Page 15

Chapter Fifteen

While everyone was at the rehearsal for the wedding, I planned to do a bit of snooping. It was impossible to rehearse in the Gothic church up the hill because of the snow. The staff had worked quickly to set up aisles and an arbor in the main ballroom.

Since it was just the wedding party and family so they could figure out where everyone would be sitting, it was the perfect time to do a bit of nosing about.

Mara had pilfered one of the master keys again.

“Where do you want to begin?” she asked.

“Do you have the list of rooms?”

She handed me a piece of paper.

“Let’s check the bridesmaid and cousin first,” I said. Those rooms were at the far end of the castle. “Then we can work our way forward.”

“It might go faster if we split up,” she said.

“No,” I said abruptly. “Sorry—I didn’t mean to be so sharp. I think it’s best if we stick together until we find the killer.”

She nodded.

I showed her the list I’d made. Tiffany, Marianne, Caleb, and Mr. Carthage were still on there. I’d added all the stepmothers. While I didn’t think they would hurt a hair on Angie and Damien’s heads, I could see them killing Robbie to make him go away.

If these crimes were separate, we had to keep an open mind.

“No one is off the list,” I said. “Every time I turn around, there is a new reason to suspect the steps. They had direct ties to the victim. They may not have killed him, but they could have been complicit in getting him to the castle.

“I’m not expecting to find a sign that says, ‘I am the murderer.’”

“It would be helpful,” Mara joked.

“We need to know who brought him here. Then perhaps we can retrace his steps. If he planned to stay, there must be clothes somewhere.”

“Ewan’s men have searched everywhere, though.”

“Yes, but they weren’t thinking about finding a man’s belongings in a single woman’s room,” I said. “I’m looking for Robbie somewhere in this castle.”

That idea had hit me after my afternoon nap. The swelling was down in my knee, though I still used the cane for balance.

Since Marianne was Robbie’s cousin, we decided to search her area first. I’m not one to judge, but her room was a mess. Clothes littered the floor, bed, and every other available surface. It was as if she’d opened her suitcase and thrown the clothes in different directions.

The disarray made it difficult to sort through and see if there were male clothes somewhere. I didn’t find any.

I did find a journal. I held the tan leather book in my hands for a few seconds.

Reading someone’s innermost thoughts wasn’t something I’d ever think about doing, but we were trapped in a castle with a killer.

I thumbed through the book, which was half full. I focused on the last few pages.

Oh, Robbie, what happened? I have so many questions. Why were you here? What in the world were you thinking? And who killed you?

I had the same questions. The journal could have been a plant, but I didn’t think so. The rest of the pages were much of the same. A few times she recalled happy memories with her cousin. It was obvious that being at the wedding was the last thing she wanted, as she needed time to grieve.

I felt sorry for her. Perhaps her mental chaos had transferred to her environment. It wouldn’t have been the first time that happened to someone grieving.

Time to move on.

At least I could mark her off the list. It was more than evident she was in mourning.

When I opened the door, Mara jumped a little. Then she laughed.

“This is nerve-racking,” she whispered. “Every noise makes me nervous.”

I told her what I’d found.

“Oh, that is sad. It must be difficult being stuck here. I mean, she’s a bridesmaid, but her cousin died. I think Angie would understand if she wanted to leave.”

“I’m certain she would. Okay, on to Tiffany’s room.”

The bridesmaid’s room was the opposite of Marianne’s: Tiffany’s clothes hung tidily in the wardrobe. Her toiletries were in neat rows on the bathroom counter. The meds were an interesting mix of antidepressants and made me wonder if she might be seeing more than one doctor. They weren’t medicines I would have prescribed together.

That might explain her erratic behavior and the strange looks she gave the bride.

When one’s body chemistry was out of control, mentally the mind could play tricks. I didn’t find anything that indicated Robbie might be staying in her room, but the killer was clever. I checked all the cupboards, but everything there belonged to Tiffany.

There wasn’t a single sign of Robbie in there.

I had several more rooms to search quickly.

“Did you find anything?” Mara asked again.

“Not really, but she’s still on the list.”

“Oh?”

“Yes. Let’s keep an eye on her.”

“We don’t have much time,” she said. “Where do you want to go next?”

“Let’s check Dara’s room.”

“Dara?”

“The current stepmom. That’s what I was telling you about. There was a man in her room, and her husband isn’t here.”

“Ohh—right. She could be having an affair with someone here,” Mara said.

“Or her cohort in crime. I would have said Caleb. Ick. But he was in our room, right?”

“Yes. Nevertheless, he’s still on the list as well. I believe him about the drugs, but not anything else.”

We went through the front hall of the castle and then over to the west wing. The room was on the first floor, a bit too close to the room where the bridal party was still at the rehearsal.

“Housekeeping,” I said as I knocked on the door.

“You’re brilliant, but what if she’d answered? She wouldn’t have believed you were helping the household staff.”

“I would have shoved you inside and told you to ask if she needed more towels.”

She laughed. “Don’t take too long. I’m getting more nervous as we go along.”

“I won’t.”

I made quick work of the bathroom. The room was neat, and not a sign any male had been in there. The only item out of place was a bottle of gin, in which three-fourths of it was missing.

Drinking was one of the Scots’ favorite past times, but she’d only been here a few days.

“I’ve been helping to make sure everyone had enough towels,” Mara said loudly.

Crud. That couldn’t be good. The doorknob turned, and I dove under the bed, whacking my knees in the process. I covered my mouth with my hands to keep the scream to myself.

Lucky for me, the beds were set so high, I fit fine underneath.

“Bloody wedding. It never stops,” Dara said hatefully. “I’ve got to get out of this mess.”

Odd attitude. From what I’d seen, she cared for Angie a great deal, although the events had been rather nonstop.

I prayed she didn’t glance under the bed and that she wasn’t here to stay.

She sat down on the edge of the bed and slipped off her puce heels. They dropped to the floor. Then she lay back on the mattress. Great. The last thing I needed was for her to take a nap. It was still in the early evening.

“Someone we knew died. You’d think that would be enough.” Her tone was more of surprise than anything.

Wait. She’d said, “we.”

I tried to think back to how long she’d been married to Angie’s dad. Would she have known Robbie? My mind whirled through the many conversations over the last few days.

Someone knocked on the door. What if it was the gentleman from the other night?

“What now?” she grumbled. “Who is it?” she asked with faked sweetness.

“Me,” Angie said through the door. “I need your help with something.”

The woman sighed. Then she put her heels back on.

“What is it, luv?”

“I was wondering if you could help me with the final seating arrangements for the wedding dinner,” Angie said. “Mum and I are disagreeing again. You know how you are the voice of reason.”

“Do you want to do it in here?”

“Uh. The plans are in the ballroom. I thought it would be easier for us to see how things would be set up.”

“Let me grab my key.”

A few seconds later, they were gone. I waited half a beat and then scooted out from under the bed.

The door opened, and my heart flew into my throat.

“I nearly had a heart attack,” Mara said. “Come on. I’m not sure how long Angie can stall her.”

“Smart thinking,” I said.

“Angie is now curious why you suspect her. You’ll need to explain.” She peeked out into the hallway. “It’s clear.”

“That was a close call.”

“Where did you hide?”

“Under the bed.”

She laughed, and I joined her.

“Did you find anything?”

“No. But I didn’t get to finish. There were tons of clothes in the armoire. She did say something that made me wonder about her.” I told her what I’d heard.

“The last few days have been intense,” Mara said. “I think most of us could use a break.” She stopped. “Do not ever tell Angie I said that.”

I hooked my arm in hers. “I get it. I wouldn’t be surprised if Angie feels the same way. She had no idea the weather would trap us all here.”

“We’ll be fine—as long as it doesn’t turn into a Lord of the Flies situation.”

We laughed.

“I meant to ask earlier, any news about the weather?” I asked.

“The snow is supposed to stop in the early morning. Ewan promised Angie that the plows would be out first thing so everyone can get here.”

“I can’t believe the big day is finally here.”

“Me either. And we are all still alive.”

“There is that.”

“Are there any other rooms to search?”

“I’d honestly like to search them all, but I nearly went into cardiac arrest with the last room.”

“Thank goodness you said that. I’m not sure my heart can take much more,” she said. “When she walked into that room, I nearly died from fear.”

“Me too. Thank you for thinking so quickly. But we are no closer to finding our killer. If the roads really do clear tomorrow, everyone will be leaving. While it will be a relief, we lose our killer.”

“Have you talked to Ewan lately? He and his men questioned several people after your gargoyle incident. He may have some ideas to narrow down our search.”

We entered our room.

“I’m not sure I want to tell him I’ve been snooping through rooms. Besides, do you want to be the one to tell him that we went behind his team to make sure they didn’t miss anything?”

“What is it you American’s say? ‘Hard pass.’ ”

I smiled.

“He’ll wonder why I’d risk being caught and be angry that we went behind his back. Again. He was furious about Caleb, though we’d likely saved his life. He was very dehydrated.”

“That’s true.”

“Where are Robbie’s things? We are out in the middle of nowhere. He had to have at least a change of clothes. And where are those bottles of antifreeze he was carrying?”

“Maybe he put them back after arguing with the dark-haired lady Tommy saw him with,” Mara said.

“But the clothes. That’s going to drive me crazy.”

“You always tell me science tells the story. Maybe go back to that.”

We sat down in front of the fire. I’m not sure who kept all the fireplaces going in this place, but it was a small miracle they always had enough wood to keep them burning through the storm.

I opened the notebook I kept with me.

“The facts tell us he was a former drug addict. He died from antifreeze poisoning. Everyone had access to the garages where antifreeze is kept.”

“Yes, but the maintenance men said none of the antifreeze was missing,” Mara pointed out. “Ewan says they keep impeccable records.”

“That would indicate the poisoning was premeditated. The killer planned all of this. What they didn’t count on was being stuck here. They probably assumed once someone died, whether that was you, Angie, or Robbie, the wedding would be called off and everyone would go home.”

“Best laid plans, and all that.” Mara leaned her elbows on the table. “What we need to do is check with Ewan to see where everyone was when Robbie was killed, and when the gargoyle came after you. Is it odd he hasn’t shared that yet?”

I shrugged. “He may be as puzzled as we are. Since the killer—or killers—had their plans changed at the last minute with the storm, mistakes had to be made, though. I still think Robbie’s may have been an accident. The person who had been with him in that tower may have not been there to kill him.

“Ugh. We are missing something. I feel like something is niggling in the back of my mind, but I can’t quite figure it out.”

She tapped the table with her fingernail. “You’re good at this sort of thing. It will come to you. Unfortunately, most of the wedding party and Angie’s family knew Robbie. As did most of Damien’s family. He and Robbie were friends long before he met Angie.”

“Do you think Damien is capable of killing? I’ve asked that before. He doesn’t seem the type, but he does love Angie. The only thing is, maybe a crime a passion would fit him. But this was planned. I keep saying that. It’s true, though. The killer brought the antifreeze with them.”

The niggling in my brain stopped. The murder scene.

“I need to check the tower again,” I said. “The one where Robbie died. Henry collected evidence for us, but I never went back up there.”

“Can’t that wait until morning? You said it’s super creepy, and you need to be careful with your knee.”

“You don’t have to come with me,” I said. “You’ve been brave enough all night.”

“Well, if you’re going, I am. Ewan told me to stick to you like glue.”

I laughed.

“It’s like he doesn’t trust me.”

Mara snorted. “Are you sure we need to do this right now?”

“I promise it is important.”

She sighed. “Okay.”

A few minutes later, we were at the tower door.

“It’s not working,” Mara said as she tried the master key.

The lights flickered and went out.

“Can we go back to our room now?” Mara asked.

“I’m sure the lights will come back on in a minute. Try the other key on the ring.”

I shone my flashlight on the keyhole. Poor Mara’s hands shook so hard, she couldn’t fit it in the lock.

“What are you doing,” a man said in the shadows.

Three things happened at once. We screamed, Mara tried to jump into my arms, and we tumbled to the floor.