Untimely Death (12 page)

At the heart of the collection was the magnificent Philadelphia suite: a diamond tiara that could also be
worn as a necklace, and a pair of drop earrings. In the 1970s, the set had been modernized and the earrings broken up to form a smaller pair and a brooch. These were divided between two sisters-in-law, with Lady Deborah’s mother taking the brooch.

Charlotte wondered if Lady Deborah would come to the staff party and hoped she would. It had been difficult for Charlotte to let go of Brian and move on, but now she was discovering that life takes an interesting turn when the one you thought was your enemy turns out to be your friend, even though she may not be aware of it.

And she had no doubt that Lady Deborah would be interested in meeting her, too, although she would likely feign complete disinterest. But Charlotte knew women and how curious they always are about the past loves of their husbands and boyfriends.

Charlotte checked her watch. Still early enough to ring Ray to tell him about the staff party and to invite him to come with her.

“It might be nice for you to see everybody all together in one place,” she said.

“Oh, like in the old movies,” he replied, “when the detective brings all the suspects together and then announces who the killer is.”

She laughed. “Not quite there yet, though, are you?” No, he’d had to admit. They were not.
Good
, she thought.
Then Aaron and I still have a bit of time to see what we can find out
.

“Right, then, young sir,” Charlotte said to Aaron the next morning as they sat in her office. “Why don’t you tell me what you were doing during that period of time at the rehearsal when Simon called a break and sent you to get him a bottle of water. How long were you gone? The rehearsal was held up while everyone waited for you to get back. He thinks you were gone longer than you should have been.” Charlotte stood over Aaron, arms crossed, with a firm, clear look in her eye. He said nothing, and did not meet her gaze. “Look, Aaron, if there’s something going on, and you need someone to confide in, you can tell me. In fact, if it’s tied up in this Lauren business, it’s probably best you do tell me. I might be able to help.”

“I was smoking a joint,” he said finally. “But please don’t tell my uncle.”

“Is that all?” Charlotte laughed lightly. “And as for your uncle, I’d be surprised if he doesn’t already know
that you smoke pot. But he’s got more important things on his mind right now, so I doubt that he cares. And I certainly don’t.” A moment later, she added, “As long as you’re not driving, of course.”

He shook his head. “You can understand why I didn’t want to tell the police that.”

“Why would you have to tell the police that?”

“Because that’s what I was doing when Simon sent me out to get his water. There was a lot going on, and I was feeling kind of stressed, so I thought I’d just have a couple of quick tokes.” He made a little open gesture with his hand. “Just to take the edge off things. And then I still had his water to get. That’s why I took a bit longer than I should have.”

Charlotte mulled this over. “So that’s what you were doing when Simon sent you out to get his water.” She made a little jabbing motion in the air with her index finger. “That’s it! That’s what I heard that got me thinking. Simon sent you to get water. He sent you on that errand, so you couldn’t have known he was going to call a break.”

Aaron looked confused. “No, of course I didn’t know. No one did. The break just sort of happened because Peter asked if he could put his script down and try out his Romeo lines off book.”

“And yet,” Charlotte said, “someone must have been there who took advantage of that unexpected break to kill Lauren. An opportunist, ready to strike. Or possibly,
someone who had no idea he was going to kill her, saw an opportunity, and then just acted on a cruel impulse.”

“Oh, is this going to be one of those cases that comes down to timing like you see on TV?” said Aaron.

“It very well might,” said Charlotte. “The police are really looking at who had the opportunity. Do we know who just happened to be in the right place at the right time?”

“Not Lauren, that’s for sure. Definitely the wrong place at the wrong time for her.”

“It was,” Charlotte agreed. “And the weapon. We have to learn more about that. What was it? Where did it come from? And where is it now? The police would like to know that, too.

“Now, about the smoking. When the police ask you where you were, why don’t you just say you were outside grabbing a quick smoke? You don’t have to tell them what you were smoking, do you?”

“No, I guess I don’t.”

“I’ll tell you one thing, though. I’m kicking myself for not going to that rehearsal. Of all the ones to miss!”

“I don’t think you could have done anything to prevent her death,” said Aaron.

“Well, no, probably not, but I might have seen something. Nobody else seems to have done.” She shook her head. “It makes you wonder how something like that could happen right in front of so many people and yet nobody notices anything.”

“Maybe they did notice something,” Aaron said, “but they just didn’t realize that what they saw was important.”

“You might be right,” said Charlotte. “I wonder if there was someone there that day who didn’t belong. I don’t suppose you noticed any strangers when you were outside smoking, did you?”

Aaron shook his head. “No, I didn’t see anybody. Well, just that lady putting her bags in her car. Brian’s wife. That Lady What’s-her-name. Lady Diana?”

“Lady Deborah.” Charlotte didn’t bother reminding him to try to get her name right.

“Yeah. Her. I wonder what she does all day. This just seems like such a weird place for someone like her. Not much for her to do.”

“She goes into town most days, I think,” Charlotte said. “Drives to Rhinebeck and catches the train from there. She probably does pretty much here what she’d be doing at home in London. Meeting a friend for lunch. Shopping. Only here it’s Barneys instead of Harrods.” She thought about that for a moment. “Although maybe at home, she’d be doing some volunteer work. Still, there’s no reason why she couldn’t help out here with a good cause if she felt like it.” She shuffled a few papers on her desk. “Animals, probably. Women of her class almost always like animals. Horses and dogs.” She glanced down at Rupert, who’d come to work with her, and was now asleep in his basket beside her desk. A small smile lit
up the corners of her mouth. Then she turned her attention back to Aaron, who hovered near the door.

“What is it?”

“I’m supposed to meet with Nancy this morning about the party tonight.”

“Well, you’d better get your skates on then. Nancy’s not the kind of person you want to keep waiting. You’re going to be very busy. Be sure to place your order with the wine shop. But I’m sure Nancy will tell you everything that needs doing. If I know her, she’ll have a very long to-do list for you.” Charlotte laughed as Aaron, scowling and frowning, prepared to leave. “And don’t slam the door,” Charlotte told him. “If you wake up Rupert, you’ll have to walk him.”

Aaron closed the door quietly behind him.

“Oh, I’m sorry you can’t make it,” Charlotte said as she sipped a midafternoon cup of tea at her desk. “Yes, of course I understand, but I was looking forward to seeing you this evening.” She listened for a few minutes. “Really? Well, that’s interesting, because Aaron mentioned that our fabric shears have disappeared. Fairly heavy ones, with silver handles. Expensive, too, I might add.” After another pause to listen, she added, “Right. Of course I will.”

She ended the call and turned to Aaron, who’d returned from his meeting with Nancy in a very bad mood and was sitting beside her, peering at his phone. “That was Ray. The autopsy report on Lauren Richmond suggests the weapon wasn’t a knife but a pair of scissors. I had to tell him our fabric shears are missing. He wants me to call him if ours turn up, but they could be the murder weapon. So that’s not good.”

Aaron’s mouth dropped open as a flash of something like surprise filled his eyes. He said nothing, so Charlotte continued, “Oh, and he also said that something’s come up and he can’t make the party tonight, so that’s one less for your guest list.”

Aaron groaned. “I didn’t realize how much it takes to put on a party that wasn’t supposed to be very complicated.” He showed her a document covered in a typed, single-spaced list. “Nancy made up the shopping list, phoned it in, and will pick up the orders this afternoon. I have to be in the lobby at four to start setting up everything.”

“You got off lucky,” said Charlotte. “Nancy did all the thinking for you.” She lifted the tape measure from around her neck, coiled it up, and set it on her desk. “Well, I’m going to take Rupert home now and get changed. I’ll see you in the lobby and give you a hand with the set up. Between the two of us, it shouldn’t take long. Just make sure there’s plenty of ice so we can chill the wine.”

Aaron gave her a fleeting but grateful smile and tapped a reminder into his phone. Charlotte still wasn’t used to that. She preferred to work from a list on paper, but in the end, what did it matter how he remembered, as long as he did and the white wine was cool?

*

With the overhead lights dimmed so the soft glow of table lamps had a faint chance of banishing the lobby’s
shabbiness to the corners for the evening, the room looked a bit better. Pacing nervously, Harvey waited to greet his guests. Nancy had briefed Aaron on how to serve the drinks, so he stood to one side holding a tray filled with glasses of red and white domestic wines. It was good to have an occasion to get the wine glasses out again, Nancy had said as she reminded him he would have to take them to the kitchen with plenty of time before the party started so they could be run through the dishwasher. He had added that to the endless to-do list. But somehow, he’d managed to get through everything, changed his clothes, and here he was, clean wine glasses and all.

And then, in the way of all parties, the room went from silent and almost empty to noisy and nearly full. The young cast members, chatting happily, piled in and helped themselves to glasses of wine. Sensing that his event was off to a good start, Harvey relaxed and smiled.

“The hotel is a little out of the way up here,” Charlotte reminded him. “Most of them are young, and they do need excitement. There just isn’t a lot for them to do. They’ve given up a lot to be here. Clubs, friends, family, and so on.” Harvey nodded his agreement.

“Do you think I should say a few words?” he asked.

“In a few minutes. And a very few words.”

“Will your police officer friend be joining us?” Harvey asked. “Ray, is it?”

Charlotte shook her head. “No. Something came up at the last minute, so he can’t make it, I’m afraid.”

“Probably just as well,” said Harvey. “In light of what happened, his being here would probably put a damper on things. He wouldn’t mean to, of course. But having a police officer here tonight while the case is still unsolved, well, it would be . . . oh, never mind.” His voice trailed off as conversation stopped and all eyes turned toward the door. Brian Prentice and Lady Deborah had arrived. They paused in the doorway, cool, practiced smiles in place, just long enough to bask in their fellow guests’ interest and absorb the room’s goodwill and energy.

They’ve got so used to that kind of attention
, thought Charlotte,
they consider it their due. They expect it.
Yes, Brian earned it—his theater work made him recognizable and gave people a reason to admire him—but her? Besides being born with a title, what had she ever done to deserve recognition?

The couple scanned the room until they spotted Harvey and then threaded their way through the little crowd in his direction. Charlotte straightened slightly and braced herself. Harvey reached up to straighten his tie, realized he wasn’t wearing one, and shot Charlotte a panicked look.

“When they get here, you acknowledge her first,” Charlotte whispered. “She’s the titled one.”

“Good evening, Harvey,” boomed Brian. “Good little party, eh?”

Harvey nodded and turned to Lady Deborah. “Good evening Lady, er, Mrs. Prentice.”

Charlotte winced.
I should have briefed poor Harvey
, she thought. Like most Americans, he was unfamiliar with the intricacies of titles within the British aristocracy and had got her name wrong. As the daughter of Lord Roxborough, she would be addressed as Lady Deborah. Charlotte gave Harvey a quick nod and sent herself a mental reminder to explain it all to him later.

“You must be Charlotte Fairfax,” said Lady Deborah. “I’ve heard so much about you. We finally meet.”

Tempted to respond, “I’m sorry . . . and you are?” Charlotte smiled and accepted Lady Deborah’s proffered hand. It was limp and slightly moist. “Yes, I am,” she said. “It’s a pleasure to meet you after all this time, Lady Deborah.”

“I’m so sorry, I’ve been meaning to call on you. I’m sure we’ll have plenty to talk about over the next little while. I plan to be here most of the summer. You’ve been here quite a bit longer than that, I take it.” Her eyes took in Charlotte’s face, drifted down to about chest level, and then returned to meet Charlotte’s steady gaze. “You’ll have to tell me what there is to do around here. Besides the theater, I mean. I’ve had more than enough of that, and besides, it doesn’t involve me. Do you not find it rather dull here?”

“I find it rather peaceful and relaxed, actually,” said Charlotte in a tone a degree frostier than she intended.
“There’s a small cinema—a converted church—that shows new films. Not the blockbuster kind, but the small art-house kind. Sometimes a documentary. Or quirky little British ones. There’s a showing every evening at seven thirty. But once you’ve seen the film, that’s it for a week or two.”

“Oh, that’s interesting,” said Lady Deborah, glancing over Charlotte’s shoulder. “And I suppose you get your exercise by walking everywhere.”

“I have a dog, so yes, I do walk a lot. But there’s also a yoga studio and a community swimming pool. A lot of fairly well-to-do retired baby boomers live in the towns around here, and they want places to exercise.”

“Swimming!” said Lady Deborah. “Oh, what a lovely idea. I used to adore that. Haven’t been in ages. Must get a bathing costume next week. I’m sure they’ll have a pamphlet or something at the pool that’ll let me know the hours.”

As Aaron approached with his tray of wine glasses, Brian’s eyes lit up and he raised a hand. Aaron raised the tray in his direction, but with a slight tip of her head, Charlotte indicated to him that he should serve Lady Deborah first. As Aaron held the tray out to her, Brian pulled his hand back just as Lady Deborah stretched hers out. She hesitated for a moment, her hand hovering between a glass of red and a glass of white, affording Charlotte a perfect view of the stunning ring on her right hand. It was a large blue stone, encircled with smaller
clear stones held in place with silver-colored prongs. It looked identical to the ring Charlotte and Ray had discovered in Lauren’s room the night she’d been taken to the hospital.

“That’s a stunning ring,” Charlotte heard herself saying. Lady Deborah glanced at it in that casual way women do and then manipulated her fingers slightly to reposition the heavy center stone.

“Yes, it is rather nice, isn’t it? Belonged to my grandmother, and then Mummy wore it as her engagement ring. People say it reminds them of Diana’s engagement ring, but of course we had ours first.”

“Oh, of course,” said Charlotte. “Diana’s came from Garrard, if I remember correctly. Apparently a tray of rings was sent round to the palace, and she chose the sapphire.”

“That sounds about right,” agreed Lady Deborah. “Well, as the only two Englishwomen in this place, we must get together for a cup of tea very soon.” She gave Charlotte a curt nod that signaled the conversation was over and then took her husband by the arm. “Come along now, Brian. You mustn’t monopolize poor Harvey. I’m sure he has lots of other guests to see to.”

“I was waiting for you to finish your conversation with Charlotte!” Brian exclaimed.

“Well, never mind that,” his wife replied. “Is there anyone else we should speak to?”

“I want to speak to everybody! We haven’t been here five minutes! I’m enjoying myself.”

“We were never going to stay long, though, were we? We’ve said hello to Harvey and really that’s all we need to do.”

“But I want to stay and talk to the other actors,” protested Brian. “They’ll think me terribly rude if I leave without speaking to them.”

“Oh, very well,” said his wife. “But I can feel one of my headaches coming on, and I don’t want to be here too long.”

Harvey and Charlotte exchanged glances as Brian and his wife moved on. “If you’ll excuse me, Harvey,” Charlotte said, “I’d better circulate.”

As she drifted away, Simon Dyer entered the room accompanied by a young woman. Catching Charlotte’s eye, he raised a hand in greeting, and she made a beeline for him.

“Oh, Simon,” she said. “Glad you could make it. Brian and Lady Deborah are just over there, and I’m sure they’d like to say hello to you.”

He nodded vaguely. “Sure. But first I’d like you to meet Mattie Lane. Mattie’s going to be joining us as our new ingenue.” Charlotte gave her a welcoming smile. Mattie was petite, with long brown hair. She had a high forehead, deep-set inquisitive brown eyes, and a nose that was just a touch too long. With her hair swept up and curled, Charlotte thought she would look like a perfect
Victorian lady and would be well suited to costume dramas, whether television or theater.

“Hello, Mattie. Lovely to meet you.”

“Mattie knows why she’s joining the company at this late date,” Simon said in a low voice. “And understandably, she’s a bit reluctant to wear the costume that you had prepared for, ah, her predecessor.” Mattie did not look at either of them, but kept a steady gaze on the other guests; one or two of them were watching her with equal interest. “So I wondered,” Simon continued, “if you would consider making a new Juliet costume for her. Or perhaps you’ve got something else that might do. She just doesn’t want to wear
that
costume, if you know what I mean.”

“I do know what you mean. Leave it with me,” said Charlotte. “I’ll sort out something. Mattie doesn’t have to wear
that
costume.” She smiled again at the young woman. “Come and see us in the costume department on Tuesday. We’ll measure you and create something for you I know you’ll like.”

As the two drifted away so Simon could introduce her to her new castmates, Lady Deborah let out a resigned sigh as her husband caught sight of the new arrival. He set his empty glass on Aaron’s tray and helped himself to another. “That’s your last one,” warned Lady Deborah.

“Hello, my dear,” said Brian, turning up his smile to full blast when Simon introduced him to Mattie. “It’ll be
a pleasure working with you, I’m sure. Well, bottoms up, Hattie!”

“It’s Mattie, Brian,” said Simon, before the two moved on to join the next group of actors.

His tray now filled with empty glasses, Aaron walked to the reception counter that had been set up as the bar. Charlotte caught up with him and helped him take the glasses off the tray and set them in the plastic box in which they would be transported to the kitchen for washing. Aaron picked up a bottle of red wine and a bottle of white.

“Here, give me that,” said Charlotte, taking a bottle from him and wrapping a white napkin around it. “Did you overhear anything interesting whilst you were making the rounds?”

“No,” said Aaron glumly. “Nothing.”

“Well, let me cheer you up,” said Charlotte. “Have you got anything on with Simon for Monday?”

“Not that I know of,” said Aaron. “And even if I do, he’s pretty flexible. What’ve you got in mind?”

“We’re going into the city.”

“We are?”

“Yes. First, we’re going to Mood to look at fabric, and then we’re going to the jewelry district. Or at least I am.”

Aaron’s eyes lit up. “Mood!”

“And I have a challenge for you. You’re going to create a Juliet costume for our replacement actress.”

“That’s terrific, Charlotte! But we’ve got fabric here. Why would we go to Mood?”

“To see what’s new and in case they’ve got something that’s better, or more appropriate, than what we’ve got here.”

“And why the jewelry district?”

“Because I think poor Lady Capulet deserves a nice new ring after all she’s been through, don’t you?”