Death Takes a Holiday (29 page)

Kyle
chuckled. “You know when I like a girl I just send her flowers.”

“It’s not like that,” Parker said testily. “Like every odd, crazy or suicidal thing I do, it was because Felicity ordered me to do it.”

“So, Robert was right,” Grace said. “She’s after the publicity.”

Parker reluctantly nodded his head. “I didn’t want to do it.”

“Wh
y didn’t you tell her no?” Kyle asked with a chuckle.

“Because this is the best job I’ve ever had. She pays me a fortune
and the benefits are excellent. Besides, I have a felony on my record coupled with no degree, no prospects, no hope . . . I’m lucky to have this job . . . even if it does have a few downsides. Hey, not every job is perfect.”

Kyle and Grace exchanged amused glances.

“She didn’t really find a death threat on her mirror yesterday morning, did she?” Grace asked.

“No,” Parker admitted.

“Why is she doing this?” Kyle asked. “I’ve read a couple of her books, she’s very talented. She doesn’t need to resort to cheap gimmicks like this.”

“
Yes, she does,” Parker said sadly. “Look, the summer before last was bad. Her publisher was about to drop her; her agent was no longer returning her phone calls; her fan club had turned into a cesspool of negativity; and her new book looked like it wasn’t going to ever see the light of day, despite it being ready to be distributed. We couldn’t give her novels away.”

“But her last book was on several
best seller lists,” Kyle said. “I couldn’t pass by a book store without seeing it displayed right up front.”

Parker nodded. “Yeah. It shot up the charts
right around August seventeenth. ”

“W
hat happened?” Grace asked.

“S
he almost died. Someone slipped something into her drink and when she was unconscious, they threw her into the pool. If I hadn’t gotten home when I did, she’d be dead.” He shook his head. “Anyway, when the papers reported that someone tried to murder a real life mystery writer . . . Well, suddenly there was a lot more interest in Felicity Gray. Her publisher green-lit her novel and off it went. And then when Victor Kirby died and the whole mystery surrounding his death started, her book skyrocketed to number one.”

“
What mystery?” Grace asked. “I thought everyone agreed he had died by natural causes.”

Parker shook his head. “Not at first and when Felicity realized how much free publicity she was getting, she tried her best to keep the mystery alive. She wasn’t too happy with the coroner’s report. It sort of killed the sales.”

“So, is she trying to recreate the magic here?” Grace asked. “Robert’s murder is certainly going to make the headlines. Kind of makes these cartoon death threats she’s been receiving pale in comparison.”

Parker’s face turned red. “I know what you’
re thinking, but she didn’t kill Robert. She was with me when he died.”

“
I know I’m going to regret asking this, but what were you two doing?” Grace asked.

Parker looked down at his feet. “We were going to stage an
other attempt on her life. We were working out the details in her room.”

Kyle sat up.
“How?”

“I was going to sho
ot at her once the train arrived at the hotel.”

“Oh, that’s nice,” Kyle said. “What if the police arrested some innocent person?”

“No one was going to be arrested. She was going to give the police a very vague description of her attacker.”

“Really?” Grace asked. “Would her very vague description somehow match Tracy?”

Parker shook his head.

“You two were working very hard to implicate her in her husband’s death
,” Grace pointed out.

“We didn’t say anything that the police wouldn’t have found out anyway. Robert was a cheater. That wasn’t a lie and since she’s his wife, she’ll probably inherit all of his money.
On paper, she’s got the best motive of any of us.”

Deciding that it was best to keep Lucas’ windfall a secret for the time being
, Grace asked, “Do you really think Tracy killed Robert?”

Parker shook his head. “Not really.
She never really seemed that interested in the business and I always got the impression that she had her own money and didn’t really need Robert’s. Besides, they were acting like a couple of newlyweds at the station yesterday morning.”

“If you didn’t believe it
then why were you two so focused on pointing out Tracy’s motives?” Kyle asked.

Parker pursed his lips.
“Felicity was afraid you two were starting to suspect her. She was just trying to point you in another possible direction . . .”

“And?” Grace asked when he hesitated.

“It would really be great for her book if she figures out who the killer is before anyone else.”

Grace shook her head. “
Of course.”

“What about that story about Ellen Kirby,” Kyle asked. “Was any of that true?”

“Nothing we said was a lie.” Parker held up his hands in supplication. “Okay, we were a little ham fisted in the way we presented the information, but that’s only because of Felicity and her need for drama. Everything we said was the truth.”

Grace and Kyle exchanged dubious looks.

“What did you mean
a few minutes ago by
stage another attempt
?” Kyle asked suspiciously. “When was the first one?”

Parker’s face flushed. “I added the glass to the trout.” He quickly shook his head. “No one was supposed to get hurt. I was just supposed to put some glass in the dish, and then give it to her.”

“Is that what you were doing when you tried to grab one of the plates from Meredith before dinner?” Grace asked.

Parker nodded sheepishly.

Bewilderment coloring his voice, Kyle asked, “Why didn’t you just wait until the plate was put in front of you?”

“I wanted to
, but Felicity was afraid someone would catch us, so she wanted me to sneak into the kitchen and add it to her plate.”

“How could you have been certain she would have gotten the right one?” Kyle asked.

“Felicity had requested a plain baked potato. When I checked the plates there was only one. I got cold feet once I got back there and tried to take the plate to her myself, but . . . ,” he said glancing at Grace. “Well, you saw what happened. I swear, no one was supposed to get hurt.”

“I don’t get it. Why the ruse all of the sudden?” Kyle asked. “
If you’re telling the truth, someone actually tried to kill her before. What happen? Did they just give up?”

Parker’s eyes dropped to the floor
. “In a manner of speaking.”

“Do you know who tried to kill her?” Grace asked.

Parker’s jaw clenched. “I just know that they stopped.”

“Why are you telling us all this, Parker?” Grace asked.

“I don’t want to muddy the waters.”

“And?” she asked when he paused.

“I also don’t want to go to jail for murder. If the cops start thinking those threats she received are related to Robert’s death then . . .”

“You’re in trouble,” Grace finished for him.

“Exactly.” Parker groaned. “I should never have listened to her.” He laid his head in his hands.

“Where is
Felicity now?” Kyle asked.

Parker
lifted his head and looked toward the door. “Hopefully, keeping Sara occupied.”

“
Which brings me back to my original question,” Grace said. “Why does she suspect Sara?”

“
Because I saw Victor and Sara making out Christmas Eve in Victor’s truck,” Parker said.

Kyle and Grace exchanged looks.
“Sara?” Kyle asked. “Sara Michaels?” At Parker’s nod, he asked, “Are you sure?”

“Pretty sure
. I caught her sneaking out of his room later that night. What ’s more, Robert must have known about it, too. The day Victor Kirby died, I overheard Sara begging Robert not to tell Wellington. She told him that she could get fired if Wellington found out.”

“What did Robert say?” Kyle asked.

“He told her to get out, but then she switched gears and told him that she wasn’t the only one with a secret.”

Grace lifted an
eyebrow. “What secret?”

“
I don’t know. Felicity chose that moment to start screaming for me from her bedroom. It sort of interrupted the moment.”

“Was this before or after
Victor died?” Grace asked.

“Before. We were still waiting on
Wellington to arrive.”

“But I was under the impression Sara had very little to do with the case,” Kyle said. “How did she and
Victor Kirby get so close?”

“
Victor was very rich and I guess very charming when he wanted to be.”

Kyle looked at him doubtfully.

“Hey, I don’t understand it myself, but they were definitely having an affair.”

“What time
did you see her coming out of Victor’s room?” Grace asked.

“
Three-thirty in the morning. Just before the fire started.”

“I’m surprised she didn’t run into Lucas,” Grace said. “Isn’t that about the time he ran out of his room?”

“He ran out less than a minute later. Looked like the devil was after him,” Parker said with a touch too gleefully.

Kyle shook his head.
“Wait a second. I thought you were outside digging a grave when the guest house caught on fire?”

“It was Christmas
,” Parker said with a grimace. “I decided my time would be better spent sleeping than going off on one of Felicity’s idiotic projects. So, I set my alarm for three-thirty, got dressed and snuck out of my room. I was going to roll around in the snow for a few minutes and then come back in and give her my report, but when I got outside, I discovered that the guest house was on fire. That’s when I saw someone hit Felicity over the head and drag her around the side of the house.”

“
But you didn’t see who it was?” Grace asked.

The muscle in Parker’s jaw clenched. “No. It was too dark.
By the time I got around the house whoever it was had dragged Felicity in through the back door and left her on the floor. I got her out of there just before the ceiling fell.” Another noise outside in the corridor caused him to leap to his feet. “We need to get out of here before Sara comes back.”

“Wait,” Grace said. “What were you and Robert arguing about before dinner?”

“He didn’t want Felicity to make a scene at dinner.”

“
I got that,” Grace said, “but he threatened you. What was that about?”

“He’
d been paying me to keep Felicity under control and was worried she’d make a scene at dinner,” Parker admitted. “He wanted me to make sure she didn’t cause any problems.”

“Oh well, job well done there,” Kyle said in amusement.

“
Thanks,” he said sarcastically. “I wasn’t actually doing what he wanted, I just figured that since he was handing out money, I’d let him think I was under his thumb. When he realized that he wasn’t getting his money’s worth, he threatened to tell Felicity that I was working for him.”

“That must have worried you,” Grace said.

“Not at all,” Parker said quickly. “It was Felicity’s idea to take the money. We split it with each other.”

“Abort!
” Felicity’s voice came in a harsh whisper from the corridor. “Abort,” she said again as she threw open the door and rushed into the room. She came to a stop when she realized Parker wasn’t alone. She blinked in surprise a few times before giving them a cheery smile. She suddenly cocked her head to the side. “What in the world are all of you doing in here?” she asked a bit loudly. “Isn’t this Sara’s room?”

Grace looked over Felicity’s shoulder. Sara leaned against the door jamb and crossed her arms. “You know, it’s funny
, but I must be the only one who has any difficulty opening this door.”

Chapter TWENTYthree

“Now, don’t you
worry, sweetie. I’m sure Grace and Kyle have a perfectly good reason for being in here,” Felicity said, patting Sara on the arm. “Good thing Parker came by when he did. I’m sure he can vouch for their innocence. They must have just been confused. All these rooms look alike,” she said with an anxious twitter.

Sara simply glared at the woman, until Felicity nervously tugged at her necklace. “Well, I guess we’ll just be on our way. Come, Parker,” she ordered, sliding past Sara with as much dignity as she could muster.

Parker followed his employer out the door only stopping when Sara held out her hand, palm up.

He barely looked at her as he handed her back her key.

“Thank you,” Sara said dryly.

“Well, we should be going to.” Kyle stood up
, but sat back down just as quickly when Sara closed the door after Parker and leaned against it.

“Care to explain what you
all were doing in here?” Sara asked pleasantly.

“We actually have a good excuse,” Kyle said glancing at Grace. “We, um . . .”

“Caught Parker hiding in your room,” Grace finished for him.

“Oh, that’s right. We did,” Kyle said with a smile. “You’re welcome.”

“Uh huh,” Sara said, pushing herself away from the door and shaking her head. “You all seemed rather comfortable when I came in.” She looked at Grace and Kyle suspiciously. “What were you all talking about?”

“Not much,
” Grace said. “He mentioned he had a criminal record. Perhaps, he was trying to steal something.”

Sara slowly shook her head.
“Felicity was stalling me out there which means she must have known what he was up to. One thing I know about Felicity is she isn’t a thief, so he must have been looking for something else.” Sara’s eyes flashed in annoyance. “Out with it you two. What was he looking for?”

G
race hesitated a moment before admitting that Parker had been searching her room for evidence.

“
Why would he want to do that?”

“Because
he and Felicity think that you killed Robert,” Grace said.

Sara chuckled. “That’s ridiculous. Why would I kill Robert Kirby? I barely know the man.”

“Parker overheard you and Robert arguing the day his father died,” Kyle said. “He said that you threatened to expose some secret of Robert’s.”

Sara
sat down in the chair next to the bed. “I knew someone was listening.”

“So, he’s telling the truth?”
Grace asked, wondering which was more surprising, that he was telling the truth or how easily Sara was admitting to blackmailing the dead man.

“Yes,
but it didn’t work.” She smiled at their shocked faces. “I was testing Robert. Under Mr. Wellington’s orders,” she added quickly. “You can ask him if you don’t believe me. I told Robert that I found some evidence about who set the fire that I was keeping from Wellington and that I’d be happy to give it up for a price.”

“And?”
Grace asked.

“
He wanted to know who, but when I wouldn’t tell him he threatened to go tattle to his father and Wellington.”

“What did you say?”
Grace asked.

“
Well, I wasn’t worried about him talking to Wellington, but I couldn’t have him going to his father. Wellington wanted me to drop the same line on Victor, too. So, I had to think fast. I ended up telling him that if he did, I’d expose his secret and tell his wife what he’d actually been doing Christmas Eve. That got his attention.”

Propping his elbows on his knees, Kyle leaned forward. “What was he doing?”

“It was a well-known secret that he’d been sleeping with the very pretty but very married weathercaster at Tracy’s station. I took a guess that was where he was that night. It paid off. He suddenly turned pale and begged me not to tell.”

“
How long did they’re relationship last?” Grace asked.

Sara shook her head. “No
t long, I heard that he had confessed to Tracy about the affair sometime after his father’s funeral and promised to change. That’s when they both decided to go to a marriage counselor.”

“Why did Wellington want to test Robert?” Kyle asked.

“It wasn’t just Robert. I was
supposed to tell everyone in the house that I knew who set the fire and see who would take the bait. Unfortunately, we found Victor Kirby’s body a few hours later. We were essentially off the case at that point and Robert threw us out of the house as soon as the roads cleared the next morning. I didn’t get to test any of the others.”

“Wh
y were you at the Kirby’s on Christmas Eve?” Grace asked.

“We weren’t supposed to be. Steve was giving
Victor a preliminary report when it began to snow.”

“He wanted a report on Christmas Eve?” Grace asked.

“Mr. Wellington made it quite clear that we were to make ourselves available to the Kirby’s at any day and any hour. Anyway, Steve told him that Meredith Mallory had a clean bill of health and then they discussed who was stealing from the company. By the time we were done, it was dark and the roads were covered. We were stuck there.” She gave a half shrug. “I didn’t care. I didn’t have anywhere else to be and Wellington paid us well.”

“Where were you when the fire started?” Grace asked.

“In bed. Tracy’s screams woke me up.”

Grace almost asked whose bed. Something in her expression must have given her away. Sara stared at her intently. “What?”

“Nothing.”

“No
,” Sara said suspiciously. “There was something. What’s wrong?”

“Someone saw you coming out of
Victor’s room that night,” Grace said.

Sara look
ed confused for a second. “Victor Kirby’s room? I never . . .” She paused suddenly. “Oh, I had completely forgotten about that. I got lost on my way from the bathroom and opened the wrong door. I was practically asleep before I realized I was in the wrong room. I didn’t even know that was Victor’s room.” Her eyebrows knitted together. “I don’t remember running into anyone. Who saw me?”

“The same person who caught you blackmailing Robert,” Kyle said. “Parker.”

*

Kyle sat down
across from Asa Wellington in the back of the dining car while Grace headed to the bar area to get a bottle of water. He looked over Wellington’s shoulder at Sara and Steve sitting at a table on the other end of the car. He watched in amusement as the former attempted to remove the gauze that was threatening to smother the latter.

Wellington
steepled his fingers together under his chin. “I was wondering when you were going to come back. Solved the case, yet?”

Kyle
dragged his eyes away from Steve and Sara and smiled. Now that he knew the older man was nothing more than a fancy con-man he felt much more in control and comfortable around him. Adopting the same pose, Kyle said, “Not yet, but I’m working on it.”

Wellington
looked down at Kyle’s hands. An amused grin lit up his face. “Good. You let me know when you’ve solved it.”

“Oh, you’ll be the first to know. I do have a couple of questions for you.”

“I’d be happy to answer any questions you have—”

“Yeah
?” Kyle asked, remembering the last couple of conversations they had where he came back with nothing. Not this time, he thought, a bit ruthlessly.

Wellington
nodded. “You know, I have several offices around the world—”

“That’s great and I would love to hear about them
—after you answer my questions.”

Wellington
’s lips quirked up in surprise. He leaned back in his chair and looked at Kyle closely. “You want a direct answer this time.”

“If you can, yes
, that would be nice for a change.”

Wellington
smiled. “You’re very bright, Kyle, can’t get much passed you. You’re obviously an excellent detective. Tell me more about your detective agency in . . . New York, wasn’t it? I have an office up there. You know, I’ve been thinking how strange it is that our paths have never crossed before now.”

Undaunted, Kyle smiled
. “Somehow we got back to me, but I would much rather talk about you and your relationship with Victor Kirby or more specifically his wife.”

Wellington waved his hand.
“Oh, Felicity and I have no relationship. She likes to flirt and act outrageous, but—”

“I’m not referring to her.”

Studying Kyle carefully,
Wellington folded his hands on his chest. “Which one told you? Parker or Felicity?”

“Does it matter? What’s important is that it seems you have your own reasons for wanting Victor Kirby dead.
I think with everything that’s happened here and all that we’ve learned, the authorities are going to have to reopen the file on his death. I
think they’ll all be rather interested in knowing that you have your own motive for killing the man. It sort of puts your reluctance to answer any of my questions in perspective, doesn’t it?”

Wellington gave Kyle a hard look before asking curtly,
“What do you want to know?”

Figuring it was best t
o ease into the discussion about Ellen Kirby, Kyle decided to clarify some of the information they had already collected. “Why did you send Steve to Italy after Victor Kirby died?”

Wellington raised an eyebrow. “Tracy called me in a panic shortly after Victor died. She was afraid Lucas was going to try to hurt Steve. For Steve’s safety, I decided it was best to put some distance between him and Lucas.”

Kyle nodded. So far, so good, he thought, moving onto his next question. “Parker says he caught Sara blackmailing Robert, but she insists that it was your idea. Why did you want her to test Robert?”

“I
wasn’t convinced that Jack set the fire. It was too convenient. I didn’t have any proof, but I felt the boy had been set up to take the fall for one of the other family members.”

“And Robert was your first suspect
?”

Wellington
shook his head. “He was just the first one Sara spoke to. Victor Kirby was my first suspect.”

“Why would he set his own guest house on fire?”

“To kill Felicity. He was convinced she was having an affair with Parker.”

“
I’m not surprised. They seem to have a rather . . . close relationship.”

“That’s putting it mildly,” Wellington said dryly.
“I have no doubt that their relationship extends far beyond the employer and employee bounds.”

“But Steve told
Victor that he couldn’t find any proof of an affair.”

Wellington
shook his head. “He told Victor what I wanted him to tell Victor. The truth of the matter is that I had no desire to investigate Felicity and Parker’s relationship. Even if I had proof of an affair, I wouldn’t have told Victor. I was afraid of what he might do if he found out the truth. I don’t advocate lying to my clients, but I was willing to make an exception in this case.”

“W
ith her history, I think she would have been the one to worry about. She had a few more dead spouses than he did.”

Wellington
shook his head. “Felicity tends to exaggerate quite a bit and also marry wealthy men far older than she. Men with one foot already in the grave. They all died of natural causes. Believe me an intensive autopsy was the first thing their heirs usually demanded. She doesn’t have to send them on their way to the afterlife; they’re usually almost there. Victor was the exception.”

“So, you don’t think she killed him?”

“Oh, on the contrary, I think she did or she at least tried to, but I also believe it was in self-defense.”

“What do you mean?”

“Victor Kirby was a violent, angry individual. He was also extremely possessive of his wives. If he felt he was being cuckolded he wouldn’t hesitate in killing them both.”

“Like h
e did with his first wife?”

Wellington
nodded. “I could never prove it. That’s the hardest thing about this job. Knowing someone is guilty and not being able to do a thing about it. All the evidence pointed to her getting on a plane and leaving the country. Oh, he kept up the pretense of her being alive for years after the fact. Sending letters to the boys. To old college friends. But the letters stopped, eventually.” Wellington sat lost in thought for a moment, gazing out the window at the sun setting in the distance. He suddenly looked much older than he had a few minutes before.

Kyle looked at the man in sympathy.
“How well did you know her?”

Clearing his throat,
Wellington turned away from the window. “Quite well. She was a wonderful woman. Kind, caring, sensitive. We had even spoken of marriage at one time.”

“What happened?”

“We wanted different things in life. She wanted to settle down and start a family, but I was far more interested in seeing the world.” He sat there quietly for a few seconds before adding, “We decided it would be best for both of us to end our relationship. We parted as friends.”