by Rose Pressey
I forced a smile on my face. “I’m here for breakfast.”
She gave me a funny look and said, “Well, I guess that’s nice.” She pulled out a chair and sat across from Cady.
Cady stared at Sandra and wrinkled her nose up. I could tell by the look that she didn’t like her.
Gail certainly had her hands full with these two. I stared at my plate wishing I’d never gotten into this awkward situation.
“Would you like syrup?” Gail gestured toward the container.
Apparently she hadn’t noticed the awkward silence between her guests. Did she know that these women were possible murder suspects? She had to know because it was the talk of town. The police had to have been by to talk with them on more than one occasion. I would have to get her alone later and ask what she’d heard. I wondered if either of the women had said anything to her about it. Had Gail talked to the police?
Sandra grabbed a napkin and stuffed it into the neck of her shirt. “Are you a guest here now?” she asked, staring at me.
I glanced at Gail. “No, I just ran into Gail and she invited me for breakfast.”
Cady eyed at me as she shoved the food into her mouth. I knew she was suspicious. I pushed the food around on my plate. Should I take this opportunity to ask about the investigation? I could act as if I didn’t suspect the women at all.
After taking a bite and swallowing, I said, “Have the police given you any updates on the investigation?”
The women froze with forks midair. Had they discussed this amongst themselves?
“I haven’t heard anything,” Cady said in a snippy voice.
“How long do you have to stay here?” I asked.
By the way that Cady glared at me I knew she didn’t appreciate my questions.
“I plan on leaving soon,” she said.
I wondered if Brannon knew this. I would have to tell him. Of course he probably wouldn’t appreciate the fact that I’d gotten involved.
Gail pushed to her feet. “Can I get you anything else?”
I placed my napkin on my mostly empty plate. “No, it was delicious. Thank you.” I grabbed the plate. “Let me help you.”
Sandra rushed over and took the plate from my hand. “No, I will help her.” Sandra followed Gail into the kitchen, leaving me alone once again with Cady.
Cady’s cell phone rang and she jumped to her feet as if she was being rescued from a burning building. I would love to hear what she was talking about. Possibly I could sneak into the hallway and listen in. As soon as she stepped out of the room, I eased over to the door. When I peeked out into the hallway, I didn’t see her.
Gail popped out from behind the kitchen door. “Would you like more coffee?”
I moved away from the dining room’s entrance, since it looked as if I was trying to escape. “No, I’m good. Thank you.” I would have to forget about listening in on the call.
Gail smiled at me. “I’ll be right back.”
Since I couldn’t see Cady anyway, I moved away from the door and back over to the window. I wasn’t doing much with this visit. I was just wasting my time. As I stood at the window looking out at the rose bushes, a hand wrapped around my shoulder. I jumped and almost fell backward when I spun around.
Sandra stared at me, almost not even blinking. “Oh, did I scare you?”
Since she was standing so close that I could smell the syrup on her breath, I moved back a couple steps. My body was now pressed against the window. How had I not heard her sneak up on me? She moved like a cat.
“Just a little.” I pinched my index finger and thumb together as an example of how much. Of course when I said a little I really meant she creeped me out to the extreme.
Sandra frowned. “I didn’t mean to scare you last night. I was just curious about the ghosts.”
“You said you see the ghosts. What do you see?” I asked.
She shrugged. “Just shadows following you. I thought it might be Hank.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Just a feeling, I guess.”
A feeling or wishful thinking? I still thought she was in denial about his death.
Without saying another word, Sandra bounced out of the room like her behavior was totally normal. I had to ask Gail about her. I’d just turned to look out at the roses again when Gail came back into the dining room.
“Thank you again for inviting me in,” I said. “Your roses are beautiful.”
Gail walked over and stood beside me. “They’re beautiful, but a lot of work.”
I turned to Gail and asked, “How long have Cady and Sandra been staying here?”
Gail blew the hair out of her eyes again. “It seems like forever and a day.”
I bit back a laugh. “Is something wrong?”
She blew out a deep breath. “It’s just that Sandra creeps up behind me. It’s unnerving and it makes me drop things.”
“She did the same thing to me just now,” I said.
“Cady is quiet. That’s a little unsettling too, but I don’t like the way Sandra sneaks up on me.” Gail untied her apron and took it off.
I stared at her for a second and then asked, “I have to ask, do you know why they’re staying here?”
Her expression turned serious. “Yes, I’m aware. Hank was staying here too… until, you know. But Sandra checked in after that. I need the money.”
I frowned. “I understand. I guess I’d better go. Thanks again for breakfast.”
“Don’t be a stranger,” Gail said.
As I turned to leave, I paused and said, “Would you mind if I take a look at the rest of the house before I go?”
A huge smile spread across her face. “I would love to show you, but I have a call to make. You’re welcome to show yourself around.”
Even better. This would give me a chance to snoop around and see if I could listen in to any phone calls.
“I don’t mind at all.” I waved and headed out of the dining room.
Chapter 19
This was my chance to go upstairs and take a look around. I was nervous, but I had to do it anyway. When I stepped out the door, I scanned the area for Cady or Sandra. I spotted Cady at the end of the hallway by the back door. Her back was facing me and I didn’t think she’d heard me. I walked backwards so that I could keep my eye on her. I glanced back a few times to make sure I didn’t bump into anything and break something of Gail’s. Thank goodness I reached the staircase without her noticing. I hoped that I didn’t run into Sandra and that Cady was on that call for a long time. I had to hurry. It would probably be the only opportunity I got to take a look around.
I tiptoed up the stairs. I wasn’t sure which one I least wanted to discover me, Cady or Sandra. Once at the top of the stairs, I had to figure out which one of the many bedrooms to go into first.
If Gail spotted me, I had an excuse for being up here. But if Sandra or Cady saw me I wasn’t sure what I’d say. Maybe I could tell them I was looking for the bathroom. I inched my way down the hallway. There were doors everywhere. I’d had no idea there would be so many bedrooms up here. The house was even bigger than it looked from the outside. Where would I begin to look?
When I peeked into the bedroom on the right, I saw the black purse that Cady had been carrying. I remembered it because it had a big white bow on one of the handles. This was the bedroom that I wanted to start with. Next I needed to find Sandra’s bedroom.
I paused with my hand on the doorknob and listened to see if anyone was coming. Since I didn’t hear anything, I decided to go for it. I needed to move quickly, which would be tough because I didn’t even know what I was looking for. I had to place Cady or Sandra with Hank at the time of his murder. That would be tough.
I looked over my shoulder. Apparently Cady was still downstairs. But I had no idea where Sandra was. Did I have the nerve to go into their rooms? My heart sped up as I stepped into the bedroom. The bed had been made with a pale pink comforter and everything in the room was tidy. The purse was o
n top of the bed. I glanced back again. Without any time to waste, I raced over to the bed. I unzipped her purse and peeked in. It felt creepy looking through her things. If she caught me, she would want to kill me. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
She had a wallet and some makeup. Nothing out of the ordinary about that. This was getting me nowhere. That was when I noticed the phone. That was weird. She was on her cell phone downstairs. Why did she have two phones?
I picked up the phone and immediately looked through the phone log. There was only one name on the list of calls and that was Hank. These calls went back for a couple weeks. Was this phone only for him? I noticed that the last call from him was about thirty minutes before I’d found him dead in the cemetery. That was something the police would like to know. Cady must have had a private line and a work number. That was certainly possible.
Next I checked the emails on the phone. There was a last email from Hank, which was sad. I glanced over my shoulder toward the door. My nerves were on an all-time high, but so far there was no sign of Cady coming up the steps. I had to hurry though because I didn’t want to deal with the confrontation if she happened to catch me.
I opened the link and scrolled down to the message. In the email Cady told Hank that she would meet him at the tour. Cady had said she hadn’t gone with Hank for the tour. It seemed like she had some explaining to do. I wondered what her excuse would be.
Quickly I looked through the other emails, but didn’t notice anything that had relevance to the murder. The browser on the phone had been cleared. I wondered if she was trying to hide something.
Even though I wanted to take the phone as evidence, I knew that I couldn’t. I tossed the phone back in the purse and scanned the room. Unfortunately, I didn’t see anything else. I checked the closet, but didn’t see anything other than clothing. It was time for me to get out of her room. She did have a planner on the nightstand, so I figured that it was worth a shot. I picked up the book and shuffled through the pages. I didn’t see anything that was worth noting.
A page slipped out of the planner. I picked up the paper from the floor. A sound came from the hallway and I paused. My heart rate increased. Was someone coming down the hall? I took a quick glance at the paper. It was an ad for a tea shop in town. It had just opened recently. I figured Cady had visited there while in town.
After a couple of seconds I didn’t hear anything else so I jammed the paper back in the book and placed it where I’d found it. I set the book down and hurried over to the door. I peeked my head out to make sure she wasn’t in the hall, or even worse waiting beside the door to surprise me. Thank goodness she wasn’t there. I didn’t see Sandra either.
I eased out into the hallway. While I was up there I needed to look around Sandra’s room. But which room was hers? There were seven other doors up there. That meant I would have to open each door until I found it. I guessed I should get started.
I hoped that I didn’t get caught now. I’d managed to get out of Cady’s room, now I was risking getting caught all over again.
I went to the nearest door and turned the knob. It was locked. That ruled out that room. I went to the next and the next and they were all closed.
I stepped to the next door and turned. The door opened, but I soon realized that it was only a closet. The next door I didn’t need to check because it was open and I’d already realized that it was the bathroom. I checked the last couple of doors and they were locked too. I hadn’t expected all the other doors to be locked. I supposed I’d gotten lucky that Cady had left her door open. I really wanted to check Sandra’s. I wondered if I could find the key to get the door unlocked. Unfortunately, there wasn’t time for that.
As I made it down the hallway, the sound of footsteps grew closer. I’d almost made it to the staircase when I spotted Cady. She paused when she saw me. I knew she was surprised to see me up here.
She looked me up and down. “Are you lost?”
I stared at her. I had just as much right to be up here as she did. “I was using the bathroom.”
She narrowed her eyes. “There’s a bathroom downstairs.”
“Oh, I guess I missed it. Well, it was nice seeing you again,” I said as I weaved around her.
That was a close one. I felt her stare on my back as I hurried down the stairs. After seeing the email, I was even more anxious. I couldn’t wait to tell Brannon about what I’d seen. I should have taken her phone with me. But I couldn’t risk that. And now that she’d seen me up here, she would have known that I was the one who took it. No, it was better that I hadn’t taken it. Though now I wouldn’t be able to prove what I’d seen.
I slipped out of the house without seeing Sandra or Gail again. Once I reached my car, I grabbed my phone and dialed Brannon’s number.
“Is everything okay?” he asked.
He probably wondered why I was calling him so early. I watched the sidewalk to see if either of the women had followed me out.
“I found something that might be relevant to the case,” I said, staring at the house.
“Really?” he asked with interest. “What is it?”
“I found a phone that Cady had in her purse. There was an email from Hank that she answered and said she would meet him at the graveyard.” I rushed out the words without taking a breath.
“Whoa. What are you doing with her purse?” he asked.
“I don’t have her purse. I was just looking through it.”
“Rip, I’m not sure that is such a good idea. Where are you now?”
“At the bed-and-breakfast,” I answered.
He paused and then said, “Maybe I don’t want to know the answer to this, but I’ll ask anyway. Why are you there?”
“I just thought I’d stop by and see Gail,” I said.
“You saw her last night. I don’t think I want you there alone.”
“I made it out alive.” I chuckled.
He failed to see the humor. “So you didn’t tell me why you are looking at her purse.”
“Well, I had to find some kind of clue. So yes, I was snooping around.”
“Was Cady or Sandra there?”
“Yes, they were downstairs,” I said.
“You could have been caught.”
“Yes, I could have been, but I wasn’t.” I chuckled again, trying to lighten the mood.
It wasn’t working. Brannon seemed upset with me.
“Without the phone, I don’t think we can prove anything. We can’t find his phone. The killer must have gotten rid of it.”
This would be a stumbling block. Could I find the phone? Did Cady or Sandra have it? To find out would mean going back in there. I would have to come up with a really good excuse to get in there.
Chapter 20
Tammy met me at the diner for a late dinner. She didn’t have to work at the salon tonight, so we decided to use this chance to catch up. Normally, I preferred to eat dinner at home with a good book or while watching HGTV, but sometimes it was nice to let someone else do the cooking.
As I approached Mammy’s Cafe, I spotted Tammy standing out front. So far, she hadn’t noticed me. Tammy had changed clothing since work. Now she wore her favorite jeans and a cream-colored turtleneck sweater.
“Hey, good-looking,” I called out.
She glanced over at me and laughed. “I thought someone was seriously trying to flirt with me. Too bad.”
“Sorry to burst your bubble.”
Tammy opened the diner’s door and I stepped inside. “Thanks.”
Surprisingly, there weren’t a lot of people there. It was getting late and I supposed most people had already eaten dinner. The dark-haired waitress glanced up and waved, signaling we could sit wherever we wanted. Country music played in the background, but the chatter from diners drowned out most of the song. The smell of grease and coffee lingered in the air.
Tammy knew my favorite booth, so she gestured over to it. We hurried over and snagged the booth. I wasn’t sure why because it wasn’t as if a
nyone would snatch it from us. We slid into the booth and grabbed the menus stuck between the napkin dispenser and sugar container. Usually I ordered the same thing—turkey sandwich, hold the mayo—but tonight I wanted a change.
This booth offered a perfect view of the street outside. I needed to see the sidewalk and across the street just in case Sandra or one of the shadows decided to pop in. I’d know before Sandra had a chance to surprise me.
Before I had a chance to even think about ordering, Tammy asked about Brannon. “Is his ex-wife still in town?”
“I haven’t seen Darlene since that night. Brannon hasn’t mentioned it.” I focused my attention across the diner, hoping Tammy would sense that I didn’t want to talk about Brannon’s ex any more.
When I looked over near the register, I spotted someone I recognized. Hank’s ex-wife was sitting on a stool at the counter. I’d remember her anywhere after that ordeal at the library. Even without the fiasco with Hank, I would have remembered her. She was memorable with her long blonde hair that reached below her waist and long legs.
I motioned for Tammy to take a look. “That’s Hank’s ex-wife.”
Tammy turned around in the booth. “Where?”
“The woman in the denim jacket and multicolored scarf sitting at the counter. There’s just something familiar about her.”
“Other than the fact that she’s Hank’s ex-wife? Other than the fact that she caused a big scene at the library?” Tammy asked.
“Yes, other than all of that. It’s like there’s something about her that I’ve seen before… only I have seen her before, so that can’t be it.” I shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s a strange feeling.”
“It’s probably just everything strange that’s been going on,” Tammy said.
“You’re probably right.”
The waitress came over and we placed our orders. It was difficult to find something healthy on the menu. I ordered grilled chicken with a salad.
“You should have gotten the burger.” Tammy laughed.
“I should have, but I’ll be good this time.” I couldn’t stop watching Melissa. “I can’t tell if she’s already eaten or if she’s getting ready to leave,” I whispered, as if she’d overhear me.