Bones of a Feather - Carolyn Haines [21]
A frosty smile touched Eleanor’s lips. “Your assumption is that the kidnapper will kill Monica and then come for me.”
There wasn’t time for games or finessing. “It’s a possibility we can’t ignore. Who stands to gain?”
“If Barthelme Levert were alive, I fear he’d take strong action. He wasn’t a man who liked to be pushed into a corner.” A hint of color stained her cheeks. “The closest heir, the only heir other than me and my sister, is a cousin. Millicent Gentry.”
She spoke the name with such disdain I hardly had to ask. “You aren’t close to this Millicent?”
Eleanor’s nose tilted upward slightly. “There’s a vulgar Southern expression that perfectly describes Millicent. She’s as crazy as a shit-house rat.”
Tinkie turned away to hide her smile, and I struggled not to laugh. “I gather you don’t get along.”
“Millicent is a lazy lout. She’s gone through her parents’ inheritance. She sold the family property to a subdivision developer. That was Levert land. It had been in the family for generations. Barthelme even plowed it with a mule when he first came to Adams County. Now there are tract houses with tiny, treeless lawns and overweight women in polyester shorts living on it.” She’d worked herself into a real righteous anger.
A cousin would know the family history. She’d have local connections. She’d know the house and the comings and goings of the sisters. And the only thing that stood between her and the Levert money was the sisters. She was a very good suspect. “Is Millicent capable of putting together something like this kidnapping scheme?”
“Millicent is greedy enough to try it.” Eleanor’s eyes flashed with fury. “And if she is behind this, I promise I’ll squeeze every last drop of Levert blood from her silicone-enhanced body.”
Tinkie gave me a wide-eyed look. Eleanor was a refined lady, but when she was pissed, she was well and truly pissed. “Where can we find Millicent?”
“She inherited one of Barthelme’s homes on Wonderland Drive. It’s a beautiful pink Victorian she’s managed to ruin with a lawn full of lighted, animated gnomes.” She grimaced. “Incredible. She turns them on every night. Her neighbors have gone before the city council to try to stop her. Oh, and while you’re there, ask to see her doll room.” A hint of humor had returned to Eleanor’s face.
“Doll room?”
“Every Halloween Millicent dresses up like a doll. You know, Shopping Barbie, Convertible Midge, Chatty Cathy—whatever is hot and popular and by all means attractive. She has a life-sized model of the doll made, with her features, and dresses it in her costume. Then the doll is placed in her doll room. It’s like a window display at a freak show.”
Visions of a wax museum jumped into my mind. I would have used the word “macabre,” but Eleanor had indeed proven her point about the shit-house rat.
“How are you related to Millicent?” Tinkie asked.
“She’s my great-grandfather’s sister’s great-grandchild.”
I wasn’t certain how to calculate that degree of kinship. Maybe a cousin fourth removed? “She’s your closest kin?”
“She is. As you can tell, the Levert bloodline didn’t produce a lot of breeders. Mother had only Monica and me. Our father, Middler Levert, was an only child.” She shrugged. “No one in the family was overly fond of children. Monica and I never wanted any, but when I think about Millicent getting her hands on Briarcliff, I think I may adopt.”
“Since there aren’t any other relatives, who else has access to Briarcliff, other than Jerome Lolly?” I had to get a list and get busy. The kidnappers could call back at any moment. If Tinkie and I were to be prepared, we needed to make tracks.
“Kissie, who cleans for us, has a key. She comes and goes as she pleases, but she’s a delightful young woman. She’d never do a thing to harm Monica.”
I raised my eyebrows. Tinkie and I would have to investigate everyone, no matter how slim the chances, and Kissie had an arrest record.
“Who else?” I asked.
“That historian fellow has been hanging around.” A strange expression crossed her face. “In fact, shortly after he showed up we had the first