A Little Learning (20 page)

“We’re not here, either,” he said. “I convinced Nathan we needed to go out for pizza. We’re at Mario’s.”

My knees almost buckled with relief. “Good move. She may not go after Nathan, but I don’t want to take any chances.”

“We’ll stay put until I hear from you.”

“Thanks.”

“You’re not going to do anything stupid, are you?”

“No, I’m going to wait for her here.”

As soon as I closed my phone, I knew I wasn’t going to wait. Rachel wouldn’t miss her daughters’ dance recital. She might be planning some sort of trap for Nathan. If she set her trap and came back to the theater, she’d have her alibi. I’d better check. And I decided I needed a witness.

***

Chief Brenner answered on the second ring. “Yes, Ms. Maclin?”

“I’d like you to meet me at Nathan Fenton’s,” I said. “I have reason to believe he may be in danger.”

I’m sure the fact that I’d solved two murders in his town gave me a little credibility. “Anything in particular I should know?” he asked.

“I’m hoping Rachel Sigmon will give herself away.”

***

Nathan had left the lights on. The back door was unlocked. This didn’t seem reasonable, even in Celosia. I entered as quietly as I could. Someone was in the living room.

“Hello, Rachel,” I said.

She didn’t whirl around in surprise. She calmly turned and smiled at me. “Hello, Madeline.”

“What are you doing here?”

She took a key out of her shoulder bag. “Fiona lent me her key. She left her wallet here at Nathan’s. I told her I’d stop by and pick it up for her. She said she’d watch the girls.”

“That’s very nice of you.”

“What are you doing here, Madeline?”

“I wanted to see how Nathan’s plans for his camp are coming along. Is he home?”

“I don’t know where he is. He must’ve stepped out for a minute.” She moved toward the front door. “I really need to get back to the theater.”

“Where’s the wallet?” I asked.

“What?”

“Fiona’s wallet that you came for. Where is it?”

She shrugged. “I guess she didn’t leave it, after all. You know how flighty she is.”

“Flighty” was not a word I’d use to describe Fiona. “I don’t think she gave you her key.”

She put her hand on the doorknob. “What do you mean by that?”

“I think in all the confusion backstage, you borrowed it.”

“Really?”

“I’m finding it hard to believe you’d leave your daughters on this important night to come over to Nathan Fenton’s house. I don’t think Fiona would need her wallet that badly, either. She could pick it up after the recital.”

Rachel turned and faced me. “Are you accusing me of something?”

“I remember that first day in the teacher’s lounge when you told Josh Kellogg the art grant was not something you’d kill for. I think I know what you’d kill for. You’d kill for the chance at Elijah Fenton’s money.”

“And what exactly do you mean by that?”

“You’re Elijah Fenton’s illegitimate daughter.”

She gave a little start of surprise. “How do you know that?”

“The notch in your ear. It’s a Fenton thing.”

She almost raised her hand to her ear but caught herself. She raised her chin instead. “Well, what if I am? There’s nothing wrong about it.”

“Except your mother told you that you have some claim to the fortune. But she didn’t have all the information.”

“When did you talk to my mother? Why would you talk to her? She’s been in a rest home for years. She doesn’t even know who I am half the time.”

“Your mother saw an earlier version of Elijah’s game plan. She saw three names on a list: Aaron Satterfield, Nathan Fenton, and Amelia Lever. She thought they had to be out of the way before she or you could have a chance, and that’s what she told you. You already hated Amelia for terrifying Bronwen.”

“I had every right to move my daughter to another school. Amelia Lever was a monster. She should never have been allowed in a classroom.” Her eyes narrowed. “What are you trying to say?”

“You knew she went out on the loading dock at one thirty every afternoon to smoke and that no one else would be out there except Jacey. You told Jennifer to stop by the art room at one thirty, but you didn’t go with her to the office. You sent her on while you went to the loading dock, came up behind Amelia, and injected her, knowing too much potassium would cause a heart attack. Actually, that was a pretty gutsy move, because Jacey could have seen you, but you were behind Amelia, and she was a much larger woman. And Jacey wasn’t her friend, so Jacey was probably standing at the other end of the dock. Amelia gasped and fell down. Then you sent Jacey for help while you pretended to administer CPR.” I took out the little plastic cap. “I found this out by the loading dock. I wasn’t sure what it was at first, but it’s a cap you put on the end of a syringe. I think you inherited diabetes from your mother and you’re pretty handy with a needle.”

Rachel didn’t say anything. She watched me with an intense stare, her body tense as if poised for flight.

“You also robbed Georgia’s Books,” I said.

“Are you crazy?”

“Jerry and I found the remains of your blue jacket and cap in the kiln, and there were loads of gold wrappers in your trash can. You tried to put the blame on Bobby Berkley, but you didn’t know he was still in reform school. By the way, why didn’t you just buy the cards yourself? No one would have thought anything of it.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You knew about the riddle. And when Fiona mentioned that Nathan had received Bufo cards in the mail, you thought, there might be something in this. Or maybe Amelia taunted you. She told you you didn’t know anything about it. That ‘it’ was the riddle, right?”

“I bought cards for Bronwen’s birthday party.”

I took the pieces of jacket and cap from my pocket. “You want to explain this away, too?” I saw her swallow hard. “I also think you made an attempt on Aaron, but his security system kept you out. Then Nathan Fenton solved the riddle. So now you have to get rid of Nathan. It’s easy to believe Amelia Lever had a heart attack, but a young man in his thirties like Nathan? Too much coincidence.”

Her expression hardened. “I am entitled to that money.”

“No, I’m afraid not.”

“My mother told me!”

“Your mother didn’t have all the facts.”

She clenched her fist. “It isn’t fair. My husband left me to raise two girls all by myself. If Aaron and Nathan are dead, then I’m next in line for the Fenton money.”

“No, you’re not, and Nathan isn’t going to be dead.”

“Yes, I think he is. How do you plan to stop me?” She reached into her shoulder bag and brought out a syringe. “This was supposed to be for Nathan,” she said. “But I think you’ll do.”

“No one’s going to believe I died of a heart attack, too.”

“Oh, they might.” She kept herself between me and the front door. “After all, you’re trying to keep your agency going in a small town. That can be stressful.”

“Not that stressful. How did you get potassium?”

“Brenda’s so stupid, she’s easy to blackmail. I told her if she didn’t get some for me, I’d have that boyfriend of hers fired for stealing medical supplies. She actually believed I had that kind of clout.”

Between the stacks of papers and the trash, there wasn’t a lot of room to back away. “But Brenda stole it for you.”

“She did a good job, considering she’s so thick. I didn’t need much.” She advanced. “I’m glad Nathan’s not much of a housekeeper. You really don’t have anywhere to run except past me, and as you said, I’m pretty handy with a needle.”

The way to the front door was blocked by the stacks of paper and Rachel. I had asked Brenner to come to Nathan’s, but where was he? Could I jump over the counter and run for the back door? There wasn’t enough room. What could I use as a weapon? I felt along the counter behind me. More papers, dried pizza, Bufo cards—Bufo cards! Well, maybe Rachel would like to play a game of Fifty-Two Pickup.

I bent the pack back as hard as I could, swung my hand around, and released the flapping spray of cards into Rachel’s face. As she batted them away, I grabbed her wrist and held on as she tried to pull away. I slung her as hard as I could against the wall, but she fought back, jabbing the needle at my face. We slipped and fell in the piles of paper. I beat her hand on the floor until she finally let go of the syringe. As she scrabbled for it, I jumped up and stomped on it as hard as I could. Rachel grabbed my ankle, and I fell, but I fell back on top of her. She gave a “Whoof!” and lay still. At that moment, Brenner ran in from the back, and the front door slammed open and Jerry and Nathan ran in.

“You’ll be happy to know I heard every word,” Brenner said.

“I knew it,” Jerry said to me. “I knew you’d be here.” To Nathan, he said, “What did I tell you? I knew she couldn’t stay put.” He helped me up. “Are you okay?”

I nodded. I caught my breath. “Nathan, meet your ex-cousin, Rachel.”

Chapter Seven

It took a long time to settle everything, but by the end of the evening, Rachel had been formally charged with the murder of Amelia Lever. Her husband was called to come take care of his daughters. Jerry and I got home very early in the morning and tried to get some sleep. Finally, around eight, we got up, and Jerry made some coffee and toast.

“Oh, in all the excitement, I forgot to tell you,” he said as he brought a plate of toast to the table. “Since my old friends aren’t very dependable, I thought it might be time to make some new friends. While Nathan and I were having pizza, he invited me to help with his camp.”

“What? You mean, help him run it?”

He passed me the butter. “Yeah.”

“Do you know anything about running a children’s camp?”

“No, but it sounds like fun.”

Of course, I thought, knowing how Austin and Denisha loved having Jerry involved with their projects, and how pleased Tori had been by Jerry’s magic tricks. A camp full of children would be the perfect place for him.

I buttered my toast and slid the butter dish back to him. “I think that’s great. You’ll be surrounded by kids.”

“And Nathan will pay me. In fact, when I explained my situation, he advanced me a thousand dollars.”

“That’s the kind of new friend I like.”

“That’s two jobs I have now. You’re falling behind.”

“Not for long,” I said. “I’ve got one more picture to finish, and I’m going to paint all day.”

“And I’m heading to Parkland for one more try at a watch.”

I decided not to comment on this. I was drinking the last of my coffee when I got a call from Marshall Lever.

“Madeline, we heard the news about Rachel Sigmon. I’m not sure what to say.”

“Are you and your brother all right?”

“Yes, thanks to you.” There was a moment of silence, and then he said, “I don’t know if this will be of any use to you now, but we know where that boy is, the one in the photograph, Ronald McIntire. Twelve thirty-eight Kent Place East in Madison. We found the address in some of Mother’s things.”

“Thank you.”

“We always resented the fact she sent him money. We knew that somehow he was the kind of son she always wanted. It’s time to let go of that. We have new lives now.”

“Good luck to both of you.”

“Well, what do you know,” I said as I closed my phone. “Marshall and Kevin gave me Rusty’s address. He’s not that far away, and I’m really curious about him. Let’s pay him a call.”

“Got to find a watch,” Jerry said.

“Rusty lives in Madison. We’ll look for your watch on the way back.”

***

Madison was located on the other side of Parkland. Twelve thirty-eight Kent Place East was the Madison County Hospital.

“Uh, oh,” I said. “We may be too late.”

We went to the main desk and asked to see Ronald McIntire.

The receptionist smiled. “Doctor McIntire is on the second floor. His office is two ten.”

I looked at Jerry. “Doctor McIntire.”

“I’ll see if he’s available.”

After a few minutes, the receptionist told us to go on up to the second floor where we found Doctor McIntire’s office. The man who came out to greet us still had the dark eyes and earnest expression I’d seen in his childhood photo. He had on a white lab coat and a stethoscope around his neck. His nametag said, “Dr. Ronald S. McIntire, M.D.”

“I’m Ron McIntire,” he said. “How can I help you?”

We shook hands. “I’m Madeline Maclin Fairweather and this is my husband, Jerry Fairweather. We’d like to know if you ever had a teacher named Amelia Lever.”

He brightened. “Has she finally changed her mind?”

“Changed her mind?”

“About contacting me.”

“I’m sorry to tell you she died of a heart attack a few days ago.”

“Oh, no.” His bright expression faded. He swallowed hard. “Now I’ll never be able to thank her.”

Jerry and I must have looked confused. “I should explain,” McIntire said. He led us to a corner of the waiting area, and we sat down. “About ten years ago, I received a letter from Mrs. Lever saying she was going to finance my education, but if I told anyone, I’d forfeit the money. I guess she was afraid my parents would try to take it from me. I’d left home by then and had no idea what to do. Every month, she’d send me some money. That money saved me. So many times I wanted to write or call her, but she refused any contact. Something about her sons not understanding.”

“So she financed your medical career?”

He gestured around the room. “Everything you see here was made possible by Mrs. Lever’s generosity, my career, this hospital, everything. Were you friends of hers?”

“We didn’t get to know her. You’ve solved one part of the mystery. How did she know where to find you ten years ago?”

“I wrote her a letter, telling her how much I missed her and how she’d helped me so much.”

“And that’s when she sent you the money.”

“Yes, with strict instructions not to tell anyone or write back. It’s been very hard, because I’ve been so grateful. Now she’ll never know. At least I can thank you for coming to tell me. Wish I could do more.”

Before we left, McIntire gave us a short tour of the hospital. I couldn’t help but think of all the good Amelia Lever had done that no one ever knew about, not even her sons. Well, I’d be sure to tell them. It was time they had different memories of their mother.

***

There was no gold watch for Jerry in Parkland. Bilby’s source had backed out on him, and there wasn’t anything the pawnbroker could do.

“I can’t believe this,” Jerry said as we drove home. “Mac, I’m sorry. If the
Celosia News
gives you trouble, I’ll make it up to you somehow.”

“Don’t worry about it. You see how all these schemes backfire, don’t you? Doesn’t that tell you something, like get out while you still can, while you still have all your limbs attached?”

“Yeah, well, maybe.”

“You’re lucky Bert didn’t punch you. You can’t expect a gold watch to fall out of the sky.”

“Guess not.”

***

When we got to the house, Austin and Denisha were sitting on the front porch. Ronald Brown was with them.

“Ronald wanted to hear all about the needle fight,” Austin said.

“There wasn’t really a needle fight,” I said.

Ronald’s eyes were gleaming. “I heard you and Mrs. Sigmon went three rounds. Knew you could take her.”

“Thanks, Ronald. Jerry, you want to see if Austin and Denisha can help you make some brownies?”

Austin leaped up. “Whoo-eee, brownies!”

He and Denisha followed Jerry into the house. I sat down on the porch steps with Ronald.

“It’s like this, Ronald. Mrs. Sigmon thought she was entitled to some money, but she wasn’t. It made her a little crazy, and she did some foolish things.”

“She killed Mrs. Lever?”

“Yes.”

He made a face. “Ms. Olsen’s no good. I wish Mrs. Lever was still here.”

“You can do something to make sure no one forgets her.”

Ronald squinted up at me.

“You can become something. Something important. And when people ask you how you did it, you say, ‘Mrs. Amelia Lever taught me.’” I took out Ronald McIntire’s picture. “See this kid? His name’s Ronald, too. About twenty years ago, Mrs. Lever had him in her class, and today, he’s a doctor. He couldn’t have done it without her help. She believed in him, and she believed in you, too.”

“This kid became a doctor?”

“Even thought he had a rotten family.”

“Maybe she just liked kids named Ronald.”

“Whatever the reason, that’s one thing you can do to keep her memory alive.”

He gave me a curious look, and I realized he’d probably never been entrusted with this kind of responsibility. He stood a little straighter. “I can do that?”

“Yes.”

“It’s sorta like getting Bufo’s Power Stone, isn’t it? The thing that makes everything else all right.”

The thing that makes everything else all right. “It’s exactly like that.”

He thought a few more minutes. “Okay. I’ll do it.”

We shook hands. “Thank you, Ronald.”

“I might not become a doctor, though.”

“You can be whatever you like.”

He corrected me. “Something important.”

***

The kids made a huge mess making brownies, but everyone enjoyed the results. Ronald talked Austin and Denisha into getting Wrath cards, so they decided to ride their bikes to town to buy some. Ordinarily, Jerry would’ve gone with them, but he was still pondering what to do about Flossie Mae and Sylvie.

“Just tell them the truth,” I said. I sat down in one of the porch rocking chairs while Jerry sat on the railing.

“The truth. What an alien concept.”

“Unless you want Jackson Dooley to rearrange your face.”

He sighed. “It’s not so much that as disappointing Flossie Mae and Sylvie.”

“You should have thought about that before.”

“I know. It’s tough being thoughtful.”

I got up. “Well, you have another whole day to think about it. I’m going to paint.”

***

By the end of the day, I had gotten a lot of work done and was feeling more and more confident I’d be ready by Monday. Jerry still hadn’t decided what to do about Flossie Mae and Sylvie. Sunday morning, he said, “Want to ride into town and get a copy of the
Herald
? I’m curious to see what Valerie wrote about you.”

We rode down to the post office and bought a copy of the paper from the machine. As Jerry drove back home, I read the article aloud.

“‘New Artist Investigates New Career.’ Not a bad headline. ‘Upcoming artist, Madeline Maclin Fairweather, has her sights set on two careers: painting and detecting. As owner of Maclin Investigations, she has successfully solved two murders in the neighboring town of Celosia.’”

“Make that three,” Jerry said.

“‘She is also one of the new artists to be featured in the Weyland Gallery’s New Artist Show this weekend. Fairweather says her style is based on but not limited to Impressionism. She also enjoys representative landscapes and portraits. One of her portraits hangs in the lobby of the Baker Auditorium in Celosia. Fairweather moved from Parkland to Celosia to set up her own detective agency. She soon established herself as a reputable investigator. She had done a lot of painting while in college, and she discovered that she wanted to continue her artwork. When asked how she plans to balance the two very different careers, Fairweather replied, “I can always make time for the things that are important to me.”’” I folded the paper. “She goes on to say when the exhibit will be open and all that. I have to say it’s a good article, short and to the point.”

“Nice picture, too.”

I took another look at the photo of me sitting in the booth at Deely’s. Valerie was right. The light was good. I looked relaxed and well, competent. “I’d hire me. To paint or detect. Or both.”

“And you’re ready for the show?”

“A few finishing touches, and yes, I’ll be ready.” My cell phone rang, and I checked the caller ID. It was Tori. “Hold that thought,” I said. “Hello, Tori.”

“Madeline, I found the ties for Jerry. Do you think you’d have time to come by today?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Can you come for lunch?”

“We’ll be there.” I closed the phone. “Tori’s found some ties for you. That should cheer you up.”

“Yes, it will,” he said.

***

The ties were beautiful silk ties in lovely subtle patterns, a far cry from Jerry’s usual flying pigs and light bulbs. Tori carefully took each one out of the box. I could tell she wanted to prolong our visit. Over lunch, I answered all her questions about Rachel. She was relieved that Nathan was all right.

“And the little girls are with their father?”

“Yes, they’ll be all right.”

“You were so lucky she didn’t hurt you, Madeline.”

“She’s tough,” Jerry said. “She can handle anything. And so can you, Tori.”

Tori nodded. “You know, I’m almost beginning to believe that. Do you know what I did? I called Aaron.”

“You called him? What did he say?”

“I told him I was very sorry to hear about his partner. I said I wished he’d been honest with me, but I understood why he couldn’t be. He was worried about what people here would think.” Her smile trembled. “He said he was so sorry. He was crying a little. I told him it was okay. He’s coming to visit me. We’re going to see about getting a divorce and getting on with our lives. But I told him I’d like to be friends, if we could, and he said he’d like that, too.”

“That’s wonderful,” I said. “So you don’t blame yourself any more?”

She was practically beaming. “No, not at all. Oh, I almost forgot.” She hopped up from the table and dug another box out of a dark corner of the dining room. “You might like to have this, too, Jerry. It belonged to Cousin Ivor Satterfield.”

Jerry opened the box. He stared for a moment and then took out a gold pocket watch. Then he grinned and turned the watch so that I could see the “S” engraved on the lid.

“It has an ‘S’ for Satterfield,” Tori said, “but I didn’t think you’d mind.”

I knew Jerry was thinking “S” for “Snyder.” “Thanks, Tori. I don’t mind at all. I can certainly use this.”

“You lucky dog,” I said sotto voce.

Tori turned to me. “Oh, and Madeline.” She took a quick shaky little breath. “I-I’ve decided to come to the ballet, if you’re going, if you’re not too busy.”

“Of course. That’s great.”

“I think I’ll be okay.”

“I know you will. Let me call and see if we can get tickets.”

“Jerry, will you come, too?”

He smoothed the watch. “For you, Tori, anything.”

She watched as I called the ballet company. “I do hope I don’t I lose my nerve.”

Fortunately, the ballet was not sold out. I ordered three tickets and closed my phone. “Okay, we’re all set
. Sleeping Beauty
next Saturday at eight.”

She grasped my hand with her fragile little fingers. “Oh, Madeline,” she said, her large eyes shining with tears. “Thank you so much. I know it will be beautiful.”

I knew she was remembering her one night of triumph, the one night when everything was all right with her world, the one night when she was a star.