Jack’s phone buzzed and his face lit up. “I asked my brother if he knew of any connection to Valhalla and Vikings. He sent me a photo.” He passed his phone to them. It was a picture of a gorgeous young man, shoulder-length blond hair, in the costume of a Viking, complete with horned headdress.
Troy had writtenThis is my dad. He was an actor before he began directing and producing.
Kate was the first to speak. “Maybe we need to look for movies Harry Adair was in, not ones he directed.”
Sara said, “My guess is that he’d be uncredited, as one of the chorus, so to speak. Like inBen Hurwith a cast of thousands.”
Jack’s phone buzzed again and his eyes widened, but he put his phone away and didn’t speak, nor did anyone ask what the message was.
Greer understood. It was private, not for her. She stood up. “I think I’ll go to Gil’s house.”
“Take my car.” Randal handed her the keys. “I’ll go back with them.” It was obvious that he didn’t want to leave the group.
Greer thanked him, then left.
When she was gone, Jack showed the text he’d received from Sheriff Flynn.
Prelim. Poison. Looks like suicide.
“Rachel killed herself?” Kate asked.
Jack frowned. “How’d she break into the house? How’d she know where we live?Whydid she kill herself?”
No one had an answer.
Twenty-Three
They were an unhappy lot as they drove back to Lachlan House. They were feeling that they’d made no progress in finding the killer. And as Kate had said, they were running out of time.
“I want to be one of those TV detectives,” Sara said. “In the last five minutes, they put together every word everyone has said andvoilà!they know who the murderer is.”
“I don’t think Rachel killed herself,” Kate said.
“I agree,” Randal said. “I think she thought she’d find the jewels, sell them, and give herself a new life.”
No one replied, because it was what Randal had thought he would do with his own life.
Maybe because they were feeling like losers, Jack pulled the car as far to the back of Lachlan House as possible. They went in through the kitchen.
When they were inside, Lenny looked at Sara and nodded toward the back window. Reid was outside trimming the grass. Lenny said, “It’s as though he knows he owns the place.”
Sara didn’t ask how Lenny knew about Reid’s inheritance, but then she was a bit afraid to hear his answer.
Lenny nodded toward the hallway. “They found something and they’re waiting for you.”
Sara’s heart gave a little leap of hope, and she followed the others into the living room.
Barbara, Troy, and Lea jumped up from the couches. Their faces were alight with excitement.
“We couldn’t find Rachel,” Lea said, “but maybe that was a good thing. Or not. We aren’t sure until we see it.” She looked at Barbara. “You explain.”
“Billy called me and he was very upset.” Barbara paused to be sure she had everyone’s attention. “He said he expects to be hauled off to prison at any moment and it is all my fault. Such drama! I finally got it out of him that he couldn’t remember where he and I got one of the stories we reenacted. It was about a Viking and a man being stabbed in the heart.”
Barbara could hold her own when it came to drama. Again, she paused and waited for everyone’s attention. “I remembered where I’d heard the story.”
“From a script?” Troy asked. His hint was that was the only thing she ever read.
The others hadn’t seen mother and son together, and now they saw the deep affection between them.
