Sometime later, his hand finally opened and he stared at the ring. But he did not throw it. Nor did he drop it into the lake. He slipped it back into his pocket. He would spend one more day with Daphne and then she would spend the rest of her life with Donny. It was as it should be, even if he hated the thought of it.
His skin was brittle with cold as he slipped the sweater back over his head, the scent of Daphne returning once more.
He started back toward the cabin. Daphne was waiting.
As soon as he opened the door, he felt the warmth. He looked around, amazed at the subtle transformation. A fire was burning in the fireplace and the aroma of fresh brewed coffee filled the air. But it was the sight of Daphne as she came toward him that warmed his heart. She was smiling which made him happy for reasons that he simply couldn't explain.
"Dr. Crane, you'll never guess what I-." She froze, gasping at the sight of him. He was suddenly aware that he was shivering and he felt her grabbing him by the arm as she pulled him inside.
"My God, you're blue! Come and warm up by the fire while I get you a hot drink."
She led him to the plush chair that sat directly across from the chair he'd sat in last night while holding his wedding ring in his fingers. She left only for a moment, returning with a wool blanket from the sofa, the one he kept in the hall closet, and wrapped it around his shoulders. Her fingers brushed across his frozen cheeks as she instructed him to sit. And then she was gone once more, returning seconds later with a mug of coffee. "Here, drink this while I make us some tea."
"Th-thank you, Daphne." He said through chattering teeth.
She thrust the steaming mug into his numb hands. "I-I don't know what I was thinking." He stammered.
"Nor do I." She said softly. "I thought you were smarter than that, Dr. Crane. What were you thinking, going out in such weather without your coat?"
He nodded, vowing never to make the same foolish mistaken again. "Th-thank you for starting the-."
"I lit it when you left… without your coat."
He looked up in surprise wondering how she could have known that he was referring to the fire in the fireplace. She claimed to be psychic, but even though he loved her, he didn't believe in such nonsense. And then her eyes met his as she gently touched his shoulder. "You silly sausage. I'll be right back with your tea."
He gazed blissfully at her even as she continued to frown with disapproval.
She hurried into the kitchen and returned with two mugs. He could tell immediately from the spicy aroma that wafted through the steam that the tea was cinnamon.
"Here you are."
He took the mug from her and smiled. "Thank you Daphne."
His teeth were no longer chattering but he was still shivering, which prompted her to briskly rub his shoulders until the shaking stopped. He smiled at her but she was not yet willing to return the gesture. Clearly he'd angered her more than he realized. Damn, he wished he hadn't gone outside at all. Casually he decided to change the subject. The last thing he wanted to do was to make her angrier.
"So… what have you been up to?"
Miraculously her frown slowly melted away and her expression was a burst of delight. It didn't surprise him at all, for no one was more quick to forgive than Daphne.
"Oh!"
"Well, you look happy. What's going on?"
"You'll never guess! I think I've solved it!"
"Solved what?"
"The mystery!"
His eyebrows rose. "You know who did it? But that's impossible! I was gone for less than an hour!"
She laughed. "I know! I can't believe it either. But I was just working on the puzzle and suddenly it started to make sense."
"Who was it?"
"Old Mrs. Ellerby." She said with a triumphant smile.
He was so surprised that he almost laughed. "Surely not! Mrs. Ellerby is in her late eighties! The family only keeps her employed because she's been there ages!"
"I know, but listen-."
He chuckled softly at her childlike enthusiasm. She glanced at his empty mug of tea and handed him hers, which was nearly half full. He took a sip, shivering once more. But this time it was not from the cold. His lips were on the same surface that hers had been; evident from the telltale sign of lipstick. He looked up and noticed her staring at him as though she'd lost her train of thought.
"You were saying?"
"Oh yes, Mrs. Ellerby. It was supposed to look like a suicide, right? The Governor's sleeping pills had all been removed from their packaging and the foil sheet was left by the chair."
He nodded. "I'm with you so far."
"What we're supposed to assume in the beginning is that someone killed him by giving him his own sleeping pills. But look. There's one pill that is still in the package. They're blue and yellow, right?"
"Right."
"Come."
He shivered once more when she took his hand and dutifully he rose from his chair. He followed her to the sofa and sat down beside her, the blanket still around his shoulders.
"Now, look closely at the flower pot."
Niles gasped in disbelief. "The pills!"
"Yes! Nine of them." Daphne's excitement matched his own. "Plus the one in the package. That means that two are missing."
But Niles was skeptical. "Hmm… They could be somewhere else."
"Look closely at the Governor's fingernails."
He leaned forward. "It looks like paper, stuck…"
"Yes, stuck. Now look again at the package of sleeping pills."
His mouth fell open. "It matches the broken safety seal! So the Governor did take his pills after all! Both of them, right?"
"And he was either asleep or groggy when Mrs. Ellerby came up behind him and-."
"Hit him over the head with the vase?"
She smiled and shook her head. "Nope. Strangled him."
This time Niles did laugh out loud. "What? No. She couldn't have! I'm not saying that she's not the murderer but it takes a person of great physical strength to strangle someone."
The youngest son of a former detective for the Seattle Police Department, he knew a lot about strangulations; more than he'd ever wanted to know.
"Right, but wait a minute. Listen to this. First of all, Mrs. Ellerby may be in her eighties but if you remember the booklet, it says that her assumed motive is that the Governor makes his servants work tirelessly to earn their keep. Mrs. Ellerby goes up and down stairs day after day, mopping the floors before sunrise, changing the sheets religiously, and she even flips the Governor's mattress twice a week."
Niles smiled. "The Governor likes a neat house. I can certainly relate. Although I would never-." He stopped, trying to push the memory of living in that atrocious mansion with Maris. He had to admit that he was fond of Marta and the staff who went to great lengths to make his home comfortable.
He was so deep in thought that it took him a moment to realize that Daphne's hand was on his arm. And when their eyes met, she smiled.
"I know you wouldn't do anything of the sort, Dr. Crane. But my point is that, eighty years old or not, you need some muscle to be able to flip a mattress. Those things are heavy!" She pointed to the chair on the puzzle. "Take it from a health care provider, Dr. Crane. Anyone who was sitting in that chair would have a lot of difficulty getting out of it in a hurry."
"Okay, so she's obviously capable. But surely her motive wasn't because the Governor made her clean the house week after week."
"That would certainly give her plenty of motive, but it was your father who made me realize how this murder occurred."
His eyebrows rose. "Dad? But he's not even here! How-."
She pointed to the Governor's neck. "Look."
He looked closer, noticing the red lines on the Governor's neck.
"Strangulation." She confirmed.
He nodded. "I see it, but-."
"Now look closer. You can just make out a faint imprint on the Governor's neck under the red lines. See the shape? It looks like a bone, don't you agree?"
"A bone?"
"The murder weapon was the dog's collar."
"And no one goes near the Governor's dog, but-."
"Old Mrs. Ellerby!" They shouted together.
"Oh, she loved that dog." Daphne said.
"And the Governor wanted to put the dog to sleep! You're right, Daphne! If anything would drive Dad to murder, it would be if someone laid a hand on Eddie! You've solved it! You're brilliant!"
Daphne was absolutely glowing and he had to admit that he'd never been prouder of her.
"I am brilliant, aren't I?" she replied, the smile plastered on her face.
But she was so much more than that. Brilliant, kind, beautiful, sexy, intelligent, sweet… were just a few of the adjectives that came to mind.
If only he had the courage to tell her how he felt.