Murder Most Howl: A Paws & Claws Mystery (16 page)

“Well, you tell him that I don’t care for dead mice!”

I peered into the shoe. The poor little gray mouse was a goner. Leo must have carried him around for hours.

“I’m so sorry, Sylvie.” I hissed at Zelda under my breath, “Get that mouse out of here.”

She smiled up at Sylvie. “I’ll bring your shoe right back.”

“Good heavens, don’t do that. It had a dead mouse in it. Are you nuts? I don’t ever want to see that shoe again.”

“We’ll reimburse you for the shoes, Sylvie,” I assured her. “May I help you down?”

Holmes stepped up from behind me and assisted Sylvie in dismounting the sofa, undoubtedly much more adeptly than I would have.

“Just let me know how much the shoes cost, and we’ll take care of it,” I said.

Sylvie shuddered. “I hate mice.
Hate
them! They’re filthy little germy creatures.” She flicked both hands in the air rapidly. “Ugh. That was disgusting.” Sylvie gazed at Leo, who hadn’t budged. “What’s wrong with that cat?”

One of her book club friends laughed. “Haven’t you ever had a cat? They love to bring you their catch. It’s a big honor to have them give it to you.”

“I guess I haven’t known many cats. Why is he watching me?”

“Clearly, he likes you,” said her friend. She picked up Leo, no small feat given his size, and held him in her arms. “Here, pet him.”

Reluctantly, Sylvie touched Leo’s forehead with one finger.

“He’s purring! He likes you!”

Sylvie didn’t appear convinced. To Leo she said, “If you’ll excuse me, I think I’d better find some other shoes to wear.”

Her friend laughed and set Leo on the floor.

The little crowd dispersed, and Sylvie hobbled off wearing one shoe.

I hurried to the reception area, where I found Zelda. “What did you do with the mouse?”

“Poor little guy. I wish cats didn’t kill mice. They’re so sweet.”

“Where is he?”

“I found a little box for him. I’ll bury him in my backyard.”

I didn’t mention that her backyard was under a foot of snow. Zelda was resourceful. She’d think of something.

She glanced around before whispering, “So Holmes is staying with you tonight!”

“Where did you hear that? Honestly, Wagtail is just a gossip mill.”

“Holmes told me. I thought you might need some help tonight.”

“Don’t go getting excited. He’s still engaged. But maybe he’ll tell me more about what’s going on in their relationship.”

“My mama always told me engagements were made to be broken.”

“Zelda! I have no intention of anything like that. But it will be fun to have him around.”

“Uh-huh.” She winked at me as though she knew better.

The truth was that I wouldn’t want to break up his engagement. Not that I thought I ever could. But that was a decision Holmes had to come to on his own. And he might never decide to break it off. Maybe his fiancée was the right woman for him. I had no business butting in, no matter how much I might want to. “Now you behave.” I shook my finger at her in a teasing way. “He’s just being nice.”

“Uh-huh.”

Upstairs, via the open stairwell, I could hear people calling Ella Mae. I looked up to see Weegie trotting down the stairs with Sylvie.

“Are you okay, Sylvie?” I asked. “I’m sorry you had such a shock.”

“I’m fine, thank you. Leo sure got my heart racing. I’ll consider that today’s aerobic exercise!”

“How much do we owe you for the shoes?”

“Shoes? Oh, forget about it. They weren’t anything special. Old, worn-out walking shoes that probably needed replacing anyway. But Weegie did want to talk with you about something else.”

“What can I do for you?”

Weegie seemed reluctant to speak but Sylvie motioned to her. “I’m not one to point fingers at other people. But I thought you should know that my lucky shamrock pendant has gone missing.”

“Are you sure?”

“Quite. I’ve turned my room upside down.” She rested her hand on my arm. “It’s not worth much. It’s not real gold or anything. I really shouldn’t have even mentioned it.”

Sylvie’s mouth skewed. “It sure looks like it’s real gold. What you need to know, but Weegie is reluctant to tell you, is that you have a thief on your staff.”

Zelda’s wide eyes met mine.

“Weegie last saw it on her dresser just before that young man replenished the firewood in the bedrooms.”

“Shadow?” I asked.

Weegie cringed. “He was very nice.”

Sylvie tilted her head at her friend. “Was it nice of him to take your necklace?”

“I do so hate to blame anyone . . .” muttered Weegie.

Sylvie scoffed. “It had to be him or the housekeeper. No other strangers were in your room, were they?”

“Please don’t fire him because of this,” said Weegie.

“Now you leave that up to Holly.” Sylvie shook her head. “Today he’s nabbing a worthless necklace but tomorrow it might be something valuable. She can’t afford to let that happen.”

“I’m so sorry,” I said for the millionth time, wishing there was something more that I could say. “Could I help you search for it?”

“Thank you but that’s really not necessary. I wouldn’t have said a word about it if Sylvie hadn’t seen me looking
for it. I’ll give the room one more good sweep before we leave tomorrow.”

I waited until they had vanished from sight before whispering to Zelda, “Do you know anything about Shadow being a thief?”

She seemed surprised. “Not a thing! I like Shadow. And you know Marisol wouldn’t have taken it.”

That was true. We loved Marisol, the housekeeper. She was totally dependable and aboveboard.

Maybe that ugly clue about Shadow having a criminal record wasn’t true. But then what had happened to the not-so-lucky shamrock necklace?

I looked into Zelda’s sweet face. “Honey, you know the fake clues? There was one about you.” My heart pounded. This would be a good test of their veracity.

“Me? Hah! My life is so boring that they’d have to make up something juicy.”

“It said you borrowed a thousand dollars from a neighbor, that you didn’t repay.”

The color drained from her face. “Now that’s just not fair. It wasn’t me. It was my good-for-nothing ex-husband. I had nothing to do with it. Besides, if you ask me, it was all a con anyway.”

So it was true. Sort of. I shuddered. “What happened?”

“That stinking Norm had some kind of business gimmick going and got my ex all excited about it. We didn’t have two dimes to rub together, so Norm offered to lend my husband money to invest. Then, when it was a big disaster, Norm had the nerve to come to me and ask me to pay him! With interest!” Her tone grew shrill. “The divorce was already in progress, and I had kicked my husband out the door. I didn’t even know where he was. I never signed anything, I swear! Norm never even talked to me about it until that day. My idiot husband had run up a ton of credit card bills that I had to pay. So I told Norm if he wanted his money, he ought to go find my husband and get it from him.”

It was a convoluted story but I couldn’t blame Zelda for refusing to pay when she wasn’t involved. It didn’t make me feel any better about Shadow’s possible criminal record, though. It seemed that while Norm had put a twist on a lot of the clues, so far, it appeared that there was always a little truth behind them.

Zelda returned to the lobby to collect Leo.

I grabbed a spare key to my apartment and locked up the reception entrance and office.

Most of the book club ladies were still gathered in the Dogwood Room. I walked over to them. “I hope you’re enjoying yourselves.”

There was a chorus of cheers, and I noticed that one of them was wearing a lampshade like a hat. Someone had had too much wine with dinner. “I wanted to let you know that the roads have been closed. They’re too dangerous right now. The good news is that we’re extending Murder Most Howl, so you have another day to figure out what happened to the Baron von Rottweiler.”

“We’re not going anywhere tonight!” said one of them.

“Good to know because they’re expecting another big blast of snow.”

“Will we be able to go home tomorrow?” asked Sylvie. Her dimples disappeared and a worry line formed between her eyebrows.

“Is your husband all right?” asked Weegie. She leaned toward me and whispered, “He has a heart problem.”

“I’ll phone our neighbor. Maybe she can check on him.” Sylvie rose and walked past me toward the grand staircase.

The woman wearing the lampshade must not have been as drunk as I thought because she asked, “We’re gonna be snowed in?”

“I can’t say yet, but if I had to guess—”

“Yeehaw! Another night away from my husband, and I get to play hooky from work. Where’s that wine? I’m celebrating.”

“Oh my gosh, it’s like that book. Hitchcock made a movie where they’re all stuck at the inn and everyone gets murdered!”

“That’s not Hitchcock, that’s Agatha Christie.”

“No, it’s Clue, the board game. I am Miss Scarlet, in the Dogwood Room with—” she looked around “—where’s the candlestick?”

I figured that could go on all night. I waved in case any of them were paying attention and took my leave.

Myrtle followed me. “Do you mean we can’t leave?”

“Not until they open the roads.”

“There’s no way off this mountain? That’s not safe. What if there’s an emergency?”

“I guess they could load a person into a snowmobile.”

“Then I want to go down the mountain by snowmobile tomorrow. I have to go home. I have to be at work on Monday morning.”

“I’m sorry Myrtle, but if the roads are closed, it won’t do you much good.”

“This is an outrage. What kind of place is this? You’re detaining us against our will. That’s a crime. What’s it called? Oh yeah, false imprisonment.”

I was tired of trying to be nice to her. Still, I smiled sweetly. “You are free to check out anytime you like, Myrtle.”

A howling wind rattled the front door.

Myrtle scowled at me. “You know perfectly well that I can’t leave here in this weather. I’d die trying.”

It wasn’t like I’d suggested she camp outside. I’d had a very long day, so I just said, “Have a good night, Myrtle,” and walked away from the nutty woman.

I found Holmes in the dining area, next to the fire. He sat at a table with Geof and Ian.

“Excuse me.” I handed the key to Holmes. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

Holmes checked his watch, a fancy number his fiancée had given him. “You’re so beat. I can keep an eye on things
for the next couple of hours until Casey gets here if you want to go on up to bed.”

My visions of a romantic night by the fire with Holmes fizzled. The truth was that I was too tired to think let alone sit up by the fire. “Thanks. I’ll take you up on that. Did you tell Ian and Geof about the roads?”

“I will right now.”

“Call me if you need anything.” I said good night and trudged up the stairs. Trixie and Gingersnap followed without being called. I thought they were probably as tired as I was. I changed into a nightshirt that said
Sleeps with Dogs
, and when I walked into my bedroom, I found Twinkletoes curled up and waiting for me.

I slid under the fluffy down comforter, ruing the fact that I had missed my chance to hang out with Holmes and get the scoop on his fiancée. Trixie and Gingersnap jumped up on the bed and staked out their corners, and I closed my weary eyes.

*   *   *

I awoke fully recharged and sat up. The world outside my window was white. Snow adorned the railing of the balcony. Trixie and Gingersnap still snoozed, with Gingersnap snoring softly. No sign of Twinkletoes, though.

Mindful of the fact that Holmes was in the apartment, I slung on the Sugar Maple Inn bathrobe that Oma had had embroidered with my name. I tiptoed toward the kitchen and heard Twinkletoes hissing.

Had someone’s cat gotten loose and made its way up here?

I peeked into the living room and found a rollaway bed with bare feet sticking out at the closest end. Why wasn’t Holmes sleeping in the guest room? Why was Twinkletoes sitting on a table near his head hissing at him? She loved Holmes!

I walked closer to remove her and discovered my former boyfriend, Ben Hathaway, was the owner of the bare feet
jutting out from under the covers. He was fast asleep, and didn’t even notice Twinkletoes.

But when I picked her up, she acted like I had offended her, hissed louder, glided through my hands, bounced squarely off Ben’s abdomen, and flew through the apartment in a huff.

“Hi, Ben.” What else could I say?

He grunted and rubbed his eyes. “Did you just punch me?”

Uh-oh. I couldn’t admit that it was Twinkletoes. He wasn’t keen on animals as it was. “Would I do that?” I teased.

“Must have been a dream. I’m glad to see you’re back in the world again.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means I went in to say hello last night and you were out of it.”

“I was pretty tired. What are you doing here?” I blurted out. I should have been nicer, but I hadn’t expected him to show up on a weekend when I had to work because Oma was away. And it struck me as odd and somewhat uncomfortable to have Ben staying with me at the same time as Holmes.

“Since your grandmother is away, I thought I’d come help out. I meant to be here sooner, but my car got stuck coming up the mountain.”

Holmes emerged from the guest room. “Dave had to rescue him.”

“
Rescue
is a strong word.
Assist
would be more accurate.”

“Is your car damaged?” I asked.

Ben flushed purple. “We, uh, won’t know until they get it out of the snowbank. But, hey, I made it. Good thing I came, too. Holmes filled me in about the guy who,” he whispered, “was murdered.”

I was ashamed of myself. Ben had done something nice by coming to the Sugar Maple Inn but all I could think was that he had ruined my chances for a romantic moment with Holmes, who probably wouldn’t feel it necessary to stay over now that Ben was here. In fact, he might think he was in the way.

Before I moved to Wagtail, during a particularly trying time in my life, Ben had proposed to me. Twice actually. Once by text, and once in a pity proposal that made me realize we were through. I didn’t need his pity, nor did I want to spend the rest of my life with a man who saw marriage as a practical arrangement. I didn’t want to live that way. I had never thought of myself as a romantic, but rather level-headed, sensible even. To my surprise, I realized that if I was going to marry, I wanted it to be because someone loved me. I would have appreciated a single rose or a declaration of adoration. Even now I cringed a little to think that I felt that way. But I did.