A House to Die For (A Darby Farr Mystery) (41 page)

The Island Community Center was full to capacity, and Darby Farr
found herself greeting people that she had not seen for a decade.
Old friends of her parents; retired teachers she'd had in school;
and a robust woman with white hair who turned out to be Jane
Farr's attorney, Claire Doyle.

"My condolences, Darby. Your aunt was quite a woman. Still
had some surprises up her sleeve, right to the end." She winked.
"We'll talk later."

Helen Near was tanned and healthy: a walking advertisement
for the Florida lifestyle. She gave Darby a big hug, as promised,
and then looked her over with tears in her eyes.

"I never met your mother, but Jane told me you resembled her,"
she said. "And yet I see some of your father-and Jane-in your
face." She gave a sad smile. "Everyone is so friendly and caring. No
wonder your aunt loved this island so."

"She didn't care for it at first, but the community definitely
grew on her." Darby looked around the room. The service had yet
to start: everyone was still milling about, finding seats and swapping stories. "I never really thought about it before, Helen, but
when my parents died, and Aunt Jane came to live here, you went
out of your way to make that transition smooth. I'm grateful."

"Why, what else would I have done?" Helen asked, surprised.
"Jane needed to be with you. That's what you do for family. Jane
knew that as well as anyone." Helen lowered her voice slightly. "Your
aunt wasn't perfect, I'll grant you that. She didn't know a thing about
raising children, never mind a grief-stricken teen. But she did her
best, and by the looks of you, I'd say she succeeded rather nicely."

Darby smiled. "Thank you." She saw the Island Center's director make a hand signal that they should begin, and she nodded.
Helen gave Darby a final squeeze, wiped a tear from her eye, and
took her seat in the front row. Before long, more than a hundred
islanders and friends had followed suit.

Darby cleared her throat and went up to the microphone.

"Friends, thank you all for coming," she began. "Today is the
day we celebrate the life of Jane Jenson Farr, our friend and fellow
islander. I'm her niece, Darby, and I want to tell you personally
how much it means to me that you are here to honor someone we
all knew and loved."

As she said the words she'd rewritten that very morning, Darby
realized that at last she truly meant them. She loved her aunt and
wanted to celebrate her legacy as well as her flaws. Perhaps coming
so close to death had made her realize the fragility of life, or perhaps she was finally ready to grow up.

She saw the smiling face of Miles Porter seated in the second
row. The night before, after his phone call, he'd wasted no time in
arriving at the cottage, bringing with him a tenderness and gentleness that Darby's battered body required. She smiled back and
hoped the rest of the audience did not see her blush.

When the service was over, and the last of Jane Farr's friends had
shared their memories before departing into the bright afternoon
sun, Darby looked across the Island Community Center at the
cleanup crew of Tina, Donny, and Miles. She watched as they chatted together, tossing away paper plates and cups, covering food that
could be kept for later, and restoring order to the large gathering room. A lump formed in her throat. It's been an emotional couple
of days, she thought, swallowing hard. And it's not over yet...

The door to the Community Center opened and Ryan Oakes,
accompanied by Mark and Lucy Trimble, entered. Lucy came up
to Darby and placed a hand on her forearm.

"It was a lovely memorial, Darby." She paused. "You ready to
head out?"

Darby nodded and called a "thank you" over to the others.

"Our bill is in the mail," said Miles with a grin.

Peyton Mayerson and her attorney, Arthur Toussaint, were already
waiting outside Near & Farr when Darby, Lucy, and Mark arrived.

"Glad you decided to show up," Peyton sang out, as the three
emerged from Mark's car.

Mark muttered under his breath, "That woman really gets
under my skin."

Darby managed a smile. "Oh really?"

"Now, now," Lucy soothed. "Let's just get this done."

Darby unlocked the office and gathered chairs around the conference table. The five sat down and Darby began to go through
the documents.

"Here is the deed we agreed upon," she said, giving a copy to
Arthur Toussaint. He grunted, showed it to Peyton, and placed it
in a file.

"This is a sketch of the boundaries," Darby explained, handing
Peyton's lawyer another piece of paper. "And here is the list of personal property which is also conveying with the house."

Arthur Toussaint waved his hands in the air and gave an exasperated look. "We don't have all day, Ms. Farr. May I present the
settlement statement, or do you have a few more pieces of paper
you'd like to push my way?"

Darby made a show of looking through her file as she stalled
for time. Where was Ed Landis? When would he arrive to arrest
Peyton?

She pulled out a property disclosure form. "Actually, I do need a
signature on this document," she said, giving the paper to Peyton.

"Where do I sign?" Her voice was flat with boredom.

"Right here-after you've read it, of course."

Peyton shot a murderous look in Darby's direction and began
to read the three-page disclosure.

Arthur Toussaint placed a form on the table in front of Lucy and
Mark. "While my client is signing that, here is what you will be signing. There's the purchase price of the property, $5.2 million, minus
the commission and other fees. I have a check for Near & Farr Realty right here, and the remainder in a nice big cashier's check." He
pulled papers out of an envelope and glanced at Darby.

Peyton Mayerson looked up from the papers. "Don't spoil my
fun, Arthur. I want to be the one to give Darby the check." She
handed the papers to her and signed the settlement statement.
"After all, I'm the one who's the new owner of Fairview."

"Not quite," said Ed Landis, bursting through the door, his gun
pointed at Peyton. He grabbed her by the arm, "You're both under
arrest." Another man, Landis' partner, grabbed a startled Arthur
Toussaint, who looked as if he was about to vomit.

"Emilio?" Peyton shrieked. "What's going on?"

"FBI." Landis read the two their rights and signaled for his partner to handcuff them.

Peyton's shocked expression turned quickly to disdain. "You,"
she spat, shaking her head at Ed Landis. "You're a Fed?" She smirked
and gave a bitter chuckle. "Unbelievable. I slept with a federal agent.
That will be something for my memoir."

Ed Landis lifted his eyebrows and pulled her toward the door.
"Good idea, Penelope. You'll certainly have lots of time to write."

Landis and his partner shuffled Peyton and Arthur Toussaint
out the door and into a waiting unmarked car, leaving Darby,
Mark, and Lucy in their wake.

"Wow," said Lucy. "What just happened?"

Darby turned to them both. "Peyton is actually Penelope Mancuzzi, and she's wanted by the government for her connections to
organized crime." She saw the disbelief on their faces and felt sick.
Would her next plan even work?

"So what you're saying," began Mark slowly, "is that we do not
have a sale of Fairview..."

"Oh, I don't know about that," Darby said lightly. She looked
out the window to the parking lot and signaled to someone. Moments later, Ryan Oakes strode into the room, papers in hand and
a smile on his face.

"I'm here to make an offer on Fairview," he said, brandishing a
purchase and sale agreement. He turned to Mark and Lucy. "I believe your property is available, and I'm ready-on behalf of the Island Association-to buy it."

Mark reached out for the contract and looked it over. A moment later he was laughing and handing the paper to Lucy.

"What do you say?" prompted Ryan.

"It looks like we have a deal," quipped Lucy. Darby watched as
Ryan Oakes pulled a crisp, one dollar bill out of his wallet and presented it, with a flourish, to Lucy Trimble.

Mark gave an apologetic look. "Donating Fairview is fine with
me, Darby, but I'm afraid there isn't much in the way of commission for you. Other than the highly coveted lifetime membership
in the Island Association."

"Some deals can't be measured in dollars and cents," smiled
Darby. "I'm glad to know that Fairview will be put to good use."

Ryan Oakes was grinning. "It's a dream come true for us. We
plan to have a gallery, a small restaurant, offices, and, of course, a
great room to entertain our wonderful donors." He smiled at Lucy
and Mark Trimble.

"Speaking of dreams," said Mark. "There's one more piece of
business to attend to. Come with us, Darby."

Dusk was falling as they drove to Jane Farr's house. Darby was surprised to see several cars in the driveway, and she entered to find a
small cocktail party in full swing in her aunt's living room. Once
again, a crackling fire blazed in the hearth.

Glasses were raised as she entered, and Tina hastily handed her
one. "We can't have a toast without champagne," she explained,
smiling.

She made sure that Ryan, Mark, and Lucy each had a glass.

"Here's to Fairview and its new life as the Maine Island Association Center," said Mark, "and to Darby Farr, for making it all
possible."

While the firelight danced on her glossy black hair, Darby
smiled and lifted a champagne glass. "To Fairview," she said, looking around the room. Miles Porter gave her a grin and Chief Dupont nodded in her direction.

"Thank goodness it has finally sold!" exclaimed Tina.

Ryan Oakes chuckled. "Did you think you'd sell it on the deck
of a tug during a tropical storm, Darby?"

"No," she admitted. "But I'm sure it's something my Aunt Jane
would have approved of."

Chief Dupont nodded. "You're right about that. She was a firm
believer that real estate trumped everything, that's for sure. And
she loved happy endings."

Lucy poured some water into her champagne glass and lifted
it again as a toast. "Here's to more happy endings," she said. "For
instance, I believe there's someone here with something special for
you, Miss Darby Farr."

Darby watched as Lucy looked around the room and smiled at
the elegantly dressed older woman with whom Darby had spoken
that morning.

Claire Doyle moved through the crowd. In her hand she carried a letter-sized white envelope which she handed to Darby.

"Go ahead, see what it is," urged Tina.

Darby took the envelope and opened it up. Inside was a key
chain with two keys and an address.

"Two-twenty Cove Road," she read. She looked up, incredulous.
"That's my old house. What's this all about?"

"A final surprise from Jane Farr," said Lucy. "You tell her,
Claire."

Claire Doyle fixed her gray eyes on Darby and smiled kindly.
"Your aunt told me on numerous occasions that she had one regret: selling your childhood home. She always said that it was the
one deal she should never have made." She paused. "When the
property came on the market a few years ago, she gritted her teeth
and bought it back, even though she had to pay triple what she
sold it for! Since then, it has been rented to a young mother and
her daughter, but the deed is in your name"