affection and good humor in his voice. “As dog rescuers, we deserve fresh coffee.” He turned to go back to the dining room.
“Walter!” Diane’s cry was sharp. “Come back. Their door’s ajar. Don’t push! Walter, stop that.” There was a strangled sound and then a high scream.
Jimmy swerved around Kay and me. He reached the stairs, took the steps two at a time.
Kay and I raced after him.
Diane stood at the far end of the hall near a partially open door. She was trembling. “There’s blood…there’s blood everywhere.”
The door to Laverne and Ronald Phillips’s room was partially open. Blood had pooled in a dark splotch just over the threshold into the hallway.
I glanced back. Only Kay was behind me. I disappeared.
Inside the bedroom, I felt as if I’d slammed into a wall. I wouldn’t follow Ronald Phillips today. His body kept the door from fully opening. He lay on his back, skin flaccid and grayish. Dark splotches stained his once-white T- shirt. His temple was disfigured as well. I suspected a gun had been held only inches away and the trigger pulled.
I hovered above the bed.
Laverne lay on her back. Blood had seeped into the pillows and the bedclothes. She appeared to have been shot in her sleep. Had she awakened, groggy from pills, at the rapid staccato of gunfire? I suspected the attack had been sudden, Ronald shot down, then swift movement to the bed and the gun trained on her.
“They’re dead.” Diane’s cry rose from the hallway. “They’re dead!” She clung to her son’s arm.
Jimmy stared into the bedroom, his young face pale with shock. “Walter.” His voice was shaky. He reached out, snagged the cocker’s collar, pulled him into the hall. Smears of blood stained the floor. He lifted the struggling cocker, held him against his chest, then slid an arm around his mother’s shoulders as she began to sob.
I returned to the hall. I glanced toward the stairs and saw no one. I was behind Diane and Jimmy and Kay. I appeared.
Kay took two swift steps, gazed into the room. She drew in a sharp breath. “They’ve been killed.” Her voice was grim. She pulled a cell phone from the pocket of her slacks and punched 911.
Jimmy turned his mother away from the room. He still held the struggling Walter. “We’ll wait for the police downstairs. Come on, Mom.” He gave Kay a commanding glance. “Close the door.”
Kay moved quickly, pulled the door shut.
Evelyn waited at the foot of the stairs, worry and fear clear in the drawn lines of her face. Margo and Shannon stood a few feet behind her.
Diane sobbed. “Someone’s killed Laverne and Ronald. There’s blood all over their room.”
Jimmy nodded at his aunt. “Laverne and Ronald are dead. It has to be murder. The police are coming.”
On the main floor, with an apologetic glance, I slipped into the guest lavatory. I regretted that I’d succumbed to the lure of fashion this morning. I couldn’t at this point change to a frumpier costume, but I added oversize harlequin-frame sunglasses and a green kerchief to cover my hair, then returned.
“The police are coming.” Kay spoke quietly. “Possibly we should wait in the drawing room.”
Evelyn led the way. She walked to a Queen Anne chair, sank onto it. Diane huddled on a sofa, shaking, words tumbling. Jimmy paced by the fireplace. Margo and Shannon sat side by side on a bench, their expressions shocked and frightened.
Margo asked abruptly, “Are you sure—”
Jimmy interrupted. “They’re dead and covered with blood.”
Shannon gave a cry.
He started to walk toward her, then shook his head, resumed his quick steps up and down, up and down in front of the fireplace.
The police arrived within five minutes, sirens blaring. Chief Cobb paused in the archway. “Is everyone in the household here?” His gray suit already looked rumpled.
Evelyn wasn’t as majestic as usual. She took a deep breath and nodded, big-boned face bleak.
“Remain here.” It was an order, not a request. “Officer Cain will be in charge. Officer, take everyone’s name.” The chief swung away, moving fast for a big man.
I well remembered young and handsome Johnny Cain. His coal black hair was newly cut, his deep blue eyes alert and intelligent. I hoped he wouldn’t recall the redhead he’d glimpsed at Lulu’s when I was in Adelaide for the Christmas holiday. Of course, on that particular day, I’d worn a particularly flattering jade green blouse and slacks, which emphasized the sheen of my hair. Possibly today was the first time in either my earthly or Heavenly existence that I perceived a negative aspect of red hair. Truly, once glimpsed, the coppery gleam of my hair is difficult to forget.
Morning sunlight slanted across the Aubusson carpet, its colors faded a dusty rose and pale gold from years of exposure. Each person sat in an island of silence. Johnny Cain moved from one to another. When he reached me, his expression was curious. I could have told him it was deja vu all over again. Instead, I gave my name in a sibilant mutter and hunched my head to one side as if I had a stiff neck.
When his task was done, he waited near the archway.
Everyone sequestered in the drawing room appeared shocked and subdued. Evelyn clasped the silver head of an ebony cane, her expression somber. Diane slumped against the side of the sofa, occasionally pressing a sodden handkerchief to her reddened eyes. Jimmy paced, frowning as he flexed his hands, opening and closing his fingers into fists. Shannon held tight to one of her mother’s hands. Margo kept her gaze trained on the archway, watching as officers and technicians came and went in the hallway. Shannon’s face creased in thought. Occasionally, she
