Murder at the Mansion (10 page)

It was the murder weapon. I was sure of it.

I
took a deep breath and put the cushion on top of the cabinet. The hatpin had disappeared once already, and I wasn't going to let that happen again. As I locked the display case, my gaze met the blue pillow that had borne the hatpin—the one used to attack Gertie.

I froze.

Oh, my gosh! The hatpins were from the same case. The attacker could have been the murderer.

My fingers felt like sausages as I pushed the buttons on my phone. I had to reach the Professor as quickly as possible. He'd be the calmest of the group.

“Hello, Kelly.”

“Professor, I've discovered something. Is Gertie there?”

“Yes,” he replied.

“Don't let her leave until I get there. I'll make it as fast as I can.”

“Certainly, Kelly. I can manage that.” The Professor spoke quietly. “I look forward to hearing what you found.”

“Thanks, Professor.” I closed my phone. I picked up the cushion and went in search of Deputy Sheriff Stanton.

I found him in the dining room, where I'd been questioned by the detectives. He was sitting at a table with an array of papers in front of him, deep in thought.

“I have the murder weapon.” I thrust the pillow with the hatpin toward him. “This is it.”

His head jerked up, and he reached for the cushion. “How can you be so sure?”

“Because the image of that hatpin will be with me forever.”

“Okay. We'll have it tested.” He examined the hatpin. “It could certainly be used to kill someone with its length and thickness. If it proves to be the murder weapon, you've helped us a lot.”

“Deputy Stanton, we have to tell the Silver Sentinels. Both hatpins came from the same case, and the murderer could be Gertie's attacker.”

“Ms. Jackson, this is a murder investigation—”

“If you don't tell them, I will. And Daniel needs to know, too. He's very observant. There's a chance he'll see or hear something useful.”

Stanton sighed. “I can't stop you.”

“They can keep a secret. I'm leaving now to meet with them at my B and B.”

The deputy stood. “I'll give this to the detectives and be along shortly.”

I gave him the key to the cabinet and left via the parlor, picking up my things. As I exited the mansion, I called Daniel.

“Hey, Kelly, what's up?” he answered.

“Daniel, can you meet me at Redwood Cove B and B as soon as possible?”

“Sure. What I'm doing can wait. Is everything okay?”

“Let's just say no one else has been hurt, and we need to keep it that way. That's why we need to meet.”

“Got it. See you in a few.”

I began to jog to the inn. A short time later, the Victorian came into view. Breathing heavily, I slowed down to catch my breath. No reason to alarm anyone more than necessary. The news itself would be enough.

The kitchen was empty. I took a quick trip to my room and looked at myself in the mirror, wanting to look as calm and together as possible. I brushed my tousled hair and took several deep breaths. A bottle of Pellegrino from the refrigerator provided a couple of cold, tingling sips of water. As soon as I felt ready, I headed for the conference room to see the Silver Sentinels. Daniel came down the hallway and joined me as I entered the conference room.

Neat piles of newspaper clippings and photos covered the table. The puzzle was beginning to be put together. Each of the Sentinels had stacks in front of them and they were putting items into labeled piles as they chatted.

Mary glanced up and then grabbed a newspaper article. “Kelly, wait until you see what we found.” She held it up. “It's about—” She stopped as she took a closer look at my face. “Has something happened?”

I must not have done as good a job as I thought of getting myself together. “We need to talk.”

The buzz of the busy bees stopped. The sudden silence left a void for imaginations to slip in and suspect the worst.

I explained to them what I'd found. “I believe the attack on Gertie could be much more serious than we thought. It's possible Gertie's life is in danger.”

There were worried mumbles all around as the group stared at Gertie with concerned looks.

Gertie said, “Makes me all the more pleased I got a couple of good hits in with my cane.”

The Professor picked up his pen and began to twirl it. “We guessed there'd been a homicide, as I shared with you yesterday. But murder with a hatpin?” He shook his head.

“It's possible. We need to see if there is any connection between Gertie and the mansion,” I said.

While I'd been talking, Deputy Sheriff Stanton had arrived. He stepped forward. “Gertie, is it okay for me to see the contents of your purse?”

“Of course, Billy.”

Gertie's small tan purse with a shoelace-width shoulder strap held few things. A zippered pouch contained several dollar bills and some change. A comb, mirror, tissues, a pen, lip balm, and her phone completed the list.

“May I look at your phone?” Daniel asked.

“Certainly.”

He opened it and scrolled through, then held up a snapshot. “There. I wondered if you'd gotten photos of him.” He looked around the group. “Robert James and the person he met with are in the background of some of the pictures Gertie took at the party for Allie. She's been helping tutor my daughter and joined us yesterday.”

“A link to the mansion,” the Professor said.

“Let me see.” Deputy Sheriff Stanton took the phone and studied the images. “Forward the ones with him in it, and I'll put out an APB.”

“Our first order of business is to find him,” the Professor said.

Deputy Stanton looked at him. “How do you intend to do that?”

“Rest assured, we'll figure something out.” The Professor smiled. “Do we know for sure his name is Robert James?”

“We don't know anything for sure.” Stanton went over and sat next to Gertie. “I'm concerned about your safety. I'm asking you to please not go anywhere by yourself until this is settled.”

Gertie nodded. “I understand, Billy. You have a lot on your mind, and I don't want to add to your worries. I'll do as you say.”

His shoulders relaxed, and he took a deep breath. Gertie was a spitfire and didn't take direction easily.

“Thank you, Gertie.” He addressed the group. “I need to go. Let me know if you find out anything.”

“You can count on it,” the Professor replied.

Deputy Sheriff Stanton left. The Professor went to the side of the room that held meeting supplies. He pulled a piece of chart paper from a pad and picked up a felt pen.

“Let's list what we know about Robert James.”

Daniel took the paper from him and attached it to the wall. “He asked me questions about the area.”

The Professor wrote down he was interested in Redwood Cove. “What else?”

The group brainstormed, but the results were meager. All they added were details such as what he looked like, that he was about five seven, he wore stylish clothes, he paid in cash, and he'd stayed at a very upscale establishment—Redwood Heights.

I studied the list. “He seems to have money, and he likes nice things and places. My guess is if he's still in the area, he'd stay at a high-end place.”

Gertie picked up her cell phone and punched some buttons. “I know managers or reservation clerks at four inns matching the criteria.”

Mary did likewise. “My contacts number six. Some of them are in my knitting group. Let's each make a list. It'll go faster that way.”

Rudy went over and tore off two sheets of chart paper. He handed one to Ivan and put the other one on the wall at one end of the table. Ivan followed suit at the other side of the room. Rudy took out two markers and tossed one to Ivan.

Gertie moved to Ivan's end of the table. “Black Swan Inn. Beth.”

Ivan printed in all capital letters using large, bold strokes.

Mary joined Rudy and said, “White Water Inn. Meredith.”

Delicate, cursive handwriting appeared on Rudy's list, the letters embellished with curls and swirls.

Daniel started one of his own. “I've done handyman work at a number of sites and know some people as well.”

The Professor wrote on a notepad, frowning, erasing, writing again.

Heading for the door, I said, “I see you're well under way. I'll leave you to it.”

The Professor stopped writing and sat back. “Kelly, wait a moment. I'd like to get your opinion as well as the others on what I wrote.” The Professor looked at the Sentinels. “Everyone, could I have your attention for a moment.”

The room became quiet.

“I've prepared an e-mail to send to those people who know us and are familiar with our group.” He read from his paper. “The Silver Sentinels are requesting your help in solving a crime. We are looking for a man who recently registered under the name Robert James at Redwood Heights. However, he might be using a different name. We've included his picture in this e-mail. If he was at your establishment last night or is currently there, please notify us immediately. Do not let him know he's being sought. When the case is concluded, we'll send you information about what happened. We, the Silver Sentinels, thank you for any assistance you can give us.”

“Excellent,” Gertie said.

The other Sentinels nodded enthusiastically.

“I agree, Professor. It's well written and to the point,” I said.

“Fine, then. Gertie and Mary, I'll send this to you so you can contact the people you know,” the Professor said. “As soon as your lists are complete, Ivan, Rudy, and I will start writing down likely places where we don't have personal contacts.”

I headed for the door. “I'll check in on you guys in a bit.”

They returned to their tasks.

I went to the office and retrieved the box of legal papers. It was time to find out what was in them. Placing them on the coffee table in my quarters, I opened the box, took out a handful of documents, and began my own sorting task.

The print on the brittle, yellowed papers was still legible. I didn't understand a lot of the legal jargon, but I could get the gist of what they were about. A woman was suing the owners of Redwood Heights, claiming the property was hers as a Brandon family member. The Brandons never had children, so she wasn't a descendant. Was it a cousin who felt she had more of a right to the property than the distant half-cousins who'd inherited? I didn't know enough of their family history to have answers. The papers didn't seem important, since she must have lost the case. The place hadn't changed hands until it was sold to Resorts International.

My phone rang, and I saw it was Stanton. “Hello, Deputy Stanton.”

“Hi. We don't have the results yet on the hatpin, but the detectives would like to talk with you again.”

“Sure.” I filled him in on what I'd found and what the Sentinels were doing.

“They're an amazing group. I wouldn't be surprised if they locate the guy before we do.”

We hung up, I got my stuff, and I popped into the conference room.

More charts hung from the walls. Under Gertie's four inns, a horizontal line had been drawn and “other contacts” written. Eagle's Nest Inn—“Maria, cook” was the first entry. Columns down the right side were labeled contacted and response. Checks indicated all had been contacted. The other column noted two people had said no, and one was checking. No luck finding Robert James yet. Mary's chart was similar.

Gertie explained, “We decided to list any place where we knew people other than those involved in registration. They could connect us to who we need to talk to on a personal level.”

“Daniel left to see the people he knows,” the Professor said. “We've made a list of possible places where we don't know anyone.”

I laughed. “That list is pretty short.”

“Well,” Mary said, “we've lived here a long time.”

“I'm going to make copies of the man's picture and contact the establishments on that list in person,” the Professor said.

Gertie piped up. “We've got lunchtime plans. Daniel's going back to where he saw Robert James yesterday.”

Ivan got up and engulfed Gertie's shoulder with his large hand. “Yah. And we go to other eat places in town together.”

Mary patted Rudy's hand. “And we're a team as well.”

I wished them luck and left.

Helen stood at the kitchen counter putting ingredients into a mixing bowl. There would soon be some wonderful smells on the way.

She put her measuring cup down. “The tow truck driver just left with your Jeep, and the contractor working here says he has the equipment needed to clean up the glass.”

“Good. I wondered how I was going to take care of that.” I put on my jacket. “I have to go back to the Heights. See you later.”

I grabbed the keys to the inn's truck from the hook next to the back door. The red pickup with
REDWOOD COVE BED-AND-BREAKFAST
on the side would be the vehicle I'd be using for a while.

The detectives had set up shop at the far end of the dining room next to Deputy Stanton's area. They were a contrasting pair. Detective Nelson wore an indigo shirt that brought out the color of his piercing blue eyes. His well-cut suit and soft leather shoes combined to make a statement. His partner, Detective Rodriguez, on the other hand, was a different story. It didn't look like his wrinkled shirt and crumpled jacket had met an iron in a while.