“So you were in charge of Ava?” Carlita asked.
“I was. I put her wherever she was needed, but like I said, she wasn’t much good at cleaning.” Mary sighed heavily. “She and Iris took a dislikin’ to each other from the moment they met. I tried to keep the two women apart, but Ava seemed dead set on antagonizing poor Iris.”
They reached the drawing room door and Mary O’Brien paused. “The investigators questioned all of us last night. We were up until the wee hours of the mornin’ trying to not only clean up after the party but also come to terms with Ava’s death.”
“It’s unfortunate it occurred during the party,” Carlita said.
Mary glanced down the hall and then lowered her voice. “I suppose there’s a chance someone came in and took Ava out, but I think it twas an inside job. Someone who works here at Montgomery Hall did her in, what with the weapon of choice bein’ one of Mr. Montgomery’s prized weapons.”
Byron passed the other end of the hall and glanced in their direction. When he started towards them, Mary took a step back. “I best be gettin’ back to my dinner preparations. I hope you’re hungry.”
Mercedes rubbed her hands together. “What are we having?”
“Shepherd’s pie. It’s a slight variation of the recipe from back home.”
Carlita had never tasted shepherd’s pie. “What’s in it?”
Mary rattled off the ingredients as Byron approached. “Ground lamb, mixed with corn, English peas, some spices, carrots and onion. For the topping I use russet potatoes mixed with sour cream and cream cheese and broil it in the oven.”
Byron waited until Mary finished speaking. “Mary will only make her famous shepherd’s pie when we have company. It’s delicious.”
“We can’t wait to try it,” Carlita said.
Mary’s cheeks turned a tinge of pink. “You’re all bein’ way too kind. I best be runnin’ along.” She limped down the hall and Byron turned to the women. “I hope she finishes making it before the storm blows in.”
“I hope the storm misses us completely,” Carlita said. “We’ve never been through a hurricane before.”
“This one is on the lower end of the scale, but it will still knock down a few limbs, and we’ll have a lot of wind and rain.”
Byron placed both hands behind his back. “Mrs. Montgomery will be along shortly.” He led them into the drawing room and to the silver tray sitting on the side bar. “If the tea is too cold, ring the bell next to the door and Mrs. O’Brien will bring a hot pot.”
Carlita thanked Byron for the information and he exited the drawing room.
Mercedes was already sampling a shortbread cookie. A small piece broke off and she caught it with her hand. “Oh my gosh. These are delicious. Try one.”
She handed her mother a cookie and Carlita bit the edge. The buttery cookie melted in her mouth. “These are delicious,” she mumbled. “I can see the pounds packing on already.”
Tori breezed into the room. “I’m sorry for the delay. Pirate Pete just left. He would have stopped by to say hello, but he’s anxious to get off the island before the authorities close the bridge.”
“Already?” Carlita cast a worried glance out the window. Their chances of getting off the island before the storm hit were growing slimmer by the minute.
“It’s the wind. For safety reasons, they close the bridge when the wind gusts reach a certain level.” Tori noted the look of concern on Carlita’s face. “Don’t worry. From what we know, the storm is moving fast. You’re safer here than in your own home.” She pointed to Mary’s cookies. “Mary makes the best cookies.”
“Yes, she does.” Mercedes reached for another cookie, chocolate chip this time. “She said we’re having shepherd’s pie for dinner.”
“And she makes a fabulous shepherd’s pie,” Tori nodded. “Do have a seat. Did you find your rooms acceptable?”
“Acceptable?” Mercedes rolled her eyes. “I’m ready to move in. They’re awesome.”
Tori smiled. “I’m glad to hear you like them. After you finish, I’ll take you on a tour of Montgomery Hall. We can go over what I know about Ava’s death and I’ll fill you in on a few small details.”
“Perfect.” Carlita nodded. “Mary has already given us some information since Ava worked for her. She also mentioned the same thing that you did, that Patrick, your pool and maintenance man may have been the cause of some of the animosity between Ava and Iris.”
While they sipped tea and sampled cookies, Tori told them the investigators stayed until the early hours of the morning conducting a thorough search of the main house and the pool house, questioning each of the employees and even EC Security Services’ employees.
“It appears Ava had been lying inside the pool house for at least an hour before her body was found by one of EC Security Services’ employees. Naturally, the young man was shaken up after finding her body.”
The women finished their tea and cookies, and Iris silently appeared to remove the dishes.
“Shall we begin our tour?” Tori asked.
Carlita nodded and pushed herself out of her chair. She was halfway to the door when a rumble of thunder shook the house. The lights flickered and then the power went out.
Chapter 12
It took a couple of minutes for Carlita’s eyes to adjust to the lack of light.
“No need to worry,” Tori said. “I’m sure Lucien and Byron are on their way to fire up the generators.” She no more than got the words out of her mouth and the lights flickered again, before slowly coming back on, but not nearly as bright.
“We’ll be able to run power to the main part of the house, the refrigerators, the heating and cooling units, and other necessities. Unfortunately, the upstairs bedrooms won’t have power, but we have plenty
