Bones of a Feather - Carolyn Haines [85]
He grew louder, and in a split second, Sweetie was at my side, her hackles raised and her teeth bared. No one threatened me when Sweetie was near. Roscoe followed her lead and also began to growl at Barclay.
I held up a hand. “I was looking for her. I found a photo…” I ground to a stop. “I’m afraid Millicent has been murdered.” There was no way to sugarcoat this truth. “There was a photo of her body here in the woods, with those tiaras. It looked like her neck had been broken.”
“Who would do such a thing? She was a little wacky, but she didn’t deserve to die.” Barclay reached into his pocket and brought out his cell phone.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Calling the authorities. Listen, Sarah Booth, I know you’ve gone along with Eleanor and her wishes, but it’s time to get the pros in here. We need a forensic pathologist, some crime-scene experts. This changes everything. Someone is dead.”
His reasoning paralleled my own, but I found myself making Eleanor’s argument. Millicent’s death did change everything. If she was killed by the person holding Monica hostage, then killing Monica would be no big deal. A person couldn’t be executed twice. The stakes had risen considerably now.
“Wait.” I touched Barclay’s hand holding the phone. “Don’t.” I couldn’t believe what I was about to say. “We can’t risk Monica.”
“Monica, my eye. You say Millicent is dead. Maybe the Levert sisters killed her because she was going to tell me what I needed to know to claim my heritage.”
Wasn’t that just like a man? To jump to the only possibility that involved him. I slapped the phone from his hand and stomped it. “Everything is about you, right? The whole world is involved in a conspiracy to keep you from your just rewards.”
I thought for a moment he might strike me. His face darkened and his eyes shot forks of lightning, but he gained control of himself and took a long deep breath. He smiled, but it was bitter instead of humorous. “So Eleanor bought your soul. How much? What’s the price?”
“Monica’s life depends on what we do for the next”—I checked my watch—“eleven hours. I don’t like it any more than you do, but I think Millicent can wait that long.”
He made a sound of disgust.
“Your mother’s life may depend on it. If we call in the authorities and the person holding Monica sees, he may kill your mother. Tinkie and Eleanor are trying to pull together a ransom. This should be over by midnight. Can’t you—”
He pushed past me and headed back toward Briarcliff. I picked up Barclay’s cell phone and shoved it in my pocket. I’d likely ruined it, but no point leaving it at a crime scene. As much as he annoyed me, I didn’t want to set him up for a murder he didn’t commit, and I had no sense that he was involved in Millicent’s death. In fact, he’d lost something—validation of his claim.
“Hey, Barclay!” I jogged to catch up with him.
“Piss off,” he said, never slowing.
“Wait a minute. What do you think Millicent was going to tell you?”
“Oh, let me consult my magic ball and see. Hummm. There it is. She was going to give me evidence that the sisters are mentally incompetent and that I am the person who should control the estate.”
I tugged at his T-shirt. “Why would Millicent do that?”
He stopped, curiosity dawning on his face. “Because she hated the sisters more than she hated me?” But it was a question not a statement of fact. “It is odd. I never even questioned her motive.”
“There had to be something in it for her. If she acknowledged that you’re the rightful heir, she in essence gave up her claim to controlling the estate when the sisters died.”
“Why would she do that?”
He was asking me? I had no clue why the Leverts did two thirds of what they did. “There had to be some gain to her. But what? Did she say anything at all that might give you a clue?”
“She talked about the ruby necklace. She