by Sonia Parin
Jill sipped her coffee. “Jordan makes a good point. We should widen our net and stop fixating about the cigars.”
“Jill, I think you’ve had enough coffee.” Eve tried to take the cup from her but Jill held onto it.
“I have no intention of sleeping tonight. Hey, didn’t J.M. Kernel bring the whiskey? My finger of suspicion is itching to point in his direction.”
“Put your finger away. They are all still guests and we must remain unbiased.” Eve cleared away the remaining cups and stacked them in the dishwasher.
Mira and Jordan wished everyone a good night. “I’m only a phone call away, Eve. Call if anything happens.”
Helena and Abby both got up too. “We might as well follow. I don’t really look forward to being on the road in this weather. Thank you for the wonderful meal and entertainment, Eve. This is one dinner party I won’t forget any time soon.”
Eve turned to Samantha. “If you’re not staying, you should leave now and get a police escort home.”
“I hope you don’t mind, I’d rather leave tonight.” Samantha hurried after them.
After showing them out, Jill and Eve returned to clean up the kitchen.
Jill yawned. “And then there were two.”
“Two plus nine guests and the police. I suppose we should go up and make sure all the rooms are in order,” Eve suggested.
“Do you think the guests would agree to being handcuffed to their beds for the night?” Jill asked, “It would make our lives that much easier.”
Eve snorted. “Think about it, Jill. They’ve spent the night eating and drinking. Do you really think it would be a good idea to handcuff them?”
“It was just a thought. I guess I can’t quite picture Jack agreeing to it. He’d want proof of guilt.”
Eve grinned. “Also, I’m sure it’s against the law to hold someone against their will, not to mention tying them up. I might end up with a lawsuit on my hands.” Halfway up the stairs she wondered if she had grounds to sue William Hunter.
Then another thought occurred. She could sue the entire town for libel and name Roger McLain as the instigator.
When they reached the landing, Jill grabbed hold of her arm. “Did you see that?” She pointed to the end of the hallway. “Someone just slipped inside one of the bedrooms.”
No one was supposed to be up here yet.
Chapter Eight
“What are you doing?” Eve whispered and tugged Jill back.
“This is our chance to catch the killer in the act.”
“What killer?” Eve pulled harder. “We need to get Jack.”
“You’ve lost your touch, Eve. What’s come over you? Where’s the fierce Eve I know who would jump at the chance to confront a would-be killer?”
“That Eve only comes out when there are no options but to fly into the face of danger. The Eve standing beside you has no desire to be reckless. We have police officers hovering around the place. Let them do their job. And stop pulling back. This isn’t a tug of war. We need to be sensible.”
“I can’t believe we’re going to argue about this.” Jill gritted her teeth. “We’re going in there, even if I have to drag you kicking and screaming.”
When Jill pulled, Eve dug her heels in only to find herself being dragged along the hallway.
“Are you out of your mind, Jill?” Eve asked in a hard whisper. “I didn’t want to say anything, but now you’ve forced my hand. I’m worried about you. Ever since I told you about William Hunter’s lunch, you’ve been acting strangely.”
“Do you blame me?” Grunting, Jill dragged her along another couple of inches.
A hard thump had them both holding their breaths and straining to hear more.
“What if there are two people in there and one is being murdered right now?” Jill whispered. “There’s no time to go down and get Jack and if we scream out his name, we’ll alert the killer.”
“That actually sounds like a good plan. If we scream, the killer will stop in his tracks.” Eve shook her head. “Just listen to me. Now I sound as crazy as you.” When had everything begun spiraling out of control? Everything had been going supremely well for her. And then William Hunter had shown up and her time to shine and revel in her new venture had been snuffed out... “Okay, so what’s the plan?” Eve asked.
“We’ll use the element of surprise and burst in,” Jill said, “That way, we get to witness the act and have proof of his guilt. We don’t want him getting off on a technicality.”
“Such as?” Eve asked, her tone cautious.
Jill shrugged. “He might say he was trying to pull the knife out, not push it in.”
He? “Hang on. What knife?”
“The knife. The murder weapon. Whatever.”
Eve gave a reluctant nod.
“On the count of three,” Jill said as she curled her fingers around the doorknob. They both mouthed the count and when they reached three, Jill flung the door open and flipped the light switch on.
A woman sprung up on the bed. Her piercing scream had both Eve and Jill jumping back.
“Happy now?” Eve asked. “It’s just one of the guests having a lie down.”
The woman continued screaming. Within seconds Eve heard hurried steps storming up the stairs. “I hope you have a ready explanation. That’s Jack coming up.” Eve considered trying to calm the woman down. Instead, she backed away from the bedroom.
“What’s going on?” Jack asked as he approached them.
Eve waved her hand and calmly said, “False alarm, Jack.”
Jack came to stand beside Eve at the door. “What did you do to her? Why is she still screaming?”
“We didn’t do anything.” Eve gave a casual shrug. “We... We just scared the living daylights out of her.”
“It’s Martha Payne.” Jill turned to Eve. “The revolver carrying wife #4.”
And a natural born screamer.
She must have been dreadfully noisy as a baby.
Recovering, Martha Payne demanded, “What do you mean by barging into my room?”
“We saw you skulking about,” Jill offered, her tone accusatory. “We thought you might be the killer. You can hardly blame us. No one is supposed to be up here. We haven’t assigned the rooms yet.”
Martha threw a pillow at Jill. “I wasn’t skulking.”
“We saw you sneaking about,” Jill insisted and threw the pillow back.
Eve noticed Martha Payne hadn’t bothered defending herself against the ludicrous accusation that she might be the killer. In fact, she hadn’t even blinked at the mention of a killer. Even if she’d had one too many drinks, surely, she should have shown signs of concern.
“I came upstairs and walked into a room with the most horrible striped wallpaper,” Martha complained, “It made my head spin and my stomach turn, so I decided to find a less ghastly room.”
Eve’s mouth gaped open. The striped wallpaper had cost her a small fortune. She’d spent hours going through swatches to choose the perfect Art Deco replica.
Jill lifted her chin. “You say that now. How do we know you didn’t plant some sort of murderous device in the other room?”
“That’s thinking on your feet, Jill,” Eve murmured.
Jack shook his head. “I can see you have this under control. If you need me, I’ll be downstairs.”
Eve grabbed hold of him. “Jack. Don’t you dare leave.”
“This is a housekeeping matter, Eve.”
“What about Jill’s suspicions,” Eve asked, “Jill’s right. Martha Payne might have been planting some sort of trap for another unsuspecting victim.”
Jack raked his fingers through his hair. “It’s the end of a long day for you, Eve. Let’s not get carried away.”
“It’s not so far-fetched.” Eve turned to Jill. “Tell him.”
Jill backed away from the bedroom and closed the door. “Well, some poisons can be absorbed through the skin. How do we know Martha didn’t smear some on the bed linens? Think about it. I
f I’d been drinking and looking for a bed to crash in, I’d head for the first door. Instead, Martha Payne went to the end of the hallway. That doesn’t make sense to me. Tell me you see something suspicious in that action.”
“Jill has a point,” Eve nodded. “Although, being drunk, maybe Martha Payne simply overshot her aim and stumbled her way to the end of the hallway.”
“I’ll have a look,” Jack said, “Will that make you happy?”
Eve thought about it for a moment. “Actually, locking her bedroom door would please me no end.”
“You really think she was up to no good,” Jack said.
Jill crossed her arms. “We saw her coming out of the next room.”
Eve didn’t contradict Jill. In reality, Eve had only seen a shadow disappearing into the bedroom.
Shaking his head, Jack strode to the next room. “Is this the one?”
“Yes,” Jill said and followed him, leaving Eve no choice but to follow.
“Nothing appears to have been disturbed,” he said.
Jill strode up to the bed and pulled back the covers.
Jack chortled. “What exactly do you hope to find?”
“I’ve been reading about poisons. Do you know people died from arsenic poison absorbed from their clothing? Clothing in the nineteenth century was so thoroughly dangerous it’s amazing anyone survived. Arsenic was used to achieve a popular emerald green color used on dresses and ornaments. People got sick and died.”
“Are you suggesting Martha Payne spread arsenic on the bed linen?” he asked.
“It’s possible.”
“But Eve didn’t assign the rooms yet. No one knows who’s getting which room,” Jack reasoned.
Jill lifted her chin. “Martha might be on a killing spree. Out to get anyone and everyone. She might have sprinkled some sort of deadly dust on the pillows. Perhaps the same deadly substance she inserted inside the cigar.”
Jack looked around the room. “And now she’s taking a well-earned rest before she strikes again?”
“Is he mocking us?” Jill asked.
Eve put her arm around Jill’s shoulder. “Best to let it go, Jill. I want all the guests in their rooms with a police officer at the end of the hall to make sure they all stay in their rooms. It’s the only way I’ll get any sleep tonight.”
“Really, Eve? What if I’m right?” Jill insisted.
Eve sighed. “Jack. Is there any way we can check to make sure the linen hasn’t been tampered with?”
“Or the soap,” Jill exclaimed, “The possibilities are endless. It’s up to you if you want to take this seriously or risk having another murder to investigate.”
Jack chuckled under his breath. “You’re about to suggest I get the CSI team in here to test all surfaces for poisonous substances.”
Jill pressed her lips together and shrugged. “Better safe than sorry.”
Eve looked over her shoulder. All this time they’d been upstairs, the kitchen had been left unattended. “Oh, hell. You two do what you have to do. I’m going down to my kitchen. There’s no telling what might have happened in the time I’ve been up here.”
“Eve, remember what I said about pairing up,” Jack warned.
Jill huffed out a breath. “Fine. I’ll go down too, but if you find anything, I want to be the first to know about it.”
Eve tucked back her hair. “I’ve no idea how we’re going to do this. I can’t be in two places at once. How could I have dropped my guard?”
“Don’t beat yourself up about it, Eve.”
“I left the kitchen unattended.” Eve stopped at the door and peered inside the kitchen. “Coast is clear.” Yet she couldn’t shake off the feeling anything might have happened during those few minutes they’d been upstairs.
“I’m going to go check on the guests,” Jill said, “Josh should be there. He’ll know if anyone left the living room.”
Eve began wiping down surfaces, all the while checking to see if she could see anything out of place.
When Jill strode back in, her eyes sparkled with amusement. “You can breathe easy. Josh assures me no one, except Martha Payne, left the living room and he didn’t take his eyes off anyone.”
“That’s a relief.” Eve stood in the middle of the kitchen and slowly turned around. “I’m going to have to spend the night here. What was that poison Jordan mentioned?”
“Ricin. That’s a really potent one. You only need a few grains of it to kill someone.”
“Could it be mixed in with things like sugar and coffee?”
Jill gave a pensive nod. “Okay. At this rate, we’ll never eat anything that comes out of this kitchen. Just as well Josh didn’t leave his post.”
And yet...
Eve slumped down on a chair. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”
“Sorry.” Jill paced around the kitchen. “You seem to have caught my bug. I can’t remember ever being so suspicious of everyone. And now that I think about it, Mira’s editor seemed to be very knowledgeable about poisons. Did he ever come anywhere near the kitchen?”
“As far as I know, he was always on the other side of the counter.” Eve shook her head. “What am I saying? Mira’s editor would have no reason to kill.”
“You’re right. We are getting a bit carried away. Come on. I told Josh we need to go upstairs to check the rooms and that he’s not to let anyone out of his sight.”
Half an hour later, they returned to the kitchen and found a police officer standing guard at the door.
“Thank you.” Eve offered him a coffee. “You can let the guests know their rooms are ready. They can have whichever one they want.”
“They’re in no hurry to turn in for the night,” Josh said as he relieved the officer from his post.
Eve checked the clock. “It’s nearly midnight. Are they going to hold an all-night wake?”
Josh nodded. “Looks like it. I think we’ll all need more coffee. I should get back to my post.”
While Eve prepared the coffee, Jill sat down at the table and did some more online searching. “I want to find everything I can about our guests. I’ve created a document listing everyone’s names,” Jill said as Jack joined them. “Well?” she asked him, “Did you find anything?”
He shook his head. “Nothing looks to be out of place.”
“Nothing you could see,” Jill murmured under her breath. “As I was saying... What was I saying? Oh, yes... I suppose the police will be looking into everyone’s finances. Someone purchased those expensive cigars and there has to be a trail leading back to them. They cost too much to have been purchased with cash.”
“We still need to come up with a motive.” Eve handed Jack a mug of coffee. “As William’s advisor, Stew Peters might have been influential enough to put him in someone’s crosshairs. We might have to mingle with the guests and see if we can prod something out of them.”
“What happened to staying out of it, Eve?” Jack sipped his coffee and murmured his appreciation.
“I’m only talking so I don’t fall asleep. They will all be gone by tomorrow.” She held Jack’s gaze until he nodded. “Okay. Now I’m worried because that was a half-hearted nod.”
“I can’t offer any assurances they’ll be out of here tomorrow. It all depends on the damage at William Hunter’s house.”
“I swear I will skewer Roger McLain. He practically announced to everyone at the town meeting I’d somehow be responsible for ruining his precious plans.”
“Which ones?” Jack asked.
“Every one of them. He’d happily blame me for tonight’s storm if he could.” Eve crossed her arms and gave a firm nod. “I will have words with him. If I’d been allowed to speak with William Hunter at the town meeting, I could have been spared all this.”
“How do you figure that?” Jack asked.
“Well, I would have made such a bad impression on him, William would have then gone out of his way to avoid me.” Eve knew she would have been on her best behavior. However, that att
itude didn’t always serve her well. Whenever she tried to put her best foot forward, she somehow managed to get into trouble.
Jill cleared her throat. “I found an article about J.M. Kernel. There’s talk about him being dropped by his publishing house and guess who owns it.”
Finally, a solid reason to kill. “William Hunter,” Eve said.
“Precisely.” Jill drummed her fingers on the table.
“Maybe the author has something else lined up,” Eve suggested, “If he’s here, then we have to assume he’s not holding grudges.”
“Let’s assume he is holding a grudge and let’s also assume Stew Peters had a say in giving J.M. Kernel the boot. The author might have wanted to seek his revenge and somehow implicate William Hunter.”
“So we’re going to suspect the author because there’s a rumor flying around,” Jack said. “That should make my job easier.”
Jill agreed with a nod. “We will suspect him until he can provide reasonable doubt.”
They both gave Jack a sheepish smile.
“What do we know about Liz Logan?” Eve asked. “Remember, I didn’t see her in the sunroom but then you said you served her a drink. I know I keep coming back to her, but I think she saw a window of opportunity and grabbed it.”
“What madcap idea are you entertaining now, Eve?” Jack asked.
Eve pulled up a chair and sat next to him. “I’m only wondering where she could have been during that brief gap and I’m not having any trouble picturing her taking the box of cigars from her handbag and slipping out of the sunroom to put it on the dining room table without anyone seeing her. Until you can find out how those cigars got inside the inn, I’m happily going to suspect one of the guests.”
“Okay, let’s give the author a rest and focus on someone else.” Jill got busy looking Liz Logan up online. “She’s wife number two and has a keen interest in the arts. She sits in quite a few boards.” Jill read out a list that included major art galleries and foundations. “She’s been instrumental in getting William Hunter to donate part of his art collection. The negotiations are still ongoing.”
Eve nibbled on a chocolate truffle. “There must be a motive in there somewhere. Keep digging. Maybe this is something else Stew Peters objected to.” She shrugged. “Assuming he objected to anything.”