Rest in Peace (15 page)

I tried, unsuccessfully, to follow her reasoning. “Why would anyone want to get into Simon’s house?”

“How should I know, Victoria? He’s a Pennington, that’s why.”

There was no reason I could think of why anyone would want to break into Simon’s house. Unless…hmm, Jack Riley had once gone there when Miss Aggie was visiting Simon. He’d asked her if he could examine the Pennington diamonds. He’d then asked about the rumored emeralds. But no one knew where the emeralds were or even if they still existed. Could Mr. Riley have seen something there that interested him? Enough to break in to find it? He did leave Cedar Chapel mighty fast.

I glanced from Miss Jane to Miss Georgina. “You know we’ve suspected Clyde and Forrest of being mixed up in illegal actions. Maybe involving the Pennington emeralds.” I spoke slowly, attempting to gather my thoughts. “Could Jack Riley have been involved as well?”

They looked at each other, then both shook their heads.

“I don’t believe he was around Cedar Chapel during that time.” Miss Jane looked thoughtful. “But of course, Forrest wasn’t actually either, so who knows? They could have sneaked back to Pennington House at night. Anyone could have hidden out in the smuggling cave and tunnel.”

A few months earlier, while investigating the murder of the man found in the secret tunnel at Pennington House, we’d found another tunnel which led to a cave in the side of a hill. Wooden tracks leading from a secret room to the cave and on down to the river indicated some sort of smuggling activity in the past. Probably during or shortly after World War II.

Was it possible Clyde’s murder, Miss Aggie’s disappearance, and Jack Riley’s sudden departure were all somehow connected to these earlier criminal activities? I knew Miss Aggie was innocent of any wrongdoing. Or at least, I was pretty sure. If she knew more than she’d admitted about the secrets of Pennington House, she could be in danger. We had to find her. And soon.

At the shrill ring of the phone, all three of us started. I shook my head and went to answer.

“Hi, honey.” At sound of Ben’s voice, relief washed over me.

“Hi, Benjamin. Your meeting over?”

“Yeah, it didn’t last as long as I’d expected. Okay if I come over?”

Was it ever? Maybe he could chase away whatever ghosts were pursuing me tonight.

“Of course. Have you eaten?”

“Yes, I grabbed a couple of burgers before the meeting. Could use some coffee though.”

“Okay, I’ll make some.”

“I need to drop paperwork off at the office, so it may be fifteen minutes or so before I get there.”

“Okay, coffee’ll be ready by then.”

I made the coffee, put the kettle on for tea, then went back to the parlor.

“Ben’s coming over. I’m going to print out the lists I’ve made before he gets here.”

I headed for my office. It was time to lay what I had on the table for everyone. I glanced over the document.

Clyde Foster: Victim of accident or murder?

Clues:

1. Whatzit’s frantic cries of “No, no, get out.”

2. Fragment of paper with letters
n-n-e-l.

3. Suspicion of Clyde’s illegal activities
.

4. A 1968 copy of the
Gazette
with the story of the horse theft. (Which didn’t mention Clyde was a suspect.)

5. Another article that revealed that Clyde had been arrested for the horse theft. (According to Mrs. Miller, his lawyer managed to get him off.)

I added the facts surrounding Miss Aggie’s disappearance, including her knowledge that her nephew wasn’t at home. I listed the abandoned car and the items found in it. Then I typed in the latest news about the break-in.

Possible Suspects
:

1. Laura Baker

2. Christiana Baker

3. Jack Riley

Who had a motive to kill Clyde?

1. His daughter, Laura:

a. To get revenge for his treatment of her mother?

b. Addition: Laura has found papers (perhaps letters?), which she tried to cover up, in Clyde’s safe-deposit box. Why would she hide them from me?

c. She has put the shop up for sale and indicated she needs money
.

2. Christiana: Motive unknown. Addition: same as
c
above
.

3. Someone who suspected he knew the location of the Pennington jewels?

4. Someone who suspected he knew they were involved with the theft/disappearance of Pennington jewels?

5. Jack Riley for the suspect in 3 and 4 (absolutely no clues, just a gut feeling)
.

6. Or could it be possible that Mrs. Miller was right and Clyde had stolen Burly Anderson’s prize horse? But Mr. Anderson was eighty-five, and his sons both lived in Chicago. Anyway, forty years was a long time to hold a grudge strong enough to kill for. (Mrs. Miller claims to have seen Gabe, the younger son, in town the night before Clyde’s murder.)

I printed the document and carried it to the parlor with me.

Benjamin arrived a few minutes later. He helped me bring in the tea cart, then went to the rec room and asked Frankand Martin to join us. I’d placed a few cookies on a plate as well.

After everyone had their drinks and sweets, I handed the list to Benjamin and asked him to pass it around. Finally, Martin handed it to me.

“What are your thoughts about it?” I asked.

“Corky’s going to be awfully mad at you if he sees this.” Martin shook his head.

The same thing had crossed my mind, which was one reason I hadn’t asked him and Phoebe to be here. “I know, but Jack Riley is a possible suspect.”

“I can’t really see that, Victoria.” Ben frowned. “You’ve suspected him of things before, and he always turned out to be innocent.”

“He could be innocent of certain things and guilty of something bigger. It seems obvious to me he knows something. I believe he’s always known something. I’m just not sure what yet.”

“Who is Christiana?” Frank asked. “You haven’t written anything by her name, but you have her on here twice.”

“Yeah,” Benjamin muttered. “I noticed that, too.”

Heat burned my face, but I pressed my lips together and lifted my chin. “She’s Laura Baker’s daughter, Frank. It’s just a hunch, but I’m pretty sure she knows something.”

Benjamin gave me a side grin, which made me want to punch him. He probably still thought I was jealous. I narrowed my eyes. He’d better not say it.

He winked. “Okay, let’s talk about this horse theft thing.”

“Mrs. Miller told me about it first. She’s convinced Clyde stole the horse, and I did see an old
Gazette
article about him being arrested for it. But he wasn’t convicted.”

“And Janis saw Gabe in town the night before Clyde’s death?” Miss Evalina had been silent until now.

“Yes, ma’am. Of course that doesn’t necessarily mean anything. He could have been visiting one of his cousins who live around the area.”

“It does place him here,” Frank said. “But I doubt he’d have killed Clyde over a suspected horse theft. Especially that many years ago.”

“They used to string up horse thieves,” Martin said with undisguised relish. “But they didn’t wait forty years to do it. They took them to the closest tree and—”

“Martin!” Miss Georgina’s voice sounded horrified, and I didn’t blame her.

“We get the idea, Martin.” Miss Evalina gave him a pointed look.

“Sorry.”

Frank glanced at Benjamin. “What do you think, Ben? Does any of it make sense?”

“I’m not sure.” He gave a little laugh. “Victoria, you seem to have a lot of suspects with very little evidence.”

“I know that,” I said. “I simply jotted down some ideas and observations with a few clues thrown in. That’s why I wanted input from the rest of you.”

“So, Clyde’s daughter is selling the shop,” Miss Georgina said. “I wonder where the animals will go.”

“I don’t know. I suggested she announce the sale to pet-store owners in the area.”

“Aggie might want Whatzit,” Martin said.

“He might make a colorful mascot for the new hotel,” I said.

Chuckles broke out, then stopped. We all glanced around with stricken looks. My heart felt like a stone. Where was she? And more important, was she alive and well?

Benjamin tossed a small log on the fire and sat beside me on the love seat. The seniors had gone to bed, and we’d sat mostly in silence for the last hour, cuddled up in front of the fireplace.

“Do you think we should postpone the wedding?” I’d dreaded bringing up the subject, but we had to talk about it.

Benjamin groaned. “No, please, honey.”

“But we can’t get married with Miss Aggie missing. I couldn’t bear it.”

He rubbed my shoulder and sighed. “I know. But let’s not make that decision yet. Miss Aggie could turn up any day. In fact, I expect her to.”

A spark of hope flared inside me at his words. “Do you really? Do you think she might be okay?”

“Yes, I do.” He leaned over and kissed the top of my head. “And so does Corky.”

“He does?”

“Yeah. His take on it is that she left the car behind on purpose, so she couldn’t be traced and then rented another car.”

“But why would she do that?”

“Corky says she’s been afraid of something since Clyde’s death. He thinks she ran away to hide.”

“But why wouldn’t she tell us so we wouldn’t worry?”

“Because the more people who know, the more chance the murderer could find her. At least, that’s what Corky believes is going on in her mind, and I’m inclined to agree with him.”

“Oh, I hope you’re both right. I don’t know what we’ll do if something has happened to Miss Aggie. Nothing will ever be the same.”

“Now, sweetheart, don’t talk like that. You can’t give up hope.” He traced my cheek with his thumb, and I leaned back against his arm and looked at him through half-closed eyes.

He pulled me closer and leaned toward me.

A sudden thought struck. “Ben!” I sat up straight, and he yipped like a puppy.

“Vickie, you hit me right in the mouth with your head.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry. But I just had a thought. What if Miss Aggie is holed up somewhere at Pennington House?”

He sighed and rubbed his lip, which looked like it might be swelling.

“Does it hurt?” Guilt riddled me, and I reached toward his puffy lip.

He jerked his head back as though I was going to sock him. The big baby.

“Not much. It’s okay. But to get back to your question, Miss Aggie is not at Pennington House.”

“How do you know? We need to search and make sure.”

“Corky thought of it from the beginning. He scoured every inch of the place, including the tunnels and the cave.” He shook his head. “She’s not there, Vickie.”

“Okay.” But I wasn’t convinced. I wouldn’t be satisfied she wasn’t there until I had checked the house and property myself. With some help from the seniors, of course.

“Don’t even think about it.” Benjamin turned a stern look on me. “I know that look in your eyes, Victoria.”

I couldn’t help the breath of exasperation that escaped from my throat. He knew me too well. “I don’t know why you always get the idea I’m up to something. Because I’m not.” Well, nothing I’d planned out anyway.

“Umm-hmm.” He stood. “I’d better go. It’s getting late. But if you absolutely must search Pennington House, ask Corky first. Don’t be sneaking around.”

I frowned at him as I walked beside him to the door, his arm still around me. He chuckled and leaned down to kiss me, then apparently thought better of it. He gave me a quick hug instead, said good night, and left.

I locked the door and headed upstairs, the idea that had germinated in my brain now growing tendrils. Corky would let me search, but he’d want to lead the way—and if he’d already searched and found nothing, that wouldn’t help at all. But when the workers left for the weekend, Corky would more than likely go to Jefferson City to see his parents.

I brushed my teeth and got into my pajamas, then crawled between the cool sheets and pulled my comforter up to my chin. I’d better run my current plan before God and see what He thought. Of course, I was pretty sure He wouldn’t condone me sneaking into Pennington House, so maybe I’d better get permission after all. I’d wait until Corky was ready to leave town, so he wouldn’t insist on escorting me through the place. My last thought before I dropped off to sleep was directed toward God.

Lord, please keep me on the straight and narrow and control my willfulness
.

CHAPTER
TWELVE