“If you’re thinking about Ms. Godwin, don’t bother. She was at a Church function last night. But look at this.” Mai moved aside so Peggy could see the chalk outline of where Isabelle’s body had been at the base of the stairs. At the tip of the silhouette of one outstretched hand was a letter. “We think it may be written in her own blood.”
Peggy crouched down carefully beside the startling piece of evidence. Just between the stairs and the Turkish carpet was a thinly traced letter on the dark wood floor. It was clearly a B. Even though the hand that wrote it was shaking, there was no mistaking the intent. “Good God! I can’t believe this is happening.”
Mai put her hand on her shoulder. “I know you’re friends with Beth Lamonte. I don’t know what to say. Maybe the old lady knew what she was talking about when she accused her daughter-in-law of killing her son. And maybe the other Mrs. Lamonte thought she could put an end to the whole thing by trying to make this look like an accident. She didn’t realize the old lady was still alive when she left.”
Peggy carefully got to her feet. She looked down at the circled spot on the carpet. When had Isabelle ever called Beth by her given name? If she referred to her by any name, it was “that woman.” “Beth didn’t do this. I don’t know what’s going on, but someone is setting her up. We have to find out who.”
“I don’t know, Peggy.”
“Why is Cindy Walker here?”
Mai shuffled her paperwork, glancing through it. “She’s listed as an emergency contact after Park. Why?”
“She’s always tried to weasel her way into this family. She had plenty of reasons to hate Beth since she lost Park to her.”
Mai groaned. “I can’t help you this time. Not like last time. Paul really wants this house. I can’t afford to lose my job. You’ll have to let the investigation prove if your friend is guilty or innocent. Then there’s still the trial. Believe me, the system works if you let it.”
“The system also likes to make it simple,” Peggy argued. “If you find even the slightest DNA from Beth here, she’ll be charged. And what are the chances there won’t be a hair or something? She’s only been here when she had to be, but that was still plenty of times. No one can refuse a direct summons from the Dragon Queen. That won’t help her or her sons. There has to be another answer. Who’s responsible for this? And how did they kill Park if his death wasn’t an accident either?”
The sound of the heavy front door opening and closing preceded footsteps and voices coming their way. Mai opened the nearby coat closet and pushed Peggy inside. “Quick! We can’t let anyone see you. Be really quiet. In case I have to leave, wait until everyone’s gone to come out.”
“Will you help me prove Beth didn’t kill Isabelle or Park?”
“That’s blackmail!” Mai hissed. But the voices were getting louder. Al and Jonas were coming toward them. “All right! I’ll do what I can. But I won’t lose my job. Now get inside.”
Peggy smiled at her, then backed into the closet. It was completely black when Mai shut the door. It smelled of moth-balls and musty old clothing. She wondered if Isabelle had used it at all in the last ten years. She stood very still and listened as Jonas, Al, and Mai talked about what they knew about the case so far.
“I guess we’ll be paying the Mrs. Lamonte who’s still alive a visit,” Jonas said. “Good thing Peggy left before she knew. She’d already have the woman hidden away in her house waiting to sneak her out of the city.”
The three chuckled in a way Peggy hoped could be construed as “fondly.” Al said, “She’s not really like that, you know. She got involved in the Warner case because the man was killed in her shop. She wouldn’t necessarily do it again.”
Bless his heart. Peggy tried not to step down too hard on the side of a boot lodged under her foot.
“But you wouldn’t want to stake your pension on that would you, Detective?” Jonas baited him.
“No, sir. I wouldn’t. Peggy gets too emotional, no doubt about it. I just hope she doesn’t get involved this time.”
“I’m sure she won’t. Why would she? I mean, she has enough to do, right?” Mai laughed nervously. She cleared her throat when they looked at her strangely and told them her “theory” about the dragon’s head missing from the cane.
“Al, get a couple of officers in here to help her look for that thing. Go over everything again, Mai. Let me know if you find it. Then get some help to take these things back to the lab,” Jonas told her. “Al and I are headed over to the other Lamonte house. I’ll be glad when this is over. Too many Lamontes.”
Peggy wasn’t sure what to do. She could call Beth and warn her about the police visit. It wouldn’t keep it from happening, but it would prepare her. John would’ve given her a good talking to when she came home if he were still alive. She shouldn’t interfere in police business.
But she was already involved. It wasn’t like she wanted to be there, hiding in Isabelle’s dark closet. First Beth, then Isabelle, and finally Al put her in the picture. There was nothing else to do but follow through. Anything else would be letting her friends down.
“Forgive me, John,” she muttered as she speed-dialed Beth’s home number on her cell phone. She didn’t dare get out of the closet and could only hope no one was standing nearby.
“Hello?” Beth’s voice was strained and tearful.
“There’s no easy way to tell you this,” Peggy began in a quick, quiet whisper. “The police are on their way to your house to ask you questions about Isabelle’s death.”
“How? Why?” Beth sputtered.
Peggy heard the doorbell ring from Beth’s end of the phone. “Did you contact a lawyer yet?”
“I spoke with one of Park’s friends. He isn’t here right now. What should I do?”
“Tell the truth. Just not too much of it. Answer their questions, but don’t offer any extra information. Call Park’s friend.” Peggy tried to think of any other bit of advice. None came to mind. “I’ll be over as soon as I can.”
“Why didn’t you come with them?” Beth asked.
“It’s difficult to explain.” Peggy glanced around the closet. “Just keep your wits about you. The police are serious about this. I’ll explain when I get there.”
Mai opened the closet door just as Peggy got off the phone. “Were you talking to yourself?”
“No.” Peggy held up the cell phone. “Is it safe to come out now?”
“Everyone’s gone. If you go out the back, you should be okay.”
“Thanks. Call me if you find out anything else?”
“As much as I can,” Mai whispered. “Please don’t do anything that would jeopardize either of us.
“Don’t worry. I’ll talk to you later.”
“And thanks for the tip about the dragon’s head!”
“You’re welcome. You might want to ask Alice why she didn’t mention it. Also, in case you didn’t know, Cindy is Park’s ex-wife. That might be something to check into as well.” Peggy waved to her and walked quietly back down the long hall to the kitchen. The grandfather clock ticked loudly in the close atmosphere. The house smelled of mold and decay. The estate would probably sell the place. A family would move in and take care of the old house again. It was hard to imagine laughter ringing through these halls, but she knew it would happen.
She noticed Jonas and Al leaving in Al’s SUV. She began running, cutting through backyards to reach Beth before them.
Sam called her cell phone as she got outside. “I’m at the shop. I thought you’d be here, too,” he said. “I know everything downtown is closed and everyone is home, but you’re usually here anyway.”