“What did you do?”
“I tried to contact the woman, but she couldn’t seem to see me. People came and went. The house changed hands several times. Some saw me and were afraid. Others saw me but couldn’t talk to me. Either way, until you moved in, I pretty much lived an isolated life. Afterlife?” She cocked her head. “Do you know why I’m trapped here? I’m not sure what waits beyond these walls, but I’d like to find out.”
I thought of what it must be like to be a ghost, trapped without anybody to talk to. Franny had an active and curious mind. She had died reading. The thought of her stuck without anything to do but able to remain as congenial as she was made me terribly sad.
“I don’t know why, but when I get things sorted out with Rose’s death, I’ll see what I can find out. Would you like that?” It felt like over the years somebody should have at least looked into it.
She clapped her hands. “Would you? Really? Oh, thank you, Maudlin. I take back every mean thing I thought about you because you wouldn’t paint the kitchen pink.” She paused. “Somebody’s coming up the front walkway. I’ll excuse myself, if you don’t mind.”
And, before I could say a word, she vanished.
It was Delia. She gave me a polite nod, then headed out to the back where she talked to her men and looked at the panpipes. A few minutes later, she came back inside and sat down at the kitchen table. “I suppose you’ve figured out who they belong to?”
“I saw, yes. Panpipes.”
“They’re engraved. Those things don’t come cheap.”
“Ralph’s?” I wanted her to say “No,” but she nodded.
“Yeah, they have his name on them. And they have blood on them. We’ll have it analyzed, but ten to one it’s Rose’s blood. I think we have our killer. And we have a motive.” She scuffed the toe of her boot on the floor. “I was hoping it wouldn’t be him. I’ve always liked Ralph, even though he and his brothers are hotheads.”
“I have more information for you to check out. I found out who the woman in the picture is.” I told her what Franny had said. “So, she’s got motive to hurt me, too. You should check Rose’s body for fang marks.”
“We beat you to it. Nothing. She was stabbed at close range and bled out from those wounds. Not a fang mark on her. No, I think her killer is someone who’s still alive.” Delia pushed herself to her feet. “Okay, I need to head to the station so I can question Ralph. I can’t know for certain, but I’m pretty sure you’re safe now.”
This was all moving a little too fast for my taste. “If Rachel was involved, she might still be after me.”
“There’s no evidence of a vampire attack on Rose. I can’t hunt down a vamp because she wants your boyfriend. We have no proof yet that Ralph was commissioned to steal your hair.”
“Why would he say that if it wasn’t true?”
“To throw suspicion off of himself and onto somebody else. If he wanted your hair to have a hex worked against you, it would make sense to say somebody paid him to do it when you caught him in the act.” She was beginning to look a little irritated and I realized she thought I was questioning her judgment.
“But how could he describe her in such detail?”
“He told you a blond pretty woman asked him. He threw in the idea that she might be a vampire—he didn’t know for sure. That’s vague enough to chalk up to coincidence. And when you showed him the picture, what better chance to divert the attention to somebody else?”
“But it doesn’t track—”
Sounding downright grumpy now, Delia stood, adjusting her jacket. “It tracks well enough for me to arrest him. I have to go. I advise you to remain cautious but don’t get paranoid. I’ll call you after I talk to Ralph. Meanwhile, steer clear of the Greyhoof brothers. They might all be in on this.” With a glowering frown, before I could say another word, she turned and headed out to the backyard to her forensics team, who was wrapping up their search.
I looked over at Sandy. “I know Ralph didn’t do it.”
“Okay. I’ll back you on that. But how are you going to prove it?”
I shrugged. “I have no idea. I guess I’ll wait to see what Ralph tells her and go from there. Meanwhile, I need to talk to Aegis about Rachel. How do I bring her up?”
The last thing I wanted was to start the ex-from-hell discussion. He knew about Craig, but I had purposely left things vague so that Aegis couldn’t decide my ex needed an etiquette lesson. I felt fine sending a whammy or two Craig’s way. But sending a vampire to do my dirty business was a whole different ball of wax.
I glanced at the clock. It was almost noon. The entire morning had been spent steeped in death, but my stomach was rumbling and I was feeling a little light-headed. The champagne hadn’t helped, either, although one glass barely tickled my nose.
“I need food. I’m tempted to go out to lunch but the news about Rose’s death has probably spread and I really don’t want to answer any questions.” I opened the fridge. “Want some eggs? I’m not much of a cook but I can fry an egg.”
“No, and neither do you. Let me take care of lunch.” Sandy pulled out her phone. “Alex, can you run over to the Clam Shack for me? We want two large orders of fish and chips. Bring them over to the Bewitching Bedlam—yes, Maddy’s place. Also, two side salads and two cups of clam chowder.” She paused. “Why not? Rolls sound good too. And love, if you could make that order stat, there’s a twenty-dollar tip in it for you.”
Alex was Sandy’s personal assistant. Sandy was independently wealthy. Her ex owned a four-star hotel and restaurant, and together, they had parlayed that into a chain of upscale eateries before Bart came out and found his soul mate in a twenty-two-year-old waiter.
After they divorced, the pair remained friends. Sandy was the CEO and on the board of directors of the corporation, and the divorce settlement was more than fair. She spent most of her time in private study and volunteering for several local charities. She also volunteered for the local literary foundation and ran book drives to buy new books for low-income children.
She tucked her phone back in her pocket. “Lunch is on the way. Now, why don’t you go wash your face and I’ll make us a couple of hot rum toddies.”
“Not all problems can be solved with a drink,” I said, but grinned. We had been party-hearty buddies for a long time and I didn’t foresee that stopping any time soon. “Make mine spiced, okay?”
As I retreated to the powder room, I thought about Ralph. Could he actually be behind Rose’s murder? Was he so mad at me that he would kill in order to save the Heart’s Desire Inn? But that didn’t make sense. Even if I cut into his business, he and his brothers offered plenty of services that I didn’t—and I never planned to. There were other hotels and motels on the island. It wasn’t like I was the only upstart. Ralph hadn’t gone off at them.
But—they weren’t just a hop and a skip from his inn. And what if his business was already on the decline? The economy didn’t offer as much incentive for travel lately. And suppose some of the Pretcom visitors were here on official business? It would look better to their superiors to stay at a respectable bed and breakfast than at what amounted to an orgiastic brothel. Really, when you got down to the core of matters, the Heart’s Desire was one giant lovely brothel for both men and women.
Shaking my head, I tried to clear my thoughts. There were too many variables. I needed to let it go until I knew more. And knowing more included finding out all I could about Rachel. A flash of jealousy raced through me. She was a gorgeous drop-dead blond bombshell. Somehow, I hadn’t thought of Aegis as preferring that type, but really, what did I know about his past?
Trying to wash away my worries, I splashed water on my face, taking care not to smear my eyeliner. As I headed back in to the kitchen, it struck me that the afternoon was going to feel like it lasted forever, with sunset a world away.