Murder by Yew (An Edna Davies Mystery #1)(50)

“You mean the one of Bev, my housecleaner?”

“Yes, and all the others I took at Quincy Market that day.”

“If all they took were your pictures, I still don’t understand what your studio or your apartment have to do with the antique thieves or the fencing operation or that task force.”

“Here’s what Charlie told me,” Starling said, beginning her story, and Edna mentally filled in what she herself knew.

After leaving Mary’s house that morning, Charlie had, apparently, gone to Boston for a task force meeting. As he was debriefing members of the team on the latest stolen property, a uniformed patrolman entered the conference room. The man’s superior asked what had kept him, and the officer answered that he’d been first on the scene of a break-in at one of the local photography studios and hadn’t been able to get away.

Recognizing the name of the gallery from the card he had found in the film canister, Charlie asked the officer about a woman named Starling Davies. The patrolman replied that, yes, she was one of the owners, and incidentally, he understood that her apartment had also been tossed that morning. Charlie then explained to the task force that Ms. Davies was the photographer who had taken the Quincy Market pictures and asked permission to go with Jake to the studio so they could determine if the break-in had any bearing on the task force’s investigation.

Starling recognized Charlie as soon as he walked into the shop, thinking he had returned to the city from Seattle and had stopped by to say hello. He told her about working undercover and that he was a police detective from a small community in southern Rhode Island. Then he asked her if she was related to Edna and Albert Davies, and she “about died”—her words. After admitting that she was, she went on to tell the detectives what she knew about both break-ins and said the only items she could determine were missing were some pictures she’d had hanging in her apartment, explaining about the trial wall.

In turn, Charlie and Jake told her about the task force and how they had staked out the warehouse, tailing a suspect to Quincy Market. After that, Starling rechecked the files in the studio and discovered that all the prints, along with the negatives, from that afternoon were gone. According to what the officers at the scene told Starling and from what she gathered herself, the other damage seemed to be the result of random searching, probably the thieves making certain they had found everything they had come for.

“How does my housekeeper fit into the picture?” Edna asked when Starling finished her story. At the sound of her daughter’s groan, she realized she had made another pun, this time unwittingly.

“All Charlie told me was that the suspect he followed to the Market went over to that table and sat down. The police hadn’t expected anyone to leave the warehouse. They had been waiting for a van to arrive and unload stolen property. Then someone slipped out of the building, and Charlie had to make a quick decision to follow him, leaving two other officers at the warehouse with the camera. When he saw the guy place an order with the waiter, Charlie called Jake and told him what was going on. He got a big surprise when Jake showed up as a mime.” Starling laughed. “Charlie said he wouldn’t have recognized him, except Jake gave him a signal. That’s about the time Charlie saw me walk by with my camera.”

“Utterly amazing.” Edna shook her head, still trying to piece the entire story together.

“Oh, I almost forgot. Dad called from Grant’s last night. Said he’d been trying to reach you but couldn’t get an answer, not even the machine. I told him you were with me on Saturday. I didn’t get your message until this morning, but I don’t think he’s worried anymore. He’s having a good trip, and everyone in Grant’s family is fine. Thought you’d like to know.”

“Yes. Thank you. The storm knocked out a lot of phones around here.” Edna didn’t mention her own experience with intruders. She saw no reason to alarm Starling unnecessarily. Apparently, neither had Charlie. “I intend to call your father as soon as I hang up.”

“Do me a favor, will you?” Edna detected amusement in her daughter’s voice. “Find out if Charlie’s married.”

Eighteen

Mary had taken Hank out for a walk, leaving Edna alone to make her calls. When she finished talking to Starling, Edna dialed Grant’s home number in Arvada, Colorado, a suburb of Denver. It was nearly three o’clock Mountain Time, but all she got was the answering machine. She knew Karissa, Grant’s second wife, didn’t work outside the house, and her granddaughter Jillian should be home from school by now. Maybe they had gone shopping. Karissa loved sales. She loved them so much, she even bought things she didn’t need, simply because they were on sale.

“Hello, everyone,” Edna said when she heard the signal to begin speaking, “it’s Edna here. Just wanted to hear your voices. Sorry I missed you. We’re having quite a rainstorm, and our phone line’s been out for a while. I thought I’d call to let you know I’m fine and I love you all.”

She had already decided not to tell them she was staying at Mary’s. She didn’t want her family to worry, and there was really nothing they could do. She would check her own answering machine periodically. She may not know how to charge a cell phone, but she did remember how to retrieve messages when she was away from home.

“Everyone okay?” Mary appeared in the archway between the kitchen and dining room. Thanks to the wind and rain, her thick mop of red hair appeared frizzier than usual, making her look like a wild woman.