Chapter 10
10
“What do you think a blue-and-white Meissen teapot should cost?” Theodosia asked Drayton once she was back at the tea shop.
“I don’t know. Maybe four or five hundred dollars?”
“You’re right in the ballpark.”
“Why? Do you intend to buy one?”
“Thinking about it. There was one in the window of Cornucopia Antiques just down the street from Hunt and Peck,” Theodosia said.
“So what was the upshot of your errand? Time well spent discovering a coveted teapot or having a chat with Martin Hunt?”
“Both. And did I ever learn something important.”
“I’m intrigued,” Drayton said. “Do tell.”
Theodosia quickly told Drayton about her conversation with Martin Hunt and how he’d revealed Bettina’s former relationship—really, engagement—to a man by the name of Adam Lynch.
“Never heard of him,” Drayton said. “What does he do?”
“No idea,” Theodosia said. “But Hunt called this guy Lynch a ‘freaking maniac.’ Which is why we need to pay another visit to Jamie.”
They finished up at the tea shop, pouring final cups of tea for a few lingering guests, then cashed them out, cleared tables, and swept the floor. By four o’clock they were on their way back to Roper Hospital. The sun’s last rays were a bright orange smudge on the horizon as they traversed their way through the Historic District.
“This is one of my favorite times of day,” Drayton said as they drove past a half dozen historic mansions. “The lights in these old homes are coming on, and you can peek in and see antique chandeliers dangling over dining room tables, fires being lit in cozy libraries, and folks sitting down to glasses of sherry.”
“If the Great Gatsby lived in Charleston…”
“Exactly,” Drayton said. “See how the sky has transformed into a marvelous purple haze—and when you gaze all the way down the street, golden lamps in wrought iron streetlights look like a string of rosary beads.”
“I think that haze is compliments of Charleston Harbor,” Theodosia said. “The rush of the Atlantic into the harbor shoots tiny beads of water into the air and—poof—suddenly they turn the landscape into a kind of pointillist painting.”
“That’s a lovely way to describe a pesky mist,” Drayton said. “Though the humidity does seem to keep our flora and fauna well hydrated and…will you look at that!”
“What?”
“House up there on the corner.”
Theodosia slowed down as they approached the corner of Montagu and Rutledge.
“Wow,” she said. “I’ve never seen so many pumpkins.” At least two hundred carved pumpkins lined the curb as well as the sidewalk leading to a quaint Victorian home with an enormous glass skylight on the third floor. “They’re basically going to use pumpkins as luminaries. On Halloween night they’ll undoubtedly light them all up.”
“That will be quite the sight,” Drayton said.
* * *
When they arrived at the hospital, Theodosia parked her Jeep in the underground garage, and they took the elevator up to Jamie’s floor.
“You’re sure he’s still in the same room?” Drayton asked as they walked down a corridor that buzzed with nurses, respiratory techs, and aides. Probably all at the end of their shift.
“Pretty sure,” Theodosia said. “Bettina and Delaine didn’t mention a room change when they stopped by for lunch today.”
“Good point.”
Jamie was in his same room, sitting in a beige plastic recliner with a blanket folded across his lap. Bettina was sitting next to him, looking upbeat in a hot pink sweater and denim jeans.
“You came!” Bettina cried, a big smile lighting her face. “Theo, Drayton, thank you so much!”
“We’re still very concerned about Jamie,” Theodosia said.
“How are you feeling today?” Drayton asked Jamie. “Some better?”
“I guess,” Jamie said. Some of the color had returned to his face, and his voice sounded stronger. “My parents were just here, and my mom thought I seemed better.”
“You look better,” Drayton said. “All perked up, which is always an excellent sign.”
Bettina was still ebullient about their showing up. “I bet you’ve already done some investigating,” she said to Theodosia. “I know there’s not a whole lot to go on, but Aunt Delaine keeps telling me you’re a regular Nancy Drew.”
“I spoke with Martin Hunt today,” Theodosia said. “Explained to him that I was interviewing anyone and everyone who’d had dealings with Jamie.”
Bettina reached out and squeezed Jamie’s hand. “See, I told you Theodosia was hot on the trail.”
“And a few things came to light,” Theodosia said.
“Uh-huh,” Jamie said.
“We’ve been going on the supposition that Jamie was the intended target,” Theodosia said. “When maybe Bettina’s the one who’s in danger.”
“Me?” Bettina sat up as if she’d been touched with a hot poker. “Why would I be in danger?”
“Do you want to tell us about Adam Lynch?” Theodosia asked.
“What!” Bettina cried.
From the look of shock on Bettina’s face, Theodosia knew she’d hit a nerve.
Jamie looked confused. “Who’s Adam Lynch?”
“He’s the man Bettina was engaged to before you,” Theodosia said.
“ What? ” Jamie’s jaw literally dropped.
“Oh, you didn’t know?” Drayton said.
“I had no idea,” Jamie said, throwing a questioning look at Bettina, who had now shrunk back in her chair, a flustered look on her face.
“You want to tell us about your Mr. Lynch?” Theodosia asked Bettina.
Bettina sat quietly for a few moments, plucking at her engagement ring and rolling it around. “Maybe I should have brought this up earlier,” she said, giving Jamie a searching look. “But I didn’t want to upset you.”
“You mean scare me off,” Jamie said. He suddenly didn’t look so drug addled and tired anymore.
“Well, that could be a part of it,” Bettina admitted. “The truth of the matter is, I was engaged to Adam Lynch. But only for a few short weeks.” Her eyes fluttered as if she’d been caught in a lie, which she kind of had been. “Then I met you and it was love at first sight. Obviously.”
“Tell him about the breakup with Lynch,” Theodosia said.
Bettina scrunched up her face. “It didn’t go well.”
“Give Jamie the whole story. Tell him what Lynch did when you told him you never wanted to see him again,” Theodosia prompted.
“Long story short, he stalked me, harassed me, and knocked out my tooth,” Bettina said.
“He hit you?” Jamie was aghast.
“You might say that,” Bettina said in a small voice. Clearly, she was embarrassed beyond words.
Jamie sank back in his chair, trying to absorb what Bettina had told him. Then he said, “If this Lynch guy is still angry at Bettina, he could have been the one who rigged the greenhouse.” He stared at Theodosia. “Right?”
“It’s certainly a possibility,” Theodosia said.
“How on earth did you meet this crazy person?” Drayton asked Bettina.
“I met Adam Lynch through Aunt Delaine,” Bettina said. “Lynch was in charge of the Cotton Duck website. Did updates, videos of her fashion shows and events, things like that.”
“Wait a minute, does Lynch still handle the Cotton Duck website?” Jamie asked.
“Um, maybe?” Bettina said. She started crying and hiccupping at the same time, flailing an arm out to try and grab a tissue.
“Seriously?” Jamie said. He passed Bettina a box of tissues but seemed stunned by her rather unsettling revelation.
“But I know Lynch has other accounts as well,” Bettina sniffled.
“Wait a minute, time-out,” Jamie said. He touched a hand to his head as if trying to organize and compress his thoughts, then said, “So Adam Lynch could have been targeting Bettina at the wedding?”
Bettina was shaking her head. “No, no. If that was the case, how would Lynch know I’d be the one to walk through that door first?”
“I have an answer for that,” Theodosia said. “The logical assumption is that, at the conclusion of your wedding ceremony, you and Jamie would walk down the aisle and head into the greenhouse for the reception. And Jamie, being a fine Southern gentleman with impeccable manners, would’ve held the door open so you could enter first.”
“Oh man, I would have!” Jamie cried. He reached a shaky hand over to grab a glass of water, spilled some, managed to gain control, and took a drink. Finally, he set the glass down and said, “What happens now?”
“For one thing, I’d like the key to your apartment,” Theodosia said.
“Okay,” Jamie said, pointing to a set of built-in drawers. “It’s in there with my wallet and stuff. But why?”
“Just to take a look around,” Theodosia said. “Is that a problem?”
Bettina reached over and touched a hand to his knee. “Remember, sweetie, Theodosia promised to dig into things for us.” She dabbed at her eyes. “Even though they’re not always pleasant things.”
“Isn’t that what the police are doing?” Jamie asked.
“Sure,” Bettina said. “But Theodosia is attacking this from a completely different angle.” She wiped away a few more tears and added, “But I still have a hunch about who rigged the greenhouse.”
Theodosia gazed at her. “You do? Who do you think it was?”
“I believe that Martin Hunt is guilty as sin. Hunt lost a lot of money and he’s always going to blame Jamie. He’s never going to let it go!”
* * *
“Well, that was a joy,” Drayton said as they descended in the hospital elevator. “I actually felt bad for Bettina.”
“It had to be done,” Theodosia said. “Jamie needed to know about Bettina’s involvement with Adam Lynch. And what he did to her.”
“You think he’ll change his mind about marrying her?”
“No idea,” Theodosia said as a bell dinged and the elevator door slid open. “Might make them both take their relationship a little more seriously.”
“And that’s a good thing?” Drayton said.
“I think it’s more important than worrying about veils, flower bouquets, and what your signature color’s going to be.”
“All this intrigue has made me hungry,” Drayton said. He glanced at his watch, a vintage Patek Philippe that seemed to run perpetually slow. “We have time for a light supper, don’t we? Before we go rummaging through that boy’s apartment.”
“Works for me,” Theodosia said. “Where would you like to go?”
Theodosia and Drayton ended up at Magnolia’s on East Bay Street. It was dark and clubby, a little bit casual, but with flickering candles and white linen tablecloths.
“This is perfect,” Drayton said as they scanned their menus. “Good South Carolina staples, but from a chef who’s cooked all over the world.”
Theodosia ordered the blue crab bisque for her appetizer and the blackened catfish for her entrée. Drayton opted for an appetizer of sea scallops with johnnycakes and low-country bouillabaisse for his entrée. They talked about splitting a bottle of wine, but Theodosia decided she’d rather have bottled water, so Drayton ordered a glass of Russian River chardonnay.
As they enjoyed their dinners, they talked about the two suspects, Martin Hunt and Adam Lynch.
“You think there’ll be more?” Drayton asked. “Suspects, I mean.”
“We’ve only been investigating for about a day and a half, and look what we’ve come up with.”
“What you’ve come up with,” Drayton pointed out.
“Oh no, you’re in this up to your eyeballs, too. As long as we keep poking around, more suspects are bound to crawl out of the woodwork.”
“Which will make it even harder to solve this mystery, because that’s surely what it is. A murder mystery.”
“It’s tricky though,” Theodosia said. She took a piece of sourdough from the bread basket and spread it with butter. “Because we’re still not sure who the intended victim was. As things stand right now, it could have been Bettina, Jamie, or Celeste.”
“Even though Celeste was the victim, something tells me she was an unintended victim,” Drayton said.
“Simply collateral damage,” Theodosia said, nodding. “Which means figuring this out is even more critical.”
“How so?”
“If there’s a stone-cold killer intent on murdering either Bettina or Jamie, there’s a good chance he’ll try again.”
Drayton took a sip of wine, gazed at Theodosia, and said, “Mercy.”