Vultures at Twilight (34 page)

‘Did he say why he did that?' Ada interjected.

‘They'd cheated him. They'd taken advantage of his mother, robbed her of her things, and Philip Conroy tried to blackmail him. What he did afterwards was poetic license.'

‘I don't get it,' Chris said. ‘To kill over antiques.'

‘They were his life,' I explained. ‘There was a fortune in that house. It was like a museum.'

‘But still . . .' Chris persisted. ‘There had to be something more.'

‘There was.'

‘Wendy Conroy?' Mattie prompted.

‘Yes. The poem ripped from her notebook. Philip Conroy had confronted him with it; that's what started everything in motion. If that hadn't happened, all of this might have been averted. I think Calvin was always a little tightly wrapped and between his mother's death and Philip's accusation something made him snap.'

‘So that's why he cut off Philip's finger?' Mattie stated.

‘Huh?' Aaron said, missing the detective's point.

Mattie explained, ‘The finger of blame; so he cut it off.'

‘Not quite,' I said. ‘It was more literal. When Philip confronted Calvin, apparently he was jabbing his finger into Calvin's chest. It upset him tremendously. I don't think Calvin liked to be touched.'

‘Did he say why he planted it in the auction?' Ada asked.

‘No, wish I'd asked. If you think about it, he really wanted to go out with a bang . . . literally. So the finger at McElroy's auction may have been his way of getting people to pay attention . . . scare them.'

‘He was insane,' Barbara commented.

‘Maybe,' I said. ‘But the more he talked, it made sense. He'd spent his entire life taking care of his mother and collecting antiques. Other than that, what did he have? He never married, no kids. I think Calvin's love of antiques was how he defined himself, like a curator. And suddenly his mother starts to lose her mind and begins selling off the family heirlooms while he's at work.'

‘Or molesting Wendy Conroy,' Chris interjected.

‘Perhaps,' I said. ‘But from his perspective, she was willing. Anyway, his mother clearly had Alzheimer's but all of the dealers were just too happy to accept her consignments or give her pennies on the dollar for priceless things.'

‘So mostly revenge.' Mattie commented.

‘Yes. In Calvin's mind, the murders were justified. Even the fire was planned. He was waiting for Hank to come down the tunnel.' I paused thinking about some of the things he'd hinted at around Hank, that my long-time friend and Bradley's golf buddy might have been in cahoots with the dealers. There was no proof, and at least for now I'd hold my tongue. But while Calvin may have been barking mad at the end, I knew in my gut there was mostly truth in what he'd told me.

‘And?' Aaron asked.

‘He wanted us all to die. And he wanted the whole town to witness the destruction of his things. Things that he had originally intended to bequeath to the Historic Society.'

‘How childish,' Barbara said. ‘If you won't play with me I'll take my toys.'

‘It went deeper . . .' I struggled for the words but they all seemed inadequate.

‘Tragic,' Ada said, and she gave me a questioning look. ‘Was he in love with you, Lil? Was that the other piece? That day he fixed my tooth, the way he looked at you . . .'

‘Yes,' I said, and a sob erupted from my throat. ‘And I never knew. I don't think he had much love in his life. Just caring for his mother, and this fierce connection to his possessions. And now he's dead, and all his things burned up with him.' As I said that, an obvious realization took hold. ‘That's why he came after me. Not because I'd cheated him like the others.' It was an awful thought. ‘It's like I was another piece of Chippendale, and if he couldn't have me . . . Oh, God.'

Silence settled. I thought of Calvin and couldn't take my eyes off Ada. I was crying and felt guilty and simultaneously elated; not just to be alive, but this sense of new beginnings, a giddiness.
You're in love, Lil. And she said she feels the same. At least I think she did.

‘Well,' Mattie said, ‘I think that answers the bulk of the questions. It's been an eye opener being in Grenville.'

I turned away from Ada. ‘How so?' I asked.

‘There's more here than what's on the surface. It's not just the antique capital of Connecticut. The real industry is old people, isn't it? There seems to be a systematic stripping away of a person's worldly goods; like cows being processed for slaughter. Not to whitewash any part of what he did, but Calvin Williams was fighting back. If I were on this police force, I'd say there are a number of loose ends worthy of investigation, like the business ties between Nillewaug and Pilgrim's Progress; something smells bad there. Anyway, on that note of conspiracy, I should head out.'

‘Don't be a stranger,' Ada said, ‘there'll always be a place for you at our table.'

‘I may take you up on that,' Mattie said. ‘Meeting the two of you has been without doubt the best part of coming here. While there may be something rotten below the surface, there's also a lot that's good.'

After she'd gone, I told Chris, Barbara and Aaron that I was feeling tired. But really, I wanted to be alone with Ada. Barbara's parting shot as she looked at Ada and me: ‘I don't understand what's going on here.' She shrugged. ‘I guess we need to talk.'

As the door closed behind them, Ada pushed her covers back and swung her legs over the side of the bed. She stared at her IV, and then pressed the clamp over the tubing and pulled the needle from her arm. She drew her arm in tight to her chest to stop the bleeding.

‘What are you doing?' I asked, unable to take my eyes off hers.

Her monitor started to ding as she eased her feet to the floor and crossed the three feet that separated our beds. I turned my head against the pillow as her hand gently touched the side of my face. ‘I wonder what she wants to talk about, Lil?'

And her lips found mine.

It was a perfect kiss.

When we separated, our lips still close, Ada chuckled. ‘We've wasted a lot of time, Lil.'

‘I know, but no . . . We've been together for a long time, none of that's wasted.' I desperately wanted to stroke the side of her cheek, but that would have to wait.

‘I hope not,' she said, her expression clouding. ‘I've never been so frightened. The thought of losing you. Lil, there's no way I'm moving back to New York.'

‘I'll go with you.'

‘No, it doesn't make sense. We'll figure this out. If Mom doesn't like Nillewaug we'll find someplace else, or maybe a live-in aide. I can afford it. But this is my home now, Aaron needs me . . . and I need you.'

‘OK then.' I thought of Barbara's parting comment. ‘Did we just come out?'

‘I think we might have,' she said.

‘Just checking.' And all I could think was of how much I loved Ada, how right it felt to be with her, and how much I wanted to kiss her again. And so I did.