Marjorie Thelen - Designer Detective

I rang the bell instead of barging in, as the driveway was littered with cars. Hudson answered.

“Miss Marlowe, do come in,” he said and stood back to allow me to pass through the open door. He was all smiles. I was glad to see him so chipper.

“Thank you, Hudson.”

He bowed. “Most of the guests are up and about. Might I offer you tea?”

“Yes, thank you. I could use a bracing cup of tea. May I take it in the library? I don’t want to disturb anyone.”

“Yes, of course. I do believe Cody is in the library.”

I raised my eyebrows. Perfect. I could catch up on family gossip. “It will be good to see him.”

“I’ll bring tea for two.”

I waltzed into the library weighted down with purse, brief case and laptop. I had to have the props to do a proper job of sleuthing. I was planning to dig through the endless volumes of books. Decorators like to have matching book jackets in the library. Believe it or not, there were booksellers who specialized in color coordinated books for decorators. I could make a show of going through all the books looking for the ones with spines that matched my turquoise and burnt orange accessory color scheme, pulling out the ones that didn’t.

The library was tidy. No signs of a party. Cody looked up from the newspaper he was reading at his uncle’s desk. He looked different in ranch attire. He wore a plaid long sleeve western cut shirt and snug blue jeans. When he stood, I noticed the cowboy boots.

“Hello, Cody, planning to ride the range today?”

He laughed and held out his hand. “Good to see you, Fiona.”

His hand was warm and calloused. I guess that was from roping and riding.

“I hope I’m not disturbing you. I have work to do, but I’ll be very quiet.”

“No, be my guest. I was making a half-hearted attempt to read the Washington Post, but they have nothing about the price of alfalfa or yearlings. You rescued me from boredom. May I help you?”

An assistant wasn’t on my agenda. What if I found something important in the books, and Cody saw it before Jake and I had a chance to evaluate? I was at loss for words, not something that usually happened to me.

Cody cocked his head. “You don’t want help.”

“You see,” I said, “what I’m doing isn’t very manly, and it would probably be as boring as the Washington Post. Are you returning to Oregon soon?” Notice my clever change of subject.

“In a few days. I’m waiting for Opal. She likes someone to travel with her. As soon as the family leaves, we’ll wrap things up and head back.”

“What will you be wrapping up? What will happen to Hudson? I hope Albert left him something in the will. Did everything go to charity?” I couldn’t resist probing about the will. I was dying to hear what had transpired.

Cody’s eyes gleamed like the devil himself. “He didn’t leave anything to charity. As it turns out, Albert changed his will the week before he died. Opal knew nothing of the change.”

I didn’t want to appear nosy but I couldn’t restrain myself. I leaned closer.

Cody’s smile widened. “Albert divided the liquid assets equally among his many relations. The house goes to Hudson for taking such good care of Albert all those years.” He laughed out loud. “Trouble is there’s so much debt there won’t be much cash left for the relations. Hudson comes out the best, sort of.”

“Oh, dear,” I said.

“Yes, oh dear,” said Cody.

“I guess that was why Hudson was so jovial when he answered the door.”

Hudson entered the room at that point, smiling like the master of the manor. He set the tea service on the coffee table. “Would there be anything else?” he asked, looking back and forth between us.

“Thank you, Hudson, that will be all,” said Cody.

Interesting that Hudson was still a working man. I poured and served Cody strong black tea, no cream or sugar.

He puckered his lips after the first sip. “Somehow tea just doesn’t do it for a buckaroo.”

“No. Too civilized. Cody, what happens next? What will Hudson do with this big house?”

“He should sell it. Frankly, it is not a prize inheriting a house like this. You got to have the income to keep it up. The value is in selling it. But he’s not going to sell.”

“What?”

“No, he says he’ll be staying on here.”

“What?”

“Yep. I can’t figure it out. But he seems happy with the arrangements.”

“Where will he get the income to keep this place going?”

“That’s what we’re wondering.”

“We?”

“The relatives. Opal says he deserves the house for having to put up with Albert and Olivia. The relatives think otherwise. They’re going to contest. Meanwhile, Hudson has graciously allowed us to stay on.”

“I guess my job here is finished.”

“You should speak to Hudson since he’s responsible for the bills now.”

I sat my empty teacup on the table and looked at Cody’s full cup. “I guess tea isn’t your drink.”

He shook his head and smiled. “I’m going to the kitchen to find something more manly to drink. Better talk to the new boss about your job. I’ll send him in.”

Cody strode from the room in his western gear, looking out of place in an Eastern establishment library. I sat in bemused silence, calculating my next move. Jake had not phoned with this new twist in the plot. I hadn’t heard a peep from him since the church parking lot. Why hadn’t he phoned to tell me about the outcome of the will? Was he still on the hook with Opal to find out who’d done Albert in? This was strange. I felt like a mote floating in space. Now what to do? I poured myself another cup of tea. When in doubt have tea to stimulate the brain cells. I sat there floating in space, my mind wandering, when Hudson came trotting in.

“Is there something I can get for you, Ms. Marlowe? Have you finished tea?”

I patted the seat next to me on the couch. “Hudson, we need to talk.”

He sat down on the edge of the cushion, hands on knees, back straight. He wouldn’t meet my eye.

“Congratulations. I understand you are the new master of the house?”

“In a manner of speaking, Miss Marlowe.”

He wasn’t acting like the new master. He didn’t dress like the new master. But who was I to question if he was slow in accepting the new role.

Since no more details were forthcoming I said, “As I’m a working girl, I need to know if you are going to pay me for what I have already done in the library and if you are going to want me to finish.”

He looked around the library which still retained its old money grandeur. “I rather like it as it is.”

There went that job. How annoying. I put on the-customer-is-always-right smile. “I see. Shall I talk to Opal about the charges I’ve incurred so far or will you be responsible?”

“If you would be so good as to give me an invoice, I will see it is paid.”

“I see. If you’ll give me a few minutes, I’ll figure out the costs I’ve incurred thus far.” I wondered how I might include my sleuthing time. I was disappointed at the loss of my job. I was itching to get my hands on those books and see what I could find. Hudson had moved to number one suspect on the list. Nice house he inherited. Where was Jake Manyhorses when I needed him?

Hudson left and I closed the door after him. I eyed those books. I bet they numbered in the thousands. What did Jake think could be hidden there that would shine light on Albert’s demise? Maybe it wasn’t an issue anymore. Maybe that’s why Jake hadn’t called. Hudson was so glaring a candidate that I decided it couldn’t be him. Too obvious.

I pulled out a book with the title The Last Western and started fanning through it. Nothing but dusty pages. I looked behind the book. Nothing but the back of the bookcase. I pulled out a few more. What if there was a secret passage into the library, a hidden way a person could come and go without being detected? Maybe the murderer sneaked into the room through the secret passage and slipped the drug into Albert’s brandy.