Clock and Dagger (23 page)

All of a sudden I felt like I was going to faint. Ben put his arm around me, keeping the gun trained on our dazed adversary with his free hand.

“I will be. It's been a rough night,” I said.

I
woke up sitting in a chair in Caroline's hospital room. Jeff let me ride with Caroline to the hospital when I promised him we'd talk in the morning and agreed to talk to Ro Troisi when she came by the hospital.

It took me a minute to realize what had woken me up. Caroline was saying my name.

“Ruth?”

“I'm here. Right here.”

“Where's Levi?”

“Turns out his car broke down again. Pat drove to get him and will bring him here.”

“Where's Wallace?”

“He's in another room, with police guarding the door. Rina clocked him pretty good.”

“Rina?”

“It's a long story. She's telling it to the police right now. Or rather, she's probably lawyered up by now. But I'll bet Beckett is singing.”

“He's confessing? To what?” she said, rubbing the bridge of her nose.

“To being an idiot, I think. By the way?” I said, stretching my legs out in front of me.

“Yes?”

“You're going to be all right. Nothing is broken, miraculously. But you are really banged up and have a slight concussion. Your shoulder's a mess.”

“I was sure everything was going to be all right the minute I saw you in the basement,” she said, neatly arranging her blanket around herself, smoothing the wrinkles out.

“Well, I wasn't. I was pretty much terrified.”

“I thought Wallace was going to kill me,” she said softly. I reached over and took her hand.

“He's going back to jail. This time, here in the States. He'll be gone for a long time. He's not ever going to hurt you, I promise.”

“Unless he cuts another deal. He told me that's how—”

“He won't cut a deal,” I said, stopping her. “You're safe.” I squeezed her hand and did my best to smile.

“How did he find me?” Caroline asked.

“He saw your picture in a slide show at G.T.'s memorial service at the annual meeting of the Massachusetts Horological Society. He found Zane—”

“Is Zane all right?”

“He is, or he will be. Ro came by earlier to get my statement, and let me know they'd found Zane.”

“Thank heaven. I owe so much to Zane. When I came
back here, with a different name, a new identity, I tried to make a different life. But I was a watchmaker. I couldn't give that up. I knew it was a mistake to reconnect with Zane, but I couldn't stay away. He was my only link to my old life and Wallace exploited that. He knew I would go back to Zane. I trusted him with my secret, and he kept it.”

“He almost died keeping it. Zane didn't tell him where you were. Ro said your phone number wasn't even in his phone. Wallace only knew that you lived in or near Orchard because of that stupid slide show. I'm sorry you've had to go through this,” I said. “Now I understand why you didn't want to be on videos for the shop. I can't imagine how hard it has been to look over your shoulder for so many years.”

“When your grandfather was alive, I wasn't afraid. Or as afraid,” she said, playing with her wedding band.

“I'm so sorry . . .”

“Ruth, let me finish. Do you know what Wallace said to me earlier? That he'd been trying to get me alone for days, but I was always with someone when he saw me around the shop. He knew his disguise wouldn't work on me—you only fell for it because you didn't know any better. He tried to follow me home, but someone was always with me. Wallace was able to control me when I was young because I was alone. I'm not alone now.”

“No, you're not. Neither am I.” I brushed the tears from my eyes.

“Does Levi know what happened?” she asked, sighing.

“He thinks that there was a robbery gone bad,” I said.

“I'd like to keep it that way.” She bit her lip.

“Caroline,” I said gently. “You have to tell him the truth. You don't have to tell everyone, but you need to stop living
a lie. It isn't good for you. You said G.T. knew about what happened in Europe.”

“He knew everything.”

“That probably meant that you could relax around him and be yourself. I can't imagine how hard it has been to be living a lie for all these years.” I leaned over and took her hand in mine. She squeezed it back.

“Not really a lie. Another life.”

“Levi needs to know the truth. Together you can make a decision about how to handle it.”

“What happens if he wants to see his father?”

“Then he sees his father. Caroline, if I've learned anything these past few weeks it's that you can't control life, or what happens. You also can't control other people.”

Caroline was quiet for a minute. “How can I tell him?”

“How about if I tell him what I know and then you can tell us both the rest?” I would try and run interference for Caroline, but I could also be a sounding board for Levi.

“He is going to be angry,” she said, her voice breaking a bit.

“I don't think so. If he is, we'll work it through.”

“We will?”

“Caroline, we're family. That's what family does. For better or for worse, we stick together.”

•   •   •

I
was bone-tired and sore all over from sleeping in a chair at the hospital, but I didn't want to leave Caroline alone. Around three in the morning, there was a knock on the door. I turned around and saw a tall, handsome young man fill
the doorway. He had his mother's coloring, but looked an awful lot like his father.

“Levi?” I whispered. I stood up.

“Ruth?” he asked. He walked over and gave me a big hug, which I returned. He looked over at his mother.

“Is she all right?”

“She will be, now that she knows you're here safe and sound.”

“What happened? I heard something about a robbery?”

“I'll let her tell you. She really is going to be fine,” I said. “You may as well go home and get some sleep.”

“Nothing doing. I'm sitting with her. You need the rest more than I do. Pat tells me you have a meeting in the morning.”

“Yeesh, I'd almost forgotten. All right, you win. Once you've spoken to your mother, give me a call. We have a lot to catch up on.”

•   •   •

I
went out to the hall and saw Ben sitting on one of the chairs in the hallway.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

“I came down with Nadia after Jeff was done talking to her. She's with Tuck.”

“How is he?”

“He'll be alright, but they're going to keep him here for a few days. How's Caroline?”

“She'll be all right.”

“What happened out there?” Ben asked. He hadn't gotten up.

“It's Caroline's story to tell. Complicated family stuff.”

“Complicated family stuff. Sounds familiar.” Ben looked down at his hands.

“Always happy to swap stories.” Ben was silent, so I kept talking. “Well, I'm going to head home and get some sleep before the Town Hall meeting.”

“You don't think they'll postpone it?” Ben finally looked up.

I shook my head. “Saturday is New Year's Eve. The lease will be up. They have to come to a decision. Kim Gray has doubled down, and some sort of new agreement has to be in place by midnight, which means we have Friday to hammer out the business details. First we have to have the town meeting in the morning.”

“I'm sure it will all work out.” Ben sounded distracted and uninterested. Maybe I'd been reading him wrong these past few weeks. I waited for Ben to ask for more details or to offer me a ride home, but he didn't. Granted, it was three o'clock in the morning, but he really hadn't talked to me since the scene out at the barn.

“I didn't thank you for coming to my rescue,” I said.

“You didn't need any rescuing,” he said. “I felt bad about the way we'd left things.”

“I'm glad you showed up when you did.”

“I'm sure Jeff wishes it could have been him. He saw me leaving, since he was at your place. Anyway, I told him where I was going. He called me a few minutes later and was on his way out after you'd left him messages. Wanted to give me a heads-up. Is he coming to pick you up?”

“Jeff? No, he's not. Ro came by a little earlier to take my statement, and I told her I'd come by tomorrow to sign it. I'd imagine Jeff's pretty busy.”

“Hopefully he'll be able to wrap things up so he can have New Year's Eve off.”

“Why, are you doing something with him?” I asked.

“Me? No. I assumed you both would have plans.”

“With each other?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Why would you think that?”

“You and he have dinner with Caroline every week. Then, the other night, after Mark died, he stayed over. It's cool—I hope you're both happy.” He mumbled this last part.

I was too tired to deal with this in a grown-up fashion. Instead, I resorted to Grade School Ruth, frustrated when the obvious remained unnoticed. I whined. “Dude, you've got to catch up on the gossip train in this town. You're way behind. Did you know that Jeff had dinner with Caroline and G.T. once a week? They've included me in the ritual. As for the other night, he did spend the night at the Cog & Sprocket. At my invitation. I spent it out at the cottage, with Caroline.”

“But I thought . . .”

“No, you didn't think,” I said, stamping my foot a bit. I needed to get back on the rails, fast. “You assumed. Two different things. Yeesh. From now on, Ben, if you have a question, ask me. Don't mope around, all right? We're both too old for that. What is it with people in this town?”

I turned and tromped off down the hall. I walked out to the front of the hospital to see if someone had the phone number of a cab, but I needn't have bothered. Pat Reed was sitting in a chair, arms crossed, sound asleep.

I
'd called Kristen Gauger first thing Friday morning and told her about the cryptic conversation Rina and I had in the barn. I'd only had a couple of hours of sleep, but I was wired.

“So, she intimated that Kim Gray and Beckett had hatched a plan, but didn't mention specifics?”

“Right. Maybe you can talk to her? Or to Beckett?”

“Let me call Jeff Paisley and see what the situation is.”

I puttered around my apartment while I was waiting for Kristen to call back. That translated to me cleaning the sink twice and thinking about taking out the garbage. Not much was getting done these days.

“Working on it,” she said when she finally called. “From what little I could find out, looks like Beckett Green is more of a victim in all of this than a guilty party.”

“He isn't going to jail?”

“Not only is he not going to jail, he is shaping up to be the star witness for the prosecution.”

“Good to know. What about the Town Hall?”

“I've passed everything on to Nancy Reed. You work on your presentation, do the changes we talked about, get the proposal ready and make copies.”

•   •   •

K
risten met me at the Cog & Sprocket in the morning. We walked over to the old Town Hall together.

“I thought the meeting was going to be at the school gym?” I asked, smoothing my coat over my thick oatmeal-colored sweater and plum fitted skirt and my run-free tights. That was as professional as I got this early in the morning. The meeting was scheduled for ten o'clock. I was going to get there early, but I was a jumble of nerves.

“They moved it at the last minute. The school has been closed for the holidays, and they decided not to turn the heat on for one meeting.”

“I wonder if they were going to tell me.”

Kristen laughed. “Probably not.”

“I'm glad you're here. I need someone on my side today. Did you get to talk to Beckett?”

“No. By the time I got into town he'd gone home. Or somewhere. I couldn't track him down. But I did have another idea that I hope worked out.”

“Care to share it with me?”

“No. I don't want to get your hopes up.”

•   •   •

T
he town meeting was packed. I'd like to think it would have been anyway, but today there was extra interest. One of the selectmen, Jimmy Murphy, had saved us seats up front.

“You're back?” I said, sliding over and giving him a kiss on the cheek.

“I wouldn't miss this for all the world, darlin',” he said.

The meeting was turned over to Kim Gray, who ran through the three options for the Town Hall. The inflection of her voice betrayed her preference, which was that the operations of the Town Hall be reverted to me completely, unless I turned it over to the town of Orchard to use as they saw fit. The implied “they” being Kim Gray. The other option was that I lease the Town Hall back to Orchard for a dollar a year plus an increased operations budget, but that I be allowed to renovate the clock tower.

“Of course, Ms. Clagan is several key pieces of paperwork short of the required documentation needed in order to get this option fully vetted,” Kim said.

“No, she's not.” Nancy Reed emerged from the crowd and stepped up to the front of the room. She had on a tweed skirt and black jacket. The black jersey shirt she wore had a slight cowl, and Nancy wore a double strand of pearls that I recognized as my grandmother's.

My grandmother had made few bequests in her will, but one of them was her pearl jewelry. Nancy had apologized for that several times and tried to give them back, but I insisted she keep them. Far be it from me to question my grandmother's last wishes. Seeing the pearls today, I was glad Nancy had them to give her courage.

“What's up, Nancy?” someone called out.

“Mrs. Reed, the conversation has been closed.”

“I have new information that I'd like to put before the meeting,” Nancy said. “Trust me, you're going to want to hear it. Beckett Green and I had coffee this morning.”

“Does the Sleeping Latte deliver to the jail?” someone shouted. Most people laughed.

“Beckett isn't in jail. He is heartsick about what has happened and wants to make amends to all of us,” she said, and the room rumbled with whispers. “Now, now, we can debate his sincerity later.

“He let me know about plans he had to take over the Town Hall, tear it down, and move in several chain stores. As many of you know, Beckett's business partner is under arrest for the murder of Mark Pine and the attempted murder of Tuck Powers. Other charges are pending against Mr. Struggs. Anyway, there's a lot of information to go through, but it seems that Beckett had the backing of some of the Board of Selectmen and the town manager, at least according to the one person I was able to contact.” Nancy lowered her reading glasses on her nose and looked out into the crowd, taking a slow sweep of the standing-room-only crowd. The room got quiet and Nancy lowered her voice, sounding more conversational. These were her friends and neighbors, after all.

“I can't imagine that's really true, can you?” she continued. “I mean, come on. Choosing the interests of a stranger over Ruth Clagan? Thom Clagan's granddaughter? When the Clagan family is one of the oldest in Orchard? Beckett indicated to me that he is dropping his interest in the Town Hall. He is going to focus on getting his shop open next month. And being a better citizen of Orchard. We talked a lot about that.” There was laughter in the crowd.

“We all know that the Town Hall needs work,” she continued. “There's a group of us who are willing to serve on the renovation board, making sure the work that Kim Gray has been putting off finally gets done.” Kim Gray moved to take
back the podium, but Nancy blocked her. “Don't you start with me, Kim. You know the funds have been in place to get a new heating system, finish upgrading the electrics, and to fix the roof. You put them off until the lease dispute was over. Well, I say it's over. Let's get the heating system replaced and get the roof fixed. Finishing the electrics will help with the clock tower, but it will also make the building safer and more viable. There are plenty of taxpaying folks in town who could use the work this winter, so let's get it done.

“Now, friends, since we're here to wrap up some business before the New Year, I think we should take one more vote. There are plans afoot to restore the clock tower. Ruth can talk about them if you'd like, but I think most of you have heard about them. So I think we should vote on that today. Let's get the New Year started with a bang.”

“Mrs. Reed, we don't have the funding . . .” Kim Gray said, trying once more to retake the podium. Again, Nancy blocked her.

“No, we don't. But there's a nonprofit that Grover Winter set up a while ago. Some funds have been raised, and we've recently gotten two grants that will match funds—”

“As long as the funds were raised by the end of the year,” Kim Gray said. “Last I heard, you were twenty-five thousand dollars short.”

“Not anymore.” Nancy turned toward the town administrator, giving her a full-wattage smile. “A donation came in today, for fifty thousand dollars.”

“I don't believe you,” Kim Gray said.

“You don't believe me? Really?” Nancy looked shocked and turned back to the crowd. I bit the inside of my cheek so I wouldn't burst out laughing. “Did you hear that, folks?
She doesn't believe me. Isn't that rich?” A few people laughed, but to her credit, Kim Gray barely flinched. “As a matter of fact, I have a copy of the check. From Beckett Green. The original has been deposited in the Clock Tower Fund account.” Nancy handed the copy to Kim, who barely looked at it.

“Well,” Kim said, “we still have two options. We all know that this old building is going to be a money pit. I propose that we tear it down, or—” The capacity crowd started to erupt.

I got up and walked to the front of the room. Nancy stepped aside and blocked Kim from my path. I wasn't sure if she was more worried about her or about me. A few people hushed the others, and after a few seconds the room was quiet.

“No one was more surprised than I was when I inherited this old building,” I said. “You've all seen the photos of what it was like back in the day, when the clock tower was in operation and the gardens were kept up. Nadia Wint has put the only film we know of showing what it was like when the clock tower worked on our website. It's grainy, it's old, there's no sound. But it's exciting. Really thrilling. The clock tower was a destination for a lot of people.”

“I remember it from when I was a little girl,” someone said from the crowd. “We'd come every week to see the dancing figures. It was magic.”

“I always wish I could have seen it in person. But I felt like I had, from the stories my grandfather Thom would tell me,” I said. The crowd grew silent at the mention of his name.

“I think that the clock tower will bring a lot of tourists to town,” I continued. “But more than that, look around you. We're all gathered here, at this wonderful old Town Hall,
for this meeting. Most everyone has been here at least once this year, whether it was for a meeting, a play, a craft fair, or a speaker from the historical society.” Heads nodded.

“We've had the building assessed,” I continued, looking around. “It is old, but it is solid. The new heating system and roof are the last two major repairs that need to be made. Plumbing is up to date. The electrics just need to be wired.The wheelchair lift is in place, and the ramps are all up to code. The stage area even has a new light and sound system. Any other work is cosmetic. Paint jobs, some woodwork repair. This building is the heart of Orchard. I don't want to operate it, but I will, if I need to. I'd rather the town keep using it, and operating it, for the greater good of everyone. Orchard is at a turning point. Let's continue along the path you all set out on years ago. We don't want to change Orchard, we want to get her moving again. Now's the time. You all know that the clock tower is a personal dream that my grandfather passed down to me. Now it's become a mission, and a few more folks are as excited as I am. Next December, I want to ring in the New Year from this clock tower. What do you say?”

•   •   •

M
ac Clark poured me another glass of wine. He and Ada had come by to check in about the meeting. We'd moved a few chairs into a circle in the shop and were enjoying the basket of goodies the Clarks had brought over. Wine, sharp cheese, tart apple slices, fresh bread. It wasn't the fanciest of lunches, but it was perfect for the day. I was so tired after the meeting I could barely tell which end was up,
so I added sparkling cider to my glass of wine. Not very tasty, but not likely to put me to sleep either.

“Tell me that last part again,” he said gleefully.

“Mac, she's told us three times already,” Ada said, her hand on her lower back.

“I know, but I love the part about the votes being overwhelming to support the Town Hall restoration and the clock tower. I wish we'd been there.”

“I wish the baby coming wasn't a false alarm,” Ada said, disappointed.

“I do too, for your sake,” I said, sipping at my wine concoction. If I added a few mulling spices, it really wouldn't be too bad. “But obviously he, or she, wants to be born in the New Year! Anyway, Nancy is really the one who saved the tower.” I raised my glass in her direction. She lifted her glass in return and took a healthy swig.

Pat Reed put his strong, plaid arm around his wife and kissed her forehead. “She was great, wasn't she?”

“She was indeed,” I said. “Are you going to run for the Board of Selectmen? I saw Jimmy Murphy talking to you after the meeting.”

“I am considering it,” Nancy said, playing coy.

We all laughed. Another job for the very busy Nancy Reed, but one for which she was well suited. I looked around this circle of people. My friends. Flo sat on the other side of Nancy Reed, smiling. Moira and Ben leaned against the counter, too busy snacking to join in the chatter. I was actively avoiding looking at Ben, which meant I couldn't keep my eyes off him. He had done his version of dressing up for the meeting, and I had to say, that crisp white shirt
and red tie under his standard leather bomber jacket was really doing it for me. He flashed me a smile as he pushed back his unruly reddish blond hair from his forehead.

“That means she's made up her mind,” Pat said. He yawned, shook his head, and then looked down at his watch. “I should get going to the hospital to pick up Caroline and Levi.”

“I'll come with you,” I said. “My car is out at the cottage.”

“I'll help you clean up and give you a ride out to the cottage,” Ben said quickly. “Five people would be a tight fit in Pat's car,” he added, popping another apple slice into his mouth.