Murder Strikes at Midnight

by Thea Cambert

  They went downstairs, grabbed a generous slice and a fork, and joined Nan. By then, the group at the piano had begun singing “One Day More” from Les Miserables, and Alice knew they’d be lucky if Owen could keep from leaping up and breaking into both song and dance.

  “Hi, Nan,” said Alice. “We thought you looked like you could use a piece of cake.”

  Nan looked at the cake for a moment, then mechanically reached out and took it.

  “Are you okay?” Franny asked, touching Nan’s arm.

  Nan let out a long sigh. “Not really,” she finally said.

  “Because of Roz?” Alice asked.

  Nan nodded, her eyes filling with tears that she somehow managed not to spill. “She was . . . She was very dear to Adam and me.”

  “We’re so sorry,” said Franny. “Had you known her long?”

  “Adam knew her longer than I did,” said Nan. “They’d even dated, once upon a time. But I’ve known her our whole married life—so around six years, I guess.” She looked up and spotted Chad and Sadie, coming down the stairs. “Poor Chad,” she said sadly.

  “Poor Chad, indeed,” said Owen, raising a brow at the couple.

  “Where is the senator now?” asked Alice.

  “In with the police,” said Nan. “I’m up next. I’m a little nervous about that.”

  “Don’t be,” said Franny. “The dark-haired officer with the glasses is my husband, Ben—he’s also Alice’s brother. Detective Evans is our good friend. They just want to figure out who killed Roz. I’m sure you’ll do just fine.”

  Alice watched Nan’s face as Franny spoke, looking for any kind of reaction, but Nan’s quiet demeanor was not phased. “They’re asking things like where everyone was when Roz was killed,” Alice offered.

  “Of course,” said Nan, nodding.

  “Most everyone was here in this room, which simplifies matters,” said Alice.

  “I wish I could say the same for Adam and me,” said Nan. “Neither of us was here. But the good news is, we were together in our room. So, at least we can vouch for each other—although, I don’t know if it’ll count for much, since we’re married.” She noticed Adam coming out of the dining room door next to the fireplace, handed the untouched cake to Franny, and stood. Then, she walked across the room without a backward glance.

  “She’s so . . . dignified,” said Franny through a mouthful of cake.

  “Franny, isn’t that your fourth slice tonight?” asked Owen.

  “I’m tired! I always crave sweets when I’m tired, okay?” said Franny, who looked a little guilty, but not guilty enough to give up the cake.

  “Look, there’s Michael,” said Alice, standing. “Let’s go talk to him. We can make sure it was him who turned down our beds and see if he’s noticed anything else.”

  “Good idea,” said Owen pulling Franny to her feet. “C’mon, cake girl.”

  Michael, who was bustling about, scribbling something on his clipboard, stopped what he was doing when he saw them approach. “How’s the investigation going?” he asked in a low voice.

  “We’re starting to make some headway,” said Alice. “Oh, by the way, thanks for the turndown service and the mints. That was you who did that . . . right?”

  “Don’t worry. It was me,” he said, glancing around and leaning in. “And, yes, I saw your suspect list. I won’t breathe a word!” He held up three fingers as if to pledge his discretion.

  “Thank you, Michael,” said Owen.

  “Looks like we’re about to scratch two names off that list,” said Alice.

  “Oh, really?” asked Michael, clearly wanting to hear more.

  “Nan Matthews just told us that she and her husband were in their room together when Roz was pushed off the widow’s walk,” said Alice.

  Michael frowned, then slowly said, “No . . . they weren’t.”

  Alice, Owen, and Franny all instinctively stepped closer to Michael, so that the four were now in something of a huddle.

  “I did their turndown service around that time,” said Michael.

  “But, didn’t you just do it? We didn’t find—”

  “Oh, I just turned down your beds,” Michael quickly said, “because none of you were expected to be overnight guests of the lodge.” He looked around again, checking that the coast was still clear. “Senator and Mrs. Matthews were booked in for the weekend. I pride myself on turning down the beds when our guests are away from their rooms, and I knew everyone would be downstairs ringing in the new year at midnight. The senator specifically told me that he and his wife have a tradition of celebrating with friends and counting down, then toasting with champagne. So, I knew they would be downstairs. I can unequivocally guarantee that no one was in the Matthews’ room at midnight.”

  “So, they’re lying, too,” said Owen, looking over at the group around the piano, which now included the senator. “This group is nothing but a bunch of lying liars!”

  “What about Sadie and Chad?” Alice asked quickly. “Were they in their rooms around that time, too?”

  “That, I can’t help you with,” said Michael. “They’re staff, so they don’t receive turndown service.”

  “Of course,” said Alice, nodding. “Thank you, Michael. You’ve been a big help.”

  “Glad to be of assistance,” said Michael. “Good luck! Oh—and Franny, that coffee of yours is amazing! I could stay up all night! Wish I’d known you back in college!” He hurried off toward the office.

  “Back to square one,” said Franny, licking the last dollop of frosting from her fork. “What are we going to do now?”

  “We’re going to question Nan again,” said Alice. “After all, we know that Roz went upstairs carrying the senator’s jacket. We know that Nan came downstairs wearing it.”

  “That’s right,” said Owen. “That, coupled with the fact that Nan just straight-faced, flat-out lied to us isn’t sitting right with me.”

  “Me, neither,” said Alice.

  There was a pause, and Alice and Owen looked back over to Franny, who had subtly managed to pick up another slice of cake from the table. “Oh!” She set it down quickly and cleared her throat. “Me, neither.”

  Chapter 12

  Just a few minutes after Nan had gone bravely into the dining room to be questioned by the police, she came out again and, after giving her husband a kiss on the cheek over by the piano, reclaimed her spot on the couch near the fire.

  “Did everything go okay with the police?” Alice said as she and Franny sat down on either side of Nan, while Owen poked at the fire and tossed on another log.

  “Just fine,” said Nan, who looked relieved. “You were right. They were very kind.”

  “Good,” said Franny.

  “By the way, I love that jacket,” said Owen, pointing the poker he was holding in Nan’s direction.

  Nan looked down at the jacket and then wrapped it a bit closer around herself. “It’s Adam’s. I got chilled earlier, when we all ran outside, after—”

  “Midnight?” asked Alice.

  “Yes,” said Nan. “This is Adam’s favorite jacket.”

  “What do you think of Blue Valley?” asked Alice, changing the subject and trying to find a segue to what she really wanted to ask Nan. “I mean, apart from the . . . murder, um, aspect.”

  Nan smiled at Alice. “I love it. I’d like to come back here sometime. Maybe in the spring.”

  “I hope you’ll drop by my bookstore in town. And the lodge is a wonderful place, isn’t it?” Alice continued. “The service is outstanding. Michael, for instance. The concierge?”

  Nan was listening to every word Alice was saying, but she looked a little confused. “Oh, yes. The staff have been lovely.”

  “That turndown service was a nice touch, wasn’t it?”

  Alice was sure she saw a shadow of doubt cross Nan’s face. “Yes. Little details like that make one’s stay really special.”

  Owen caught on to Alice’s line of questioning and squeezed himself onto
the couch between Franny and Nan. “What kind of candy did you and the senator get?”

  “We, um . . .”

  “I guess you probably saw Michael when he came in to turn down your bed,” said Franny, leaning around Owen. “He said he made the rounds at midnight. He prides himself on being invisible.”

  “But, really, Michael’s timing is a stroke of luck for you and the senator,” said Alice. “That’s another alibi for you both—I mean, not that anyone would ever think that either of you would harm Roz.”

  Now Nan was looking decidedly less calm.

  Just then, Chad walked up to them. “Just checking around,” he said. “Does everyone have everything they need? Are you all happy with your rooms?”

  “Excuse me,” said Nan, abruptly rising from the couch. “I’ll be back shortly.”

  “Was it something I said?” asked Chad.

  “No, I doubt it had anything to do with you,” said Alice, watching Nan, who had joined her husband by the piano and was whispering in his ear.

  “How are you holding up?” Franny asked, scooting closer to Owen so that Chad could take a seat.

  Ben and Luke, along with Officer Dewey, joined them by the fireplace, then. Alice noticed that they all looked tired and was anxious to compare notes.

  “I’m okay,” said Chad. “Better.”

  “Good,” said Alice.

  “Oh, by the way,” said Owen, “I had no problem getting a whole stack of extra towels.”

  Chad looked blankly at Owen. “Good?” he said slowly.

  “I mean, because I know you were worried about the shortage and all.”

  A glimmer of understanding dawned in Chad’s eyes. “Oh. Right. The, um . . .” Chad seemed to feel all six sets of eyes on him now, and he visibly deflated. “There was no shortage of linens,” he finally said.

  Luke took a step closer. “Would you like to clarify your earlier statement, Mr. Fender?”

  Chad looked up at him, then at Ben and Dewey. “I think I’d better,” he said. “I wasn’t on the phone with my supplier. I was on the phone with my lawyer. And, I wasn’t in my office. I was in my room. I lied because . . . well, it’s a long story.”

  “We have all night,” said Luke. Alice loved that she could see both compassion and firmness in his face.

  Ben took out the little notebook he always kept in his breast pocket and uncapped his pen.

  “Earlier today, before you all got here, Roz told me she was leaving me and taking half of everything, including this place. I called Andrew—that’s my attorney. Andrew M. Shill.” He paused as Ben wrote down the name. “What I didn’t know was that Roz had already retained Andrew for her side of the divorce. We’ve used him for years, for everything. I’d left a message with him this afternoon, after Roz told me her plans. He finally called me back, believe it or not, just before midnight. I was fit to be tied. He’s a slime ball, really. He offered to help me out, under the table, if I’d double his fee. That guy really ought to be disbarred. He even mentioned that I should pay him to rewrite my will, because if anything happened to me before the divorce was final, Roz would get everything. Then, he jokingly said that the same was true if anything happened to Roz—then, I would get everything, and my troubles would be over.”

  “Wow, he really is a slime ball,” said Franny.

  “Why didn’t you tell us all of this in the first place?” asked Ben.

  “I was afraid that if everyone knew about Roz’s plan to leave me on Monday, and if Andrew ever mentioned that we’d literally just talked about what would happen in the event that Roz met with an untimely death, you’d see that as motive to kill her.”

  “Well, it is motive to kill her,” said Luke. “But, Mr. Fender, we already knew about Mrs. Fender’s plan to leave you.” His eyes flicked to Alice for just a split second, then back to Chad.

  “Chad, this also means you have an alibi,” said Alice. “If you were talking to this Shill guy, and he can vouch for you—”

  “Of course!” said Chad, brightening a little. “I’ve been in shock basically all day—first, with Roz dropping that bomb on me, then with her dying like that . . . And I was so disgusted with Andrew that it didn’t even occur to me that he could be an actual help to me.”

  “Mr. Fender, let’s go back into the dining room. We’ll take down a whole new statement and check in with this Andrew Shill,” said Ben.

  Just before heading into the study, Luke turned back and rejoined Alice, Owen, and Franny. “Good job,” he whispered.

  “You’re not even going to get upset that we meddled?” asked Alice.

  “Not this time,” said Luke. “Let’s all meet in half an hour. There’s a little study, just the other side of the dining room. Meet us there and we can compare notes.” He hurried off to catch up with Ben.

  “So,” said Owen with a satisfied smile. “We’ve finally hit the big time. The police want to compare notes with us.”

  “They’ve finally figured out they need us,” added Alice.

  There was a pause as Owen and Alice turned to Franny, who normally would’ve chimed in at that moment. But all they heard from Franny, who had apparently just conked out, was a loud snore.

  “That’s what four slices of cake will do to a person,” said Alice, shaking her head.

  “Simple carbs,” Owen agreed.

  “Let her sleep. We’ll wake her in half an hour.”

  Chapter 13

  The study, although a smaller room, was Alice’s favorite. It boasted yet another stone fireplace, but this one was flanked on both sides by floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. More bookshelves lined the walls, covering every bit of space other than the French doors leading into the room and the windows along one wall which, in the daytime, overlooked a meadow with the Smoky Mountains beyond.

  Alice and Owen had roused Franny, who seemed somewhat refreshed after her cake-induced slumber. The three of them found Ben and Luke waiting in the study.

  “Chad was telling the truth,” said Ben as they all settled into the comfortable reading chairs and plush sofa. “Dewey’s processing his new statement, but we checked the phone record and double checked with Chad’s attorney, Mr. Shill. Boy, that guy is a piece of work!”

  “Andrew M. Shill, shifty attorney.” Luke gave a little laugh. “He might be a jerk, but he was honest about the phone call with Chad. They hung up about five minutes after midnight. Looks like Chad is off the suspect list.”

  “Speaking of suspect lists, let’s talk about what we know so far,” said Alice.

  “Yeah,” said Owen. “Like, for example, what Nan and the senator told you about where they were when Roz died.”

  Ben cringed a little. “Just to be clear . . . I mean, on the record . . . this is an official police investigation. I don’t want you three getting into the habit of nosing around in murder.” He looked at his wife. “It’s not safe.”

  “Uh, too late?” said Owen. “We hear about a crime, we automatically want to nose around.”

  “We can’t help ourselves,” said Alice.

  “We should wear t-shirts that read ‘Official Meddler’ across the front,” said Owen. He looked at Alice and Franny. “Who knew solving crimes could be so addictive? We’re just a bunch of do-gooders.”

  “As I was saying,” said Ben, raising an eyebrow at Owen. “We’re all in a tricky situation here tonight, and—”

  “And we aren’t going to pretend you three haven’t been hugely valuable to us in the past,” Luke finished for him. “You have. So, even though, officially, we can’t go around discussing matters such as this with civilians, we are going to . . . in light of this odd situation . . .”

  “Swap notes with us?” Owen said.

  “Uh. Yeah,” said Ben.

  “Let me guess,” said Alice. “Both Senator Matthews and his wife claimed they were in their room, together, at midnight. Right?”

  Ben and Luke looked at each other.

  “Yes, that’s correct,” Ben said.

  �
�Well, they weren’t,” said Franny.

  “Are you sure?” asked Luke.

  “Michael was turning down their beds and leaving those little mints on their pillows at midnight,” said Owen.

  “He saw no sign of them,” added Alice.

  “And look at this,” said Owen, taking his camera strap off his neck and scrolling through the photos. “Here’s the group photo I took tonight, and you can see Roz in the background, going upstairs, carrying the senator’s snazzy jacket.” He passed the camera to Luke who showed it to Ben.

  “Okay,” said Ben. “Are you positive that’s the senator’s jacket?”

  “Seriously?” asked Owen. “Have you no fashion sense at all?”

  “That’s the same jacket that Nan is wearing right this very minute,” said Alice.

  “Look at the timestamp on the photo,” said Owen.

  “Eleven fifteen,” said Luke.

  “Just before Roz was murdered,” said Alice.

  “How did that jacket get from Roz’s hands to Nan?” mused Owen.

  “Nan said her husband gave it to her,” said Franny. “When we all ran outside after Roz fell.”

  “Why would Roz take the senator’s jacket in the first place?” Luke wondered.

  “We suspect the two of them were involved . . . in an inappropriate way,” said Franny.

  “Alice saw them schmoozing it up in the woods,” said Owen.

  “Maybe she and Senator Matthews were going to meet—you know, in secret,” said Alice. “Maybe they did meet, and he took his jacket back.”

  “And then shoved her off the roof,” added Owen.

  Ben was furiously making notes in his little notebook. “If they were having an affair, he wouldn’t want that to go public.”

  “Right. But there’s another suspect, too,” said Alice.

  “Sadie,” said Franny. “Owen faked a trick knee so we could get a look at that notebook she’s always carrying around, and guess what?”

  “What?” asked Ben.

  “She designed this place!” said Franny.

  “And Roz was about to get an award for it,” said Owen.

  “And Roz treated Sadie horribly,” added Alice.