The Iced Princess (18 page)

“Okay, this is going to sound nasty, but I don't think Will Dalton has a caring bone in his body.”

“What makes you say that?” Erin said.

“Not only did he not tell Molly's mother about the service in the first place, he didn't even introduce her to the other people who were there.”

“
No
,” Erin and Pinky said together.

“And when Will saw me, he gave me the coldest stare ever. But then he seemed to catch himself and put on this show, acting like he was glad Mrs. Ryland was there after all. At least he didn't kick me out. And none of his family was there. It was like he invited eight strangers who didn't even really know Molly to show up, say a few words about her, and then have lunch.”

Pinky leaned forward, crossed her arms, and plopped her hands on her shoulders. “In my whole life, I've never heard anything even close to that.”

“I know. Get this, when it was Will's turn to speak, he broke down and cried instead of saying a word about Molly.
At least he acted like he was crying. I'm not so sure. And then he excused himself and disappeared.”

“Okay, that is strange,” Erin said.

I nodded. “We didn't even stay for lunch. Mrs. Ryland had no idea who the people were, and it was obvious she'd had enough.”

“I wouldn't mind eating with a bunch of strangers, so I'd have stayed. I bet it was good, too. And Cami, you might have found out why Will thought those people were special enough to make the cut,” Pinky said.

“I didn't have the stomach for it—either the people or the food, no matter how good or fancy it might have been.”

“So you think Will was putting on an act?” Erin asked.

“It seemed that way to me. When Molly's mom said a few words about her, Will's reaction struck me as wrong, and I figured out why that was on the way over here.”

“What was it?” Pinky said.

“So if I said, ‘Molly didn't deserve to die like that,' show me what you'd do.” Both Pinky and Erin shook their heads. “I thought so. That's what I would have done. You shook your heads because you are agreeing that, ‘No, she did not deserve that.' You know what Will did? He nodded.”

“I don't know; some people might nod,” Pinky said.

“That's true. They would if they thought she deserved what she got,” I said.

“Pinky, think about it. Cami is right.” Erin reached over and gave my wrist a squeeze. “Great observation, Cami. I seriously doubt I would have caught that.”

“If you were watching Will Dalton like I was, you would have.”

—

P
inky left for home after we'd finished talking. I hadn't revealed that Mrs. Ryland—Irene—was my new partner in crime solving. There was no sense dragging them into it. After all, Irene was a felon. Knowing Erin, she would make me swear to cease and desist, and Pinky would inadvertently tell Mark what I was up to. It was all going to come out eventually, anyway.

Erin spent time studying the various snow globes and where they had come from, how old they were, and so on. My parents had written up cards for the ones we had a history on. Erin was one sharp cookie and memorized information on a number of the snow globes in short order. “Gee whiz, Cami, I don't know why I never really paid much attention before. You have some very cool and unique snow globes.”

“We do. You know, when I was young I thought all snow globes were special. Now I know some are more so than others. So are you feeling more comfortable, like you can run the place alone, if you have to?”

She set a snow globe down and looked at me. “Why, you're not planning on leaving, are you?”

I chuckled. “No, but there might be a time when Pinky or I need to run somewhere for a few minutes. We really appreciate you filling in, Erin. It's been slow lately, but it'll start to pick up, and by Black Friday, look out.”

She nodded. “And since I'm off from school Thanksgiving weekend, I can be here just about whenever you need me.”

“Good to know. I haven't been through a Black Friday yet, working on the retail side of it. And I am not looking
forward to it, at all.” I checked the time. “Erin, feel free to take off anytime.”

“All right, I'll get going then and will catch you later.”

—

I
t seemed like three days had passed instead of just one when closing time finally rolled around. Between the court proceedings, the odd man's visit to our shops, Molly's memorial service, making a pact with Irene Ryland, and working in between it all, it was an emotional and stressful day.

But there was something else I needed to do.

I locked up the shops and drove my car over to the courthouse. Although it was only a few blocks, it was cold out, and I didn't want to walk back for my car. I braced myself against the brisk wind and wondered what kind of a winter was ahead of us. If the near-freezing mid-November temperatures were any indication, it could be a doozy. I'd grown accustomed to the milder weather in Washington, D.C., these last years, and it'd be my first full Minnesota winter in a long time.

When I walked into the jail lobby, I got quite the surprise. Irene Ryland was leaving one side of a visiting booth, and Emmy Anders was leaving the other. Was visiting the person accused of killing your daughter even allowed? Why would Irene want to do that? Not to mention how awkward it would be for Emmy.

“What are you doing here?” I said when Irene came toward me.

She waved me over toward some chairs on the other side of the lobby, and we sat down. “I had to ask her. I needed to know what she'd say about Molly,” Irene explained.

“To tell you the truth, I'm surprised she agreed to see you.”

“Emmy knew me from church, and she knew Molly from your shops, of course. But she didn't know she was my daughter.”

“I guess that explains it. So what did you all say?”

“I asked her if she knew what happened to Molly, and she said she didn't. She assured me she had nothing to do with her death.”

“Anything else?”

“She apologized to me. Emmy said she and Molly had not gotten along very well, and she was sorry she'd been crabby to her. She was having a bad day.” It had been a bad day for all of us, Molly in particular. “Emmy said she did not poison Molly and thinks she was framed.”

“Framed?”

“That's what she said. She told me what happened with her husband, and that she was accused of killing him, too. She thinks someone planted evidence at her house that would make her look like the guilty one.”

“Really? That's what she said?”

Irene nodded. “Emmy looked me straight in the eyes when she said she didn't do it, and then she said, ‘Cross my heart and hope to die.' I believed her.”

Cross my heart and hope to die?
“Okay, well I'm holding on to the hope that we get to the bottom of what happened very soon.”

“Cami, are you here to talk to Emmy, too?”

“Yes. I haven't known her that long, but I'm not convinced she's guilty. And if she isn't, I want to do what I can for her and get to the bottom of Molly's death like we discussed.”

Irene nodded then stood up. “The last two days have taken a toll, and I need to get home.”

I gave her a gentle hug. “Get a good night's sleep.” I watched her walk out and get into a waiting cab, then I went to the booth where the officer sat. I handed him my driver's license and asked if I could please see Emaline Andersohn. He checked my identification then told me to take a seat in visiting booth B. I put my license back and waited for Emmy. It took a number of minutes until she got there.

Emmy picked up the phone with one hand and touched her heart with the other. “Thanks for coming to see me, Camryn.”

“You're welcome. I wanted to let you know I was in court earlier today, when you went before the judge.”

“I didn't see you there.” She frowned slightly. “So you know about my bail.”

“Yes.”

“I'm getting the money together to get out.”

Irene hadn't mentioned that. “You are? Five hundred thousand is a big chunk of change.”

She lifted her shoulders in a small shrug. “I know it could have been worse. I need to put up ten percent of the bail to bond out. Since I don't have any family around, my best friend from childhood is helping me. Her name is on my bank accounts. I made sure of it after my husband died, in case something happens to me. My attorney advised me to do that, otherwise things get tied up for a long time. And I'm glad I did it now that I can't get to the bank myself.”

“It's good to have a trusted friend. Emmy, I talked to Molly's mother, and she told me about the visit you two had.”

Emmy shook her head. “When she said that Molly was her daughter, I didn't know what to say. All I could do was
tell her how sorry I was for her loss, but that I was innocent of what I was charged with. I did not poison Molly.” She pointed her finger into the little ledge in front of her to emphasize each of the last five words.

She almost had me convinced. “The question is, who did? Irene said you think someone planted the evidence in your garage?”

“I can't think of how else it got there.”

“But how would anyone do that?”

“I'm going to check my garage doors and windows when they release me.”

“The other question is why.”

“If someone knew of my past, they'd think I'd be a good person to pin it on.”

That was a stretch, but I didn't want to argue the point. “Emmy, you've had a couple of days to think about it. Was there anyone in the shops—a man, in particular—that acted suspicious to you?”

“There were a lot of people there that day, and then we had all that commotion with the broken snow globe. The woman who broke it acted suspicious, but there was no one else who stands out in my mind. The people all kind of blurred together.” Blurred, like the faces in my dreams. A small shiver crawled up my spine.

“When do you think you'll get out?”

“I'm not sure of the time, but it should be in the morning. My friend is meeting with the bondsman first thing.”

“Good.” At least I hoped it was. “Call me if you need a ride, all right?”

Her wrinkles deepened when she smiled. “Thank you, Camryn, for coming to see me and for believing me.”

I hadn't specifically said that I did but, “You're welcome,” came out of my mouth, anyway.

—

I
t was a relief to get in my car knowing I was headed for home and a meal of leftovers. My relief was short-lived, however, when I drove by Curio Finds and saw a sliver of light inside the shop. “You have got to be kidding me,” I said out loud. There was no vehicle coming from either direction, so I did a U-turn in the middle of the road and parked in front of the shop.

It was the bathroom light again, and I know I'd turned it off. I was positive. There was no way I was going in there alone, and Erin lived the closest. I pulled out my phone and dialed her number, grateful when she answered right away. “Hi, Erin, are you busy?”

“Just finished some takeout and was about to correct some papers. What's up?”

“I'm sitting in my car in front of the shop. There's a light on inside, and I'm afraid to go in alone.”

“Cami, are you serious?”

“Yes, the light was not on when I left, but it is now.”

“You need to call the police. If someone's in there, you and I can't go traipsing in there unarmed.”

“I don't think anyone—a person, at least—is in there, because it's happened before. Last time Pinky and I checked and no one was hiding anywhere.”

“Cami, I will go down there on one condition: call Mark and have him meet us.”

“Okay.” The problem was that when I called Mark, he happened to be with Clint, and Clint decided he should come
on down, too. One little unexplained light was turning into a dog and pony show.

Erin got there first, followed by Mark and Clint in their separate police cars a minute later. It was the first time I'd seen Clint since we'd kissed, and having a crowd around eased what might have been an awkward moment. I had my key ready to open the door as soon as we were all assembled.

Mark pointed at the shop window. “Cami, so you turned off all the lights except the security one, and then when you drove by twenty minutes later the bathroom light was on?”

“Yes.”

“Go ahead and unlock the door, and Mark and I will check it out,” Clint said.

I did just that, but as soon as they stepped into the shop, the light went out. Erin grabbed my gloved hand in hers, and when I looked at her, all I saw was her dark eyes open wide. I pulled her with me into the shop, and we nearly bumped into Mark's back.

“What the hey?” Mark said. Both he and Clint drew their guns then crept toward the bathroom.

Erin and I huddled near the front window, trying to prepare ourselves for whatever lay ahead, but it was over almost before it began. Clint took out his flashlight, flipped the switch with his free hand, and pushed the door wide open with his foot as Mark trained his gun on whomever might be inside.

“Nobody there,” Clint mouthed then tilted his head toward the storeroom. He and Mark checked that, the small office, and all of Brew Ha-Ha.

When they came back into Curio Finds, their guns were back in their holsters. “If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it,” Mark said.

“The last time this happened, the light stayed on until I turned the switch off.”

“This happened before?” Clint said.

I didn't want to explain and nodded instead. “I'm going to get an electrician in to check the wiring.”

“Smart idea to help prevent a fire call here,” Clint said. So much for a worry-free evening. I'd be imagining an electrical fire smoldering in the building all night long.