. “Tell her I’m out.” His tone was gruff.

The secretary reddened.
“He’s unavailable at the moment. Can I make an appointment for you?”

“
Is he with a client?”

“
Umm . . . no.”

I appreciated her honesty
.

“
I’ll go on back then. It will only take a minute.”

“
You can’t—”

The hallway was short, and I was already at Lew’s open door before she could finish the sentence.

“I thought I told Myrna to tell you I was out,” Lew said when I stepped into his office. He was sitting behind his barebones desk with a half-eaten hoagie sandwich sitting on the blotter. He had mayonnaise on his red beard. I pointed to his chin, and he wiped his face with a paper napkin.

“
I don’t think Myrna’s a very good liar,” I said.

“
She won’t be much of a lawyer then. Cripes, maybe I should fire her.”

“
No, keep her. I like her.”

“
You would,” he grumbled.

The phone rang, and Lew picked it up.
“No, no, Myrna, it’s nothing to worry about. I’ll talk to Miss Hayes and send her on her way very shortly.” He glowered at me and hung up.

“
You’ve heard about Jerry Ross’s death, I assume.” I sat on the sofa under the window.

“
I have, and the police told me too about Jerry’ sticky-finger policy when it came to Victor’s antiques. You were the one who figured that out?”

“
Who told you it was me?”

“
Detective Mains.”

I felt a rush of pleasure. Mains certainly didn’t have to give me the credit, but I relished the fact that he had.
“Were you able to get the coins and antiques back?”

“
A lot of them. Jerry hid some in the storeroom behind his forge. Probably knew Tess would run across them if he hid them at home. As for the rest of the stuff, who knows if we will ever see them again? We’ve put out bulletins to the coin traders and antiques dealers to be on the lookout for the items which have already been sold. Not that I expect to get them back. He probably sold them over the Internet. They could be in another continent by now, much less in the county.”

“
Mains said he did it to pay off some debt.”

“
He had some pretty major loans called in because of the economy. He used the loans to keep his blacksmithing business afloat and didn’t have the money to pay them.” Lew patted his pocket for his packet of cigarettes.

“
I thought he was doing well. He said he had a big commission.”

“
He did, and that would have helped but not paid off the loans completely. The blacksmithing jobs were just too few and far between for him.”

“
Did he have any heirs?”

Lew shrugged.

I pursed my lips together in thought.

“
If that’s all,” Lew said, gesturing to his hoagie.

“
I want a dog update.”

“
There has to be someone else who can take that dog. All I have gotten from you is grief since I handed the pooch over.”

“
Let’s just say, Mom’s not pleased with how attached Dad is getting to Zach. Wouldn’t you prefer I come here and talk to you about it rather than the reverend?”

“
I see your point, but like I’ve said to you countless times already, I’m stuck legally. The dog can’t be put in a kennel for more than four hours at a time.”

“
That seems like an awfully specific rule for Victor to insist on beyond the grave. Can you do that in a will?”

“
It’s not part of the will, it’s part of the trust. Let me give you a legal lesson.”

“
I’m all ears.”

Lew stopped just short of rolling his eyes.
“Before Victor died, he set up a pet trust for Zach. The trust would take effect after his death. A trust doesn’t go through probate. Even with that said, the will was only in probate court for three months, even though Samuel Lepcheck took issue with it.”

“
If Lepcheck contested the will, how could it go through so quickly?”

“
The judge was an old golfing buddy of Victor’s. He pushed it through. I didn’t have to do much of anything.”

“
Nice to have friends with power.”

Lew nodded.
“With a trust, the creator of the trust—in this case, Victor—can give specific instructions detailing the care of his pet. It can be something as simple as allotting a set amount of money for the caregiver to spend at his or her discretion, or as specific as to the number of walks the dog must have during a week. If the instructions are part of the trust, they have to be carried out for the caregiver to receive their funds from the trust to care for the animal.” He sighed. “Another issue with the trust Victor created was that Tess Ross was made both Zach’s caregiver and trustee. Usually, someone would make the pet’s caregiver and the trustee of the pet’s trust a different person. This is to avoid any potential abuse.”

“
Did you advise him not to do that?”

Lew squinted at me.
“Of course I did. But Victor wasn’t one to listen after he made his mind up on what he wanted to do. Also, usually someone will not put all of their money and possessions in a trust to sustain a pet for the rest of its life. I advised Victor not to do that as well, but he insisted in putting everything in a trust to the dog. There is no way two million dollars could be spent on a dog’s care.”

“
I don’t know. Look at all those Hollywood socialites buying their puppies designer outfits and jewels.”

Lew gave me a look.
“If Tess had lived, she would have received all the remainder of the trust because she was named the sole beneficiary.”

“
To use however she pleased? She didn’t have a list of instructions she had to follow as the beneficiary?”

“
Beneficiaries don’t work that way. Only trustees do. After Zach’s death, the money would no longer be in a trust.”

I thought for a minute.
“No other beneficiaries were named?”

He shook his head.
“Because no one was named as a secondary beneficiary, all the heirs have a chance to make a grab for the money.”

“
Who are the potential heirs?”

“
Tess’s siblings, Debra and Sam, and her son, Derek, to some extent.

“
Ultimately, it sounds to me like Victor wanted Tess to have the money. If that was the case, why didn’t he leave some of it to her right off?”

“
I don’t know, and any time I would question him about it, which admittedly wasn’t often, he wouldn’t answer. Victor wasn’t the easiest man in the world to get along with, and he was adamant this was what he wanted to do with this money.”

“
Was he crazy? Senile? Loony tunes?”

He pulled at his red beard.
“I get what you mean. And no, I got the sense Victor, even in his advanced age, knew exactly what he was doing. He was doing what he wanted to do, and nobody, but nobody, was going to be able to change his mind.”

I thought for a minute.
“So what are you telling me about Zach?”

“
You might have a house guest for a long while.”

I grimaced.
“My parents might, you mean.” I stood. “I need to get back to work.”

Lew picked up his hoagie.
“This isn’t the last I’m going to hear from you about this dog, is it?”

“
Nope,” I said and showed myself out, giving nervous Myrna a finger wave as I passed her desk.

On the way back to the library, I called my dad.
“Do you mind keeping Zach for a little while longer?”

“
Why? Is something wrong?”

“
No more than usual. Lew’s having hard time finding a kennel for Zach.”

“
It’s no trouble at all to keep him here until everything is settled.”

I heard a woofed agreement in the background. Dad laughed.
“We were just at the farmers’ market picking up a few things for dinner before your mother gets home from church.”

I suspected Mo
m wouldn’t agree with Zach’s living arrangements, but I took Dad’s word for it. “Can you tell Mom for me? About Zach?”

“
Sure, but she’s not going to like it.” There was a smile in his voice.

With Zach’s housing settled for
the time being, I entered the library determined to put Tess and Jerry’s murders behind me. The police had a very good suspect in jail. Celeste had means, motive, and opportunity. No wonder Mains arrested her. If I was so confident Mains and his cronies had the right person in lockup, why did I have to keep repeating it to myself? And why couldn’t I get Celeste’s face out of my head?