I turned to glare at her.
“Don’t give me that look, Sarah,” she said. “I’m planning on having a slice of Aggie’s maple custard pie in a few minutes and I’m not planning on continuing this discussion while I’m eating it.”
I looked at the former bank manager. “I’m sorry,” I said. “Liz and Stella Hall are friends, which I’m hoping explains her bluntness.” I sent another frown in Liz’s direction. She didn’t look the slightest bit repentant.
He leaned over and gave me a conspiratorial wink. “It’s all right, Sarah,” he said. “I’ve known Liz for a long time. This isn’t the first time she’s been so . . . forthright about something.” He looked over at Liz. “I heard that Sarah and her staff were going to be clearing out Edison’s house. Since the wine Edison gave me turned out to be worthless, as far as I’m concerned our agreement is void. I was hoping I could find my train.”
Caulfield had been trying to do the same thing as Teresa had: take back what he believed belonged to him.
“What happened?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Nothing. When I got to the house Quinn was standing by the back door. I waited for a couple of minutes to see if he’d leave. When he didn’t, I realized I was on a fool’s errand and left myself.”
I picked up my cup mostly so I’d have something to do with my hands. First Teresa and now Channing Caulfield, not to mention Paul Duvall sneaking a cup of coffee behind his wife’s back; clearly none of these people had ever watched Wile E. Coyote cartoons or they’d know all that sneaking around wasn’t going to end well.
Liz waved our waiter over and ordered dessert. Caulfield and I both passed. “I see someone I need to speak to,” Liz said, getting to her feet. “I’ll be right back.”
Caulfield stood up as well.
“Sit down,” Liz said, waving a hand at him.
Caulfield watched her walk across the restaurant to a table by the front window before he resumed his seat. I recognized the person Liz had gone to speak to, Jane Evans, lawyer Josh Evans’s mother.
I exhaled slowly. “I’m sorry Liz was so blunt,” I said.
Caulfield pulled his eyes away from Liz and focused his attention on me. “She’s a complex woman,” he said. “I’ve wanted to get to know her better for years.” He set his napkin next to his plate. “What do you say, Sarah? Would you put in a good word for me?”
I laughed, hoping he wouldn’t be offended. “Did you not notice how much influence I don’t have with her?” I asked. There really wasn’t anything wrong with Channing Caulfield, I decided. He was just a little too slick. I had the urge to tell him to stop trying so hard, at least with Liz.
“Have you really been considering moving your business?” he asked.
I nodded. “Yes. I came to the conclusion it wasn’t a good idea, financially speaking, but it was good to have you confirm my choice. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” he said.
I leaned back in my chair. “I’m sorry you ended up with a worthless bottle of wine. For what it’s worth, the police are investigating the fraud.”
“From what I’ve been able to find out, they aren’t going to get very far without Mr. Quinn. This type of fraud was his area of expertise.”
“Maybe they’ll be able to figure out how Edison Hall was scammed in the first place. That could lead them to whoever faked the bottles.”
A look I couldn’t read flashed across his face. “I may have an idea how that happened,” Caulfield said slowly. “In fact, it may in part be my fault.”
I leaned forward, propping an elbow on the table. “I . . . don’t understand.” Was he confessing to some kind of fraud? I needed Liz.
Caulfield looked down at his coffee cup for a moment, then raised his eyes to meet mine. “About a year and a half ago I was asked to be part of a seminar on money management for seniors that was being sponsored by Legacy Place. I had a lot on my plate at the time and I turned down the invitation. They ended up bringing in someone from out of town.”
“And you think Edison was at that seminar?”
“I think it’s possible. I don’t know how they got our names, but everyone from the train club got an invitation, probably because we’re all over sixty-five.”
“And you think this out-of-town person was the one who defrauded Edison Hall?”
Caulfield wore a heavy gold signet ring on his right hand and he twisted it around his finger now. “No. But I think there may have been a plant in the audience.”
I was sure my confusion was written all over my face.
“Several people told me that there was a woman at the seminar, not anyone from North Harbor, who was talking about how she preferred to invest in something tangible instead of stocks and bonds.”
“You think she was connected to the scam in some way.”
He gave a slight shrug. “It’s occurred to me that it’s possible.”
Liz was on her way back to the table and I could see our waiter coming as well with her dessert.
“None of what happened is your fault,” I said. “But I do think you should share this information with the police.” I cocked my head to one side and smiled up at him, hoping I was convincing.
“I could be wrong,” he said.
“But you could be right,” I replied.
“Fine. I’ll talk to them.” He smiled at me.
Liz returned to the table just as the waiter reached us with her dessert. We talked in general terms about the plans for the harbor front while she ate her pie and I learned a lot about the project that I hadn’t known before. Caulfield pushed back the cuff off his pale blue shirt and checked his watch as Liz set her fork down.
“Liz, it’s been a pleasure, even with the murder accusation,” he said, getting to his feet. He turned to smile at me. “And, Sarah, I enjoyed meeting you. If I can help you with anything else, please call me.”
“I will. Thank you,” I said.
He leaned over and kissed Liz on the cheek. “If you decide to invest in the development, call me before you sign anything,” he said.
“Thank you for joining us,” she said.
He smiled and headed for the exit.
Liz looked around for our waiter. When she caught his eye she nodded. He nodded in return. The two of them seemed to have some kind of code.
“I do a fair amount of Emmerson Foundation business here,” Liz said by way of explanation when she caught me watching her. Once she’d paid for our meal, we walked out to the car. Liz fastened her seat belt and turned to look at me with a self-satisfied smile. “We make a good team,” she said.
I fastened my own seat belt and stuck the key in the ignition. “You could have been a little more diplomatic,” I said.
“What did you find out?” she asked.
“Why do you think I found out anything?”
She held up a finger. “Number one, I saw your heads together, so I know he told you something.” She held up a second finger. “Number two, I did a damn fine job of setting up your rapport.”
I turned to look at her. “Excuse me?” I said. “What do you mean, you set up our rapport?”
She smoothed a hand over her blond hair. “I was rude. You were appalled. You and Channing bonded. He confided in you. Stop stalling and tell me what he said.”
I pointed my index finger at her, stabbing the air with it. “You did that on purpose.”
She looked surprised. “Of course I did,” she said. “You mean you’re just figuring that out?”
“You could have told me what you were going to do,” I muttered as I pulled out of the parking lot.
“I’m sorry about that,” Liz said. “But I think it worked out better this way. So, what did he tell you?”
I repeated Channing Caulfield’s story about the money management seminar.
“He could be onto something,” Liz said.
“I had the same thought,” I said. I stopped at the corner and used the opportunity to look in her direction.