They took off down the hallway.
The doorbell rang again. Beast barked, bouncing up and down. I waited another second to make sure they'd disappeared and swung the door open. "Officer Marais. What a lovely surprise."
*** *** ***
Officer Marais looked at me, his face devoid of all expression.
"Would you like some coffee?" I asked.
"No."
"Well, I would like some coffee. Please feel free to follow me to the kitchen." I walked into the kitchen, got out a mug, and pushed the button on my Keurig. Gertrude Hunt wasn't a wealthy inn, but I wasn't willing to skimp on coffee. Officer Marais followed me like a stoic shadow.
"Are you sure you wouldn't like a cup?"
"Yes. Ms. Demille, where were you last night between eleven p.m. and three a.m.?"
I sipped my coffee. "Upstairs in my bed."
We squared off like two duelists with rapiers.
"Did you hear anything unusual?" Marais attacked.
"What do you mean by unusual?" I parried.
"Did you hear anything at all?"
"No. I was asleep. Can I ask what this is about?"
"Yes. Your neighbors down the street reported hearing screams followed by a bright flash of red light."
Thank you, Arland. "I didn't hear screams. Was it a man or a woman who was screaming? Did something bad happen?"
"How is it that everyone on the street heard screams and you didn't?"
"I'm a sound sleeper."
We paused to catch a breath. Sean and Arland walked into the kitchen. Arland wore jeans and a white T-shirt. Out of his armor, he looked less enormous. Sean was leaner, his muscles tighter and more defined. Arland was a couple of inches taller, broader in the shoulders and layered with thicker muscle. Sean could pick up a fifty-pound rucksack and run for miles, while Arland was clearly designed to punch holes through solid walls.
"Officer Marais, this is Mr. Arland. He's staying at my Bed and Breakfast. He's a longtime friend of Mr. Evans."
Mr. Evans made a valiant effort not to choke.
"Did you hear anything unusual last night?" Officer Marais asked Sean.
Sean shrugged and plucked the little container of coffee from the holder. "Nope. Did you?"
Arland shook his head. "No."
"Where are you from, Mr. Arland?" Officer Marais asked.
Okay, that was just about enough. I put my cup down. "Officer, may I speak with you for a minute?"
I walked into the foyer before he could say no. Officer Marais followed me.
"Since I've moved here, you have shown up at my door eight times. I obey the laws, I pay my taxes, and I haven't even gotten a parking ticket in my entire time as a driver. Yet if anything at all happens in the neighborhood, you appear at my door. I bet if a meteorite fell somewhere in the subdivision, you would be here asking me if I personally launched it out of my doomsday cannon."
"Ma'am, I need you to calm down."
"I'm perfectly calm. I haven't raised my voice. You can come over here and ask me whatever questions you want, but I draw the line at harassing my guests. You're interfering with my ability to run a business."
"No, I am asking you questions."
"With all due respect, I'm not legally required to answer any of your questions. Why is it you don't like me, Officer Marais? Is it because I'm not from here?"
"It doesn't matter where you're from. You're here now and it's my job to protect you and everyone here. I'm doing my job and I don't appreciate the drama. Something isn't right with you and this property. Strange things happen around it. I don't know what is going on, but I will find out. You could make it easier on yourself by coming clean."
"Sure. This is a magic bed-and-breakfast and the two guys in my kitchen are aliens from outer space."
"Right." Officer Marais turned. "I'll let myself out."
He turned and walked out. It took all my willpower not to make the door slam to help him on his way. That would be petty.
Caldenia descended the staircase behind me. "You let him goad you."
"I know. He aggravates me."
Officer Marais was a problem. Just how big of a problem remained to be seen. He was just doing his job, after all, and he didn't strike me as a man who would manufacture evidence, so it was up to me to be smarter and more discreet and not provide him with anything to further his suspicions.
I followed Caldenia into the kitchen. Arland saw her, set his mug down, stood up, and inclined his head in a pronounced bow. "Letere Olivione."
He called her by her proper title.
"Such a polite boy." Caldenia smiled. "I prefer Her Grace here. One must adhere to local customs after all. House Krahr, correct?"
"Yes, Your Grace." Arland smiled and took a big swallow from his mug.
"I believe I've met your grandfather, the Bloody Butcher of Odar."
"That's correct."
"I remember now. A delightful man, wonderfully dry sense of humor."
Arland blinked. "My grandfather has been called many names in his lifetime. Delightful was not one of them. He remembers you also. You tried to poison him."