His denial worked on me. He was definitely a handsome one, and I’ll admit it—that always helped. At least in the short run.
“So what’s missing?” I asked, looking from one to the other. “What do you suspect her to have stolen?”
“My father’s very valuable coin collection. He’s had it since he was a kid. It’s worth thousands.”
“All of it’s gone?”
“Oh no. But some of the most valuable items are. In particular, a series of rare Roman gold pieces. They seem to be disappearing one by one. As if the thief thought we wouldn’t notice if they disappeared gradually.” She rolled her eyes. “And now, having met Marilyn, you can see that she’s just dumb enough to think that.”
“And then there’s Deb’s jewelry,” Batman chimed in. “She had some diamond earrings her grandmother left her. They’re gone, too.”
“Oh no.”
“Yes. That’s the one that breaks my heart. I mean, the earrings are worth a lot, but the sentimental value is even higher. You know what I mean?”
“Oh, sure.” I shook my head. Bells jangled and I stopped that immediately. “Uh…I’m still not sure what you want me to do,” I said, glancing around for an escape.
“Listen.” They pulled me even further from the crowd and leaned close. “We set up a trap. I have a diamond necklace I keep at the bank in a safety deposit box. I brought it home and flaunted it around and then made a big deal out of how I wasn’t going to wear it tonight because it doesn’t go with my batgirl costume. It’s in my jewelry box on my dressing table in my room. I set up a security camera to record anyone who goes close. But that doesn’t always work. Someone disabled the camera in the room where my father keeps his coin collection. So I was hoping you would take a few trips up there to my room and keep an eye on things. We’d love to have someone who knows what she’s doing to sort of oversee things and give us ideas of what else we can do.”
“Oh.” As opposed to having a good time at the party? Hmmm.
“But we want you to have fun,” Batman interjected, just as though he’d read my mind. “So we’ll take turns at different positions. Okay?”
I sighed softly. Why not? I’d always liked Deb and I liked a good mystery even better.
“Okay,” I said, “but I’m not promising anything. I’m not really an investigator you know.”
“Good.” Deb grabbed my hand. “Come on. I’ll show you my room.”
I knew where it was but I didn’t point that out. When I’d attended an art show luncheon there a few months before, I’d been drawn to the bedroom area, so I pretty much knew the layout. Still, it was interesting to go up the wide stairway and into the sitting room that served as the hub for the three bedrooms. Everything had been renovated since I’d seen them last and the rooms sparkled with fresh paint and wall coverings.
I glanced into the bedroom where I’d spent most of my time during that last adventure. It had a bright, welcoming look now and I didn’t get any ghostly vibes at all. I sighed with relief, realizing I’d been tensing up before looking in.
Debbie was chattering away as though we were old friends—and I guess we were in a way. After all, we’d been through a couple of murder investigations. That tended to create bonds, I suppose.
She checked her jewelry box, then pulled out the diamonds to show me. The beautiful gems caught the light and sent rainbows of fire splashing around the room, almost making me dizzy. Wow. There really is something special about diamonds.
“Where did you get this?” I asked, touching the necklace gently, feeling awestruck.
“My grandmother on my mother’s side,” she said. “Grandma Deborah. I was named after her. She left all her jewelry to me. I was her favorite.” She laughed. “Of course.”
“Nice.”
She put it back in her box and turned the key.
I sighed. I’d never had jewelry envy before, but I had a touch of it now. I was pretty sure it would be a long time before I would touch something that beautiful again.
We started back down and met three young women coming up toward us.
“Oh good,” Deb said. “I wanted to make sure you met my friends. This is Pam, this is Katers, and this is Sonja. They all went to the same boarding school I attended. We’ve been lifelong pals to this very day.”
They all talked at once, reaching out to shake my hand in turn, and I managed to attach names to faces pretty easily. Pam was slim and pretty with dark almond eyes and shiny black hair, evidence of an Asian influence in her background. Katers was cute and plump with spiky hair that had been dyed a golden color at the tips. Sonja was blond and looked taller than she actually was due to the almost military bearing she had, head held high, and something imperious in her attitude. A Viking to the core.
“Glad to meet you all,” I said. “I can just imagine that the four of you created havoc at your school, didn’t you?”
They laughed and denied it, but I could tell that they all three adored Deb, and that she returned the emotion.
“We’re just like sisters,” Katers gushed. “We’ve known each other for so long.”
“Where are your costumes, girls?” Deb demanded, noting that the three of them looked a little too normal for a Halloween party.
“We’re just on our way up to get dressed now,” Sonja said. “You just wait. We’ll surprise you.”
They went on up the stairs and we made our way down.
“Are they staying here with you?” I asked.
“Always,” Deb said. “Every Christmas, every Thanksgiving, every Spring Break when we were in school together, they came home with me. You see, they were what we called scholarship girls, and they usually didn’t have anywhere else to go. At least, no where they could afford to go home to for the short holidays.”
“So you took them in.”
“I did.” She giggled. “And we always had such fun together. I was glad they could come for the Halloween party. It had been awhile since we’d all gotten together.”
“I take it they don’t live in Destiny Bay?”
“Oh no. Pam and Katers are still in college up north. Sonja has a job down in L.A. But she gets up here to stay with us about once a month.”
We arrived at the second floor and she led me to the viewing bay which gave a great panorama of the party going on below. She pointed out her father and his lady again.
“She’s still there,” she noted, nodding toward the dais. “I just want to be sure someone notices if she takes off on her own for any reason. I’ll be covering the kitchen area. Wayne will watch the front. And you…” She shrugged. “I’m hoping you’ll be able to catch anything else she might be up to. Okay?”
I nodded. It sounded easy enough.
“I’ll try to stay where you can find me if you need me, but if for any reason I’m not findable, go to the butler’s pantry. You know where that is? Just off the kitchen. The butler will know where I am. We stay in touch with our cell phones during parties. He’s a good guy and he’ll help you if you need anything.”
The butler with the vampire teeth and the provocative grin? Interesting that he was a favorite of hers.
“How about you?” she asked. “Do you have your cell on you?” She glanced at me, up and down, and it was pretty evident there was nowhere to keep anything that big.
“Nope. Bebe’s got my cell in her pocket.”
“Oh well. We ought to be okay without that.”
We parted ways and I decided to take a little exploratory trip around the perimeters of the party, just to be sure I still had the lay of the land.
It was a beautiful house—mansion, really, with its multiple bedroom suites and a gathering room on every one of its four floors. I took a quick trip down a few hallways and came out just below the bedrooms I’d visited with Debbie.
And who should come sauntering down the hall toward me but Jill’s sweetheart, Jagger.
Jagger was an artist, and a good one. He was a member of the artists’ group that Cranst
on Hart sponsored and the reason I knew the Harts at all. Jagger I knew because Jill was crazy about him. I’m more cynical and wary than my good buddy is—I was still waiting to be convinced of all the man’s wonderful qualities.
I had to admit he was good looking. That could not be denied. And as part of Carlton’s art organization he did quite well financially. With sales, I mean. It seemed to be a symbiotic relationship. Carlton got to be buddies with real artists--Jagger got to sell to rich people Carlton knew. They both benefitted.
The one-name-thing I don’t even want to go into. Jagger. I mean, really! I was pretty sure it was totally made up. His real name was probably Bob Smith. But Jagger was a better name for branding his art I suppose. Still, it did point out a certain flare for the dramatic—not to mention the ridiculous.
“Jagger,” I said when he came close enough. “What are you doing up here?”
“Hey Mele.” His smile looked a bit uncertain, but he shook back his fine head of dark curls and looked romantic, just like an artist should. “I…uh…you know I’ve been here all afternoon, helping to prepare for the party.”
I did know that. Jill had told me.
“Except for the time you so generously took to drop by the drama department at the college to pick up our costumes for tonight,” I said rather coolly. “I haven’t thanked you yet for doing that.”
“Oh, you don’t have to thank me.”
I coughed. “You might notice I haven’t.”
His gaze sharpened. “Ah. You have a complaint?”
I spread out my arms and turned slowly before him. “What do you think?”
He grinned, completely confident now. “I think you look great, babe. Like a real harem girl.”
I glared at him. “Yes, and that’s exactly why I’m a little bummed by this awful costume!”
He looked shocked. “Why? It looks sexy as hell on you. How does Jill like hers?”
“You’ll have to ask her that. She’ll tell you, I’m sure. In the meantime, the line of men waiting to dance with her is growing around the block.”
He looked startled. “Hey, I’d better get out there,” he said, starting toward the stairs. “Gotta defend my position as Jill’s numero uno. See ya’.”
And he was off before I could ask him what he’d been doing all this time. Hmmm. We expected a jewelry heist so all party goers were suspect until proven totally innocent. At least that was the way I was going to be looking at it. Even Jagger would have to answer a few questions before this night was over. He was, after all, a friend of the family and spent a lot of time here. Who could have better access than that?
I found another viewing station on the third floor and leaned out and watched the party, searching out the people I was keeping an eye on. There was Jagger, approaching Jill and pulling her away from all her many admirers. Over by the dais, I saw Carlton and his lady doing a sweet little dance to the music, and then a dip, and then a quick kiss. It was adorable. Almost made me like them again. Almost. Looking straight down I saw Bebe with the captain, locked in a warm embrace, then my gaze fell on Ginny Genera.
She seemed to be dressed in some sort of silver outfit. Mercury with wings on her feet? That would be appropriate. She spent most of her time training for marathons. She was wandering between groups with her brother, also in silver, following her. I would have to remember to find her later and say “hi”.
Then I saw Debbie’s boyfriend Wayne. He did make a good Batman. I expected to see his gaze locked on Carlton and Marilyn Greer, but he seemed to be moving, wandering aimlessly, then furtively, and suddenly he made a quick turn, put something into a woman’s pocket and disappeared from sight.
So much for his share of the surveillance committee we were all supposed to be a part of. I frowned, wondering what he was up to. The woman he’d brushed past was beautiful, dressed as a fairy with gossamer wings. As I watched, she slipped down the same walkway Wayne had taken, going toward the same place he’d turned into.
A secret rendezvous? It sure looked like it. I said some mean things under my breath to Wayne. Called him a few names. If there was one thing I hated, it was when someone I liked got betrayed by someone they held intense feelings for. It just hurt so much. That was something I knew about first hand. I was ready to cream him.
I scanned the room for Debbie and there she was, strategically placed near the kitchen, just as she’d said she would be. At least she was trustworthy—or so it seemed.
I looked back at Carlton and Marilyn. They were laughing into each other’s faces, having a swell old time. They looked like they would be busy for awhile and I wanted to go see what Wayne was doing—and why he wasn’t at his post.
I jogged down one set of stairs and turned to take the ones to the dance floor, and suddenly a man stepped out in front of me with an evil grin.
Chapter Three
I gasped and stepped back, then realized it was just the butler. He wasn’t all that tall, but he had a sense of presence to him that made him seem large and strong and just a bit scary. He looked very slick in his tails, with a long silver chain coming out of one pocket, then back into another that must have held his wallet or his keys or something. I gulped and put my hand over my heart, ready to complain about the way he’d practically pounced on me, but before I could get a word out, he was taking over.
“Shall we dance?” he demanded, taking me into his arms with a flourish and beginning that very maneuver.
“No,” I protested, but it didn’t make a dent in his overarching self-confidence.
“Why not?” he said, sublimely unaware of logic and appropriate actions.
“Because you’re supposed to be a butler,” I said with a scowl as we began to whirl down the hallway.
“Butlers are people too,” he said airily, twirling me and pulling me back again. “If you cut us, do we not bleed?”
“Hard to tell,” I muttered. “After all, you are a vampire butler. Do they have real blood, or just suck other people’s?”
“Blood is the river of life,” he said, somewhat obscurely.
“Oh,” I responded. “So it’s true what they say. The butler is always the guilty one.”
His head reared back. “Guilty of what?”
“I don’t know. I’m sure we can find a crime around here somewhere.”
He smiled. I recoiled.
“Excuse me. You have blood on your teeth.”
He gave me an even more gruesome smile and then widened his eyes menacingly. “Of course. That belongs to the last harem girl I abducted.”
“You’re not going to abduct me,” I warned.
“Oh yeah?”
He actually pulled me closer and began to snuggle against my neck. Either his hair or his breath had a scent that seemed to overwhelm me for a second or two. It wasn’t unpleasant. Something fresh and fruity. Maybe lemon. But it emphasized the fact that he was getting much too familiar. I cried, “Hey,” and jerked away hard enough to get loose.
“Ah, don’t go,” he said, looking rather sad.
I scowled again, rubbing my neck with the flat of my hand. “You’re a butler,” I reminded him. “Act like one.” I was backing away rapidly by now. “Don’t you watch Downton Abbey?” I said. “Carson would never approve of this.”
He shrugged, then dropped his shoulders, looking so forlorn I was almost tempted to say I was sorry. But I knew that would only make things worse, so I hurried away, muttering under my breath and cursing all pushy men who think that women should be receptive to advances that included bear hugs and biting.
For the first time that evening, I began to wonder where Roy was. He was an on-again, off-again boyfriend. I wished I knew what it would take to make him a little more permanent. You see, the trouble was, I’d had plenty of rejection in my life, from my earliest years. I didn’t need anymore. Someone who was prepared to be steady and true to me was what I needed. Unfortunately, Roy didn’t seem to be that man.
It made me pull my breath in sharply to think
that. I didn’t like the thought at all. Roy was a good guy. Probably one of the best I’d ever known. And to think that we couldn’t find some way to have a relationship was painful. Really painful. What was it that held us back? I knew I was going to have to sit down and really try to puzzle that out at some point—but not tonight. I had work to do. Best to push it aside one more time and leave it for later.
I hit the floor of the ballroom and headed for the hallway where I’d seen Wayne disappear. Just before I got there, the man himself came out, straightening his shirt as though he’d just been through something of a rough and tumble nature. The fairy came out behind him and they both pretended not to know each other. My stomach twisted with a feeling of disgust and I looked around for Debbie.
But before I found her, something else caught my eye. The most stunning costume of the night by far was entering the ballroom from a doorway across the space from where I was standing. Just a quick glimpse of it stopped me in my tracks and left me staring open mouthed. And I wasn’t the only one. Everyone who saw it turned and backed away, leaving a path for the newcomer.
“Amazing,” I said aloud.
“Absolutely,” said a voice behind me, and I turned to find Deb’s friend Sonja, the Viking one, right there. Her voice held a note of awe. “Out of this world,” she agreed, shaking her head.
I looked back at the woman gliding across the floor on tiny silver sandals with 2 inch heels. Her costume was basically a bright green body stocking with a pattern and set with huge peacock feathers and jewels—fake of course, but gorgeous and sparkling none the less. Even her head and her face were covered tightly by the stocking, giving her an appearance of being totally covered with swirling tattoos and not much in the way of clothing. And just to add to the mystery and startling quality, a huge boa constrictor was wrapped around her torso, somehow mechanically moving its head so that it looked very real, very alive—very dangerous. The entire picture presented was that of a semi-naked woman covered head to foot with tattoos and peacock feathers being strangled by a huge snake. I’d never seen anything like it.
Mele's Ghostly Halloween Caper: Plus Sami's Story by J.D. Winters and Dakota Kahn (Destiny Bay Cozies Mysteries Book 6) Page 2