Chapter Fifteen

Outside, tree limbs swayed in the afternoon breeze, scraping against the exterior of Marlow House in a steady and repetitive rhythm. Danielle sat silently on the edge of her mattress, her back straight and hands folded in her lap. She listened to the tree limbs hitting the house as she waited. Twenty minutes had passed since she had come upstairs, and still he had not shown himself again.

Danielle stood up and walked to the window. She wondered briefly if it was going to rain again. Looking outside, she spied David Hilton’s car pull up in front of the house. Turning from the window, she headed for her bedroom door.

When Danielle reached the first floor, she greeted David and Arlene, who had just let themselves into the house. Guests of Marlow House were given both a key to their room and to the front door. The locksmith made periodic visits to Marlow House to rekey the door. With Morris’ murder, Danielle was anxious to call the locksmith, although she suspected the killer had entered through an unlocked door.

Arlene stood outside the parlor, peeking in. “I don’t know how you can ever go into that room again.”

“I’ll feel much better when the police catch the killer.” Danielle closed the parlor door. She stood with Arlene and David in the entry hall.

Turning away from the now closed door, Arlene faced Danielle. “Do they have any leads?”

“I believe they found something that might help them.”

“What was that?” David asked.

“They didn’t tell me exactly,” Danielle lied.

“I can’t imagine what that could be,” Arlene said. “We were all in the house when the police arrived, and I sure didn’t see anything—aside from Chris standing over the body.”

“Chris had no reason to kill Peter Morris,” Danielle insisted.

“Well, I certainly hope you’re right, since he’s staying here.”

“Actually, I’m moving out tonight.”

Arlene startled from Chris’ sudden appearance. He walked toward them, from the direction of the library.

“Tonight? Why?” Danielle asked.

“The house will be officially mine by the end of the day. I have the key. It’s fully furnished, so all I need to do is toss a set of sheets in the washing machine, and I’ll be set.”

“Chris, none of us got any sleep last night. Why don’t you plan on moving in the morning after you’ve had some rest,” Danielle suggested.

“Don’t rush out on our account,” David told him. “Arlene really didn’t mean anything. We know you didn’t have anything to do with that man’s death. If the police thought you were involved someway, I don’t believe they would’ve let you go already.”

“Thanks, David. I appreciate that.” Chris flashed him a smile and glanced over to Arlene, who looked sheepishly to the floor.

“I want you to know, David,” Danielle began. “I realize this is not the Valentine’s Day weekend you two planned. Not by a long shot. And if you want to leave early, I’ll refund your money—even for last night.”

“I appreciate the offer,” David told her. “But Arlene and I already discussed this, and we decided to stay.”

Their conversation was interrupted when the doorbell rang. Danielle answered the door. It was Adam Nichols.

“I hope you don’t mind, I dropped by without calling. I wanted to see Chris.” Adam peeked over her shoulder and saw Chris standing in the hallway. He noticed another couple standing near him, but couldn’t see their faces.

“Sure, come in.” Danielle stepped aside and opened the door wider.

The moment Adam stepped through the doorway, Arlene turned and looked in his direction. He paused a moment, his dark eyes wide in surprise as he glanced from Arlene to the man by her side. “Arlene?”

So this is her boyfriend? Adam thought. He’d caught a brief glimpse of the man at the restaurant, but not a clear view of his face. He was rather ordinary looking and slightly overweight. He was obviously older than Arlene, but Adam didn’t think by more than a few years. Adam surmised the man’s thinning hair and extra weight added several years to his appearance.

“Adam…” Arlene stammered. She immediately reached out to David and took his hand.

“You know each other?” Danielle asked as she closed the door.

“We had some mutual acquaintances,” Adam explained. “It’s nice seeing you again, Arlene.”

“You too.” Arlene squeezed David’s hand.

“Are you staying here?” Adam asked.

“Yes…yes we are. Adam, this is David…my…my boyfriend. David, this is Adam Nichols.”

With a frown, Adam looked from Danielle to Arlene. “Were you here last night when Peter Morris was murdered?”

“You know about that?” Arlene asked.

“Yes. Strange you didn’t mention it,” Adam said.

“Mention it?” Danielle asked.

“Arlene and I bumped into each other this morning, before breakfast.”

“I just figured we weren’t supposed to discuss the case,” Arlene explained, flashing Adam a pleading expression.

“Well…it’s nice seeing you again. Nice to meet you David.”

“If you’ll excuse us, we’re going to head up to our room,” David explained. “We didn’t get much sleep last night, and I’m exhausted.”

After Danielle led Adam and Chris into the library a few minutes later, she closed the door behind her and turned to Adam.

“Okay, what is the deal with you and Arlene?” Danielle asked.

“What do you mean?” Adam asked.

“Come on Adam, the looks you two were giving each other. There has to be some story there.”

“Danielle, you’re sounding an awful lot like Lily right now,” Chris chided.

“Why, because Lily tends to ask what everyone is thinking?”

“It really is nothing,” Adam insisted. “I was just surprised to see her staying here, that’s all. I knew her back when I was going out with Isabella.”

Danielle paused a moment, considering Adam’s statement. Cocking her head to one side, she asked, “Was she a member of Earthbound Spirits?”

“Why would you think that?” Adam asked.

“You said it was when you were dating Isabella.”

“No, she was not a member. Arlene would be the last person in the world to hook up with an organization like Earthbound Spirits.”

“Why do you say that?” Chris asked.

“She just wouldn’t do it, that’s all. So, what do you know about the guy she’s with? What’s he like?”

“Ah ha! So, there is something between you!” Danielle teased.

“Don’t mind her,” Chris said with a laugh. “She’s sleep deprived and doesn’t realize how she sounds.”

Danielle scowled. “How do I sound?”

“Nosy,” Adam and Chris said at the same time.

Danielle waved her hand dismissively, went to the sofa, and sat down. “In all fairness, Adam was the one asking questions about the boyfriend.”

Adam walked over to the sofa and sat down in a chair facing Danielle. “And? You haven’t told me anything about him yet.”

Danielle started to say something and then paused, looking quizzically at Adam. “Why are you here anyway?”

“To see Chris, remember?”

“I suppose I should leave and let you talk to him, before you two start accusing me of being nosy, again.” Danielle started to stand up.

“Oh sit down,” Adam scoffed.

Danielle sat back down and smiled. “I found out something interesting about her boyfriend from Chief MacDonald.” She looked at Chris. “I haven’t even told you yet.”

“What’s that?” Chris said.

“You know his last name is Hilton. I guess his grandmother was Helen Hilton.”

“Helen Hilton?” Adam said in surprise.

Danielle looked at Adam. “You know her?”

“If it’s the same Helen Hilton who left her estate to Earthbound Spirits, then yeah; I know who she is. The lawsuit was big news back then. Family lost. Morris won.”

“Apparently David is the youngest grandson.”

“Doesn’t that make him a prime suspect?” Chris asked.

“That lawsuit was a number of years ago,” Danielle explained. “You were here last night. David was in his room when you found the body. Whoever killed Morris had to have gotten some blood on them, considering the number they did on Morris. As far as I know, the cops didn’t find any bloody clothes. If they had, I don’t believe they would’ve let David leave. I think it’s just a bizarre coincidence. If he had the patience to wait that long to kill the man, I’d assume he wouldn’t plan to murder him under the same roof where he was staying.”

“This morning he never mentioned the connection to Morris,” Chris noted.

“No. And apparently, he didn’t offer the information to the cops when they interviewed him. The chief told me he ran background checks on the guests, and that’s what they came up with.”

“How did he explain that to the cops?” Chris asked.

“I have no idea.”

“What did they find out about Arlene?” Adam asked.

“Arlene?” Danielle shrugged. “The chief didn’t mention anything, aside from the fact she’s David’s girlfriend.”

“Not sure how I feel about him staying here now,” Chris said.

“Why? You think David’s dangerous?”

“He’s the only one staying at Marlow House with a real motive to kill Morris.”

“If he came here to kill Morris, I’d assume he would’ve taken my offer to leave early. After all, no one would have thought anything suspicious about them leaving, under the circumstances. Why stay longer if he came here to kill Morris?”

“You certainly seem calm about all this,” Chris noted.

Danielle shrugged. “I just don’t feel him being here has anything to do with Morris’ death.”

The three were silent for a few moments, when Chris let out a sigh and looked at Adam. “So, what did you need to talk to me about? Everything okay with the house?”

Adam picked up the manila folder from his lap and opened it. “I called the title company right before I came over here, and the house is officially yours. But that’s not why I’m here. I brought over a purchase contract for the Gusarov Estate, for you to look over, if you decide to make an offer. I assume you’d want to look at the property first.”

“I’ve driven by it, and I think it would work.” Chris put his hand out to Adam.

Standing up briefly, Adam handed Chris the contract.

“But don’t you want to look at it?” Adam asked.

“Not particularly. It’s not as if I intend to live in it. And from what Danielle tells me about the property, I believe it’ll be perfect for what I need.”

Chris walked over to the desk and sat down with the purchase contract, reading it over.

Adam smiled over at Danielle. “You know, if you ever decide to close up the bed and breakfast, I think we’d make a great real estate team.”

Adam was just about to climb into his car when he heard a woman call out, “Adam, wait!” He looked up to see Arlene running toward him, from the direction of Marlow House’s front entry.

“Arlene…” Adam stood on the sidewalk next to his car.

“I wanted to talk to you before you left…alone.”

“Yeah, I imagine you do.”

“What did you tell them?”

“You mean Danielle and Chris?”

Arlene nodded.

“I didn’t tell them anything, aside from the fact we used to know each other.”

Arlene sighed in relief.

“But they do know who your boyfriend is. Is he really your boyfriend?”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh come on Arlene, Helen Hilton’s grandson? Really? What are the chances of you two getting together?”

“Maybe we just have a lot in common.”

“Yeah, I bet you do. But you need to know, the cops have done a background check on both of you. They know David is Helen Hilton’s grandson. And if they figure out your connection to Earthbound Spirits, I’ve a feeling you’ll be pushed up to the top of the suspect list.”

“I didn’t kill Peter Morris.”

“Frankly, I don’t care who killed that SOB. They did the world a service. But I’d hate to see you go to jail over that dirt bag.”

“I didn’t kill him, I promise.”

“Please be careful, Arlene.”

“Are you going to tell anyone?”

Adam looked into Arlene’s pleading eyes. He studied her a moment and then finally shook his head. “No.”