Murder Most Howl: A Paws & Claws Mystery (28 page)

Thirty-one

“Someone must have slammed Myrtle in the back of the head with a board or something. There’s blood in her hair. It was hard to see in the dark. I don’t know why it’s not on her hat.”

“That was my hat. I was trying to keep her warm. Do you think the blow to the head knocked her out? That would explain why she couldn’t get up after she fell.”

“I’d say that’s a pretty good guess.”

“Dave, she was trying to solve Norm’s murder.”

His head swiveled toward me. “That opens up all kinds of new possibilities, doesn’t it? I figured one of her friends did it since no one in town really knew her. But that changes everything. Listen, if anything the slightest bit weird happens here tonight, I want you to call me. Anything. Got it?”

I hoped everyone would go to bed and sleep.

By the time I returned to the Dogwood Room, it had nearly emptied out. I could hear book club members swapping books to read upstairs, and Char calling Emma Mae.
I wondered what had happened to the poor little mouse and cringed at the thought.

The two cats on leashes had been caught and were being marched back to their rooms in the cat wing of the inn.

I sent Mr. Huckle and Aunt Birdie up to bed and put Ben and Holmes to work helping me tidy up by the light of three lanterns.

We were in Oma’s kitchen when Ben said, “I keep thinking you must have a dreary little life here. No Starbucks. No museums. No Apple store. But every time I come up here, there’s something wild going on.”

“Trust me, Ben. There’s not a murder every weekend.”

“I don’t mean the murders. I felt sorry for you when you moved here but it’s pretty cool. It’s not nearly as boring as I expected, that’s all.”

“Is that why you came to visit?”

He shrugged. “DC isn’t the same without you, Holly. Hey, we should text more!”

I didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry. Same old Ben. Maybe it was good that some things never changed and there was consistency in the world. In a way, it made me more comfortable having him around. I had made up my mind about Ben when I broke off our relationship. If he wanted to be friends, that was fine with me.

He walked through the inn with me to make sure everything was locked up, chatting about Norm’s murder the whole way. Casey arrived for the night shift just when we finished.

“I don’t want to scare you, Casey, but one of our guests was assaulted in Wagtail tonight. Officer Dave wants to be notified if anything strange happens. Wake me no matter how unimportant it might seem. Okay?”

“You think we’re in danger? Is a madman going to try to break into the inn?”

“I think you’ve been watching too much TV. But keep me posted.” I felt a little guilty leaving him there by himself with
only lanterns and the fire for light, but we would be right upstairs if he needed us.

Holmes, Ben, and I trudged up the stairs. I spotted Leo on the second landing, handed my lantern to Holmes, and scooped Leo into my arms. “You have caused enough mischief. You’re sleeping over as Twinkletoes’s guest tonight, and I want you to be on your very best behavior.” He had the nerve to purr.

I didn’t need to call the dogs. They looked every bit as tired as I was. Twinkletoes waited for us at the door.

Holmes and Ben said good night and vanished into the guest bedroom. I locked the door to the apartment and quickly closed the pet door so Leo would not go on a mouse hunt in the middle of the night. I made a quick call to Zelda so she wouldn’t worry about him, and then I fell into the rollaway bed laughing at myself for
ever
having imagined a romantic evening with Holmes. It just wasn’t in my destiny.

I had put Ben’s rollaway bed in the guest room with Holmes. Aunt Birdie was in my bedroom, and I was sleeping on a rollaway bed in my living room. I figured I was the one most likely to have to get up in the middle of the night if a problem arose and there was no point in waking Aunt Birdie by sleeping in the bedroom.

Only I was too tired and agitated to sleep.

I hadn’t had many sleepless nights since I moved to Wagtail. But this was one of them. Twinkletoes curled up with me on the bed, but it was far narrower than my regular bed, so she decided to sleep on top of me. I loved my little puss, but she wasn’t helping me sleep by rising and falling with my chest each time I took a breath.

Gingersnap and Trixie had staked out cushy spots on the sofa and a big club chair. Even Leo had finally conked out. He nestled on the end of the bed by my feet. Everyone appeared to be fast asleep except for me.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw poor Myrtle sprawled on those cold concrete stairs. Why would she have gone
there? Someone must have lured her. Someone she trusted. Did that mean she knew the killer? Or was the attack on her motivated by someone she had irritated beyond their breaking point? Maybe it had nothing to do with Norm at all.

At least I was fairly sure Shadow wouldn’t be blamed for what happened to Myrtle. Not unless she caught him red-handed at something illegal. Was he conning me? Was I a big sap for wanting to believe him?

I tried to focus. What did we know for sure? Two people had confirmed that Norm had been lurking outside Randolph Hall the morning of his death. That alone shouldn’t have led to his murder but it had upset two women who wanted to be rid of him, Blanche and Savannah. And one had to consider that the men who loved them might have taken action to protect them. So that put Ian and Shadow on the list of people with motives. All of them had opportunity. Killing someone with an insulin injection didn’t require brute strength. In fact, it was the kind of murder someone small and bookish, like Ian, might conceive.

We also knew that Norm attended the Murder Most Howl meeting at the inn that night. And that he returned to Randolph Hall instead of going home. To confront Blanche? Did he think he would find Savannah there? Was he taking advantage of the fact that the lights were out in that part of town? Whatever his intentions, he hung around outside before entering. Getting up nerve? Waiting for something to happen? Blanche had been quite forthcoming, maybe she would tell me. On the other hand, if she, with her husband or Savannah for that matter, had killed him, she wouldn’t be so open. She might even pretend she didn’t know he was there.

Which led me to another thought. Had Myrtle gone ahead and paid Savannah a visit? What if Savannah was the killer? That might have prompted her to lure Myrtle to those basement stairs and take a swing at her. Was that beautiful young woman taking advantage of Shadow? Had she used him to get rid of Norm? Or could she be setting him up to take the
blame? Visions of Savannah living a life of leisure while Shadow wasted away in prison for a murder she committed shook me to the core. Maybe he was an innocent rube or so infatuated that she could manipulate him.

I forced myself back to the things we knew for certain. One of them was that Norm had been married to Juliana, and she had died a terrible death. Shadow maintained his innocence. His father, Hollis, thought Norm had killed Juliana.

And then my thoughts took me where I hadn’t wanted to go. Val. How did Val know so much about Norm? How could she possibly know all those details about him? She had moved to Wagtail about the same time I had. Of course, she had been related to Norm and probably heard about him from Juliana. But how did she learn all those oddball details like the fact that Blanche had to live in her car? It might not be a secret—after all, Weegie had been aware of that. But it was hardly the kind of thing Norm or Juliana would have bragged about, was it?

On the clues Val wrote, the Baron von Rottweiler poisoned his second wife. Did she think Norm had poisoned Juliana? And she had said the baron had falsely accused a man of murder. Did she think Shadow had been falsely accused of Juliana’s murder? I had to talk to her. Val wasn’t prone to foolishness. She probably heard a lot in the bar but it seemed to me she knew too much that wasn’t just silly gossip. And she had most definitely structured the clues to make Norm very, very angry. What could she have been thinking?

Oh no. I wished I wasn’t thinking straight. I liked Val so much. Was it possible that she had arranged the whole Murder Most Howl weekend as some kind of misguided plot against Norm? I couldn’t imagine what she thought she would achieve.

There was one person who probably knew more than anyone else: Savannah. I would think of a reason to have a chat with her in the morning.

With a heavy heart, and a heavy chest since Twinkletoes was still on top of me, I drifted off to sleep.

*   *   *

I woke up to the most glorious blue sky. The sun shone on the snow that blanketed the mountains. The sound of a key turning in the door lock roused Gingersnap and Trixie. They lifted their heads and perked their ears.

Mr. Huckle rolled a room service cart into my living room, and for the first time in my entire life, I was served tea in bed before I rose.

“This must be how the other half lives. Thank you, Mr. Huckle!” I drank from a lovely china breakfast cup. It was going to be a very good day. I felt thoroughly spoiled. “Is the electricity back?”

“Indeed it is. It returned about four this morning.”

“Thank goodness. Hot water for the guests. Any word about the roads?”

“Not yet. I’ll see you at breakfast, Miss Holly.” He left the cart, which was loaded with delicious-looking breakfast breads. I fed Trixie and Gingersnap breakfast cookies. Twinkletoes pawed at my leg.

I knew what that meant. In my little kitchen, I opened a container marked Seashore Supper. I assumed it was just as good for breakfast. I spooned chunks of the fish and shrimp into two bowls and set them down for Twinkletoes and Leo. I watched them eat to be sure Trixie and Gingersnap didn’t help them.

Leo ate every last morsel. Twinkletoes ate half of her food. I set the remainder on the counter so she could finish it at her leisure.

After a quick shower, I wrapped up in my Sugar Maple Inn bathrobe and tiptoed into my bedroom for clothes.

Aunt Birdie slept with a mask over her eyes and snored softly. I chose a cheerful deep pink sweater with a V-neck, comfortable khaki trousers, and hoop earrings. I carried them out, quieter than the mouse, whom I hoped had escaped last night.

When I was dressed, I opened the pet door for Twinkletoes,
grabbed a jacket, and headed downstairs. The dogs and cats all beat me to the bottom.

A handful of members of The Thursday Night Cloak and Dagger Club had already eaten breakfast. One of them called me over.

“I was packing my belongings this morning, and I simply cannot find my reading glasses. Could you make a note and ship them back to me if you find them?”

“Absolutely. We’ll keep an eye out for them.” And for Geof’s money clip.

“I wouldn’t make a fuss but they’re prescription and so expensive to replace.”

“Of course.”

I hurried through the lobby before anyone else could catch me. The poor doggys needed to go out!

Zelda hadn’t arrived yet for work.

I let the dogs out and noted that Shadow had already cleaned the walk. He was a hard worker. He must have started before dawn.

The dogs sniffed around for a few minutes but soon returned to me, ready for breakfast.

But they would have to wait. I scooted behind the reception desk to make sure Casey had been able to run off the bills. Unless the roads were still closed, I suspected we would see a mass exodus today.

Happily, they were all sitting exactly where they should be. I leafed through them. Everything seemed to be in order. I picked up the phone and called Dave. He sounded alert when he answered.

“Any news on Myrtle?”

“They’re still looking for her next of kin. Even if she’s not speaking to her sister, maybe one of her friends knows how to get in touch with her?”

“I’ll ask. How’s she doing? Did she come around yet?”

“Still unconscious. They’re worried about frostbite on her fingers and toes.”

“Keep me posted. What’s the story with the roads?”

“They have a few more cars, including Ben’s, to get out of the way but they anticipate opening the road around noon.”

I thanked him and considered calling Val. Her place stayed open late, though. She might not be up yet.

Trixie and Gingersnap watched me hopefully. “Breakfast.”

They took off for the dining area, and I followed.

Holmes was up, eating a stack of pancakes that made my mouth water. Trixie was already making sad eyes at him. Holmes grinned at me. “I knew you couldn’t be too far away.”

Shelley swung by and filled my mug with coffee. “I heard about Myrtle. Is it true that one of her book club members shoved her down some stairs?”

“Where did you hear that?”

“Here. I pick up bits of conversation when I’m serving.”

“Her friends think someone in The Thursday Night Cloak and Dagger Club did it?”

“I heard some people betting on Weegie.”

“That’s nonsense,” I scoffed, but quickly added, “unless they know something I don’t.”

“Pancakes?” asked Shelley. “I think Trixie and Gingersnap have their hearts set on them.”

I thought the same thing. “Yes, please.” To the dogs, I said, “Tomorrow we’re back to healthier food.”