Valerie Wolzien - Death In Duplicate

Susan smiled. What a wonderful son-in-law! “Don’t worry about Chrissy. I’ll make sure she has a long nap tomorrow, or I should say today. You go on.” She hurried downstairs, not giving him time to argue with her plan.

Years ago, when her kitchen had been remodeled, Susan had reserved a corner of the room for a small built-in desk. She did a lot of the household paperwork here, using the space to pay bills as well as look up recipes in her large cookbook collection that was shelved nearby. Shannon was standing in front of the desk as Susan entered the room.

“We need another bottle of formula,” Susan announced.

The nurse started, dropping whatever it was she held in her hand. “I… I’ll get it done right away.” Shannon hurried toward the stove.

Susan glanced at her desk. What had Shannon been examining in private? There were a half dozen cookbooks on her desk, but only two books lay open on the pile: Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume One, and Susan’s address book.

NO ONE IN THE HOUSE GOT MORE THAN A COUPLE OF HOURS of uninterrupted sleep that night. As daylight finally penetrated the slit between the curtains, Susan gave up and got up. Jed and Clue were still snoring when, dressed in the warm clothing required to spend any time outside during spring in Connecticut, she slipped from the room. She noted the stain on the carpet and the splash on the wall as she walked around two bulging plastic bags that seemed to have sprouted in the hallway overnight. She was too tired to deal with any of this without a large mug of coffee. She needed it so much that she imagined she could smell the tantalizing brew wafting up the stairs.

But she wasn’t imaging the full pot of coffee steaming in the coffeemaker-or the enticing pan of what looked like homemade cinnamon rolls cooling on the counter. Or the young woman sitting at the table reading the New York Times who jumped to her feet when Susan entered the room.

“ Shannon?”

“Mrs… Susan, I hope you don’t mind. I was just waiting for the rolls to cool a bit before I frosted them.”

“No… I… Do you always get up early in the morning and bake?”

“Well, I always get up early in the morning. One of the reasons I’m a good baby nurse is that I have insomnia. It’s easier to take care of newborns if you don’t need a lot of sleep,” she added, smiling ruefully. “I hope you don’t mind me taking over your kitchen like this. I’ve been cooking breakfast for Stephen and Chrissy since the twins came home from the hospital. She’s so tired and cooking is one of my hobbies. It relaxes me.” She glanced over at the floor-to-ceiling bookshelf. “And I couldn’t resist your cookbook collection. You have so many books on baking. I hope you don’t mind me going through them.”

“Of course not,” Susan replied. “If you’re interested, there’s a complete collection of bound Gourmet magazines on the shelves behind the door in Jed’s study. I bought them at an estate sale a few months ago.”

“Oh, that sounds like fun. Thank you.” Shannon stood up and walked over to the counter where the rolls were waiting. “I usually put a bit of vanilla in the frosting.”

“So do I.” Susan poured herself a cup of coffee. “Have you always been a baby nurse?”

“I-”

“ Shannon, could you come upstairs?” Stephen appeared in the doorway, a towel wrapped around his waist. “The babies are both yelling and I have to get ready to leave for the city and the dogs need to be let out.”

The nurse reacted instantly. “Right away,” she said on her way out the door.

“I’ll frost the rolls,” Susan called after her. Was Shannon hurrying toward the twins or was she anxious to get away before she had to answer Susan’s question? “Would you like some coffee, Stephen?” she asked.

“I think I’d better pass. My train leaves in less than half an hour and I sure don’t want to be late my first day on the job. Will it be okay if I put Rock and Roll out in the backyard until Chrissy can take care of them?”

“Of course. And if you need coffee, you can always stop at one of the coffee places at Grand Central after you get into the city.”

“Yeah. I guess.” Stephen grabbed his towel as Rock and Roll dashed by, let them into the yard, and then hurried up the stairs after Shannon. Susan looked at the rolls and the bowl of frosting, gulped down half her coffee and, despite the early hour, reached for the phone and called Kathleen Gordon.

“Hi Kath. It’s me. Did you hear anything else?” She picked a corner off a cinnamon roll and popped it in her mouth as she listened to the answer to her question. “You told him to call if he learns anything, right?” She pulled a second, larger piece from the bun. “Anytime. We’ve all been up most of the night. Okay. See you soon then.” She hung up and grabbed a knife. Sometimes it was easier to think on a full stomach, she told herself as she pried the largest cinnamon roll from the pan and dipped it into the frosting.

Like most people living in the affluent suburbs north of New York City, the Henshaws had many people working for them in and around their home-cleaning women, window washers, caterers when they gave a large party, carpenters for small remodeling jobs, plumbers, roofers, painters, landscapers, and swimming pool cleaners to name a few. The list was long as they kept their large colonial style home in tip-top shape. But this, Susan realized, was the first time anyone other than family or house guests had actually lived with them.

She didn’t like it. She knew Shannon had been looking at things on-or near-her desk last night. What if this burst of enthusiasm over baking was all a cover-up for her snooping? Susan bit into the bun and frowned. Shannon did, however, know how to bake. The cinnamon roll was excellent. And the kitchen was remarkably clean. Shannon would have to be in her kitchen frequently if she was fixing the babies’ formula as well as meals for Stephen and Chrissy. But if Shannon stuck to the nursery and the basement and the kitchen… Except that she wouldn’t. Susan had just given Shannon an excellent excuse to spend time in Jed’s study-which is where all the family’s financial records were kept. And she would also be taking care of the dogs, which meant she’d be following them into every corner of the house and yard.

Susan stopped eating and stared at her coffee cup. They didn’t know anything about Shannon-except that she might have been a suspect in an unsolved murder investigation-but Shannon was in an excellent position to discover a lot about the Henshaws. Unless Susan gave up sleeping at night and going out during the day, Shannon could easily look around at her leisure. She stood up. Maybe Kathleen hadn’t been able to discover what happened at the nursing home yet, but Susan might have another source of information about Shannon. All she needed to do was find a corner of the house where she could make a private phone call.

It turned out that Jed’s study wasn’t all that private after all. First Jed appeared to kiss her good-bye on his way to the train and tell her that he had put Clue in the backyard with the mastiffs. Then he reappeared with the news that the dogs needed to be fed when she got a chance and that he might be late for dinner tonight. Chrissy came in to rummage through the large pile of suitcases, boat bags, and equipment that had been piled in the corner when they arrived yesterday and had yet to be unpacked. After finding what she wanted, she disappeared back upstairs only to reappear almost immediately searching for a phone book. Shannon had walked by the open doorway a few times carrying bottles, clean blankets, and the like but did not enter the room. It was fortunate that Susan’s end of the conversation was limited.