Murder Most Howl: A Paws & Claws Mystery (31 page)

He stood up. “The cap. Don’t these things come with caps? Otherwise they’d get germs on them. Right?”

A cap? Where had I seen a cap recently? “Let me see that pen again.”

Dave pulled it out of the bag far enough for me to look at it. “What’s up?”

“I’m not sure. I could be way off. But it’s possible that I saw the cap at Randolph Hall.”

Thirty-five

“Randolph Hall? Where Blanche and her husband are staying?” It was more of a statement than a question.

“Right. Blanche and I were going to Hair of the Dog, and she stopped at Randolph Hall to change clothes. Apparently Leo likes to hang out there. He was playing with Trixie and batted something out from under a pie safe in the kitchen. I picked it up and set it on the counter. I remember thinking that it was a plastic cap. I couldn’t swear to it, but it could be the cap for the pen.”

Dave took a deep breath.

I interpreted it to mean,
The plot thickens
. At least, that was how I felt. It appeared that the Tredwells were knee deep in this mess and one or more of them was Norm’s killer. But which ones?

“I need a favor. We’ll keep Savannah here with Mr. Huckle, just as a precaution. You take the cop who has been watching her, and go to Randolph Hall. Show him where the cap is and let him collect it as evidence. Meanwhile, I’ll be having a chat with Robin and the Tredwells.”

He checked the lock on the door. “Do you have a way of securing this so no one can enter?”

“No.”

“Lock it when we leave, okay? I’ll get Robin’s key from her.”

I nodded.

He walked into the hallway and, sounding very authoritative, instructed the Tredwells and Robin to accompany him downstairs. I locked the door and watched him follow them. I headed in the other direction, to the grand staircase and the main lobby.

I hadn’t even made it all the way down the stairs when Aunt Birdie flew toward me. Tapping her fingernail on the banister, she waited as I descended. “The cook will not make changes to the lunch menu without your approval. Would you
please
tell him that I have authority? And Shelley laughed at my request that she crack a raw egg and put it into the coffee grounds with the shell. It makes for superior coffee.”

On the other side of the dining area, Shelley, Mr. Huckle, and the cook watched us. Uh-oh. A standoff! I did
not
have time for this nonsense right now.

“Excuse me, Aunt Birdie, but I have a little emergency to take care of at the moment. We’ll talk as soon as I return.”

I could hear her gasp as I fled to Oma’s kitchen for our jackets. Mr. Huckle, Shelley, and the cook followed me. Shelley and the cook threatened to quit unless I did something about Aunt Birdie.

“Don’t quit. I just have to think of a way to get rid of her.”

Mr. Huckle smiled. “Oh, children. Watch and learn.”

He walked out to the dining area with the three of us behind him, trying not to be too obvious.

Mr. Huckle sidled up to an irate Aunt Birdie. “Miss Birdie, may I bring you a cup of tea and a pastry? You’ve had such a busy morning.”

Aunt Birdie drew herself completely erect and held her chin high. “Thank you. I would like that very much.”

But before she could sit down, Mr. Huckle said, “I’m
surprised that you’re not at Tall Tails. I understand Max is hosting an author chat this morning.”

Aunt Birdie stopped dead. “He might need help.”

“Indeed,” said Mr. Huckle.

“I believe I will take a rain check on that tea. Excuse me, Mr. Huckle.”

She hurried up the stairs faster than I thought she could move.

Mr. Huckle returned to us, all smiles. “And that, my dears, is how it’s done.”

“Is Max hosting an author chat?” I asked.

Mr. Huckle shrugged. “Perhaps. Or perhaps an elderly gent got his days confused.”

I explained the insulin pen situation to Mr. Huckle, who seemed a little bit too delighted to be part of the plan. I slid on my jacket, bundled up Trixie and Gingersnap, and headed out to the plaza in front of the inn to pick up Dave’s cop buddy.

He was even more thrilled than Mr. Huckle. Dave had informed him that he was going to collect evidence but he didn’t know the whole story. I explained it all while we walked.

He was a young guy and obviously excited to be released from his boring post at the entrance to the inn.

When we reached Randolph Hall, I rang the bell.

Ian answered the door. “Yes?”

I was pretty sure that he recognized me from the inn. Maybe he didn’t know my name.

The cop made quick work of identifying himself. He whipped out his badge lickity-split and asked if we could come in.

“No.” That was all Ian said.

I hadn’t expected that.

From the look on his face, neither had the cop. “I can come back with a search warrant.”

Ian gave a curt nod. “Fine. You do that.” He closed the door!

I was stunned. It never occurred to me that they wouldn’t cooperate. “What now?”

“It’s up to Dave, but I suspect he’ll send me back to Snowball to get a search warrant.”

“That could take hours.”

“Yup.”

“They’ll be gone by then.”

“Probably.”

I looked toward the side yard. “What if I sneaked in through the back?”

“Don’t do that. It would be tainted evidence. We have to go by the book.”

I heard him but I walked around the side of the house anyway. There was a tiny screened porch in the back. More of a stoop, really. Four steps up, and I would be able to see inside the kitchen door. My heart hammered but I tiptoed up the wooden stairs and dared to step inside the screened area. I cupped my hands around my eyes to see inside the window of the door that led to the kitchen.

There was the cap, still sitting exactly where I had left it. I scrambled to leave the screened porch before Ian caught me. Breathless, I hurried back to the cop, who said, “Are you deaf? I wish you hadn’t done that.”

“Good news. It’s still there.”

He stared at me with a stony face and put away his radio. “Dave is sending me over to Snowball for the search warrant. Will you be okay walking back to the inn by yourself?”

“Of course. No loan sharks are after me.”

He walked away, and I looked up at Randolph Hall. Ian watched me from a front window.

Back at the inn, the reception lobby seemed like a train station. Luggage was piled in heaps along the wall. Robin and Geof waited on the love seat, looking miserable, and Zelda was in the process of checking out members of The Thursday Night Cloak and Dagger Club.

I squeezed past them and slipped behind the counter to talk to Zelda. “How’s it going?”

“So far no problems.”

Weegie waved at me.

I moved over, out of Zelda’s way.

Weegie walked up to the counter. “Two of the other book club members and I would like to stay on for a few days to be here for Myrtle. She’s a pest and annoying, but she doesn’t have anyone, and we wouldn’t feel right leaving her in the hospital all alone. Would you have a room for three? I’m not sure how long we’d need it. At least until her sister arrives.”

“Of course. Given the circumstances, we’ll give you a special rate. You’re probably tired of that rollaway bed, too.” I checked the schedule, and blocked two connecting rooms for them. “I’ll let you know when your rooms are ready.”

She leaned over the counter. “Is it true that one of the Tredwells murdered Norm?”

“Honestly, we don’t know anything yet.” Sheesh. Now I was starting to sound like the police. I hated it when they sidestepped questions. On the other hand, it was remotely possible that the insulin pen in question was not the one used to kill Norm. And that the cap I had seen at Randolph Hall was meant for something else entirely. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to dodge your question. I’ve actually been out so I don’t know what has happened.”

The door to the office opened, and Char marched out, her face flaming. She still carried Ella Mae, but she avoided my eyes entirely.

Dave called me. I waved to Weegie and hurried over. “They’re protecting each other. Didn’t get a thing out of them. Is it okay if Savannah hangs out here today with Shadow?”

“Sure.”

“I’m going over to Randolph Hall to question Ian and Blanche.”

“Good luck. What if they shut the door in your face?”

“Then they will be taken to Snowball for questioning at headquarters.”

He watched something behind me. “My guess is that the Tredwell clan will be departing Wagtail shortly.”

I turned around and saw Geof and Robin walk out the door. The Thursday Night Cloak and Dagger Club rushed off right behind them to Hair of the Dog for the awarding of prizes.

“Can’t you detain them? On TV they’re always telling people not to leave town.”

“I can tell them that. But I can’t enforce it. If they have a lawyer they can call, I bet they leave ASAP.”

“I don’t know about that. Ian and Geof were heavily invested in the game.”

Dave coughed. “You’re joking, right? Let’s see, what would be preferable? Avoiding being arrested for murder or winning a game?”

“Well, when you put it that way . . . What about Robin and her room? She’ll want to pack.”

“Stall. Stall as long as you can.”

“You’re not going to arrest her? Don’t you think she killed Norm?” asked Zelda.

Dave winced. “At this point, all I have is an insulin pen. I don’t even know if it was the one used in Norm’s murder. I’ve got no fingerprints and no confession. I’ll know more after I get this over to the lab.”

I looked over at Zelda. “Our job is to stall Robin.”

She nodded. “Gotcha. Holly is the only one who can let Robin into her room, and by gosh, I just won’t be able to find Holly.”

Dave shot her a thumbs-up and took off. In a matter of minutes, the rush had ended and the reception lobby was so quiet I could have heard kitten feet.

I had promised Val I would attend the prize ceremony. Given everything that had happened, I debated the wisdom of going. But the inn was quiet with everyone out at the final meeting of Murder Most Howl.

I walked out on the front porch.

Mr. Huckle followed me. “We had quite a morning here at the Sugar Maple Inn.”

“Yes, we did.”

“Your grandmother would be proud of the way you’re handling these crises.”

I smiled at him. “Thank you, Mr. Huckle. I fear we’re not done yet, though.”

“Dave appears to have it in hand. He’ll take it from here.” He looked at his watch. “Aren’t you supposed to be at the ceremony where the prizes are awarded?”

“I wonder if I should stick around here.”

Mr. Huckle toddled inside and returned with my jacket. “I shall call you if anything untoward happens.”

Maybe he was right. “Okay. Thanks, Mr. Huckle.”

By the time I walked over to Hair of the Dog with Trixie and Gingersnap, the presentations were almost over. Val was in her element, handing out prizes for all kinds of amusing things like
Silliest Motive
and
Most Dog Clues Eaten
. I watched from the back, laughing along with the participants. To my surprise, Holmes and Ben had made it on time and assisted Val in handing out gift certificates and fun prizes.

Ian and Blanche were notably absent. Robin and Geof had come, but not Charlotte or Ella Mae. I watched them, wondering if I would have attended in their shoes. If I had murdered someone, would I go to an unimportant presentation? I thought not. Maybe that spoke to their innocence. Or maybe that’s what they hoped for—to appear unconcerned.

As I looked around, I realized that most of the participants were smiling. Maybe they hadn’t been impacted by Norm’s death. Maybe some of them hadn’t even heard about it.

When it ended, a lot of people stayed for lunch. Some filtered out clutching gift certificates for local stores. The chatter I heard was all positive but I had arrived too late to hear who killed the baron.

I made my way through the tables to Val, Holmes, and Ben. In spite of the din, I could hear burgers sizzling on the grill.

“Congratulations, Val. Looks like you pulled it off after all.”

“I heard a bunch of people say they’re coming back to play again with friends.” Holmes high-fived Val.

But Val flinched. “I think the merchants will be the judge of whether there’s a next time. Half the town isn’t speaking to me. I keep telling them it was Norm who wrote the scandalous clues, but some of them remain unconvinced.”

“Do you have a minute?” I asked.

She gazed around. “Lunch rush has started. Can you make it quick?”

“Why didn’t you tell me about Norm?”

“What about him?”

I stared at her in surprise. Why was she acting this way? What was she hiding?

She closed her eyes for a moment. “Okay, okay, okay. Come into my office.”

Holmes, Ben, and I followed her. She closed the door.

After a deep sigh she said, “Where to begin? I was surprised when Juliana and Norm moved to Wagtail. But then she started sending me gorgeous pictures. Juliana and her dog on a mountain peak. Juliana and her dog swimming in the lake. You get the idea. Fabulous pictures. She kept inviting me to come to Wagtail but I was always too busy at work. And then she was dead. It hit me hard.”