“Iris said she found the single earring and cat collar on the floor the night of the murder. But if she killed Regina, that would mean Captain Netherton was her accomplice.”
“I don’t think so,” Ryan said. “I’ve looked into the captain’s past, and he’s squeaky-clean. Not even a parking ticket. He also volunteers with underprivileged high school kids on his days off, teaching them sailing. There have been no changes in his bank accounts, and he’s received the United States Coast Guard Silver Lifesaving Medal.” Ryan looked to Liz. “Captain Netherton was wounded on that same mission, and he has a metal rod in his left leg.”
“So, maybe Iris and Nick are in it together?” Betty said.
“Hmmm. One more thing.” Liz felt like a heel for having thought the captain was faking his limp. “I wanted to believe Francie is also innocent, but she lied about her alibi the night of the murder. Plus, her parents and Regina’s hung out together and there are rumors that Regina’s mother and Francie’s father were having an affair. I also discovered something else strange. There was a retrospective recently held of Percival Harrington II at the library. Someone broke into the showcase and stole a few old photographs.”
“Okay, let’s recap. Our top suspects are Nick Goren, Edward Goren, Francie Jenkins, Iris Kimball, and David Worth,” Ryan said, as he put on his sunglasses.
“You can take David off the list,” Liz said. “Agent Pearson divulged that his wound was ‘not’ self-inflicted. That leaves Nick, Edward, Francie, and Iris. Brittany wouldn’t kill Regina, then wear her stolen ring. Iris can only be an accessory to murder, because we believe Captain Netherton is innocent, and he swears Iris was with him the entire night. Hopefully, when my father returns, we’ll get a clearer picture of everything and fill in a few more pieces of the puzzle.”
After Liz battened down Serendipity’s hatches, the three went into the hotel and shared a pitcher of Pierre’s lemon-limeade and a plate of coconut lime sugar cookies, Liz’s childhood favorites, and waited for Fenton to arrive home.
Chapter 34
Upon waking Wednesday morning, Liz stretched, turned back the duvet, and reached for her phone. Peering through sleepy eyes, she saw it was 8 a.m. She placed the phone back on the nightstand and looked over next to her. Panic struck. Where was Bronte? Two white paws emerged from where she’d folded back the duvet. She peeled back the covers and exposed a gray-and-white-striped kitten.
“Bronte, I thought you’d abandoned me.” Liz turned on her side and cozied up to the kitten, sticking her nose in the long, white fur on her belly, thinking Bronte must have some Persian ancestors in her pedigree. “It was quite a day yesterday. I hope today finds things back to normal.” Bronte turned her head at Liz’s voice, and she could already feel the calming effect of pet ownership. There had always been family pets at the Indialantic over the years. Liz luxuriated in the fact that Bronte was all hers. Maybe if she’d had a pet when she lived alone in Manhattan, she wouldn’t have needed a man—as in Travis. She glanced out the floor-to-ceiling windows in front of her, which looked out to the sea. Dense fog eclipsed the view, and she relaxed back on her pillows. Blessedly, she had no pressing engagements for the day. She planned to stay inside and snuggle up with Miss Bronte.
Yesterday, when her father had returned to the Indialantic, Liz, Ryan, and Betty knocked on his office door and laid out everything they knew. Her father then called Agent Pearson and relayed a concise, detailed summary of what had been uncovered by the Three Detectiveteers.
After Fenton heard Liz’s message about the ring, he’d accompanied Agent Pearson to the emporium just in time to catch Brittany and Nick as they were leaving. Brittany handed over the ring, a supposed gift from Nick. Agent Pearson and Fenton went directly to David Worth’s suite, and he confirmed that the ring was, indeed, his wife’s. Her father said David had seemed so upset that he worried he might have a stroke.
Her father had also passed on, per Agent Pearson, that Francie had an alibi for Saturday night. She was at the Sebastian Beach Inn sitting at the bar until midnight. Two men sitting next to her, and the bartender, collaborated Francie’s claim. Apparently, Francie had lied to Minna, knowing the two men who’d showed up for their blind date weren’t Minna’s type. Francie decided to take a chance in case one of them was her soul mate. Plus, she wanted to drown her guilt about the fact that she’d vandalized the Worths’ Bentley. They also learned that there was a drop of blood found in the dumbwaiter that matched David’s blood type. Liz had been right in assuming the dumbwaiter had been used by the killer.
Liz scooped up Bronte and brought her to the kitchen. “Breakfast time, kitty.”
As she filled Bronte’s water and food bowl, she heard the tinkling of piano keys coming from the bedroom, indicating she’d received an e-mail or text on her phone. She placed the bowls on a cute plastic mat Kate had supplied and hurried to retrieve her phone. She tapped the phone’s screen and opened an e-mail from Mrs. Ingles.
Liz, I came across this picture of the showcase taken the morning of Percival Harrington II’s retrospective. The two bottom right photos are the ones that were stolen, I had one of our librarians enlarge them for you. I don’t know if any of this will help with your investigation, but let me know if it does. XO, Mrs. Ingles.
She went to her office to look more closely at the photos on her laptop. So much for letting go and allowing the authorities to take over. There were still too many questions. An hour later, she was out the door, heading to the emporium. There was someone she needed to
