stifle a wide yawn.
“Not cooperating?” Cairo slammed his fist against
the fireplace, hurt himself, and swore under his breath.
“Poor baby,” Vivian murmured. “Let Mommy kiss
your boo-boo.” She advanced on the detective, allowing a great deal of bare leg to become exposed.
“Not now,” Cairo growled. “I’ll take a rain check,”
he added.
Joe looked at Judith. “Who’s in Room One?”
“Winifred Best,” Judith said, surprised that she
could remember where Room One was located, let
alone who occupied it.
“Ms. Best is right,” Joe said to Cairo. “Why don’t
you go away?”
Rubbing his sore knuckles, Cairo bristled. “I want
to hear the details about how this Zepf guy died.”
“You
the kitchen, maybe to get some aspirin, probably had a
heart attack, and fell face first into the sink. Look, the
guy had just had the biggest comedown of his career.
His future was on the line. You never knew of someone
to suffer a coronary after a life-altering shock?”
His face darkening, Cairo continued rubbing his
knuckles, but made no comment.
“I’m curious about that cupboard door,” Dilys put
in. “How often does it open by itself?”
“Occasionally,” Judith admitted.
“Interesting,” Dilys remarked, then turned to Cairo.
“Mr. Flynn has a point. We can’t do much until we get
the ME’s verdict.”
“Awwr . . .” Cairo grimaced, but nodded abruptly.
“Okay, we’ll hang it up for now.” He loomed over Judith. “I gotta trust you, Flynn. We’re shorthanded
tonight because of the holiday weekend. You see to it
that nobody goes near that kitchen, especially the sink.
You got that?”
Joe nodded solemnly; Judith blanched. “But I have
to serve breakfast for—” she began.
Cairo made a slashing gesture with his sore hand.
“Forget about it. Your fancy guests can go out to eat.
So can you.”
“But Mother can’t—” Judith began before Joe broke
in.
“Sam’s right. The kitchen is a potential crime scene.
We’ll manage.” He offered Cairo a dubious smile.
“Trying to get rid of me, eh, Flynn?” There was
nothing playful about the look in Cairo’s chilly eyes.
The equivocal smile remained on Joe’s lips. But he
said nothing.
Cairo gave Dilys a nudge and took Vivian by the
