Shades of Earl Grey

Chapter 24

The moon, still a fat round globe with barely a scant wedge missing from it, slid into the night sky above Charleston and shone down through skeletal tree branches. On most every step, stoop, and piazza of the elegant homes in the historic district, fat, orange pumpkins squatted, their innards replaced with flickering candles. Trick-or-treaters in fluttering capes and costumes ran wildly down cobblestone lanes, drinking in the excitement and magic that was All Hallows’ Eve.

At exactly seven o’clock, Drayton exited his house, a one-hundred-sixty-year-old brick and wood home that had once been owned by John Underwood, a Civil War surgeon. He made a big production of locking his front door, then stepped jauntily down Montagu Street toward the Heritage Society. Two of his friends, Tom Wigley and Clark Dickerson, would be waiting for him there. He’d phoned them earlier and arranged to hold an elaborately staged meeting that had absolutely nothing to do with Heritage Society business.

The only thing the three men were going to do was talk, shuffle papers, and sit in one of the meeting rooms with the lights blazing like mad, maintaining the illusion of an important, productive meeting. Anyone peering in from the street would see Drayton participating in this meeting. And know that he was, therefore, not at home.

Theodosia, on the other hand, had been sequestered in the small closet in Drayton’s study for the last half-hour or so.

She had assured Drayton that she was going to phone Detective Tidwell on her cell phone, explain exactly what they were up to, and request that he send over a couple of uniformed police officers to keep watch over Drayton’s house.

But she hadn’t.

Instead, Theodosia was crouched in the confines of the small closet with Earl Grey snuggled beside her, his elegant head resting gently in her lap.

Outside the closet, barely six feet from where she sat, was Drayton’s desk where one of his stamp albums lay enticingly open. Rows of plastic-encased stamps that hearkened back to Revolutionary War days filled its pages. This album was propped up against a second leather-bound stamp album. Next to these albums was a smattering of first-day covers, rare stamps that had been postmarked on their first day of issue, and of course, Aunt Libby’s Z grill stamp. At the last minute, Drayton had added a few extra props to make it look, as he put it, “not so much like a stage set.” A pack of gum, silver letter opener, a leather box filled with paper clips, Haley’s bottle of superglue, and a small notepad with some random scribbles on it.

This desk top still life was lit by a single Tiffany lamp that sat on Drayton’s desk, which was not really a desk at all but a sturdy old oak library table. The rest of the small twelve-by-fourteen-foot room was lined with bookcases that sagged with all manner of books—fiction, history, poetry, gardening, and cooking. In one corner was an overstuffed leather chair. On the wall opposite the closet where Theodosia sat waiting was a small window that looked out over the back garden.

Theodosia knew that if their cat burglar was going to show tonight, there was a very good chance he’d come in through that window. On the other hand, because Drayton had a prize collection of Japanese bonsai trees, a tall wooden security fence had been constructed around the backyard to make it virtually impenetrable.

So... Theodosia told herself, the cat burglar would have to scale the wooden fence, then come in through the window. Not exactly a difficult feat for someone who had leapt to her window ledge or climbed the live oak tree outside the Hall-Barnett House or clambered across the glass roof at the Lady Goodwood Inn.

Minutes ticked by slowly as Theodosia sat in the darkness, wondering who, if anyone, might show up.

A few moments ago, there had been knocking at the front door. Small, tentative knocks at first that had escalated into a couple of real whaps. Unhappy trick-ortreaters, no doubt, who’d been hoping for a handout of candy bars or popcorn balls.

Now there was only silence.

Theodosia put her hand to the old brass doorknob on the inside of the closet door, turned it slowly, heard the catch release. Slowly, she pushed the closet door open. An inch at first, then two inches. Now she could see the desk and the little puddle of light that lit the stamp and the stamp albums. Next to it was the office clutter that Drayton had arranged.

Theodosia pushed the door open another two inches. Now she could see part of the window.

Better, she thought as she rested her head against the back wall of the closet and slid a piece of remnant carpet underneath her so the sagging old hickory floor wouldn’t be quite so hard. Earl Grey, trying to get comfortable himself, had pushed away from her and snuggled himself into the far corner of the closet. Now the dog was curled up in a ball, nose to tail, behind an old leather foot stool that had been shoved in the closet.

Theodosia had sat with her eyes closed for the better part of forty minutes when she heard a faint sound. She watched as the tips of Earl Grey’s ears lifted slightly, then relaxed again.

Must be nothing, she told herself.

Scrtch scrtch.

There it was again. A faint scratching.

What is it? She strained to hear. Dry leaves sliding across patio bricks? Kids running down the back alley, their witches capes and superhero costumes rustling in the wind?

Probably.

And yet... there it was again. Not really footsteps. But... something.

Theodosia glanced over at Earl Grey. Now the top of his nose was visible above the foot stool. She held her hand out toward him, palm forward. The hand signal that told him to stay. She could see one of his shiny brown eyes watching her intently.

Then she heard it. A small creak. The outside shutter on the window being moved just so? Moved by the wind? She thought not.

Fear suddenly gripped her heart and she had to remind herself that the window was locked. If someone intended to break in, they’d have to break the glass. And if that happened, she’d hit 911 on her cell phone.

Now a different sound. Faint, almost imperceptible.

The window in Drayton’s office slid up with a low groan.

Ohmygod. Someone must have inserted some kind of tool in the lock and popped it. Probably the same kind of flexible metal bar that police use when you lock your keys in your car!

She hadn’t counted on this. Now, any movement in the closet, any dialing of 911, would be immediately detected.

Theodosia held her breath. This was not good, she decided. Not good at all.

She leaned forward slowly, peering through the darkness at the window.

A leg eased itself slowly over the sill and down toward the floor. A leg encased in black lycra. Wearing a shoe of soft brown leather. The kind of shoe that looked very sporty, but could also be worn for rock climbing.

In that instant, Theodosia suddenly understood the identity of the mysterious cat burglar.

It wasn’t Cooper Hobcaw, who’d roused her suspicions with his late-night runs through the historic district. And it sure as heck wasn’t the waiter, Graham Carmody.

The realization of who had caused Captain Buchanan’s death, who had stolen the Blue Kashmir necklace at the Heritage Society, who had been an intruder in her house last night, caused her to inhale sharply. And in that instant, she felt a subtle change in the room.

With a sickening realization, Theodosia knew her cover was blown. Frantically, she grappled for her cell phone, punched the numbers for the Heritage Society, frantically flailed to hit the send button. But even as her fingers finally found the button, the closet door was jerked open.

Aerin Linley, eyes hard as ice, peered into the darkness.

Theodosia raised a hand, palm out. Her signal to Earl Grey to stay put, to remain exactly where he was.

Aerin Linley took it as a gesture of surrender and smiled.

Reaching in, she snatched Theodosia’s cell phone from her and threw it to the floor. The little black Star Tac smashed into a dozen pieces.

Theodosia stared up into a grim, determined face. Aerin Linley, she thought. The trusted associate of Brooke Carter Crockett at Heart’s Desire. The same woman who’d carefully planted nasty innuendoes against Claire Kitridge. Aerin Linley, who had once made mention of secret drawers and panels in the old homes of Savannah. Aerin Linley, who would have known all the details about the Buchanan family’s heirloom ring!

“Get up,” Aerin snarled at Theodosia. Her eyes blazed with a slightly deranged look.

Theodosia rose to her feet. And as she did, a glint of light caught her eye. Aerin Linley had grabbed the letter opener from Drayton’s desk and now clutched it menacingly in her hand. Honed from silver, the metal instrument looked extremely sharp.

Can it inflict a serious wound? Theodosia wondered. Of course it can. No doubt about it.

“Did you think I was so stupid?” Aerin hissed. “I could smell your pathetic trap a mile away.”

Even as Aerin jabbed the letter opener toward Theodosia’s throat, she pawed frantically with her other hand, trying to gather up the stamps that lay scattered atop Dray-ton’s desk.

“You goody goody,” Aerin sneered at Theodosia. “With your proper little friends and your proper little tea shop.” She stuffed the Z grill stamp into the pocket of her black fleece vest, then her hand went back and swooped up the pile of first-day covers. “You really thought you were investigating, didn’t you? Hah,” she barked sharply. “Little Miss Detective. Looks like the joke’s on you.”

Theodosia stared at her evenly, praying that Earl Grey would continue to obey her command and remain in the closet. In the distance she could hear the shrill of a police siren. Her call had gone through. Drayton had known it was her and immediately phoned the police. Thank goodness.

Aerin saw Theodosia register the sound of the siren and sneered at her. “You think that police car will get here in time? I think not. No one’s come close to me yet, no one ever will. I’ll be out of here and out of this town so fast it’ll make your head swim. And you’ll look like a fool.” She gave Theodosia the flat, slow-eyed blink of a reptile. A snake about to swallow its prey.

“You were on the roof of the Lady Goodwood Inn...” stuttered Theodosia.

“Piece of cake,” Aerin sneered at her. “I grew up scaling rocks in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Only gear I needed for that job was an aluminum descender.”

Theodosia suddenly recalled the metal ring she’d seen hanging from the strut of the Garden Room’s roof. Aerin must have employed the same gear that sport rappellers and police and fire rescue units used.

“Pity the roof gave way,” said Aerin in a cold, offhand manner. “And trapped that poor fellow underneath.” She shrugged. “You never can tell about those old structures.”

“I have to know,” said Theodosia. That’s it, keep her talking. “Did you snatch Delaine’s watch and plant it in Claire’s desk?”

“Oh please,” snapped Aerin, “that was child’s play. Delaine’s house is a cat burglar’s dream and the Heritage Society kindly invited me in on a jewelry appraisal. Convenient, no?” Smug and cold, Aerin’s grin was hideous.

She turned suddenly and ripped five rows of plastic-encased stamps from Drayton’s album. Still keeping an eye on Theodosia, Aerin backed slowly across the room until her hips connected with the window ledge. Then she sat down and swung one leg over the ledge with ease.

“I’d really love to stay and gab,” she said. “But I’ve got far better things to do. My car’s just down the block and the trunk’s filled with loot . . . including that antique ring you’ve been so hot and bothered about.”

Theodosia waited until Aerin had completely swung around and was about to drop to the ground.

“Earl Grey, attack!” she yelled at the top of her lungs.

Earl Grey came hurtling out of the closet like a silver streak. He rocketed across the room, his front paws barely skimming the windowsill as he sailed through the window frame. As Aerin Linley dropped to her feet, Earl Grey smashed into the back of her like a freight train. Eighty pounds of well-muscled canine heeding the command of his beloved mistress.

Aerin Linley screamed sharply even as she went down like a rock. The letter opener flew from her hand and made a dull clink on one of the patio stones.

As Theodosia ran toward the window, her hand instinctively reached out and grabbed the bottle of superglue from Drayton’s desk. Then she had one foot on the window ledge and was clambering out herself.

On the ground below, Aerin was struggling mightily with Earl Grey, batting at him furiously, her hands balled into fists.

“Get off, you horrible mutt!” she screamed. “Get off!”

Theodosia dropped to the ground, stumbled forward, felt the sting of gravel cut into her palms and knees. She rolled, scooped up the letter opener that lay gleaming on the patio stones, found the bottle of superglue that she’d dropped, and scrambled over to the struggling mass of dog and woman. Now she pointed her finger at Aerin’s neck.

“Hold tight!” she commanded the dog.

Earl Grey promptly clamped his wide jaws around Aerin Linley’s neck. He didn’t sink his teeth into her flesh, but he held her very, very firmly, just as Theodosia had commanded.

“Get this mangy creature off me!” Aerin Linley was screaming and carrying on like a banshee. Her face was beet red, her words a garbled cry. Her heels beat furiously against the pavement as her body squirmed and thrashed, struggling to throw the dog off.

Popping the top off the tube of superglue, Theodosia aimed the tip at Aerin’s hair. She squeezed, watched as a huge dollop of clear glue came squirting out.

Aerin’s eyes rolled wildly. “What are you doing, you idiot!” she cried as she continued to battle. “You’ll be sorry you . . .” Aerin Linley’s head suddenly stopped straining from side to side.

“My hair!” she screamed. “What’s wrong with my hair!”

“Ease off,” Theodosia commanded Earl Grey.

Panting heavily, pink tongue lolling out the side of his mouth, Earl Grey gazed at Theodosia, hungry for approval.

She reached down, patted him on the head. “Good dog. Verrry good dog.”

“What’d you do?” wailed Aerin Linley. “I can’t move my head! Help me, oh please, you’ve got to help me!”

The whoop whoop of the police siren was much closer now. It sounded a block away. Now it was directly in front of Drayton’s house.

“Help!” Theodosia yelled. She ran to the side fence, boosted herself up as best she could, and waved frantically, trying to capture their attention. “We’re in back!” she hollered. “Come quickly!”