Ghostly Manners

by K. E. O'Connor

  Helen looked down at her pyjamas and blushed. “I’ll get changed right away.” She dashed up the stairs.

  “And Miss Shadow, I am quite sure you have plenty to do. It looks like you haven’t even brushed your hair this morning. You should make yourself more presentable before going to work with my husband. This household has certain standards that cannot be allowed to slip.”

  I muttered something unintelligible and shot her a dark look as she walked away.

  “I know she can be a little harsh at times,” said Lord Galbraith quietly, “but she means well. My wife is fiercely protective of the family and its reputation. She would do anything to make sure our name isn’t sullied.”

  I nodded at Lord Galbraith, before turning and heading back to my bedroom to dress and, as Lady Galbraith so bluntly pointed out, make sure I looked presentable. My mind wouldn’t stop whirring through the revelations about Douglas. It all seemed so convenient. Drugs, money, and stolen goods discovered so easily. The more I thought about it, the more it didn’t make sense.

  And knowing how protective Lady Galbraith was of the family name, I wondered if she had decided to frame Douglas and put an end to the rumors about how Beatrice died, once and for all.

  ***

  “I thought you were as convinced as I am that Douglas is involved in Beatrice’s death?” Helen looked over at me from across the kitchen table. We had finished another day of work and were dissecting what we’d discovered about Douglas’s arrest.

  “I was. He’s a sleazy guy and not to be trusted. But he’s also not stupid. And from what Lord Galbraith said, Douglas made no attempt to hide any of the things he supposedly stole. The drugs were sitting next to the stolen money he’s meant to have taken from Lord Galbraith’s safe. He would have found a better hiding place.”

  “Maybe he’s too arrogant and simply thought he’d get away with it,” said Helen. “Or he was intending to spend the money quickly, so didn’t waste his time finding a good hiding spot.”

  The back door leading into the kitchen opened, and Zach walked through. “I’ve just been to feed the dogs in the kennels. Do you fancy walking them with me?” He addressed the question at me.

  Flipper's ears pricked up at the mention of a walk.

  “You're included as well, Flipper,” said Zach. “And Helen, you're welcome to join us.”

  “I'm too busy to go out walking,” said Helen. “But Lorna is free.”

  “A walk sounds lovely,” I said to Zach, ignoring Helen's comment. “Have you heard the news about Douglas?”

  “Bits and pieces.” Zach stepped back into the garden. “I was in the grounds when the police car drove past, and I saw him in the back. You can fill me in on the rest during our walk.”

  I went to tidy up my dishes, but Helen grabbed them out of my hands. “Leave those to me. You have a date to go on.”

  I shot a look at the back door to make sure Zach couldn’t hear. “It’s not a date.”

  She winked at me. “But it could be. Get out of here and spend some time with your Prince Charming.”

  I grinned at her and hurried after Zach into the garden, Flipper next to me.

  “I noticed the dog bowls had been moved,” said Zach as we walked through the rose garden, their late evening scent making my nose tingle. “I’m guessing that was your doing?”

  “Yes, I went to see them last night and gave them some meat and vegetables. They seemed to appreciate it. You might need to up their rations so they don’t get hungry.”

  “They don’t work off any energy sitting in those kennels,” said Zach. “But I can give them a few extra dog biscuits.”

  “Do you think we can set them free, now their poor excuse for an owner is out of the picture?”

  “It’s possible. Now Douglas is gone, I’m not sure what’s going to happen to them.”

  “We’ll find good homes for the dogs,” I said. “We can’t abandon them.”

  “No, I would never abandon them. Even if they have to sleep in the back of my van for a few nights, they’ll be safe,” said Zach. “So, tell me about Douglas’s arrest.”

  “I was just discussing it with Helen. It’s strange. He’s been found with money, items belonging to Beatrice, and prescription medications that weren’t his.”

  “Never had Douglas pegged as someone who was into drugs.”

  “I don’t think he is,” I said. “The police reckon he’s been selling the drugs to make extra money.”

  “He’s not that hard up,” said Zach. “He acts like a bit of an idiot, but he’s got a brain in his head. The police have it wrong.”

  “That’s what I think. Everything was too easy to find. Somebody else is involved in this.”

  We stopped outside the dog kennels, and I spent a few minutes encouraging the black dog over to me. The others were happy enough to have their chins tickled, but the little black dog refused to come near me and curled into a tight ball in one corner of her kennel.

  “Poor little thing,” I said. “She seems so miserable. Beatrice was here last night with me, and she’s just as sad about seeing her dog shut up like this.”

  “And how is Beatrice?” asked Zach. “Happy Douglas has been arrested? Is she convinced he has been stealing from the family?”

  “Beatrice has been quiet since she alerted me to what happened to Douglas. She woke me up to tell me he was being arrested. But since then, she’s vanished.” I looked around the increasing gloom in the garden. “Beatrice, are you out there?”

  “Any sign of her?” asked Zach, also peering into the encroaching darkness as if hoping to spot a ghost.

  “No, nothing.” I looked down at Flipper. “She’s not about, is she?”

  Flipper looked up at me and gave me a doggy grin. He was completely relaxed. Definitely a sign there was no ghost around.

  “Shall we walk these dogs?” asked Zach.

  I nodded and waited as Zach put leashes on the five dogs. The black dog was still reluctant to come out, but after some gentle persuasion, she placed her paws outside the kennel and looked up at me.

  “Come on now. Let’s take you for a little walk around the grounds, and maybe you’ll start to trust me.” I gently stroked her head, feeling a tremble run through her. “Don’t you remember me from last night? I gave you that lovely dinner.”

  Flipper inched closer to the black dog, his tail wagging, and they sniffed noses.

  “You see, you already have a new friend,” I said to the black dog. “Let’s go for a walk.”

  Zach was already ahead of me, the other dogs eager to be out and exploring the grounds.

  I hurried to catch up with him, Flipper and the black dog on either side of me.

  “Tell me your theory,” said Zach as I reached his side. “Do you think Lady Galbraith set up Douglas? And if so, where’s your proof?”

  “That’s the frustrating thing, other than her being an ice queen, I don’t have any. In fact, I’d written her off as having nothing to do with the troubles in this house.” I let out a sigh. “Maybe this is all unrelated. Douglas could simply be sleazy and greedy. Beatrice could have died of natural causes. Lady Galbraith could have been born mean.”

  “But you don’t believe that?”

  “No, I don’t. Somehow it’s connected. And if I don’t figure out the connection, Douglas could be implicated in something that isn’t his fault.”

  “He still deserves to be punished,” said Zach. “After the way he treated you the other night. Don’t forget he did drug you.”

  “I haven’t forgotten,” I said. “And maybe this is simply him getting his just desserts. But what if it wasn’t him? Then the guilty party is still out there somewhere. And it has to be a family member. Who else could get inside the house, open Lord Galbraith’s safe, steal from Beatrice’s room, and put everything in Douglas’s room for the police to find at just the right time?”

  “What about Cecil? Have you asked him about the drugs? Could be that Douglas stole them from him.”
>
  “I wondered about that,” I said. “I haven’t seen Cecil all day. And surely, he would have reported such a large amount of drugs going missing. If he didn’t, and the police discovered it, he would get in trouble.”

  “He most likely would,” said Zach. “But he’s not the smartest tool in the box. Maybe he thought he’d made a mistake about where he put the drugs or miscounted his supplies, and rather than putting his hands up, he hoped it would go away.”

  “I'll talk to Cecil again.”

  “You've already interrogated Cecil about his involvement in this mystery?”

  “I don't interrogate, I ask gentle questions.” I grinned at Zach. “I tried to winkle a few sleeping pills out of him, claiming I couldn’t get to sleep at night, and he refused to give them to me. He told me I needed to see my own doctor or register with him so he could dispense the pills legally.”

  “It doesn’t sound as if he’d hand over pills to Douglas easily,” said Zach.

  I waited as the black dog sniffed around the base of a tree, seeming more relaxed, now she was out of her kennel. “Maybe the police will have more luck when they question Douglas.” I certainly wasn’t getting anywhere chasing my thoughts around my head.

  “Let’s finish this walk and get the dogs back in their kennels,” said Zach. “It’s been a busy day. Maybe tomorrow, we’ll have more news about Douglas, and the case can be closed.”

  I nodded and we continued our circuit of the grounds with the dogs. But my mind wouldn’t rest. Something was wrong, and even if Douglas was involved in this theft, it still didn’t resolve the issue of Beatrice’s death. There were more questions that needed answering.

  Chapter 20

  “How was your date?” asked Helen over breakfast the next morning.

  “It definitely wasn’t a date,” I said. “We took the dogs for a walk and talked about Douglas. Honestly, it couldn’t have been any less romantic.”

  Helen gave a shudder. “Yes, talking about that creep is enough to put me off my cornflakes. And did you come to any useful conclusions about Douglas?”

  “Only that I’m not sure he did it,” I said. “Have you heard anything else about his arrest?”

  “Lady Galbraith wouldn’t say anything to me yesterday,” said Helen. “I took her some tea in the evening, and she didn’t even acknowledge me.”

  “Maybe I’ll have more luck with Lord Galbraith this morning.”

  “You won’t,” said Helen. “I saw Karl driving him away from the house early this morning. I’d only just gotten up, so it couldn’t have been much later than six o'clock.”

  “He didn’t tell me he wouldn’t be around today.”

  “Maybe he’s gone to the police station to see about Douglas,” said Helen.

  “It could be that.” I finished my porridge and stood up. “I’d better go and see what work he has left me in his study.”

  “I’ll let you know if I hear anything useful about the case,” said Helen. “Oh, how is Beatrice taking the news?”

  “That’s the strangest thing,” I said. “Beatrice has disappeared. Maybe she decided Douglas is involved in all of this, the stealing, the drugs, her death. That could be enough for her, and she’s gone on to whatever lies next.”

  “At least she won’t be waking you up anymore by shaking the bed.”

  “Yes, that’s one good thing.” As I walked to Lord Galbraith’s study with Flipper by my side, I realised I missed Beatrice. If she had gone, I’d not had a chance to say goodbye. It was a shame; although I wouldn’t miss her icy touch and stern expression, it would have been nice to have said a final farewell.

  The study was empty when I walked in, but there was a note from Lord Galbraith setting out my duties for the day. I settled Flipper into one corner, sat at the desk, switched on the laptop, and got to work.

  ***

  I’d been working for about an hour, when the study door was opened, and Cecil hurried through, his black doctor’s case in hand.

  “Oh, I was looking for Sylvester.” His white shirt was creased, and I could see the zipper on his trousers was only half up, suggesting he had dressed in a hurry.

  “He’s had to leave early today. Is there anything I can do for you?”

  Cecil wiped a finger along his top lip. “I was wondering about Douglas. What’s happened to him?”

  “You know he’s been arrested?”

  “Yes, I heard about that.” Cecil sat in the seat opposite me, placing his bag down, but instantly stood again and paced around the room. “Have they charged him?”

  “Not that I’m aware of,” I said. “But the evidence seems damning. They found money and stolen items.”

  “And drugs,” said Cecil. “I heard they found a lot of drugs in his room.”

  “That’s right.” I looked over at Cecil. His whole body was shaking with nervous tension. “Do you mind me asking if they were your drugs?”

  “My drugs! Whatever makes you think that?” Cecil gave me a startled look.

  “Well, you are the local doctor around here, and you used to be close to Douglas. I wondered if maybe you had given him the drugs.”

  “My dear girl, I would never do such a thing,” said Cecil. “He most likely stole them from me when I wasn’t looking. I always knew he couldn’t be trusted.”

  “Yes, I wondered if he might have done something like that. He even tried to drug me,” I said. “He’s a bad lot.”

  “He tried to drug you?” Cecil sat in his seat again and stared at me. “Did he hurt you?”

  I smoothed down my skirt. “No, I managed to get away with my dignity very much intact.”

  “I had no idea he would go so far,” said Cecil.

  “What do you mean, go so far?” I stared hard at Cecil. Sweat beaded his upper lip and his hands trembled. “Do you know anything about the drugs he used on me?”

  “No, as I said, that has nothing to do with me,” said Cecil. “Douglas is dangerous. You need to watch out for him.”

  “I know that now,” I said. “But what did you mean, by going so far? Has Douglas used drugs on other people?”

  “He may have.” Cecil ran a hand down his face. “I had a rather worrying talk with the police today.”

  “Why are the police interested in you?”

  “Not me, but Beatrice. And as her doctor they contacted me to discuss her medical history.”

  “Do they think Douglas had something to do with Beatrice's death?”

  “Yes. They think Douglas may have drugged Beatrice. The drugs found in his possession could have caused symptoms similar to heart failure. They have contacted a judge to get a court order to exhume her body and do further tests.”

  My mouth opened in surprise. That would explain why Beatrice had disappeared. If people were planning to dig up her body, she would most likely be watching over her burial site. She must be so worried.

  “What a horrible thing for Beatrice to have to go through,” I said. “What are they planning on doing?”

  “I imagine they will run a full toxicology screen. That may show something.”

  “But why would Douglas drug her?”

  “Who knows why Douglas does a lot of things.” Cecil's bottom lip trembled. “I am concerned.”

  “For Beatrice or Douglas?”

  “For me! The police may think I’m incompetent if it’s discovered Beatrice was drugged and I’d not noticed it during my examination of her body.”

  “Would you have access to such medication?” I asked him. “Could Douglas have taken the drugs from you? Did he ever ask you for drugs like that?”

  “No, as I said to you before, Douglas never asked me for pills. He was more of a booze hound,” said Cecil. “What if they discover something is wrong with Beatrice’s remains? I might be blamed.”

  “Better they do a thorough investigation than leave Beatrice in the ground, knowing she was killed.”

  “Yes, I suppose you’re right.” Cecil paced across the room again. “It might be
better if I go away. Don’t want to get in trouble with the law.”

  “What’s the worst that can happen? They might slap you on the wrists. But you did a thorough examination of Beatrice’s body. If you did everything you could, then you won’t get into trouble. And you said, the drugs mimic heart failure. If you weren’t looking for that specific drug, then it’s not your fault.”

  Cecil dabbed the back of his hand against his forehead. “But what if I wasn’t as thorough as I should have been?”

  “You did do the autopsy?”

  “Well, yes. I did a basic examination of Beatrice’s body,” said Cecil. “I’m always called on in these rural parts to deal with autopsies. Fortunately, they rarely need doing; it was not a pleasant part of my medical training.”

  “A basic examination doesn’t sound like a complete autopsy to me.”

  “It was upsetting. You see, I was very fond of Beatrice. She was a lovely lady, so kind and generous. She never said no to anything. Always willing to help. But she was so shy. I could never understand what went through her head.”

  “So you were too upset to do a thorough examination on Beatrice’s body? Does that mean you didn’t run all the tests you should have?” Perhaps Cecil hadn’t been doing his job properly and was about to get found out.

  “Oh dear, this is a terrible mess.” Cecil grasped his hands in front of him. “It should never have gone this far.”

  “I'm sure the police will understand,” I said, Cecil's nerves making me anxious. “It's not like you concealed information from anybody. You may get a warning because you didn't do all the tests you should, but I can't imagine they'll do anything else.”

  “No, you don't understand,” said Cecil. “What have I done?”

  “Why don't you tell me what you did?” I realised my hands were gripping the arms of the chair too tightly.

  “I’ve made a terrible mistake. Nobody was ever supposed to know. It’s just that, well, I loved her.” Cecil slumped into the seat.

  “You were in love with Beatrice Galbraith?”

  “I only wanted to make her more amenable to my requests.” Cecil continued as if he hadn’t heard me. “I knew I could make her happy. I just needed her to see that. But Beatrice only loved her dogs. She only ever had time for those animals. Sometimes, she barely noticed me.”