by K E O'Connor
I touched her shoulder. “I know it must be hard, losing someone like that and having unanswered questions.”
Emma sniffed but remained silent.
“How serious were you and Johnny?”
“Everything was good between us.”
“Which is great to know but not really what I asked. Were you talking about marriage?”
Her shoulders slumped. “I mentioned marriage a couple of times, but Johnny didn’t seem keen. We’d been arguing a bit. He was always working, keeping the castle from falling down. He acted as if he owned it and wasn’t simply a caretaker.”
“That must have been difficult if he didn’t have time for you.”
Emma turned to face me. I saw tears in her eyes. “He never said anything, but I wondered if he worked so hard because he wasn’t happy with me. Maybe I did something to upset him. He was losing interest. Even when we were together, it seemed like he was somewhere else.”
“Guys can get like that. They get obsessed with their work. I sometimes have to drag my boyfriend away from a big project when he’s really into it. He sounds similar to Johnny in that he loves what he does. It can get in the way of our relationship if we’re not careful.”
Emma nodded. “That was Johnny. The night he died, we were supposed to go out together. We had a huge row over the phone. I told him he had to choose between me and this stupid job. He said that was unfair, and I shouldn’t put him on the spot. He said I knew how much he enjoyed working in the castle.”
“What happened?”
“I decided to teach him a lesson. I didn’t show up for our date like we’d planned. I feel bad. Maybe if I had, he wouldn’t have been on the turret fixing that dumb aerial. He would have been out with me, and he’d still be here.”
“You don’t know that,” I said. “Maybe Johnny would have kept you waiting while he went and fixed the aerial or he would have gone up there another night and slipped. Don’t blame yourself for what happened.”
“I don’t. I blame this family. I blame them for leaning on Johnny too heavily. He was always running around after Tilly and Charlotte, making sure they were happy and had everything they needed. He could never do enough for those two. They might as well have been dating him.”
“He was fond of them?”
Emma snorted. “You could say that.”
“Do you think something was going on?”
She shook her head. “No! Although they both flirted with Johnny. It used to make me sick to see the way they fawned over him. He only encouraged them, which made everything worse.”
“You were jealous?”
“Yes. No. Not really. I knew he’d never cheat. I trusted Johnny. But sometimes, it was hard. They’re both so beautiful, and I’m so...” Emma raised her hands and slapped them against her jean clad thighs. “I’m so normal.”
“Johnny never said anything that made you concerned?”
Emma raked her hands through her hair several times. “No.”
“Tilly is single,” I said.
Emma’s brows lowered. “Meaning?”
I didn’t like to push her. Emma was distressed. But I was getting somewhere with these questions. “Meaning, perhaps you were right to be concerned. Tilly is attractive. Maybe Johnny was tempted, even for a moment.”
“So he cheated on me? No, you’re wrong.” Emma scowled and shook her head. “Why do you even care, anyway? You never knew Johnny. Keep your nose out of my business and stop making trouble.”
I took a step back. “I don’t mean to pry. I just wondered what you were doing out here. I don’t think the Countess likes you hanging around the castle.”
“She can get lost, as well,” snapped Emma, “pompous cow.”
I raised my hands, hoping Emma would calm down and I could find out more about her relationship with Johnny. They clearly had issues when they dated.
Her gaze went over my shoulder, and she let out a sigh. “There’s Will. I’ll see what he’s got to say for himself.” She hurried away without a backward glance.
I scratched my head. Emma seemed so convinced something bad had happened to Johnny. But if she’d been the one who’d pushed him off the turret, surely, she wouldn’t be poking around and asking difficult questions. She would disappear, and no one would ever see her again. Emma couldn’t have killed Johnny, but she had a great motive.
If what Ralph said was true, and Tilly had a relationship with Johnny, that would be the perfect reason Emma wanted him dead.
I turned back to the castle. My gaze went to the turret. Just who killed Johnny?
Chapter 11
It felt like the end of a long morning. I’d been steadily making my way through the final cabinet full of silver. The back of my throat felt dry with all the dust I’d kicked up, and I was long overdue a cup of tea and a few cookies.
Not only did I feel as if I was making little progress with my cataloging, but I didn’t feel like I was getting anywhere with helping Johnny. Maybe I was making a mistake, as was Emma.
His death hadn’t been flagged as suspicious by the police. Maybe it was an accident. He was here because he was still confused about what happened to him. Sometimes, when people died suddenly, their ghost floated around for a few days as they came to terms with what happened to them.
Emma and Johnny could have gotten things wrong. It would have been easy for Johnny, in all the confusion in the dark, to think someone was up there with him. Maybe it was just a strong gust of wind that punched into him and knocked him flying.
And as for Emma, she said she felt bad. Maybe that’s why she was chasing after this. She wanted a reason not to feel guilty. She had let Johnny down. They were supposed to be going out the night he died. He wouldn’t have been on the turret fixing the aerial if she’d shown up like she was supposed to. That could be the reason she was still here. It had nothing to do with anyone killing Johnny; it was to make herself feel better.
“Hey, how’s it going in here?” Helen stood in the doorway, a tray in her hands.
“You read my mind. I was about to take a tea break.”
Helen grinned. She walked over and placed the tray down.
“I thought you’d be gone by now.”
“I should have left half an hour ago,” said Helen. “I had a few things I needed to finish up here, first. I’m going back to the house then on to the wedding venue.”
“Are you meeting Marjorie there?”
“That’s the plan,” said Helen. “I’ve got a long list of questions to ask her.”
“Lucky Marjorie. You haven’t been sending her changes to the menu?”
“No, I listened to you. You’re right. The food I’ve already ordered will be fine.”
“It will be more than fine. It will be amazing.”
Helen poured the tea and handed me a mug. “It will have to be. We’re almost out of time.”
“Are you feeling nervous?”
“No.” Helen grabbed a cookie. “Actually, I’m terrified.”
“You’re not having second thoughts about marrying Gunner?”
“No! I can’t wait to be his wife.”
“What’s the problem?”
“There’s so much that could go wrong. What if the band doesn’t show up? Or the chef is sick? What if the weather is terrible? We’ve been having such lovely days. It has to break at some point.”
I placed my mug down. “The most important thing is that you and Gunner show up on time on the day. It doesn’t matter about everything else. It’s about the two of you joining together as husband and wife. If the band doesn’t show up, I’ll hire a karaoke kit, and everyone can take turns singing you their favorite love songs. If the chef is sick, we’ll order takeout Chinese. And if it rains, we’ll get umbrellas for everyone and take the photographs inside. There’s a solution to all of these problems. Just make sure you turn up on the day and get married to the love of your life.”
Helen smiled. “I guess so.”
“No guessing about it. T
he wedding will be great. Gunner Booth is a very lucky man.”
“I tell him that almost every day. Once we’re married, you and Zach can get planning your own wedding.”
“We’ll get around to it,” I said. My relationship with Zach was nicely back on track, now his ex-wife Amelia had finally left us alone. I was in no hurry to get married. I was enjoying my time with Zach. That was enough for now.
“It looks like you’re getting on well in here.” Helen looked around the great hall.
“It doesn’t feel like it. It’s slow going.”
“How about progress with our ghosts?”
I sighed. “I’m not sure there is a problem to solve. The more I think about it, the more I wonder if Johnny really did just fall. I talked to Emma earlier. I think she’s feeling guilty because she wasn’t around when the accident happened and is looking for somebody else to blame.”
“We’ve got credible suspects, though.” Helen pulled out her phone and checked it.
“Are you expecting a call?”
“I’ve left messages with half a dozen people about the wedding.”
“Isn’t that Marjorie’s job to badger people to get things done for the wedding?”
“It doesn’t hurt to double check a few things. Now, back to the suspects. Don’t you think it was Emma who killed Johnny?”
“They were having problems. And she told me they’d argued the day of his death.”
“So, she could have pushed him.” Helen looked at her phone again.
“She might have. But then there’s the possibility Johnny was having an affair.”
“And the jealous woman got possessive, and things got nasty?” Helen started tapping out a message on her phone.
I took a drink of tea. “It could be Tilly.”
“I thought you liked Tilly?”
“I do. But I still need to consider her a suspect. But you’re right, she is a nice lady. Maybe that’s a cover. She could be hiding something.”
“Uh huh,” said Helen.
I glared at Helen’s phone. “Or it could be you. You’re acting suspiciously. You’re often distracted, and you’re always sending secret messages.”
“That’s right.” Helen’s head shot up. “Hold on! What did you say? You think I’m a suspect in Johnny’s murder?”
“I knew you weren’t paying attention.”
Helen waved her hand in the air. “I am. You absolutely have my full attention. So, we’ve gone through the women. Emma, Charlotte, and Tilly all have potential. Who’s next?”
“Well, there’s the husband, Ralph. If Charlotte was the one having the affair with Johnny, he could have gotten jealous.”
“He can’t do much from his sick bed,” said Helen.
“No. Ralph does seem fond of his wife, even though she annoys him by fussing over him all the time.”
Helen typed another message on her phone before stuffing it into her purse. “How about Will? He could charm the pants off anyone. He told me I was an angel because I made him cheese on toast.”
“He sure is charming. And I did catch him arguing with Emma. Maybe they’re both involved in this. Perhaps the two of them became an item behind Johnny’s back, and Will decided to get rid of his rival.”
“There are so many suspects,” said Helen. “It’s a shame. Johnny sounds like such a nice guy. When you’ve seen him around, he hasn’t hinted about who he thinks pushed him?”
“No. He’s not been around much. I should head back to the turret and see if he’s there. That was the first place I met him.”
“How about the other ghost? The one you think is a knight.”
“He is a knight. Ralph told me all about him. His name’s Jacob.”
“Okay. So, maybe this Jacob is involved?”
“You think he had a grudge against Johnny?”
“Why not? He could easily have floated to the top of the turret, shoved Johnny off, and then vanished.”
“That doesn’t sound chivalrous.”
“It doesn’t do any harm to add him to the suspect list.”
“It could harm us. How can we go to the police and explain that a ghost knight killed Johnny? They’d have us both behind bars. Then you’d definitely miss your wedding to Gunner.”
“Good point,” said Helen. “Scrub Jacob from the suspect list.”
Flipper jumped to his feet. He stared at the door.
I looked over to see Jacob float through. From the sour expression on his face, it looked like he’d overheard our conversation about him being a suspect in Johnny’s death.
Helen’s phone rang. She scrabbled in her purse and pulled it out. “I have to take this. It’s Marjorie. I’ll catch up with you later.” She waved goodbye, hurrying out of the hall, her phone against her ear.
I watched Helen leave and then turned to the ghost. “Don’t take it personally. We’re coming up with all possibilities as to what happened to Johnny.”
Jacob’s eyes remained narrowed.
“I don’t suppose you’ve had any luck talking to Johnny? Maybe he’ll tell you what happened on the turret the night he died.”
He slowly shook his head.
“Do you have any theories? You must see a lot of what goes on around here. Who do you think killed Johnny?”
Jacob gave a slow, exaggerated shrug.
“You have no ideas? You didn’t see Johnny sneaking out for a secret liaison? Tilly maybe? Charlotte? Ralph?”
He shook his head before his gaze went to the coat of arms on the wall. He drifted over and touched one of the swords.
“That’s all you care about, isn’t it?” I said. “You want your sword back.”
Jacob looked over at me, his face downcast.
“I wish I could help. If I can, I will try to get your sword. But I can’t bury it in a graveyard. Perhaps we can do something else with it. Have a think and see if you can come up with a place to rest your sword. Then you can rest too.”
His face brightened.
“Don’t get your hopes up. There’s still a lot of work to do before the family decides what they’re going to get rid of. If they want to keep your sword, then I won’t take it.”
Jacob shrugged and nodded.
“In the meantime, you can help me. If you think of anything that might point the finger at who killed Johnny, let me know. Anything odd or strange that happened here six months ago, it could be helpful. It could be what we need to figure this out.” Or maybe I was hunting for a killer where there wasn’t one.
No, Johnny’s death was suspicious. Someone was involved in this. I was sure of it. I hadn’t figured out the right motive yet, but I would.
Even if I had to do it with no help from Jacob or Johnny and a best friend who was distracted by the most important day of her life.
Somebody killed Johnny. I was going to find out who.
Chapter 12
It was late that evening when I finished work for the day. I gave a contented sigh, looking around at the silver neatly cataloged and sorted into piles. I had a pile to keep, to auction, to donate to museums, and a pile I wasn’t certain about and needed to consult the family as to what they wanted done with it.
It was good to get this done. The first part of my inventory was complete. I could move on to the armory.
I headed to the office and printed out my report on the antiques before going to the Countess’s parlor. I knocked on the door.
“Come in.”
I pushed the door open and found her curled on a large, comfy looking cream couch, holding a book.
She smiled at me. “Are you finished for the day?”
“Just done with the silver,” I said. “I thought you’d like to see the report. There are several pieces I’m not certain about.”
“Excellent. You’ve made great progress. It would have taken me twice as long. I’m attached to a lot of the pieces. Some of that silver has memories.”
“You don’t have to take my decisions as final,” I said. “If there are
pieces that have sentimental value, then keep them.” I handed her the report.
She looked through it briefly before setting it to one side. Her gaze went to the window. “There are a whole lot of memories in this place. That’s why I’m finding it so hard to move on. Ralph is positively digging his heels in, despite the move being for his benefit.”
“Did he tell you I went with him to his last physiotherapy session?”
Countess Ponsonby turned her head and nodded. “He did. Ralph said he was glad of the company. I hope you didn’t find it too dull. He gets a bit obsessed with his antiques and will talk about them for hours if you let him.”
“I was happy to go along,” I said. “It must get lonely for him, being stuck here all the time.”
“He does get lonely. I worry about him. He hasn’t been sleeping well recently, and he’s getting more pains. It’s his condition, it’s only going to get worse. There’s only so much the doctors can do, only so much physio and massage that will help. Eventually, this will beat him.” She looked away again.
I could tell the Countess was also in pain. It must be a strain having a sick husband. “Even though you love each other, it must get frustrating.”
Her shoulders sagged. “It does. I feel bad for saying this, but I miss the times when he was well. I miss the old Ralph. He was charming and cheeky, full of enthusiasm for life. Now, the only enthusiasm he has is for the documentaries on the TV. And he’s always tired. I know it’s the drugs he’s on. They take it out of him. But I miss the days when we could go on long drives or walks in the countryside. I used to love taking a picnic and spending time alone with him. I’m never going to get that man back. It’s as if I’ve suffered a bereavement, even though he’s still in the house with me. Does that make sense?”
I nodded and sat in the seat she gestured to. “It does. It must be frustrating for him, as well. It sounds like he was once so active.”
“He was. That’s what makes this even harder. Those wedding vows I made of being there for someone in sickness and in health are so appropriate. Although, I didn’t expect to become my husband’s carer.”