Stitch Me Deadly (20 page)

“Did you change the verse?” she asked.

“No. I think Louisa must have. Do you remember the original verse?”

“Of course. It was from Proverbs 31.” She wrinkled her brow. “Verses 28 and 29, if I’m not mistaken. It was, ‘Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her. Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.’ Grandma Millie made it for her mother.”

“That’s beautiful,” I said. “Why would Louisa change that? Does it have anything to do with
ivy
? When your sister came into my shop that morning, she was asking me to help her find ivy. I wonder now if Ivy might be a person.”

“Hmm . . . I don’t recall anyone named Ivy,” Ms. Ellis said. “But I’ll dwell on it a bit and see if I can remember anything.”

“Why don’t you keep this?” I asked. “You can put it in your own kitchen. I could just frame a photo of it for the shop.”

“No, thank you. I appreciate the thought, dear, truly I do. But I’m afraid it appears Louisa has ruined it because of her hatred of Edward.”

“I . . . I b-beg your pardon?” I asked.

“The verse,” she said. “Cary said Louisa had replaced the original verse, but he didn’t tell me she’d replaced it with this drivel.”

I was sitting beside her, and I looked at the verse to try to determine what had made it so offensive to Ms. Ellis.

That Louisa had taken out the verse her great-grandmother had so lovingly dedicated to her mother could be part of it. To replace a Bible verse with a quote from
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
could certainly factor in. But there was something more . . . something to do with Edward.

“I don’t understand,” I said. “Do you think this verse has something to do with Edward Larkin?”

“You know about him, then? He broke her heart, and I can understand her anger toward him. But I don’t know why she’d ruin Grandma Millie’s sampler over him.”

I frowned. “How does this verse have anything to do with Edward Larkin?”

“The quote is from that Robert Louis Stevenson story about Edward Hyde,” she said. “He was the horrible alter ego of Henry Jekyll. Apparently, Louisa felt that
her
Edward was a Jekyll and Hyde himself. And after he left her, she must’ve felt compelled to keep a constant reminder of Edward’s villainy.”

“You really think that’s all there is to this verse?” I asked. “You don’t think it has anything to do with ivy?”

“Ivy . . .” Ms. Ellis seemed to stare at a spot just behind me. “I don’t . . . No, I don’t think so.” She snapped herself out of her reverie. “What were we saying?”

I bit my lip. Was there a more delicate way to put this than to just blurt it out? I couldn’t think of one. And I knew Cary would be bringing Mom and Ted back momentarily. “Ms. Ellis, do you know anyone who would have wanted to hurt your sister?”

“No. Everybody liked Louisa,” she said. “Well, everybody except that blasted Edward Larkin. I don’t know why he had to go off and leave her after promising he would marry her. She was so heartbroken that she left us and worked in Seattle for two years.” She shook her head. “It was a terrible business.”

“What about Adam Gray?”

“Oh, yes, I know Adam. He’s a nice man. I believe he’d have been a good match for Louisa had she ever paid him any mind.” She smiled. “Sometimes we don’t see what’s right in front of us, do we?” She looked down at the sampler tenderly. “Thank you for bringing this. It holds a lot of memories.”

“Are you sure you won’t keep it?” I asked.

“Oh, no, Marcy. Not all the memories it dredges up are good ones. Here.” As she handed the sampler back to me, I chipped a nail on the corner of the frame. “I’m sorry to be so clumsy. I’ve gone and broken your nail.”

“It wasn’t your fault, Ms. Ellis.”

“There’s a bathroom down that hallway—first door on your right,” she said. “You’ll find a nail file in the medicine cabinet.”

“Thank you.” I slid my chair back from the table and went down the hall to the bathroom. It was odd to go through someone else’s medicine cabinet—I felt as if I was snooping—but I opened the door and spotted the nail file. I repaired my broken nail, and as I put the nail file back on the shelf, I accidentally knocked a medicine bottle to the floor. I picked it up to put it back where it belonged and noticed the label.

Halumet.

I
t was raining when Ted drove me home, and the rhythmic
swish-swoosh
sound of the windshield wipers was almost hypnotic. I’d told him about my inadvertent discovery of Halumet in Ms. Ellisʹ medicine cabinet, and we were discussing what it could mean.

“Had she been guilty of anything, she wouldn’t have directed you to that medicine cabinet for a nail file,” Ted said.

“I agree, but it does make me concerned about Cary.” I sighed. “I wish Mom had agreed to come back with us.”

“So do I, but you came at us all out of left field with that suggestion. ‘Hey, I know! Why don’t you ride back with us, Mom, so Cary can stay here a while longer with Ms. Ellis?’”

“I do not talk like that,” I said.

“Agreed. But it was the best I could do.” Ted tilted his chin. “If Cary lived with his mother, it might make more sense, but he has an apartment closer to his store, right?”

“You mean, for Mom to have ridden back with us or for him to be a suspect in Mrs. Ralston’s death?” I asked.

“Both. As a police officer, I keep going back to motive. The man doesn’t have one, as far as I can tell. Mrs. Ralston remembered him in her will and gave him a tidy sum of money. That’s more than most nephews get.”

“True,” I said. “But who else had access to Ms. Ellis’ house? And why was there Halumet in her medicine cabinet?”

“Ms. Ellis told us she had epilepsy. Certain central nervous system depressants are used to treat or prevent epileptic seizures, and I imagine Halumet is one of them,” he said. “As for who has access to Ms. Ellis’ medicine cabinet, it’s hard to say. We know she has a cook. She probably has nursing assistants come in on a regular basis.”

“So it gives us another lead?” I asked.

He smiled. “It gives us a terrific lead, and I’ll be sure to pass my information along to Detectives Ray and Bailey.”

He pulled into my driveway. Mom and Cary hadn’t left when we did, but Mom had promised to be along soon. He cut off the engine and told me to sit tight. I thought he was merely being chivalrous until I noticed him looking all around the property as he made his way to my side of the car.

He opened the door and offered me his hand. I took it and said, “What a gentleman.”

“Good breeding,” he replied, continuing to look around the property.

Angus began barking from the backyard.

“Be there in a minute, Angus,” I called.

Ted walked me to the front door. I took out my keys and unlocked the door. As I flipped on the lights and dropped my purse on the hall table, I noticed Ted’s gaze taking in every aspect of the foyer and the living room.

“What?” I asked.

He looked down at me. “What?”

“You became my bodyguard the second you pulled into the driveway,” I said. “Do you think I’m in danger?”

“I doubt it,” he said, “but it’s not a chance I’m willing to take. And you shouldn’t, either.” He placed his hands lightly at my waist. “Please be extra careful until this mess is resolved.”

“I will.”

I knew he wanted to kiss me and that he was waiting for me to give him a sign that I wanted him to.
Did
I want him to? I’d been trying to keep my distance from both him and Todd, but sometimes I realized how nice it would be to have a relationship again. I looked up at Ted, who stood well above a foot taller than me . . . his dark hair with the prematurely gray “highlights” . . . those blue eyes. One little kiss wouldn’t really hurt, would it?

I stepped in closer. “Thank you.”

His hands slid around my back and he bent forward to touch his lips to mine. I stood on my tiptoes to slide my hands up his muscular shoulders and around his neck as we kissed.

Angus’ loud bark interrupted our embrace. I gave Ted a rueful grin. “I’d better let him in.”

“Yeah. You’d better.” He followed me through to the kitchen and gave the backyard the once-over as I opened the door for Angus.

“I should be going,” Ted said as we returned to the living room. “Lock up after me, all right?”

“I always keep my doors locked, Detective.”

He brushed my cheek with the back of his hand and left.

I turned on the fireplace, sat in my white suede club chair, and took out my phone to check my messages. There was one from Devon and one from Todd. Devon’s message was scolding me for having my calls go straight to voice mail when I knew he’d be calling about dinner that night. Todd was asking what time we were going to the auction.

I’d just retrieved the remote and flicked on the television when Mom came in. She gave Angus a pat, hung up her coat and scarf, and turned to me with a smile.

“Did he kiss you good night?” she asked.

I rolled my eyes, but I couldn’t help the hint of a smile. “Yeah. Did Cary kiss you good night?”

“Yes, but I want to know about you. Did you enjoy your evening with Ted?”

“I did, but can we not get into this right now?” I nodded toward the sofa. “Come on and sit down and let’s find a corny old movie to watch.”

She sat on the sofa, kicked off her shoes, and stretched out her legs. “Why not get into it now? I see you have your cell phone out. Did Todd call while you were out with Ted?”

“Yes. He wants to know what time we’re going to the auction tomorrow morning.”

“Oh, yeah,” she said. “I’d forgotten about that. What time
are
we going?”

“I thought we should be there when it begins at nine. I open the shop at ten. I’m thinking maybe whoever killed Mrs. Ralston will be there.”

“And that they’ll want what?” Mom asked. “How will we identify this person or persons?”

“I don’t know. I just have to do something. Maybe whoever the killer is—if he . . . or she . . . is at the auction—will behave suspiciously. So we—in particular, you—have to keep your eye on everyone there.” I sighed. “I can only stay an hour unless I close the shop. And I hate to do that, because Saturday is generally one of my busiest days.”

“I’ll stay for the duration of the auction, and I’ll watch out for murderous behavior. I’ve worked on enough mystery movie sets that I should know it when I see it,” she said. “What piece were you interested in again? The umbrella stand?”

“Yes, and I’m guessing they’ll auction off the smaller items first. I plan to bid on that if they sell it before I leave.”

“I’ll catch a ride back to the shop with Cary. Have you called and told Todd what time we’re leaving?”

“Not yet. I will in a few minutes.” I paused, uncertain of how to proceed. “You really like Cary, don’t you?”

“Marcella, we’ve already had this discussion today. Must we have it again?”

“Listen, Mom, I’m glad you like him and that you’re having fun. But I just . . . Well, I want you to be cautious. There was Halumet in his mother’s medicine cabinet,” I said. “I saw it when I went in there to get a nail file.”

She cocked her head. “So?”

“So doesn’t that kinda make Cary a suspect in Louisa Ralston’s death?”

“Not in my book,” she said. “Cary had no reason to kill his aunt, and neither did his mother—in case you’re thinking she’s the villain next.”

“I’m not accusing anyone, Mom. I’m just asking you to be careful.”

“Noted and appreciated. Thank you.”

“Are you angry with me for bringing this up?” I asked.

“No, but I know Cary isn’t a killer.”

“What makes you so sure?”

She grinned. “Cary Grant never played a villain.” She winked, picked up her shoes, and headed for the stairs. “I’m off to take a bath and let you return Todd’s call.” She looked back over her shoulder and made a funny face at me. “Vixen.”

“I’m not a vixen,” I said. “Unlike you, I don’t have the upper hand. I just can’t call up Ted and Todd and ask which of them has never played a villain or a heartbreaker before.”

“Ah, yes,” Mom said. “If only life were like a movie script.”

“Mine is,” I said. “Only it’s currently being directed by Alfred Hitchcock.”

She smiled. “I’d have loved to have worked with Hitchcock.”

She went on upstairs, and I returned Todd’s call.

“Hey, there,” he said. “I’m just leaving the Brew Crew. I cut out early since I knew we’d have to be at the auction early tomorrow morning. Where’ve you been all evening?”

“Having dinner at Ms. Ellis’ house. She’s Cary’s mother . . . and Mrs. Ralston’s sister.” I neglected to mention that Ted had come along.

“I’ll bet that was interesting.”

“More than you know,” I said. “Can you be here at about eight thirty in the morning? The auction begins at nine, and I’d like to get a good spot.”

“Sure, would you like me to bring breakfast?” he asked.

“No. If you can be here at eight, I’ll make Mom cook.”

Todd laughed. “Sounds like a plan. I’ll see you then.”