Page 75 of The Cottage on Plum Island
“Angela needs to keep her blood sugar up,” Harley told Jennifer. “She has to eat regularly.”
“Angela said that Clair had been feeling weird the whole day and very sleepy,” Jennifer continued the story. “Clair thought she just needed more water. They’d taken a few water bottles from the institute beside Angela’s bed. Angela said she warned Clair not to drink it because it tasted funny, and Angela was convinced the bad man had poisoned them.”
“That’s why she asked me to bring her large bottles of water from the shops to last her a week every time I visited her,” Harley realized. “And why wasn’t she drinking the water at the institute? She thought she was being poisoned.”
“Angela said they were going through the boxes and were reading some of Daniel’s prized comic books when Clair suddenly collapsed,” Jennifer told him. “When she couldn’t wake Clair, she phoned her friends, but the bad man showed up with some bad people. Angela and her friends had to leave before they were discovered hiding at the back of the storage garage. Angela escaped out of the side door at the back.”
“There are three doors into that storage garage,” Harley told Jennifer. The large roll-up one opens in the front. A smaller one next to it so you don’t have to open the large roll-up one and the back entrance that leads to the garbage bins.”
“I saw that when we were there last night.” Jennifer nodded and glanced down the hallway. “How long do you think they’ll keep Andrew for?”
“They kept me for hours and hours,” Harley pointed out, glancing at his wristwatch. “Wow, is it eleven a.m. already?”
“You must be starving,” Jennifer said, pocketing her phone. “There’s a vending machine if you want to get a snack.”
“No, thank you.” Harley suppressed a shudder. He didn’t like vending machines, no matter how hungry he was. “How did Angela get from the storage locker to the Langham? Did she walk all that way?”
Worry coursed through him.
“No. She said a friend drove her to the hotel on their way to work,” Jennifer told him. “I wasn’t back at the hotel yet, and neither were you, so she waited in the bushes for one of us to arrive.”
“And again, she didn’t mention who the friend was,” Harley guessed. “Do you think it could’ve been Simon?”
“I don’t know.” Jennifer frowned thoughtfully. “This must’ve been late afternoon, and Angela specifically said her friend dropped her on the way to work.” She shrugged. “I guess Simon could have had a late consultation?”
“There is one way to find out,” Harley pointed out. “To go to the Gains house and ask Angela.”
“Yeah, about that.” Jennifer pulled a face.
“Please tell me that Angela is still safely at Andrew’s house.” Harley was on the point of being unable to take any more surprises.
This was supposed to have been a trip that got Jennifer on the path of getting answers from her father and celebrating her birthday. His eyes widened.
“Oh no!” Harley breathed and looked at Jennifer.
“What?” Jennifer glanced at him, alarmed. “What is it?”
“With everything that’s happening, I nearly forgot.” Harley slapped his forehead before leaning forward and surprising Jennifer by planting a kiss on her lips. “Happy birthday, Jennifer.”
“How did you know?” Jennifer’s cheeks pinkened, and her hand touched her lips.
“Your brother, Caroline, and Aunt Betty,” Harley told her. “They planned a surprise for you.”
“Oh no!” Jennifer raised an eyebrow. “Not a surprise birthday party.” She shuddered. “I hate those things, and it’s not like it’s a milestone birthday.” She glanced around the police station. “Besides, we have a murder mystery to solve. There’s no time for birthday celebrations.”
“There’s always time to wish a friend happy birthday, though.” Harley smiled. “And, no, it’s not a surprise party.” He looked at his wristwatch and glanced down the hallway. “Maybe if we can get out of here soon and solve a mystery in a couple of hours, we can still have your birthday surprise.”
“What is the surprise?” Jennifer asked him with narrowed eyes as if trying to read his mind.
“I can’t tell you,” Harley told her. “Let’s get back to the mystery.” He looked at the phone in her hand. “Now that we have a bit more to go on, what you haven’t told me is what evidence you gave the police and where Angela is.”
“Okay, let’s start with Angela because it leads to the evidence,” Jennifer told him. “When I got to the Gains house last night, I couldn’t sleep. I went digging around for information on the family.”
“Why?” Harley asked.
“I don’t know.” Jennifer shrugged. “I guess I wanted to know more about the Wesleys and the Hanovers, as Wallis gives me the creeps. I thought he might have been the one who killed Clair, thinking it was Angela, and that Wallis was the bad man that Angela was afraid of.”
“I know. I thought that too,” Harley admitted. “Especially when he destroyed evidence.”
