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“I did say that, didn’t I?” Theodosia thought for a moment. “And I suppose I still feel that way.”
“So?”
“So maybe we should go take a look-see?”
“Her shop’s probably locked up tighter than a drum,” Drayton said. “We’d for sure need a key.”
“Let me think about that,” Theodosia said.
During a slight lull, when Beth Ann seemed to have everything under control in the tea room, Theodosia slid into her office and called Delaine at Cotton Duck.
Delaine answered with a quick, “Hello?”
“Delaine,” Theodosia said, “do you by any chance have a key to Helene’s shop?”
“No, I don’t. But…hold on a minute, will you?”
Theodosia held as Delaine said (to what must have been a customer), “Honey, that pale peach paired with the burnt sienna is to die for. It brings out the highlights in your hair.”
“Delaine?” Theodosia said.
“Hmm?” There was more talking and faint music in the background.
“The key. Do you know where I can get one?”
Theodosia suddenly had Delaine’s full attention. “Theo, what are you up to?”
“I’m not sure. With Helene’s connection to her husband’s electrical company, maybe…I’m trying to clear her name?”
The background noise cranked up for a few moments, then Delaine said, “Theo, that would be wonderful. I’ll tell you what, let me give you Molly’s number. She’s the one you really need to talk to.”
“Okay, great,” Theodosia said. She dutifully scribbled down Molly’s phone number, then called her.
When Molly answered, Theodosia introduced herself again and said, “This is going to sound strange, but I’d like to pay a visit to your shop.”
There was a surprised noise from Molly and then she said, “Okay.” Followed by, “Why?”
“Call me crazy but I’m trying to solve a murder. Actually, two murders.”
“You really think you can do that?” Molly asked. “Because the police are…”
“Baffled. Yes, I realize they are. But I’m simply taking a shot in the dark here, not promising any actual results, I’m just…well, I guess I’ve mustered up a blend of curiosity and hopefulness, with a little righteous indignation thrown in for good measure.”
“And you’re working with the police on this?”
“Kind of,” Theodosia hedged. “But mostly as an interested party. An involved party.”
“Okay,” Molly said. “But please remember, I’m only a twenty percent partner in Sea Witch. Mostly it was Helene’s shop. I’m the one who was selling antique ceramics and locally made pots to a few collectors. You know, pots by Joy March and Tom Beamon and such. Helene, on the other hand, had a much larger inventory and tons of national and international clients.”
“Helene must have been quite a skillful businesswoman,” Theodosia said. As she was talking, she walked down the hall from her office and peeked into the main tea room.
“I had that feeling, yes, because Helene was always shipping marine artifacts to all sorts of customers,” Molly said. “Though now that I think about it, many of them were dealers. At least those were the names I saw on the waybills.” She fell silent for a few moments, then said, “You say you want to look around the shop. When would you do that?”
“Soon. Today if possible.”
“So you’ll need my key. If it’s super important I can drop it by your tea shop. I live over on Legare, maybe six or seven blocks from you.”
Theodosia glanced around, saw that most of her customers had been served and that Beth Ann wasn’t terribly busy. “No, that’s okay,” she said. “I’ll send someone over to pick it up. Just give me the address.”
