Murder at the Mansion (13 page)

“What do you mean?”

“The scent of pine mingling with roasting turkey and pumpkin pies baking.” I realized I was on a soapbox and decided I'd better get down.

“Tell me what your Christmas is like.” Scott raised an eyebrow and smiled at me, faint lines crinkling around his eyes.

“Well, it's Christmas season with a special Christmas Day in it. You live Christmas with your family and friends. It encompasses weeks of neighbors coming by sharing baked goods and stories of what's happened during the year. Mom puts up two trees, a huge one in the living room and another one in the dining room. The family decorates them together. Presents pile up—mostly practical items and often handmade.”

“Who's in your family?”

“I have two brothers, a sister and brother-in-law, my mom, my dad, and my grandpa. My sister had twins a few months ago, so I'm an aunt. Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

“No. There's just me.”

“What are your parents doing now?”

“Dad still does some work for the company. Mom participates in fund-raising and plays bridge. They live in New York City.”

I toyed with my dinner. “Have you ever thought about settling in one place for a while?”

“I've thought about it. I don't really know what that's like. This traveling position has been a perfect fit for me.” He sipped his wine. “Michael has been wanting to do something more with the company retreat outside of town. He's hinted he'd be interested in me creating and handling something. We'll see.”

Scott here in the area. I'd like that, even though part of me said to not get involved with someone again. I'd loved my ex-husband with the depth of a first true love and had lived with the certain knowledge we'd be together forever. The stunning sense of loss and biting pain when it came to an end was like nothing I'd experienced before. I wasn't ready to risk going through it again. I wondered if I ever would be.

Scott's phone beeped. He read for a moment. “It's Michael. He wants us all to meet tomorrow at ten.”

I stood and started to pick up dishes. “I can be there.”

“He talked to Sylvia's supervisor. Sylvia felt the attack on her was by the jewel thief and nothing personal regarding her. Wrong place, wrong time. She wanted to stay to see if she could help solve the crimes and felt she'd be safe by being extra vigilant.”

We looked at each other.

“Poor woman,” I said. “She was so wrong.”

S
cott and I said our good nights, and I finished clearing the dishes. I stopped at the conference room and flicked on the lights. The Silver Sentinels had crossed out many of the inns and circled others in their search for Robert James. “Eight a.m. sharp” in bold red lettering topped one of the charts. I was curious to find out how the day had gone for them.

As I got ready for bed, I thought about the emotion that had started to overwhelm me at Scott's kind gesture. It seemed to have dissipated. Stevie and Tina appeared grateful for my help today. I'd hoped someone would help me—and someone did. Scott. I liked him. I liked him a lot.

I rolled into bed and turned off the lights.

 

The alarm did its job waking me at six. I opened the door into the hallway at seven and met the delicious aroma of pastries baking. Reminding myself about something called self-control, I walked a little faster.

Helen pulled a tray of croissants oozing what looked like dark purple syrup out of the oven as I entered.

“Wow! Do those smell good.” I poured myself some coffee.

She placed them on cooling racks. “Thanks. They're for the Ridley House. We're keeping a sideboard of food out until late morning, in addition to the morning breakfast. Something extra under the circumstances. Luckily, I had these in the freezer.”

The circumstances being Sylvia's murder and the relocation of the guests. I wondered how that was going.

“Good morning, Miss Kelly,” Tommy said from his stool at the counter as he shoved his spoon in his bowl for more cereal.

Fred pulled himself up and wagged his way over for petting.

I rubbed Fred's silky ears. “Same to you, Tommy.”

Helen pulled a bowl of fruit from the refrigerator, placed it in front of me, and put a basket of home-baked wheat bread on the counter. “Tommy, finish your breakfast, and I'll drop you off at school on my way to deliver these pastries.”

“Okay, Mom. Can Fred come along for the ride?”

Helen tousled Tommy's light blond hair. “Sure. He's always good company.”

Tommy left and returned with his backpack. Helen took the baked goods to her car, and the three of them piled in and took off. The place was suddenly quiet. Other than in my quarters, I hadn't been alone in Redwood Cove Bed-and-Breakfast for more than a few minutes since I'd returned.

I savored the moment, walking around the large multipurpose room. I already had fond memories of the interactions I had in it with my recently made friends and looked forward to many more.

A rattling engine caught my attention. I looked out the back window as the Professor's gold boat of a Mercedes sedan rocked and rolled into the yard. The dapper gentleman got out of the driver's seat, opened the back car door, and gave his hand to Gertie to help her out. Mary emerged from the other side.

I opened the back door. “Good morning.”

“Same to you, my dear,” the Professor said as he closed the car door.

Gertie tapped her way up the back steps, holding her cane in her bandaged hand. “We're here and ready to get to work.”

“I saw your notes. I'm looking forward to hearing what you found out.”

Mary came up behind Gertie, slightly breathless, plastic container in hand. “We haven't found him yet, but we feel we have good leads.”

“Our dear Russian brothers will join us shortly. They do a walk each morning and decided coming here on foot would be their trek for the day.”

They went to the conference room and readied themselves. I cleaned up the few dishes in the kitchen, went back to my room, and checked e-mail, then went to join them. Mary's open box occupied the middle of the table. I looked forward to what baked surprise she was treating us with today. Looking in, I saw moist-looking brownies with chunks of chocolate visible on the sides.
Right. Remember the self-control words you used this morning.

Ivan and Rudy had joined them. The fresh ocean air clung to their clothes and filled the room.

Gertie had a variety of colored pens in front of her. At precisely eight, she picked one up and tapped the table. “Let's get started,”

The Professor smiled and turned to me. “Our first order of business is to thank you for the use of the room. It's perfect for our needs.”

“You're welcome,” I said.

He turned to the charts. “The inns we've crossed out have no one even remotely resembling Robert James. The circled ones have possibilities. The question marks indicate places we haven't heard from them yet.”

“Yah. So this morning we do stakeout,” Ivan said.

Rudy shifted in his chair. “We're going out in teams of two to the places we feel we have the best chance of finding Mr. James.”

The Professor picked up his pen and began twirling it in his fingers. “Gertie's picture isn't very good. We'll take photos of the possible suspects and have Daniel look at them for identification purposes.”

“It sounds like you have quite a morning planned,” I said.

Mary pushed her baked goods toward me. “You need to put some weight on that slim frame of yours. These are double chocolate chunk espresso brownies.” She nudged them closer. “What are you up to today?”

Chocolate and coffee together. My favorite combination.
Resolve raced out the window. I picked up one of the brownies. “There's a meeting at the Heights.” I savored the chocolate and coffee combination as it melted in my mouth.

Mary smiled happily as I'm sure my face reflected the divine taste of the treat. “Honey, the Whale Frolic Festival is this weekend, and it starts with a chowder competition tonight. I think you'd enjoy it.”

The Professor leaned back. “Your guests will want to know about events in the area. This is your chance to learn about this one—and have a little fun. Your return has had a rocky start.”

“I don't know if I can. It depends on what happens at the meeting.” I sipped my strong coffee and tasted more chocolate. “I'm not sure what's expected of me tomorrow.”

Gertie said, “You can buy tickets at the door. If you go, try to get there early because there'll be a long line.”

“Thanks.” I left them to their strategizing and went back to my room. I picked up my fanny pack, which had replaced my purse. It was so much easier to deal with when lugging boxes from the dirty carriage house.

I decided to take the truck, even though it was a short walk. I might want to bring more things back. As I arrived at the mansion, Daniel pulled in next to me. We got out and headed inside.

“How's it going at your place? Having a lot of unplanned guests isn't what you expected.”

Daniel grinned. “My staff were all in the area and rallied to the situation. Friends in the remodeling business came together to finish the details. This is such a great community, and I have wonderful friends. I feel blessed.”

Thoughts of my conversation with Scott flooded my mind. “It's like that where I grew up.”
And I'm thrilled it's like that here
.

We said no more as we made our way to the manager's office.

The Redwood Heights staff was there as well as Corrigan and Scott. People shifted restlessly. The unknown loomed before them. Corrigan had shut the mansion to guests and a murder had been committed.

Trays of water, coffee, and juice lined one side of the office. Lily, her back to me, poured herself a glass of juice. Her long gray hair had been twisted into a knot and secured with a silver clip. She wore tan slacks and a light green smocklike top.

Tina and Cindy, dressed in blue jeans and gray sweatshirts with V
EGANS
A
LL THE
W
AY
printed in red on them, whispered to each other in the corner. I smiled at Scott and gave a little wave to Corrigan. Hensley sat ramrod straight at her desk. I settled in a chair near the back of the room.

Corrigan stood and addressed the group. “Hello, everyone. I have a number of reasons for calling this meeting. As you're all aware, we've had a tragic incident here involving the murder of one of our employees.”

The office phone rang. Hensley pushed a button, and the ringing stopped, the call being sent to voice mail.

“The current guests have been transferred to Ridley House and will be checking out day after tomorrow.” He looked at Daniel. “How is that going?”

“No complaints. They appreciate having their rooms comped. I've heard a lot of buzz about the wine and cheese pairings you're having Phil and Andy prepare for them. They're a knowledgeable group and recognize the quality of what's being provided.”

“Good.” Corrigan looked around the room. “We won't be accepting any reservations here at this time. I don't know how long that'll last.”

Tina and Cindy exchanged worried looks. Lily frowned.

“All of you will continue to be fully employed.”

I felt the waves of relief rolling across the room from the two girls in the corner.

“I've asked Margaret to prepare lists of what can be worked on during this time,” Corrigan said.

Hensley nodded. “That's why I sent out the e-mail regarding wearing casual dress.” She addressed the girls and Lily. “Please see me at the end of the meeting so we can discuss what I've put together.”

“The two detectives will be staying here for a few nights. It takes over two hours for them to get back to their station. I offered them lodging, and they took it.”

People nodded. I suspected having them on site was welcomed.

Corrigan looked around the room. “We need to get to the bottom of this. You've all been questioned by the police. Has anyone thought of anything else since the initial questioning that might be important?”

Negative head shaking indicated there were no clues there.

“Kelly, did they find out anything about your vehicle break-in?”

“They haven't contacted me. I imagine it's low on their list right now.”

Corrigan nodded. “I agree. I understand you found some old legal documents in the carriage house. Is there anything there of interest?”

“I only glanced at the papers. It looks like a lawsuit. A woman claiming to be a Brandon heir. We know they didn't have any children.” I glanced at Lily.

“That's correct,” Lily said. “It's why the place went to distant cousins.”

“Clearly the person didn't win, so the court didn't agree with her,” I said.

Corrigan nodded. “I doubt there's anything there to help us, but I'd like you to review the information carefully.”

“What about my inventory assignment here?”

“Concentrate on the box for now. The Heights's staff can continue where you left off.”

Corrigan looked around the room. “Think hard about Sylvia's actions. Was there anything unusual in terms of how she acted as a guest?”

Tina glanced at Cindy, gulped, and said, “There was one thing.” She hesitated.

“Anything, Tina.” Corrigan encouraged her.

“I found her taking pictures in the pantry. She had her back to me. As I entered, I heard her dictating into her phone, something about company protocol.” She shot a frightened look at the Heights's manager.

Hensley's eyes widened.

“When she saw me, she said she wanted to learn about the inner workings of a place like this. Her face was flushed, she mumbled something else, and pushed past me.”