The Estate Murder: A Cozy Mystery (The Witch Mysteries) (4 page)

            
 
“I have to admit, Thomas, I had thought it was you for a minute.” Cassidy told him over dinner. She had finally agreed to go out with him again. Though she admitted she had ulterior motive.

              “I thought you might when I heard your bird repeat everything I said. I’m really not that cold, I promise.” Thomas said. “I was just thinking from a business standpoint that it couldn’t hurt my cause. So when was it that you realized it was Lissa Caldwell?”

              “When I saw she carried the book with her. I honestly think she wanted to be caught. It didn’t take much on my part. She had to have been terrified, honestly. And all for a stupid prank. Thank goodness the cops were decent to her. She still has to stand trial, but it won’t be for homicide. Mr. Martin was old and might have been killed in the same manner if a mouse had run across his feet.” Cassidy paused to take a sip of her wine.

              “I honestly don’t know what’s going to happen to her, though. I do hope they’re easy on her. She has to be terrified.”

              “I know I would be,” Thomas said. He reached his beautifully manicured hands towards Cassidy. “You were really very smart in how you handled it too. I imagine she felt at least a little better knowing she had someone at her side while she wrote her confession.”

              “I’m sure. And I know Sandra is glad to be free from suspicion too. She’s already something of a pariah to some. I don’t think she needs suspected murder hanging over her head as well. Now she can bury her old friend in peace. Did you know Claire loved him too?” Cassidy changed the subject abruptly.

              “No. I knew from touring the place and from what you’ve told me that he loved her though.” Thomas replied.

              “She did. It was in her book. I peeked before I returned it to the house. I have always wanted to see what kinds of spells she wrote about in her spell book. Turns out, it was just a journal. She may have added a recipe or two in there, but there was no magic involved. It’s actually kind of depressing when you think about it, though. I wanted her to be a witch because we all grew up believing she was one. Anyway, before the fire happened, she was supposed to marry Jack Shaw. As you and everyone else knows, her sister Veronica supposedly stole Shaw from her. What actually took place was Claire had fallen for Sherwood, and she begged and begged her sister to woo away Shaw so she could be free to marry Sherwood. Veronica didn’t much care for Shaw either, but I guess she grew to love him over the years.”

              “That’s quite a remarkable story,” Thomas said, leaning forward now with interest.

              “Anyway, Sandra has had a hard time coming to terms with some of this, particularly the part about how her mom forced herself to marry her dad. But she recalls they were happy together, so she seems to have found some solace in that.” Cassidy had finished her entire meal in between talking, as had Thomas. He led her out of the restaurant, and together they drove up towards her cottage. When they passed her drive, she asked what they were doing.

              “I wanted to show you something,” Thomas said, “Promise you’ll let me finish before saying anything.”

              He pulled into the parking lot of the Fontaine estate, but the sign had been altered to the name LeFontaine Hotel. Cassidy opened her mouth in protest. She couldn’t stand to hear that the mansion was to be torn down. Thomas held up his hand, urging her to wait a bit before commenting.

              “Listen, your love for this place has inspired me to look at it a different way. Sandra contacted me to sell, finally, and I accepted. I will be making some changes, but this place might actually turn out to be more valuable to me as it stands.” He got out of the car, then walked around to open her door and help her out. Together, they walked in through the main door and into the great room. The library still stood, though the books had all been removed from the tall, wooden shelves. The display case remained, but it was empty too.

              “I have decided to keep the library and museum in here, but I am rebuilding it to fit in more with the original architecture of the house. In fact, Sandra has offered the remainder of Veronica’s trust to make the changes. She has seen and approved all of them.” He clenched his teeth a bit at that. “In fact, she insisted upon seeing the pans before signing the final paper, but she was pleased with what I had drawn up.” Finally, he paused, waiting for Cassidy to speak.

              “It’s lovely,” she said as she bent her head over the plans. He had designed the book shelves to run along the perimeter of the room with decorative columns separating the different sections. There was an out ring that was being placed along the existing wall, and an inner ring. Tall slide ladders were going to be attached to make reaching the higher books possible, and the new arrangement will allow the center of the floor to be opened up into a ballroom, which was the space’s originally intended use. “So, what about your golf course or tennis courts?” She asked

              “Do you object to those?” Thomas looked concerned.

              “Not at all. Besides, if I did say I objected, would that stop you?” she asked.

              “Possibly, if you had a good enough reason.” Thomas answered.

              At that, Cassidy flung her arms around Thomas in a great hug, and she thanked him for keeping the house as it stood instead of making a bunch of changes.

              For once, everything seemed as it should be.