Barry opened the door when they arrived at Renee’s. It was as if he were her guard, making sure that only the worthy were allowed to see the wizard.
“Sarah,” he said warmly. “And Caleb,” he added, trying to sound polite.
“Hey, Barry,” Caleb said smoothly.
Sarah was impressed with the casual ease Caleb maintained when he greeted Barry, knowing what Renee had said.
Without making a big deal of it, Caleb stepped past Barry and went over to Renee, who was sitting up on the sofa and seemed to be just fine. But she looked at Caleb guardedly as he sat down across from her.
“What’s going on at the cemetery?” Renee demanded, as Barry sat down beside her. “And don’t tell us that you don’t know. We saw the two of you in the background on the news report.”
“They’ve found Winona Hart,” Caleb said.
“Dead?” Renee asked, wide-eyed.
“I’m afraid so,” Caleb said.
“Oh, God.” Renee shrank back, as if she could become one with the sofa. “You found her, didn’t you?” she accused Caleb.
“Actually, I did,” Sarah said, sitting down in an empty chair next to Caleb.
Renee’s double take was almost humorous. “How? You just decided to go digging in the cemetery?”
“I went on a tour,” Sarah told her.
“You went on a tour?” Barry said incredulously.
“I needed a fresh perspective,” she said, and shrugged.
Caleb was still studying Renee.
“Renee, are you sure that you were attacked last night? That you didn’t simply fall? Just how loaded were you?” he asked.
Renee flushed. “Loaded enough to black out, all right? So no, I’m not sure of anything. They said at the hospital that I had been attacked, so I figured…”
“And you told the police you saw…me before whatever happened, happened?” he pressed.
She flushed again. “I saw someone who looked like you, only in costume, coming toward me. I do remember that. I’m not imagining it.”
“Okay, and while you were out last night, who else did you see?” Caleb asked.
She stared back at him, her face wrinkled in puzzlement. “I saw all of you, obviously—Caroline, Will, the two of you, Barry. And then, later on, at the Dirty Duck—or maybe it was when I got to the Mainmast, I don’t know—I saw…I saw all kinds of people. Gary and the guys from his crew were there, a group of tourists who had been over to Cassadaga, some kids who looked too young to be there, if you ask me—”
“You saw Cary Hagan, too, didn’t you?” Sarah interrupted. “She came to see me at the museum to apologize for letting you leave on your own.”
“Yeah, I saw Cary. She can sure drink. I think that’s where I messed up. I was trying to keep up with her, and she can drink anyone under the table,” Renee said.
“What about Tim Jamison?” Caleb asked. “Did you see him anywhere when you were out?”
Renee squinted in thought, then shook her head. “No, I don’t think so.”
“Okay, Renee, this is really important, so please, think hard. Do you remember any details at all of what happened after you left the Dirty Duck?” Caleb asked her.
She let out a sigh. “Just what I’ve told people already. I saw lights—they must have been from a car, I guess. And then I saw a guy in Civil War clothes and…thought it was you. I didn’t tell Jamison at first—only Sarah, when she came to see me. But she said it couldn’t have been you, so…I don’t know. It was someone, though, and he must have looked kind of like you. And then someone hit me, or maybe I did just pass out, only everybody is suspicious because…there’s a killer out there. I just don’t know!” she practically wailed.
“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” Barry said reassuringly, putting an arm around her.
“It’s all right. We’re leaving. Get some rest, Renee. And thanks,” Caleb told her.
Sarah gave her a goodbye kiss on the cheek, and then Barry saw them out, locking the door behind them.
“I want to check out the bars she mentioned and see if anyone remembers what she was up to last night,” Caleb said.
“Then let’s go.”
Sarah was surprised to discover that Caleb was carrying a picture of Frederick Russell on him, along with shots of Jennie Lawson, Renee, Winona Hart and Tim Jamison, the latter out of uniform.
They hit paydirt almost immediately with one of the bartenders at the Dirty Duck, who came over and looked at the pictures, then focused on those of Frederick Russell and Jennie Lawson. “Those others are locals, and I see them all the time. But these two…I kind of think I do remember them…. This is the guy who was just found in the car in the bay, right? I think they were both in here about a year ago.”