A Haunted Theft (A Lin Coffin Mystery Book 4) (7 page)

L
in carried
a platter of salad to the deck table just as Viv came into the house through the front door with a big bowl of her homemade meatballs and spaghetti sauce. She and Lin went into the kitchen to heat them on the stovetop and Queenie found Nicky on the deck and the two ran into the back field to do some exploring.

“I think Queenie is really a dog.” Lin took out a wooden spoon and stirred the sauce and meatballs in the pot.

“Or, Nicky is really a cat.” Viv put a mousse pie in the fridge.

The two chuckled. The dog and cat had been fast friends since Lin and her little rescue dog returned to the island several months ago to make Nantucket their home.

Viv poured a glass of wine and sat at the kitchen island. “What did Anton have to say about you seeing Sebastian?”

Lin blew out a sigh. “Really? Not much. There isn’t much to say when a ghost shows up and just stares at me. I didn’t pick up on any message or clue or whatever he might have been trying to send me.” Lin’s shoulders drooped. “I don’t know why I have this skill. I feel like I’m deaf to receiving messages from the ghosts.” She turned the burner’s heat down to simmer, covered the pot, and joined Viv at the counter.

“Remember right before Liliana died and I went to meet her?” Liliana had been a friend of Libby and Anton and she and Lin shared the gift of being able to see spirits. “Liliana told me that I’d get better at communicating with the ghosts, but how? She said I would take her place. How can I ever do that? I feel like a big dummy.”

A gentle smile spread over Viv’s lips. “You are not a dummy. Things take time. Liliana didn’t expect you to fill her shoes right away. When I first picked up a guitar or sat at the piano, I couldn’t play a song. I just plunked out notes. No one is good at anything without practice.” She chuckled. “Without a
whole lot
of practice. It must be the same with your talent. The more ghosts you see, the better you’ll get at picking up what they have to tell you.”

Lin leaned on the island. “How are you so smart?”

“I was born that way.” Viv sipped from her wine glass.

“You didn’t need to practice to get so smart?” Lin eyed her cousin. “Doesn’t that negate your statement that every talent must be honed and practiced?”

Viv threw her head back and laughed. “Now who’s acting like a smarty pants?”

Before Lin jumped down from her perch on the stool, she gave her cousin a little poke in the side. “Me.”

The girls sat on the deck with dinner plates of spaghetti and meatballs, garlic bread, and salad. They chattered about their boyfriends, a movie they’d recently seen, and plans to go to the beach together late Saturday afternoon. When the sun slipped below the horizon and darkness fell over the yard, Lin lit the candles on the table and brought out the chocolate mousse pie.

Lin filled her glass with sparkling water and passed the bottle to Viv. “Anton told me that years ago, a group of people we’ve been talking about or who we’ve recently met, worked together to start the cultural museum. The finances wouldn’t work and they had to shelve the idea for a few years.”

“Who was involved?” Viv lifted a forkful of the pie to her mouth.

“Anton. Martha Hillman. Lacey Frye. Nathan Long. Leonard’s wife, Marguerite.”

Viv lowered her fork. “All of those people?”

“Anton said others were involved, but that I probably wouldn’t know who they were.”

“So those people go way back. They’ve known each other a long time.” Viv’s eyebrows knitted together in thought. “And now, Marguerite is dead, Martha and Nathan are involved with the museum, and Lacey doesn’t seem to care for either Martha or Nathan. What about Anton? Does he have anything bad to say about any of them?”

“No, he really doesn’t. When I proposed that one of them could be involved in the theft, he was horrified to think that it was possible.”

“I wonder what the relationship is between those people.” Viv tapped the side of her face.

“And I wonder what the relationship
used to be
between them.” Lin made eye contact with her cousin. “Does someone bear a grudge towards one of the group? Could someone have stolen the basket to make one of them look bad? Tarnish their reputation?”

Viv’s eyes went wide and she leaned forward on the table. “Or, what if they’re all working together? What if they planned the whole thing together?”

“For what purpose?” Lin looked confused.

“Sell the basket and split the money? Set up someone they hate to take the fall? It hasn’t been that long since the crime occurred. Maybe the thief will try to pin the robbery on one of the group?”

“What a tangled web.” Lin put her chin in her hand. “We need to find out what the relationships are between them. Anton is innocent. He’s only involved because he helped secure the loan of the basket from his curator friend.” Lin sat up. “Oh. What if one of them tries to set up Anton? What if one of them is out to get Anton for some reason? They must have known that Anton was friends with the curator on the mainland and could use his influence to bring the basket to the cultural museum on loan. What if one of them has a grudge against Anton? What if this whole thing was done to ruin Anton’s reputation?”

“That’s terrible.” Viv scowled. “We need to suggest this to Anton so he can be on guard.”

Lin nodded. “We also need to talk to Martha and Lacey and Nathan. Ask some questions about the past, and the present. See if we can figure out if there’s bad blood between any of them.”

Nicky and Queenie had been resting on the grass beyond the deck when they suddenly stood up and stared at the side yard.

“What’s wrong with them?” Viv glanced at the animals.

Just as Lin was going to get up to see what the cat and dog were looking at, Anton Wilson dashed around from the other side of the house and hurried to the deck. “I thought you’d be back here. I need to talk to you.” Anton plopped onto one of the deck chairs. His skin looked ashen.

“What’s wrong with you?” Lin could feel the nervous energy flowing out of the man.

“The police came to see me. They asked me a million questions. I thought I might pass out.”

Lin poured Anton a glass of sparkling water and handed it to him. “They were doing some follow-up questions?”

Anton shook his head. “Well, maybe, but their tone was different this time. When they first questioned me at the museum on the night the basket went missing, they were polite. Today they were downright rude, accusatory, condescending.”

“What did they ask?” Viv looked at Anton’s pale face.

“I think they believe that I’m the thief.” Anton sucked in a breath and sat straighter. “They think that I secured the loan of the basket from the mainland museum in order to steal it.”

“Oh for heaven’s sake.” Viv groaned.

“Did the police actually say that or are you letting your mind run wild?” Lin eyed the troubled historian.

“They didn’t come right out and say it. It was their manner, their tone, subtle things.”

“They can’t pin this on you, Anton.” Lin was careful to keep her voice calm. “You were with me. I can be your alibi.”

Anton looked down his nose at Lin. “You were with me when we went inside the museum. You were not with me prior to entering. We met on the steps. You can’t be my alibi unless you lie.”

“Lin won’t lie.” Viv’s voice was forceful.

Anton’s face screwed up. “I would never ask Carolin to do such a thing.”

“Where were you before I met you in front of the museum?” Lin asked.

“I was at home and then I walked to the museum.” He shook his head. “I was alone until I met you so I have no one who can vouch for me being at home.”

“Did the police actually accuse you?” Viv turned to face Anton.

“Not in so many words.” Anton took a long swallow from his glass.

“So they aren’t charging you. Good.” Lin made eye contact with the historian. “It might be a good idea to talk to a lawyer.”

Anton stopped breathing for a few seconds, and then he blinked and nodded. “Yes. I’ll do that.”

“It will make you feel better to have advice and representation.” Viv gave the man a smile. “You haven’t done anything wrong, but I understand how upsetting it might be to be falsely accused.” Several months ago, shortly after Lin returned to the island, Viv was questioned by police about the murder of a Nantucket man and she worried that she would be arrested for his death.

Viv’s phone buzzed with an incoming text. She read it and looked up, surprised. “It’s from John. He’s just leaving the office. He’s on his way over. He says he has some news to tell us.”

“News?” Lin’s face lit up. “Maybe there’s been an arrest. Maybe the case is solved.” She smiled at Anton. “Then your worries would be over.”

“John can’t get here fast enough.” Anton stood up and started to pace around the deck.

Lin and Viv chatted nervously to pass the time until John arrived. They tried to draw Anton into the conversation, but he only replied to their comments and questions with a few words.

After ten minutes had passed, Nicky and Queenie darted across the deck to the door leading to the living room and stared through the screen into the house.

Viv turned to look. “It must be John.”

“The front door’s unlocked,” Lin said.

John rushed through the house and out to the deck.

Anton said nothing, just stood waiting for John to tell the news.

“Is the case solved?” Viv walked towards her boyfriend and took his hand. “Do they know who stole the basket?”

“What?” John looked confused for a moment. “No, it’s not solved at all.”

Lin’s heart sank.

“What do you have to tell us then?” Anton asked. His face was pale.

“Someone from the museum was found dead.”

Lin leaped to her feet as she, Viv, and Anton all spoke at once.

“What?!”

“Dead?”

“Who?”

“It’s that woman who worked there. She’s dead.” John looked around at the three faces staring at him. “It’s Martha Hillman.”

L
in
, Viv, John, and Anton sat down at the deck table. John removed his tie, shoved it into the pocket of his suit jacket before slipping it off and hanging it over the back of his chair. Picking up Viv’s empty wine glass, he poured some from the bottle, and took a swallow.

“Who told you?” Viv questioned. “Your friend at the police station?”

John nodded. “Ms. Hillman was found at home. I don’t know how long she’d been dead.”

“I saw her this morning going into the museum so it had to have happened sometime today.” Anton’s hand was shaking as he sipped water from his glass.

“Was it a heart attack?” Lin folded her arms on the tabletop and leaned forward.

John took a breath before answering. “No.” He shook his head. “She was found in her garage.” He looked at each person around the table. “The car was running.”

Anton sucked in a quick breath and moaned. “Suicide?”

“Oh, dear.” Viv’s hand flew to her cheek. “Oh, no.”

“Suicide?” Lin’s mind was racing. “That makes it seem that she was running away from something … or that she couldn’t face something.”

Viv’s eyes widened. “The basket. Either Martha stole it or she knows something that she couldn’t deal with.”

Anton looked like he’d shrunk in his seat. His shoulders drooped and his head tilted forward as he looked down at the deck flooring in a spaced out state.

Lin put her hand on the man’s arm. “I’m sorry. You’d known her for many years.”

Anton’s lower lip trembled. “We weren’t friends, really, only acquaintances, but friendly to each other.” His hand passed over his face. “What in the world would cause Martha to do such a thing?”

Lin could think of a couple of things, but decided not to voice them.

“Who found her?” Viv asked John.

“The man who did her lawn. He arrived to cut the grass. He was running late, but since it was still light out, he decided to catch up on some of his work. The man heard the sound of a car engine running in the garage. The door was down and closed. He looked in through the garage window and called the police.”

“Ugh.” Viv shook her head slowly. “What an awful thing to find.”

Something about the whole thing picked at Lin. “It certainly makes Martha look guilty or at least, involved in some way in the theft of the basket, doesn’t it?”

Anton gave a little nod and said sadly, “It does indeed.”

“Hmmm.” Lin tapped the tabletop absent-mindedly with her index finger.

“What?” Viv turned towards Lin and then her eyes narrowed realizing what her cousin might be implying. “Oh.”

Lin’s jaw muscle gave a slight twitch. “What if it’s
supposed
to look like a suicide?”

A puzzled expression creased Anton’s forehead and then his confusion lifted. “Oh, my.”

John looked at Lin. “Huh. Interesting. A definite possibility.”

Lin voiced what now everyone was pondering. “Someone may have killed Martha. Someone involved in the robbery could have staged the whole thing to look like a suicide. Maybe Martha knew who stole the basket. She could even have been involved in the theft in some way and her partner wanted to get rid of her. Maybe she was about to go to the police. Who knows? But her death may not have been suicide at all.”

“Wow,” Viv said softly. “What in the world is going on?”

“More questions and no answers.” Lin let out a sigh. The case was becoming more complicated by the day. “If the medical examiner rules it a suicide then Martha will be considered the thief. But where’s the basket?”

“Martha could have sold it already,” John surmised.

Viv offered a possibility. “It could be hidden somewhere.”

Feeling a chill, Lin rubbed her arms and glanced around to see if any ghosts were making an appearance, but no shimmering spirits could be seen. “If Martha was murdered over the antique basket, it makes the robbery much more serious since someone is willing to kill for it.”

“The whole thing is giving me a headache.” Viv got up to go inside to the kitchen to get another bottle of seltzer and a glass.

When Viv returned to her seat, Lin spoke. “We were talking earlier.” She looked directly at Anton. “A number of names have come up in connection to the cultural museum … it’s founding, the exhibition, and the robbery. We wondered if someone might bear a grudge against one of the people involved with those things. Could someone from the founding committee be angry over an issue from the past? Has someone held a deep-seated resentment that has built up over all these years? Could a member of the group be a target for some reason?”

Anton winced at the thought. He looked weak and frail. Lin’s words seemed to fall over him like a heavy weight. One of his skinny shoulders shrugged. “I need to think. I’m good for nothing at the moment. I need to go home and rest. Then I’ll be able to put my mind to it.” Anton pushed himself from his seat.

Nicky whined at the man.

John stood. “I’ll drive you home.”

Anton was about to protest, but was too low in energy to argue so he and John left the girls standing on the deck. Lin and Viv wished the historian well and thanked John for ushering Anton to his home. They cleared off the table and went inside to make tea.

Sitting at the kitchen island, Viv sighed. “What a mess. The whole thing is so complicated.”

Lin set the tea kettle on the burner. “I was feeling pretty sure that Martha Hillman was responsible for the theft. I suppose it’s still possible that she stole the basket, especially if she committed suicide.” Removing two mugs from the cabinet, she turned towards her cousin. “I don’t know why and I don’t have anything to base my idea on, but I think Martha was murdered.” Lin’s eyelids looked heavy.

Viv stared at Lin for a few seconds. “I would never doubt your feelings.”

“I didn’t like the woman.” Lin took milk out of the fridge. “She seemed cocky and superior. Anton said she could be abrasive. But none of that is reason to kill her.”

“The reason she’s dead must have more to it than Martha having a snotty personality.” Viv had a weariness in her voice. “She either did something or knew something.”

The corners of Lin’s mouth turned up. “That narrows it down.”

Realizing that what she’d said covered every possibility, Viv smiled. “How are we going to figure this out?”

Lin’s blue eyes widened. “Remember when we were in the hall outside Martha’s office and we heard her say things about someone she fired?”

Viv perked up. “Right. If we can find out who got fired, then we can talk to her, find out what she knows.” She frowned. “The person who got fired could be the one who killed Martha.” Viv looked over her shoulder into the dark living room.

Lin couldn’t help a chuckle escaping from her throat. “I don’t think the person who killed Martha is lurking in my living room.”

Viv batted her hand in the air. “You know how I am.” She checked over her shoulder one more time. Lowering her voice, she asked, “Did you see any ghosts when we were all outside talking about Martha?”

“No, nothing.” Lin shook her head.

Viv harrumphed. “Why can’t they be more helpful? The ghosts should show up and nod when we’re on the right track.”

Lin poured the tea and carried the mugs to the kitchen island. “I don’t think we can hope for help like that.” Climbing onto the stool next to Viv, Lin let out a sigh. “I haven’t seen the Wampanoag ghost since I was in the garden of the cultural museum talking to Nathan Long about the landscaping job.”

“He’ll show up again.” Viv added milk and sugar to her tea. “They always do.” She sipped the hot beverage. “Have you heard from Nathan about whether or not you’ve got the job?”

“He’s supposed to let me know tomorrow. The board supposedly voted this morning.”

Viv lifted her mug. “Martha must have been there for the vote. Anton said he saw her going into the museum this morning.”

“I’m sure she voted against,” Lin said. “She thought spending money on the garden was wasteful.”

“Do you think that her negative vote might have been the last straw? Maybe someone on the board had enough of Martha obstructing their ideas.” Viv eyed her cousin. “Maybe Martha’s death has absolutely nothing to do with the stolen basket.”

“I didn’t think of that.” Lin blinked. “Could a person be that angry with a board member that they would commit murder?”

“Crazy things happen. I don’t think it can be ruled out.”

The girls sipped their tea in silence for a while.

“I’m feeling antsy.” Lin slipped off the stool. “I feel like I need to be doing something.”

Viv didn’t respond, but shifted her eyes suspiciously to her cousin afraid of what she was going to say next.

“Want to go for a drive?” Lin asked.

“Where to?” Viv’s voice sounded hesitant.

“Want to ride by Martha Hillman’s house?”

Viv groaned. “Why? You won’t be able to get near it. The police will be all over the place.”

“I know. I just thought if I drove by, maybe I’d pick up on something … or see something.”

“I suppose that would be okay.” Viv drank the last of her tea.

Nicky had been listening and let out a woof of agreement.

“Just don’t go dragging me through the woods to get to the back of Martha’s house.” Viv looked at the dog. “If that’s what your owner wants to do, then it’s your job to go along. The cat and I will stay in the truck.”

Nicky woofed again.

Lin used her phone to search for Martha’s address. “Got it. She lives just outside of town off the road to Madaket.”

“Great,” Viv deadpanned. “The last time you went to a house off of that road you found a dead body.” Viv was referring to a previous case that they’d stuck their noses into about a month ago. Rinsing her mug in the sink, she added, “You might want to stay off that road from now on.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Lin chuckled as she led her cousin, the dog, and the cat out of the house and into her truck.