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Chapter Forty-Six

Alan parked in Liz’s driveway, and we all disembarked. Liz held Buddy by the leash the county police used, giving the large dog a moment to relieve himself in the grass. Clare pulled the house key out of her pocket, unlocked the front door, and explained that she had the locks changed.

“That wasn’t necessary,” her sister remarked. “Ed and I have lived here a long time, and we’ve never had a problem.”

I glanced at Alan, not sure how much we should reveal until Liz got settled. He didn’t respond, so I waited as well. Buddy explored the living room, dining room, and kitchen. “Do you know his breed?” I asked.

“Damien thinks maybe German shepherd and Lab, but he’s not sure. He found him as a puppy out on the road about eight years ago, and tried to find the owner, even though Buddy had no collar. We think someone dumped him. Isn’t that awful?”

“Yes, it is,” I agreed, shaking my head. “If you have a bowl or pot, you could give him some water, and Clare may have some food left from Sophie.”

“Who’s Sophie?” she asked, heading to the kitchen.

Clare followed. “She’s Alan and Sue’s dog, and she stayed with me a couple of nights.”

Liz stared at her sister. “You live in a remote African village, yet you were scared on a busy street in town? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, now that I know you’re safe.” With that, Clare filled a bowl with water and scooped dry dog food into another. Buddy sniffed the kibble and walked away.

It felt awkward to watch Liz try to acclimate to her return with all of us surrounding her. I recalled that unease after my hospitalization a few years ago, so I thought Alan and I should leave, at least for a little while. He had a different opinion.

“Do you feel up to talking about your ordeal?” he asked.

She smiled. “It really wasn’t that bad until the bulb burned out in the cellar and Damien didn’t come to tell me the coast was clear.”

We followed Alan to the living room where he asked us to take a seat. He sat directly across from Liz and Buddy. “What did you do when you weren’t in the cellar?” he queried.

“We took walks, fed the chickens, collected the eggs, and things like that. Damien has some quirks, yet he feels more comfortable with me than he does most people, including his sister. Janice doesn’t have much patience with him.”

Alan nodded. “Okay, so we know Janice called you, asking if you could bring Damien some groceries. Had you intended to have those on hand in case your sister came?”

“Yes, but I’d have time after church the next day to go back to the grocery store, then to the airport. ”

“But you didn’t,” Alan pressed.

“No.” She lowered her eyes, shaking her head. “Damien was acting strange, so I stayed with him.”

“You didn’t tell him that you needed to pick up your sister at the airport?” Alan pressed. “Clare had called several times to remind you.”

She raised her eyes to look at Clare. “I’m sorry. I was so busy closing Ed’s accounts, and I didn’t feel like talking.”

“Yet on that Saturday,” Alan reminded her, “you met friends at River Mill golf club, went grocery shopping, and took Jane Windsor to the Black Horse Pub for dinner. That seems like a lot of talking to me.”

“So, I didn’t have time to speak with anyone else,” she sputtered.

“Oh, but you did,” Alan continued. “You received a phone call from Janice Walker and Lindsey Wiley, or was it Joe Wiley?”

She frowned. “Have you been checking up on me?”

“That’s what detectives do,” Alan stated, “when someone hires us to find a missing person. Who are you trying to protect, Liz?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Alan caught her eye. “I think you do.”

She stood and pointed to the door. “I’d like you to leave, please.”

Clare reached for a hand, but Liz pulled it away. Buddy gave a low growl.

Since I’d also had similar reactions to Alan’s police persona in the past, I tried to diffuse the situation by changing the topic. With a soft tone, I said, “Jane Windsor has missed you terribly, although Clare has brought groceries to her. ”

Clare gave her sister a hesitant smile. “She likes her ice cream, doesn’t she?”

Liz nodded, but words escaped her. She choked back emotion before saying, “Please tell her I’m okay.”

“We will,” I said consolingly.

Liz sank back onto the sofa. Her bottom lip quivered and a tear dropped to her cheek. “Ed was my rock, and now he’s gone.”

“I understand,” I said gently. “My first husband died, leaving me with a pile of debts, and I didn’t know where to turn.”

She leaned into Clare and wept.

Suddenly it hit me. The whole sordid mess that I had to face when my husband hid his gambling addiction and another family in the background came tumbling forward. “You didn’t have the cash to clear Ed’s accounts,” I said softly.

She shook her head, mumbling, “I used our savings first, then closed out our investments, and I still didn’t have enough. I planned to put our Florida home on the market, but I’d have to fly down there to sort through our things.”

“I can go with you to help,” Clare said, “but what happened with Ed’s accounts?”

She closed her eyes, shaking her head. “He left such a mess, mostly with the investment side of the business. In some cases, he covered clients’ money with our own, but never mentioned it to me. Other times, he borrowed from one client to pay another. It’s a nightmare.”

“Yes, it is,” I agreed, having dealt with something similar.

“Joe Wiley gave me some money,” she continued, “though I hadn’t told him my dilemma. I guess he knew I was worried. ”

“We asked him,” I said, “but he denied leaving any notes or money for you. Could Jim Withers have tried to help?”

She reached for a tissue on the coffee table and blew her nose. “Maybe,” she said tentatively. “He’s been a good friend to Ed and me, and I’ve helped him through the years.”

“Alan plans to go ask him in a little while,” I remarked, “and we’ll hope to soon have an answer for that question. There’s another problem, though. One I never had to face.”

She dabbed at her eyes while looking at me. “What’s that?”

“Someone tried to scare Clare away from here three times, but she wouldn’t leave until we found you. That’s why we suggested she change the locks and keep our dog, Sophie, with her at night.”

Liz stared at me. “Who would do that?”

“We don’t know,” I replied, “although we suspect someone wanted something from your house.” I paused a moment. “Was Ed having an affair with Lindsey Wiley?”

She gasped before closing her eyes. “I believe so,” she whispered.

My heart skipped a beat because I’d found the missing puzzle piece. “Where’s her gold bracelet?” I asked.

“It’s in the cup of the putting green in the basement,” she murmured.

“Very appropriate,” Alan muttered.

“I found it on the floor under our bed this summer. Of course, I immediately knew the implications because I’d suspected it many times, though I still found it hard to believe. How could my husband have betrayed me like that?”

I wanted to tell her it would take a long time to get over such duplicity, but she probably already knew that. Instead, I tackled the one remaining part of the puzzle, though I tried to do it gently. “We know you didn’t want to stay at Damien’s for ten days, especially when you’d hoped your sister would arrive the next day. Who kidnapped you?”

Clare morosely shook her head. “I don’t know. The last thing I remember was stopping for gas, figuring I needed enough to get home, and I might as well fill up for my trip to the Scranton airport.” She reached up to touch the back of her head. “Someone knocked me out, and I woke up on Sterling Lane with no car and no phone. Damien found me, and the groceries I’d brought, on Sunday morning.”

“We spoke to Damien several times,” I said gently, “and he told us he hadn’t seen you.”

“We were scared. He got calls on his house phone with constant threats that I’d be killed if I didn’t release $10,000 in unmarked bills. I didn’t have that kind of money, so I stayed hidden.”

“Did you recognize the voice of the person who called him?” Alan asked.

“It was mechanical, so I couldn’t even tell if it was a man or a woman.”

“It was Lindsey Wiley,” I stated, feeling absolutely certain. “She needed you out of your home so she could search for her bracelet. She must have followed you, then knocked you out. Of course, Clare thwarted her plans by staying in your house. Lindsey must have felt desperate, trying to scare your sister away while making sure you stayed at Damien’s.”

“For a bracelet?” Liz queried.

Alan caught my eye before raising an eyebrow, daring me to totally solve the mystery. I don’t know how, but I figured it out .

Nodding, I said, “Yes, her husband had been pestering her about the expensive gift he’d given her, and Lindsey knew it must have fallen off during an afternoon of passion at the Sterling residence. I think we can prove her involvement in everything by introducing her to Buddy.”

Alan understood my point immediately. “Let me get Mark over here,” he said, pulling his phone from his pocket, “then Liz can take me to the bracelet.”

As he spoke with our police chief, Liz shook her head. “What are we doing?”

“You’re going to call Lindsey and tell her to come pick up her bracelet.”

She shook her head. “I don’t have a house phone and my cell phone is missing.”

“Okay,” I shrugged. “I’ll do it.” I pressed the number for Lindsey in my contacts, hoping to find her at home. When she answered, I handed the phone to Liz.

Her voice gathered strength as she told Lindsey that she was home and found a gold bracelet. “Could it be the one you lost?” After a pause, she added, “You’re welcome to come get it. I’ll meet you at the back door.”

I prayed Mark would arrive in time, and Buddy wouldn’t let me down. Alan and Liz headed to the basement, then returned with her waving the gold trinket. From the living room window, I saw Mark pull into the driveway behind Alan’s car. Moments later, Lindsey sashayed across the yard.

When Alan gave the signal, Liz opened the inside door for Lindsey. Buddy peered through the glass of the storm door and growled.

She stepped back, then noticed Mark Matthews in uniform. “What’s going on?” she questioned, looking as if she wanted to bolt .

Liz dangled the bracelet. “Is this what you were looking for?” she asked through the storm door.

Lindsey pulled the door open and reached to grab it. Buddy barked ferociously before literally knocking her off the stoop as he prepared to attack. Alan grabbed his leash as he yelled, “Heel, boy. At ease.”

Mark quickly cuffed her, then read her the Miranda rights as Alan pulled Buddy inside, closing the inside door behind him. “Keep him in,” he told Liz before scooting out the front door. I managed to follow.

Lindsey screamed in anger, swearing to report Mark to the mayor and the media for a false arrest. Two county police officers arrived to assist Mark, while Alan filled in the details. One of them took a long look at her before saying, “I’m sure this is the lady who returned to the crime scene on Sterling Lane.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she shrieked.

Alan intervened. “She didn’t intend to shoot Damien. She just wanted to scare him.”

She gazed at him with misty eyes. “It was dark. I covered my face with a mask and wore a hoodie, so I couldn’t see very well. Then, that dog attacked me and the gun went off. I ran away, but I was afraid I’d killed Damien. Is he alive?”

“Luckily, yes,” Alan replied. “Was the gold bracelet worth all of that mayhem?”

A blush crept up her neck. “I knew how and when I lost it, but Joe kept reminding me how much it cost. Worse than that, I lent Ed $10,000 to cover some of his debts, then he died. I had to get that money back before my husband discovered it missing, so I concocted the ransom scheme.”

“On top of that,” Alan stated, “you stole Liz’s car. ”

“No, I left it at lovers’ lane, and the police found it.” She gave him a smirk.

“Where’s her phone?”

“Not far from where I left the car. Look in the bushes.”

“When you get to the police station,” Alan said, “ask to call a lawyer, because you’re going to need one.”

He nodded to one of the officers who gently took her arm and led her to the police van parked at the curb. She glared at Alan as she passed by.

We could only shake our heads, knowing her devious ways had caught up with her. Alan left us to talk to Jim Withers at River Mill Golf Club and asked if I would help the two sisters debrief from their very stressful experience.

I agreed, mostly because I had once walked in Liz’s shoes. I felt a kinship with her, even though we’d never previously met, because we’d both experienced betrayal.

She also had her sister, whom she needed more than she knew. Maybe I could help them reconnect—or, perhaps, they could do that on their own.