I careened around the corner and sped up the gravel pathway to the front of the inn, partly because I couldn’t wait to tell my grandmother about this new development, and interview the best man, but also because I wanted to practice my driving skills.
Gamma was an aggressive, professional driver—the best in the NSIB—and she’d been teaching me in her spare time.
I did a handbrake turn, skidding to a halt outside the inn’s front steps, peppering them with bits of stone.
“Are you insane!” Violet Walker, the marshmallow-sweater-vest herself, rose from the porch swing. “Are you trying to choke me to death?” She covered her mouth against the dust.
I got out of the car, holding back my grin. “Sorry, Mrs. Walker,” I called. “I didn’t see you there.”
“Then go get your eyes checked, for heaven’s sake. You could kill a person with that kind of driving. Why of all the irresponsible, of all the—”
“Charlie!” Lauren bustled out onto the porch, her red hair in a French braid today.
Uh oh. I checked my watch. No, I wasn’t late for our lunch service prep. “Laur? What’s wrong?”
“I’ve been cleared of the murder!”
Violet paled and plopped back down onto the porch swing. It swung violently and nearly unseated her.
Lauren and I ignored her indignant cries and entered the inn’s foyer. We stopped underneath the fabulous chandelier with its bat trinkets.
“How?” I asked. “That’s great news! But how did it happen? How did you get cleared?”
“It was because of Georgina’s camera footage. And the fact that I don’t take prescription sleeping pills. That poor custard slice was poisoned with sleeping pills, but the detective said it wasn’t enough to kill Julia.”
“The poor custard slice?”
“I hate to think of it being ruined like that,” Lauren said, smoothing her apron. “You know, I do put an awful lot of work into my baking, and those custard slices were no exception.”
“I know,” I said. “Well, this is fantastic news. I’m glad that you’re cleared of the crime.” And it was mighty interesting that whoever had spiked the confection hadn’t managed to get enough of the drug into it to kill Julia. “Did the detective say anything else about the custard slice? Or Julia?”
“Not really, no. He stopped by to ask me a couple more questions and to let me know that I was officially a witness and nothing more,” Lauren said. “Since I might’ve seen something related to the murder because I was in close contact with the people around Julia.” She gave a delicate shudder.
“Ah. I wish he’d given you more information about the custard slice. Where it came from, you know?”
“Yeah. No, he didn’t say anything about that, but…”
“But?”
Lauren gave me a twinkle-eyed smile. “He hung around a bit longer than he needed to.”
“Yeah?”
“Almost seemed like he wanted to talk to someone else.”
I cleared my throat. “We should get started on the lunch prep.”
Lauren’s laughter followed me up the hallway. I greeted Sunlight and Cocoa Puff, both lounging in front the kitchen archway, with a scratch behind the ears a piece.
“What’s on the menu today?” I asked.
“Now that we know the custard slices weren’t poisoned here,” Lauren said, “I’m free to serve them to the guests. So our lunch dessert is taken care of. As for the mains, I’m thinking we make a spicy pumpkin and red pepper soup for entrees, and then we’ll have filet on a bed of green beans with hasselback potatoes and a side of onion rings.”
“My mouth is watering already.” But I knew what the onion ring part meant. I had to get my onion goggles out for this—a repurposed pair of ski goggles that kept me from crying, but clouded my vision.
Lauren and I worked in a comfortable silence, broken only by her humming a country song. It was nice that she was in good spirits after the start of the week had been so stressful. Soon, the divine scents of cooking filled the kitchen, and my stomach growled. I’d forgotten how hungry I was while talking to Freddy about the photos.
I couldn’t wait to talk to—
“Excuse me!” Violet appeared in the doorway, and the cats scattered.
This woman…
“Mrs. Walker,” I said. “Is everything all right?”
“You mean, apart from the fact that you nearly killed me to death?”
She’s reaching all new levels of redundancy. “My sincerest apologies, Mrs. Walker.” Could I be less sincere? Doubtful. “What can we help you with?”
“I found more cat hairs. This time in the dining area.”
The cats didn’t enter the dining room either. Cocoa and Sunlight knew how much it annoyed me to clear cat hair off the seats and tables, so they avoided the area.
“What color were they?” Lauren asked, immediately. “Was it the phantom cat?”
“White. Yes. It is most definitely the ghost cat.”
I wasn’t about to get into a debate with these women about how a phantom cat wouldn’t leave physical evidence behind. There was no point. I exited the kitchen through the swinging doors with their porthole windows. The dining room was largely empty, but I moved from table to table, checking the seats.
The chairs at the table right in front of the dining room windows held the cat hairs in question. White cat hairs, as Mrs. Walker had said. Now that was weird.
I’d have to talk to Gamma about this.