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BRUCE MCCALLUM GLANCED around. Spotting Emma Varner hovering nearby, he exploded. “Why are you always spying on me? Don’t you have anything better to do?” He turned back to Arden, his fingers biting into her wrist. Dropping his voice to the barest whisper, he said, “This is just between you and me, understand? If the killer knows we’re on to him, he’ll kill us both. You got me, Girlie?”
Arden wordlessly nodded.
He gave Emma a look of disgust before stomping away, the tip of his cane striking the floor with unnecessary force.
Emma shook her head in disapproval as he walked away. Once he was gone, she sidled closer to Arden. “Honey, don’t mind Bruce. Being ornery is just his way.” Her smile fell as she looked at Arden’s face. “Oh, he really upset you. What did he say now?”
Arden hesitated. She was pretty sure the man was crazy, but his warning to keep their conversation silent worried her. “He was just telling me a story.”
“Well, whatever it was, I wouldn’t worry about it. Bruce is a born storyteller. When Wendy and her husband first hired me to look after Bruce, he tried to convince me the house was haunted. Turned out it was all a big joke of his. He had a good laugh at my expense.” Spotting Duncan standing a few feet away, she called his name. “Bruce was up to his old tricks again. Tell Arden about that time he tried to convince you there was buried treasure in your backyard.”
Duncan made a face. “Don’t get me started. I’m so sick of that old man. He threatened to sue me yesterday.”
Emma’s smile fell. “What for now?”
“Alienation of affection. He’s claiming that I’m turning his granddaughter against him.” Duncan turned his attention to the buffet table as Savannah pulled the last piece of paper from the top hat.
“It looks like we have a tie,” Savannah said smiling at Arden then Max. “Congratulations Arden! Max!” She picked up a pair of gift cards and held them up. “Welcome to the community!”
Arden blinked in surprise. “I won?”
“Newbies always win,” Duncan muttered before finishing off his drink. His forehead furrowed as he looked around. “Where did Wendy go? She was just here a second ago.”
Arden shrugged before joining Savannah at the buffet table.
* * *
“SO, WHAT DO YOU PLAN on doing with your winnings?” Max asked her an hour later as they neared the end of their tour of the Jolly Green Giant.
They had taken a break from touring and were now in the tower room getting to know each other better while Savannah and Paige took turns peering through the telescope nearby pretending they could see the stars through the downpour outside.
Thankfully, Paige had insisted on tagging along during the tour and had found several opportunities to engage Savannah in long lengthy discussions of her home giving Arden and Max plenty of time alone. Arden couldn’t have been happier. Max was not only handsome, but charming and friendly too.
She glanced at him under her lashes as he smiled down at her. She was tempted to ask him out sometime that week. After all, she was holding a twenty-five dollar gift card to the Cake Bar in her hand. How could he possibly turn her down? “I’m not sure if I should save it for a special occasion or go wild and use it all at once.”
“I vote for going wild. I plan on splurging and buying one of everything with my gift card.”
“Yeah, but I hate to eat alone.” Licking her lips, she built up her courage to ask him out. “I’d much rather—”
The lights flickering on and off caused her to cut off the rest of her statement.
“It’s all right,” Savannah called out over a loud boom of thunder. “Happens all the time. Worse comes to worst we’ll dig out the candles.”
Everyone in the room directed their attention to the chandelier as it flickered, then went out.
“Oh rats,” Savannah said from somewhere nearby. “Hang on y’all. I’ve got some candles in the room below us. Be right back.”
Paige’s chipper voice floated through the darkness. “I’ll join you. You two stay right where you are. Savannah and I’ll be back in about ten minutes or so.”
“Oh, it won’t take that lon—Ow!”
“Savannah, you best watch your step,” Paige said.
“I was watching my step,” Savannah complained.
The sound of their voices and high heels faded away as they walked down the spiral staircase in the center of the room.
Arden smiled in the darkness. If she didn’t know better, she’d wonder if the two hadn’t planned on the lights going out when they did.
“I checked the weather before I came over,” Max said staring out the window. “It’s not supposed to last long. It should pass over in an hour or so.”
Arden murmured something about the heat, while trying to find a way to turn the conversation back to where they left off. “I hope the lights come back soon. I can barely see anything.”
He returned to her side. “So, what do you think of the Jolly Green Giant?” he asked with a whisper.
“Oh, it’s very lovely.”
“You know her father was a mad scientist.”
She laughed.
“No, it’s true. I heard he had a lab downstairs where he did a lot of odd experimentations. I wonder if that’s next on the tour.”
“I think your imagination is working over time.”
“I didn’t make it up. Bruce told me all about the old man the other day. Said he was a doctor and did all sorts of freaky experiments.”
“Somehow, I don’t think Bruce is a reliable source.”
Lightning lit up the room, casting strange shadows against the floor and causing a shiver to race down her spine. She instinctively moved closer to Max.
Feeling her body pressing up against his, he brought his arm up and draped it over the back of the couch behind her head.
The need to talk to someone about what happened downstairs and the day before bubbled up inside her. Before she could stop herself, she told Max everything that Bruce had said to her since she had met the old man.
He seemed more amused than worried. “I wouldn’t take what he said seriously. Like you said, he’s not a reliable source. He has a reputation around the neighborhood for tall tales. He’s just trying to get a reaction out of you. I hear he does it to everyone who moves into the neighborhood.”
They both looked up as the chandelier lit up above them.
She felt some of the tension leave her body. “I guess this is his version of hazing. What did he tell you?”
“Oh, let’s see. Savannah’s got bats in the belfry. Paige is after everyone’s land so she can sell it off to some developer somewhere and make a gazillion dollars. Julie’s an exotic dancer. Emma’s trying to poison him. Duncan’s an international jewel thief.”
Arden laughed. It was hard to picture Duncan Thorpe, with his cowboy boots and outdoorsy down home manner, as a jewel thief, much less an international one. “So, Duncan’s a mild manner landscaper by day and a jet setting international jewel thief by night. So, what does he think of you?”
He gave her a smug grin. “Oh, I’m a spy.”
She arched an eyebrow “You are, are you?”
“Absolutely.”
“Uh huh and what has he said about me?”
“He thinks you’re a detective.”
“Where did he get that idea?”
“Rumor has it you came into some money playing some kind of mystery game.”
“Yeah, but that was just a game.”
“Bruce never lets pesky things like facts interfere in his fun.” He smiled. “You know what he calls Duncan, don’t you? The Cloverleaf Cat Burglar.”
She laughed again. “I can see that.”
“Speaking of names, what did you name the kitten?”
“Clover. In honor of my new home.”
“Not Sherbet?”
“Surprisingly enough, no.” She glanced outside. “I hated leaving her on her first night home but at least Paige’s daughter is with her. She offered to kitty sit for me.”
“We’re back,” Savannah sang out from somewhere below the staircase. “You all ready to go back downstairs?”
Reluctantly, Arden left Max’s side and walked over to the spiral staircase. “We’re ready.”
“I hope you two weren’t too lonely without us,” Paige said with a smile as she glanced from Arden to Max.
“Very funny,” Arden whispered. “Where were you two?”
“Getting candles,” Paige said innocently.
Arden glanced down at Paige’s empty hands. “Where are they?”
Paige hid a smile and shrugged.
Shaking her head, Arden followed Paige and Savannah back downstairs.
By the time they made it to the foyer, the storm had finally tapered off to a small drizzle and for a moment, there was a mad rush as people collected their purses, umbrellas and coats, anxious to get back home before the storm clouds had a chance to let loose again.
Max gently took Arden’s arm, steering her away from the large crowd near the front door and towards the library. Only a handful of people had decided to brave the weather and stay a little longer.
Duncan and Wendy were sitting in a cozy little nook in the corner. They barely glanced Arden and Max’s way as they spoke to one another in low urgent whispers. Duncan’s niece, Julie, meanwhile, was making herself comfortable on a nearby couch. Arden watched as the young woman kicked off her sky high heels and flopped down on the couch with a deep sigh. Seconds later, her cell phone was out and in front of her face. Emma was seated in the chair next to her, knitting what looked to be a scarf and telling some story about a previous storm that had knocked out power for a whole week.
Max took one look at the cozy group and said, “Feel like getting some more dessert?”
Arden nodded.
In the dining room, they found Bruce by the dessert table.
He pressed his fingers into Max’s shoulder as they stepped into line behind him. “You tell that mutt of yours to stay out of my garden. He’s been trying to dig up my begonias.”
Max scowled at the older man. “It only happened once and I offered to pay you for them.”
Bruce grumbled something under his breath before stepping to the side and picking up a stainless steel pie server. “Where did you all disappear too?” he asked adding an extra-large helping of chocolate pie to his plate.
“We went on a tour,” Arden said, trying not to watch as he used his fingers to shovel the pie into his mouth.
Bruce’s eyes turned crafty, and he leaned in close dropping his voice to a whisper. “Did Savannah show you her cellar?” he asked as he licked his fingers.
Now that she knew Bruce was nothing more than a harmless kook, Arden laughed. “That wasn’t part of the tour.”
He dropped the remainder of the pie onto his plate. “I knew it,” he said reaching for a cupcake. “She’s got something down there she doesn’t want anyone to see.”
“Why didn’t you go and check while we were upstairs?” Max asked.
“How can I? She keeps it locked,” Bruce said as though the answer were obvious. He glared at them as he picked the cupcake up with his hand and took a large bite.
Arden waited for some kind of response. She didn’t really expect a compliment from the man—he didn’t seem the type to hand out compliments—but she had a feeling he would make some comment.
Bruce licked the pink frosting off his fingers. “I’ve had worse.”
“Thank you,” she said in amusement as he wandered off. She smiled at Max as she placed a brownie on her plate. “I guess that was a high compliment coming from him.”
Paige walked into the dining room. “Kelly called. She wanted you to know that she took your kitten back to our house.”
Arden frowned at the distressed note in Paige’s voice. “Is everything all right?”
“Perfect, except for the hole in my roof. She said her dad was threatening to go up there and patch it tonight. I guess I better go get my things,” she said with a deep sigh as she left the room.
The grandfather clock in the foyer began to chime.
“Yeah, I guess it’s getting pretty late,” Max said almost reluctantly. “Now that it’s stopped raining, Lucky’s probably ready to go out.” He lightly touched her arm, causing Arden’s heart to skip a beat. “Since we’re heading the same way, you want to walk together?”
She smiled in pleasure. “As long as you don’t mind stopping by Paige’s house to pick up the kitten.”
“Don’t mind at all. I can’t wait to see Sherbet again.”
“Clover,” she corrected with a laugh as she followed him into the foyer.
She glanced at the front door surprised to find Paige staring at her boots as though she had never seen them before.
Curious, Arden walked towards her friend. “What’s wrong, Paige?”
Paige looked up in surprise. She flipped the boots over and lifted them up for Arden to see. “Look.”
Placing her plate onto the small round table underneath the chandelier, Arden turned and examined the muddy boots with a bemused expression on her face. “What’s wrong with them?”
Paige’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Well, I walked from my driveway across the street to Savannah’s driveway and then I came inside.”
“So?”
She shrugged as she examined the boot again. “Where did the mud come from? They weren’t like this when Savannah put them in the closet. My coat hasn’t dried yet either.” She shook her head. “It’s weird.”
“Are you sure you have the right ones?”
“Positive.” She slipped the boot onto her foot. “I’ve had these for ten years. Bought them in France at a specialty shop. I can’t imagine someone else here has a pair just like them.”
“Maybe someone took them thinking they were theirs.” Max said. “Then realizing their mistake, they brought them back.”
Paige slipped her foot into the other boot. “You’re probably right. I just—” A look of alarm entered her eyes as Bruce McCallum stumbled into view. The dessert plate in his hand tilted down, sending a half-eaten piece of pie and what was left of Arden’s cupcake towards the edge of the plate. Breathing heavily, his face red and sweaty, he set his plate on the table next to Arden’s plate before collapsing to the ground.
They all reached Bruce’s side at the same time.
“Is he all right?” Arden asked as Max pressed his fingers against Bruce’s neck. The grim look on Max’s face told her all she needed to know.
While Arden alerted Bruce’s granddaughter, Paige called for an ambulance and then for her husband. Max, meanwhile, started CPR, trying to save Bruce’s life, only stopping when Paige’s husband, Patrick, arrived and took over.
A somber mood settled on the house as Patrick and the EMTs worked on Bruce. No one made a sound until Patrick sat back on his heels and shook his head.
Emma and Julie immediately burst into tears, sobbing uncontrollably as the EMTs placed Bruce on a stretcher and covered his face. Their faces grim, Max and Patrick held the door open for the EMTs before following them down the walkway.
Duncan wrapped an arm around Wendy who seemed more embarrassed than distressed by her grandfather’s death. With a small smile, she apologized to Savannah as she collected her things. “What a horrible way to end the party,” she said as she retrieved her grandfather’s cane from the floor. “He should have never come out tonight. He hadn’t been feeling well all day. I told him to just stay in bed to rest but he never listens.” She lifted her hand in a wave. “Well, goodnight everyone. Again, I apologize for what happened.”
“Honey,” Savannah said softly, her blue eyes stricken, “there’s no need to apologize.”
Wendy merely smiled before turning and walking out.
Duncan wrapped his arm around his niece who was still softly sobbing. He looked over Julie’s head at Emma who was standing nearby. “I think Wendy’s in shock.”
Wiping her eyes, Emma briefly nodded before rushing outside.
“I think I better go with you,” Paige said, following Emma.
Duncan and Julie stopped at the door. He glanced back at Savannah and Arden. “Wendy just doted on her grandfather,” he said softly. “I don’t know how she’s going to handle this.”
“If she needs anything,” Savannah said, “you just let us know.”
Nodding, he led Julie outside.
Arden started to follow them but stopped by the little table underneath the chandelier and stared down at two plates lying there, each containing a brownie and nothing else.
“Are you okay, sugar?” Savannah asked.
“Bruce’s plate is missing.”
Savannah tilted her head to the side. “I beg your pardon?”
“Bruce’s plate.” Arden glanced around the large floral arrangement. “He dropped it on the table next to mine before he collapsed, but now it’s gone.”
Her face a mask of confusion, Savannah walked to the table. “Are you sure? There are two plates here.”
Arden slowly shook her head. “He had one of my cupcakes on his plate before he collapsed but it’s no longer there now. He also had part of Paige’s chocolate pie on it but it’s not there anymore either. What happened to it?”
Savannah looked at her with a funny expression on her face.
Suddenly, Arden felt ridiculous. Why was she making such a fuss? A man just died and here she was worrying about the contents of his plate. She smiled softly. “I guess it’s not really important. I’m sorry; I’m just a bit shocked by what happened.”
“Yes, but try to put it out of your mind and get some rest,” Savannah said with a sympathetic note in her voice as she led Arden to the door. “We have much work to do tomorrow.”
Arden stepped onto the porch with a frown. “What do you mean?”
Savannah smiled. “You’ll see. Goodnight, dear.”
