Last Licks

“Yes,” Helena replied, but it seemed as though she wasn’t really following what Sunny was saying. Her expression was distant, as if she were resolving something in her mind.

“So what’s the problem? Did Alfred turn out to be a dog, too? Like uncle, like nephew?”

“No.” Mrs. Martinson looked closely at Sunny. “What did you think of Gardner? How did he treat you?”

“At first, I thought he was funny and charming—a real life of the party. But the longer I stayed around him, the more I saw of his less nice side.”

Helena nodded. “But how did he treat you?”

“He was very buddy-buddy,” Sunny replied. “Complimentary. He wanted me to push his wheelchair—said it was the only way to get pretty girls around him.”

“Only Gardner would try to turn a disability into a come-on,” Mrs. M. said sourly. She looked carefully at Sunny. “But there was nothing else?”

“Helena, come on,” Sunny burst out. “The best he could do was pull the nice old man act. I’ve got to be—what? Half his age?” She stopped for a second, thinking, And I didn’t have to depend on him for a job, like Elsa Hogue. Maybe I was lucky.

“That hasn’t stopped him in the past.” Helena looked deeply into her coffee cup. “Most anyone who encounters Gardner hears something about his travels, and I expect you can guess why he had to leave Piney Brook sometimes. But he came back about ten years ago when Alfred was planning to get married. The only problem is, during the engagement party, Alfred stumbled over his fiancée and his uncle—literally.” She pursed her lips. “Let’s just say that Gardner got a lot farther with that girl than he ever did with me.”

“Yikes!” Sunny stared. “What happened?”

“Gardner got out of town, and Alfred got his ring back,” Helena responded. “I’m told that they didn’t speak for years.”

“And yet, when Gardner got sick, Alfred was over at Bridgewater Hall all the time.” Sunny spoke slowly. “I thought he was just keeping tabs on his uncle. But maybe he was watching him more like a vulture. No wonder Gardner kept giving him crap about being the all-purpose heir.”

“As the only close relative, Alfred was certainly in an interesting position.”

“Yeah, really interesting.” Sunny scowled. “Alfred had to toe the line pretty carefully if he wanted to be close enough to enjoy watching his uncle going downhill, but not annoy the old man enough to get disinherited.”

That could explain why Alfred turned a blind eye to Gardner’s harassment of Elsa, Sunny thought. He had bigger fish to fry.

“Will always says the two strongest motives for murder and mayhem are love and money,” she said almost to herself. “Alfred has both—disappointed love and the Scatterwell inheritance.”

Sunny bit her lip as counterarguments zinged around her brain. But if Alfred had been waiting on his revenge for almost a decade, why would he suddenly push it? I only knew Gardner for a little while, but it certainly didn’t look as though he was improving. Why would Alfred suddenly lose patience? Why couldn’t he just wait a little longer?

Aloud, she said, “Thanks for digging up this dirt, Helena. Knowing Gardner as you did, it must have been distasteful.”

“It was interesting,” Mrs. M. replied, “if somewhat seedy.” She might have been about to say more, but a crash came from the living room. “Toby!” she called, then shot an embarrassed smile at Sunny. “Looks like the start of another adventure in dog owning.”

Sunny followed her host into the living room, where Toby lay whining under the coffee table, peering out at the pieces of a broken vase on the floor. Sunny decided it would probably be best for her to wait for Will outside, so she made a quick good-bye and left Helena to deal with the latest disaster.

When Will arrived, Sunny whistled at his outfit. He was all in black—Henley shirt, jeans, and a jean jacket.

“You look as though you should be riding a motorcycle,” she told him.

“Good,” he replied, “then I should fit in over at O’Dowd’s later.” Raising his sunglasses, he took in her outfit. “Which is more than I can say for you, missy.”

She made a face. “I’m going to change later. We can’t both go to Dr. Gavrik looking like we intend to beat the truth out of her.”

“So while I menace the good doctor, I suppose you can appeal to her softer side.”

“That’ll be like appealing to the softer side of a rock,” Sunny muttered as she climbed aboard.

As they started off to the north, Will asked, “So what did you learn about our new best friend Alfred? What are his vices? Women? Money? Sheep?”