Set the Stage for Murder (23 page)

“Yes, ma’am. And she denied it. She said he was just trying to throw suspicion away from his crazy wife.”

“And just think of how nicely they were all playing together at dinner tonight,” Marc remarked. “Actors.” He shook his head in disgust.

“What do you think of Sally’s accusation, Vincent?” Teddy inquired.

Vincent thought for a moment before answering. “It’s certainly possible that Sir Anthony is trying to protect his wife.” He glanced at each of his detecting partners. “But what I really think is that Sally Crandall is hiding something. Something that has her running scared.” He looked at Vicki. “And Ma’am, I think it definitely has something to do with whatever you and Shakespeare can’t quite put your finger on. No pressure or anything, but I think that information is key.”

Vicki sighed.
Great
, she thought,
no pressure and I’m still Ma’am
.

Chapter 22

Vicki woke up early Sunday morning and quickly showered and dressed. If some of their guests were departing early, she wanted to be downstairs to see them off. Teddy was so exhausted from the ordeal of discovering Meg’s body and dealing with the authorities all day, that even the persistent beeping of the alarm hadn’t disturbed his gentle snoring. Still, she made as little noise as possible when shutting their bedroom door behind her, allowing him the luxury of sleeping in for as long as he needed.

Marc had set out coffee and tea on the buffet in the dining room, as well as a light spread of homemade blueberry muffins, bagels and lox with cream cheese, and fresh fruit for everyone to partake of at their leisure before departing. Vicki poured herself a cup of black coffee and sat down at the table where Phoebe was reading the paper. Today’s scarf choice, in lavender, gray, and black, not only went perfectly with her mother-in-law’s silver hair, dove gray blouse, and black slacks, but also managed to remain within the color palette for mourning. She truly
did
have a scarf for every occasion. How was it that the older woman just happened to have the perfect outfit with her? Vicki looked down at her coral colored linen blouse and white pants and sighed. You either had it or you didn’t, and Phoebe Russell McDowell had it in spades.

“
Good morning, Victoria.” Phoebe offered up her cheek for Vicki to kiss. “That color suits you.”

“
Maybe, but it’s hardly appropriate for the circumstances.” She nodded, indicating her mother-in-law’s ensemble. “How do you do it, Phoebe?”

Phoebe smiled and laughed softly. “My dear, I was planning to wear this outfit today long before any tragedy struck. I just happen to look good in mourning colors, so my closet is full of them.”

Vicki smiled and took a sip of her coffee. “I’m afraid all of my clothes here in the country are bright and frivolous.” She wrinkled her brow. “I hope I have something in the city to wear to the funeral.

“
Have we heard when it is to be?” Phoebe asked.

“
As of last night, Tuesday seemed pretty definite.”

“
And you and Theodore will be driving back today, I assume?”

“
Yes. Roz and Juliet will be going with us. Ted arranged for them to have extra security at their apartment building.”

Phoebe nodded. “A wise move, I’m sure. Are you still planning on bringing Rosamund back to Lenore’s Folly after the funeral?”

“
Ted and the police think she’ll be safer here, what with Sam and his guys, as well as all the security measures we’ve installed.” She looked out the window, sadly. “Of course, all that didn’t help poor Meg, did it?”

“
Victoria, no one seriously thought this was going to end in murder. It appeared to be a prank and nothing more. Although we might have been aware that there was some sort of threat to Rosamund, we also assumed that she was being overly dramatic about the whole thing, because that is her nature.” Phoebe turned and looked out the window. “It is easy to blame ourselves for not being more vigilant. But the truth is, even if we had taken Rosamund more seriously and assigned protection to her, it still wouldn’t have saved Meg Pierce, who had the great misfortune to resemble Rosamund a little too much and to be at the wrong place at the right time.”

“
I know you’re right, Phoebe. It’s just so very sad, isn’t it? It seems that Meg lived her entire adult life trying to be Roz Whiting. And at the worst possible moment ever, she finally convinced someone that she was.”

“
Yes, her death is truly a tragedy.”

Vicki shivered and decided to change the subject. “Are you driving back today, as well?”

“
No, I think Vincent and I will stay until tomorrow. That way, Marc and Ethan can ride back with us once they’ve finished cleaning up after this weekend.”

“
That’s sweet of you.”

“
And I think we should all meet at my apartment Tuesday morning before the funeral and proceed from there. I’ll have Mrs. O’Hanion prepare a light breakfast. Something tells me this will be a media circus. We will all need proper nourishment.” She folded the section of paper she had been reading and placed it on the table. “Victoria, what are your thoughts this morning? Has anything become clearer after a night’s sleep?”

“
You mean, have I zeroed in on what was bothering me about Sally Crandall’s behavior?”

“
Yes, I suppose that is what I mean.”

“
No.” Vicki took another sip of coffee. “I think I may be trying too hard. To be honest, I didn’t sleep all that well.”

“
Well, that’s certainly understandable, considering the circumstances.” She put her hand over her daughter-in-law’s. “It will come to you. Don’t worry.”

Further discussion of the matter was prohibited by the arrival of Connor, who looked, once again, as if sleep had totally eluded him. The circles under his eyes were even darker and more pronounced than they had been yesterday and apparently the idea of shaving hadn’t entered his mind all weekend. Vicki would give anything to know just exactly what
was
occupying his mind. “Good morning, Connor. Help yourself to coffee and something to eat,” she said.

Connor, who carried an expensive duffel bag in one hand and his car keys in the other, looked very much as if he wanted to flee from the room, which indeed was the case. Clearly, he was about to leave and had assumed he was skipping out early enough to avoid this very sort of social interaction. He nodded to both women. “Morning. I’m just going to grab some coffee and be on my way.”

Vicki rose from the table and headed toward the kitchen. “Let me get you a paper cup. I’m certain Marc has some in the kitchen.” She disappeared through the doorway, leaving Connor alone with Phoebe.

Phoebe smiled graciously and gestured to a chair at the table. She could see that the boy was torn between a desire to get away as quickly as possible and a reluctance to offend her. Finally, manners won out. He sighed, put his bag on the floor by the buffet and sat in the chair. Even the
enfant terrible
Connor Cortez didn’t want to risk getting on Phoebe’s bad side.

“
Connor, I know that we’ve only just met and that you are going to think I’m just a nosy old woman, but I do hope you are able to ward off your demons. You have a great deal of talent and, I believe, a great capacity for good. It would be a shame if you weren’t around to share those gifts with the world.”

Connor felt a stinging in his eyes.
Christ
, he thought,
he wasn’t going to cry in front of the old lady, was he
? He took a deep breath and regained his composure. “You’re very kind, Mrs. McDowell. I … I plan on going back into rehab next week. I’ve come too far to blow it now.” He ran his hands through his hair and held his head. “It’s just that these past few weeks …” He left his thought unfinished as he stared down at the highly polished table. Suddenly, he looked up and looked Phoebe in the eye. “You can’t understand this, Mrs. McDowell, but my whole world changed this weekend. I …” He stopped and listened to the raised voices coming from the hallway. He jumped up from the table and went to grab his bag. “Tell Vicki I had to go.” He brushed past his parents, who were entering the dining room with their luggage. Apparently everyone was anxious to leave.

“
Connor,” Ed called after him. “Wait up. I need to talk to you.” He rushed out the front door, which Connor had left open in his haste, and tried to catch up to his son. Sally avoided Phoebe’s gaze as they listened to her husband’s shouts and the squeal of Connor’s tires. In a matter of seconds, Ed returned to the dining room, out of breath. “I couldn’t catch him. Damn stubborn kid. Come on, Sally, we have to leave now. We need to keep an eye on him.”

Sally stared at her husband coldly and then turned to Phoebe. “Please thank Ted and Vicki for us, won’t you?” Phoebe nodded as the couple picked up their bags and rushed from the house.

Vicki reentered the dining room through the kitchen door, holding a paper cup with a lid. She looked around and then settled her gaze on Phoebe. “Where did he go?”

Phoebe sighed. “Victoria, dear, I’m afraid if you choose to leave the room, even for a moment, you’re going to miss a great deal.” She proceeded to fill her daughter-in-law in on what had just happened.

“
So you think he was about to tell you something when Ed and Sally barged in?” Vicki had sat back down at the table and was absentmindedly playing with the paper cup. “What could it have been?”

Phoebe considered the question carefully before answering. “I may be totally wrong about this, but I believe he was going to tell me the one thing that would make everything else make sense.”

Vicki sighed and sat back in her chair. “I wish the Cortez family’s timing was as good in real life as it is onstage.”

“
Well, my dear, I guess it’s still up to you to figure out what it was that troubled you at the table last night.”

Vicki smiled wryly. “So we’re back to that. But still no pressure, right?”

“
No, not unless one considers the possibility that what you saw may help us catch a killer.” Phoebe smiled slightly. “I suppose when one looks at it that way, then yes, there might be a little pressure involved.”

***

Sir Anthony and Dame Caroline left at around 10:30am, after she had drunk her customary two cups of tea and after he had paid a visit to Juliet at the guesthouse. Teddy had finally gotten out of bed and dressed, and now stood next to his wife on the front porch, where they watched the Duprees’ car disappear around the curve and into the woods. As they were standing there, Roz came out of the guesthouse, walked down the front steps and made her way across the lawn toward them. She was dressed in black linen pants and a blouse in her customary color of peach. However, a belted black linen jacket with three quarter sleeves mostly covered the silk shirt. “
Damnit
, Vicki thought,
does everyone travel with attire appropriate for mourning
?” She didn’t even know Roz
owned
a piece of dark clothing. Vicki looked at her own brightly colored ensemble again and made the decision to stock both residences with somber clothing.

Roz walked up the steps. “I just wanted to let the two of you know that Juliet and I are ready to leave whenever you are.” She pulled a cigarette out of the pack in her jacket pocket and lit it with her gold lighter. “Has everyone else left?”

“
They’re all gone,” Vicki said. “You probably saw Tony and Caroline driving away just now. Billy and Harold were on the road by 9:00, and the entire Cortez family left practically at dawn.”

Roz sat in one of the wicker chairs and closed her eyes. “You can’t imagine how much tension just left my body. I didn’t realize how bad it was.” She leaned her head back against the chair and took a long drag from her cigarette. “Now that all of them are gone, I feel I can breathe again.”

“
Are you sure you want to stay at the apartment?” Ted asked. “You and Juliet are more than welcome to stay at our place.” He took a seat beside Vicki on the porch swing and put his arm around her.

“
He’s right, Roz,” Vicki agreed. “We have plenty of room.”

“
That’s sweet, you two, but I think this is something I need to do for Juliet. It’s going to be hard going back there without Meg, but we need to do it.” Her eyes filled with tears. “And I’ll feel perfectly safe there since you arranged for added security.” She accepted the handkerchief Ted handed to her and wiped her eyes. “I can’t thank the two of you enough for all you’re doing for us.”

“
Nonsense,” Vicki said. “That’s what friends do for friends.”

Tears started to well up in Roz’s eyes again. “Yes,” she said. “I suppose it is.”

Chapter 23

The clock on his bedside table read 4:32am. The last time he had looked was nine minutes earlier, at 4:23. And before that he had looked at 4:14 and 4:02 and 3:46. Ed Cortez had now been in bed for more than three hours, with eyes wide open and mind racing. He looked over at Sally and was surprised at the strong desire that suddenly welled up inside him. He was still attracted to her, even after twenty years of marriage. Of course there had been other women; everyone knew that. But he’d never loved any of them the way he loved his wife. She understood him and he understood her; no matter what had happened in their marriage, when push came to shove, they had always had each other’s backs. But would that loyalty hold true after the events of the last two days? Could he still support her, no matter what she had done? Would she still stand by him after everything was out in the open? His eyes wandered up and down her body, admiring the way the satin gown draped over her curves. It was now 4:35am, and he wanted nothing more than to make love to his wife. However, he knew it was out of the question. Although Sally appeared to be sleeping now, Ed knew that, like him, she had been awake most of the night, never speaking or in any way acknowledging that he was there lying next to her, also unable to sleep. In fact, the only communication they had shared since Saturday night consisted solely of snappish answers to mundane questions. But what was not being said between the two of them pulsated with an intensity that threatened to rip their world apart.