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Chapter Sixteen

“Bloody hell. What is wrong with you two?” Ewan said gruffly as he helped us off the floor. He smelled of pine and warmth. The lights flickered on just in time for us to see his scowl.

But he’d scared the heck out of us.

“Why are you going around scaring women in hallways?” I asked as I brushed myself off.

“Ewan, you have ninja skills,” Mara said. “We didn’t hear you coming.”

“Obviously,” he said. “I’ll ask again, why are you trying to go in a tower I specifically told you to stay out of?”

Mara and I glanced at each other.

“Forensics,” I said quickly. “I need to see the first crime scene.”

“There’s nothing to see. The only evidence up there was Robbie and the sick. You have the body, and we brought you samples of the other. We’ve cleaned everything up.”

“I understand that, but I need to see the space.”

“It’s dark. There’s nothing to see.”

I closed my eyes, and what I’d been searching for in my mind, came to me clearly. “Ewan, I need you to let Mara and I up there for a few minutes. Then I want you to go down to the garden and look up at the tower. It’s important.”

“Why can’t Mara go to the garden? It isn’t safe up there. I need to be with you.”

I shook my head. “I promise we’ll be careful. Please. This could lead us to Robbie’s killer.”

“Do you have the walkie I gave you?”

“It’s in my bag in my room.”

“Of course it is,” he said. He pulled two walkie-talkies out of his big jacket, which was covered in snowflakes.

“Have you been outside?”

“Aye.” He didn’t offer an explanation. “How long will this take? I need to get back to my men.”

“Not long,” I said.

He handed me one of the walkie-talkies.

“Thanks. I need you to go to the back of the garden to that bench by the roses. It’s near where the pen is.”

After glancing at me like I was headed to a padded room, he unlocked the door to the tower. “I’m going to lock you in. I don’t want anyone trying to come up after you.”

Mara shivered. “Good idea.”

Once we were inside the tower, the door shut ominously.

The lock clicked into place.

We climbed slowly up the steps, sideways as Ewan and I had done that night.

“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this,” she whispered.

I smiled. “Have I mentioned how grateful I am for you?”

“Don’t try to sweet-talk me. This place is creepy.”

“At least the cobwebs have been cleared out.”

“Why did you tell me that?”

“I’m trying to recall everything I saw that night.”

We finally made it upstairs. We used our flashlights to shine down on the floor.

“That’s it. I thought I remembered it that way.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’ll explain to you in a minute,” I said.

I pushed the button on the walkie-talkie, and it made a terrible sound. “Uh, Ewan. Are you there?”

“In position,” he said, as if we were in the middle of some covert opp.

“I’m going to recreate the scene. Whatever you see, burn the details into your brain.” I heard him snort in disbelief. “Mara, stand behind me.”

“This is getting weird.”

I laughed. “Do this and we can leave.”

“You owe me one,” she said. “I don’t know what, but something.”

“Whatever you want.”

“The dentist would be nice.”

“I thought you were off men for a while.”

“I am. Doesn’t mean I couldn’t use a good shag now and again.”

This time I was the one who snorted.

“Okay, stand behind me. When I slide down, I want you to stay there, okay?”

“Yes. We’ve definitely headed straight into weird.”

“It will make sense.”

The walkie squawked, and I dropped it.

“Did you do it yet?” Ewan barked.

I cleared my throat. “It’s happening now. Keep an eye on the window.”

Mara stood behind me. “Turn the flashlight toward the window,” I told her.

She did what I asked. I leaned onto the window, and then slid down to the floor.

“Could you see Mara before I slid down?” I asked.

“Nay,” he said. “Are you ready for me to come get you?”

“Yes.”

We made the arduous trip down the stairs. By the time we made it, the door was open. Ewan stood there holding it.

“Robbie is about five feet ten,” I said.

He nodded.

“The floor up there is flat. So, the person behind him was either his height or shorter. We’re looking for someone five ten or shorter,” I said. “Mara is just a bit shorter than me. If it were someone taller, I would have seen them towering over the other person.

“But that’s not what I saw.”

“How does that narrow down the suspects?” Mara asked. “Most of the women here, with the exception of Marianne, are about our height.

“Aye,” Ewan said. “But none of the men. Except for Angie’s Uncle Clyde. There’s no way he would have made it up those stairs with his gout.”

“Exactly,” I said. “Most of the men are taller by a few inches.”

“So, we are definitely looking for a woman?” Mara asked.

“Very likely. The one thing I didn’t account for, though, was he could have bent down a bit. Maybe he’d been trying to help, if it was a man. But no matter what, the person couldn’t have been taller than Robbie before he slid down that window. I’m not saying it’s perfect science, but it’s something we can work with at least.”

“You have a point.”

“I’m glad you agree. The other thing is, we need to check the cars that are here. Every single one of them.”

“My men did that yesterday,” he said. “Most of the family and friends used private car services because of the weather. We only have enough garages to store a few at a time.”

“How many is a few?”

“Space for about thirty cars, and then there is a lot on the other side of one of the carriage houses for the valets to use.”

“Nothing against your people, but did they do a thorough search of the trunks?”

He gave me a stare. I gave it right back at him. “You’ve searched every room in the castle.” I failed to mention Mara and I had done a bit of that as well. “You didn’t find the mallet, the poison, or his clothes.”

“Right,” he said.

“So it follows that there is a chance the items are out of the castle. Since no one can leave, then they must either be in one of the carriage houses, the garage, or an outbuilding that isn’t far from the house.”

“Aye, I’m the constable. We’ve searched everywhere.”

The man was stubborn as they came, but I was even more so.

“The valets must keep all the keys somewhere. And we could at the very least check the ones in the garage again. Between last time your team searched and now, they could have been moved.”

Mara grimaced. “It’s freezing outside, and the path to the garage is covered. It isn’t safe in a blizzard like this.”

“Right. But more cars will arrive tomorrow. If we can at least rule out the ones in the garage, we’ll have a start. If I don’t at least try to find some clues, I won’t be able to sleep.”

She sighed.

“I’ll give you a half hour—that’s it,” Ewan said. “We’ll be working through the night to make a safe passage of the roads. I don’t have time to test your theories.”

“You don’t have to. Go and do whatever you must. Just show us where the keys for the cars in the garage are.”

“I’ll be coming with you. Get your coats.”

Mara and I rushed back to our room. By rush, I mean I hobbled quickly. My knee and calf ached, but I wasn’t about to turn down an offer of help.

I borrowed a pair of earmuffs from Mara.

I pulled a flashlight pen out of my go bag and stuffed it in the pocket of my marshmallow coat, along with three pairs of medical gloves and some evidence bags.

“Ready.”

“Aye,” she said reluctantly.

My hand was on the doorknob when a large boom shook the door.