“I wonder how much longer Detective Shannon will be,” Molly said. She was checking the newsletter sign-up list she’d promised to review for anyone who’d attended the party but had not signed in. Tracy had given Tony a copy of the original list. The crime scene people had marched in carrying their equipment and were busy upstairs, having constructed a tent over the body just in case the weather became more threatening.
Elise chuckled. “Why don’t you just call him Tony? I know you like him. He’s quite good-looking and seems very nice—that’s a bonus.”
Molly flushed. “Just trying to be professional.” She returned to the guest list on the table in front of her.
Kevin reached across the kitchen island and touched her arm. “It’s all right, Molly. It’s been five years. If you want to date Tony, go for it.”
Molly jerked her arm away and narrowed her eyes. “Aubrey is lying dead in the upstairs bedroom. Dating is the furthest thing from my mind.” She took a deep breath and rested her gaze downward. “He must be almost finished. I saw Lindsay Luttrell enter the library at least half an hour ago.”
“Molly,” Kevin said. “Danny would want you to be happy.”
Molly shot Kevin a look but turned at the sound of the back door opening.
Sarah Driscoll shut the door and asked, “What’s happened? Why are the police cars here?”
Elise and Kevin looked at Molly, who gestured for Sarah to sit on the stool beside her. Sarah, a nineteen-year-old college student, helped Molly clean the guest rooms and launder the sheets and towels. She had also helped serve and clean up at the book launch the night before. Her long, brown hair fell around her shoulders as she slid onto the stool.
“There’s no easy way to say this,” Molly said.
Sarah’s eyes widened. “You’re scaring me.”
“Aubrey Rhodes is dead.”
Sarah’s hands covered her mouth. “Oh, my God. That’s awful. What happened? Did he fall? He was a little tipsy last night.”
“We don’t know what happened,” Molly said. She didn’t want to say she thought he’d been hit over the head with a bottle of California Extra Dry.
“That’s why the police are here,” Kevin said. “That’s why we’re here. They’re interviewing everyone.”
“Are you hungry?” Elise asked. “I have the ingredients for a Benedict if you want it.”
“You might as well eat now,” Molly said. “We can’t start work until the police say the guests can leave. We should have at least two rooms to clean. Miss Barnes and Miss Luttrell were supposed to check out today, and I’m hoping they’ll be allowed to leave. Then, we have two couples from the wedding checking in.”
“What about Mr. Rhodes’s room?” Sarah asked.
Molly shrugged. “I have no idea until the police are finished with it.”
“I can stay as late as you need me,” Sarah said. “I’m supposed to babysit tonight, but I can ask my mom to go next door until I get there if I’m running late.”
“Speaking of your mom,” Molly said. “I’m so glad she came to the book party last night. I know my Aunt Vanessa was happy to see her. They seemed to be having a nice chat.”
Sarah grinned. “I was surprised she decided to come. She was back and forth about it. I think she had a crush on Aubrey back in high school.” Sarah’s face fell. “My mom will be upset when she hears about this.”
Molly flipped through the six pages of names and email addresses. “Your mother didn’t sign in. I’ll add her name to this list for the detective.” Molly added Lauren Driscoll to the bottom of the last page.
Tony entered the kitchen carrying his small notebook. “Well, that’s done. I need to get your statements now.” Noticing Sarah, he asked, “Who’s this?”
“This is Sarah Driscoll,” Molly said. “She helps me clean the place, does the laundry, and keeps things in order.”
“She also helped serve last night,” Elise added.
“I’ll need to talk to you, too,” Tony said.
“Did you dismiss anyone?” Molly asked. “Will they be checking out?”
“Yes, I told Miss Luttrell she could go home to Louisville but to be available if we need to speak again. Miss Barnes is moving to a friend’s place in Cincinnati. Mr. Roark is staying for another day or so.”
“I’ll get things ready to strip those rooms as soon as they leave.” Sarah nodded and left for the laundry room.
Kevin stood. “May I give my statement now? I need to get back to work.”
Tony gestured toward the hallway. “Let’s go into the other room.”
Kevin shook his head. “No need. I wasn’t at the party last night. I did come over to Elise’s afterward. She lives in the cottage. We watched a movie, but we both fell asleep. I woke up at about twelve-thirty and went home. That’s it. I need to go.”
“Wait,” Tony said. “Was it raining when you left?”
Kevin thought for a minute. “Not when I left the cottage, but it started to sprinkle before I got home.”
“How long did it take you to get home?” Tony asked. “You moved to those new apartments by the interstate, correct?”
Kevin nodded. “That time of night, about fifteen minutes or so. It was almost one when I got home.”
Tony scribbled something in his notebook. “Elise, were you awake when he left?”
Elise glanced at Kevin and then at Tony, avoiding Molly’s gaze. “No. I was tired. I’d been on my feet all day and didn’t wake up until my alarm went off at five-thirty. I’m usually here in the kitchen by six. Breakfast is at eight.”
“The victim’s room overlooks the parking area and the driveway,” Tony said. “Kevin, when you left, could you see if the lights were on in the victim’s room?”
Kevin leaned on a barstool and thought for a moment. “The only outside lights on the terrace are the sconces on either side of the French doors. They were on last night, and I remember wondering if he’d gone to bed and forgotten to turn them off.”
“The bedside light was on when I entered the room this morning,” Molly said.
Tony nodded and continued questioning Kevin. “What about cars in the parking lot? Were there any extra that late at night?”
Kevin shook his head. “I have no idea what car belongs to which person, but there were cars parked in the parking area. But I’m not sure how many.” He closed his eyes and appeared to be counting in his head. “Five. Maybe six, but definitely five.”
“Thanks, Kevin. That’s helpful. I’m trying to figure out a time frame, though we won’t know much about the time of death until the autopsy results are in.”
“May I go?” Kevin asked.
“Yes, I’ll walk out with you. I want to get a look at the terrace from outside.”
“I’m coming with you,” Molly said, trailing after them.
Tony, Kevin, and Molly exited the kitchen door and entered the private parking area where Molly parked her SUV. Kevin’s work truck was parked next to it. Elise’s guest house was across the parking area from the back door. They walked through the gravel lot and around the white, window-paned summer porch, dodging puddles and looking up at the terrace.
“You can hardly tell those lights are on,” Tony said, pointing at them.
“But at night,” Kevin said, “there’s a glow.”
Tony said, “I can barely see the top of the crime scene tent, especially as the driveway slopes farther down.”
Kevin turned. “The highest point is back by the barn. But from where I was, there was no way I could tell if someone was on the terrace.”
“I can almost see the tops of the evergreens up there,” Molly said.
Kevin chuckled. “Sis, let’s face it. There’s not a lot of things you can see the top of.”
Molly glowered at her brother as they continued around the corner to the guest parking area at the top of the driveway. Six cars sat side by side in a row.
“Molly, do you know who belongs to which car?”
“I know Sarah’s car. It’s the old Toyota. She usually parks back by the kitchen, but Kevin’s truck is in her spot.” Molly looked down the row of cars. “I assume the older model Ford with the Kentucky plates is Lindsay Luttrell’s. All the others are rentals except for your county car.”
“There’s one short,” Tony said. “Didn’t Aubrey have a car?”
“No,” Molly said. “He arrived with his agent, George.”
“How was he getting around?” Tony asked.
“With George,” Molly said. “Aubrey was scheduled to check out today to visit with his mother for a few days.”
“I imagine he’d use one of his mother’s cars,” Kevin said. “I saw her in town driving a new BMW.”
“Was his mother at the party last night?” Tony asked.
“No. He said she doesn’t go out much these days and doesn’t like crowds,” Molly said.
Tony said. “There are ruts in your grass.”
“People were parked everywhere up and down the driveway and all the way back to the barn.” Molly gestured to the far side of the parking area.
“Anything in the barn?” Tony asked.
“Mostly equipment and storage,” Kevin said. “But we’re working to turn it into an event venue, hopefully in time for the late summer and fall weddings.”
“You all have done a great job on this place. Your mother would be proud.”
Molly surveyed the brick classical manor home built by their great-grandfather in the early 1900s. “Yes, I think she would.”
Kevin chuckled. “All the ancestors would have turned over in their graves if we had sold out to those developers. The property has been in Dad’s family since before the Civil War.”
“Ghosts and all?” Tony smiled.
“Can we go back inside?” Molly asked. “It’s starting to rain again.”
“Sure,” Tony said and gestured for Molly to precede him. “With the rain and all the cars coming and going yesterday, there’s no way to tell if someone was here after everyone left.” As they walked back to the kitchen door, he added, “And Molly, please get me your guests’ registration information and what vehicles they’re driving.”
“So, I can go?” Kevin asked.
“Yes, of course,” Tony said.
Kevin placed his hands on his sister’s shoulders. “Call me if you need me. I’ll even come to stay in the house if you want me to.”
“No, no. I’ll be fine.”
Kevin patted his sister on the shoulder and whispered, “Don’t forget what I said.”
Molly pushed him away. “Go back to work.”
“Kevin,” Tony said. “I doubt if I’ll make it to play basketball tonight.”
Kevin nodded and got into his truck, but then opened the door and poked his head out. “Five cars. I saw five cars when I left last night.”
Tony nodded and waved.
“I didn’t know you were in Kevin’s basketball league,” Molly said as Kevin’s truck disappeared around the summer porch. She could see his truck’s gray wavy distortion through the windows.
Tony nodded. “It’s funny, half the team is made up of the guys Kevin and I played basketball with in high school. Most of them left but then came back.”
“Like you and me?” Molly asked.