Lakeside Beauty, page 14
Declan nodded. “Ah, dogs are grand, aren’t they?”
Her mother shot Shannon a fierce look. “You’re going straight over tomorrow morning to deliver it to your Uncle Bob, right?”
“I will, of course. No question.”
Her mother shook her head. “I wish you weren’t in the middle of all this. The only comfort is in knowing they’ve arrested the man responsible.”
Shannon didn’t want to start an argument, so she focused on eating her dinner, but her sister Bernadette chuckled.
“Look at her face, Mammy. You should know our Shannon better than that. She doesn’t believe they have the man responsible, do you, Shannon?”
“No, as it happens. I don’t. I know Jason. Meghan, you remember him from school, right? Remember, he did the volunteer work with me?”
Her sister nodded. “From what I remember of him, he doesn’t seem like someone who could do something like this, but people can have a lot of secrets that you know nothing about.”
Her mother shook her head as she handed the platter of sausages to Declan. “Whether or not he’s guilty, I don’t know. What I do know, is that you should just stay out of the whole thing and leave it to the experts.”
Shannon passed along the platter to her brother-in-law beside her. “Uncle Bob had a word with me, and I promised not to do anything dangerous, but I can’t help it if I find something relevant, can I?”
As if to change the subject to more neutral topics, Declan asked about Uncle Bob, which led to a long discussion about the relatives, both on the Coyne side and in Declan’s family.
5
On the drive home, Shannon had to admit to herself she had found Declan Moore handsome and interesting. He laughed easily, and that was always an attractive feature about a man. There was no doubt in her mind that her mother was matchmaking and would probably be content if either she or her sister Meghan made a go of it with Declan, and while Shannon had agreed when Declan said good night to her with a comment of ‘I look forward to seeing you again’, they left it like that, and that was fine with her.
Her thoughts had turned to the mysterious cell phone by the time she drove into her own parking spot in front of the house. She was happy to see Piet’s car tucked into his corner spot. I wonder if he found a charger that fits. She took a moment to let her dog wander through the front yard, but although the pup had a short pee, when she started barking furiously, Shannon tugged her quickly inside, not wanting to disturb the neighbourhood.
Shannon opened the front door of their building and immediately leaned down to unleash Dusty. “What was that about, silly girl?”
Dusty bolted to the apartment door, and it was only then that Shannon noticed the door stood ajar. Piet must be here. “Hi, Piet. Any joy?”
She stepped into the silent apartment. It took her a moment before she saw her friend lying on his stomach with a deep gash on the back of his head; her wrought iron candle holder on the floor beside him. Dusty nosed him, whimpering.
“No! Piet, Piet. Are you all right?”
Shannon pulled out her phone and, with shaky fingers, dialed 9-1-1 as she raced to crouch down beside him.
Chapter Twenty-Two
SHANNON CRIED WHEN SHE heard Piet groan. She held the clean towel against the gash on his head, murmuring words of comfort. “You’re all right now, sweetie. I’m here. You’re going to be fine.”
He opened his eyes and blinked a few times, just as the ambulance arrived. She let them in and told them what she knew. “He was unconscious when I got home, but he’s coming around now.”
The female paramedic took Shannon’s spot, crouched down beside Piet, and began to ask him questions while her male partner maneuvered the stretcher in place beside the victim. They were just lifting him onto the stretcher when the police arrived. The same two constables who had responded when she found Brenda Elliot’s body now stood in her living room.
Shannon saw the raised eyebrows on Constable Mike Martin’s face. They must be on the night shift now. Just my luck. She answered his questions while Constable Taylor sketched a drawing of the scene in his notebook. “No, I have no idea who did this. I didn’t even notice that someone smashed the kitchen window in until I went to get a towel. All I saw was Piet lying there. I had been out all evening visiting my family in Colborne.”
“Trouble seems to follow you around, Miss Coyne.” His voice was dry as he noted her comments.
“So it seems.”
“So, it looks like someone broke in and your neighbour, Pieter Van Loo heard the breaking glass and came down to investigate.”
“Yes, that’s what I think happened. He must have surprised the person who hid when he heard his key in the door and then hit him over the head.”
“He?”
“Or she, I guess.”
“You sound like you may know who did this.”
Shannon was saved from responding when her uncle strode into her flat. The moment she saw him, she threw herself into his arms, and the tears she had been holding back fell. “Oh, Uncle Bob. I’m so glad to see you.”
He held her tight as he looked around. “Come on, let’s get out of the way so the ambulance can take your friend to the hospital.”
She turned to Piet as they rolled him past and touched his arm. “I’ll be right behind you, Piet. First, I’ll call your dad and let them know what’s happened.”
His voice was a whisper. “Thanks. And look after Caesar.”
“I will, of course.”
After the paramedics had wheeled Piet out to the ambulance, Bob closed the door and led Shannon to her sofa. “Do you have any brandy?”
“No, but I have some Jameson there.” She pointed to her small wall unit with its built-in cabinet on the bottom.
He went over, pulled out the green bottle, and took one of the Waterford crystal glasses from the display above it. He blew the dust out of the glass and splashed in a healthy measure of whiskey, returning the bottle to its place. Handing her the glass, he commanded her. “Drink that down now.”
She did as he demanded and felt the warmth of the whiskey grip her. He gestured to Constable Martin. “Sit down here and let’s go over everything.”
Martin sat on the easy chair while Shannon and her uncle sat on the sofa. Constable Taylor continued to sketch and make notes of the broken window, bloodstains, and the candleholder. When he finished his sketching, he went back and took a series of photos.
Bob nodded to Shannon. “Right. From the beginning.”
Shannon thought for a moment to consider where the beginning was. “Oh!” She jumped up and dashed to the kitchen, surprising all three men. She groaned. “It’s gone. The phone is gone.”
5
Constable Martin scribbled madly as Shannon talked. She started with her uncle, but he didn’t look pleased, so she looked down and shared how she had discovered the phone and visited the Humphreys. By the end, Constable Taylor had sat on a kitchen chair and was listening in fascination as well.
Bob shook his head, his jaw rigid. “When I heard the address over the radio and knew something had happened here at your home, I panicked. Can you imagine how I felt, Shannon?”
She nodded mutely.
He went on. “I knew it was something like this. It’s exactly why I had you promise to stay out of things. We’re talking about a desperate person here. If, as you believe, we don’t have the murderer in custody, you had to know you were dealing with fire.”
Again, the nod.
“As relieved as I am that it wasn’t you who was attacked, you put your friend in harm’s way by playing detective. It’s unconscionable, Shannon, and you knew better.”
Silent tears rolled down her cheeks. “I know.”
He softened then. He sighed at the sight of her tears. “Let’s just be glad it wasn’t worse. It looks like Mr. Van Loo will be all right.” He shook his head and took her small hand in his large, warm one. She gripped it and looked up at him as he continued. What I don’t understand, agra,” using an old-fashioned Irish term of endearment for his niece, “is why you didn’t come right down to drop the phone at the station. You know there’s someone there twenty-four hours a day. We aren’t a nine-to-five, Monday-to-Friday operation. Why did you even bring the darned thing home?”
Shannon bit her lip, took a deep breath, and answered truthfully. “I hoped I could charge it up enough to just see whose phone it was.” She shrugged. “It might have been an old one belonging to Verna Elliot, the owner of the cottage. I didn’t want to waste police time.”
Her uncle slid his hand away. “You expect me to believe you did this because you were worried about wasting our time?”
She closed her eyes for an instant, unable to look him in the eye.
“That’s what I thought. All right, you’ve gone through all this mischief now, so let me see if I can follow your reasoning. You went to the Humphreys and purposely let them know you found a phone to see their reaction. Was there one? Did anyone seem upset?”
Her voice lifted. “Nancy Humphrey turned red when I mentioned the phone and I commented I knew her son Barry had been to the cottage to get the water going.”
“She turned red. OK. Hardly evidence, but carry on. Was the son himself there?”
“No, but remember I pointed him out to you at the funeral home? He has knowledge and experience of plants. He would have known how to poison Brenda.”
“So does your friend Mr. Van Loo,” Bob observed.
She protested. “That’s not the same at all.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Hmm. OK. Go on. So, Mrs. Humphrey turned red, and the son wasn’t there, but he knows plants. Got it.”
“I know you’re skeptical, but someone broke in here tonight, and I only told the Humphreys and Piet about the phone.”
He looked around the room. “Have you had a good look around? Is anything else missing?”
“Not yet, but I can do that right now. There’s nothing obvious. Look,” she pointed to her laptop on the table, “surely an ordinary thief would take that at least?” Shannon moved around the room and then went down the hall to the bedroom. “No sweetie, no. You stay here until I get all that glass cleaned up.” After opening each drawer of her dresser and looking into the closet, she came back. “Nothing else was touched.”
Bob nodded and stood up. “Well, I agree you’ve given me something to think about. I’ve called in an emergency glazier to come and repair the window.”
“Wow, thank you. They’ll come tonight?”
“He’s on his way, but he’ll just make it weather-tight with a board. Tomorrow he’ll come and take measurements to replace the glass as quickly as he can.”
She stood on her tiptoes to kiss her uncle’s cheek. “Thank you for coming so quickly, Uncle Bob.”
He gave her a quick hug. “Call your Mam in the morning.” He nodded to Constable Taylor. “I’ve asked Taylor to stand outside until the glazier comes to fix the window, and once that’s done, Martin will come back to fetch him. Do you want to go somewhere else for the night?”
“Oh, no. I better call Piet’s family though before they go to bed, and then I’m going down to the hospital.”
He kissed her forehead. “If you change your mind and don’t fancy going out to Colborne, call me. I always make the spare room up. You can even bring the wee hound if you want to.”
“Thank you, Uncle Bob. I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
She closed the door behind the three men with a mixture of relief and trepidation. Until the window was repaired, she’d be nervous, despite the brave face she had put on for her uncle.
She made her call to Piet’s family, hearing the grogginess in his father’s voice as he tried to make sense of what she told him. Despite her assurances that Piet would be fine, she knew his mother and father were hastening to the hospital to see for themselves. She then cleaned up the glass, wrapping the fragments in old newspapers.
By then, as Shannon reviewed the night’s scare, she thought of Jason. I need to let his lawyer know about all of this. Scrolling through her phone, she dug out Derek Jones’ number and made the call. It went to voicemail, so she did her best to leave a summary of the day’s events. “Please call me if you have questions, but the bottom line is I hope it’s enough to get Jason released. Someone took the trouble to steal this phone from me and although we don’t know why, even Staff Sergeant Bob Miller agreed it’s given him food for thought.” Shannon ended the call and hoped for the best, even if it was like closing the barn door after the horse was gone.
Next, she called out the open window to the police officer standing in the shadow of the maple tree. “Do you want a coffee or tea, Constable?”
His voice came back to her. “No, I’m fine, thank you. In fact, I think this is the repairman coming now.”
A white van parked in front of the house and the man who climbed out spoke to Constable Taylor for a moment before he came forward to assess what needed to be done. He didn’t engage Shannon in conversation as she peered into the darkness at him, other than to say. “I’ll have you snug again in no time, Miss, and then I’ll be back first thing tomorrow to do the job properly.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that you’ve come out at this time of night.”
He nodded and went about boarding up the window.
Shannon immediately felt less exposed having the board in place. Taylor had knocked on the door once the glazier left to let her know he’d be leaving in a few minutes. Slowly, Shannon relaxed again. She had put her coat on while she cleared up the glass as the cold March wind had whistled through the kitchen, but she now removed her coat and let Dusty out of the bedroom. “I’ll take you out back for a little walk, and then you need to stay home while I go to the hospital.”
She put on the yard light and went outside. While Dusty wandered around, Shannon stood in the pool of light and felt eyes in the night watching.
Chapter Twenty-Three
SHANNON ARRIVED BEFORE PIET’S parents did. She was afraid that the Northumberland County Hospital wouldn’t allow her to see the patient, but it was quiet. The nurse staffing the front desk went through the Covid screening questions, handed Shannon a mask and told her to go down to the second room on the right. He wasn’t admitted yet, so they had placed him in a corner of the room, separated by a curtain.
She trod softly as she walked across the room, and when she peeked around the curtain, he appeared to be asleep. She crept forward and sat down beside the bed on the orange plastic chair.
Shannon jumped when he spoke. “Hey, you.”
Standing to grasp his hand, she whispered. “Oh, Piet. I’m so, so sorry.”
“Why? You didn’t conk me on the head, did you?”
She smiled at his weak attempt to joke with her. “You know what I mean. If it wasn’t for my meddling, this wouldn’t have happened.”
“Maybe. Maybe not.” His voice was weak.
“What have they said? Will you be OK?”
“They said I’m lucky to have such a hard head.”
“That’s the Dutch in you.”
Now he smiled weakly. “Probably. Did you call the folks?”
“I did, of course. I’m afraid they’re on their way. Probably be here any minute now.”
Piet sighed. “That should really improve the headache.”
“It could be worse. They’re very sensible people and won’t be weeping and wailing like my mammy would.”
“True.”
They sat without speaking for several moments as Shannon sat again beside him, resting her hand on his. It seemed again as though he slept, and perhaps they both did, but then Shannon jerked her head up when she heard footsteps arriving.
She stood up and made her way out of the curtained enclosure to wave at Piet’s parents. “Mr. and Mrs. Van Loo. He’s here.”
Tears made Piet’s mother’s blue eyes awash, but she nodded stiffly. “Thank you, Shannon. Will he know we’re here?”
Although her voice had been quiet, Piet responded from his bed. “Come in and see for yourself.”
Shannon left them to their reunion and went back out to the hallway where three more orange plastic chairs stood. She sat and wondered if she should go home. I’ll give them a few minutes and then I’ll go in and say goodbye.
A nurse came and stopped for a moment. “Are you a relative of Mr. Van Loo?”
“Just a good friend. We share a house.”
The nurse nodded kindly. “No need for the long face. He’s going to be fine. We’re keeping him overnight, but the CT scan is clear. If we send him home tomorrow, will you be able to monitor him for 24 hours?”
“Yes, definitely.” Shannon prayed she wouldn’t be needed for the upcoming Willard sale, but she’d cross that bridge if it came.
The nurse made a note on the chart.
“His parents are with him now. They may decide they want him home with them, but either way, we’ll look after him.”
“That’s good. The police were here earlier, but we sent them away. They’ll probably want to speak with him in the morning. So far, his memory seems a bit fuzzy, but that may change by the morning.”
Shannon heard the quiet voices of the Van Loos approaching and she rose from the chair. “How is he?”
Piet’s father, an older, craggier version of his son, nodded to the nurse. “He’s complaining of a headache. Aside from that, he seems to be in reasonable shape.”
The nurse smiled. “That’s understandable. He’s due for some pain meds now, so I’ll go in and see to him. I think you folks should all go home and let him rest. He’ll be much better in the morning.”
Piet’s dad nodded. “That’s sensible. Marta, we’ll go now.”
Piet’s mother grasped Shannon’s hand. “Do you know what happened? He seems confused.”
“I know little, but I can guess. I wasn’t home and someone busted my kitchen window. Someone obviously broke in and Piet probably heard the crash and came down to see what it was about. He has a key to my flat, just as I have one for his. He let himself in, and then it looks like someone must have been hiding and came up behind him to crack him on the head.” Shannon’s eyes widened as a thought occurred to her. “Oh. I hope they didn’t take the key.”
