Murder by Yew (An Edna Davies Mystery #1)(61)

“ … gonna to do with them?” It was a faint, tinny version of Zach’s voice.

“They’re going to have a little accident.” Dee’s voice, hollow and diffused but discernable.

Shoes, who had trailed Edna to the far wall, started to speak, but she stopped him with a raised hand, then pointed her light upwards toward what looked like relatively new aluminum ductwork from which the voices echoed. Apparently, Dee and Zach were talking somewhere near a vent.

“What kind of accident?” Zach’s bass rumbled through the pipes.

“How about we push her car into the sea out there at the point? It’ll look like she was running away after kidnapping the kid, missed the bridge in the storm, and landed in the water.”

“What if she gets away? We can’t tie her up if she’s supposed to be driving. She could …”

“Stop worrying. I’ve already taken care of it. In another hour, she’ll be too sick to even lift her head. I used twice the yew for this tea as I did for Tom. She didn’t drink a whole cup, but she drank enough. We’ll tape the kid’s hands and feet, though. It’ll look like she did it.”

“You’ve thought of everything, haven’t you?”

“Isn’t that why you love me—for my mind?”

Their mixed laughter tumbled around and around the aluminum ducts before Dee said, “Help me carry these things to the kitchen. I’ll get rid of the tea, then we’ve got some details to work out. With the kid out of the way, there’ll be nobody to link me to Tom Thursday afternoon, and with her out of the way, there’ll be nobody to say she wasn’t the one who poisoned him.”

As the voices from upstairs faded and died, Edna turned her light to reflect on Shoes’ face. He looked stunned. “They’re gonna kill you and that boy.” He waggled his head. “I didn’t agree to no killing. She said she only wanted to scare the kid. I wouldna grabbed him, if I thought she was gonna hurt him.”

Edna felt a raging fury at the stupidity of this man, but she couldn’t let it overwhelm her while there was the slightest chance he might assist them. “We’ve got to find Danny,” she said, pushing past him. “You have to help me get him out of here.”

“What can I do? I don’t even have a flashlight.”

She was beginning to hate the sound of his whiny voice as he tagged after her. Maybe if Danny recognized her voice, he’d come out. She wasn’t certain how handicapped he was without his hearing aid, but she would try. Since Shoes is sticking so close, I might as well find out something while I can, she thought. Aloud, she said, “Is this where you’ve been hiding for the past few weeks? The police have been looking for you, you know, and your sister must be worried sick.”

“No.” Shoes seemed surprised. “I’ve been out of town. Dee said she told Bev where I went. It was her sent me to Boston with a bunch of paintings for Zach. She said they’d get busted up if they were transported in the semi and that she’d tell Bev where I was.”

Edna’s mind reeled. So he and Dee were mixed up with the antique burglaries, too. She hadn’t just stumbled over Tom’s murderer, she had fallen into a den of thieves—she grimaced inwardly at the trite, but appropriate expression—and Shoes was one of them. As she poked into cabinets and behind bureaus, she spoke nonchalantly, wanting Shoes to believe she knew more than she did. “That shouldn’t have taken two weeks, just driving to Boston.”

“No, it didn’t.” Shoes sounded petulant. “When I got to the warehouse, Zach loaded more stuff in the van and said to follow the big truck up to Montreal. Said he’d call Dee and she could tell Bev for me.”

“That still wouldn’t take nearly two weeks,” Edna said, but she was beginning to get the idea that, for some reason, Dee and Zach had kept Shoes moving and out of touch. “Why didn’t you call your sister from the road? You have a cell phone, don’t you?”

“She don’t know nothing about the mess I’m in.” Shoes’ voice held a note of despair. “She’d have my hide, if she knew, but I was doin’ it for her.” He took hold of Edna’s arm, but she shook him off and moved to shine her light behind the sagging sofa they had come to. “I never could lie to my sister. Dee was supposed to come up with a story that would explain why I was away. They promised it’d be my last job. No more breaking into houses. I could take my money and start my handyman business like I always wanted.”

“How did you get mixed up in all this, in robbing people’s homes, I mean?” Edna had covered the back corner and returned to the stairs. She needed to sit down for a minute, and the steps looked sturdier than any of the chairs she had seen so far. She heard the sound of water running through the plumbing overhead and knew Dee was busy getting rid of the poisoned tea. Thank goodness I didn’t drink any, she thought with a shudder.

Shoes sat on a bottom tread next to her. There was barely enough room for the two to sit side by side, but she shifted to give him room, not wanting to antagonize him before she had found Danny. “Why are you helping these people?” She couldn’t hide the contempt in her question.

He heaved a sigh and leaned forward, elbows on his knees, hands clasped and head down. “She told me she’d ruin Bev’s business if I didn’t cooperate.”