Fixing To Die

“Room four,” Marcelline said. “Toward the end away from the house.”

“One more question,” An’gel said. “Do you know where my sister went?”

“We just finished talking a few minutes ago,” Marcelline replied. “I believe she said she was going to look for Benjy.”

“All right. Thank you again.” An’gel wondered if Dickce had gleaned any useful information from the housekeeper. She checked her watch. She still had about twenty minutes before she was due to meet Alesha Jackson. She might as well see if she could find either Mary Turner or Dickce.

An’gel stepped out the back door into the courtyard. The afternoon was cool, and this side of the house was increasingly in shadow as the sun moved lower in the sky on the other, western-facing side. She walked across the courtyard toward the annex, found Serenity Foster’s room, and knocked.

After a moment, Serenity opened the door. An’gel looked past her and saw Mary Turner seated on a chair, her face turned away from the door and her shoulders slumped.

“What do you want?” Serenity asked, her tone verging on hostile.

“I’m looking for Mary Turner,” An’gel said. “I need to speak to her about something.”

Serenity turned to face Mary Turner. “You might as well leave and go talk to her. I don’t have anything more to say to you.”

As An’gel watched, Mary Turner rose from the chair. An’gel could see she had been crying.

Mary Turner stumbled toward the door. Serenity moved aside, but as Mary Turner reached the threshold, she paused and stared hard at her cousin.

“This isn’t the end of it,” Mary Turner said. “I’ll find a way to get the money. You’re not going to take anything away from me.”

Serenity pushed her out and slammed the door. Mary Turner lurched toward An’gel involuntarily but managed to stop herself before knocking into the older woman.

An’gel put out a hand to steady her. “What on earth was going on between you two? You look like you’ve had terrible news.”

Mary Turner nodded. “It is, the worst news possible. I thought she might be easier to deal with than Nathan was, but I was wrong. She’s even worse than he ever dared to be.” She burst into tears, and An’gel, after a momentary hesitation, drew her away from the door and put her arms around the troubled young woman.

“Whatever it is,” An’gel said, “I will help you sort it out. Do you feel like telling me what’s happened?”

Mary Turner pulled away after a moment and looked at An’gel, a glimmer of hope in her eyes. “Yes, please. Let’s go in the kitchen, though.”

“Is it something you can talk about in front of Marcelline?” An’gel asked as they started to walk toward the back door.

“Oh, yes, she already knows about it,” Mary Turner said. “She was actually with me when I got the news from Nathan himself last night.”

“When was that?” An’gel asked. “I didn’t realize you had talked to him last night.”

Mary Turner nodded. “He came down to the kitchen about nine thirty last night, I think it was. Marcelline and I were there, talking about things. We often do. Anyway, Nathan asked for a glass of hot milk. Marcelline said she wasn’t about to do it. She really loathed him, you know. Well, Nathan got mad, and they started arguing. I tried to stop it, but they wouldn’t pay any attention to me. Then finally Nathan said something that stopped Marcelline in her tracks.”

They had reached the back door, and Mary Turner stood with her hand on the knob. She had paled suddenly, to An’gel’s alarm. Before she could express concern, however, Mary Turner continued in a rush.

“Nathan said she was soon going to be out of a job. He would see to it personally. Marcelline asked him what he meant by that, and he laughed.” Mary Turner paused for a moment, and tears began welling in her eyes. “He said he owned the mortgage on the house, and he was going to foreclose on it.”

“Mortgage? What mortgage?” An’gel asked.

“I took one out about three years ago when we needed money for some extensive repairs and restoration,” Mary Turner said. “I’ve been struggling a little to pay it back, and I got behind.”

“Does Henry Howard know about this?” An’gel asked.

Mary Turner shook her head. “No, I didn’t tell him. The house is in my name, so I could do it without his knowledge. I’ve always handled the finances anyway. He prefers it because he hates dealing with any kind of bookkeeping.” She rubbed the tears away with her free hand. The other still clutched the doorknob.

“I went to Serenity just now to beg her to help me, since I figured she probably inherits everything.”

“But she said she wouldn’t,” An’gel said.

“No, she said the moment she owned the house, she was going to sell all the contents and then tear it completely down because that’s what Nathan intended to do.”

CHAPTER 32

“Did Nathan tell you himself he intended to tear the house down?” An’gel asked.

“No, he didn’t,” Mary Turner said, her voice catching on a sob. “But it sounds like something he would do.”

“I think Serenity is grossly exaggerating the situation, simply because she wants to upset you as much as possible, my dear,” An’gel said.