Mele's Ghostly Halloween Caper: Plus Sami's Story by J.D. Winters and Dakota Kahn (Destiny Bay Cozies Mysteries Book 6)

by J. D. Winters

  His eyes were cold and hard as he said that and without even having to think about it I knew he had no intention of taking me with him all the way. He would kill me and leave me behind somewhere, but he needed me now for the getaway, needed me to think we were on the same side.

  “I’m not going anywhere,” I told him, shaking like a leaf.

  “Sure you are. You can’t stay here. They’ll convict you in a heart beat. You have to run, just like me. Come on. We can make it together.”

  “Reggie.” I held up my hands. “Why are you doing this? Debbie and her father have been nothing but good to you.”

  His face twisted. “What the hell do you know about it?” He pulled me up off the seat, trying to force me toward the closet. “Debbie has spent her whole life living like a little rich girl, while I had to struggle to survive. Even now, she gets whatever she wants. I take the scraps. Our grandmother was a rich lady. She could have left me well provided for. But no. She had to give everything she had to Debbie, her little pet, who was already richer than she deserved to be. But for me? She gave me a broken down Mustang and a black leather jacket. That was it. What the hell, man? Was that fair?”

  He seemed to remember that we were supposed to be escaping and he began to push me toward the back of the closet.

  “Come on. Push that panel. It’ll come right off. Go ahead.”

  “But…”

  Since I wouldn’t push, he pushed me. He shoved and I screamed and the back of the pantry closet gave way and I was falling.

  It seemed like a very long drop. I thought for sure I was dead. Or at least, going to be badly injured. But luckily, Reggie had piled mattresses under the place where the panel opened to the garage floor, and I landed with the breath knocked out of me, but little else to show for it. Then he came down right on top of me.

  That was the worst part. That and wondering where the knife had ended up. But he didn’t linger. He was heading for Mexico and he had no intention of taking me with him. He leaped off me and began to run for his car. But I had just time enough to grab that silver chain he had connected to his pocket. He kept running, not realizing that I had ripped off his chain and his keys were now in my hand.

  I sat up just as a police car, tires squealing, came up and blocked his car into place. Then Roy and his partner were there, guns drawn, and I closed my eyes and lay back peacefully. I heard shouting and anger, but I didn’t look up. I was going to try some deep breathing. Maybe that would hold off the heart attack I was afraid I was inches away from.

  A few minutes later, someone was leaning over me.

  “Hey, Hawaiian girl. I didn’t know you could fly.”

  I opened my eyes and looked up into Roy’s handsome face. I smiled at him.

  “I can do a lot of things you don’t know about,” I said lazily. “You have no idea.”

  He laughed.

  “Well, the flying was a surprise. I drove up just in time to see you hurtling through the air. You do have a way of making a dramatic entrance, don’t you?”

  I grinned. “See? I wrapped your case up for you,” I told him, handing him the keys. “Now I just need a little nap.”

  He chuckled and reached under my knees, swinging me up into his big strong arms.

  “Let’s go into the house,” he said. “I think my good Captain has got some explaining to do.”

  I put my arms around his neck. “You heard I was suspected of stealing from the guests?” I said.

  He nodded. “And I told the captain he was going to have egg on his face before this night was through. Looks like I was prescient. Don’t you think?”

  I nodded happily. “I know it. And I knew you would show up for the party in the end.”

  “Oh yeah? You were sure?”

  “I never doubted you,” I said, and he kissed me.

  And that was when we began to hear the screams from the house.

  Chapter Eight

  “Stay here,” Roy ordered, suddenly turning back into a cop and forgetting all about the lover role he’d been trying out for. He sprinted toward the stairs, heading for the screams.

  I didn’t waste any time trying to obey his silly order. There were too many screams, and they were from people shocked and frightened by what had happened, whatever it was. Even though it was Halloween, nobody got that frightened by the usual tricks of the season.

  I couldn’t just hang around waiting. I was right behind him, but he quickly outpaced me in no time, and I had to follow the sound of the commotion to find my way. That led me right to the swimming pool.

  Someone had found the light switch and the pool area was brightly lit and filled with people. The screaming had died down, but there was moaning and a shocked muttering from all sides.

  The moment I reached the pool I saw what had happened. A woman had drowned. The police were on the side of the pool, trying to resuscitate her but it didn’t look good. When I got close enough I could see who the woman was.

  Marilyn Greer. Carlton’s fiancé.

  Suddenly, Jill grabbed me. “It’s Carlton’s girl friend,” she said in a husky whisper. “We were all being led in a toast to Carlton for hosting the party, and a maid ran in screaming, ‘She’s in the pool! Someone come quick!’ and we all ran for the swimming pool.” Her face scrunched up. “Oh Mele, how could this happen?”

  “Where’s Deb?” I asked, but I caught sight of her at the same time. I couldn’t help but look at her sharply. After all, she’d certainly held a grudge against the woman. But she was with her father. They seemed to be holding each other up, both faces rigid with shock and horror.

  I studied Deb quickly. After all, this was what I did nowadays, wasn’t it? Have murder, will travel. If there was crime, especially a killing, I was there. It seemed to be part of my destiny and I’d learned a lot by watching grieving people. You could tell when grief was manufactured and when it was heart-felt. From what I saw on Deb’s face, I dismissed all suspicion. She was stunned and reeling. This thing was not something she’d done. I would have bet my life on it.

  I left Jill behind and went forward, trying to get Roy’s attention. He looked at me with annoyance. I hadn’t followed orders and he was all cop now.

  “Was it an accident?” I asked him in a low voice. “Or…?”

  “I’m not at liberty to give out that sort of information,” he said in a robotic voice and turned away.

  Okay, that told me what I wanted to know. It was no accident. If it had been, he would have said so.

  The other police were beginning to attempt to corral the crowd and draw them away from the scene. I knew I’d be penned in with the rest of them if I didn’t find a way to avoid it, so I slipped into the shadows and found a hidden alcove to the back of the pool where—if I was careful-- I could watch what was going on without being seen.

  Something on the ground beneath my feet caught my eye and I bent down to pick it up. It was a feather. A long, graceful, colorful feather. A peacock feather. I was sure of it. I dropped it again. Let the police find it for themselves. But it certainly put a new light on the subject.

  Suddenly I realized Roy had come almost within reach and I held my breath. One of the paramedics who had just arrived was talking to him, and as he turned, I caught part of what he was saying.

  “Preliminary assessment, drowning by force. There’s evidence of bruising on her neck that looks like strangulation and bruising on her shoulders that looks like she was forcibly held under. We’ll see how bad the bruises get if they develop further, but I’d say there’s not much doubt.”

  They moved away without noticing me and I breathed a sigh of relief. I watched for a few minutes, studying the pool, trying to see if anything had changed since I had been there earlier. The only thing I noticed was a thick white terry cloth bathrobe lying alongside the pool. It looked just like the robes I’d seen Marilyn and Carlton wearing in the bedroom upstairs. She must have worn it down to the pool.

  Why would she do that? And why come without Carlto
n? Unless…no, I couldn’t believe Carlton had done this. It just didn’t make any sense at all, and his grief looked real to me.

  Okay, I had to admit, there was another possibility. What if they’d had some rather rough lovemaking and he’d drowned her by mistake? I supposed that might be possible. But I didn’t like it. And I didn’t believe it.

  I looked around a bit more but nothing else came to mind. I was just about to give up on this spying post and try to sneak out and find a way around the police, when Dante reappeared.

  “Oh,” I said in surprise, but he put a finger to his lips. I looked out and saw how close the police were and nodded to him.

  He smiled at me and tapped his forehead with his forefinger.

  “What?” I whispered.

  He tapped again, more insistently.

  “Oh,” I whispered. I thought maybe I did understand what he was getting at. Deliberately, I closed me eyes and concentrated.

  “Can you hear me?”

  My eyes popped open. Had he spoken out loud or were those words in my head?

  He nodded. “I can hear you,” he said without moving his lips or saying anything aloud. “And you can hear me.”

  My eyes got very wide. “Does this mean you can read my mind?” I asked silently, doing the same thing he was.

  He grinned. “Only when you let me in,” he said. “Don’t worry. I won’t try to ferret out all your secrets.”

  I was blushing. I could feel it. I looked away, wishing I could control my emotions a little better.

  “Ah!” he said silently, hunching as though in pain. “Chaos! Calm down. It’s really not such a big deal.”

  “Okay. Okay.” I put my hands to my cheeks to cool them. “Let’s talk about this…whatever it is that is going on here. Did you see what happened?”

  He shook his head. “No. But I can sense that violence was a part of it.”

  “Oh boy.” I grimaced. “So you think she was murdered?”

  He nodded. “I’m sure of it.”

  “Look at this.” I poked the feather with my foot. “What do you think?”

  He frowned thoughtfully. “How did a peacock feather get down here?”

  “It could have floated in.”

  “Not likely.”

  My head rose. I heard something. Footsteps coming our way. Peaking out, I saw the unmistakable profile of Roy McKnight and my heart sank. Had he seen me? Had he heard us? How could I get out of here without letting him know I was hiding. Too late. He was coming with a purpose and he was coming right for us. My heart stopped.

  I looked up at Dante. He nodded, taking my hands in his, and the next thing I knew a weird rushing sensation filled my head and my ears and then we were down, outside of the house, standing at the edge of the driveway above where the garage opened. I caught my breath and gasped. Dante smiled at me.

  “I thought it would be a good time to bring you here,” he said. “I’ve got something to show you.”

  I closed my eyes for a moment and held on to him. I had to get my bearings and it took a few moments to do that. But at the same time, I was filled with relief. Roy hadn’t caught me lurking about. I didn’t have to endure another lecture about how I have to stay out of these things. Hooray. Thanks to Dante.

  I looked around. There was no one else in sight and the sounds from the pool were fairly distant.

  “Okay,” I said breathlessly at last. “What did you want to show me?”

  “Just this.” He pointed up toward the underside of the first balcony.

  I stared at it. At first, I couldn’t see anything remarkable. But then, my eyes focused better and I realized there was a rope hanging there, behind a large cement pillar. Barely noticeable. I walked into the planting area that lined the driveway and I edged around the pillar. There was a large plastic bag hanging from the rope.

  “Shall I grab it?” I asked Dante.

  He shrugged. “Are you sure you want to get involved?” he asked.

  I thought that over for longer than I usually would have. It was true I was beginning to get tired of always messing around with murder. Still, if I left this alone—even if I went back and just told Roy about it—I was already involved. Whether I liked it or not.

  “I live for this stuff,” I quipped ironically, and took a swing at the bag. It was hanging just above my reach, but with a good, strong jump, I got my fingers round a corner of plastic and pulled. Down it came.

  I didn’t have to open it to find out what it was. The peacock feather sticking out of the opening was a good solid clue.

  “What do you think?” I asked Dante.

  He grinned. “I think you found the snake charmer’s costume. Everything but the living, breathing girl who wore it. That identity is still going to be up for grabs.”

  I shook my head, looking at him. “But why was it hanging on a rope over the garage?”

  He shrugged. “If I had to guess, I’d say its owner wanted it hidden from the house, but available to be stashed in a trash bin when no one was looking any longer.”

  I nodded. “That makes sense, I guess.” I looked up at him. “What’ll I do with it?”

  He was beginning to fade. I knew he was already gone.

  “Take it to the cops,” he suggested. “I think they’ll be interested.”

  The next few hours were tedious and heartbreaking at the same time. I hadn’t cared much for Marilyn, but she was a young, vibrant woman. There was no reason that she had to be killed. Deb spent most of the time sobbing inconsolably and Carlton spent it sitting stony-faced and miserable, looking ashen. Deb’s three friends sat with her, looking at a loss as to how they could console her. Pam looked stunned, Katers looked weepy, and Sonja looked angry. I sat with Jill and Jagger and Bebe and thought this night would never end.

  I’d brought the bag with the snake charmer’s costume in it up to Roy. He’s taken it stiffly, glancing at me once and then not again while I explained where I’d found it. He didn’t ask how I’d known to go down by the garage to find it, or even how I’d managed to detach myself from the group.

  “Hey,” I’d said. “Do you mind if I borrow your jacket?”

  I’d had about enough of this harem girl pretense. Time to get serious again. And anyway, I was cold.

  Now here was why I like this guy, even though he was mad at me right now. He didn’t hesitate. He didn’t say, “Sorry, this is an official police jacket and only official police can wear it.” He took one look at my goose-bumps and shrugged out of the jacket, draping it around my shoulders. And then, just as he drew back, he gave me a wink. If no one had been looking, I had a feeling he would have kissed me. And that was a warming element all its own.

  In the meantime, the police were taking statements from everyone, along with their ids and other information. We were sitting on folding chairs they’d brought into the terrace area, and as the chosen ones names were called, they went inside to the library to fill out paperwork.

  All that was going to eat up half our night, but the rumor mill was working hard and that helped pass the time. The thing was, a few people had seen me give the green stocking and snake material to Roy and the news travelled through the gathering like summer lightning. And the buzz around the crowd was—who had the person been who’d worn the snake charmer costume? No one seemed to have the answer to that one. No one wanted to accuse anyone of murder.

  I couldn’t stop staring at the little silver heels Pam wore. I remembered now where I’d seen them before. The first time I’d seen the snake charmer, she’d been wearing shoes just like that. The last time, she’d been barefoot. What did that mean? Everything—or nothing? It seemed like it should mean something, but every time I tried to think it through, I ended up more puzzled.

  I’d definitely seen the silver shoes on the charmer. But I’d definitely seen Pam walking around in them when the charmer was dancing away in front of the crowd. So it couldn’t have been her. But had she loaned out her shoes to someone? I had to think this through before
I confronted anyone.

  I decided I had to confide in Jill and Bebe. I was getting groggy and I needed some help keeping things straight. I made a motion with my head at my two best girls and they followed me over to the far side of the area that had been set aside for interviewees. I wanted to be as far from the cops as I could get.

  Quickly, I filled them in on what little I knew.

  Chapter Nine

  I hesitated to tell them about Marilyn and Carlton’s adventure in the swimming pool. It seemed like something I shouldn’t repeat. But it wasn’t really gossip if it was true—right? And because of what had come later, it couldn’t stay a secret.

  They were surprised but hardly shocked. Carlton did have a reputation after all. And Marilyn seemed to be the type who would go for that sort of thing. But twice? While their party was still going on?

  “If we’re sure this is a murder,” Bebe murmured. “Why don’t we go over the suspects? Maybe we can noodle something out.”

  We were sitting with our heads together. At one point, Wayne attempted to join us, but we glared at him and he chickened out. Poor Wayne. Deb didn’t seem to want his attentions when she had her three girl friends and her father around her, and then we shooed him off. Oh well. He could always find that cute little fairy girl to keep him occupied. Grrr.

  “Okay,” I said once we’d gotten rid of him. “I’ll tell you what I’ve noticed tonight, and you can make up your own minds.”

  “You think it’s the snake charmer, don’t you?”

  I nodded. “I do. She left so many clues behind. Now we have to figure out who she is.”

  “Let’s start with people we can ditch with early elimination,” Jill suggested. “Then we can get down to brass tacks.”

  “Right.” I immediately told them about Wayne.

  “What a skunk,” Bebe said with disgust. “Poor Deb.”

  “He’s a skunk alright, and I had him on the short list of suspects for the thefts, but then I found out they were done by Reggie the butler, so I had to call him cleared of all charges.”