Лейганн Доббс - A Twist In The Tail

‘Ok. I see we have no choice but to go down there. Stand back though. The door sticks and I need some room.’ Stella and Ron stood back and I grabbed the knob.

The cats sat to attention, eyes on Barbara, tails swishing on the floor.

I planted my feet and tugged. I twisted the knob. I made a show of trying to open the door holding my breath and letting my face turn red. I glanced at Barbara. ‘It won’t open.’

Barbara rolled her eyes. ‘Figures. This old place isn’t even worth fixing up. Good thing I wrote all those violations. I’m doing the town a favor by burning it down.’ She stomped over to the door. ‘Let me try. You’re wimpy.’

But just as she reached me, I whipped the door open. The movement surprised her and she teetered at the opening. Marlowe and Nero sprang into action. Weaving around her feet. I gave her one hard shove.

She stumbled forward, tripping over the cats and losing her grip on the gun.

The gun clattered to the floor.

And then, as she was teetering at the top of the stairs, Stella gave her one last push and she fell down into the dark hole of the basement.

‘I’ll get you for this!’ Her words were punctuated by Ouch! And Dang! As she hit each stair going down.

Ron dove for the gun and I slammed the door shut just as the kitchen door burst open and Mike and Sheriff Chamberlain ran in.

They skidded to a stop, taking in the three of us standing there and the two cats planted firmly in front of the door, calmly licking their paws and washing behind their ears as a fresh string of curses drifted up from the basement.

Sherrif Chamberlain’s eyes were wide, his gun held straight out in front of him. He glanced at Mike. ‘Well? Which one of them is the killer?’

Seth Chamberlain hauled Barbara out of the cellar, slapped the cuffs on her and shoved her in the squad car with the energy of an eager rookie. We were standing in the driveway, the cats preening around us as if they’d been the ones to capture the killer. Inside the car, Barbara pounded on the window.

‘You let me out of here Seth Chamberlain. I’ve done a lot for this town and don’t you forget it!’

We moved away from the car so we couldn’t hear her.

‘Sorry for acting like I suspected you, Josie,’ Seth said as he fished some cat treats out of his pocket and flipped them to Nero and Marlowe.

‘What do you mean acting ?’ I asked.

Seth smiled and for a second I could see what Millie saw in him. Even though he had to be in his late seventies, the dimpled smile and intelligent twinkle in his eye gave him a boyish charm. ‘Heck, I knew it wasn’t you all along. That was just an act. I would have arrested you if I had really thought it was you seeing as there was evidence pointing in your direction. I didn’t want the real killer to know I was on to them until I got solid evidence.’ He glanced uneasily at Ron and Stella.

I sensed that Seth was telling the truth about not suspecting me, but I doubted he’d known who the real killer was. More likely he’d suspected Ron or Stella just as I had. After all, he had asked Mike which one the killer was when they came bursting in. At least he’d ruled me out early on.

Speaking of Mike, he’d been fussing around me ever since they’d arrived and I wished he’d stop.

‘I knew you were up to something when I ran into you in the post office,’ he said. ‘I figured you were luring the killer in with that trumped-up story and it was a good ploy. I just wish I’d gotten here sooner. It took me a while to explain it to Seth and get him moving.’

‘My gut instincts were spot on, but I didn’t think anyone would believe me so I had to do something to flush the killer out.’ I didn’t mention I had actually thought it was Stella.

He stepped closer and tucked a stray piece of hair behind my ear. Stella scowled at us.

‘You could have been hurt. I wouldn’t have liked that very much,’ he said softly.

Yeah, me either. ‘Why not?’

‘Well, for one your brother would kill me and for two...’ He hesitated then shoved his hands in his pockets and stepped back. ‘I’m kind of getting used to you being back in town.’

‘Thanks.’ For once I was at a loss for words. I felt like something had happened between us. Not sure what, but it wasn’t entirely unwelcome. It was just too soon. For a second I regretted hiring Ed O’Hara to do the rest of the renovations so I wouldn’t have to keep Mike on. I was going to miss having Mike at the guesthouse. It was probably for the best though, I still needed to prove that I could be good on my own before I was ready to add another person to the mix. Plus, Ed charged a lot less.

Millie’s 1970s Dodge Dart careened into the driveway and Mom and Millie spilled out, cell phones in hand.

‘Did we miss it?’ Millie asked.

‘The police scanner app never went off!’ Mom scowled at her phone.

Seth walked over and gave them a stern look. ‘We didn’t put in a call this time. Now you ladies can’t be using some app to go to all the crime scenes, it’s dangerous.’

Millie drew herself to her full height. ‘Why Seth Chamberlain, you know darn well that without us, most of the crimes in this town would go unsolved. Besides, the crimes scenes are not dangerous because the crime has already been committed.’

‘That’s right,’ Mom chimed in. ‘And crimes scenes are swarming with police, therefore very safe.’

Seth closed his eyes and I pictured that he was mentally counting to ten. I couldn’t blame him, I’d had to do that myself a few times when dealing with Mom and Millie. Then he smiled at Millie. ‘It’s true that you help immensely, but I would appreciate it if you don’t broadcast that all over town. I have a reputation to protect.’

Mom and Millie looked contrite. ‘Of course, sorry.’ Millie patted his arm. ‘There will be an extra dozen chocolate chip cookies for you this weekend.’

Seth’s smile widened and he covered her hand with his.

Millie grinned up at him, batted her eyes a few times and then slid her hand out from under his and tore away. ‘I’m glad you understand, but now we have to go get the scoop from Josie!’

They scurried to my side. Mike was still standing there and Mom beamed at him. ‘I see you’re watching out for my girl.’

Mike smiled. ‘Can’t let anything happen to her.’

I bristled. ‘I’m a grown woman and don’t need anyone to watch over me.’

‘Never mind that,’ Millie said. ‘Tell us all about it! How did the killer end up being Barbara? I thought it was Stella!’

By the time I was done telling them what had happened, the other guests were pulling into the driveway. Iona rushed to Ron to get the lowdown from him, and they beckoned Tina to join them, which she did reluctantly.

Mike had drifted off and was chatting with Stella. I didn’t really mind – I mean, he was free to talk to whoever he wanted, but for some annoying reason I kept glancing in their direction as if I cared. A few times I caught Mike’s eye. He had a smug expression every time he caught me looking, which I ignored.

Ava strode over to us, nodding her head as if she’d known what was unfolding the whole time. ‘Well, things sure are interesting at the Oyster Cove Guesthouse.’

‘Never a dull moment,’ Millie said.

‘I knew something was going on,’ Ava said. ‘It’s good to know my reporter’s instincts are still working. Too bad people don’t give a monkey’s banana about society happenings anymore. It’s okay though, I have something better in mind.’

Ava walked off with a satisfied look on her face and I got a little worried.

‘I hope she’s not going to write some sensational newspaper article about this,’ I said to Millie.