Миранда Джеймс - Dead With The Wind

Benjy and Tippy walked into the dining room, and Tippy squealed with happiness the moment she spotted Lance.

“Wance!” She ran to him and held out her arms. Lance pushed back his chair and picked her up. He hugged her tight, and Tippy wrapped her arms around his neck. “Oh, Wance, I’m so gwad you is here. Can you come pway with me and Benjy?”

Lance eased his grip on Tippy and let her down. He smiled. “I’d love to play with you, sweetie. And Benjy, too.” He smiled at Benjy as well, and Benjy blushed slightly.

An’gel hoped Lance wouldn’t make a nuisance of himself where Benjy was concerned, but she trusted Benjy to handle the situation on his own.

“Come on upstairs with us, then, if you’re finished with your meal,” Benjy said. “While you and Tippy are playing, I’ll go get Tippy’s two new friends, Peanut and Endora, so they can play, too.”

Lance frowned. “I haven’t met them, have I? I don’t think I know any children named Peanut and Endora.”

Tippy giggled as she tugged on Lance’s hand. “Siwwy Wance. Peanut is a doggie, and Endowa is a kitty. Come on.” She tugged again, and Lance yielded.

“I like dogs and cats,” Lance said earnestly to Benjy. “So I’ll be happy to meet these friends of yours.”

Benjy glanced quickly at An’gel and then at Dickce, and for a moment An’gel thought he was appealing for help. Then she realized he was trying hard not to laugh. She covered her mouth quickly with her napkin and coughed to keep from laughing herself.

Lance and the excited Tippy left the room, and Benjy, shaking his head, followed them.

Dickce looked at An’gel. “I don’t know about you, Sister, but I could use a nap. I didn’t get enough sleep last night. If you don’t mind, I think I’ll go lie down for a bit.”

“You go right ahead,” An’gel said. “I wouldn’t mind doing that myself, but first I want to talk to Estelle.”

“About what?” Dickce asked as she rose from the table.

“I’ll tell you later,” An’gel said. “You go on and get some rest, and we’ll discuss it when you’re up from your nap.”

Dickce shrugged. “I’m not going to argue.” She yawned. “See you in a while.”

An’gel hadn’t quite finished her meal. She ate the remainder quickly, her mind on the looming confrontation with Estelle. This time she was determined not to let the woman’s rudeness put her off. She would persevere until Estelle answered her questions.

She pushed back her chair and dropped her napkin beside her plate. She realized Estelle might have left the kitchen by now, but An’gel was determined to find her, wherever she might be.

She found only Jackson in the kitchen. “Where is Estelle? I really need to talk to her.”

“She’s gone to her apartment,” Jackson said. “I reckon she was going to lie down.”

“This is something that won’t wait,” An’gel said. “Thank you, Jackson.” She marched to the back door, intent on confronting the housekeeper.

The air outside was cool, and An’gel blinked several times as her eyes adjusted to the bright sun. As soon as they had, she struck off across the backyard toward the servants’ quarters. The renovated building lay about fifty yards from the rear of Willowbank, and An’gel reached it quickly. There were four apartments, and as An’gel recalled, Estelle occupied the one at the end farthest from the house.

She knocked on the door. “Estelle, I have to talk to you.” She waited a moment, then knocked again. “Estelle, open this door.”

Seconds later, the door swung open. Estelle glared at her. “What’s so all-fired important that you’re bothering me now? I need to rest.” She held a large, half-empty bottle in her hand. An’gel recognized it as an expensive brand of whiskey. She hadn’t figured Estelle for a tippler, but if she was a heavy drinker, that might explain a few things about her disposition.

“I have some questions, and you’re going to answer them.” An’gel charged forward. Estelle yielded and backed away from the door.

An’gel didn’t waste time examining the surroundings. She intended to push Estelle hard to get her answers.

“You cleaned up the mess after Sondra threw all those scraps of fabric down from the second floor, didn’t you?”

Was it her imagination, or did Estelle look relieved at the question?

“Yes, I did.” Estelle moved past her and walked over to a table that held a glass and a siphon. “I was always cleaning up Sondra’s messes.”

An’gel paid no attention to the bitterness in the woman’s voice. “Did you happen to notice that the scraps you picked up weren’t from the antique wedding gown?”

Estelle appeared faintly surprised. She set the bottle down on the table next to the glass. “How did you find that out?”

“I found a scrap you missed,” An’gel said. “When I looked at it closely, I realized it wasn’t satin. Then I went upstairs and found the gown, intact, in the bottom drawer of Mireille’s chifforobe.”

“Then what’s the problem?” Estelle asked. “The gown is safe, not that it’s going to do anybody any good. Mireille will never be able to look at it again.” She picked up the whiskey bottle and poured three fingers into the glass on the table.

“I know it was the replica of the gown that Sondra destroyed,” An’gel said. “I talked to Jacqueline, and she believes someone put Sondra up to destroying it as a joke on her grandmother.”

Estelle’s eyes narrowed. “Do you think I’d do something like that? To Mireille, the best friend I ever had?”

An’gel stared hard at her. “You tell me. If you didn’t do it, who did?”

“I’ve got my own ideas about that.” Estelle picked up the glass. “You leave it to me. I’ll find out who did it and make him pay for what he did to Mireille.” She lifted the glass and tossed the entire contents into her mouth. She swallowed and set the glass down. An’gel wanted to grab hold of her and shake her till her teeth fell out, as her mother used to say.

To An’gel’s surprise, Estelle started shaking on her own. Then she began clawing at her throat and gasping. She pitched forward onto the floor, writhed for about five seconds, and then was still.

CHAPTER 29

Benjy wished Lance had stayed at home. He didn’t mind looking after Tippy. She was a cute kid and pretty well behaved as long as you kept her entertained.

That Lance, however. Benjy shook his head as he made his way down to the cottage to retrieve Peanut and Endora. Lance was a bigger kid in some ways than the four-year-old. Benjy felt sorry for him, though, because the guy was so dumb. He figured it wouldn’t be long before Tippy could outsmart Lance. She seemed like a pretty bright kid.

He walked faster. He was anxious to get back to the house and make sure Tippy was okay. He was hoping Lance wouldn’t let something slip about Sondra. He’d almost taken Lance aside before he left to tell him not to talk about Sondra, but then he realized it might not do any good. He would just have to hope Sondra’s name didn’t come up until he was back with them and able to divert Tippy’s attention.

Peanut bounded out the moment Benjy opened the door, woofing happily. Benjy squatted to hug the Labradoodle, and Endora jumped on his shoulder.

“Okay, kids,” he said as he stood. “Let’s do our business, because I have to get back.” Peanut barked, and Benjy grinned at the dog. “Don’t worry, you’re going with me. Come on now, let’s get going.”

Endora rode on his shoulder as he headed back toward Willowbank. She had a litter box in the cottage, so it was Peanut who really needed to do his business. Benjy thought the expression was funny. He’d picked it up from the sisters, who never said pee or poop when it came to the animals’ bodily functions. Benjy had learned to be careful about using such words around them. He wouldn’t offend them for anything, because they had been so good to him.