A Killer Clue, page 19
“He doesn’t go out much,” Bailey said.
“He just isn’t into large crowds,” I said, shooting my daughter a sharp look. I didn’t feel that discussing Cam’s issues was appropriate, especially with someone whose own child should’ve been the Airleys’ heir.
“But I don’t think I’m here to talk about Aircroft in the present day.” Lily’s gaze swept over all of us. “You are interested in the past.”
Gordy unfastened the collar button of his white dress shirt. “I’ve already told them some of that stuff.”
“I know, dear, but I want to corroborate your story,” Lily said, casting him a warm glance before focusing on the rest of us. “Basically, everything Gordy told you is true. I was pregnant with Calvin Airley’s child, which infuriated my parents. We were planning to get married, despite all that, but …”
“Calvin died,” Donna said, tears welling in her eyes. “Which is terribly sad. I know it’s been a long time, but I’d still like to offer my condolences.”
“Thank you. But Calvin didn’t just die. He was murdered,” Lily said firmly.
Vince leaned forward, gripping his knees. “You know that for sure?”
“I do.” Lily glanced at Gordy again. “I’m sorry, but it was our father who killed him.”
Gordy turned to her, his mouth falling open. “What?” He grabbed his sister’s hands. “Why didn’t you ever tell me?”
“Because I knew you had to still live at the farm, with our parents. I didn’t know if you could do that if I told you the truth,” Lily said, lifting her and Gordy’s clasped hands and pressing them to her heart.
“Did he confess it to you?” Vince asked, his voice cracking on the last word.
I looked at him with understanding. Vince had been trying to prove that Calvin Airley had been murdered for years. This had to be a thrilling revelation for him.
“Not in words, but there was plenty of evidence.” Lily placed Gordy’s hands on his thigh and gave them a pat before releasing her hold on his fingers. “I didn’t even know Dad had gone to Aircroft to talk to Calvin that day.” Lily expelled a heavy sigh. “Mom only told me after I arrived at the farm, when Dad had already left. She said he was going to demand money from Cal, enough for me to start a new life. My parents had it all worked out,” she added, bitterness edging her tone.
“They wanted you to leave town?” Bailey asked. “Then why not simply allow you and Calvin to marry?”
Gordy leaned back, staring up at the ceiling. “I expect they still thought it would bring shame on the family. The child would’ve come too soon, and people would’ve talked.”
“That’s right,” Lily said. “Mom outlined their plan after Dad left that day. Oh, they were clever.” Her tight smile resembled a grimace. “They wanted me to go to some unwed mothers’ home they’d found in another county, have the baby, and put it up for adoption. Then I was to stay with my aunt for a few more months, to make it look like I’d gone to get my secretarial certificate.” She met Gordy’s sad gaze. “Remember how I wanted to do that after high school and they said no? Then when I left home and was living on my own, I had to work long hours and couldn’t afford to go”
“Yes, I remember.” Gordy said, dabbing at his eyes with a tissue.
“But Calvin would’ve protested your parents’ idea, wouldn’t he? Giving up your baby, I mean,” Donna said.
“Dad didn’t believe he would. He thought Calvin saw me as a dalliance. Dad figured if Cal just paid me off …” Lily flashed a brittle smile. “Well, more like paid my family off. Anyway, Mom said if we got the money and I followed the plan and everyone kept quiet, we could all go on with our lives as if nothing had happened.”
“But Calvin didn’t agree with the plan,” I said.
“I assume not. Of course, I wasn’t there, but he undoubtedly refused, and probably insisted on marrying me and raising our child at Aircroft.”
“So they must’ve fought,” Vince said, his expression thoughtful.
“Yes. They had to have met near the quarry, since that was where …” Lily cleared her throat. “That was where Cal’s body was found,” she added, her shoulders slumping.
“The reports said it had rained that morning. The ground was slick,” I said.
“And muddy.” Lily looked over at Gordy. “Like I said, I’d stopped by the farm to see Mom. She’d begged me to come over; to tell me about the plan involving my aunt, as I later discovered. But you were away that day, buying seeds for the next planting season. You didn’t see our father come home, his boots and jeans covered in red clay mud and his hands shaking so hard he couldn’t hold a glass of water.”
“That must’ve been devastating,” Bailey said, her eyes gleaming with sympathy.
“Not then. I didn’t know then.” A single tear, caught in Lily’s lashes, fell and streaked her cheek. “It was later that day when I heard about Cal. A terrible accident, everyone said.” Lily shook her head. “Only, I realized it was no accident. And certainly not suicide. Cal wouldn’t have done that. No, I knew what had to have happened. But I couldn’t tell anyone.”
“Why not?” Donna asked, straightening in her chair. “Didn’t you want to see justice done? I know it was your father, but still.”
“I would’ve sought justice. I wanted to. But there was the baby,” Lily said.
“You were afraid the Airleys would take your child away from you,” I said.
“I knew they would. They had all the money in the world for lawyers, and I had none. They would’ve easily won a custody case.” Lily sighed again. “I knew I had to leave before they knew I was having a baby. So I packed a bag and took the little money I’d saved and fled that night. At first I stayed with my friend, the one I mentioned before. We’d met at work and she lived in a neighboring town, so my parents didn’t know her. She was the only other person I told about the pregnancy, except for you, Gordy.”
“That’s right, you stayed at the farm until I came home and talked to me in secret. You told me everything,” Gordy said. “Well, except that our father was a murderer.”
“I’ve explained why I held that fact back,” Lily said, a touch of testiness in her tone. “Anyway, after I talked to you I fled the farm and headed out of town that night. I stayed at my friend’s house for a week. She lent me some additional money, which I paid back as soon as I could. Then I took a bus to Raleigh and lived in a rooming house until I found a job.”
“Wow, that must’ve been tough,” Bailey said. “How did you manage once the baby was born?”
“Not easily,” Lily said. “But my job helped. I became the housekeeper for a widowed Episcopal priest. It was a live-in position, which gave me a place to raise a child. I did have to tell my boss a few white lies, like losing my husband in a car accident right before I found out I was pregnant. I also said I had no family to take care of me. Which was pretty much true, at that point.”
Gordy huffed. “I would’ve taken care of you, Lil.”
“I know you would have. But I couldn’t stay in the area. Not if I wanted to keep my son.”
“You had a boy?” Donna asked.
“Yes. Which made me even more determined to keep his existence from Samuel and Bridget Airley. If they’d known that Cal’s child was a boy, they’d have moved heaven and earth to get their claws into him.” Lily glanced over at Vince. “I know I turned down a glass of wine earlier, but I think I’ve changed my mind.”
Vince leapt to his feet. “Sure thing. Anyone else?”
Donna and Bailey said yes, but Gordy refused. “Just water,” he said. “I’m driving.”
“I’ll take another,” I said, holding up my empty glass.
While Vince got everyone their drinks, I decided to pose the question that hadn’t been answered by Lily’s confession. “You said you stayed away from this area, but you must’ve returned once. Otherwise, how could Patricia Clewe have drawn your portrait in 1989?”
Lily turned her intense gaze on me. “You’re right, I did. Only once. It was quite foolish of me, but my son was traveling at the time and I allowed nostalgia to get the better of me. I drove to Aircroft and parked on an old road that wasn’t used any more. I knew I could slip into the gardens from there, because that’s how Cal and I would meet.”
“Near the quarry,” I said.
“Yes. That was difficult, seeing that deep hole and those jagged rocks.” Lily closed her eyes for a moment. “But I persevered and entered the gardens. I didn’t expect to see anyone, and knew where to hide if I did. But Pat, Patricia Clewe, that is, caught me.”
“You allowed her to draw your portrait,” Vince said as he handed her a glass of wine and Gordy a tumbler of water. “Why do that if you were trying to keep a low profile?”
“She had her sketchbook and pencils with her, and when she asked, I thought it would be good …” The corners of Lily’s lips twitched. “Anyway, she was a sweet woman, and I’d trespassed on her property. I felt acting as her model was the least I could do.”
Vince brought over my second glass of wine. “That was the year Cameron Clewe was born. Was she pregnant at the time?”
“No, her son was already a few months old. We sort of bonded over that too.” Lily took a sip of her wine. “Both having boys, I mean.”
“So now the mystery woman is no longer a mystery,” Bailey said, giving me an amused glance. “You can call this a win, Mom.”
“And Vince,” I said, raising my glass to him. “He’s been trying to find you too, Lily, ever since I discovered that photo of you in the attic at Aircroft, and the drawing in Patricia Clewe’s old studio.”
“I had no idea my history would prove so fascinating to strangers,” Lily said.
Vince sat back down, cradling his own glass of wine. “For me, it’s because it’s connected to the Airleys and their estate. You don’t know how valuable this information is to me. Now I can actually write my book about the Airleys and Aircroft.”
A pained expression flitted over Lily’s face. She isn’t too keen on that, I thought. I suppose it’s because her father will be revealed as a murderer. Although it would’ve probably been classified as manslaughter if Calvin fell during a fight. Not premeditated murder, anyway.
“I hope you don’t mind me including you in the book. I’ll double-check all facts,” Vince said.
“It’s fine. The truth should come out.” Lily shifted on the sofa, almost sloshing her wine.
“I did wait until I had all the pieces,” Vince said.
I took a long swallow of my wine and pondered whether Vince did have all the pieces now. Studying the conflicted expression on Lily’s face, I wasn’t entirely sure.
Chapter Thirty-Four
On Wednesday I shared the information about Lily Glenn with Cam, who was glad to finally be able to say one cold case, that of our mystery woman, was solved.
I almost said something about having doubts that Lily had spilled all her secrets, but Cam was eager to talk about his latest conversation with Eloise, so I decided to save my doubts for another day.
“She finally admitted that she knew about Neil Knight’s illegal business practices and shady deals and never told anyone,” Cam said, shaking his head. “Somehow he convinced her it was the only way to save the bookshop from bankruptcy and then, once she overlooked his first crimes …”
“He had her over a barrel. She couldn’t expose him without also convicting herself, and that would’ve meant the loss of Last Chapter.”
“Exactly. She should’ve stood up to him, of course, but she was only eighteen when she took over the business. Knight took advantage of her youth and inexperience.” Cam tapped a pen against the top of his desk. “I understand her reluctance to confess. It does cast her character in a bad light, and that’s the last thing you need when you’re on trial for murder.”
“I hope she’s going to come clean to her legal team now,” I said. “The entire world doesn’t need to know about her complicity in Neil Knight’s crimes, but her lawyers should. Nothing worse than such information coming out in court and blindsiding them.”
“She said she’d tell them after I urged her to do so.” Cam lifted his hands. “What else can we do? We can’t force her, even though I agree it’s the best course of action.”
“You could inform her that you’ll throw her out unless she tells her legal team everything.”
Cam looked up at me, his eyes wide with surprise. “I can’t do that. I gave my word I’d allow her to remain here until the trial.”
“I was just joking,” I said, sweeping my hand through the air as if shooing away a gnat. This wasn’t entirely true, but his stricken expression had forced me to backpedal. “You’ve done all you can for her. Now she has to decide what’s best.”
“I’m not sure Eloise always considers things logically,” Cam said.
I clasped my hands together under my chin. “Maybe not, but as tempting as it is to play knight errant, the damsel has to want to be rescued before you ride in on your white horse.”
“Want to be rescued …” Cam cast me a wry smile. “Sometimes I’m not the best judge of those sorts of things.”
I almost said, “Only sometimes?” but held my tongue. Cam was being open and vulnerable, which didn’t happen that often. It was no time for teasing. “Let’s just see how it goes. I bet Eloise will follow your advice once she really thinks things through.”
The rest of the day passed quickly, especially since I’d delved into cataloging a few books written by Virgil Markham, an American writer who set several of his books in Britain. He had a short but illustrious career from 1928 to 1936. Cam had acquired his first book, Death in the Dusk, which was set in Wales, as well as 1933’s Red Warning. Since I’d never heard of this author before, it was fun to research his life and find out more about his books and their status as precursors of later noir fiction.
Bailey texted me not long before I left Aircroft, asking if I could pick up something for dinner. Not much in the house, she said, and I’m in the mood for Thai, if you can find such a thing.
I knew she meant, “in this area,” but despite my well-traveled daughter’s doubts, I’d seen a Thai restaurant when I had driven to Hight Point to visit Benton House. It was a little out of my way, but I didn’t mind a slight detour, especially if I could prove to Bailey that the local area had plenty of food options. Not like New York, of course, but enough.
The restaurant was crowded, which told me it was popular, but also made it difficult to move around in the small space in front of the counter. After placing my order, I walked back outside. I had to wait twenty minutes for my food and preferred to avoid being jostled by other customers.
Leaning against the driver’s side door of my car, I looked across the hood to another restaurant—this one a café with a few tables arranged outside under a green-and-white-striped awning. At one table I noticed someone who looked familiar.
It’s Terry Lindover, I thought, shading my eyes against the sun with one hand. What’s she doing here when her business is in Chapel Hill?
My curiosity was satiated when a tall, gray-haired man in a navy suit joined her at the table. It was David Benton, looking dapper as usual. He sat down with his back to me while Terry, very chic in an amber dress that showed off her slender figure, leaned over the table and began gesticulating with fervor.
They must be discussing the property the Bentons want to buy in Chapel Hill, I thought, although why they had to meet in person rather than discuss such matters over the phone eluded me. Intrigued, I circled around my car to rest my back against the passenger’s side. I still couldn’t hear everything David and Terry were saying, but I did catch a few words here and there. Strangely, little of what I overheard seemed connected to real estate. There was mention of an estate sale and something about an auction, which I supposed could be related to property for sale, but then David said “provenance,” which made me think Terry was dabbling in selling antiques or other items she may have found while handling a property going on the auction block.
Or perhaps, I thought, eyeing them with interest, they have more than a professional relationship. It wouldn’t be odd, really. David was around my age and Terry was probably ten years younger, but that didn’t matter so much when people were older.
I glanced at my watch. My takeout would be ready in five minutes. Strolling back toward the entrance of the restaurant, I heard footsteps behind me, beating a rhythm that sounded like someone jogging, and turned around.
“Jane, what a coincidence,” David said. “I didn’t realize you frequented any dining establishments here.”
“I don’t, usually, but my daughter requested Thai takeout tonight and this was the closest place I could find.” Looking at my watch again, I added. “My food should be ready any minute.”
“Well, I don’t want to hold you up, but I saw you and wanted to say hello.” David glanced back at the table where he’d been sitting with Terry. “I just concluded a little business meet-up.”
“With your real estate agent, yes, I saw,” I said. “How’s the property hunt going?”
David’s broad smile tightened. “Fine, fine. We hope to close the deal soon.”
“That’s good,” I said. “And may I say it’s impressive that Terry Lindover would drive all this way for such a short meeting, but I suppose that’s the hustle top agents need to have.”
David must’ve heard something in my tone because he quickly jumped in with a disclaimer to a question I hadn’t asked. “It’s really all work-related. Terry isn’t exactly my type, and she’s a little young for me. I prefer women around my age. Especially if they’re intelligent and well-read.”
“I never assumed there was anything else going on.” Another white lie, but who was counting? “It isn’t any of my business, anyway.”
“Maybe not, although I rather wish it was,” David said, with a smile that set off alarm bells in my head.
I held up my wrist, pointing to my watch. “Goodness, look at the time. I’d better grab my food before they give it away to someone else.”
