Set the Stage for Murder (17 page)

Vicki, Teddy and Phoebe, did an admirable job of keeping the conversation afloat and sparkling during Marc’s largely uneaten meal. Naturally, most of the discussion centered around the theater industry in New York and London, and as stories were told about the remarkably untalented Hollywood starlet who had just taken over the lead in last year’s big musical or the upstart American actor who was failing miserably in his attempt to run a prestigious British repertory company, most of those sitting at the table joined in the gossipy banter to one degree or another. In fact, the evening became almost normal, and everyone at the table who was aware of Roz’s plan had almost forgotten about it, when the leading lady cleared her throat, turned to the woman on her left, and fired her first shot.

“Cary, I hope you weren’t too upset about Tony and me getting together privately last week? We had so much catching up to do, and I knew it would simply bore you to tears.”

“Dear God,” Tony Dupree muttered, closing his eyes and shaking his head slowly. The rest of the table, with the exception of Billy, who was too busy watching Kim and Marie serve dessert, held its breath as this clash of titans commenced.

“Of course,” Roz continued, “that newspaper thing was so incredibly silly.” She warmly looked back at Tony and covered his trembling hand with hers. “Imagine the two of us being romantic again, after all these years.” She looked around the table and laughed. “I mean, honestly, what in the world would he want with a middle-aged woman like me?” She directed her last comment back to Caroline, who, at this particular moment, was looking every one of her seventy one years. Perhaps it was Sally Crandall’s sharp and audible intake of breath that rallied the Dame to respond.

“Rosamund,” Caroline began in a controlled voice, “you sell yourself short. But then you always have, haven’t you? Sold yourself, that is?”

Roz smiled slightly as she tasted her dessert. She put down her fork and took a sip of wine. “Vicki, please tell Marc that this fresh blueberry tart is excellent. He really has such a gift, doesn’t he?” Vicki nodded and promised to pass on the compliment as Roz returned her attentions to Dame Caroline. “Caroline, if you meant for that comment to anger me, then I’m afraid you missed the mark. I’m actually just saddened that you have so very little to offer anymore in the way of goods for sale.” She looked over her shoulder at Tony and then back at Caroline. “But then again, you’ve always been better at buying things, haven’t you?”

“
Mother!” Juliet exclaimed.

“Stay out of this, Juliet,” Caroline said, her gaze still on Roz. “This is between your mother and me.”

“She’s right, Juliet,” Roz said. “This isn’t your battle.”

Juliet pushed back her chair and stood up. “I don’t understand why there has to be a battle,” she said, starting to cry. “I don’t understand what’s going on. I’m sorry! I don’t get any of this.” She sat back in her chair, covered her face with her hands and sobbed. Tony and Meg rose to go to her, but Connor reached her first and knelt down beside her chair. He whispered to her softly and took her in his arms. Meg, who was now standing right behind Juliet’s chair blanched white and looked at Roz desperately. And for the first time all evening, Rosamund Whiting lost her composure.

“Take your hands off of her, now!” she yelled.

“No,” Connor said evenly. “I don’t care what you do to me. I won’t just stand by and watch her suffer.”

“Roz,” Meg started, “I think we . . . ”

Roz cut her off immediately, never taking her eyes off the boy. “Be quiet, Meg, and let me handle this.”

“Roz,” Sally said, warningly.

Roz continued to glare at Connor. “Be quiet, Sally, this doesn’t concern you. This is about Connor and a choice he needs to make.”

Ed got up from his chair and started to walk around the table to his wife. The look of absolute loathing on his face made it clear that any love he’d ever had for Rosamund Whiting was gone. “Roz, so help me, if you . . .”

“Are you threatening me, Ed?” she snapped. “Because I don’t think that’s a very good idea. No, you need to back off and so does your son. He’s been a very bad boy and he needs to honor our agreement or he
will
face the consequences.”

Sally Crandall, who had been the quietest person all night, slowly rose and stood at her place near the end of the table. Any trace of America’s favorite, good-natured next-door neighbor was gone. “Roz Whiting, if you don’t leave my son alone, I swear I’ll kill you.”

Roz broke eye contact with Connor and looked at Sally, as if seeing her for the first time. “What did you say?”

“You heard me and so did everyone here. Leave him alone or I’ll kill you.”

It was at this particular point in the evening that Teddy realized with absolute certainty that his project was dead. Up to now, he had been able to convince himself that everything would work itself out and that all parties involved would put aside their personal differences and suspend their petty squabbles for the sake of the production. However, that Pollyanna outlook evaporated the moment someone actually uttered a death threat at his dining-room table. Vicki looked at him questioningly, to see if he thought this was the time to intervene. At least that was how he interpreted her look. He supposed she could have been asking, “Why the hell did I marry you and, therefore, end up at this table tonight?” He nodded to her and smiled, hopefully communicating to her how lucky he felt to have her on his side.

Vicki rose from her chair and walked around to where Juliet was seated. She nudged herself between Meg and Conner and placed her hand on the girl’s shoulder. “Juliet, why don’t you come with me to my room and freshen up?” Juliet nodded and allowed Vicki to lead her out of the dining room.

Connor watched the two women leave and then turned around and faced Roz. “You’re a heartless bitch and someday I’ll make you pay for all of this.” He turned and stormed out of the house, slamming the front door behind him.

“Ed, don’t let him get in the car,” Sally pleaded. “He’s not in any condition to drive.

“I know,” Ed said, rushing out after his son.

The sound of a car starting prompted Teddy to pull his cell phone from his pocket and start dialing. “I’ll make sure Sam doesn’t let him out the gate, just in case Ed doesn’t stop him.”

Sally looked at him gratefully. “Thank you, Teddy. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I’m going up to my room.” She glared at Roz before turning and walking toward the staircase.

“Wait a moment,” Dame Caroline commanded as she scooted her chair back and stood uncertainly. “I’ll go with you. I’ve had quite enough for one evening.”

Roz watched Dame Caroline carefully maneuver her way around the table. “Yes, Cary, it does appear you’ve had enough this evening, doesn’t it?”

Dame Caroline stopped, straightened up to her considerable height and slowly turned around to face Roz. “Rosamund,” she said, suddenly sounding very sober, “you went too far this evening. And while I’m not exactly certain as to why you did so, I do know that you will pay dearly for it.” She turned back around and walked a perfectly straight line out of the room. She had joined Sally at the bottom of the stairs when Sir Anthony called after her.

“Cary, I’ll be up shortly.”

As Dame Caroline ascended the staircase with her dignity and self-control firmly back in place, the group in the dining room couldn’t help but watch her, mesmerized. This was a great actress making a great exit, and all she needed to complete the performance was the perfect final line. She was only too happy to oblige. Without stopping or turning back, she responded in her rich voice that was equally at home reciting Shakespeare, Shaw, or Coward. “Dear Tony, I suddenly find that I really don’t care what you do.”

Chapter 16

It was half-past 10:00pm and order and decorum had returned, at least momentarily, to Lenore’s Folly. Act one of the evening’s drama had concluded with Sally and Dame Caroline grandly exiting up the staircase. At some point in the future, Ethan, the resident playwright, would refer to the time between that point and the moment the body was discovered as “the intermission before the play’s tragic finale.” And as everyone in the theater is aware, intermission is a time when costumes are changed, props are placed, and lines are rehearsed, all out of the audience’s view, so that when the curtain goes back up, they will accept the carefully crafted illusion that is being presented to them.

Actually, the order and decorum that existed at 10:30pm were simply part of the illusion. In reality, unrest still reigned supreme on this moonless evening, and most everyone felt it. For some it took the form of heartache, for others, fear and for more than one person, hatred. Some reflected on past sins, schemes, or missteps that had got them to this point, while others dulled their feelings with additional pink pills or an extra tumbler of their favorite Scotch some thoughtful person had left in their room. A few of them, including the one who was to die as well as the one who was to kill, shed tears.

From an elaborately carved bench in the Japanese teahouse, where a confused mind tried to ward off familiar demons, to the guesthouse, where a mother cried for her daughter’s pain, turmoil held sway. From a bedroom in the Cottage, where someone was just starting to consider an unthinkable possibility, to the dark woods near the Courting Oak, where a murderer awaited a victim, chaos ruled.

While all this mayhem swirled around them, the Follyville regulars sat at the farm table in the kitchen and discussed the events of the evening. Marc served leftovers to Ethan and Vincent, who hadn’t got a chance to eat, as well as to Teddy, who hadn’t got his fill. Vicki and Phoebe sipped herbal tea and nibbled at what was left of the blueberry tart.

“So Dame Caroline ascended the staircase, dragging Sally behind her like an old cape and that was that?” Marc asked, as he put the leftovers back in the refrigerator and poured himself a cup of tea. “What did Roz do then?” He sat down at the table next to Ethan.

“Well,” Teddy said between mouthfuls, “that pretty much took the wind out of her sails. Wouldn’t you say so, Mother?”

Phoebe nodded her agreement as she took a sip of tea. “Yes, I think it did. At that point, everyone she had been sparring with, Connor, Ed, Cary, and Sally, were gone.” Phoebe looked thoughtfully at her reflection in the kitchen window. “Yes, she didn’t quite know what to do at that point.” She looked back at the faces around the table. “It was interesting to see a polished performer falter like that.”

“It sounds like that moment in her final performance when she dropped her line,” Vicki remarked. “It was startling because we’re not used to seeing Roz unsure of herself. I suppose it just goes to show how upset she is by this whole thing. So she left then?”

“Actually, Meg left first,” Phoebe said. “She looked at Roz and shook her head …”

“As if she couldn’t believe Roz’s behavior,” Teddy interrupted, his mouth full of crab cake.

Phoebe looked at her son disapprovingly. “Really, Theodore.”

“Sorry, Mother.”

Phoebe continued her account. “So, yes, Meg looked at Rosamund with such disappointment in her eyes.” Phoebe looked at the table for a moment. “In fact,” she continued, “that’s when Rosamund seemed to falter.”

“That was my take on it,” Vincent volunteered. “And when Miss Pierce walked out, it was like Miss Whiting lost all her steam.”

“That’s interesting,” Vicki said, glancing around the table. “Because Meg knew what Roz was up to tonight.” She sighed. “I suppose she didn’t think it would get so … cruel.”

Teddy cut a large piece of the tart and put it on his plate. “And don’t forget, Roz’s behavior made Juliet cry. I’m sure that didn’t set well with Meg, either.” He turned to Vicki. “What happened with Juliet up in our room? Did she calm down?”

Vicki picked a crumb from Teddy’s shirt and smiled at him. “A little. But she’s still a very confused young woman. She thinks she’s in love with Connor and can’t understand why Roz and Meg are so opposed to them being together. And after tonight, she’s perfectly aware that Roz had something to do with Connor cutting all ties with her. I think it has devastated her. At any rate, she went to the guesthouse to pick up her things and bring them back here. She doesn’t want to see Roz right now.”

“
Naturally not,” Phoebe said. “The woman who has always given her everything took away the thing she most desired. Poor child.”

“
Well, Connor made it pretty clear that he hasn’t stopped caring about her,” Ethan said. “He pushed right by Meg to get to her when she was so upset.”

“
And that clearly didn’t go over well with Roz or Meg,” Teddy said, pushing away from the table and leaning back in his chair. “I thought Meg was going to faint.”

Vicki got up from the table and went to the stove to pour some more hot water from the simmering teakettle. “Is it just me, or are they seriously overreacting to this little romance? She sat back down and looked round the table. “I suppose if I had a daughter, Connor wouldn’t be my first choice, either. But there is something, I don’t know … out of proportion about Roz’s and Meg’s reaction to him.” She shook her head as she looked at her husband. “As you just said, Meg almost passed out when she saw them together, and Roz resorted to blackmail to keep them apart. It just seems extreme to me.”

“Roz and Meg have always been weird,” Marc said as he got up and started gathering the plates from the table. “I gave up trying to figure out them or their relationship a long time ago.”