Lethal Legacy

THIRTY-FIVE

“Is that how your mother referred to Jasper Hunt’s gift?” I asked.

“At the end of her life, when she talked about him.”

“Were those her words, or his?”

“I don’t have any idea,” Jane Eliot said.

“Did you finally get Minerva Hunt’s attention?” Mercer asked, helping to lower the woman into her chair.

“She couldn’t have been more gracious. Came all the way downtown to visit me. She really seemed so pleased that I had thought of her. Brought me a beautiful plant.”

“And left with the book?” Mercer asked.

As Mike liked to say, that’s why the rich were rich. Minerva Hunt exchanged a potted plant for a rare book and a piece of one of the most valuable puzzles in the world.

“Oh, yes. Such a sentimental lady. She seemed almost in tears about it. Turned the pages of the book, kept stroking the map, too, though she never took it out to open it up.”

“What did Minerva talk to you about, Miss Eliot?” I asked. “Did she speak about her grandfather?”

“I talked mostly. About the library and such. She asked some questions.”

“Like what?”

“She was very curious about the other books we’d gotten as kids. Were any of them quite as big as this one? But they weren’t,” Eliot said, scratching her head as she recalled the conversation. “She wanted to know if I’d told anyone else about Edith’s gift. That’s what she was most interested in.”

“And have you?” Mercer asked.

“Certainly, but years ago. No one’s listened to me in ages. There was a time, after Jasper Hunt was gone, and my mother, too, that I made a few speeches at the library, to the trustees. They always seemed to enjoy stories of what we did there as kids. It kind of brought the great institution to life.”

“Did you mention the map?” he said.

“No. It never really made an impression on me as a child, Mercer. I saw it so briefly, and now I can’t really see at all. At those meetings, I described how we lived, the significance of the books that were given to us, particular books-like Alice in Wonderland-that sort of thing.”

“Did that satisfy Minerva?” I asked.

“A touch of sibling rivalry, I guess,” Jane Eliot said with a chuckle. “She was more concerned about whether her brother knew about the map. I can’t pull up his name at the moment, but she wanted to be very sure I hadn’t sent a letter to him before she’d responded to me.”

“You hadn’t?”

“No, no. Young people would call it sexist, but I thought that lovely book should go to a girl. I was hoping maybe Minerva had children, but she told me she doesn’t.”

“In your correspondence with Eddy Forbes, Miss Eliot,” Mercer said, “did you mention the map that was inside your copy of Alice in Wonderland?”

“I certainly did. I remembered what Jasper Hunt had told Mother about its value.”

“And you’ve never heard from Forbes himself?”

“Thank goodness, no. And the FBI wasn’t interested at all. They only wanted to know if I’d done any other business with Forbes. They didn’t even come to see me.”

There was no reason for the feds, at that time, to have thought there was any significance to Jane Eliot’s attempt to reach Eddy Forbes.

“Was there anything else Minerva mentioned?”

“No, Alex. Not that I can think of. She hugged me quite warmly before she left. I figured I’d made a new friend. She seemed so concerned about my health, too. Just lovely.”

“But you haven’t heard from her since?”

“Actually, I haven’t. It sounds as though you think my old copy of Alice had something to do with this attack on me. Am I right?”

“We’ll let you know as soon as we figure it out, Miss Eliot. I promise you that,” I said. “Can we do anything to make you more comfortable here before we leave?”

“Take me with you,” she said, chuckling again.

“You’ll go home in grand style when you’re released. The sergeant will get you there in a blue and white chariot. We’ll have your place all straightened up.”

I knew she’d be shocked to see her home turned upside down, and to know there was fingerprint powder on most of her furniture. Someone from Witness Aid would be on top of helping with her homecoming.

Pridgen walked us to the elevator as Mercer speed-dialed Lieutenant Peterson. “Loo? Don’t worry-I’ve got Alex covered for the day. She’s going to be with me. This Jane Eliot push-in is definitely a piece of our case-Tina Barr and Karla Vastasi. You need a uniformed cop posted at her hospital door, 24/7, in case this creep decides to come back at her.”

Mercer listened to Peterson’s reply and gave me a thumbs-up.

“And I’m about to call Chapman. Seems his heartthrob, Minerva Hunt, has been keeping secrets from him. Looks like she’s lied to us from the start. I think it’s time to round her up and hold her fancy pedicured toes to the fire.”