Wishbones

bow.

“Did you see that woman on the balcony?”

He shook his head. “I didn’t see anyone, but it’s dark. Let me check your room.”

“Okay.”

We walked into the house together. When we came to my room, the door was locked. I opened it with my key. Daniel did a quick walk-through of the room and adjoining bath and found nothing.

“The light here can play tricks,” he said. His smile revealed strong white teeth and his dark eyes danced. “The locals say this house is haunted, though. Perhaps you saw the ghost.”

“The ghost of whom?”

He gave a one-shoulder shrug. “The owner, the mistress, the murdered maid. Aren’t the stories all the same? A ghost must be unhappy to remain behind to haunt a place.” His smile widened. “And it’s almost always a woman, yes? Something to think about.”

Great, a security guard with a misogynistic comedy routine. “Thanks for your help, Mr. Martinez.”

“Call me Daniel. I hear you’re going to be a huge star when you return to the States. Perhaps I can get your autograph later.”

I must have looked like a gaffed fish because he laughed. “No one has ever asked for my autograph,” I confessed.

“Maybe if you leave one for the ghost, she’ll go away happy.”

“Clever.”

“Call me if you need anything, Ms. Delaney. I’m at your service.”

When he left I locked the door and searched the room myself. There was no evidence that anything had been tampered with. Then again, ghosts didn’t normally move papers. If the ghost of Carlita Marquez was haunting the mansion, what did she want and why was she trying to get it from me?

“Well, this place puts the Delta to shame!”

Tinkie’s lilting Southern drawl echoed in the huge foyer of the mansion, and I ran down the stairs to smother her in a hug. Right behind her were Millie and Cece, both wearing hats and huge sunglasses even though it was dark outside.

“Sarah Booth, dahling,” Cece said, inching her sunglasses down her aristocratic nose. “You look underfed and over-fucked. How do I get that job description?”

She gave me air kisses on each cheek before yielding to Millie, who gave me a big warm hug.

“The paparazzi took our photographs! They were like vultures fighting over a dead possum in the highway. It was wonderful!” Millie stepped back from me and began to ooh and ahh over the house. “I can’t believe I’m here.”

“She’s afraid the cafe will close while she’s gone,” Tinkie said, a laugh in her voice.

“Don’t worry about that! Everyone in town will show up and eat for days trying to pry gossip out of you,” Cece told Millie. “In fact, you should set a twenty-dollar minimum. Not one shred of gossip about Sarah Booth unless the tab is at least twenty bucks.”

“Where’s Graf?” They were embarrassing me, and I wanted to change the subject.

“I think he’s getting the luggage. We also brought Jovan with us from the airport.” Cece gave a little moue. “Beautiful but not a great conversationalist.”

“I couldn’t stop staring at her,” Millie said. “She’s so gorgeous. They call her the Ice Princess in the tabloids. They say she’s such a hot model because it’s that contrast of Nordic cool and the hot Latino men they use with her in the ads.”

“Graf has a surprise for you, Sarah Booth.” Tinkie could barely suppress her glee.

“What kind of surprise?” I asked. Tragedy tapping at my door had made me suspicious of surprises.

“The kind you’ll like.” Cece put her arm around my shoulders. “Give us the tour. Millie especially wants to see the balcony where the prop guy almost fell to his death.”

Millie pulled a shining digital camera from her purse. “I brought my camera. I intend to document this entire trip. You would think Cece would do this. She is, supposedly, the journalist.” She started snapping photographs. “Is the young man who fell doing better?” she asked.

“Joey is fine. His injuries aren’t serious. In fact, he’s back on the set already.” And he was. He couldn’t do much, but he was doing what he could. I led the way upstairs, unlocking my door to a curious look from Tinkie.

“Long story,” I whispered under my breath.

While Cece and Millie toured the room, both stopping in front of the striking portrait of Carlita Marquez, Tinkie went straight to the balcony. Even in the dark she suspected the balustrade had deliberately been weakened.

“Were you the target?” she asked.

“I don’t think so. There’re some strange things happening in this house.”

“Strange as in fatal?”

“Strange as in… supernatural.” If I’d ever thought of telling Tinkie about Jitty, I knew better now. Her face showed clear doubt and a good measure of worry.

“Are you saying a ghost tampered with the balcony?”

“No.” What was I saying? “Ghosts can’t-” I broke off. Far be it for me to explain the rules and regulations of the Great Beyond. “Someone did that but it’s possible it wasn’t directed at me. It could have happened long before the filming started.”

“Or not.” Tinkie stared into my eyes, searching for some answer. “Suzy Dutton died in the ravine by the house you were living in. She was pushed off a cliff.”

“Did the coroner rule homicide?” Being so far away from California and without access to a computer, I hadn’t thought to check on the news stories about Suzy.

“The coroner’s report hasn’t been released, but law enforcement officials have been all over that canyon, and they hauled Bobby Joe Taylor in for questioning. They wouldn’t do that if they felt Dutton’s death was accidental.”

“How do you know all this?” Foolish question.

“Millie keeps up with things. And it’s a good thing, too. I’d never have known about the prop man falling if it wasn’t for her.”

“Things are going fine here. Federico is pleased with the work. We’re ahead of schedule.” I shrugged.

“The tabloids are saying the movie is cursed. They’re hinting about some dark secret in Federico’s past.”

“Like?”

“Like murder.”

I started to walk away and Tinkie grasped my arm. I winced, and she led me back into the bedroom and the light. “What the hell happened to your arm?” She looked toward the door. “Did Graf do that?”

“No. It was…” I was finding it hard to tell Tinkie all the things that had happened, because while I was determined not to add them up to get the score, she would do so instantly.

“It was what?” Cece said, coming over to join Tinkie. Millie was right on her heels. Angry expressions touched their faces when they saw the bruises on my arm.

“Federico’s daughter. She’s upset that we’re using the house for filming. She says her dead mother wouldn’t approve. She wants us gone, and she’s a little hysterical.”

“And so she grabbed your arm that hard? What did Federico say?” Millie asked.

I fudged a bit. “He had Estelle removed from the property.” I almost left it there, but in fairness, I couldn’t. “But she keeps sneaking back into the house. She must have her own keys.”

“When her mother died, Estelle was sent to a spa for several months.” Millie looked from one to the other. “Spa being a nice word for rehab. I remember the picture of her. She looked like warmed- over death. She was very close with Carlita, and there was talk that her mind had snapped.”

“She’s a little unbalanced,” I said. “There’s such anger between her and Federico. What I don’t understand is why she’s taking it out on me. I would have thought that she’d be dogging Jovan, her father’s girlfriend.”

“Jovan isn’t the star of the movie,” Tinkie said quietly. “You are, Sarah Booth.”

“That’s not the worst of it.” I was on the verge of telling them about the ghost when I heard the distinctive sound of toenails on the floor. Sweetie Pie, followed by Chablis, burst into the room. Both dogs circled us and then jumped into the middle of the bed.

“You brought Chablis!” I was delighted to see the moppet.