Page 89 of It's a Wonderful Knife

“I wanted to touch base with you two and find out where you were during the afternoon yesterday.” I smiled, trying to put them at ease. “It’s the same thing I’m asking everyone.”

Mona nodded. “Okay, well, I was in the kitchen most of the day with Elle and Chloe. Elle has had her work cut out for her trying to keep everyone full so they don’t notice how bored they are.”

“This foul weather is costing us a fortune in extra food,” Ezra muttered. “And the booze too.”

You’re a ray of sunshine as usual, Ezra.

“How about you, Ezra. Where were you during most of yesterday?” I asked.

“Seems ridiculous I have to answer such silly questions, but uh…” He screwed up his face. “I think I took a nap at one point. I had a smoke out on the back porch right before you boys found the body.”

He sounded so offhand, it was a little disconcerting.

“Did anyone see you while you were smoking?” Max asked.

“Not that I’m aware of.” Ezra pursed his lips. “You must know neither I nor Mona killed that fella. We had no reason whatever to kill anybody. This will be bad for business. Probably have to sell after this.”

Mona’s mouth hardened, but she said nothing.

“Anyone could be the murderer. People don’t always think about the repercussions of their actions in the heat of the moment,” Max said. “Humans are impulsive.”

Ezra grunted. “Even if that’s true, the person you should look at for this murder is his girlfriend. She’s the one who probably wanted him dead the most. He was flirting with anything that moved.”

“Not quite that bad.” Mona gave a gruff laugh. “But he definitely liked pretty women.”

“I’m guessing Santiago was killed during the time the weather let up a bit. Unfortunately, that means just about everyone was out walking on the property.” I frowned. “Both of you have to be attentive to the guests’ needs. It’s possible you noticed something about someone that I may not have.”

“Like what?” Ezra asked, frowning.

“Well, for example, did you see anyone come back from their walk looking rattled?” I asked.

Mona nodded. “I see what you’re saying. You mean the killer might have seemed out of sorts?”

Ezra grunted. “Penelope and Gerald came back from their walk looking pretty uptight.”

Mona grimaced. “Oh, well, not because they murdered anyone.”

I glanced at her. “Do you know why they seemed upset?”

She nodded. “I do. I feel bad mentioning it though. It has nothing to do with Santiago’s murder.”

“I’d still like to hear what happened.”

Mona sighed. “Apparently Penelope found out that Gerald has a gambling problem.”

I froze because I knew all about Gerald’s gambling problem. I’d discovered it when investigating Penelope’s father’s murder. Had he started up again? He’d sworn he’d stop, but maybe he’d fallen off the wagon? “Do you know how she found out?” I asked.

“Apparently, he confessed to her.”

“He just confessed that to her out of the blue?” Last I’d heard, Gerald planned on taking that news to the grave with him. “That sounds like a very un-Gerald-like thing to do.”

“He didn’t have much choice. She caught him playing poker with Jax and some of the boys.” Mona scowled. “He’d already lost a bunch of money to Jax.”

Max laughed. “Seriously?”

“Yep. I’m not happy with Jax either. I’ve told him a million times not to play poker with the guests. He just doesn’t listen. It’s not legal, and it’s not ethical for him to be taking guests’ money, but it goes in one ear and out the other with Jax.”

Ezra guffawed. “Jax is a man after my own heart. He’s a man’s man. He’s not going to be bossed around by a woman.”