The Ghost and Mrs. Mewer (A Paws and Claws Mystery Book 2) (14 page)

Bad timing. I had just taken a swig of iced tea when Clementine lied about the name of her stalker. I choked and coughed.

Oma raised an eyebrow.

Clementine looked at me with alarm, and I knew it wasn’t because she was afraid I couldn’t breathe. I assured them I was fine, which gave Oma license to return to the subject of the mysterious Russell Lake—or Parker Colby—whoever he was.

“Why do you hide from this man?” Oma demanded.

“Oma, I have all I can handle right now. The divorce has only been final for a few months. The last thing I need is a romance. Is that jaded of me? Maybe I
am
a little bit sour on romance now. My children and my father come first.”

“You are afraid of this Russell?”

Clementine paused too long.

“Then I will call Dave. You will stay here at the inn with us.”

“I couldn’t do that. Really.”

“I have two bedrooms,” I said. “I could bunk with Oma. You and the kids could have the run of my apartment.”

“We couldn’t. It’s very kind of you to offer.”

Oma gazed at Trixie. “Do you have a dog?”

“I do!” Clementine seemed relieved that the topic of conversation had changed. “Star Baby. She’s from one of Babylicious’s litters.”

“Too bad you did not bring her with you today.”

“Dad took her to the show.”

Poor Clementine uttered those words without realizing that she had walked right into Oma’s trap.

“Then you must stay here with us.”

“Oh no!” I was so eager to help Clementine that it hadn’t dawned on me that the inn wasn’t the safest place for her. “Oma, I’m afraid
Russell
is a guest of the inn.”

Oma’s fork fell to the stone terrace with a clank. “What?”

Clementine turned toward me in shock and confusion.

I picked up Oma’s fork.

Oma clasped her hands to her cheeks. “Nothing like this has ever happened before in all the years that I have run this inn. Nothing!”

Mr. Huckle appeared in the doorway with a fresh fork. “Begging your pardon, madam, but I will gladly go to stay with Miss Clementine and the children.”

“But—”

He stopped Clementine before she could say more. “It would be my pleasure. You are like a daughter to me. I like to think that if I had had a daughter, she would have been exactly like you, Miss Clementine. I shan’t leave you alone in your hour of need.” He turned to Oma. “Shall I serve dessert now, madam?”

What a sneaky old fellow. I bet there wasn’t much going on in the inn that he didn’t know about.

Our lunch ended on a high note, but when Clementine took her leave, I made a point of escorting her out. Trixie went with us.

“Thanks for making up that story about Russell Lake staying here.”

I laughed out loud. No wonder she was confused. “But he is. Under a different name.”

Clementine’s face flushed red when she realized she’d been caught. “Holly, I’m sorry I lied. Is he really bunking at the inn?”

“I’m afraid so.”

“What’s his name?”

“You honestly don’t know?”

“Please, you saw right through that. Trixie is a Jack
Russell
, and we were sitting out near the
lake
. Russell Lake.”

“I gather that means he’s not an old boyfriend.”

Clementine stared down the pedestrian zone. “You and Oma are dear friends. You can’t imagine how much I hated lying to you.” Clementine folded her arms across her chest. “I came back to Wagtail to escape something terrible. The kids and I need a fresh start. I don’t want my personal troubles all over town. I don’t want to be
that
woman. I don’t want people feeling sorry for me or whispering when I pass by. And most of all, I don’t want my children growing up and hearing the whispers and the rumors and living with the shame.”

I could understand that. I wasn’t one to broadcast all my personal problems, either. “It sounds like a terrible divorce.”

She held one hand over her forehead. “You can’t begin to imagine.”

I let it go. I didn’t want to pry. “He registered under the name of Parker Colby. Do you think your husband sent him?”

She finally met my eyes. “We’ll be fine with Mr. Huckle. We’ll be just fine.”

I wasn’t so sure about that. Mr. Huckle was a sweet old man, but somehow, I doubted that he was much protection.

She picked up my hand and gave it a squeeze. “This is why I came home to Wagtail. People look out for each other here.” She gasped. “Isn’t it ironic that I don’t want people in town to know my troubles, yet I expect them to protect me and my children?”

She ducked down the little passageway lined with bushes and hopped into a golf cart driven by Mr. Huckle.

Trixie and I returned to reception. We had barely entered when Oma said, “I know every guest in this inn. There is no Russell Lake. The guest who follows Clementine, is he a ghost hunter?”

“It’s Parker Colby.”

“Nooo!” whined Zelda. “It couldn’t be. He’s so dreamy. He wouldn’t be that scuzzy. There must be a mistake.”

Oma’s lips pursed. “You always like the bad boys, Zelda. You should make a point of looking for nice men.”

“Not all gorgeous men are bad to the bone,” she protested.

“You and Felix make a cute couple,” I said.

Oma glanced up from the computer. “You, my liebchen, have the reverse problem. You must break away from the boring studious types, like your ex-boyfriend. Has he called you yet?”

“No. I really don’t expect him to call. It’s over, Oma.”

“Did he help you pack?”

“No.”

“Hmpff. It’s a good thing you broke off that relationship. I’m glad to see him go. Hmm, I have our Mr. Colby here. He is from New York City.”

Zelda peered at the computer. “He doesn’t sound like a New Yorker. If you’d said he was from Texas, I might have believed you.”

“The three of us will keep an eye on him, yes? And I will notify Officer Dave.”

“Oma, Clementine doesn’t want that. She said she came here for a fresh start and doesn’t want the whole town knowing about her shameful troubles with her husband.”

“Shameful? She has nothing to be ashamed of if her husband betrayed her.”

“I think it might be worse than that. She doesn’t want people feeling sorry for her.”

“So it’s like that, is it? An abusive husband, you think? That’s still nothing to be ashamed of. However, I understand her desire not to be pitied. I would feel the same way.” Oma looked from me to Zelda. “The first sign of trouble, and we notify Officer Dave. Agreed?”

The phone rang and Oma answered. When she hung up, she asked, “Would you mind giving Shelley a hand with the ghost hunters since Mr. Huckle has gone to help Clementine?”

“I’m on it!”

Trixie’s nails clicked on the hardwood floor as she hurried along the corridor with me.

The Apparition Apprehenders had gathered in the Dogwood Room, the open sitting area next to the grand staircase. Felix was leaning back on a sofa with his eyes closed, but he held a mug on his lap. Brian perched next to him, jazzed and energetic. Casper lay quietly at their feet.

Eva walked Mrs. Mewer toward us. Twinkletoes, who had been watching from the staircase, scampered toward Mrs. Mewer, hissed at her, and dashed away. Some feline ambassador she was!

Shelley handed me a pot of coffee. “The ghost hunters are having an impromptu breakfast meeting. They’re all just getting out of bed, so they’ll want lots of caffeine. I’ve set up a station with orange juice, cream and sugar for coffee, and a buffet server of bacon and scrambled eggs. So if you could keep their mugs filled, that would be a huge help. Oh, and I have a tray of breakfast breads that Mr. Luciano ordered. Would you carry that in for me?”

I was more than happy to help out. The tray of croissants, muffins, and sweet rolls was bigger and heavier than I’d have imagined. I hoped Trixie wouldn’t run underfoot and trip me.

Happily, I managed to deliver it without catastrophe. I positioned the goodies near the orange juice.

Mr. Luciano stood by the fireplace speaking softly to Mark, whose gaze continually flicked over to Eva. Gina, the bulldog, sat by Mr. Luciano’s feet, calmly taking everything in.

Twinkletoes jumped onto the mantel behind Mr. Luciano but kept a wary eye on Mrs. Mewer.

Most of the guys appeared to have dressed in two minutes, bothering only to don wrinkled T-shirts and jeans, but Eva was pulled together. A broad lavender hairband pulled her hair back, sixties-style. Her top matched the hairband, and her slim cropped trousers accentuated her figure.

Two cameramen were waiting to tape the meeting.

The chatter stopped when Mr. Luciano began to speak in his deep
Godfather
-ish voice. “You had a very successful night at the Wagtail Springs Hotel. Mark and I have been going over some of the footage and some amazing EVPs, which astonished us. I think you’ll be very pleased.”

Lillian Elsner was walking by. She paused and gazed at the collected group in the sitting room. “Oh my. Did I hear you say ghosts? They fascinate me. Is this a private group, or may I sit in?”

Mr. Luciano couldn’t have been more gracious. With a grand sweep of his hand, he said, “By all means, Lillian, please join us.”

She strode in and settled near Eva. I expected to see orbs on the walls reflecting off her dazzling earrings. An inch in diameter, they looked like balls cut in half and covered in diamonds. As before, large gemstones surrounded by diamonds graced her slender fingers. She plopped a casual designer handbag on her lap.

When GloryB’s head popped out of it, Mrs. Mewer yowled her protest, which woke Felix.

His head jolted up, and he shouted, “Here!”

It didn’t appear to upset GloryB, though. She gazed around the assembled group with great interest.

I poured coffee into Felix’s mug. He smiled at me, sat up straight, and self-consciously ran a hand through his mussed hair.

“Mark, would you play the EVP we discussed?” asked Mr. Luciano.

Mark reached forward and pressed a button on a recorder. At first we heard nothing but static. Suddenly, children giggled in the background. A child’s voice spoke.
“I’m going to get you!”

Eva frowned and sat forward. Everyone started talking at once, but a hush fell over them when Brian rewound it and played it again.
“I’m going to get you!”

It wasn’t as clear as if someone had spoken into a microphone. The child’s voice was in the background with static over it, but even I couldn’t mistake what it said.

Luciano waited until the talking and high-fiving died down. “But that’s not all. Brian, would you do the honors?”

Brian played a different section. Again, it began with static. But then, underneath the static, a rattling sound emerged. I didn’t know what a rattlesnake sounded like, but I’d have backed away from that and fast!

Brian replayed it for everyone. He tugged at my sleeve and pointed to his mug. I’d been so entranced that I had forgotten to do my job.

Finally, he played one last portion. Like the others, it began with static. The sound of footsteps running could be heard in the background. I’d been there for that one and had heard it with my own ears live, when it happened.

“Eva,” said Mr. Luciano, “any impressions?”

She spoke with assurance. I could just imagine her in her classroom. “I can’t tell you anything until I examine them more closely.”

“How about this?” Mr. Luciano projected a video on the wall.

I recognized it immediately—the flashlight that had responded when Brian had asked Hiram to turn it on. We watched, spellbound.

Eva snorted. “I’m sorry, Mr. Luciano. I doubt there’s a person in this room who isn’t familiar with the flashlight trick. Brian is well known for this kind of performance. I’ve called him on it before.”

Brian’s mouth dropped open, and his hands curled into fists. “What did I ever do to you? Why are you trying so hard to ruin my reputation? This is my career, not some game. No wonder Mark dumped you.”

Eva sucked in a deep breath. Her eyes opened wide, and she stared at Brian in horror.

It seemed like time stopped in those seconds of painful silence. Mark jumped to his feet. “Hey. Wait a minute. Don’t go talking about things you don’t know about.”

Felix’s eyes darted back and forth between Mark and Brian. “Now come on, guys. Brian, apologize to Eva. She’s just doing her job.”

“I notice she’s not putting
you
down. Only me. It’s always only me. You better beware, Felix. I’m sure you’re next on her list of lives to ruin, like she has mine and Mallory’s.”

Mr. Luciano finally stepped in. “Just a moment. Let’s not get heated. I believe you’ve overstepped, Brian. Felix is right. I hired Eva to do exactly this. She’s only analyzing the results.”

“Yeah? Is that what she’s doing? Well, try this on for size. There was a witness when Mallory died. I saw you, Eva. Yup, with my own two eyes. You can’t disprove that.” Brian pointed at her with a pudgy forefinger. “I saw you sneaking back into the inn the night Mallory died. Try to dodge that truth. Not quite as easy as pooh-poohing ghosts, is it?”

Eva seemed almost breathless. “I was not sneaking.”

Brian didn’t try to hide his joy. “So you admit it! Then you won’t mind telling us what you were doing outside in the middle of the night.”