Sixteen

Nessie gasped and slapped a hand against her chest. “Oh my word. What happened?”

“He was strangled. Right here in Wagtail.”

“Your brother-in-law was Randall Donovan?” I squeaked.

“You know about this?” Sky took off her fedora.

“He’s the guy who was mugged. The one Nessie was referring to earlier today. I didn’t know you were related to him. I’m so sorry.”

“Oh my. I’m sorry too, Sky.” Nessie’s eyes narrowed. “What was your sister’s husband doing in Wagtail on a singles weekend?”

Sky sighed. “My sister didn’t even know he was coming here. She thought he was giving a talk in Boston. Then she received a phone call about his death out of the blue.”

“Ohhhh.” Nessie shook her head slowly. “That does not bode well for him. Lying to his wife is bad enough, but coming here right now, when there are a lot of single women? That just spells trouble. He was up to no good.”

Furrows worked their way onto Sky’s forehead. “I bet you’re right. Why else would he come here? He sure wasn’t a dog or cat kind of guy.”

“He was looking for someone yesterday. Someone participating in the matchmaking events. Do you know who that might have been?” I asked.

“I don’t have the first clue. But I’ll talk to my sister to see if she knows anything.”

Nessie snorted. “They never do. The wives are always the last to know about these things.”

“Will you be leaving?” I asked Sky.

“I haven’t decided yet. Apparently, his body has been shipped to the coroner in Roanoke for an autopsy, so there won’t be a funeral immediately. She’s going to call me back. As you can imagine, she’s in a state of shock. She never imagined that anything like this could happen. Randall was a very difficult man, but murdered? No one deserves that.”

“Come on, Sky. Let’s go up to our room.”

“Huey!”

I recognized Ben’s voice and turned.

Panting, he rushed toward the staircase. “Huey! Come with me,” he gasped.

Huey paid him no attention at all. He had already reached the landing on the stairs with Duchess and Lulu.

Sky and Nessie called him.

Huey looked at us but made no move to return down the stairs.

Ben was going to need a leash. I headed for Oma’s kitchen, where we kept extra leashes in case they were needed in a hurry. I brought it out to Ben. “What do you want Huey for?”

“You’re the one who told me I was ignoring him.”

“You’re avoiding my question.”

Ben blinked and said somewhat sheepishly, “I want to give him a chance and get to know him.”

Sky had Huey by the collar and escorted him down the stairs to Ben.

I longed to believe Ben, but nothing in all the years I had known him led me to accept that response. Ben was a good guy. He would never hurt Huey. He just wasn’t an animal person. Still, he had requested a dog, and both of them deserved the chance to get to know each other.

I watched him walk out of the inn with Huey before I skedaddled into the kitchen and prepared a pot of strong black tea for Sky and Nessie. I threw a white cloth over a room service cart and loaded it with cream, sugar, lemon slices, teacups, napkins, forks, spoons, and tiny plates. In the cooler, I found the leftover cream puffs, chicken salad, rolls, butter, and steak, which I carved into thin slices, arranged on top of lettuce, and garnished with savory olives and salty mini-pickles. It wasn’t much, but a little finger food might make them feel better. After one last glance at it, I added a vase of gladioli and dahlias.

I rolled the cart up to their room and knocked on the door. Sky was on the phone again, but Nessie thanked me for bringing them goodies. She tried to tip me, but I refused.

Trixie and I headed down the grand staircase. With everyone out to dinner or dressing to go out, the inn was quiet. That suited me fine because my head was reeling with the most awful thoughts. I liked Sky so much. She impressed me as a gentle and lovely person. Surely she couldn’t be the one responsible for Randall’s death.

Suddenly, it occurred to me that I hadn’t called John. I rushed to the phone in the kitchen, pulled out his number, and dialed it. His line rang for a long time. Just as I was giving up, John answered the phone.

I explained that I had pulled inn duty and wouldn’t be able to have dinner with him.

“Okay. Thanks for letting me know.”

“Maybe we could meet later for a drink?”

“I don’t think so. I’m bushed. But thanks anyway.” He hung up.

I frowned at the phone. “Now was that my imagination, or did I just get the brush-off?” I asked Trixie.

She ignored me and stared at the entrance to the hidden staircase.

“What is it?” I whispered. I hoped no one had hidden there.

Tiptoeing, I walked over to the door disguised as a bookcase. On the bottom shelf a pet door allowed Twinkletoes and Trixie to go home to our quarters if they felt like it.

Trixie growled softly, almost a hum.

An orange paw darted out at us.

I bent to see better. I caught a glimpse of Twinkletoes and Marmalade before they scampered back up the stairs. “I think they were spying on us!”

Trixie gave the pet door one last glance before she followed me out through the lobby and onto the porch. I sat down in a rocking chair.

My mind went straight back to John. I wanted to think I was being overly sensitive. Maybe he had been writing and I had interrupted him. Or maybe he was moody. If that was the case, it was just as well that I knew it now.

I tried to put him out of my mind and focus on Randall. Gingersnap left her cherished position by the stairs, came to me, and nuzzled my hands. “Hi, baby girl. Just because Sky was related to Randall doesn’t mean she murdered him. Does it?”

Gingersnap wagged her tail slowly. She probably didn’t know either. As I stroked her silky head, it dawned on me that Randall might have been looking for Sky or her daughter, Maddie. His wife could have mentioned they would be in Wagtail. Maybe she’d even made fun of Sky for keeping tabs on Maddie. I hated that the scenario involving Sky was more logical than the one about Randall looking for a small-time crook.

And where had Randall’s wife been the night of his murder? Was it possible that the two sisters had conspired to murder him? People did a lot of strange things for family.

A man who didn’t believe in love had to have been a nightmare as a husband. In fact, I wondered why he would have married at all if he really believed that love was only a cultural delusion. What had Sky called him? Difficult. A very polite way of saying he was a problem.

As I pondered the relationship between Sky and her brother-in-law, my gaze fell on a young blonde who marched toward the inn with a grim expression. Her little dog kept pace beside her.

Maddie Stevens!

I jumped to my feet and dashed inside to the concierge desk. Moving lightning fast, I picked up the house phone and called Sky’s room.

The phone rang and rang. And was still ringing when Maddie Stevens entered the inn and walked up to me.

“Excuse me, do you have a guest by the name of Sky Stevens?”

I didn’t even have time to debate what to do before Maddie shouted, “Mother!” Half of Wagtail must have heard her.

Sky stopped midstep on the grand staircase. To her credit, she didn’t turn tail and run back upstairs. Calmly, Sky walked to her daughter, placed a gentle hand on her arm, and said, “I’m glad you’re here. We need to talk.”

Maddie scowled at her mother and the two of them ducked into the library with Atticus, Duchess, and Lulu.

Nessie barreled down the stairs. The two of us bounded after them. We stopped at the open entrance to the library and lurked to hear their conversation.

“What do you think you’re doing? Have you lost your mind?” Maddie was mad as a yellow jacket.

“Honey, I was just looking out for you.”

“Did you really think I wouldn’t recognize you on that pontoon boat today? And what was that? A boat full of dogs and two women in Indiana Jones hats, pretending to fish?”

“We caught one. Did you see that? With just a hook. We didn’t even have bait. I didn’t know a fish would do that!”

“Don’t change the subject. Aww. Who are these doggies?”

“This one is Duchess. She’s a shelter dog. I’m going to adopt her. Isn’t she sweet?”

“She’s beautiful. Okay, Mom, listen. You have to back off. I met a guy I really like.”

“The one on the boat? Were you drinking? I’ve never seen you so inept on a boat.”

“I was pretending that I didn’t know anything about boats. He doesn’t know who I am, and I don’t want him to know. But if you keep this up you’re going to give me away.”

“Maddie, why would you do that? Honey, you’re such a lovely girl. Be yourself, and he’ll like you.”

“Do you remember Kyle? Don’t look so worried. I’m not getting back together with him. But I don’t want someone like that. I want someone who likes me for me.”

“Sweetheart, I understand that. But pretending to be different will only backfire on you.”

“Mom. I’m not a kid. I’m mortified that you’re here at all. I may never forgive you for this. I’m an adult, Mom. You’re—you’re stalking me!”

“Maddie, there’s something I need to tell you.”

“What could it possibly be? You don’t know Chad.” Maddie gasped. “Oh no. You didn’t hire a private investigator to check him out, did you?”

“No. It’s not about Chad.”

“If you don’t stop spying on me, I swear I will never speak to you again.”

Maddie stormed by us and backed up. “You!” She pointed at Nessie. “I knew you didn’t get my name off of Atticus’s collar.” She gestured toward me. “And you, too. My love life is none of your business. Come on, Atticus.”

Sky emerged from the library. In a soft and patient voice, she said, “Randall is dead.”