A Devious Lot (Antiques & Collectibles Mysteries Book 5) (14 page)

Leon frowned. “Why do you want to know?”

“Mr. Twist, it’s my job to ask the questions. Who lives there?”

“Her name’s Penelope Cassidy,” Leon said. “But she hasn’t lived in the flat for a couple of months. She moved to Channing Hall back in August.”

Molly and Boyle exchanged glances. This was surprising news.

“Is she still on the lease?” Boyle asked.

“Yes, sir,” Leon said. “She didn’t want to give up the flat, in case things didn’t work out with her boyfriend, Giles Adair.”

“Does Giles know she kept the flat?”

“She told him she was putting her things in storage, but she didn’t.” Leon shook his head. “You ask me, that’s not a good sign, her lying to him.”

“Are you aware Penelope is missing?”

Leon’s jaw dropped. “No. I haven’t heard a thing about it.”

“Reggie appears to be missing as well,” Boyle said. “Do you know if they were in a relationship?”

“You mean, like dating? No, no, no. That’s impossible.” Leon laughed. “Penelope’s got the Adair boy, and let’s face it, she’s a thoroughbred and Reggie’s an old workhorse.”

“Have you ever seen them together, perhaps at the pub, or out having a meal?”

Leon rubbed the side of his nose. “Look, the pubs I go to are mostly dives. I see Reggie at them every so often, but he’s always alone. I’ve never seen him around with Penelope, or any other woman for that matter.”

Boyle pointed to the door across the hall. “Do you have the key for her flat?”

“Yes, I do. I suppose you want to see inside.”

“I do.”

They went to the door and Leon opened it. Unlike Reggie’s plain bachelor pad, Penelope’s flat was full of sunlight and color. The walls were painted a cheery yellow, and the moldings bright white. Original framed artwork was hung on all the walls, painted by one artist with a swirly signature Molly couldn’t read. They were all colorful and modern, and while she didn’t understand modern art, she thought they were beautiful. Overall, Penelope’s décor was an eclectic mix of pricey antiques, contemporary furnishings, and modern paintings. A mishmash of styles, but somehow it all worked together. Boyle went off to check the bedroom and Molly walked over to the window that overlooked the street. On the sidewalk, she saw a young mother pushing a baby stroller. She stopped and lifted a hand in greeting to a woman across the street. The other woman waved back and said something to her, but Molly couldn’t hear. The woman with the baby laughed. Marlow Crossing appeared on its face to be an idyllic, friendly village, but Molly knew it was a mirage. Tiffany had been murdered, and whatever life had been like in the village before her death, everything had changed, whether people wanted to admit it or not.

Boyle came out of the bedroom shaking his head. “Nothing there. Looks like she only left her furniture and paintings when she moved in with Giles. Everything else is gone.”

They went into the kitchen. The appliances were old but clean. Molly saw an expensive cappuccino machine on the counter, professional grade, similar to Tessa’s. She opened the refrigerator while Boyle checked the cupboards. He found a box of crunchy oatmeal cereal; Molly found a bottle of ketchup. As she closed the refrigerator door, she noticed a magnet attached to the side of the fridge and peeled it off.

“What is it?” Boyle asked.

“Looks like a cheap tourist magnet,” she said, and showed it to him. The magnet pictured a town with a stone bridge and rolling hills in the background. At the bottom, written in red in the middle of a strip of river, was the single word
Rimstock
.

“Rimstock’s a town in Yorkshire,” Boyle said. “The magnet means something to her. Why else would she keep it?”

“It could have been left here by a former tenant,” Molly said, although she didn’t really believe it. A woman with Penelope’s tastes would probably have thrown it away.

“Or it’s the first clue I’ve got as to her whereabouts,” he said. “I’ll alert the Rimstock police to keep an eye out for her.”

They went out to the hall, where Leon was waiting.

“Is it all right if I lock up now?” he asked.

“I’d like the keys for both units,” Boyle said. “I’ll have a crew come over to do a more thorough search.”

Leon shrugged, locked the doors, and took the keys off the ring. “Take them,” he said. “But do me a favor and give them back when you’re done.”

Chapter 15

Molly walked Boyle to his car, which was parked at the curb.

“What do you think of Penelope living across the hall from Reggie?” she asked.

“I think it makes things a lot more complicated for both of them,” he said. “They must have met at some point.” He took his car keys out of his pocket. “Hopefully we’ll have better luck tracking down Reggie than we’ve had with Penelope. Can I give you a ride somewhere?”

“No, thanks, I’ve got Tessa’s car. I’m on my way to the grocery store. But before you go, there’s something you should know.” She hesitated as she silently apologized to Tessa. She didn’t want to tell Boyle about the hemlock plant, but Reggie was missing and she had no choice. “This morning, Billy Farnham filled in for Reggie. Billy found a poison hemlock growing in Tessa’s garden.” A look of surprise crossed Boyle’s face. “You can’t see it from the house, because the shed blocks the view, but it’s at the edge of the garden bordering the woods. Billy offered to dig it up, but Tessa told him to leave it. She wanted me to check on Reggie first, and see what he had to say about it.”

Boyle ran a hand over his face. “Well, this is news.” She expected him to look pleased, but he looked disappointed. “You should have called me immediately.”

“Sorry, it only happened this morning, about an hour ago,” she said. “I planned to call you as soon as I talked to Reggie.”

He pressed the key fob and the car doors clicked open. “I’ll get someone over to her place to get it,” he said.

They parted ways, and Molly ran her errand at the store. On the drive home, she called her mother using the car’s Bluetooth feature. She loved hands-free calling.

Clara answered in a cheerful voice. “Hello, Molly, dear. I’m in the car with Sean. We’re on our way to Logan.”

“You decided not to fly out of Burlington?” Molly asked.

“I would have loved to, but there weren’t any nonstop flights, and I was worried there could be a delay. I don’t want to miss my plane to England.”

Sean chimed in. “Hi, Molly.”

“Thanks for driving Mom such a long way,” Molly said. The drive to Logan Airport in Boston was about three and a half hours, one way. Sean really did love her mother to make that long trek.

“So far, traffic’s been okay,” Sean said. “I’ll make sure she gets there on time.”

“Thank you so much for taking care of her,” Molly said. “Ma, I wanted to tell you what’s been going on, so you’ll be caught up when you get here.” She went on to tell them about the hemlock plant in Tessa’s garden, Reggie’s disappearance, and the discovery that Penelope was living across the hall from him. “I hope the police find them in Rimstock. If one or both of them confesses to killing Tiffany, I can go home.”

Clara laughed. “I haven’t even gotten there yet, and you’re already talking about going home.”

Molly felt tears spring to her eyes. “I miss Matt.”

“Oh, darling, of course you do,” Clara said. “Don’t fret. As soon as I get there, I’ll do everything I can to help you get back to him.”

“Thanks, Ma. I’m really glad you’re coming. You got the email I sent you about the limo?”

“Yes, I printed it out,” Clara said. “I’ll give you a call after I land.”

They said their good-byes and Molly arrived back at Tessa’s and unpacked the groceries. After a quick lunch of soup and a sandwich, she settled Tessa at the kitchen table with her crossword puzzle and a cup of herbal tea, got the vacuum out of the closet and a bucket with cleaning products, and cleaned the entire first floor of the cottage. Then she made her way to the second floor, lugging the vacuum upstairs, hoping she didn’t trip and fall. She put clean sheets on both guest room beds and cleaned the bathroom, and as she was getting up her courage to take the vacuum back down the stairs, her cell phone rang. Lombardi’s name flashed on the screen. Molly was relieved he wasn’t calling using FaceTime. Her hair was a mess and she was sweating from all the cleaning. She wasn’t in the mood for anyone to see her on camera.

“Hello, Lombardi,” she answered. “Have you found out anything about Penelope? Because I have news for you.”

“Why don’t you go first,” he said.

Molly gave him a quick update, ending with her discovery that Penelope lived across the hall from Reggie. “What’s your take on Reggie and Penelope?” she asked.

“It could be a coincidence they’re gone at the same time, but on the surface, it doesn’t look good, particularly for Penelope.”

“Why her?”

“Do the villagers know about Reggie’s criminal past?”

“Oh, yeah. They have a gossip mill here that puts Burlington’s to shame.”

“Then it stands to reason Penelope knows he murdered a man and went to prison. He’d be a prime target for recruitment.”

“To do what? Kill Tiffany?”

“Sure,” he said. “What I found out about her makes it possible. The woman is loaded. She could have easily paid him off to do the dirty work.”

“How rich are we talking about?”

“Multimillionaire,” he said. “Her father was Bruce Cassidy, former chief executive officer of the Lorimar Group, a British food chain company. Her mother, Irene Norton, was a psychiatrist. She had a private practice in London. Not long after Penelope’s eighteenth birthday, her parents went to Switzerland to attend a Lorimar conference. On the way home, their private jet had mechanical problems and crashed into the Alps. Penelope became sole heir to a vast fortune.”

Molly sat down on the edge of her bed. “That’s terrible. I feel bad for Penelope, she was so young when it happened. Does she have any brothers and sisters?”

“Nope, only child,” he said. “After the accident, she moved into the family’s townhouse in London. She got a job at Harrods and worked there a couple of years, probably to gain retail experience, because when she left she opened an antique store she named the Gentle Dealer. At that point in my search, I ran up against a wall, so I called my friend in New York and he put me in touch with his cousin, Reid Sinclair.”

“The cop in London?”

“Actually, he works in Brighton, a coastal town. Reid was kind enough to do a little more research. He learned Penelope had a friend, Dora Lang, who was also her employee at the antique store. Dora lived with her too, and on May four of this year, fell down the stairs at the townhouse they shared and broke her neck and died. The police ruled it an accidental death.”

“Oh, my God, that’s terrible,” Molly said. “But I can see it happening, if the house is old. The stairs in Tessa’s cottage are dangerous.”

“There’s more,” he said. “On May eighteen, just a couple of weeks after Dora died, Penelope sold the townhouse. On May twenty, she closed the Gentle Dealer.”

“Is any of that important?”

“She sold a house that belonged to her parents. It was a link to them. I think that’s a little odd. The store, who knows? Maybe business was bad and she decided to cut her losses. Do you know when she moved to Marlow Crossing?”

“I don’t know the exact date, but it was sometime in the spring.”

“Do you have a pen and paper? I’ve got addresses for you.”

“Hold on,” Molly said. She got a pen and pad from her purse. “Go ahead.”

“The first address I’ll give you is for Penelope’s townhouse, the other is for the Gentle Dealer, where she was set up before she closed the shop. Since you’re going to London, you should go by and talk to her neighbors or a friend, find someone who knew her, see what they have to say about her.”

“Boyle hasn’t asked me to do anything about Penelope,” Molly said.

“Didn’t he ask you to keep your eyes and ears open and talk to people?”

“Well, yes, but he told me who to talk to. He never gave me permission to investigate Penelope.”

“Does Giles admit to knowing Penelope in London?”

“No. I think he met her here.”

“Try to find out if that’s the case,” he said. “Because if Giles and Penelope knew each other in London, they could have planned to kill Tiffany a long time ago.”

Molly was taken aback. “Why would they do that?”

“I don’t know, could be any reason, that’s why you should ask around about Penelope. It might have something to do with that eye thingy.”

“It’s called an eye miniature, or you can simply call it a brooch,” Molly said.

“Whatever, Giles wanted it back,” he said. “He told you Penelope was unhappy he agreed to buy it from Tiffany and she took off. Is he telling the truth, or is he lying? The whole thing could be a ruse.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, if they had a plan to kill Tiffany, her running away could be part of it. You have to start thinking outside the box, Molly. That’s what a good investigator does. Thinks outside the box and follows up on leads. I’ve just given you two leads with those addresses.”

“Okay. I’ll see Kara tomorrow and talk to her about Tiffany and Giles, and then I’ll go by both addresses and see if I can find someone who knew Penelope.” She hoped Boyle wouldn’t be angry at her, but he didn’t have to know unless she found something interesting. “Thanks, Lombardi,” she said. “I’ll be in touch.”

Chapter 16

Molly caught the early morning train from Keensburg to London. She bought a coffee and cheese Danish for breakfast in the dining car, settled into her seat, and watched the scenery change outside the window from wide-open spaces and green hills to gray buildings and tidy homes with satellite dishes and miniscule yards. As the train approached the city, its speed slowed and Molly’s phone rang. Her mother was calling.

“Hello, madam,” Clara said.

Molly smiled. Her mother always called her “madam” when she was in a good mood. “You’re here?” Molly asked.

“Yes, I am. The flight was long, but uneventful, which is the way I like it,” Clara said. “I breezed through customs and found my driver, and now we’re on our way from Heathrow to Marlow Crossing.”