“We have other problems,” said Josie. “Greta told me something very disturbing.”
“That sounds like her,” said Lawrence. “What was it?”
Josie glanced at Blake, not knowing what to say.
“We might as well tell him,” said Dora. “Especially since I’m not sure any of us are getting out of here alive.” She turned to Blake. “Josie and David are time travelers who live in the Twenty-First Century, which sounds more fascinating than it is, apparently, given there are no flying cars.” She turned to Josie. “How long did it take for a woman to be elected President?”
Josie looked at her friend. “That is a sore subject, and we don’t have time for that now.”
“Well, that doesn’t sound good.” Dora continued explaining for Blake’s sake. “We met Josie seven years ago when she accidentally travelled back in time to a house party, then David followed her back home. I know it sounds ludicrous, but just take our word for it.”
Blake didn’t say anything for a long moment, then laughed. “You have a great imagination, but I’m not sure why you’re telling me this in the middle of a crisis.” Then he looked at everyone, who was looking at him. “This is a joke, right?”
“Do you think I do a lot of joking?” asked Grant. “I know it sounds nuts, but it happened. I was there. They came back to fix something which got screwed up the first time around, and now people are dying around them once again. So, Josie, what’s your disturbing news?”
“Greta knows about the time travel. Right before she left for her walk, she called David the Tycoon Murderer.”
“How is that possible?” asked Dora. “She shouldn’t know about that.”
“Who’s the Tycoon Murderer?” asked Blake.
Josie sighed. “In the original timeline, the murders at David’s house party were unsolved and he disappeared. He became a suspect and they started calling him the Tycoon Murderer. But we changed history, so Greta wouldn’t have known that unless...”
“Unless she’s a time traveler,” said David. “But she’s Goebbels’s niece. How can she be from the future?”
“Maybe she’s from this era, but knows how to get to the future,” said Josie. “After all, the Germans have a lot of scientists, and good ones at that. Our time travel device was made by an amateur inventor in the late 19th Century. It’s not hard to believe the Nazis could come up with their own, which is frightening beyond belief.”
“I still can’t believe this,” said Blake.
“Trust me when I say it’s now a huge problem,” said Josie.
They were interrupted by Ralph Harris opening the door to their room. He was soaking wet. “You’re going to want to see this.”
They followed Harris outside, where the storm was still raging. It was almost midday, but the visibility was like night. They walked against the wind, up the hill, only to find the bridge between the two hills was gone. It was still attached on the far side but was completely severed from its moorings on the near one.
“Down there!” yelled Harris, against the howling wind.
Everyone carefully approached the edge of the mountain and looked down. There, fifty feet below, was Greta, face down in the rain, dead.
“Look at this,” said Grant, who was crouching at the point where the bridge used to be attached. “Someone cut this almost all the way through. It must’ve been hanging by a thread when she went out there.”
“Who did it?” asked Blake.
“Who knows?” said Grant.
They all stared at the body far below for a moment. Then Lawrence said, “There’s good news and bad news. The good news is this isn’t the highest death toll of a house party I’ve attended.”
“And the bad news?” asked Dora.
“The party isn’t over yet.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
An hour later, Grant had assembled the remaining guests in the sitting room. Frau Zimmer seemed completely unaffected by the news of Greta’s death, though she’d bristled when Grant had asked if coffee might be served since half the people there had been out in the rain.
Ralph Harris was shaken by Greta’s death, and chose a glass and a half of brandy instead of coffee to warm up. Finn O’Donnell was in a better mood than at breakfast, though he kept a wary distance from David.
Blake was holding Dora’s hand, though he looked shaken by Greta’s death and more than a little confused by the discovery of time travel. Detective Carson was still missing, but Kurt had recovered enough to join everyone.
“Greta’s dead?” he said for perhaps the tenth time. “I just saw her earlier. She brought me something to eat.”
“I’m sorry, Kurt,” said Lawrence from beside him. “I know you cared for her.”
“She’s really dead?”
“Yes. We couldn’t retrieve her body because it’s too dangerous, but she’s at the bottom of the ravine.”
“What I’d like to know,” said Blake, “is who cut the moorings to the bridge.”
“Yes,” said Grant. “That’s of interest to me, as well. How’d you happen to discover the body, Harris? I can’t imagine going outside in that storm.”
“I wanted to stretch my legs.”
“You could’ve done that inside. The house is certainly big enough for a long walk.”
“You don’t think I had anything to do with it?” Harris asked. “I just happened to walk by and saw the bridge was gone. I looked down and there she was.”
“Dead,” said Kurt.
Lawrence patted him on the back. “Yes, Kurt,” he said gently. “We’ve established that.”
“I had no reason to kill Greta,” said Harris. “It’s obviously Carson. He’s the one who killed Herr Zimmer, after all.”
“You don’t know that,” said Lawrence. “Anyone could’ve gone out last night and cut through that mooring just enough so it’d give way when Greta stepped onto it. That includes you, O’Donnell. Someone shot at you the other day and I personally think Greta did it. What was going on between you two?”
“Nothing,” said O’Donnell with belligerence. “And I don’t have to answer questions from the likes of you.”
“But you do have to answer them from me,” said Grant. “What was going on between you and Greta? David told me all about your plans to distribute drugs in America, and believe me when I say you have quite a few conversations with the FBI ahead of you. Did Greta object to your plans? Or were you in on it together?”
O’Donnell smirked. “You can’t prove anything.”
Grant raised a brow. “You mean other than the fact I’ll have sworn testimony and the vial of cocaine you gave my friend? I’d say that’s some pretty convincing evidence. Was Greta in on it with you?”
O’Donnell lost some of his bluster. “Believe me when I say she’s the last person I’d ever go into business with.”
“Then who is your partner?” asked Josie.
O’Donnell looked like he was going to speak, but then shook his head. “I’m not telling you anything. I didn’t kill Greta, but I’m glad she’s dead.”
“What about you, Frau Zimmer?” asked Grant. “Your room is in a separate wing from everyone else’s, and you could’ve easily found your way to the bridge in the middle of the night. You also have access to all the tools on the estate.”
“You think I killed her because you believe all Nazis are evil.”
“I believe you may have killed her because you had the means and opportunity. I didn’t know you were a Nazi until you told us, but that certainly doesn’t make you seem any less guilty.”
“You think I would kill Herr Goebbels’s niece?”
“She has a point,” said Blake.
“Greta’s dead,” said Kurt, as if it had just occurred to him.
“Yes, Kurt!” said Josie. “Greta’s still dead.”
Lawrence patted Kurt’s back once again, then said, “Shhhhh.”
“No,” said Kurt. “I just realized something. Greta gave me something to share with the r
est of you in case she died. At the time, I thought it was a bit…”
“Macabre?” asked Dora.
“I don’t know what that means,” said Kurt.
“Dark, creepy, death-like.”
“Oh, then no. I thought it was romantic. I had just given her flowers, and she gave me the death box, so I just thought it was what Germans did instead of saying thank you.”
“They say danke, instead of thank you,” said Ralph.
“Is that what that means?” asked Kurt. He didn’t continue until everyone nodded. “Wow! That makes more sense now. Anyway, should I go get the box?”
“Yes, Kurt,” said Grant. “Go get the box.”
As Kurt left the room, the other guests stared at each other uneasily, until Frau Zimmer broke the silence. “I should see about lunch.” She rose from her seat.
“Not now,” said Grant. “We’re all going to remain here until Kurt comes back.”
There was more uneasy silence. Blake leaned over to Dora. “You’re going to turn this into a movie, aren’t you?”
“Of course, I am.”
There was more awkward silence, as the storm raged outside. Then the lights flickered and went out, plunging them into darkness.
“What just happened?” asked Finn O’Donnell.
“The lights went out,” said Lawrence dryly. “What did you think just happened?”
“I know that!” snapped O’Donnell. “How did it happen?”
“There’s a storm on,” said Frau Zimmer. “I’ll go get some candles.”
“I think everyone should stay here,” said David.
“I’m going to go check on Kurt,” said Barker, “but the rest of you should stay where you are.”
He got up in the dark to find Kurt, then they heard a small crash and a big curse word. “Boy, that hurt,” said Grant, as he continued walking to the door and then out into the hall.
“I don’t care what anyone says,” said Frau Zimmer. “I’m getting candles.”
“Not alone,” said David.
“I’ll go with her,” said Blake.
“Be careful,” said Dora, as she squeezed his hand.
Once they’d left, O’Donnell spoke up. “I’m not staying here a minute longer. I’m going upstairs and locking myself in my room.”
“That’s a good idea,” said Harris. “I’ll walk upstairs with you.”
“I don’t think you should do that,” said Josie.
“Try and stop us,” said O’Donnell. “Thanks to your husband, I’m in trouble with the feds. Don’t think I won’t hesitate to rough either of you up if you try to stop me.”
David started to rise at the threat, but Josie pulled him down beside her. “He’s not worth it,” she said.
“But it’d feel so good to punch that guy.”
“Getting to the truth will feel even better.”
* * *
Grant slowly walked upstairs in the total darkness, his shin aching from running into a coffee table, his senses heightened as he willed his eyes to adjust. He’d just reached the first landing when he sensed movement out of the corner of his eye. He stilled, then turned in that direction. Someone was halfway down the hall, staring out the window. There was just enough light for him to make out who it was.
“Kurt,” said Grant, as he approached him. “What are you doing?”
“Thinking about Greta.”
“I’m sorry. I know you liked her.”
“I’d never met anyone who liked me for my mind before,” said Kurt.
“I can imagine that might be true,” said Grant carefully.
“I mean, she liked the way I look in a tux, and we wound up in a lot of magazines together. But we used to talk a lot and I made her laugh.”
“Greta laughed?”
“Yes. Do you think she was really a Nazi?”
“Yes, Kurt. I think she was really a Nazi.”
“The next time I go out with a girl, I’m going to ask if she’s a Nazi.”
“That sounds like a good plan.”
“Even if she’s really pretty.”
“I’m glad to hear it. Do you think we can go and get that box now?”
At that moment, there was a flash of lightning, which lasted just long enough to illuminate a shadowy figure in the courtyard below.
“Who was that?” asked Kurt.
“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out. Get the box and meet me back downstairs.”
As Grant ran off, Kurt slowly made his way up another flight of stairs in the dark. When he reached his floor, he walked down the hall, lost in thought. He opened the door to his room to find it in disarray. Then he was hit on the head and fell to the floor.
CHAPTER THIRTY
“Kurt,” said Josie, as she gently shook her friend on the floor of his room. “Wake up. Kurt, can you hear us?”
“Here, let me,” said Dora, who took Josie’s place. Lawrence, Blake, and David stood behind them holding candles.
“Slap him,” said Lawrence.
“I can’t slap Kurt,” said Dora, as she shook him gently.
Lawrence looked at his best friend. “Remember how he accidentally gave away the surprise ending of your movie in a fan interview?”
Dora slapped Kurt.
That did the trick, as Kurt slowly woke up. “What’s going on?” he asked, as he tried to focus on the people around him. “Why does my head hurt? Why does my brain feel scrambled?”
Dora helped him sit up. “When you didn’t return we came looking for you. Your head hurts because someone knocked you out. As for your brain being scrambled, is it more scrambled than usual or just the same amount?”
“It’s hard to say.”
“Then probably just the same amount,” said Lawrence.
“Kurt,” said Josie. “Where was the box that Greta gave you?”
He pointed to the desk, where each of the drawers had been thrown on the floor.
“I assume it’s no longer there,” said David.
They were interrupted by a groan from Grant, down the hall. “You’ve gotta be kidding me!”
Josie and the others went out to the hall to see a faint light coming from Finn O’Donnell’s room. They found Grant inside, looking down at Finn O’Donnell on the bed. Kennedy’s private secretary was dead, with a needle in his arm.
* * *
An hour later Josie and her friends were once again in the room she shared with David. Ralph Harris had locked himself in his suite, and Frau Zimmer had insisted on being left alone in her apartment.
“I’ll say this,” said Grant, as he paced the room. “The list of suspects is getting shorter.”
“It has to be Frau Zimmer,” said David. “She would’ve been able to slice through the bridge, regardless of her professed devotion to Greta’s uncle. She had the skills and motive to kill her husband, and if O’Donnell’s overdose wasn’t an accident, she easily could’ve given him a fatal dose of whatever killed him. There’s no strength required for that.”
Blake took a sip of wine, after having brought three bottles upstairs with him. “She might’ve killed Greta or her husband, but I was with Frau Zimmer from the time we left the sitting room until Grant alerted us to O’Donnell’s death. She couldn’t have killed O’Donnell or stolen the box out of Kurt’s room.”
“Then that just leaves Ralph Harris,” said Dora. “And I’m not all that broken up about it. He’s the one who discovered Greta had been killed and no one saw him once the lights went out. He might be the partner that O’Donnell referred to, not to mention he has a German passport.”
“He was pretty adamant in his denial,” said Grant.
“And you believe him?”
“Well, it wouldn’t be the first time someone lied to me about his guilt, but he did seem convincing. I think it’s Carson.”
“Why do you say that?” asked Lawrence.
“I saw someone outside but couldn’t find anyone when I went out there. No one else in the house was wet and no one co
uld’ve dried off that quickly. Somebody was out there, and it has to be him.” Grant turned to Kurt. “Can you remember anything about that box Greta left for you?”
Kurt shook his head. “If I have to be honest, I didn’t understand a lot of what Greta told me and there were times I just wasn’t listening. But there was one word I saw. It doesn’t make sense, but it was ‘stern.’ Like someone’s mad.”
“Or like a boat,” said Blake. “Stern, aft, port, starboard. They’re nautical terms.” Off Dora’s curious look, he added, “I once played a sailor in a movie.”
“You think this has something to do with a ship?” asked Grant. “That doesn’t make sense.”
“Los Angeles is a coastal city,” said David. “Maybe she was watching the port.”
“But what would that have to do with her death?” asked Grant.
“Well, for one thing, I don’t think she’s really dead,” said Josie. “Think about it. She’s an expert climber and outdoorswoman, and she walked that bridge many times. She would’ve known something wasn’t right the moment she stepped onto it. She knows this house and was trained by the S.S. Plus, one of the last things she said to me was that things aren’t always as they appear. I think Greta is alive and plans to pick us off one by one.”
“Then who’s at the bottom of the ravine?” asked Grant.
“If I had to guess, it’s Renate, Finn O’Donnell’s friend. If not her, I’m sure there are any number of similar blondes at the German American League whom Greta could’ve killed to take her place. It makes sense. Why bring a box here and tell Kurt to open it in case of her death? She wanted to implicate someone.”
“Or she really was afraid for her life,” said Grant. “What do you think, Kurt?”
“About what?”
“About what we’ve been talking about.”
“Sorry, my mind was elsewhere. So, this means Greta’s not dead?”
“We don’t know yet,” said Lawrence.
Grant rubbed his forehead. “The only thing we know for certain is that there’s a murderer on the loose. I think everyone should lock themselves in their rooms until morning.”
The Tinseltown Murderer Page 21