Murder the Tey Way: A Golden Age of Mystery Book Club Mystery (The Golden Age of Mystery Book Club Mysteries 2) (23 page)

“Oh, sure!” Viola shocked me by making a rude sound. “She’s convinced herself they were soul mates who tragically found one another before death tore them apart. They shared a passion all right—spending money on things they couldn’t afford.”

“I think that’s a bit harsh,” I said.

“Sorry Lexie. I didn’t call to bitch about Sadie. Ron and I were hoping you’d consider holding a book club meeting to talk about another Tey novel.”

I thought a bit. “I’d be happy to discuss another Tey book, but I’m afraid our book club might be falling by the wayside. Tim’s gone, the Billingses won’t be back from Peru for another week or so, and the Roberts sisters are moving within the month.”

“I’ve spoken to a few of the teachers in school. At least three people are interested in joining the group. They can make a Wednesday night meeting.”

“Sounds good to me,” I said. “I’ll run it by the others and get back to you regarding the date and the title of the novel we’ll be doing.”

I rummaged through my Tey novels, wondering which book everyone would enjoy.
The Franchise Affair
appealed to me because it didn’t include a murder, though the crime was ugly enough. The story, based on an actual eighteenth century case, concerns a young woman who claims a mother and daughter kidnapped and beat her. The women ask a meek, stick-in-the-mud lawyer named Robert Blair to clear them of the charges. At first reluctant to take on the case, Blair suddenly finds life exhilarating as he unearths the truth and discovers the real story of how the girl managed to get herself beaten and why.

In the end, murder and intrigue won out, and I decided to go with
To Live And Be Wise.
I felt a sense of exhilaration as I reached for the phone to start informing the members of my selection. Hopefully, most of them would be able to attend the meeting, which I decided would take place two weeks from tonight.

The following evening I was finishing my frozen dinner from Trader Joe’s when Joy called, desperate to get out of the house.

“Have you decided to run away and abandon your kids?” I teased.

“Don’t mention kids to me! I had nine of them here all afternoon and for dinner!  If I don’t escape for a few hours, I’ll go crazy. Mike saw what a state I’m in and invited his pals over for a poker game.”

“I’m in,” I told her.

“Pick you up in an hour,” she said and rang off.

We decided to go for ice cream. Our neighborhood Friendly’s restaurant was crowded with young families and teenagers, no big surprise for a Friday night. We snagged the last empty table and gave our order. I decided on the three scoop sundae. Joy opted for two scoops.

“So, you’re planning to discuss another Josephine Tey novel,” she said.

I nodded. “
To Love and Be Wise
. It’s a delightful, well-written treasure.”

“I’ll come, but I can’t promise to finish it in two weeks. Do you have a copy I can borrow?”

“Our library’s requested eight copies from neighboring libraries. You can pick up yours tomorrow.”

Joy laughed. “I’m impressed by your pull with the library brass.”

“It’s not as impressive as the power you wield, but it comes in handy,” I joked.

“Will there be enough people for a meeting, Lex?”

“Viola and Ron are bringing three of their fellow teachers, Sadie said she’ll be there, and Marge emailed me from Peru to say she’s read the book and plans to come, with or without Evan.” I grinned. “And I’m to tell everyone that Eloisa is the most adorable, precocious child in the world.”

“I’m happy for them.” Joy made a face. “And the Mafia princesses? Will they still be in town?”

I chuckled “You have to stop calling them that. No one answered the phone when I called earlier, and I didn’t leave a message.”

Our ice cream sundaes arrived, and for a few minutes we were too busy scooping the yummy concoctions into our mouths to talk.

“You know,” Joy mused, “This meeting will give us one more stab at figuring out who killed Tim and Len Lyons.”

“Great choice of words,” I pointed out. “I’m beginning to think the murderer isn’t a member of our book club.”

“Maybe so, but there’s a good chance he’s involved with a member of our book club.”

I pointed my spoon at her. “You’re thinking of Johnny Scarvino, aren’t you?”

“He’s a gangster, and he does seem to crop up a lot,” Joy said.

We finished our sundaes then decided we wanted coffee.”

“This is fun,” Joy said. “What else can we order?”

I giggled. Joy sounded like a kid let out of class on a school day.

“I’d forgotten how wonderful it is to sit and talk in a public place without someone yanking on my arm for attention.”

“Speaking of which, your big birthday celebration’s coming up,” I said. “Are you buying a new outfit for the occasion?”

Joy shot me a shamefaced grin. “With all the stress leading up to it, I kind of blocked it out. I should get something, I suppose.”

“We’ll shop one evening next week,” I said, and signaled to our waitress to bring the check.

We drove home, singing along with the radio. It was a quarter to ten when Joy pulled into my driveway.

“Do you have big plans tomorrow night with Brian?” she asked as I opened my car door.

“Just dinner.”

“We’re playing cards with the Kramers around the corner. Zack and Ruthie love to go there because they have the Wii, which we don’t.”

The sound of a garage door opening caught our attention. Joy and I stared as a car zipped out of the Roberts’ garage and zoomed down Magnolia Lane.

“Corinne must have a late date,” I said In jest.

“That was Felicity,” Joy said, her voice pure steel. “Get back in the car, Lexie. We’re off to investigate.” She drove slowly, letting the other car get a block ahead of us.

“But Felicity hardly ever drives anywhere by herself,” I muttered. “And never at night.”

“Duh. That’s why we’re following her,” Joy said.

“Do you think she has a new boyfriend?” I whispered.

“And doesn’t want Corinne to find out?” Joy whispered back.

“Why are we whispering?” I asked in my regular voice.

“Because we don’t want Felicity to find out we’re following her.”

We laughed and rode the rest of the way in silence.

Joy took various turns that struck me as familiar. “Is this the way to—?”

“Sadie’s house,” Joy finished as Felicity pulled into Sadie’s driveway. She pressed the doorbell several times. Sadie opened the door and listened to what appeared to be an emotional tirade. Felicity was sobbing. When Sadie tried to interrupt, Felicity’s hands formed fists and struck her thighs repeatedly like an anvil. She never stopped talking, but she spoke too low for us to make out the words. Finally, Sadie stepped back and Felicity entered the house.

“What was all that about?” I said, watching the door slam shut.

Joy shook her head. “Haven’t the foggiest. Clearly, Felicity’s upset, but I couldn’t tell if she’s upset with Sadie or in desperate need of a shoulder to cry on.”

“I had no idea the two of them were friends.”

“Or why Felicity might be angry at Sadie,” Joy said.

We stared at the house. Saw nothing. No new lights went on. Neither woman came out.

After ten minutes passed, Joy turned on the motor. “I don’t have time for a stake out. I gotta get home.”

“I suppose we’ll never find out what this was about,” I complained as we drove off.

“You never know,” Joy said.

It was uncanny how right she was. The ringing phone woke me early Saturday morning. It was Joy, telling me that Sadie had been found unconscious and was in the hospital.

I struggled to sit up and grasp what she was saying, which was a bit too much to take in first thing in the morning.

“How do you know?” I asked. “Who found her? When did this happen?”

“Mike’s former partner, Terry, just called. He knows Sadie and I are in the book club together, and that the members are involved in the murders.”

I winced as Joy continued. “Ron Alvarez found her around midnight.”

“Midnight! What was he doing there at that hour?”

“He claims he’s been keeping close tabs on Sadie since Tim died. He called, got no answer, so he went to see if she was all right. He knocked and rang the bell. Nothing. Then he peered through the window and saw her lying on the floor. He broke into the house and called for an ambulance.”

“Sounds fishy to me,” I said. “Did you tell Terry we followed Felicity?”

“I had to, since we saw her enter the house. When we left, she was still inside.”

I swallowed. “That was around ten o’clock. She must have left before Sadie’s attacker broke in.”

“The doctors think Sadie was unconscious for some time when Ron found her,” Joy said gently. “If he hadn’t broken into the house when he did, Sadie would have died.”

I leaned against the backboard of my bed, suddenly feeling faint. “Are you trying to tell me Felicity struck Sadie?”

“Not definitively, but there’s a huge possibility she did.’”

My mind refused to accept the possibility. I had the overwhelming urge to run next door and hold Felicity in my arms. “You can’t believe she’s capable of harming anyone. She’s delicate. And fragile.”

“And unstable. Think, Lexie. Unstable people wreak havoc.”

I thought, not liking the images that came to mind. Still, I refused to think ill of Felicity. “She’s too gentle a soul to hurt Sadie.”

“She’s from a mob family, Lex. As much as her mother might have protected her, she had to know that people were murdered on her father orders. These are values she learned consciously or unconsciously as she grew up. In the darkest recess of her mind, murder is an all-right solution if the people deserve it.”

I opened my mouth to argue, and closed it again. As much as I didn’t want to agree, Joy’s argument made sense.

“When are they coming for her?”

“Any minute now.”

I pulled on jeans and a sweater, determined to be present when the cops arrived to take Felicity in for questioning. I didn’t know why I felt so protective toward her, only that I did. Maybe it was to show I believed she wasn’t capable of striking Sadie.

Or of murdering Len and Tim.

Now what made me think of that?

I flung open my front door and saw I was too late. Three black and whites were parked helter-skelter in front of the house next door. Corinne, flanked by a man and a woman, stood arguing with two of the cops while another pair of cops escorted Felicity to one of their cars. I couldn’t tell if she was in handcuffs.

I reached Felicity just as a cop pushed her head down none too gently so she could climb into the back seat.

“Easy there,” I said.

The cop glared at me. “Step back, miss.”

I ignored him and peered in at Felicity. She was sobbing noisily. Tears spilled down her cheeks.

“I know you didn’t hurt Sadie,” I said as soothing as I could manage. “Is that your lawyer with Corinne?”

“Mr. Coffey said he’ll be waiting for me at the station.”

“Then who’s that talking to Corinne?”

“That’s Barbara and her partner.” Felicity sniffed. “The police won’t listen to them.”

Barbara?
Of course. She was their WITSEC handler, I remembered, as someone yanked me away from the car. I stumbled backward and would have fallen if one of the cops hadn’t caught me.

“Keep away from Felicity!” Corinne stood inches from me, her face contorted with rage.

“I only want to—”

“They’re dragging her off to jail because of you! I’ve told you before—stay out of our lives!”

“I didn’t tell the police anything!”

Corinne’s dark eyes were lasers that seemed to bore right through me. “You!  Joy! What’s the difference? You both followed Felicity last night and fingered her to the cops.”

My mouth fell open.
How did she know?

Corinne and I watched the car carrying Felicity drive off to the police station. When it disappeared from view, she stepped closer to me until our jackets nearly touched.

“My sister can’t take much more of this. If anything happens to her, you and your pal will regret it for the rest of your lives.”

Shaken, I ran home and double-locked the door. Corinne’s words cut me like a razor. When it came to Felicity, she was a tigress protecting her cub. For all Joy and I knew, Corinne had followed her sister last night and assaulted Sadie after Felicity left. How else could she have known that Joy and I were there, that Joy gave up Felicity to the police?

But why would Corinne hurt Sadie? Was she so overprotective of Felicity that she didn’t want anyone else getting close to her? Sadie was a guidance counselor. Perhaps Felicity had turned to her for advice, and Sadie’s advice was to break away from her older sister.

Or did it have something to do with Tim’s murder?

Whatever the reason, I needed to tell Brian about Corinne’s behavior.

Thinking of Brian cheered me up. I ate breakfast and realized I had something else to be cheerful about. Next week my son and his girlfriend were coming for Thanksgiving! Since Gayle was going to be on Long Island for the holiday, I decided to make it a real family occasion. To my great surprise, Jesse said he and Cici would be happy to fly out on Wednesday afternoon and stay until Saturday. How they managed to get tickets at this late date, I didn’t dare ask. With Brian, we’d be five.

I ran errands in town, ending up at the supermarket where I filled my wagon with a frozen turkey, cranberries, sweet potatoes, and pineapple. When I got home, I called Rosie.

“How are you, stranger? When do we get to see you?” she asked.

“I’m fine. Things here are hectic.”

“Still dating your detective?”

I drew a deep breath. “Yes.”

Rosie burst out laughing. “It’s that bad, is it? What about Al?”

“I’ll explain everything when he’s back in the U. S.”

“Do they have any leads regarding that man they found murdered in your backyard?”

“No, and another book club member was shot to death.”

“Oh, no! I read about it in the newspaper. I didn’t realize you knew him, too.”