The Murders at Astaire Castle (A Mac Faraday Mystery) (11 page)

“That dog climbed up onto the car parked next to us and then onto the top of our van and dove into the dumpster,” the operator laughed, “and I got it all! I can’t wait to load this onto YouTube. Guarantee—this will go viral in no time!”

“You were supposed to be recording me!” she yelled.

“Aw, man!” Mac ran for the dumpster where Gnarly was digging through the trash with both paws. “I should teach you a lesson and just leave you there for the garbage truck to haul away.”

Chapter Eleven

Gnarly let out a long mournful cry from in the rear compartment of David’s cruiser.

“I don’t want to hear it,” Mac said to him from the back seat while holding his nose. “This is what you get for dumpster diving. You’re lucky David wouldn’t let me leave you there.”

In the front seat, David smiled over at Chelsea.

“Do they always argue like that?” she asked him.

“Today’s a good day.” He was glad to see the corner of her lips curl.

Chelsea had sobbed when she saw Riley, who, even in a medicated state, strained against his restraints to try to get at Molly. He growled and snarled until a nurse took Molly out of the room.

Still, Riley, who didn’t recognize his sister or childhood friend, refused to calm down. He seemed to have forgotten how to speak—communicating only with barks and growls.

A psychiatric specialist was traveling in from Boston to better diagnose his condition and recommend treatment. Until then, the hospital doctors were keeping him sedated and restrained.

When Chelsea asked about her brother’s chances of ever returning to mainstream society, the doctor gave the standard, “We need to know more before we can determine that.”

When he had escorted her out the back door, David found Gnarly in the dumpster and Mac threatening to leave him there while a news crew filmed it all. Chelsea sobbed in the cruiser while David chased away the media and Mac hauled Gnarly out of the dumpster.

Hanging his head over the top of the back seat, Gnarly cried out again. Even Molly seemed to inch closer to the window to escape the foul odor of garbage permeating from his pelt.

“Was it worth it?” Mac asked him. “Were those chicken bones worth it? When you throw them up, which you always do when you manage to steal some out of the neighbor’s garbage, will that be worth it?”

Gnarly uttered a sound that resembled, “Umph!” and plopped down in the back of the cruiser.

“I think he said it was worth it,” David said.

“Not to me,” Mac said. “I’m the one who has to clean up after him.” With a mixture of snarl about Gnarly’s latest misdeed and disgust about the future mess coming, he slumped in his seat.

David glanced over at where Chelsea was staring out the side window. She was deep in her own thoughts. “When do you have to go back to work?”

“I can have as much time as I need,” she said. “Emergency family leave or liberal leave—they’ll work it out.”

“The government can be pretty understanding about situations like that,” David said. “What type of lawyer are you at the attorney general’s office? Criminal?”

“I wish.” She gave a hollow laugh. “I’m not a lawyer. I’m a paralegal. I do all the boring grunt work.”

“Last I heard you were in law school,” David said.

“I was,” she said. “I was in my second year. My mom’s life insurance only paid for one year’s tuition. I took out a student loan for the next and had been approved for the third year when some cheerleader texting her BFF went through a red light and creamed me. It took me a full year to recover.”

“Couldn’t you sue the girl that hit you to pay for that year you missed of school?” David asked. “She went through a red light while texting.”

“It was an accident and she was a kid,” Chelsea said quietly. “I only took what the insurance company paid out and they covered my medical bills. If I went for blood it would have meant the girl couldn’t have gone to college and I couldn’t do that to her—not for making a mistake that I know she’ll never make again.”

“That’s very admirable of you,” Mac said. “It’s rare to meet people who know the true meaning of forgiveness.”

“She’s a physical therapist now,” Chelsea said. “She would come to the hospital to help me when I was in physical therapy and decided to study that. She now works at the same hospital I stayed at after she plowed into me.”

“But you’re not a lawyer,” David pointed out. “Why didn’t you go back to law school?”

“I was so far in debt when I was in that accident—by the time I was back on my feet, I knew that if I went any further into debt I’d never get out,” she explained. “So I got certified as a paralegal and went to work for the attorney general.”

With a whine, Gnarly rose up from where he laid in the back and offered a pleading look in Mac’s direction.

“You’re not getting any sympathy from me,” Mac said. “I want you to think about your behavior and attitude.”

With a glance at the back of Molly’s head, Gnarly whined and dropped back down. They could hear a deep sigh from the dog.

“I hate it when women do that,” David told Mac when he came out of the kitchen and climbed the three steps up from the drop-down dining room.

“Do what?” Mac was only paying half-attention while reading a copy of a report on his computer tablet from the medical examiner.

David handed Mac one of the two sherries he had poured for their after-dinner drinks. “Stop talking and stare at me when I come into a room.”

“David, I never figured you for the paranoid type.” Mac grinned up at him.

“Even Gnarly and Molly stopped whatever it is they were doing to watch me.” David dropped down into the chair across from Mac.

“Be grateful.”

“For what?”

“Archie couldn’t stand the last house guest we had. You do remember how that ended up, don’t you?”

“So it’s either Archie bonds with the guest and they form a conspiracy against me,” David asked, “or she ends up shooting them? Isn’t there something in between?”

“Not when it comes to women,” Mac said. “I like Chelsea. I think you were a fool to let her get away.”

“You’re only saying that because she cleaned up Gnarly’s bone puke.”

“There’s no faster way for a woman to work her way into my heart.” Mac lowered the tablet. “What was Hollister talking about when he said he knew who you were and what you did?”

“I have no idea,” David said. “Why do I have a feeling we made a mistake letting him go?”

“He’s staying at the Spencer Inn,” Mac reminded him. “Hector and his people have him under tight surveillance. Last report from Hector was that he hasn’t left his hotel room, even to go to dinner. He had room service sent up.”

“What’s he doing?” David asked. “He said he needed to make a couple of phone calls …”

“Get his affairs in order before confessing?” Mac asked.

“Why didn’t you suggest I bring him in?”

“It was your call,” Mac said. “You’re the chief of police.”

“But you’ve been investigating murders much longer,” David said. “I rely on your experience.”

“We had nothing to hold him,” Mac said. “He knew that. He confessed to setting the wheels in motion that led to Wagner’s murder. Sounds to me like he knows the jig is up and he’s ready to roll on who killed them. If we play nice, he may roll willingly.”

“He accused me of doing it,” David said.

“Is that why you’re paranoid?” Mac asked with a smile.

“You’d be paranoid too if Hollister was pointing at you when he said that he wasn’t taking the blame for what you did.”

“Does he know about you and Genevieve?” Mac asked.

“If you mean did she ever take me to the castle to meet him, no. I never laid eyes on Hollister until today and he never saw me.”

Mac slowly shook his head. “Weird.” He closed the cover over his tablet. “Doc emailed that she found something peculiar in going over the reports for Genevieve and Jansen’s autopsies and is going to run some tests.”

“What kind of peculiar?” David asked.

“She didn’t elaborate,” Mac said. “She did say it could be nothing. She wants to do some further testing to find out. She’ll let us know.” Hearing the girlish laughter coming closer to the kitchen door, he glanced over his shoulder. “I think we’re getting company.”

Archie was carrying a silver serving tray with a black cognac bottle on it. The bottle was surrounded by three cognac snifters. She came up into the living room. “Have I got a treat for you guys. Hennessey XO, extra old cognac. ” She set the tray in the middle of the coffee table and sat down next to Mac.

Taking a seat in the wing-backed chair across from David, Chelsea opted out on the cognac for a cup of tea. Always at her mistress’s side, Molly sat at attention by her feet.

Seeing the bottle, Mac sat up. “I thought you were going to break that open for the formal announcement of our engagement—after I bought you the ring.”

“I got tired of waiting,” Archie said with a sly grin. “Besides, David and Chelsea haven’t seen each other in years, Riley is alive—”

“Not well,” Chelsea interjected.

“But alive,” Archie said. “Where there’s life, there’s hope.”

While Archie was opening the bottle of cognac, Gnarly trotted down the stairs with his favorite toy clutched in his jaws. It was two tennis balls joined together by a rubber bone to make for a bouncy, chewy bone. He made a beeline for Molly and dropped the toy at her paws.

Molly jumped up and pressed back against the chair.

Archie stopped uncorking the bottle to swoon. “Ah, Gnarly is sharing with Molly. For him to offer that toy is big.”

Yelping, Gnarly dropped down at Molly’s feet and gazed up at her. He nudged the toy closer to her. Turning to Chelsea, a questioning expression crossed Molly’s face.

“It’s okay, Molly.” Chelsea picked up the toy and held it in front of her nose. “You can take it. Gnarly wants you to have it.”

Molly sniffed the toy. Gnarly’s eyebrows rose up to the top of his forehead. His gaze never left her face. Everyone held their breath waiting for her decision.

“Take it, Molly,” David said. “Gnarly will be crushed if you reject him. He’s very sensitive.”

That seemed to do it. Molly took the toy into her mouth. The uncertainty on her face was replaced with pleasure. She lay down to enjoy the toy. With caution, Gnarly inched forward to take one end of the toy while she enjoyed the other.

Archie swooned again. “Isn’t it romantic?” She handed a snifter to Mac and one to David before taking up one for herself. “To reunions.” She held up the snifter in a toast. “Happy endings—Riley being found, and new beginnings—new friendships and fresh starts on old friendships.”

Mac noticed Archie casting an eye in David’s direction. David was staring down into his snifter as if he expected it to jump out of the glass to slap him across the face. Seeing that Chelsea had filled Archie in on her side of the story, Mac softly grinned into his snifter. It was clear what Archie was hoping would happen during Chelsea’s stay at the manor.

He saw that his summation was correct when as soon as Archie had drained her snifter, she set it down on the tray and yawned. “Well, it’s been a long day. We’re tired.”

“We are?” Mac asked.

She took his snifter, which was still half-filled with expensive cognac, and set it on the tray next to hers. “I hope you don’t think we’re rude if we leave you two alone and go to bed.”

She took Mac by the hand and urged him up from the sofa. Gazing at the expensive cognac that she was pulling him away from, as well as the glass of sherry that he hadn’t had time to drink, Mac gave in. He wondered how it would appear if he were to pour both drinks back into their bottles with a funnel.

“Mac …” Archie tugged on his arm. “Let’s go to bed.”

“I guess we’re going to bed.” Mac couldn’t tell if David was amused or frightened with the prospect of being left alone with Chelsea.

“Good night,” Archie sang out merrily while leading Mac up the stairs to the master suite.

From the top of the stairs, Mac looked down to see David still staring into his snifter while Chelsea turned her attention to Molly. Curiosity made him wish he could be a fly on the wall.

“Well …” David began after he heard the door to the suite close up above them. “You’ve had a long day. I’m sure you’re tired, too.”

“Kind of,” she said. “But I don’t know if I’ll be able to sleep.” She stood up. “I need to let Molly out before I go to bed. Gnarly probably needs to go out, too.”

Hearing the word “out,” Gnarly and Molly jumped to their feet. Gnarly led the way across the back deck and through the gardens. Outside, Molly sprang to life. She was taking a break from her on-duty job to chase Gnarly. Upon being caught, he would turn and chase her back. Excitedly, they barked at each other.

Seeing Chelsea hugging herself against the cold night wind blowing in off the lake, David grabbed her coat from the hook inside the kitchen and brought it out to drape across her shoulders.

Startled by his touch, she jumped before turning to him. In the light from the outside lamp, her face was filled with a mixture of excitement and fear. “Thank you.” She hugged the coat tighter. “I forgot what a gentleman you could be sometimes.”

“Sometimes,” David murmured with a shrug.

“Mom always liked you,” she said. “I think you broke her heart as much as you did mine.”

“I know,” David said.

“Not really.” She kept her gaze on the dogs. “I don’t think it was possible for anyone’s heart to be as badly broken as mine.”

“I’m sorry, Chelsea,” David said. “I was too young and hormonal to realize what a stupid thing I was doing.”

“Which is why parents and grown-ups kept telling us to not get so involved,” she said. “We were too young and dumb to listen or know any better.” She laughed at Molly rolling Gnarly over onto his back. “Go get ‘im, Molly!”

“Not we,” he said, “Me. I was the jackass.”

“I know,” she said with a smile. “I was there. Remember?”

He took her by the shoulders and turned her to him. His gaze held hers until she was forced to look at him. “I am so very sorry for hurting you.”

Her laughter caused him to let go of her. “Get over yourself, David.”

Speechless, he peered at her.
Where is she coming from? Is this girl for real?

Chelsea cocked her head at him. “Yes, David O’Callaghan, you ruined my life. I had plans—big plans for us. Do you remember them? I do. We were going to get married. You were going to college ROTC and then serve your time in the military as an officer. I was going to be an officer’s wife. I was going to go to law school. After you got out of the military, you were going to the police academy. By the time you were a police officer, I would be a prosecutor. After your dad retired, you would take over as Spencer’s chief of police and catch the bad guys and I was going to put them away forever as Garrett County’s county prosecutor. We were going to live on the lake and have two children, a boy named Justin and a girl named Caitlin.” She squinted at him. “Do you remember that?”