Margot Durand Cozy Mystery Boxed Set: Books 4 - 6 Page 7

  “So you know that it was gone when they all went back out there?” Margot asked.

  “I could tell that something had happened, but I wasn’t privy to it. My sister may have known something. One of the men, Bentley, really seemed to take a liking to her.”

  Margot felt her stomach clench at the mention of his sister. “Where is your sister, by the way?”

  He looked surprised, but went with the flow of her questions. “I’m sad to say that I’m not sure. She and I had a bit of a falling out around the time my career in the Navy took off. I’m sorry to admit we haven’t really kept in touch. Though, with all of this coming back up, I don't know…” He rubbed at the back of his neck. “Maybe I should contact her.”

  Margot wanted to encourage him to, but Adam spoke up again. “Do you think it’s possible that Russ and Harrison brought up the treasure on their own without Bentley then?”

  Sean looked uncomfortable for the first time. “I don't know—” His gaze shifted to the side then back to Adam. “—but I wouldn’t say they were going out for a joy ride when they left in the boat that night. It looked like they had some heavy duty diving equipment.”

  Adam asked a few more questions, but Margot began to piece things together in her mind. Harrison and Russ had been out at the shipwreck before they discovered that it was empty. Had that been a coincidence or had they been the ones to clear it out? And if so, who had sent the gold coins to Bentley and Tony? Had it been Russ because he felt guilty for stealing what was rightfully theirs? Or Harrison? If it was Harrison, why was he so intent on getting the coin back now?

  Then there was the reality that if, for some very strange reason, Harrison had stolen the treasure with Russ, why had Russ and Tony now perished? Was Harrison somehow taking revenge on them? But for what, if he had been one of the original thieves? And why now? And, more importantly, why had Nils been killed? His death didn’t factor into any of this.

  Or did it? She tried to recall what Harrison had said. He thought that Nils was killed in his place, but that would mean the only other person involved in the whole thing was Bentley—who had clearly been with Margot when Nils was killed—and Sean.

  She looked up at Sean. “Where were you last night?”

  The question seemed to shock both Sean and Adam, but Adam didn’t say anything. Instead, he turned his gaze on Sean.

  “Uh, last night? What time?”

  Adam filled him in on the specific time and shot Margot a glance that asked what she was getting at without really expecting an answer.

  “I usually do a workout after I come back from base and then…” He trailed off, searching his memory. “I was at home. Alone.”

  Margot thought back to the conversation with Sean. Adam had wrapped up his questions and then they’d left the restaurant, to-go orders in hand. Now, Margot stood next to Adam at her car, trying to read his expression.

  “He doesn’t have an alibi.”

  “No,” Adam agreed, “he doesn’t, but I didn’t get the feeling there was any motivation for him to be involved in this. Besides, I’ve checked into his background and his record of service with the Navy was exceptional and, since his retirement, he works as a contractor with the Navy. From what I’ve gathered, he’s not our guy.”

  Margot nodded in agreement. “I felt like he was telling the truth as well, but you have to admit it is strange that he knew about the treasure. Maybe one of the only ones who did—well, except for the ones who stole it. I’ve been thinking, though…” She looked up at Adam. “Do you think it’s possible Harrison and Russ brought up the treasure and hid that from Bentley and Tony?”

  “It’s possible. From what Sean said, it’s even probable.”

  “But, if that’s true, why are things coming up now?”

  “Money is a big motivator.”

  “Of course, but the money has to be gone, doesn’t it? It’s been over forty years.”

  Adam nodded, his gaze focused in the distance. “There’s usually a catalyst, so we have to discover what that catalyst is in this situation.”

  Her phone vibrated and she looked down to see a text from Dexter asking about a supply question for the shop. She hoped he wasn’t still at the bakery at this hour, but when she opened her messages, she saw that he’d forgotten to message her before.

  She was typing in a reply when a thought occurred to her. Money was a great motivator. Harrison’s insistence about the gold coin with Bentley came back to her. Why was he so insistent about finding that coin? Was it really a gold doubloon or, as Bentley thought, was it just something to remind him of what he’d lost? A cruel joke about the treasure.

  Erasing her message, she typed in a question instead. Could she call Dexter when she got home? He agreed with a one-word response. “Sure!”

  While she had checked her messages, Adam had gotten a text as well that he was replying to and, when he met her gaze, he gave her a tired smile.

  “Long day?” she asked.

  He nodded. “Didn’t get much sleep last night, and it’s just been one thing after the other.”

  “Did you find out about the rose?” she asked with a shy smile.

  He laughed. “You heard that, huh?” She nodded and he went on. “We’re not sure, but I think it was a warning.”

  “Warning? What do you mean?”

  “I’ve seen it before with some cases I’ve helped my brother with in the surrounding D.C. areas. To me, it looks like a mob warning or something to that affect.”

  Her eyebrows shot up. “Really?”

  “It’s a lead we’re pursuing, even if nothing comes of it.” He looked at his phone. “Sorry, I’ve got to go.”

  “Thanks for letting me come with you.”

  Adam looked down at her and gave her that smile she loved so much. “You know I value your input.”

  He gave her a quick hug and then helped her into her car. She watched as he jogged back toward his car and then set off toward home, her thoughts going back to what she was planning to ask Dexter to do.

  When she walked in the door, she dropped her things on the couch and pressed call on her phone.

  “Hey,” Dexter said.

  “Hi, sorry to call late like this.”

  “It’s not that late,” he said with a laugh.

  “I’ve got another favor to ask you.”

  “Shoot.”

  She described what she needed from him and, when he agreed quickly, she thanked him profusely before hanging up, her focus going to the past night’s events, Harrison’s questions about the doubloon, and then their conversation with Sean. Sean hadn’t been able to give much information, and yet why would he? It had been years.

  And that was the confusion for all of it. What had started all of this? Why now? What had changed?

  There were elements to all of it that seemed to interact and yet didn’t. She thought of Bentley’s apartment being ransacked in a similar way that Tony’s had. What had they been looking for? Perhaps the same thing that Harrison was looking for?

  Was that jumping to conclusions about Harrison? Then again, he was the only one who had made it out unscathed so far. All except for Nils. Then there was what Adam had said about a symbol. Was Nils’ death a warning for Harrison? He was the only one affiliated with Nils, but how had he been found if that were the case? And if it wasn’t a warning, then who would kill Nils in North Bank?

  Shaking her head, she stifled a yawn and made her way back toward her room. She would sleep now and see what Dexter could find the next day, and then she’d figure out what to do next. There had to be something tying everything together.

  Chapter 10

  Margot turned at the sound of someone coming through the door. A few moments later, Adam came into the kitchen with a surprised expression.

  “Is he here yet?”

  She frowned. “He who?” She dusted the flour off her hands and slid the metal baking sheet into the oven. The smell of baking pastries surrounded her and, in answer to Adam’s longing
look at one of the éclairs she’d just finished piping cream into, she nodded toward the one nearest him. “Go ahead.”

  He grinned and reached for the pastry, taking a bite just as the front door bell chimed again. A moment later, Dexter breezed into the kitchen.

  “You guys are not going to believe this.”

  Margot and Adam shared a look before Adam said, “What?”

  “I did as Margot asked and took a look into Harrison Douglas’s financial history.”

  “You did what?”

  Margot bit her lip, knowing that Adam wouldn’t be pleased. “I just asked if he could, you know, find anything on Harrison. He’s really good at this.”

  “I know he’s good, but—” Adam began.

  “But you said—” Dexter’s words toppled over Adam’s but trailed off with her pleading look. “Right. Well, I think this will be a situation where the end justifies the means.” He grinned.

  “What did you find?” Adam asked, looking more interested by the minute.

  “You didn’t hear it from me,” he said with a wink, “but I discovered some shady stuff in this guy’s email.”

  Margot felt her stomach clench at that. “What do you mean by ‘shady’?”

  Dexter crossed his arms and leaned back against the stainless steel counter tops. “Turns out your guy is having some major financial trouble. He’s got next to nothing in savings from what I could see, but that’s not the worst of it. He’s been getting threatening emails from an anonymous email account. The threats are pretty specific and relate to what I would assume are gambling debts.”

  Margot narrowed her eyes. “You put air quotes around anonymous. What do you mean?”

  “Let’s just say it’s hard to keep things completely off the record. I was able to trace the email back to a casino in Baltimore. There’s some shady stuff about that place from what I could dig up, but I would assume the debts they refer to came from time this dude spent in the casino.”

  Margot’s mind whirred with the reality of what this meant. Harrison was in need of money. He was being held responsible for debts he couldn’t pay. Had that followed him to North Bank? Was that the reason for Nils’s death—had it been a warning for Harrison?

  Adam’s phone rang and he rolled his eyes. “Give me a second?” he asked them both.

  They nodded and he stepped out the back door to pace the patio as he answered his call.

  “What about the other thing I asked you about?” Margot ventured, knowing that any other information Dexter had about Harrison would have to wait until Adam came back in.

  “I found her.”

  “You did?” Margot couldn’t help the smile.

  “I did. It wasn’t hard after you gave me the info that you did. She’s living in Falls Church, Virginia, actually.”

  “That close? Wow.” She thought back to their conversation with Sean and how he’d lost track of his sister all those years ago and how Bentley still talked about Melinda Kaufman. To find out that she wasn’t that far away was shocking and exciting, but how to reach out to her? Or was it best to leave things as they were?

  As she was contemplating this, Adam came back in with a dour expression.

  “Bad news?” she asked.

  He looked between her and Dexter and let out a sigh. “Interesting news, that’s for sure.”

  As if sensing Adam’s reluctance to talk, Dexter grinned. “I’ll leave you two to talk, but let me know if you want copies of the emails. I can send them over to you, Adam.”

  Adam regarded with a wry smile. “We’ll let the department get a tip about looking into the emails. But thanks, buddy.”

  Dexter gave a mock salute and, grabbing a cloth and spray bottle, headed out into the main room to wipe down tables.

  “Who called?” Margot asked, turning toward Adam.

  “That was Detective Charles Hascomb.”

  “The Maryland detective?”

  “Yeah.” Adam ran a hand over his jaw. “Apparently, after canvasing the neighborhood more thoroughly in light of this second break-in and some pressure from me, they found a witness who saw a distinguished looking man enter the house the day that Tony died.”

  “Distinguished?”

  “Yes. And get this, the older woman said she thought of Humphrey Bogart when she saw the man.”

  “Bogart?”

  “She said he looked swarthy but had something in his hand like Bogart always did.”

  “A cigarette?” Margot frowned. “Or a cigar?”

  “Makes Harrison Douglass sound more and more interesting, doesn’t it?”

  “Could we get a picture of Harrison to show the witness?”

  “I’ve got someone working on that, but you said he was at Bentley’s yesterday, didn’t you?”

  “I did. Why—” Suddenly, Margot’s chest tightened. “You don’t think he’d try and hurt Bentley, do you?”

  Adam shrugged. “Honestly, I’m not sure what to think. In speaking with the man, I wouldn’t say that I was overly suspicious about his intentions here in North Bank, but I’m also not so sure now. I think it might be wise for us to go over and talk with Bentley.”

  A surge of concern washed over her. “Do you think he’s safe? Should we go now?”

  “I’ve got an officer stationed outside of his apartment so I doubt anyone would try anything, but why don't you call and check on him?”

  Margot nodded and reached for her phone, her fingers trembling slightly. Over the last few years, she had grown to see Bentley as a father figure and the thought of him being in danger made her nauseous. She tapped her toe as the phone rang.

  Finally, he picked up. “Margot?”

  “Are you all right?”

  “Uh,” he stuttered, “what are you saying now?”

  A wave of relief washed through her. “You’re all right then?”

  “I’m just as fine as I was yesterday. What’s going on, Margot?”

  “Is Harrison with you?”

  “No…” His tone hinted at wariness. “What are you getting at?”

  “I…” She paused, realizing she couldn’t share what she wanted to over the phone. There was the chance that Bentley would take it the wrong way. “Can I stop by?”

  “You’re always welcome here, dear. But tell me straight, what is this all about?”

  “I’m on my way. I’ll tell you when I get there.”

  There was a slight hesitation when she thought he would demand information, but all he said was, “Don’t forget my muffin.”

  Smiling, she replied, “You know I won’t.”

  Adam rode with Margot over to Bentley’s apartment and, before they went up to see him, she watched as he checked in with the officer on duty. When he joined her, he said, “No one’s been up there that he has seen. I don’t believe there is a back way in either.”

  “Bentley said Harrison hadn’t been by,” she agreed, nodding. “Harrison must still be in his hotel room.”

  “I’ll check in with the officers watching him. They may have to switch from protection to watch duty.”

  Her brows knit together. “So you think he’s involved in all of this somehow?”

  “It’s too much of a coincidence for him to be part of Bentley’s past and to have Russ and Tony die along with Nils’s murder to not have him be part of this all in some way. He may not be responsible, but I have a feeling he knows more than he’s saying.”

  “I agree. Let’s go talk to Bentley. Maybe he knows something he hasn’t shared,” she offered.

  He nodded and followed her up the stairs to his apartment. When they were inside, Bentley with his muffin sitting by the partially closed window, Margot shared what she’d learned from Dexter. Bentley sat, watching with wide eyes.

  “You—you think he’s part of all of this?”

  “I don’t want to believe it either, but there is evidence that isn’t lining up. Did you know about Harrison’s financial issues?”

  “I had no idea.” Bentley sighed. “Yo
u don't think… I mean, he couldn't have killed Tony or Russ, could he?”

  He looked so helpless and Margot felt a pang of guilt for having to tell him about his friend’s possible involvement in something as awful as murder. But the question remained. Why now?

  “Bentley,” she continued, “why would this all come back up now? Has something happened that you can think of? A catalyst of sorts?”

  Bentley gently shook his head. “Not that I can think of. This is all in the past. It only came to my mind when I learned that Russ and Tony had passed away. Of course we’d start thinking about the past. Reminiscing, reliving, things like that.”

  Margot thought back to his conversation with Harrison. “What about that coin?”

  “The gold doubloon?”

  She nodded in encouragement, but Adam interjected, “What coin?”

  “Yesterday, when Margot got here, Harrison had been asking me a lot of questions about the gold doubloon I was sent years ago. It came about two years after the treasure had been stolen. I had just gotten my first real job—you know, hired for work, not just to intern—with a firm in Virginia and I was living high on the hog as they say. I thought about having the coin appraised but there were two things that bothered me.” He roughed a hand over his jaw. “One was the fact that it felt like taunting—was someone trying to rub in the fact that we hadn’t gotten to the treasure in time? It was a little frightening to think about. I mean, this person had my home address.”

  “I’m sure it was shocking,” Margot said. “What was the second thing?”

  “I wasn’t sure I wanted to know if it were real or not.”

  “Why not?” Adam asked.

  “Well, if it was real, that meant it would likely be worth something, which was great, but how would I explain having a genuine Spanish doubloon? And if it weren’t real, then it really would feel like a slap in the face to my—our—failure. I decided to put it somewhere and forget about it, especially after I saw my first check from the firm. It was double what I’d made in a month for my previous job so there was no need for extra money.”