Chapter 24

Lady Harrington was in a complete recovery. She welcomed them to her home, and Bobby was truly happy to see her up and about. He smiled and gave her his hand to steady her as she came down the last few steps.

Apparently, her family had told her that she'd had a reaction to her medications and only Detective Goren had noticed the severity of her need. "It's a terrible shock," she said, "to gain my health only to find out that my Granddaughter was murdered. She was my joy." Lady Harrington almost broke into tears as she spoke of Isabel.

They expressed condolences, and the old woman asked them about Lissie. "Grant told you that?" Alex asked after throwing Bobby a look.

"No," she said. "I deduced it. Why else would you be talking to my son about an 18 year old suicide?"

Bobby admitted she was right. Then he said, "But Grant believes that Lissie killed herself. And you don't."

"If she were going to take her own life, she would never have done it with Isabel in the apartment," Lady Harrington explained.

When asked why she didn't ask for an autopsy, the woman didn't answer. Bobby surmised it was to protect her family name.

"You never suspected your son?" Goren asked.

"Of course not!" Lady Harrington replied.

Bobby asked her about allergies. At first she said no, but then she remembered that her first husband had allergies. Goren clarified that was Ernest's father. "Did Ernest have allergies?" Bobby asked.

"I'm not sure," she said. "Ernest had nannies."

An announcement from the newly rehired Bridie that her car was waiting brought the old woman to her feet. She told them they had reopened her Westport home and would be celebrating her homecoming that evening with a party. "It's just a terrible tragedy that Isabel won't be there."

Alex was sick and tired of the snobbery. "Well, the tragedy is if you had said something 18 years ago, Isabel might still be alive."

Lady Harrington faced her, then looked down her nose at Eames, but said nothing.

Bobby remained silent as well. He thought Alex had been too harsh, but he also knew that the formidable Lady Harrington had raised her shrewd son. She was no longer a helpless old lady.

Ross met them in the bullpen and walked them to his office. "His father had allergies, so you think Ernest Foley may be good for a double family murder 18 years apart."

"Yeah, that's one-one-one theory," Bobby said. "Has anybody ever told you you're reductive?"

Alex squirmed. After all this, the tiny bit of progress Bobby had made with the Captain may have just been obliterated.

"My ex-wife," Ross said, dry as ever. "Eames, walk me through this slowly," he said, ignoring the big man who'd just insulted him.

She went through the first theory, that Ernest's philanthropy was threatened by the possibility that Lissie would cut him off. Ross asked for the other, and she told him Grant and Cheryl plundered the family trust and overmedicated Lady Harrington so she would sign away most of her real estate to cover their debt.

Alex tossed out the idea that they should crash the Harrington party. Ross gave them a nod of approval, and they were back out the door.

"Time to get gussied up," Bobby told her with a grin.

"I have the perfect little black dress," she smiled back.

Bobby had already told her she looked beautiful, but as he followed her up the sidewalk to the Harrington's front door, he noticed again. He watched her hips sway as she walked, and he wholeheartedly wished they weren't on duty.

Ernest saw them enter and headed straight for Bobby. As her partner ducked and dodged the rich man's hands, Eamed took a few hurried steps and was all the way in. With a fake and a pivot, Bobby was right beside her.

Grant stopped them next. He tried to detour them to the kitchen; they weren't to be seen hobnobbing with the Harringtons. "Lady Harrington invited us," Alex announced, wearing a Cheshire grin. Bobby cracked a smile as well.

It was played perfectly. They were absolutely right when they thought Lady Harrington would rather let them stay a few minutes than have a scene trying to throw them out. Ernest balked, and Grant seemed surprised, but Lady Harrington walked up gracefully and acted as if she had been expecting them all along.

She introduced them to the entire group as the detectives who saved her life. Her guests clapped for them, and Bobby hung his head, blushing shyly. Grant was on board right away, and made his own announcement of gratitude.

Alex made her own announcement, to Ernest and Grant, that they may have a break in the case. The old woman's love for Isabel was sincere. She wanted to hear the news.

Alex announced that Isabel's investigative piece wasn't missing after all, that she'd mailed herself a copy. Bobby sat down to watch the story play out.

Cheryl tried to minimize the importance of the document, and the matriarch gave her a firm warning. "Don't push it." Lady Harrington turned to Alex. "What was she writing about?"

"She was writing about the Harringtons," Alex said, a little too happily, a little to loudly.

Ernest minimized, calling it a memoir. "She must have thought the only way to make it as a writer was to betray the Harrington name," he told his mother.

"It was less of a memoir than it was a mystery," Bobby said from his perch on the settee. "Isabel was convinced that her mother's death wasn't an accident."

Ernest started talking, but Grant stopped him. He told his mother what he'd shared with the police about Lissie's depression. Lady Harrington admitted that if she had said something all those years ago, Isabel may not have been killed.

"Mother," Grant said. "Lissie's suicide had nothing to do with Isabel's death."

Ernest stuck to the family fable. "No, she had a heart arrhythmia," he repeated.

Bobby quietly explained the interaction of the meds to Ernest.

Alex reminded them all that Lissie had no allergies. "We're trying to figure out how she could have had access to Hismanal." The conversation that followed revealed that Ernest had allergies.

"Fine. I have allergies. I'm on medications," Ernest said, growing angry. "What meds are you on, Detective," he asked Bobby, who simply grinned.

Alex asked more about his allergies and he revealed he was allergic to flowers. He then announced that if he had gone to confront Isabel about her lies, he never would have brought her a bouquet of flowers.

The detectives waited. "How'd you know about the flowers, Ernest?" Alex asked.

The Harringtons balked. Ernest stammered.

Lady Harrington cried out and drew the attention of all her guests. Alex and Bobby continued to interrogate him. Bobby spelled out his motive. Ernest moved closer to the old woman, and Bobby readied his hand at Foley's shoulder.

Lady Harrington accused Ernest of being unworthy of the Harrington family. This resulted in a fight between the brothers. Grant started to shout "You killed my daughter!" Bobby got between the men, saying, "All right, back off."

Ernest and his mother had more words, and Bobby started to pull him away from her. He kept trying to move closer, even when his mother called him a monster. Bobby kept a firm grip on Foley. The man was bigger than he was. "Hey. Put your hands behind your back," Bobby commanded.

"Can we do this outside?" Ernest asked. All of the party guests were watching.

"No we cannot. We'll do it right here. Ernest Foley, you're under arrest for the murder of Willem Vanderhoeven, and Lissie and Isabel Harrington. All right," Bobby said, transferring the man to the uniformed officers Alex had just called in. "All right."

"My life," Lady Harrington cried, "What happened to my life?"

Bobby hooked his hands behind his back and gave Eames a quick glance as he headed for the front door. He was done with these people, all of them. Eames took a deep breath and gave them all one more glance. She was done, too.

"Hi, Ma," Bobby said.

"Bobby! Where's your brother?" She asked, looking behind him.

Bobby shrugged.

"I hope he's okay."

"I'm sure he's okay."

"Bobby, you've talked to him?" She asked, searching her son's face.

Bobby took a deep breath and his eyes danced all over the room. Finally, he gave her a slight nod.

"That's good! My word! How is he, Bobby? Tell me!"

"He sounded… he sounded… busy," he said, the only thing he could think of that wouldn't be a lie.

"Busy." She was beside herself with joy. "He must be working, then. Maybe he's finally out of this slump he's been in."

"Maybe," Bobby agreed, feeling a little sick.

"What? Whatsa matter? You're moping."

"I'm-I'm-I'm not moping, Ma."

"You're moping. Robert Goren, you're jealous. You're jealous of your brother!"

"I'm not j-jealous, Ma."

"You're stuttering. I could always tell when you were fibbing to me. That stutter was a sure giveaway."

"Well," he said, being overly careful not to allow the words to bounce as he spoke. "I'm not stuttering. And I'm not jealous."

She narrowed her eyes. "You've learned a lot of tricks as a Detective, haven't you? Like lying?"

Bobby's eyes flitted past hers, then found a nice chink in the edge of a floor tile to stare at.

"That Harrington business, eh?" Alex's father asked. "I'm glad, Alex. I'm proud of you."

"Look, Dad, I can't… talk about it."

He bumped her arm with his hand. "I know you can't. How's Bobby?"

She was relieved to have a change of subject, but she was surprised her father asked. "He's… you know, he's okay."

"Lexie," her father said, his voice quieter. "I haven't made any judgements against him. He's a good man, and a friend to you, and that's all that matters to me."

She smiled quietly. "He wouldn't like me to share his business." Her father nodded. He wouldn't bring it up again without an invitation. "But his mother, she has cancer. And you know, he's holding up all right, but it seems like there's always something making it hard for him."

"There is no such thing as 'easy' when someone you love has cancer."

Alex smiled at her Dad. "Yeah," she said.