A Twist in the Tail: An absolutely purrfect cozy mystery (The Oyster Cove Guesthouse Book 1)

Eighteen

Later that afternoon, I made sure the Weatherbys saw the big coupon for the senior special at Salty’s Crab Shack that night. Since I didn’t serve dinner it was a sure bet they’d be dining out. I waited a few minutes after they drove off just to make sure they didn’t turn back.

Once all the guests were out to dinner, I rushed up the stairs, tamping down the guilt that was spreading in my chest as I fingered the spare key to the Weatherbys room. I’d only ever used the room key for cleaning, and this felt like a violation. I reminded myself that the nice old couple could be hardened killers and looking in their room was necessary to find evidence.

I was bent over the keyhole and assured myself this was the right thing to do when I heard, ‘What are you doing?’

Dang! I’d been so focused on sneaking around that I hadn’t noticed Mike coming down the hall. He had his tool belt and a dark gray t-shirt that showed off the fact that he still kept in shape even after being out of the Navy for several years. Not that I was noticing.

I straightened and leaned against the wall casually as if breaking into guests’ rooms was nothing out of the ordinary. ‘Cleaning.’

He glanced at the door. ‘Isn’t that the Weatherbys room?’

‘Yep. Still needs to be cleaned.’

He leaned his shoulder against the wall so he was facing me and cocked his head. ‘I thought Flora did the cleaning.’

I snorted. ‘Seriously?’

‘Yeah, I guess maybe she doesn’t do all of it.’ His eyes narrowed. ‘But you wouldn’t be doing some snooping in there, would you?’

I tried to look incredulous. ‘Me? I would never snoop on guests. Why would I?’

‘Aunt Millie told me all about the new theory you guys have come up with that Charles was blackmailing someone. She said you suspected the Weatherbys.’

Dang. Millie had a big mouth.

‘Maybe.’ I studied him for a second. He had been an investigator in the Navy and had been acting like he was interested in this case. Maybe he had an opinion. And since I wasn’t one-hundred percent sure about the Weatherbys, maybe I should listen to it. ‘What do you think?’

He shrugged. ‘Might be a good deduction, but I don’t think they did it. The sabotage of the stairs doesn’t seem like their forte.’

I leaned closer to him and lowered my voice. ‘But you said they acted suspiciously about the cameras.’

He inched closer and my heartbeat sped up. ‘Yeah, I did. But whether it is or isn’t them, you shouldn’t be investigating it. Leave it to Sheriff Chamberlain.’

I sighed. ‘I wish I could, but he seems to be barking up the wrong tree and I’m sitting on the top branch.’

Mike’s face softened. ‘I know. Don’t worry. The truth will come out. I’ve been looking into it myself, so you don’t need to concern yourself with it.’

I didn’t need to concern myself? Did he seriously just say that? Did he think I should keep to the cooking and cleaning and let the men do the investigating? Ha! I’d show him. But I didn’t voice my thoughts. Better to let him think I was playing along with him, I knew how to handle domineering, control-freaky men.

I smiled sweetly. ‘That’s really nice of you. I suppose you’re right. Thanks. Now if you don’t mind…’ I gestured toward the door.

‘Right, you have cleaning. You work really hard here. Maybe you need a night out.’

Not with you. No way. ‘Maybe.’

‘I’m just finishing up here and…’

He let his voice drift off and an eager puppy dog look spread across his face. I knew what he was suggesting but I would not be swayed. He probably just wanted to get me away from the Weatherbys room so I wouldn’t get evidence that they were the killers before he did. I knew how competitive men could be. Besides, I had no desire to go on a date. Not with him or anyone for that matter. For one, I was still reeling after the divorce and for two we had history and it wasn’t all pretty.

‘You must be almost done with the work Millie contracted you to do,’ I said by way of avoiding his suggestion.

Mike nodded, looking kind of sad. ‘This place needs a lot more work though. I have spare time in my schedule…’

‘Thanks, but I have a tight budget.’ The last thing I wanted was Mike hanging around here. As it was, I was almost starting to get used to him and I certainly did not want that. I didn’t want to hurt his feelings, but I’d already been talking to Ed O’Hara—a nice retired gentleman who was not within my dating range—about doing the rest of the work.

He leaned in. ‘I’d be willing to give you a discount or we could work something out.’

He was magnetic, with a charming smile and soulful brown eyes. A discount would be nice. So would… wait! No. I was not going to go there. Best if he was out of my sight for good.

‘I wouldn’t want to take advantage of you, but thanks for the offer.’ I gestured toward the door. ‘I really need to get to work.’

He pushed away from the wall, obviously disappointed. ‘Ok. But I hope you really are cleaning. I’m serious Josie, there’s a killer on the loose and it could be dangerous.’

‘Me too. Just cleaning.’ I smiled and managed to hold his gaze until he walked away. Once I heard the last stair creak, I let out my breath. I didn’t like being sneaky or lying, but one did what one had to do.

I slipped the key into the lock, turned the knob and the door squeaked open.

Given Flora’s description, I had expected the room to be filled with feathers and straw, but it was neat as a pin. Maybe Flora had cleaned. Most likely she’d exaggerated. I poked around in the bureau, under the bed and in the medicine cabinet.

The sound of tires on gravel startled me and I ran to the window. It was only Mike leaving. The driveway was empty. The Weatherbys car was still gone, but I knew I had to hurry.

In the small drawer of the writing desk, I hit pay dirt. An envelope addressed to Bill and Cindy Weston. Hmm… maybe I was on to something, but I needed more.

Maybe in the closet or between the mattress and box spring?

I was on my hands and knees in the closet, examining the bottom of Ron’s shoes, which had straw and twigs embedded inside the thick treads, when I heard the door open.

‘I’ve been craving clams ever since—’ Iona’s words were cut off as she noticed me crouched there on the floor. ‘Josie? What are you doing?’

‘Ummm… just cleaning.’

Her questioning gaze was riveted on my right hand, which still held Ron’s shoe.

‘I like to vacuum under the shoes.’ I plopped the shoe back down and jumped up. ‘See? All nice and clean.’

Ron’s closed the door and glared at me. His eyes were not friendly. ‘I don’t see any vacuum cleaner.’

Crap. Maybe Mike had been right and I should have stayed out of investigating. But if I didn’t, I’d have to remember to bring props next time if I was trying to pose as a cleaning excuse.

‘I prefer the old-fashioned method of picking stuff up by hand.’

Mew!

The cats must have snuck in with the Weatherbys. They trotted around Iona’s feet, looking up at the bag of take-out food from Salty’s which was filling the room with the delicious smell of fried clams. Just my luck they’d decided to get takeout instead of eat in.

Meow!

Nero cast a glance at me. Was he trying to signal me? To let me know they would help me escape if need be? Because judging by the way Ron was planted in front of the door with his hands on his hips, I might need help.

Iona put the bag on the dresser and Marlowe immediately jumped up and started sniffing.

Iona glared at me. No longer did she look like a sweet old lady. ‘Looks like you didn’t rush home to feed the cats like you said you were going to do when we saw you out in the woods. This one appears to be starving.’

‘Oh, them.’ I waved my hand dismissively at the cats. ‘They beg for food all the time.’

I inched toward the doorway. Maybe I could rush Ron and knock him over? I hated to knock over a senior citizen, but he was a killer.

‘No sense in lying, Josie. We know what you were up to out in the woods,’ Ron said.

So they knew I was on to them. Fine! I’d get myself out of this somehow.

Mew!

Nero jumped up on the dresser and sniffed.

Iona snatched up the bag. ‘I don’t think fried clams are good for cats.’

Lovely, a senior citizen killer who cared about cat nutrition.

‘That’s right. I’ll just take them downstairs for some properly formulated cat food.’ I glanced at Nero and Marlowe. Not sure what I was expecting. Maybe for them to distract the Weatherbys while I made a break for it? But they were more interested in the takeout bag because now they were sitting at Iona’s feet practically begging like dogs.

‘Nice try, Josie. You might as was well confess. We aren’t letting you go.’ Ron stood firmly in front of the door.

Images of my body at the bottom of the stairs in the West wing bubbled up. I hadn’t heard any other cars pull in, so it was likely no one else was home. Why hadn’t I listened to Mike? I decided to buy some time.

I crossed my arms over my chest. ‘You confess first. I know what you’ve been up to.’

Ron and Iona glanced at each other. ‘You do? How did you find out?’

‘Process of elimination,’ I said proudly. But not too proudly, lest it anger them and make their killing method more painful.

Meroo…

Nero tore his attention from the bag long enough to blink at me. Was that some kind of signal? Too bad I didn’t understand cat-blink.

I moved toward the door another inch. Maybe it was best to let them take me to the West wing. That way I’d have more opportunities to escape. Or maybe I should try to reason with them? Convince them to give themselves up.

‘What are you going to do? Push me down the stairs and try to make it look like an accident? I don’t think the police will fall for that again.’

‘What are you talking about?’ Iona looked confused.

‘Don’t play dumb. I know the truth and what you’ve been up to. But you can’t kill me like you did Charles. It won’t work. Might be easier to give yourselves up. I’m sure it was an accident. The cops will go easy, but if you kill me too… not so much.’

‘What are you talking about? Why would we kill Charles?’

‘To cover up the fact that you were messing with the gulls, of course.’

Ron and Iona looked nervous. Clearly I’d hit a nerve. They hadn’t figured that I’d discovered their secret about the gulls.

Meroo!

Marlowe and Nero sat at Iona’s feet, tails swishing back and forth anxiously. Eyes focused on the bag of clams. Fine friends they were. Here I was about to be murdered and all they could think about was clams.

‘Oh, for crying out loud, give them a clam.’ Ron took a step toward me, and I backed up. ‘Now Josie, I see what you are trying to do but it won’t work.’

Darn! He was onto my ploy to keep them talking and try to hedge toward the door. Now what? I glanced back at the window, but we were on the second floor. Maybe I could lock myself in the bathroom?

‘You’re not going to get away with murder. Think about it.’

‘Why do you keep saying that?’ Iona had taken a clam out of the bag, picked off the coating and was feeding little pieces to the cats. They were lapping it up, not paying any attention to the dire circumstances going on around them. ‘It’s no use trying to cover up what you’ve been doing.’

I frowned. ‘What I’ve been doing?’

‘Yes dear,’ Ron managed to look fatherly. ‘It’s quite obvious that you’re the one who has been killing the gulls. Earlier when we caught you in the woods, we know you were going to the nests, but turned back because you ran into us. I don’t know what happened with that Charles fellow but if you just confess, I think we can convince the authorities to go easy on you.’

‘What I don’t understand is why you would do it… were the gulls hurting business at the guesthouse?’ Iona tossed a tiny clam morsel to Nero, who caught it mid-air like a dog.

This was confusing. What was their angle? Would they try to blame me for their crime? Maybe they were trying to force a confession like I was doing to them. I fisted my hands on my hips and stood my ground. ‘I had nothing to do with the gulls. They aren’t hurting business at all. They don’t even come here.’ I gestured toward the window where a few evening gulls were circling far over the water, as if to prove my point.

Iona popped a clam in her mouth and exchanged a confused look with Ron. ‘Well then, why harm them?’

‘It’s not me, it’s you!’

Ron shook his head and gave me a sad look of pity, then reached in the bag for a clam. ‘Think about it, this has been happening long before we came. It’s not us.’

I still didn’t believe him. ‘How do I know you weren’t in town staying somewhere else before? And what about the fact that you have been lurking up near the gulls. You don’t know the specifics of your camera and had straw and twigs from the gulls’ nests in your shoes!’ Ha! Now I had him.

Ron glanced at Iona. ‘Looks like we better enact plan B.’

He advanced toward me, a serious look on his face. Ooops, now I’d done it. I stepped back, but the dresser stopped me from going further. He kept coming. My heart thudded against my chest as I searched for a means of escape.

I glanced at Iona for help. I mean I know she was in cahoots with him but maybe she’d have pity on a fellow woman.

Too late. He was almost on me. He reached out as if to grab me, I dodged left, threw myself on the floor and tucked into a roll.

To my surprise he didn’t lunge for me. Instead he gave me a funny look and opened the bureau drawer.

He fished underneath. Probably where he kept the gun!

I squeezed my eyes shut and threw my arm across my face as if that might stop a bullet. ‘Don’t shoot!’

‘Shoot? Josie, dear, what are you talking about?’ Iona asked.

I opened my eyes. Ron was standing in front of me, a yellow padded mailer in his hand. He reached in and pulled out what looked like a wallet. He flipped it open. Inside was a gold badge and ID card.

‘You didn’t believe us, so I wanted to prove to you why we were here and why we can’t possibly be the ones who have been harming the gulls.’ Ron handed the badge over.

It looked official, but I’d never heard of the department. ‘U.S. Department of Audubon Investigations?’

Rona and Iona nodded. ‘Yes. We’re investigators for a special government division. Not a lot of people know there is a department of Audobon Investigations. We often get confused with the Audubon Society, but we have no relation to that. You were right about one thing, we aren’t here as regular guests. We were sent to investigate what’s happening with the gulls.’

‘And our name isn’t Ron and Iona Weatherby either.’ Iona picked a clam out of the bag and passed it to Ron. ‘It’s Bob and Cindy Wesson and I’m sorry to tell you, but you’re looking mighty suspicious right now.’

‘Especially since we caught you skulking around in the woods today and looking very guilty,’ Ron added.

Iona nodded. ‘And the way you ran off after we caught you… well, you can see why we think you’re the culprit.’

I sank down on the bed. Ron and Iona (yes, I still thought of them as their fake names) were government agents? Even worse, they suspected me! I supposed I had been acting funny in the woods, but that was only because I thought they were killers. ‘I was guilty. But not of doing anything to the gulls. I was following you because I thought you were doing something to them!’

The cats purred around my ankles as I told Ron and Iona about the note and my suspicions that Charles wasn’t killed because of a review, but because he was blackmailing someone.

‘And you thought he was blackmailing us?’ Iona chewed thoughtfully. ‘Well I suppose I can see why. We were going off and watching the gulls every day, but that was for research, of course you didn’t know that.’

‘And we did investigate the nests,’ Ron said. ‘Funny thing we didn’t find anything wrong. We suspect someone is somehow poisoning the gulls. We’ve been trying to figure out where you kept the poison so we could confiscate it for evidence and turn it over to the police.’

‘Well it’s not me,’ I said. ‘I mean why would I? The gulls are not a nuisance to me and why would I kill Charles and put the reputation of the guesthouse in jeopardy?’

‘Good point.’ Iona sat on the bed beside me, passed me the clams and patted my knee. ‘Besides you’re not the killing type. Gull or human. And we’ve seen a lot of killers, haven’t we dear?’ She looked up at Ron, who nodded.

‘I was afraid we were on the wrong track with you, anyway,’ Ron said. ‘We had no evidence that you even went near the cliff until we saw you on the path. And, as you said, you have no motive.’

Iona nodded. ‘But when we ran into you on the path, we started to second guess ourselves. Funny that it turns out you were looking for the same person we were.’

I fished around in the bag and picked out a clam with a big belly. I paused before scarfing it down. ‘Well, if it’s not you and it’s not me, then who is it?’