Bassets and Blackmail Read online

  “Enough!” I raised my voice.

  Paw jumped up and growled.

  I placed my hand on his neck and smoothed his fur. “It's okay, boy. I'm fine, just frustrated at the men in my life. You excluded of course.”

  Paw licked my hand.

  Bruce and Harry said nothing.

  “Uncle Harry, why are you back?”

  “William's prints are on the wine bottle we found in the mulch.”

  “How'd you ID prints so fast?” Bruce asked.

  “William's prints were in the system. We lifted prints off the bottle and ran them to see if anyone popped up. William's matched.”

  “What?” William seemed so sweet to me.

  Bruce crossed his arms. “What was he in the system for?”

  “Embezzlement.”

  Behind us, Jac cried, “That can't be!” She stood in the doorway. I had been so involved in our conversation that I hadn't heard her open the door.

  Jac stepped onto the porch with a laser focus on Harry. “William would never commit a crime.”

  At that moment I realized how close Jac had drawn to Patricia and William. Since her mother died when she was very young, Jac had always seemed so self-reliant. She adored her dad of course, but she handled things on her own. I only hoped that her new-found devotion to the Innsmans wouldn't end up hurting her.

  Harry raised a hand, palm out. “His prints were in the system connected to his arrest.”

  “The system is wrong.” Jac crossed her arms.

  Paw pushed past me and leaned against Jac's leg. She ignored him which was out of character for her.

  I stepped up and put an arm around her. “Let's go in and ask William to clear this up.”

  Harry opened his mouth, no doubt to protest our addition to his interrogation of William. I stared him down. Jac needed to hear what William said.

  As we stepped into the house, William came down the stairs. He grimaced when he saw Harry. Jac rushed over to him. William put a gentle hand on her shoulder. “It's okay.”

  “Woo-woo!” Henry lumbered into the foyer.

  “Woof!” Paw wagged his tail.

  Bitsy darted around Henry. “Yip! Yip!”

  Paw growled at her.

  Shelbee, who followed behind with Samuel, lunged to pick up Bitsy. “We'll have to work with Paw some more,” she said, referring to his dislike of Pomeranians in general.

  Samuel sat down next to Paw. “Woof!”

  Paw barked in return.

  “They're catching up on the news,” William quipped.

  Patricia walked in the front door. “What's going on?”

  William waved his hand to the living room. “Let's go in there. We can talk in private.”

  Harry gave a curt nod. “You understand that this is official police business.”

  “I do.” William put an arm around Jac. “I want everyone here to know the truth.”

  Jac's eyes filled with tears.

  William gave her a reassuring hug. “Cheer up, sugar. It's not what you think.

  Patricia cut across the room and placed her arm around Jac too. Together the three of them led the way into the living room. I was sure Harry would object to all of us getting in the way of his interrogation, but he followed the Innsmans and Jac without a word.

  Shelbee, Bruce, and I brought up the rear with the dogs trotting along beside us.

  Once in the living room, we sat on the sofa and chairs around the room. Bruce chose to stand by the front windows while William sat on the sofa with Jac and Patricia on either side of him. Harry sat on the sofa directly across from them. The better to observe William as he answered questions. Shelbee and I took two straight back chairs, side by side, at the end of the sofa closest to Jac. Our dogs lay down at our feet, Henry across Patricia's foot, and Samuel and Paw at my feet with Bitsy on Shelbee's lap.

  Harry flipped open his notebook. “William Innsman, can you explain to me why your fingerprints were on the wine bottle we found hidden in your mulch pile? The same bottle you denied knowledge of earlier this morning when I questioned you?”

  Patricia harrumphed. “How do you know those prints are William's?”

  “Because they are on record.”

  William cleared his throat. “Perhaps it would be best if I explained everything from the beginning then you can ask your questions.”

  Harry frowned but nodded his agreement.

  “I knew who Cafferty was before he showed up at the B&B for the weekend.” William sighed. “When I was a young man, just starting out in my first job, I met Thomas Cafferty. He was a fellow employee at the bank where I worked. At the time I was casual friends with him. We had a drink or two after work and would talk about the sports games and so on around the water cooler. I had no idea what a ruthless man he could be.

  “Our boss, Mr. Sanderson, was a genial sort with one of the most beautiful daughters I had ever met. Her name was Penelope and I was smitten. To win her favor, and I admit, satisfy my ambition, I worked overtime to rise in the company. I figured if I impressed her father then I would have a chance at winning the girl. And I did. I impressed Penelope and her father. I was promoted to junior management and Penelope and I became engaged.”

  William paused a moment, lost in thought.

  Harry shifted in his seat. It roused William from his inner world.

  “What I didn't know was that Cafferty wanted Penelope and my job. He set me up. He embezzled funds from the bank, falsified evidence that I was the culprit, and tipped the police to the crime. I was arrested. That's why my prints are on file.

  “Mr. Sanderson visited me in jail. He offered me a way out. He said that he would drop all the charges in exchange for me breaking off the engagement with Penelope. I told him to go jump in a lake. But when I was released on bail, Penelope would have nothing to do with me. Worse, Sanderson threatened to blackball me from employment in any bank. And he could do it.

  “I'm not proud to admit this, but I accepted his deal. The charges were dropped, and I packed up and left the area. Made a new life for myself. Heard through an old friend that Penelope got engaged to Cafferty. That's the last I knew of the man until he made reservations at the B&B.”

  Patricia reached across and took William's hand. She turned to the rest of us. “I knew about everything he's just told you. Cafferty was a wicked man.”

  Jac put her hand on William's arm. “I'm sorry.”

  William smiled sadly.

  Harry crossed his arms. “That doesn't explain why your prints were on the bottle.”

  Patricia nudged William with her shoulder. “Tell him.”

  William stared at her then turned to Harry. “No. It doesn't. I didn't embezzle money, but I'm not without malice. You see, Chief, when I realized Cafferty was coming, I decided to get back at him.”

  Harry sat up straighter on the sofa.

  “I knew Cafferty had had a passion for wine from our younger days. I counted on that because I was going to pull a little prank on him. At dinner last night I displayed a bottle of expensive wine.” He nodded to Jac, Shelbee, and myself. “The ladies can verify that.”

  “He did,” I spoke for the three of us while Jac and Shelbee nodded.

  “I told everyone at the table last night about its discovery in the basement when we bought this house. I was counting on Cafferty's greed leading him to steal it.

  “Patty and I love to search out flea markets. Some years ago, I found an empty bottle of the same wine at a yard sale.

  “I’m not a connoisseur of wine, but Devon from our local wine shop is. He identified the bottle in the basement as a fine wine. Since I owned an identical empty bottle, I decided to play a prank on Cafferty. With Devon’s help, we filled the empty bottle with vinegar and sealed it to appear like an original, unopened bottle. That’s the bottle I displayed at dinner and placed in the wine racks in the basement. The original is safely stored at Devon’s shop.”

  Harry stopped scribbling. “How did the bottle get into the m
ulch?”

  “I don’t know. Whoever stole it probably figured no one would look for it there.” William glanced down at Paw. “Well, almost no one.”

  Paw wagged his tail as Harry scribbled in his notebook. “Did you plan to kill Cafferty?”

  “No.”

  “But you lured him to the cellar.”

  “Yes, but I didn't push him down the stairs. I wanted him to take a drink of what is considered one of the finest wines ever created and choke on the disgusting vinegar taste. Not to kill him. I wanted him to suffer, even a little bit like he made me suffer.”

  Patricia squeezed William's hand.

  Harry rubbed his jaw with his left hand while he studied William. “Why didn't you tell me this earlier when I interviewed you?”

  “Because I was afraid that you wouldn't believe me.”

  Harry grunted.

  When he didn't ask anything, I spoke up. “How does Karen Taylor know that you knew Cafferty?”

  Harry glared at me but left William answer.

  “She could have been one of Penelope's friends. My arrest was in the papers at the time. Maybe she read about it.”

  “So you didn't know her?”

  William shrugged. “No.”

  Harry stood up. “That's all for now. I'll contact you if I have more questions.” He motioned for Bruce to follow him.

  I asked William, “Did you tell anyone about the wine besides Devon and those of us at last night’s dinner?”

  William watched them leave then turned to me. “Only Devon and Patty knew about the fake wine. Devon informed the park committee that I would donate the real wine for the fundraiser next month, but he assured them the bottle was stored in his shop’s wine cellar.”

  Bruce strode back into the room and sat down on the sofa Harry had vacated. He opened his mouth, but before he could speak, the front door slammed shut.

  Chapter 10

  Tap, tap, tap. The sound of high heels on the foyer floor.

  Jessica appeared in the doorway, a look of disgust on her face. “This dumpy town is a disgrace. Nowhere else to stay. I'm going up to my room.” She announced to us then turned and headed for the stairs.

  The sound of muffled tapping drifted over from the carpeted stairway.

  “Well.” Shelbee laughed. “One of the guests has returned. In case you didn't notice.” She winked at us.

  All of us burst out laughing. It cut the tension that had been hanging in the room. Bitsy yipped and turned in circles on Shelbee's lap while Henry barked excitedly.

  I wiped my eyes as Paw stood up and nudged my arm. “I'm okay, boy.”

  Samuel, who had remained lying on the floor, sighed at the oddities of humans.

  We comforted the dogs and Bruce said, “What else can you tell us about Cafferty?”

  “Not much,” William said. “Like I said, I never saw him after my arrest.”

  “Do you know if he married Penelope?”

  Patricia answered for William. “He didn't.”

  William wore a stunned expression.

  Mouth open, I asked Patricia, “How do you know that? Did you know her?”

  Patricia laid a hand on William's cheek. “I'm sorry, darling, but I read some of the old letters your sister sent to you. The ones you refused to open that sat in the attic of our old house. I found them when we moved here.” She turned her head to address the rest of us. “William's sister, Beth, lived in the area where William was arrested. They fell out and haven't spoken since that time, but she sent William frequent letters at first.”

  “Hmph,” William grumbled under his breath. “She ordered me to take Sanderson's deal, demanded I think of the rest of the family and their reputation. I swear she thought I did it.”

  “Oh, darling, that wasn't true. And if you had only read her letters, you would have known that. Beth wrote that Penelope and Cafferty got engaged but that the engagement only lasted a few months. Rumor had it that Penelope found out Cafferty was engaged to another woman whom he dumped to marry her. Penelope didn't trust him, so she called off the engagement. Shortly after that, Cafferty left town.”

  Jac crossed her arms. “Sounds like Cafferty was a criminal and a con artist.”

  “I agree.” Patricia patted Jac's shoulder then stood up. “I have to get back to the kitchen. Dinner won't make itself and I think we’ll have guests to feed.” She sighed and glanced to the foyer. “I better check on Jessica too.”

  Bruce put up a hand. “Before you go, do either of you,” he included William with a glance, “know if any of the guests argued with Cafferty? Or acted as though they knew him?”

  “Not that I can think of,” Patricia said. “I didn't realize Karen Taylor knew him.”

  William stood up. “Same here.”

  I whispered to Shelbee, “Does Jessica like dogs?”

  “No. She doesn't. Why?”

  I winked and handed her Paw's leash then stroked Paw's back. “Stay with Shelbee, okay?”

  Sad, puppy-dog eyes stared back at me.

  I stood up and followed Patricia as she left the room. “I'll go up and check on Jessica for you.”

  Patricia smiled, no doubt grateful to avoid a grumpy guest. “I'll make a cup of hot chocolate for you to take to her. One for you too. Wait here.”

  Bruce materialized by my elbow. “You're going to talk to Jessica, right?”

  He knew me too well. “Yes.”

  “Good. I'm going to call a few friends of mine. Perhaps they can dig up some information on our suspects.”

  He gave me a quick kiss and left.

  Patricia returned with two steaming mugs of cocoa. “Hopefully this softens her mood.”

  I nodded, took the mugs, and climbed the stairs to the guest floor. Jessica's room was at the end of the hall to the right. It was the bridal suite, the largest guest room that the inn had, and one she shared with Cafferty before his death.

  A small table sat to the side of the door where I set down my mug to knock on the door. I could hear Jessica grumbling as she approached the door. She flung it open with a frown on her face and a hand on her hip.

  “Yeah, what is it?”

  I smiled and extended the mug of cocoa. “I thought you could use a cup of chocolate. It's been a distressing day for you.”

  She watched me with narrowed eyes then took a sniff of the chocolate smell wafting in the air. Her shoulders relaxed as she reached for the cocoa and took a sip. “Mmm. Tastes heavenly.”

  I picked up my mug and took a sip. “Hot chocolate is one of my favorite ways to relax.”

  She waved me into her room and closed the door. “Sit down.” She indicated an overstuffed chair with a wave of her manicured hand.

  I sat in the chair, and she perched on the edge of the double bed. We sipped our cocoa for several minutes in silence.

  Jessica spoke first. “I hear you have solved murders.”

  I goggled at her. “How did you know that?”

  She waved her hand as if to dismiss my question. “I overheard your friend at dinner last night.”

  “Yes. One or two.”

  “Then you can help me. You can find out who killed Thomas.”

  My mouth fell open.

  Jessica continued, “Thomas was furious that the Dayton's were here. He said they're criminals.”

  “Criminals? What kind of criminals?”

  “I don't know.” Jessica chewed her lower lip. “Thomas wouldn't tell me. But I know it had to be one of them who killed him. Maybe both.”

  “Why would they kill him?”

  “I don't know.” She rolled her eyes. “That's why I need your help. You can investigate and catch them.”

  She took a long swallow of her cocoa.

  I sat staring into my cup. What should I do? Go along with her request? After all, I was investigating already. Perhaps I could question her in the guise of helping her.

  “I'll need to know about Cafferty — I mean, Thomas's — activities last night.” Jessica raised an eyebrow
. I hurriedly added, “To understand where or how he interacted with the Daytons.”

  She nodded. “Good idea. Unfortunately, I don't know where he went. After dinner, I came up here and took a long bath.”

  “Did you both return to the room after dinner?”

  She hesitated. “No. Thomas walked me to our room and said he was going out to smoke one of his vile cigars. I hate those things. They stink. It was so thoughtful of him to smoke outside.”

  Thoughtful was not a word I would attribute to Cafferty, however, I refrained from saying it. “Did you leave the room at any time?”

  “Why do you want to know that?”

  “Perhaps I phrased that wrong. I wondered if it was possible that Thomas came back while you were out of the room. To track his movements last night.”

  “Oh. No. I stayed in our room all night. Until that woman screamed and woke me.”

  “Okay. Did Thomas come back after his cigar?”

  “Yes. Then we went to bed.”

  “Do you know when he left your room?”

  “No.” A few tears traced down her cheeks. “I didn't know he'd left the room until I woke up and was alone. I was scared with that woman screaming.”

  I thought about Shelbee’s version of events last night. Jessica hadn't appeared after Madeline screamed. “Did you leave your room to find out who was screaming?”

  Jessica's eyes widened. “No. I was too scared.”

  “Weren't you worried where Thomas was?”

  “I figured he had gone to shut the woman up.”

  “But wouldn't you have expected him to be in bed with you?”

  She glared at me. “What's with the interrogation? I'm not a suspect. The Daytons are the ones who killed him.”

  “Do you have proof that they murdered him?”

  “No. That's what your job is.” She stood up and stalked to the bedroom door, pulling it open. “You'd best get at it.”

  She thrust her cup at me, so I took it, saying, “I'll let you know if I find out anything. Or have more questions.”

  I stepped out of the room as the door slammed shut behind me.

  I carried the mugs down the stairs to the kitchens. Perhaps I should have told Jessica that I wouldn't investigate for her, but since I was already questioning people, it seemed like an effective way to keep her talking to me.