A Haunted Theft (A Lin Coffin Mystery Book 4) (4 page)

L
in was
happy to see Leonard’s truck parked in front of their newest client’s house, a huge antique Colonial set on a large lot close to town. The owner was a woman in her early thirties, just a few years older than Lin, who had been married to her much older husband for about two years before he died and left her his fortune. The house alone was worth several million dollars.

Lin and Nicky jumped out and walked around to the back. Leonard had a wheelbarrow full of rolls of sod and he was busy preparing the ground with a rake. The dog raced across the lawn like a rocket to see one of his favorite people and when he was beside the man, the little creature danced and twirled with joy causing Leonard to laugh out loud. When the crazy greeting was over, the dog sat down so that the tall, strong man could scratch his ears.

“I think that dog actually has a smile on his face.” Lin grinned at her sweet brown creature. “He loves you.”

Leonard nearly blushed. “Oh, come on.” He tried to be gruff, but his brown eyes were soft as he looked down at the dog and gently patted his head.

The three of them sat on the grass and Lin and Leonard talked about what the client wanted done in the yard and made plans for new flower beds.

Lin turned to her landscaping partner. “So, you were going to tell me something today.”

Leonard’s jaw tightened and he looked away and stared across the yard to the tree line.

“Well?” Lin leaned forward to try to make eye contact with her partner.

“I shouldn’t have said what I did yesterday.” Leonard started to get up.

Lin took hold of his arm. “Whoa. Wait a minute.”

The man sat back with a sigh.

“You must have a reason for what you said about Martha Hillman.” Lin’s voice softened. “Tell me.”

Leonard swallowed and then blew out a long breath. “It has to do with my wife.”

“It has to do with Marguerite? How?” A flutter of unease waffled through Lin’s stomach.

“It was a long time ago.” There was a faraway look in Leonard’s eyes. Nicky got up and walked slowly over to the man where he lay down in his lap. Leonard ran his hand over the dog’s fur. “Martha Hillman worked with Marguerite at a non-profit here on the island. Marguerite thought they were friends. Marguerite was the accountant at the place. She was supposed to make a very large deposit and funds transfer that day. Martha told my wife that she thought she saw my truck on the road to ‘Sconset and it had been in a terrible accident. Marguerite took off out of the office to go see if it was me. We think Martha stole the money that was supposed to be deposited and tried to pin it on Marguerite.”

“That’s terrible. What happened?”

“The money was never found. Marguerite got fired. She knew that news traveled fast and that she would never be able to get a job on-island so we talked about moving back to the mainland. She got an interview with a place in Boston. She was so excited about it.” Leonard looked up and his eyes met Lin’s. “On the way back, to get the ferry home, Marguerite was in the accident that took her life.” Tears formed in the man’s eyes.

A heaviness settled over Lin and she put her arm around Leonard’s shoulders. “I’m so sorry, so sorry,” she murmured.

After a few minutes, Leonard collected himself. “The non-profit did an internal investigation that cleared Marguerite, but the money was never recovered.”

“You think it was Martha who stole the money?”

“I think Martha wanted Marguerite out of the office for some reason that afternoon so she told her that I might have been in an accident. Marguerite drove all the way to the other side of the island trying to locate the accident. There wasn’t one. She drove all around trying to find me.”

“How did Martha explain that there wasn’t an accident on the road after she’d told your wife there was?”

“Martha just said the accident mustn’t have been that bad after all and they must have hauled the truck away before Marguerite got there.”

Lin’s jaw set in anger and she shook her head.

Leonard rubbed the side of his face. “I don’t have any proof that Martha stole the money. Maybe she really did see an accident and thought it was me. I could be falsely accusing her … just like Marguerite was falsely accused.”

“It’s quite a coincidence that Martha told Marguerite about an accident that you might have been in on the very day that a large sum of money went missing.” Lin made eye contact with her partner. “Isn’t it?”

Leonard looked down at the dog in his lap.

“Did you tell the non-profit your suspicions about Martha?”

“Nah.” Leonard shrugged. “I didn’t have any proof. It was just my feeling that Martha did it.”

Lin stared at Leonard’s face watching him as he patted the dog. Several times her partner had feelings that Lin was in danger which turned out to be valid and Lin wondered if he had some skill or ability to sense things that he wasn’t recognizing or was ignoring. “I think you should pay more attention to your feelings.”

Leonard shifted his kind, brown eyes from the dog to Lin. “Maybe.” After several minutes of sitting in silence, Leonard sighed. “We better get back to work.”

Before they stood, Lin said, “I’m sorry about Marguerite.”

“I know you are,” Leonard said softly. “Thanks, Coffin.”

* * *

L
in wanted
to tell Leonard what she and Viv heard Martha Hillman saying when they were at the cultural museum, but she didn’t think it was the right time to say anything immediately after he’d told Lin about Marguerite being falsely accused of stealing from the non-profit she’d worked for. After they finished the new client’s yard and were packing up the tools and equipment to go on to the next job, Lin started to report to Leonard what she’d heard Martha Hillman saying while on a phone call.

“Viv and I were at the basket exhibition yesterday.”

“Again?” Leonard lifted the trimmer into the truck bed.

“Viv hadn’t been to see the exhibit yet. I was there with Anton Wilson the night the basket went missing. Viv loves to weave and she loves the Lightship baskets so I went with her.”

“You’re not planning on going again? You’re not about to ask me to go to the exhibit, are you?” Leonard had a look of mock horror on his face.

Lin guffawed. “No. I know better than to do that.” She pushed her tools into the back of the truck. “I want to tell you something that we heard when we were there.”

After reporting how they happened to be in the cultural museum hallway, Lin said, “And then we heard a woman speaking in her office. The door was closed. She was obviously on the phone. She said something like, ‘I fired her along with threatening her’ and then she said, ‘get it off the island before someone finds out.’”

Leonard stared at Lin. “You think it was about the stolen basket?”

Taking a deep breath, Lin told him, “It was Martha Hillman saying those things. She’s the one who was talking on the phone.”

A voice shouted “Hello” so loudly that Lin jumped and Leonard whirled around. Lin nearly fainted when she saw Martha Hillman striding towards them with the owner of the house hurrying along behind her.

“I thought it was you,” Martha said to Lin and then nodded at Leonard. “My friend here was just telling me that she recently hired you to manage her yard.”

“Hello.” The new client, Mrs. Claire Rollins, greeted the two landscapers and turned to Martha. “They come very highly recommended.”

Lin managed to blubber a hello and introduce Leonard. Flustered and worried that Martha may have heard what she was telling Leonard, Lin forgot that Martha and Leonard already knew each other.

“I’ve known Leonard for years,” Martha said curtly. She gave him a fake smile, her eyes remaining flat and expressionless. “You’re doing well?”

“Fine.” Leonard answered just as tersely.

“I was surprised to hear that you two teamed up together.” Martha looked from one to the other.

Lin didn’t care for Martha’s manner. She seemed condescending and haughty. Lin’s nervousness at being surprised by Martha was being slowly replaced with anger and annoyance. “Why were you surprised about that?”

“Well.” Martha raised an eyebrow. “Well, Leonard….”

Lin knew Martha was going to say something rude. “Leonard is the best landscaper in Massachusetts. I’m fortunate to be learning from him.”

Leonard flicked his eyes to Lin.

“I agree,” Mrs. Rollins said. The young woman, slender and petite with bright green eyes and a head full of golden blonde curls, turned to Martha. “My garden has never looked better. It could win a prize.” Mrs. Rollins looked from Lin to Leonard. “That’s why I told Martha that we should hire you for the cultural museum. There’s a garden in the back of the place, did you know? The yard is too much for the employees to handle. We need a gardener.” She smiled broadly. “Or two.”

“Can you fit in a new client?” Martha asked, her voice lacking enthusiasm.

Leonard and Lin answered at the same time. Lin, wanting to have a reason to hang around at the cultural museum, said, “I think so” and Leonard said, “No.” They gave each other pointed looks.

“What sort of work are you looking to have done?” Lin asked.

“The Board of Directors, of which Martha and I are members, thinks that restoring the garden behind the building would be a good investment.” Mrs. Rollins smiled sweetly. “An investment in the future. We’d like to hold gardening classes out there and maybe someday, have a little outdoor café to offer tea and coffee and light snacks.”

Martha scowled.

“Oh, Martha.” Mrs. Rollins noticed the look on her companion’s face. “I think it’s important to be open to new ideas.” The young woman beamed at Lin. “I personally think it’s a wonderful idea and that it will add a great deal of value to the museum.”

“Is there someone we should contact to talk about the gardening needs?” Lin looked from Mrs. Rollins to Martha. “That way, Leonard and I can determine if we can fit it into our client list.”

“Yes.” Mrs. Rollins smiled at the prospect of having Lin and Leonard handling the task. “I’ll go get a piece of paper and write down the person’s name and phone number. Then you can contact him.” She bustled back into the house leaving Martha standing uncomfortably with Lin and Leonard.

Leonard turned to fiddle with the tools in the back of the truck and Martha mumbled something about being late for an appointment. The blonde-haired woman rushed off towards her car, got in, and drove away.

“You won’t have to deal with her.” Lin tried to reassure her partner. “I’ll handle the work myself.”

“We don’t need that place. We have plenty of work and new contracts come in all the time.” Leonard pushed things around in the back of the truck.

“I’d like to be able to keep an eye on Martha,” Lin admitted. “Working there would give me some access.”

Leonard turned to Lin. “Are you trying to figure out the missing basket thing?”

Without making eye contact, Lin rubbed the toe of her work boot in some gravel at the side of the road. “Maybe.”

“Why?”

Lin let out a sigh. She couldn’t tell Leonard about the Wampanoag ghost. “I was there when it went missing.”

“So? The police will handle it.” Leonard had been saying those words to Lin quite frequently, but it never seemed to make a difference. “You don’t have a reason to go snooping around.”

“Maybe I do.” Lin spoke softly.

“I don’t like this, Coffin. It could be dangerous. Who knows who’s involved in the robbery?” Leonard slammed the truck hatch closed.

Before Lin could reply, Mrs. Rollins trotted over to them with a piece of paper flapping in her hand. “Here you go.” She handed the paper to Lin. “He will be very pleased.”

Lin took the paper.

Mrs. Rollins chattered on. “He’s a very important person on the island. He has many creative interests, loves gardening.”

Lin raised an eyebrow wondering who this man might be. Leonard crossed his arms over his chest.

“Thank you so much for considering the job.” Mrs. Rollins’s unruly blonde curls fell over her forehead. “Everyone thinks so highly of your work.”

Lin unfolded the paper in her hand to see the man’s name and her eyes widened. “Nathan Long, the basket maker?”

“Indeed. He’s the board’s chair.” Mrs. Rollins started away. “And tell him
I
told you to call. It will be a feather in my cap for securing you.” A triumphant smile brightened the woman’s face. “Nathan will be very pleased with me.”

L
in stopped
at Viv’s bookstore after finishing the last client of the day. Nicky rushed to the chair where Queenie, Viv’s gray cat, sat presiding over the establishment. The dog leaped into the seat and snuggled next to the feline who adjusted her position closer to the arm of the chair to make room for the brown creature.

The girls sat down at a café table in the back of the store and Lin told her cousin the story Leonard had relayed about the missing money at the non-profit, Martha telling Marguerite that Leonard had been in an accident, and Marguerite getting fired.

Viv was shocked by the tale and responded appropriately with gasps and sighs. Lin went on to tell how Martha was at a new client’s house and that the cultural museum is looking to hire a gardener and they want Lin and Leonard to consider the job.

Lin said, “I’m supposed to call the chair of the board of directors.”

“Working a job at the museum would give you a chance to spy on Martha and anyone else who might be up to something.” Viv leaned forward with her arms crossed on the table top.

One of Lin’s eyebrows went up. “Guess who the chair is.”

Viv gave a shake of her head.

“Nathan Long.”

“What?” Viv’s eyes went wide. “So that’s how he knows Martha Hillman. They’re on the board together.”

“I wonder what that conversation was about when we saw the two of them down at the docks the other evening.” Lin rested her chin in the palm of her hand.

“Nathan seemed angry or worked up about something that night.” Viv narrowed her eyes. “I hate to say this because I’m such an admirer of the man and his work, but do you think Nathan Long and Martha Hillman know something about the missing basket?”

“The thought crossed my mind.” Lin’s blues eyes looked across the room as she thought about the possibility. She absent-mindedly slid her finger over her horseshoe necklace. The necklace had once belonged to an ancestor of Lin and Viv. The woman had been able to see ghosts. “What’s the motive? Money?”

Viv pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear. “The basket is worth a lot. Money seems the likely motivator.”

“Are we overlooking anything? Is there any other reason someone would steal it?”

“We should talk to Anton about the baskets.” Viv sat up. “Maybe he knows some history that could shed some light on other reasons someone would steal the basket. It could help to figure out who could have committed the robbery.”

“That’s a great idea.” Lin checked her watch. “Can you get away from the store? We could drive over there now and see if he’s home.”

“Mallory can hold down the fort. I’ll just grab my bag.” Viv stood up. “Shall we bring the animals?”

“I’ll get them. Anton likes it when they visit.”

“Oh, by the way.” Viv glanced back over her shoulder. “I signed up for a basket class with Mary Frye, the young woman from the museum.”

“Great. I bet you’ll enjoy it.”

“So will you,” Viv said slyly as she started for the café counter. “I signed you up, too.”

“Me?” Lin blinked.

“The class is multi-level. Beginners can take it as well. It will give you a chance to talk to Mary. See if you can pry any information out of her.”

“I have to weave something?” Lin looked horrified.

Viv shook her head at her cousin and headed to get her bag.

* * *

W
hen Anton opened
the front door of his antique Cape house, Nicky and Queenie bounded inside and ran to the kitchen. Viv carried a plate of treats from her bookstore-café. The three took seats around the large, worn wooden table while the cat and dog snuggled together in an upholstered chair by the kitchen fireplace.

“So you want to know about the Wampanoags and the baskets.” Anton poured three cups of tea. “I have written on the subjects, but of course, I am not an expert.”

Lin knew that Anton’s remark was a complete understatement. Anything that was part of Nantucket’s history had been studied extensively by Anton.

Books and folders covered the table top and a laptop was open with papers neatly stacked next to it.

“So,” Anton began. He started pacing slowly about the kitchen as if he were at the front of a lecture hall giving a presentation. The historian gave the girls the history of the Wampanoag people and explained about the group that had lived on Nantucket. “There was a population of about several hundred living on the island just before 1763 when an illness wiped out two-thirds of the Wampanoag tribe.”

“How awful.” Viv put her hand on the side of her face. “What kind of illness?”

“A fever. Previously it was thought to be a disease like typhus, small pox, scarlet fever, but new research tells us that the cause was more likely to be a louse-borne fever brought to the island by a trading ship. It devastated the people. The group never recovered.”

“How sad.” Lin glanced down at the books on the table thinking about the Wampanoag ghost that had appeared to her outside of the exhibition the night of the robbery. The ghost hadn’t been seen since that evening and Lin wondered if he was gone for good.

Anton continued his lecture describing the baskets of the Wampanoags and how the crews of the lightships picked up the craft and modified it. “As you know, the lightships were boats that acted as lighthouses to warn ships of the island shoals. There was often a crew of six men and during the days, there was very little to do so in order to occupy them, the men learned to make the baskets.”

The girls asked questions and Anton answered. Just as Anton’s presentation to Lin and Viv was winding down, a knock was heard at the back door of the kitchen and Libby Hartnett walked in. Libby, an older woman with piercing blue eyes and short silver hair, was Lin’s distant cousin and she had special powers of her own. The woman took a look at the girls. “Is this meeting about the stolen basket?”

Lin nodded. “We asked Anton to give us some background information on the basket weaving done on-island and about the Native American tribe that used to live here.”

“Did anything he said shed light on what might have happened at the cultural museum?” Libby poured herself a cup of tea and sat down at the table.

“Not yet,” said Viv. “But it’s all fascinating.”

Anton looked as proud as a peacock. “Carolin and Vivian are an attentive audience.”

Lin leaned forward and made eye contact with Libby. “Do you sense anything? See anything about the case?”

Libby frowned and stirred sugar into her tea. “I see darkness … hands, but I can’t make out if they are a man’s or a woman’s. The images are blurred and unfocused.” The older woman held Lin’s eyes. “The motivation is unclear.”

“Money seems the obvious motivator.” Viv sipped from her mug.

“The obvious may prove incorrect in this case.” Libby clasped her hands around the hot teacup.

“Any sensations about who might be the thief?” Lin stared at the woman hoping to pick up on anything that Libby might know.

“No.” Libby shook her head causing her short, silver hair to sway a little around her cheekbones. “But I do feel that the stolen basket is still here on Nantucket.”

“That would be odd, wouldn’t it?” Lin asked. “Why not get it to the mainland as quickly as possible? Most people on the mainland wouldn’t have heard about the stolen item and there must be a bunch of ways to sell the basket from there. Working from the mainland to find a buyer wouldn’t arouse as much suspicion as it would if done from here.” Lin looked over at Viv and Anton. “Why wouldn’t the thief get the basket off-island as soon as possible?”

“Maybe money isn’t what the thief wants.” Viv shrugged a shoulder.

“A collector on the island might have purchased it already,” Anton surmised. “Perhaps a deal was made even prior to the actual robbery.”

“How can we ever find it, if it’s been sold off already?” Lin groaned.

“We’ll just keep probing. Keep your eyes and ears open.” Libby’s shoulders dropped. “Someone will slip eventually.” She took a deep breath. “What have you learned so far?”

While they sipped from their tea mugs and nibbled on the treats Viv had brought from her store, Lin voiced her suspicions about Martha Hillman and told Libby what Leonard had reported about his wife.

“I heard about that.” Libby looked annoyed. “It was never determined where the money went. Unfortunately, Marguerite was let go from her position due to the issue.” Libby looked down at her hands. “If Marguerite hadn’t lost her job, she wouldn’t have been in Boston that day. She wouldn’t have been in that car crash. She’d be alive today.”

Lin said, “Leonard bears Martha Hillman a grudge, and rightly so.” She refilled her mug. “Martha seems to have a grudge against Leonard, too.”

“I don’t care for that woman.” Libby’s face muscles tensed and she seemed to be gritting her teeth. “We need to get to the bottom of this. The robbery reflects badly on the island and gives the wrong impression of who we are. The basket exhibition was a celebration of island craft and heritage. Someone marred the joy of that with their evil deed.”

The others were quiet not knowing what to say. Nicky and Queenie sat up in the chair and watched Libby from across the room. As if to punctuate Libby’s words, Queenie let out a long, deep hiss and the dog growled low in his throat. Everyone turned with surprise to look at the furry creatures.

“Well,” Anton blinked. “The animals seem to agree with you, Libby.”

Libby’s eyes softened and the tension drained from her body as Nicky jumped down, walked across the room, and leaned his head against her leg. She reached down and stroked the dog’s soft brown fur. The woman smiled. “With all of us working together, we’ll find the person who did this … and we’re going to find that basket, too.”