Two Birds with One Stone (A Marsden-Lacey Cozy Mystery Book 1) (21 page)

Piers gave his mobile number to Constable Cross and hung up.
He stood and made his way to the door.

“I
’
ve got to get back to Healy,”
he told
Westmorland.

“Don
’
t worry, Piers. You
’
ll be hearing from me about the suit. I
’
m
playing tennis next week with Judge Sutherland. He makes me play three brutal
sets and then lets me buy him an expensive dinner. It
’
s
painful but effective.”
Westmorland shook Piers
’
hand
in farewell.

Piers ran down the stairs and jumped into his Jaguar.
Between Leeds and Marsden-Lacey, he chose to ignore every speed sign. He had
one purpose: get back to Healy in time to stop a thief.

Chapter 36

JOHNS WAS AT THE GRANGE. Not a soul was about except a crow
sitting in one of the mulberry bushes, cawing at him. His cell phone rang. It
was the station. He hit “
accept
.”

“Cousins is where? He thinks there
’
s a
burglary happening? Yeah, I understand, Cross. I
’
ll call
him.”
Johns
ended the call and quickly dialed the number for Cousins
’
mobile
phone. He motioned for Constable Waters to get out of her vehicle and come over
to where he was parked.

Piers
’
voice came
through the line. “Yes, this is Piers Cousins.”

“Cousins, Chief Inspector Johns. I
’
ve
got a lot of questions to ask you. I
’
ll meet you at your
home and I
’
m bringing another constable. What time can you
be there?”

“
Twenty minutes,
”
Piers said and then
he asked, “Chief, why were you waiting for me at The Grange today?”

“Your personal secretary phoned to tell me I couldn
’
t have an appointment with you today because you had a meeting
at The Grange. I wanted to stop by for a chat.”

“Personal secretary? I don
’
t have a
secretary. Were you talking to someone at my house?”

Johns thought about the call and looked at the “recents”
log in his phone.
He read the number to Piers.

Johns could hear the strain in Piers
’
voice. “I
don’t recognize the number. A woman called me around noon to tell me my
solicitor needed to see me in Leeds. I dropped everything …
Oh Bloody Hell!
Helen and Martha. They
’
re at Healy. I completely forgot.
They may be in danger. I forgot the girls were meeting there to go over my
library.”

Johns flipped a switch on his dash turning on the blue
flashing emergency lights. He said he was on his way and hung up.

Leaning out through the window, he told Constable Waters to
follow him and to not let Sam get out of the car once they arrived at Healy.
With excellent car-handling skills, Johns accelerated until his vehicle was
practically flowing like liquid metal through the narrow, rainy roads leading
to Healy.

MARTHA COULDN
’
T SEE THE ENTIRE kitchen
from her vantage point. She turned to Helen. “If she
’
s out
there and sees me, let
’
s turn around and run back down the
passage. She might follow us but we could hide in these passages for days.”

Helen was looking white-faced but she nodded her consent.

Only a few lights were on and the room was deathly quiet.
Martha’s only choice was to look around the corner. As she peeked, the hairs on
the back of her neck stood up.

“
Get up.
”
A rough voice above her demanded.

A small circle of cold metal pressed against Martha
’
s neck and an electric shock of fear seared through her body.
She stood up, staring towards the long kitchen work tables and gas ranges.

The rifle barrel pushed her out into the room under an
overhead light.

“Where
’
s the other one?”
the woman
’
s voice demanded. “Come out, come out little mouse,”
she sang in a
weirdly, childish sing-song tone. Then quickly shifted into, “or I
’
ll kill your friend.”

Helen stood up and moved out of her hiding place. She faced
their assailant but wasn
’
t able to recognize the woman
standing in the shadows.

The tall kitchen windows were dark and streaked with rain.
As a lightning bolt ripped across the sky, it illuminated the dimly lit room in
blinding flashes of light revealing for a few seconds the figure and face of
Mrs. Thyme.

“You? But why?”
Martha asked, completely baffled.

The normally tidy and professionally dressed housekeeper of
Healy House was wearing a green waterproof hunting jacket opened at the neck,
outdoor boots and thick gloves. Her grey hair was no longer in its usual tight
bun. Pieces of her hair were still caught in hairpins at her nape, but most of
it dangled in stringy wisps around her face and shoulders.

With her foot, Mrs. Thyme pressed an electric switch under
the steel work table she stood behind. A row of utility lights came on illuminating
the metal surface and casting a beam of light directly on the top of her head.
She motioned for them to move over in front of the large walk-in freezers.

“That
’
s better. I can see your pretty
faces.”
She
leveled the rifle at them again.

Martha could tell by Thyme
’
s handling
of the gun that she was comfortable with it in her hands. Her face was mostly
in shadow due to the way the light hit only the top of the wide-brimmed felt
hat she wore.

Mrs. Thyme said, “
I don
’
t
have a problem with you, Mrs. Littleword, but Mrs. Ryes has to go. I
’
ve worked too hard to make a home for Emilia
’
s
child and I won
’
t share it with another woman. Emilia
’
s child needs a home and a mother, not another person to ship
him off to a boarding school.”

“
I don
’
t want to
come between Piers and his child,”
Helen said.

Mrs. Thyme shook her head. “That
’
s what
they all say, but then they show their true colors. Most of them are like Lana
Chason. She would have been bored with a child underfoot. I got rid of her
though. Now, get in there.”
She motioned toward the walk-in freezer.

“I think I
’
d rather not,”
Martha said, trying
to keep her talking. “You owe us an explanation other than you think Piers has
a thing for Helen.”

Mrs. Thyme laughed ruefully.
“
I don
’
t owe you a thing.”
Then she lowered
the gun barrel to right above Helen
’
s head and fired.

The blast exploded above them and ricocheted around the
kitchen, making Helen and Martha grab each other in terror. Nature, not wanting
to be left out, discharged a stream of lightning across the nighttime sky,
followed by a terrific boom of thunder.

PIERS, JOHNS AND DONNA FOLLOWED each other down Healy
’
s long drive. Martha
’
s car sat forlornly
in the drive. As everyone emerged from their vehicles, the storm broke above
them. A streak of lightning crackled across the sky and simultaneously they
heard what sounded like a rifle shot.

“Did you hear that?”
Piers yelled at Johns over the rumble of thunder that immediately
followed.

Johns heard the shot, and he knew the stakes had changed. “Waters!
Come with me,”
he
shouted over the storm. “
Tell Sam
not
to get out of
the car under penalty of death. You,”
he pointed at Piers, “stay here with the boy.”

“Like hell I will. I
’
m coming with you.”
Piers bolted
towards
the front door.

Donna and Johns followed Piers into the hall where the fire
was burning low. They were soaked from the lashing rain. Johns took his phone
out of an inside coat pocket and called the station. He requested two
constables come immediately to Healy.

“The shot came from the back of the house. What
’
s back there?”
he asked Piers.

“Mainly a conservatory and the kitchen.”

“What is the fastest way to get to the back from the
outside?”

“Outside entrance to the kitchen and conservatory. Go out
here,”
Piers
pointed to the main entrance, “and circumnavigate around to your right. Can
’
t miss it. One
’
s glass and the kitchen has
an old red-brick chimney attached to it.”

Piers then turned to Donna. “We
’
ll take
the scenic route.”

He motioned for her to follow him. They headed for a door
under the massive oak stairwell in the Hall.

“Let
’
s meet in the kitchen,”
Johns said as he
headed out into the storm.

BORED AFTER FIVE MINUTES ALONE in the police vehicle, Sam
had run out of buttons to push. He rifled through Donna
’
s
purse but she only had ten pounds which he thought made her kind of pathetic.
He didn
’
t bother to swipe it.

Sam considered his entertainment options and then it hit
him. What if he was an action hero? If he helped catch the thieves, he might
get out of jail for performing an act of good citizenship. Probably get his
picture in the paper, too. Penny would have to sit up and take notice.

Right about then a rare opportunity or maybe providence
landed in Sam
’
s lap. His phone rang. It was Penny. He
nearly dropped the phone trying to accept the call.

“Hi Sam. Saw your picture. You look so nice,”
Penny cooed.

Sam could hardly believe his ears. Donna was right. He
decided to go for the goal. He lowered his voice and tried to imagine what
Michael, the other constable at the station, would sound like talking to his
girl if he were about to go into the line of fire.

“Hey Penny, can I call you back?”
Sam asked in the lowest register of
his voice. “I
’
m out working with the police on a burglary
case. They
’
ve got some armed gunmen and I
’
ve
got to help take these guys down.”

Then to add effect, Sam yelled, “I
’
ll
be right there, Chief!”

To Penny, he said, “Got to go. I
’
ll
call you.”

As he hung up the phone, he knew what he had to do. Sam got
out of the car in the pouring rain and did his best Dirty Harry impersonation
while walking toward Healy
’
s front entrance.