Thread on Arrival (20 page)

I shuddered, and Ted hugged me again.

“Let’s get you and Angus home,” he said.

I was more than happy to comply with that suggestion.

Chapter Twenty-two

T
ed and I were i
n the kitchen making pizzas when Manu and Reggie came by. They sat at the table while we finished adding cheese, onion, pepperoni, and sausage to one pizza, and cheese, ham, and pineapple to the other. Ted popped both into the oven, and then we sat down with Manu and Reggie.

“Will you join us for dinner?” I asked. “I’ve already tossed the salad, and it’s in the refrigerator. The pizzas should be done in ten to fifteen minutes.”

“Thank you for the offer, but we stopped at MacKenzies’ Mochas on the way over,” Manu said. “I missed lunch today and then was at the Cantors’ place all afternoon. I was ravenous.”

It was obvious the day had taken a toll on Manu. His deep-set brown eyes were bloodshot, and there were dark circles beneath them.

“What caused the fire?” Ted asked.

“Was anyone hurt?” I asked.

Since Ted and I had spoken at the same time, Manu answered my question first. “No one was hurt. There wasn’t anyone home at the time of the fire. That’s the good news.” He lifted his eyes to Ted’s. “Here’s the bad—it was arson. The firefighters told me that the odor of gasoline was overpowering and that it was concentrated in the small back bedroom.”

“Chester’s room?” I asked.

Manu nodded. “That’s right.”

“Was most of the damage concentrated there then?” Ted asked.

“Nothing in that room survived the blaze, but the fire spread quickly,” Manu said. “The family lost pretty much everything.”

“That’s horrible,” I said. “Poor Melanie. She’s lost her grandfather and her home in just over a week. I mean, my heart goes out to Adam and Mary too, but all this must be particularly devastating to Melanie.” I looked at Reggie. “What can we do?”

“Ted, are you working tomorrow?” Reggie asked.

“Unless Marcy needs me here, I’ll be at work,” he answered. “I want to help investigate this fire. And I also intend to dig a little deeper into the Cantors’ personal lives to see whether the fire was set in order to destroy the tapestry or whether the treasure map is merely a red herring that someone is using to throw us off the real reason the Cantors are being victimized.”

“All right, then perhaps Marcy and I can take a care package over to the hotel where the Cantors are staying,” Reggie said. “I don’t know what we can come up with, and it probably won’t be a lot, but it will show them that their community cares.”

The oven timer dinged, and I got up and took our pizzas out and placed them on wire racks to cool.

“That’s a good idea,” I told Reggie. “And I know all of Tallulah Falls will come together and lend a hand as soon as word gets around.”

Reggie smiled. “In this town, word has more than likely already gotten around . . . twice.”

Manu stood. “We’ll go now and let you enjoy your dinner. See you tomorrow.”

After another attempt to persuade them to stay and eat, we walked Reggie and Manu to the door. Reggie had been disappointed she hadn’t gotten to see Angus since he’d been in the backyard during their visit, so she went to the fence and patted his head.

Ted winked at me when he heard Manu pleading with his wife to “Come on . . . I’m tired. . . . You can play with him tomorrow.”

“I wonder why they don’t have pets of their own,” I said. “Reggie is obviously an animal lover.”

“Manu loves them too, but he’s allergic,” Ted said.

“Oh, my gosh, I had no idea.”

He grinned. “Stick with me, kid. You’ll learn a lot.”

After dinner, I called J. T. Trammel. I thought it was only fair to let him know that the tapestry had more than likely been destroyed in the fire. Stacey answered J.T.’s private number, and it finally penetrated my thick skull that she was more to him than his assistant.

“Hey, Marcy, what do you know?” J.T. asked when he came on the line.

“I have some bad news,” I said.

“Well, don’t beat around the bush. Let’s have it.”

“The Cantors’ home was set on fire today. It was almost a total loss, and it’s probable that the tapestry was destroyed,” I told him.

“You say the fire was
set
?” he asked.

“Yes, sir. It was definitely arson.”

“Marcy Singer, you beautiful little doll!” He laughed. “If you were standing here right this minute, I’d kiss you!”

“But won’t this ruin your plans for the reality show?” I asked.

“Are you kidding? You still have the digital photos of the tapestry, and reality television doesn’t get any better than this. Before we’ve even started filming, we’ve got us a murder and a house fire,” he said. “We can speculate that other treasure hunters are sabotaging us . . . or that the treasure is cursed. Our ratings will go through the roof! Thanks for the update, darlin’. See you on Monday.”

I ended the call and then stared at the phone in stunned silence.

“What is it?” Ted asked. “Was he more upset than you’d expected him to be?”

“Upset? No.” I tried to emulate J.T.’s voice. “He’s delighted . . . thrilled out of his cotton-picking gourd. If I wasn’t sure he was in California, I’d think he kindled that fire himself.”

Ted slipped his arm around me. “Maybe he was drunk or something and doesn’t understand the ramifications of the fire.”

“Oh, he understood all right,” I said glumly. “He told me that reality TV doesn’t get any better than this, that ratings would be great, and that if I was there he’d kiss me. Trust me. He understood perfectly.”

“I suppose if you take away the human element—put aside the impact of this fire on the family who lived in the home—you do have danger and excitement. Television programs cash in on people’s misfortunes all the time,” he said. “I guess J. T. Trammel is just looking at the bottom line.”

“I’m beginning to wish I’d never even heard of Explore Nation . . . that I’d kept my nose out of the Cantors’ business,” I said.

Ted stifled a laugh. “A leopard can’t wish his spots away.”

“Is that right?” I picked up a pillow. “Well, then, maybe you can
beat
them off of him!” I slung the pillow at Ted’s head.

I got in a couple of good licks, but looking back on it, I’d have to say the pillow fight ended in a tie.

* * *

I was working on Mom’s Fabergé egg when Reggie arrived the next morning. I was making good progress and was almost two-thirds of the way finished with the cross-stitching. Reggie bragged on the egg and then, as Manu had known she would, she played fetch with Angus.

“So what’s our plan for today?” I asked.

“After I got home last night, I called some of our local merchants and explained what had happened to the Cantors,” she said. “Most of them had already heard, of course, and all were eager to help. Some are donating merchandise, others are giving gift cards or cash, and a few are even doing both.”

“That’s fantastic,” I said. “I love how our town comes together in a crisis. Even though I didn’t suffer much of a crisis on Friday, the gifts and cards and phone calls from my friends meant a lot to me.”

“Yes, for the most part, Tallulah Falls is a wonderful town. There are just those few bad apples that hurt us all.”

“Speaking of bad apples, do you think the same person who attacked me is the one who set fire to the Cantors’ home?” I asked.

“I believe it’s a strong possibility,” she said. “Why?”

“Because I think it’s a strong possibility too, and that’s why I’ve decided to stay here with Angus today. If someone burned my house down with Angus in it, I’d never forgive myself.”

“I understand completely. I’ll call the merchants and reschedule my pickups until after Ted gets off work.”

“Please, don’t do that,” I said. “The Cantors need you today. I’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

“Okay. I’ll come back here as soon as I’ve made the delivery,” Reggie said.

I smiled. “If you’ll call me before you leave the hotel, I’ll make us some lunch. In the meantime, maybe I can get this egg finished.”

* * *

About half an hour after Reggie left to visit the Cantors, Angus decided he needed to visit the backyard. I got up and let him out, and then I fixed myself a cup of tea. I stood at the window, watching him play with a Kodiak bear chew toy—he’d toss it up, run and get it, and then heave it into the air again. Suddenly, he stopped playing and ran to the fence. He jumped up and draped his lanky front paws over the top and started barking. I couldn’t see who our visitor was yet, but it was certain that we had company.

As I placed my teacup on the counter and headed for the entryway, the doorbell rang. I looked through the narrow glass to see Susan Willoughby. She wasn’t my favorite person—especially since meeting and talking with Jared and his mother—but I had no reason not to open the door. Maybe she was here seeking donations for the Cantors.

“Hi, Susan,” I said, as I opened the door. “How are you?”

“Fine, thanks. How are
you
, Marcy?”

“I’m doing much better. Thanks for asking. What brings you by?” I asked.

“I brought her.” Ed Harding had been standing at the side of the porch, just out of my range of vision. He now stepped up as Susan pushed her way into the house. After both she and Ed were inside, he closed the door.

“We want that tapestry,” Ed continued. “Where is it?”

“I imagine it burned up in the Cantors’ house yesterday,” I said.

Ed shook his head. He was such a greasy, disagreeable old man—I had no clue what Susan saw in him.

“I went through that house top to bottom before I torched it,” Ed said. “It wasn’t there. So I figure either you’ve got it, or you know where it is.”

“Why do you suddenly want the tapestry?” I asked. “Is it because of Explore Nation? If it is, you’re out of luck. I’ve already spoken with Mr. Trammel and told him I thought the tapestry had burned up in the fire at the Cantors’ house.”

“We don’t
suddenly
want the tapestry,” Susan said. “We’ve wanted it since the first time you laid eyes on it, haven’t we, Daddy?”

Daddy?

Ed nodded. “I never put any stock in Chester’s belief that it was some kind of magical treasure map that would solve all his family’s problems, but Susan said it was the only thing keeping that old man—and Mary—from moving out of the Cantors’ house.”

“Once she was gone, Adam would’ve seen how much better I’d be for him than Mary was,” Susan said.

“Right,” I said, my voice coming on the end of a sigh. There was no reasoning with her. If I was going to get out of this, I needed to appeal to Ed. “I’m sure if you turned yourself in, Mr. Harding, and explained that this was all an
accident
or something, then everything would work out all right in the end.”

“Oh, it’ll work out,” he said. “But I’m not going to prison for arson.”

I thought the arson charge would be the least of his worries after he was found guilty of the murder of Chester Cantor, but I continued to try to play dumb. “Susan, maybe if you talked with him. . . .”

“Nope,” she said as breezily as if I’d asked her to try to change his mind about his restaurant preference. “I’m in too deep myself, at this point. Plus, Daddy and I decided that we’d never let each other down again, didn’t we, Daddy?”

Ed nodded. “That’s what we decided.”

I had to do something. And I had to do it quickly.

“Um, look,” I began. “I have some money in the kitchen—ten thousand dollars. I keep it hidden in there just in case.”

Susan’s eyes widened. “You keep ten thousand bucks in your kitchen?”

I nodded. “And it’s yours if you’ll just let me go.”

Susan looked at Ed. He curved both sides of his mouth into a contemptible frown and gave a slight shake of his head.

“But don’t think you could kill me and then find the money,” I said. “You’d never find it if you didn’t know exactly where to look.”

Susan looked back at me.

“I’m offering you a way out,” I said. “With that ten thousand dollars, you could make a nice nest egg for yourself, Adam, and Melanie.”

Susan wanted to take me up on my offer. I could tell by the way she was biting her lip and looking anxiously from me to Ed.

“You can take the money, tie me to a kitchen chair, and then leave,” I hurried on. “When Ted gets back—” I glanced at the hall clock. “Oh, goodness, he’ll be back anytime—we need to hurry. Anyway, when he gets back, I’ll tell him someone broke in and tied me up. I’ll give him a fake description. The police will be looking for somebody else. Best of all, they won’t be looking for two
murderers
.”

“Come on, Daddy,” Susan said. “What do you say? We really
could
use that ten thousand dollars to make a fresh start.”

“Do you really trust her?” he asked.

She nodded. “Her mother is loaded. Works in the movie business.”

“I don’t mean do you trust her about the money. I’m asking if you honestly believe she’ll keep her mouth shut about our coming here and robbing her?” he snarled. “Sometimes I can’t believe how stupid you are.”

“Stupid?” Susan sputtered. “
I’m
stupid? You’re the one who jumped the gun and killed Chester Cantor! And then you jumped the gun again and set the Cantors’ house on fire!
I’m
the one who found you in that halfway house in Pennsylvania and gave you a life here.”

“Some life!” he shouted.

“You have it a lot better than you
did
!”

As the two of them were arguing, I was backing ever so slowly toward the front door. Unfortunately, Ed noticed.

“Stop or I’ll kill you right now!” he yelled at me.

I stopped.

“Show us where that money is,” he said.

“Follow me.” I headed for the kitchen. Although there was no money there, there were weapons. I just had to find one that would provide me the distraction I so desperately needed. The knives were too obvious; plus Ed would likely shoot me before I could get in the first jab.

The freezer
. I’d heard once that people sometimes keep valuables in their freezers. As I walked, I did a speedy inventory of mine. I had a solidly frozen ham I meant to bake for Easter. And it was a big ham. I’d planned on having lots of guests if I wasn’t able to spend the day with Mom. That might work.