I wished Zac had more tact, but I had observed that he could be blunt to the point of rudeness on occasion. I understood his response to Burdine’s remark, but I would never have said anything like that to her face. My Southern grandmothers would rise from their graves and strike me down if I ever dared be that rude to an older person.
What chilled me to the core was the knowledge that someone in this room might have killed Cora—whose surname we didn’t even know, I realized. Or perhaps Arthur had had a brainstorm and decided to do away with her, blaming her for his problems.
That was ludicrous, I thought. Really stretching there, Charlie, I jeered at myself. Slow down and wait for more information.
That was good advice I gave myself. I took a few deep breaths and tried to relax. I wasn’t on home ground here. I was in another state, in a city larger than Athena, and I didn’t know anyone in local law enforcement. I doubted my assistance would be encouraged here. I could end up in trouble myself if I tried to be too helpful.
I caught Helen Louise regarding me with a sympathetic expression. She knew me well. I smiled and patted her hand where it lay on the table.
Miss An’gel’s directive to keep conversation civil seemed to have put a damper on speech. Just as well, I decided, eyeing the patrol officer standing by the door leading out of the dining room. Though everyone in this room had read many mystery novels, they would soon discover that being involved in a real murder investigation was not simply a matter of being entertained for a few hours by a good book.
Most of the group knew about my own experiences back in Athena, though I had always shied away from the limelight. Word leaked out occasionally, but when confronted, I always downplayed my role. I gave the credit to Chief Deputy Kanesha Berry, the professional, and she was truly a professional. Ethical, driven, determined, intelligent, and honest. Athena County was lucky to have her. Our police department was too small to have its own homicide team, so the county took over, unlike here. And, when necessary, the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation stepped in. Usually, though, Kanesha and her team were more than capable of handling homicide in Athena County.
There were no doubt competent homicide investigators in Asheville. I had no idea what the crime rate was—or the homicide rate, to be more precise—but they wouldn’t be inexperienced here. I needed to mind my business and let the professionals do their jobs. I would have to remind myself of that until this investigation concluded.
A little part of me said, Yeah right. You’re way too nosy to sit back and let others do the work without you.
I told that little part to shut up and go away, but I knew it wouldn’t.
I was nosy. I was also angry about Cora’s death. There could be no reason good enough for the poor woman to be killed like that, and I wanted the person responsible to pay the price for it. A person possibly in this room, right this minute. I automatically checked Helen Louise, the Ducote sisters, and Benjy off the list, but everyone else was a suspect.
“Relax,” Helen Louise said. “Have some more juice or coffee, or maybe another buttered biscuit with jam.”
I shook my head. “No, I’m jittery enough as it is. That poor woman.”
“I know,” Helen Louise said. “I’m so angry right now. Such an inoffensive person. What could she possibly have done, or have known, to make someone want to kill her?”
“Once the police can answer those questions, they’ll know who the murderer is,” I said.
“Could be someone in this room now,” Helen Louise murmured.
I nodded. “Unless it was a member of the hotel staff, I should think.”
“Maybe there’s an estranged husband or boyfriend in the background,” Helen Louise said.
“Definitely possible,” I replied, “and though that’s pretty awful, it would be a better answer than having one of our group be the killer.”
Sergeant Bloesch entered the room and called for attention to end the low buzz of conversation. Everyone turned toward her.
“I have to inform you that we are treating Miss Apfel’s death as a homicide,” she said. “A lieutenant from homicide has arrived, and we will be questioning everyone in turn, along with the hotel staff. This is going to take some time, and we realize this is inconvenient for you. The room you have been using for your meetings is sealed off as a crime scene. We will release it as soon as we’re done with it. In the meantime, we ask that you stay here until you are called.”
Burdine raised her hand, and the sergeant nodded. “What about going to the ladies’ room?” Burdine asked.
Sergeant Bloesch indicated the officer standing at the door. “Let this officer know, and he’ll get someone to accompany you.”
“Accompany me?” Burdine sounded shocked. “Into the ladies’ room with me?”
I would have sworn that the sergeant started to laugh but quickly suppressed it. “No, ma’am, not into the room, just to the room. The officer will wait for you and then escort you back here.”
“Oh, that’s better,” Burdine said.
“Now, if there are no other questions?” The sergeant paused, but receiving none, she said, “Mr. Harris and Miss Brady, if you would come with me please?”
Helen Louise and I stood to follow her. Sergeant Bloesch stared at Diesel for a moment, then nodded. I brought him with me, and we followed her out of the room.
The sergeant led us to a small lounge next to our meeting room. One wall held shelves of books and a fireplace and mantel, and a large desk stood in front of another. A tall, balding man stood behind the desk and watched, his expression relaxed, as we approached the desk.
“Please, take a seat.” His gruff tone and deep voice belied his appearance, and Helen Louise and I did as requested. Diesel hunkered down between us, and I rubbed his head to reassure him that everything was fine.
“I’m Lieutenant Wesner,” he said as he resumed his own seat behind the desk. He glanced at his notes. “You are Mr. Charles Harris and Miss Helen Louise Brady from Athena, Mississippi. Correct?”
“Yes,” Helen Louise and I said in unison. I thought I detected an East Texas twang to the lieutenant’s voice. He reminded me of people I’d known in my Houston days.
“And who is that with you?” Wesner pointed to Diesel.
“His name is Diesel,” I said.
“I see,” Wesner said. “Now, you found the body.”
“We did,” I said.
“Tell me how you came to find it and what you did when you discovered it.”
The routine began. I had been through this several times in the past, and the process had many tedious aspects. I started with our leaving our suite to come downstairs and carried the story forward to the point when we entered the room and spotted the sleeping—or so we thought—maid, Cora.
Helen Louise took it from there. “We thought it might startle her less to have me wake her,” she said. “I was about to touch her shoulder when I spotted the pin sticking out of her chest. I motioned for Charlie to join me. We checked for signs of life, but there weren’t any.”
“We left the room then and went to the reception desk,” I said, “and told the clerk on duty that we had found Cora dead on the sofa. He called 911, and we waited there until Sergeant Bloesch and the EMS team arrived.”
“That’s quite clear,” Wesner said. “Did either of you know the deceased before you came to this hotel?”
“No,” I said. “This is my first trip to Asheville, and I don’t know anyone here. Anyone who’s not in our group, that is.”
“I’ve been to Asheville before, some years ago,” Helen Louise said, “but I never met Cora until this trip.”
“Do you have any idea who might have wanted to harm Miss Apfel?” Wesner asked.
Helen Louise and I exchanged a quick glance; then I faced Lieutenant Wesner. I knew what I was going to say might sound more than a little odd.
“It might have been the person who stole her pin.”
SEVENTEEN
I could see that Wesner was taken aback by what I said.
“Could you explain that?” he said.
“The pin embedded in her chest was a family heirloom, according to what Cora told me.” I went on to relate the circumstances of our meetings with Cora and everything she had told us about the pin and its disappearance. I did not mention the visit that Helen Louise, Diesel, and I had paid to Celia Bernardi. We had no proof that Celia had taken it, and I didn’t feel comfortable mentioning Celia’s habit of thievery. That would have to come from Helen Louise, who knew more about it than I.
Wesner listened to me without interruption, his gaze piercing and more than a bit unnerving. When I finished, he did not comment right away. The silence lengthened, and I wondered what was going through the lieutenant’s mind.
He stood and said, “Thank you. I think that will be all for the moment. Sergeant.” He indicated that Sergeant Bloesch should show us out.
She opened the door and ushered us out. “You can go to your room if you like, or back to the dining room with the others.” She shut the door firmly behind us.
“Didn’t that seem strange to you?” Helen Louise asked.
I nodded. “I wonder what’s going on, frankly. I expected him to have more questions. It’s his investigation, though. What would you rather do? Go up to the room, or wait with the others?” I was torn. I hated to miss anything, which we would of course do by going to the room. On the other hand, sitting in the dining room for perhaps a couple of hours would be tedious.
“How about this,” Helen Louise said with a faint grin. “I’ll take Diesel up to the room and keep him company, and you can go back to the dining room so you don’t miss anything.”
I had to laugh. This woman read me all too easily. I couldn’t hide anything from her.
“That sounds fine.” I pulled her close for a kiss. When I released her, Diesel meowed loudly and rubbed against my legs. I scratched his head and told him what a good boy he was. I watched Helen Louise lead him up the stairs and waited until I could no longer see them before I went back into the dining room.
I felt the tension right away. All heads turned in my direction when I came into the room. Everyone looked expectant, but of course I had nothing to tell them.
Miss An’gel beckoned me to her table, and I approached her. “Please join us.” She indicated an empty chair beside her, and I took it. “I presume Helen Louise has gone upstairs with Diesel.”
“Yes, the sergeant said we could go upstairs or wait in here,” I said, loud enough for the others in the room to hear.
“What’s going on?” Elmore demanded. “How long are they going to keep us sitting here?”
“Don’t ask me,” I said. “You’ll have to ask the sergeant or her boss that.”
I thought for a moment that Elmore, or his wife, was going to argue the point, but Melba spoke up sharply. “Charlie’s right. They’ll get to us when they get to us. That poor woman was murdered.”
“Yes, she was,” Celia said. “That poor young woman, she couldn’t have been more than forty, I’d say—still in the prime of life.”
“Don’t let’s get maudlin,” Zac said, a trace of impatience in his voice. “I’m sorry she died, but don’t pretend that any of us knew her well enough to grieve for her.”
Zac was right, in that tactless way he sometimes had, but his words came across as more than a bit brutal. Perhaps it was the fact that he was so much younger than everyone in the group except for Benjy. I noticed, however, that Benjy was regarding Zac with a frown.
“How did she die?” Burdine asked. “Was she stabbed or strangled? Or beaten to death?” The eagerness in her posture and in her tone disgusted me. I had never realized she had such a love of the sensational.
I saw the officer at the door step forward, but I forestalled him. “You ought to know by now, Burdine, that I can’t share any details of what I’ve seen. You’ve read enough police procedurals to understand why.”
She had the grace to look abashed, and I felt slightly remorseful for the chiding tone in which I had spoken. Only slightly, however. I could see Elmore smirking at his wife.
That put an end to attempts at conversation for the next few minutes. The silence lengthened until it became unnerving. Why didn’t the lieutenant call someone else in for questioning? Was he talking to hotel staff first? That made sense, now that I thought of it. They could give him more background on Cora, her duties and her life, than could any of us.
Finally Sergeant Bloesch came back and asked for Ellie Arnold. Ellie had been so quiet all this time that I had forgotten she was here. She seemed to have withdrawn from everyone at the news of Cora’s death, a frozen figure locked in silent misery, sitting in the corner.
The sergeant had to call Ellie’s name twice before the woman responded. Then she got to her feet and slowly followed the sergeant from the room.
“What’s up with her?” Burdine asked. “She’s like a zombie this morning.”
“The poor woman is in shock, I would say,” Celia said. “And I think she’s afraid of something.”
“Afraid she’ll be next?” Elmore said. “Could be any one of us. Whoever murdered that poor girl might want to kill somebody else now. You know what they say—once they kill they get the taste for it and don’t stop.”
Miss An’gel fixed Elmore with her glacial gaze, and he shut up immediately. “I don’t think it behooves us to engage in conversation of that kind, do you?”
Elmore reddened but evidently could find no reply, not that Miss An’gel expected one. She continued to regard him, and he wilted further. Then she turned away from him to me. I knew she was frustrated by the need for silence on the details of Cora’s death, but I didn’t think now was the time for me to try to share them, even covertly.
The officer at the door kept a watchful eye on us. I thought about trying to text Miss An’gel the barest details of our discovery of Cora’s body, but if I were caught, I might get in trouble. Miss An’gel would have to wait to satisfy her curiosity, as would everyone else.
Johnny Ray seemed to have withdrawn also. I regarded him for a moment. His gaze had turned inward, I felt sure. Until he found out the truth about Denis Kilbride’s death and whether he’d had any role in it, he would remain unsettled and guilt ridden. I wished heartily I could have eased his mind, but I knew that didn’t lie within my power. I did say a quick prayer on his behalf, however, and hoped for the best for him.
Ellie did not return to the dining room when the sergeant came back to ask for Burdine and Elmore. Johnny Ray was the next called, and then Zac Ryan. Melba and Paul were called separately, and finally I was left with only Miss An’gel in the room with me. I checked my watch, and nearly two hours had passed.
Miss An’gel looked at me. “I simply can’t believe all this has happened, Charlie. This was meant to be a fun, carefree week, and instead we’ve stumbled into yet another murder, perhaps two.” Her tone was not in the least accusatory, simply matter-of-fact. After a moment she continued briskly. “It has happened, and we must do our duty as called upon by those in charge.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I knew she was itching to solve this mystery as much as I was. I wasn’t the only amateur sleuth in Athena. Miss An’gel and Miss Dickce had had their own adventures in detection. We both well knew that it was up to the official investigators to solve the case, but we also knew that there were times when amateurs could pick up facts that might elude the police. When that happened, we would share what we knew with them. The goal was to bring the murderer to justice, not to find personal glory. Neither the Ducote sisters nor I had ever sought the spotlight.
I wished I could tell her what Helen Louise and I knew about Cora’s murder, but under the still-watchful eye of the officer at the door, I didn’t try. Befor
e much longer we would be able to discuss the case. I also hoped we would soon know what had killed Denis Kilbride. If, as I suspected, Kilbride’s death was not from natural causes, then it must be connected to Cora’s murder. The coincidence of a natural death and a murder so close together in the same hotel was too great.
I knew Miss An’gel well enough to be sure that she thought the same. With her awareness of business dealings in Athena, she might have facts about Kilbride pertinent to his death. Throw Melba into the mix, with her uncanny knowledge of goings-on in Athena, and we ought to be able to come up with plausible motives for murder. Helen Louise, with her legal training and orderly mind, could spot flaws in logic that I, in my enthusiasm, might overlook.
Helen Louise and Diesel must have been wondering what was taking so long, I thought. I probably should have joined them upstairs an hour ago, but my insatiable curiosity kept me here. I hoped Helen Louise wouldn’t be annoyed with me, though I really couldn’t have blamed her if she was. I hesitated briefly, but then rose from my chair.
“Miss An’gel, I think I’d better get upstairs and check on Helen Louise and Diesel,” I said.
Sergeant Bloesch’s return forestalled any reply Miss An’gel planned to make. “Miss Ducote, Mr. Harris, would you come with me please? Lieutenant Wesner wants to see you both.”
Miss An’gel rose immediately, and I followed her to the door. The sergeant ushered us to where Wesner waited, and he gestured to the two chairs that Helen Louise and I had occupied a couple of hours ago.
Once Miss An’gel was seated, Wesner picked up a small stack of paper and waved it at us. “We’ve been doing some checking on you with the authorities in Mississippi. Specifically, with the chief of police and the sheriff’s department in Athena.”
I wondered if he himself had actually talked to Kanesha. No doubt she would have had a few things to say about my helpfulness.
“According to my intel,” Wesner continued, “you’re both upstanding citizens who’ve assisted in the past with murder investigations in Athena and elsewhere. While I will not tolerate any interference in the work of myself and my staff, I am aware that we’re working at a bit of a disadvantage in this situation. You know the people involved in this, whereas I do not. I am not officially clearing either of you from suspicion in this case yet, but I am willing to listen to what you have to say.”
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