Page 73 of The Cottage on Plum Island
Jennifer grabbed his hand and dragged him to the benches where she had been sitting. When they were seated, she pulled out a phone.
“Yes, it was me.” Jennifer’s voice dropped to a whisper. “The police now have two new leads.”
“Can youpleasetell me what’s going on?“ Harley rubbed his tired eyes. “I’ve had nothing to drink and eat since I left the Wesley’s house last night right before you called me.” He looked at Jennifer.
“What time did Mrs. Wesley call you yesterday to ask you to help them find Angela and Clair?” Jennifer’s question made him look at her in surprise.
“Around six-thirty in the morning,” Harley answered, wondering where her line of questioning was going. “I got dressed and wrote you a note. I didn’t want to wake you, so I slipped it beneath your door and went to Chestnut Hill, where Margaret and Randal live.” He bit his lip thoughtfully. “I left the hotel at about seven a.m.”
“I was out walking,” Jennifer said. “I didn’t go back to my room either. I went straight to the dining room when I got back at eight and left for the hospital from there.”
“According to the clerk at the motel that Angela and Clair were checked into, they left at about ten that morning,” Harley told her.
“That’s when they must’ve gone to the Langham looking for you,” Jennifer guessed. “So that would be roughly fifteen to twenty minutes.”
“Let’s put them at the hotel around ten-twenty to ten-thirty that morning,” Harley said.
“I got back to the hotel around mid-day, went shopping, returned to my room at around four, and then left to visit Molly at the hospital at six yesterday evening.” Jennifer pulled out her phone and made notes.
“I spent the entire day trying to track Angela and Clair’s whereabouts,” Harley told Jennifer. A pang of guilt shot through him. “Maybe if I didn’t go rushing off, Clair might still be alive.”
“You can’t blame yourself for what happened to Clair,” Jennifer pointed out. “From what I’ve been able to piece together by what Angela told me, Clair was trying to protect Angela.”
“From what?” Harley looked at Jennifer, startled by that revelation.
“The bad man?” Jennifer’s brows knit together in confusion. “When Angela mentioned him, she started freaking out and hid beneath the bed. She was convinced he could hear and see everything she did.”
“Angela had an episode around you?” Harley was even more startled by that. “Are you okay?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” Jennifer looked at him questioningly.
“Angela can get a bit… uh… difficult when she has one of her episodes,” Harley explained. “She’s been known to get aggressive as well.”
“Angela?” Jennifer’s eyebrows shot up in disbelief. “Aggressive?” She shook her head. “She was scared and paranoid but not at all aggressive.”
“She attacked Clair and Wallis with a butcher’s knife,” Harley told Jennifer, his eyes narrowing when she didn’t seem surprised by the information. “But you already knew that.”
“Yes, Angela told me.” Jennifer looked at her phone. “Let’s finish this timeline.”
“Okay, when did you meet Angela?” Harley asked as that was still to be explained to him.
“Angela arrived at my hotel room last night around eight. She looked like she’d crawled through a few bushes and was starving.” Jennifer’s eyes widened, and she shook her head.
Harley’s heart lurched again as their eyes met. “Why did Angela go to your hotel room?”
“She was looking for you,” Jennifer told him. “She saw us together yesterday, and when you weren’t in your room, she came to mine.”
“How did she get from your hotel room to Andrew’s house?” Harley asked, deciding to piece things together a bit at a time.
“While Angela was wolfing down two large portions of lasagna, two slices of cherry pie with ice cream, and three grape sodas…” Jennifer frowned at the look on Harley’s face. “What?”
“You gave Angela all that to eat and drink?” Harley said in disbelief. “She’s on medication and shouldn’t have so much sugar.”
“Well, it kept her talking,” Jennifer defended her actions. “Besides, she’s a grown woman who wanted it, and I wasn’t going to say no like she was a child.”
“Never mind.” Harley held up his hands. “Please continue.”
“While she was wolfing down her pie, I asked her why she was looking for you, and she told me that Clair told her to find you,” Jennifer told him. “To tell you that Angela was in danger and to keep her safe from the bad man.”
