Death By Darjeeling

Chapter 37

“You’ll never guess what happened!” exclaimed Haley. Theodosia held her breath. She had just driven back from Aunt Libby’s and quietly let herself in through the back door of the Indigo Tea Shop. Now, judging by the curious, startled look on Haley’s face, it would appear that an event of major proportion had just taken place.

“Mr. Dauphine died!” Haley announced in hushed tones.

“Oh, no, how awful!” cried Theodosia, sinking into a chair. “The poor man.” She let the news wash over her. Of course, she had just been to see Mr. Dauphine three days ago, checking with him about offers he might have received on the Peregrine Building. They’d had a pleasant enough discussion and Mr. Dauphine had seemed in good spirits. He may have been a little tired, and his coughing hadn’t been good, but he certainly hadn’t looked like a man who was about to die.

“They just took his body away,” said Haley. “Did you see the ambulance?”

“No, I parked in back,” said Theodosia.

“That’s where the ambulance was,” said Haley. “Miss Dimple had them pull around to the back. She didn’t want to upset the tourists. Wasn’t that sweet?”

“How did he...?” began Theodosia.

Haley shook her head sadly. “Miss Dimple found him on the second-floor landing. She went looking for him when he didn’t show up for work. Apparently, he was always punctual, always arrived by nine A.M. Anyway, by the time she got to him, he wasn’t breathing. She phoned for an ambulance, but it was too late. The paramedics thought Mr. Dauphine might have had a heart attack.”

Perhaps the four flights of stairs had finally done him in, thought Theodosia. How awful. And poor Miss Dimple; how awful to find her beloved employer of almost forty years crumpled in a sad heap, no longer able to breathe. Now there would be yet another funeral in the historic district.

The sudden memory of Hughes Barron’s recent funeral service caused Theodosia to chase after Haley, who, shaking her head at the sad incident, had wandered out front to exchange additional bits of information with Drayton. Right after the ambulance had arrived, Drayton had gone up and down Church Street, chatting with the other shopkeepers, clucking over the sad news.

“Haley,” said Theodosia, catching up to her, “they’re sure it was a heart attack?”

There was an immediate flicker of understanding in Haley’s eyes. “Well, everyone’s saying it was a heart attack. But...”

“But what if it was something else that caused a heart attack?” asked Theodosia.

“My God,” whispered Haley as she put a hand to her mouth, “you don’t think someone bumped off Mr. Dauphine, do you?”

Theodosia reached for the phone. “Right now I don’t know what to think.”

“Who are you calling? The hospital?”

“No,” replied Theodosia. “Burt Tidwell.”