by Rose Pressey
I reached the stairs. My leg muscles burned from trying to tiptoe so much. The second-to-last stair tread made a loud moan. Luckily, I didn’t think it was as audible at the top of the stairs. I raced over to the front door and rushed outside. Good thing my landlady didn’t have an alarm. Headlights turned into the drive. The light briefly blinded me. I hoped the light didn’t flash into the windows and alert anyone.
As soon as Dylan pulled up, I hurried over to the car and jumped in the passenger seat. I didn’t give him time to get out and hold the door open for me.
“Are we running late?” Dylan asked with a chuckle.
I laughed nervously. “I guess I’m just anxious to get there.”
When he pulled out onto the road, I released my pent-up breath.
“You look beautiful,” Dylan said.
“Thank you.” I smiled.
A chorus of aww came from the backseat. Now I had to worry about how I was going to get back in the house in a few hours. I took a look at what Dylan was wearing for the first time.
“Wow, you’re wearing a tuxedo,” I said.
“Black tie event, right?” He glanced at me.
“Yes, it’s just that you look so handsome.”
He smiled as he kept his eyes on the road. “Thank you.”
We made the drive shorter by taking the highway, zipping past traffic and into the outer edges of town. When we pulled up to the house, I couldn’t help but stare. A mixture of stone and brick covered the façade for an old-world look. Extensive landscaping of cedar trees, shrubs, and perennial flowers decorated the front, welcoming guests.
“It’s huge. I’d hate to have to clean all the rooms in this place.”
“I’m sure they have someone to help with that.” Dylan parked the car and turned off the ignition. “Are you ready to go in?”
I continued to stare at the house. “I’ve never been a fan of these kind of events.”
“What?” Charlotte asked loudly from the backseat. “How could you not like a party like this?”
She should know by now that I liked a quieter, more laid-back event.
“You know, we don’t have to stay,” Dylan said.
I looked at him. “No, I want to go.”
“I’m not too convinced,” he said.
I opened the car door. “It’ll be fun.” I forced a smile.
Dylan climbed out of the car. He held my hand as we walked down the sidewalk toward the house. At least I didn’t have to go to this party alone. Lights lined the path, casting a dazzling glow over the landscaping. A fountain bubbled somewhere nearby. When we reached the house, I pulled the invitation from my bag and handed it to the man standing guard at the front door.
The tall, muscular man looked at the paper. Next, he eyed us up and down. “Identification, please.”
After we provided our credentials, the guy allowed us past the roped-off section. We hadn’t even made it to the front door when Dylan’s phone rang.
He looked at the number and said, “I really need to take this call.”
“Sure. Go ahead.”
Dylan and I stepped over to the side of the walkway so he could answer.
“Detective Valentine,” he said.
The ghosts and I listened to his side of the conversation.
“Interesting. Okay, thanks for letting me know.” Dylan met my gaze after clicking off the call.
“What’s interesting?” Charlotte asked.
The ghosts stood close to Dylan. What would he think if he knew?
“That was my source.”
“You have a source?” I asked.
He shrugged. “I guess you could say that.”
“What did your source tell you?”
“He said that Ramon was poisoned.”
My eyes widened.
“Poisoned?” Charlotte, Maureen, Ramon, and I said “poisoned” at the same time.
We were all stunned.
“Yes, that’s what he said,” Dylan said.
“That’s terrible,” I said.
“Apparently, his body had a high dose of a drug that is normally given to horses.”
“Would he have taken something like that? Maybe this wasn’t murder after all.”
“It would be a heck of a way to go,” Dylan said. “And why there in that hallway?”
“I would never kill myself. I had too much to live for,” Ramon said. “Besides, if I was going to do it, I surely wouldn’t do it that way. I’d pick something much quicker. Who wants to suffer?”
Dylan technically never mentioned anything about suffering. Maybe Ramon was starting to remember more and would be able to recall whether he encountered anyone in the hallway. I wanted to ask Ramon if he remembered anyone giving him something to eat or drink that tasted strange. I would have to wait until we were alone. At least Dylan had been able to discover this important information.
“We have to find out who would have access to that drug,” I said.
Charlotte placed her hands on her hips. “Just about every person that Ramon came into contact with.”
Yeah, she was right about that. But I didn’t want to think it would be impossible to find who had given him the poison—it was all that I had to go on right now.
“Finding out who had access might be difficult,” Dylan said while taking my hand into his.
“I guess we need to figure out how this person gave Ramon the drug,” I said.
Dylan probably didn’t have the heart to tell me that was nearly impossible. My phone rang. Who would call me? I didn’t have a source. Danielle’s number popped up on the screen. She was probably wondering where I was.
“Do you need to take that call?” Dylan asked.
“It’s Danielle. She’s the one who invited me to this party.”
“You’d better talk to her,” Dylan said.
I answered the call.
“Cookie, where are you?” Her voice sounded strained.
“I’m right outside of the party,” I said, looking up at the giant house.
“I was afraid of that,” she said. “I can’t make it, but you go ahead and have a great time. I’ll call you in the morning.”
I debated whether I should tell her about the poison. Ultimately, I decided to wait since Dylan hadn’t told me if I could share the information.
“See you tomorrow,” I said.
“Is everything okay?” Dylan asked.
I placed the phone in my purse. “That was Danielle. She can’t make it to the party.”
“Let’s get out of here,” Dylan said.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“We don’t have to stay if she isn’t coming.”
“We don’t?”
“You don’t even want to be here. So let’s go somewhere else.” Dylan’s lips slipped into a charming grin.
“That’s so romantic,” Charlotte said dreamily.
I smiled. “Where are we going?”
Dylan held my hand as we walked back to the car. “Wherever the car takes us.”
“That sounds like a plan,” Maureen said.
We ended up downtown in the city by the Ohio River. A large walking bridge spanned the river from Louisville to Indiana. It provided a beautiful view of the city lights. A breeze drifted in from the water, and the stars dazzled in the black sky. Lights from the skyscrapers shimmered and danced across the water. I couldn’t believe that the ghosts had waited by the car. Charlotte insisted that we have a romantic walk alone.
“Are you glad I came?” Dylan asked as we walked along hand in hand.
“Of course I’m glad you came,” I said. “And it’s not just because you’re helping me find information about the case.”
“The thought had crossed my mind,” he said with a smile.
Dylan and I discussed the nighttime city view with sparkling lights from the skyscrapers, the Derby, being away from Sugar Creek, and just about everything else. Time had slipped away. Forty minutes had passed, and I figured the ghosts were gett
ing anxious. We headed back toward the car to leave. That was when I spotted a truck pulling out of the parking area. It looked exactly like the truck I’d seen before.
“Did you see that truck?” I pointed.
“I saw a black one just leave,” Dylan said.
“I think that truck was following me.”
“What makes you think that?” he asked.
“I saw one just like it a couple times. It pulled out in front of me and almost caused me to have a wreck. I don’t think that’s a coincidence,” I said.
Dylan looked concerned. He wanted to keep me safe, and now there was nothing he could do about the truck.
“We’ll have to keep an eye out for it.” Dylan gave my hand a gentle, reassuring squeeze.
When we reached the car, the ghosts were leaning against it. They looked thoroughly bored. I wanted to ask them if they had seen the truck and what it was doing there. I would have to wait until we got back to the bed-and-breakfast. They weren’t mentioning it, so I assumed they hadn’t seen it.
As we pulled out onto the road, I looked in the side mirror for any sign of the truck. Headlights caught my attention, but I had no way to know if it was the truck until we got closer to the streetlight.
Dylan noticed my watching. “Is something bothering you? You look like the bogeyman is after us.”
“Tell him he just might be,” Charlotte said from the backseat.
I attempted a smile. “Just watching the traffic behind us.”
Luckily, there was no sign of the truck. Soon we arrived back at the bed-and-breakfast. I wouldn’t be able to explain why I wanted him to turn off the headlights. He pulled up in front of the house. The place was quiet, and the lights were off.
After Dylan walked me to the door and kissed me good night, I had to sneak back in the house. Dylan stood at the bottom of the steps, waiting for me to open the door and go inside. What if Hannah had locked it, and I had to ring the doorbell? Sleeping outside in my car might be a better option.
I eased the door open as quietly as I could without making Dylan notice that I was being so careful. I waved good-bye and closed the door. Now that the door was shut, I leaned my back against it and released a deep breath. The stress wasn’t over yet. I had to get back up those stairs.
As I moved across the foyer toward the stairs, a movement caught my attention. I thought for sure I heard the floor squeak upstairs. When I glanced up, I thought I saw Ken peering down from the second floor. The movement had been so quick, though, that I wasn’t sure. Was he awake? Did he know that I had been out? I eased up the first two steps. They squeaked loudly, and I froze. After a few seconds, I knew I had to move again. I couldn’t stand on the stairs for the rest of the night. Easing my foot onto the next step, I released a deep breath when it made no noise. I had to push through or this would take all night. After holding my breath the entire way up the stairs, I made it to the top.
“You’re not very good at sneaking around,” Charlotte said.
“I made it, didn’t I?” I whispered.
I looked around to see if the other room doors were closed. It looked as if I’d successfully snuck in, though I was fairly certain that Ken had been awake when I first came in. I hoped that he hadn’t seen me. I guess I’d find out in the morning if he asked me.
Once inside my room, I had a chance to ask Ramon what I’d wanted to all evening.
“Ramon, do you remember drinking something that tasted strange? Did someone put something in your drink?”
“Don’t you think if he remembered that he would have told you by now?” Charlotte placed her hands on her hips.
“It doesn’t hurt to ask,” I said.
“I’ll try to remember,” Ramon stood by the window and peered out into the night. He made no reflection in the window.
Chapter 17
Grandma Pearl’s Pearls of Wisdom
I’d rather be someone’s shot of whiskey
than be everyone’s cup of tea.
The sun streamed through the window the next morning.
“Rise and shine, princess,” Charlotte said as she stood next to the bed, peering down at me.
“Must you do that?” I asked.
“We have work to do. Get up.” She managed to move the covers slightly.
I groaned and shuffled out of bed. For today’s outfit, I’d selected a Pauline Trigère pink pinstriped sleeveless dress. It had a darted bust, a fitted waist, and an ultra-full accordion-pleated skirt. Instead of high heels, I wore a pair of white wedge-heeled flip-flops. I wanted to be super casual but still look put together. That was no easy task.
Charlotte was in her typical high-fashion style, wearing a pair of J Brand high-waist dark blue slacks with a white and blue striped cold shoulder silk blouse. Her shoes were Christian Louboutin, of course. She looked like a million bucks. Maureen wore a light blue short-sleeved dress with black pumps. She said she’d made the dress. Of course, all the ghosts had to do was think of an outfit and it appeared. I assumed she’d made the dress years ago. It was seven-thirty, and I figured Hannah had breakfast ready and was probably waiting for me. I wondered if Ken was awake.
I peeked out the window but didn’t see his car. Had he gone somewhere already this morning? After I showered and dressed, I opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. When I turned around, Hannah was right behind me.
I jumped. “Oh, I didn’t see you there.”
She placed her hands on her hips. “I know what you did last night.”
“Uh-oh. I told you that you were bad at sneaking around,” Charlotte said.
“She’ll probably kick you out,” Maureen said.
“Excuse me?” I asked, trying to pretend as if I didn’t know what she meant.
“I heard you moving around in the hallway, and I know what you were doing.”
“I can explain,” I said.
She held her hand up. “No need.”
“Yeah, she’s going to kick her out now,” Charlotte said.
“This is interesting to watch,” Maureen said.
“You were trying to get into the attic to see all the vintage clothing I have up there.”
“What?” Charlotte asked.
Maureen laughed.
“I didn’t see that coming,” Ramon said.
“You’d better just agree with her,” Charlotte said. “It’s better than her thinking you slipped out with Dylan.”
How would I even know that she had vintage clothing up there, other than the fact that people sometimes kept old things in attics?
“I just wanted a little peek,” I said.
“Good job, Cookie,” Charlotte said.
“Well, you should have asked. I would have shown you.” Her voice was full of agitation.
“I didn’t think you’d show me.”
“Way to go along with it, Cookie,” Maureen said.
“I can show you now if you’d like.”
I was surprised that she was offering.
“Okay,” I said.
“She is an odd duck,” Charlotte said.
“Follow me to the attic.” Hannah motioned over her shoulder.
“Attics are creepy,” Charlotte said.
Yes, attics were creepy, but I’d spent my share of time in them, searching for vintage pieces. I followed Hannah across the hallway. She pulled the ladder down and motioned for me to go first.
“What if she locks you in there?” Charlotte asked.
I hadn’t thought of that until she mentioned it. Now I was nervous. I hesitated, and Hannah motioned for me to go ahead. I hoped that the ghosts would get help for me if she did lock me in there. What was I thinking? Hannah seemed nice enough, except for the curfew thing. She wouldn’t really lock me in the attic, right? After releasing a deep breath, I started climbing. I peeked over my shoulder a couple of times to see if she was coming too. So far, she was behind me.
I reached the top and stepped into the cramped, dimly lit space. A bit of sunshine came through the sm
all window on the other side of the room. Dust motes drifted through the air like shimmering snowflakes. It was early May, but it had already started to warm up in the space, though it wasn’t too bad. Thank goodness Hannah had come up there with me. I wouldn’t let her lock me up here now.
“I have the stuff right over here in this trunk,” she said as she walked across the space.
I followed her over to the corner of the room. She pulled out a key from her pocket and unlocked an old beat-up trunk. A loud groan of the hinges filled the room when she opened the lid. I peeked over her shoulder at the contents. It was full of clothing and even some hats.
“This place reminds me of my home,” Maureen said, looking around the space.
“You can take a look at the stuff, but you can’t have it.” Hannah warned with a wiggle of her finger.
I grabbed for the clothing. If I found a real treasure, maybe I could convince her to let me buy it. After digging through the items like a dog looking for a bone, my enthusiasm waned. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much in the trunk that I couldn’t live without. It was mainly suits from the seventies and pants and tops from the eighties. Nothing special. But when I spotted the white silk dress at the bottom of the trunk, my stomach danced. It looked like a wedding gown.
I pulled the dress from the trunk. It was in surprisingly good condition, considering it had been stuffed in this wooden box. The body was a silhouette skirt with a sweep train. The silk underlay was covered with floral lace around the bodice. The taffeta sash was tied into a large bow in the back.
“This is amazing,” I said, touching the lace-covered buttons. “Where did you get it?”
I guessed the date was from the early 1920s. She should have this dress displayed as art.
“It was my grandmother’s dress. I just never knew what to do with it. It looks like it would fit you. Why don’t you try it on?”
“Oh no, I couldn’t,” I said, though I was tempted.
She shoved the dress toward me. “No, I insist. I can tell you love it.”
I was curious about how the dress would look.
“I will look away while you change,” Hannah said. “You can undress right here.”
