A Forgotten Murder (Medlar Mystery 3)

She used the shirt to pick it up, not wanting to touch the thing, and rolling the cloth around it. She jammed it into the top of her heavy bag and covered it with a silk scarf. When she next saw him, she planned to give him a piece of her mind. His carelessness was dangerous!

There was another sound outside, only this time she knew it was one of the little trucks used on the estate. It had to be Sean!

She hurried to his office. Let him have a few moments of not knowing she was there. Let him think she hadn’t shown up!

But it wasn’t Sean who entered the stables. There was a little window, foggy from years of dirt that looked out toward the stalls.

Oh no! Nadine thought. It was Mrs. Aiken. She despised Sean and was always accusing him of stealing food. That it was Nadine who was taking it made her and Sean laugh.

Nadine knew that Nicky and Byon had sent Puck to the pantry to “rummage and appropriate” as they said. No doubt Mrs. Aiken had discovered the missing items and had come here in the middle of the night to accuse Sean. For those she hated, she never missed an opportunity to smother them in her anger.

Nadine did not want to be part of this!

There was a back door in the office and Sean kept the hinges well-oiled. She slipped out into the night, breathing in relief that she’d escaped.

But now what? she thought. When Sean got back and saw Mrs. Aiken there, he’d turn around and leave. But where would he go?

Instantly, she knew. The chapel. It was the only truly private place on all of Oxley. No one went there.

Except us, Nadine thought as she began making her way around the house. Sean was probably waiting for her there now. He’d hold her and laugh at all her silly premonitions.

“Nothing is wrong,” she said aloud. “Everything is good.” She hurried to the chapel.

ACT FIVE

SCENE TWO

THE CHAPEL

Nadine used her key to open the door to the chapel. Sean had had copies made so they could leave the original key in the kitchen. In the past year they’d spent a lot of their time thinking of ways to keep their meetings secret. Evading Puck had been the most difficult.

“That child is everywhere,” Sean said. “She sees everything. Hears it all.” He believed Puck knew about them, but Nadine didn’t agree.

As she opened the door, her breath was held in anticipation. This was it. The beginning of her new life. Marriage to the man she loved, a child on the way. She’d miss her father, but she had no doubt that as soon as he saw his grandchild, he’d forgive all. “I hope she’s a girl,” she whispered. Her father could spoil her, dote on her, shower her with gifts. He could—

The chapel was empty. Worse, it had that feeling that no one had been in there in a long time.

She sat down heavily on a wooden pew. Now what? Did she wait for him? She put her heavy bag down beside her. Maybe he’d had an emergency. One of the horses was sick. That she hadn’t seen Diana in the house seemed to reinforce the idea. Yes, an animal was ill and they’d taken it to the vet.

She didn’t want to think about the fact that they’d heard no noise of a trailer being loaded or that no one had commented on this happening. She also didn’t want to think how much easier it would be for a vet to come to them.

Pregnancy was making her sleepy. Her head fell to her chest and her eyes were beginning to close when she jerked awake. The stone walls of the chapel were thick but she thought she heard a sound outside.

The window was high up and she could barely see out, but she saw one of the little trucks with its motor running. Nadine’s heart seemed to skip a beat. Sean was here!

But no, Mrs. Aiken got out, went to the back and shoved what appeared to be a rolled-up rug farther back into the truck. It seemed to have been sliding out.

Nicky was in the truck, and he got out and helped her. The rug looked to be quite heavy. She watched as he tied a rope around the end of the rug and fastened it to the side of the truck. He jerked hard on it.

They got back into the vehicle and drove away. Nadine had no idea what those two were doing in the middle of the night—and she didn’t care either. She had her own problems to concern her.

She turned away, leaned against the wall and felt like her life was leaving her. Where was Sean?

She went back to the pew, meaning to sit down and wait for him, but she didn’t. Let him come to me, she thought. He certainly knew how to get in and out of the house. Many times he’d come to her bedroom. They’d laughed as they’d tiptoed about during the night. Sean often went through Bertram’s office. “I like to know what’s going on around this place,” he said. “Who’s paying his bills?” he’d asked more than once. For all their sneaking, they were never caught.

She looked at her heavy bag. Did she take it back to the house? But what happened when Sean showed up later? That bag would be one more thing they’d have to hide.

Turning, she looked at the memorial plaque of a Renlow who’d died in 1856. It was embedded in the wall at floor level. One time Sean had kicked it. He’d been saying that all of Oxley was falling down. In emphasis, he’d struck out at the old piece of stone—and it had clattered to the floor. It was a marvel it didn’t break.