more professional stand. After all, I’m not only a retired cop, but a private detective.” He offered her his
most engaging grin. “Want to hire me?”
Judith grinned back, though she was still upset. “Of
course. I’d better make arrangements with Ingrid for
tonight’s other guests.”
Joe patted her, then started for the door. “I’m on the
case.”
“Oh!” Judith called after him. “One thing.”
“What’s that?”
She swallowed hard. “Do you honestly believe that
Bruno may have been murdered?”
Joe regarded his wife with grim compassion. “I
can’t rule it out.”
Judith’s heart sank. “You sound like a cop.”
He shrugged.
Judith tried to regain her composure. “One more
thing.”
“What?”
“Can I use the kitchen?”
When Judith drained the sink, she felt as if she were
releasing the floodgates of evil. Joe had already removed the rubber spider and fingerprinted the entire
area, including the wayward door, the window and
windowsill, and the faucets. He’d ask Woody Price to
run the evidence through the lab.
Judith called Ingrid at the state B&B association’s
office, but was informed that Ms. Heffelman had the
weekend off. In her place was a soft-spoken woman
named Zillah Young. Apparently Zillah was new to the
hostelry business and didn’t know of Judith’s reputation for murder and mayhem. Without giving the details, Judith meekly asked her to assign the five
Sunday-night reservations to other B&Bs in the area.
Finally, Judith had a chance to call Renie and let her
know about the tragedy. It was shortly after eleven
o’clock, and the Joneses should be back from Mass at
Our Lady, Star of the Sea. Judith would either have to
miss Mass or go in the evening. There was no way she
could leave Hillside Manor at present.
The only guests that Joe had found upstairs were
Dirk Farrar and Angela La Belle. Joe reported that both
were furious. He also noted that they seemed to be
sharing Room Three, which had belonged to Bruno.
“I told them to get out of there,” Joe said. “I want to
search that room thoroughly before Vito settles in.”
“Will they go?” Judith asked, her fingers poised to
call Renie.
“They stomped out of the house five minutes ago.”
Judith sighed. “So there’s nobody here for me to
