“Seth, you can come to the classes if you want,” Mom said. “We have good snacks all the time. They send in brownies and cakes and cookies.”
Seth looked up from his plate at the sound of his name and “snacks” in the same sentence, but he had clearly not been listening to all the knitting talk.
“Huh?”
“I need Seth to help me with some things,” Dad said and slung his arm over Seth’s shoulder and whispered something in his ear.
“Yeah, sorry. I’ll have to get the snacks some other time,” Seth said.
Vi pressed her lips together and glared at Dad.
Everyone scattered after dinner to either his or her own rooms or the workshop room. Dad and Seth ventured back out into another light snowfall to feed and walk the dogs.
Mac and I went in search of Tina.
After we checked the workshop room and the lounge, we found her in the reception area talking to Wally. He stood a couple of feet away from the counter while Tina leaned toward him, talking urgently. They both startled when we approached.
Tina leaned back, cast a threatening look in Wally’s direction, and tried to brush past us.
Mac put his hand out. “We need to speak with you if you don’t mind.”
Tina narrowed her eyes at Mac. “Actually I do mind,” she said.
Mac’s eyebrows twitched up. No one had refused to talk to us so far.
“We’re just trying to establish a timeline of the night Clarissa died,” I said.
“I know what you’re trying to do,” she said. “I also know I don’t have to talk to you. I’m not under arrest and I don’t have anything to say.” She crossed her arms.
Mac glanced at Wally and lowered his voice. “We are talking to everyone who was not in the dining room the whole time that evening—a witness has come forward who saw you in the hallway outside the turret room that night.”
Wally pretended to be working on his computer, but his hands rested quietly on the keyboard and I could tell he was listening to every word.
“You’ll have to solve your mystery without me,” Tina said. “I’m not talking about it.” She pushed past us and stalked down the hall toward the stairs.
I moved to follow her but Mac put a hand on my arm.
“We can’t force her to talk to us,” he said. “She’s right. She’s not under arrest. But she’s just moved way up on my list.”
*
I returned to my room after an hour or so of talking with Mac about the suspects and motives we had already uncovered. Mom and Vi rushed toward me as I shut the door behind me.
“Finally!” Vi said. “Where have you been?”
“Mac and I were downstairs talking.” I noticed the room was lit by candles and all the electric lights had been turned off. I got a queasy feeling.
“We need to get busy here,” Mom said. She swung her arm in the direction of the sitting area.
I looked at the coffee table and saw what they were so excited about. Mom’s tarot cards were poised to share the secrets of the universe and Vi’s pendulum glinted in the candlelight.
“Mom, how come you didn’t go back to the cottage with Dad?” I worried there would be a night of psychic interrogation.
“He and Seth can deal with the dogs,” Mom said. “This is more important. I know you and Mac are working on things in your own way, but I think we can help.” She gestured at her cards.
In the past I would have pushed back against the tarot and pendulum, but now that I was working on my own talents, I understood their need to contribute in any way they could. “What do the cards have to say?” I asked.
“I haven’t looked yet,” Mom said. “We were waiting for you. We think that the cards, the pendulum, and maybe an eyewitness will be useful.”
“Eyewitness?” I said.
“I’ve been trying to find that cat all day, but she’s disappeared,” Vi said. “She might know something.”
“Oh. The cat. Of course.”
I yawned. Even though I was tired, I wasn’t looking forward to another night alternately listening to the wind and Vi’s snoring. Day two in Mexico would have found Mac and me at some romantic restaurant followed by a stroll along the moonlit beach. Tarot cards and pendulums would not have featured in our plans.
“Let’s get this over with,” I said, and sat near the coffee table.
Vi clapped her hands and sat next to me.
“What are we asking tonight?” I asked.
“It seems like Mavis and Isabel had a good reason to want Clarissa dead, if you think that revenge is a reasonable motive,” Vi began. “Tina was seen in the hallway, but I have no idea why she would want to hurt Clarissa. None of the staff liked her very much, but that doesn’t mean any of them would kill her. Lots of terrible bosses live through their employee’s anger.”
I nodded. Vi had summed up in four sentences what Mac and I had discussed for an hour.
“I agree, Vi,” I said.
She smiled. “I’ve been thinking . . .”
She paused and looked at Mom, who tilted her head and gave a subtle nod.
“I want to open my own detective agency,” Vi said in a rush.