Chapter 57
Savannah
Her phone rang and she saw from the caller ID that it was her sister.
“Hey!” Therese said. “How’s it going? Where are you?”
“Not going so great,” Maeve said, her voice dulled by exhaustion. “Esme’s been murdered and I was nearly killed too. I’m still in Tarrymore and I have absolutely no idea what I’m going to do next.”
“What?” Therese shouted into the phone. “Esme’s dead? What is happening over there? Are you okay?”
“I’m hanging in. Barely.
“It was Reggie, Therese. The handyman? He killed her. I went by there this morning, on my way to Dublin, on the off-chance that maybe I’d dropped my passport in her house when we went to see her Wednesday morning.
The front door was partly open, so I walked in and surprised him in the act of looting the place. ”
“Oh my God!”
“He’d stacked up a bunch of silver and paintings and jewelry stuff on that sofa we sat on in the parlor Wednesday morning.
He had me backed up against it, and he pulled this huge-ass knife and slashed it at me, but he was drunk out of his mind, and he missed and the blade got stuck in the sofa, and while he was trying to yank it free I bashed his head in. With a silver candlestick.”
Therese threw her head back and roared with laughter.
“What’s so fucking funny?” Maeve demanded. “You think it’s hilarious that I narrowly escaped being decapitated today?”
“I’m sorry,” Therese said. “I can’t help it. Do you even hear yourself? You just lived out a game of Clue, complete with ‘in the library, with a candlestick.’ If only it was Professor Mustard instead of Reggie the alcoholic handyman.”
“There is something really, really wrong with you,” Maeve said, but Therese could tell her sister’s mood was lightening.
“Did you kill the guy?”
“No. You know what Mom always said about hard-headed Irishmen? I think it’s literally true.
They hauled him away in an ambulance. And now I’m sitting in this police station, waiting to give my statement to that same dumb-ass cop who took our incident report from the tire-slashing and the other thing. ”
“Muldoon? That guy?”
“Yeah. He says he’s pretty sure Reggie was behind it.”
“But why? What’s he got against us? And why would he kill Esme?”
“No clue. But hey, I’m just glad to hear your voice. I take it you got home okay?”
“Yep. Scotty Childress was sweet enough to pick me up at the airport. We had lunch today, and then Letha Carter came over to the house. She didn’t want to meet in Scotty’s office downtown because she was afraid someone from the bank might see them together.”
“Was she helpful?”
“Totally.”
Therese recounted the conversation she and the lawyer had with Letha.
“Lucky for us, she kept printouts of all the emails she sent her supervisors about Mama. Maeve, she told everybody who would listen that Mama’s mental capacity was diminished, and that she was being bilked by that Brother Jerome. ”
“What does Scotty think?”
“I’d say he’s cautiously optimistic that with those emails as backup, he can get the bank to admit they shouldn’t have allowed Mama to take out that loan.”
“That’s great.”
“Have you had any luck with finding your passport?” Therese asked, gritting her teeth.
“I was supposed to have an appointment at the embassy in Dublin today, but obviously that’s not happening now. I guess as soon as the cops cut me loose I’ll see about finding a pet-friendly place to stay for the short term. Did I mention I’m fostering Sinead?”
“How come?”
“Apparently Reggie terrorized her before he killed Esme, then he locked them both in that house-of-horrors toolshed. She was still trying to guard Esme’s body when they broke into the shed.
Wouldn’t let the cops get near her, so they called a pet shelter to come collect her.
I told them no way. She’s traumatized, but she let me pick her up.
Right now she’s wrapped up in a towel from Esme’s house, snoozing in the front seat of my rental car.
But that’s only a temporary solution until I can find someone who’ll take her in permanently. ”
“Aww. The poor little thing. You’re a good woman, Maeve Dunagin.
But I still don’t get why you’re in such a rush to get back home.
I’m on top of the bank stuff, and Scotty Childress is being a huge help.
Don’t worry about the estate stuff, okay?
And also, why can’t you just stay at your boyfriend’s house? He likes dogs, right?”
Maeve winced at the mention of Liam. This was so typical of her sister.
“He is not my boyfriend. And in case you’ve forgotten, I’m out of work and out of money.
My credit card is getting maxed out with buying another plane ticket and who knows how many extra days for the rental car and meals and a hotel here in Tarrymore. ”
“Where’d you stay last night?”
“Never mind.”
“You stayed with Liam, didn’t you, you hussy? That’s awesome. How was it?”
“Drop it, okay?”
“Such a waste,” Therese said. “Hey, Maevey, after we get this mortgage thing straightened out, and after we sell Lady G, what would you think about me hanging around here?”
“Like, where?”
“Here. In Savannah. I don’t know, I was thinking maybe I could buy your share of Mama’s house.”
For a moment, Maeve was too stunned to speak. Therese had made it clear, from the moment she finished high school, that she never wanted to live in Savannah again. As far as Maeve knew, her sister hadn’t spent more than a couple of weeks at a stretch in her hometown in decades.
“Maeve? You’re not saying anything. Does that mean you hate the idea? Of me buying Mama’s house?”
“Sorry. You caught me by surprise. Of course I wouldn’t mind if you could keep the house. I was just wondering … why?”
“I don’t know how to explain it. Before, Savannah always seemed so tight-assed and uptight and rinky-dink.
Up until now I always thought I’d outgrown Savannah.
But maybe it’s actually just a matter of me growing into it.
Maybe I didn’t know what I was missing—the familiarity of a small town, of having family close by.
For so long I didn’t want to be tied down by a house, and all the upkeep and stuff.
Before, all that stuff seemed so stifling.
But now I find it kind of sweet. I’ve been walking around Mama’s house today, thinking of the things I’d change if it were mine. ”
“Let me guess—no more Pepto-Bismol-pink paint and wall-to-wall carpet?”
“Definitely.”
They both laughed. “Don’t get me wrong, Therese. I know Bernie and Fran and Uncle Keith and all the cousins would love to have you around,” Maeve said.
“What about you? I know I get on your nerves and annoy the shit out of you, and I realize you had every reason to resent me for not coming home when Mama got sick.”
“I’d be happy to have you hanging around annoying me. But how would you make a living?”
“I’d keep acting. There’s a ton of film work in Georgia now with all the tax incentives the state offers, and some big studios have been built in Atlanta.
I’m on a bunch of online chat boards and see audition notices all the time in Savannah.
In fact, there’s a new Netflix original series getting ready to shoot in town next month. ”
“That’s great. Really great,” Maeve said.
“There’s something else,” Therese said, sounding suddenly shy. “Scotty Childress asked me out. Okay, well, I sorta asked him to ask me out, but anyway, on Sunday, we’re taking his convertible and driving over to Bluffton for lunch.”
“You and Scotty? For reals? But…”
“Which is it? You’re surprised that I’m his type, or that he’s my type?”
“He’s male and he’s got a pulse. It’s no surprise he’s attracted to you. I thought you always had a thing for bad boys. Scotty is a lot of things, sweet and kind and successful, but he’s sort of on the nerd spectrum. Plus, he’s a redhead and you always said gingers weren’t for you.”
“I can’t tell you how sick I am of bad boys and their toxic nonsense. I tell you, Maeve, I’m finally ready for a grown-ass man in my life. Receding hairline? Love it! Paid-up credit cards and a homeowner? Yes, please. Dad jeans? Can’t wait to get them off and get it on.”