Becca's Paranormal Collection

by Vickery, Rebecca J.

  Gray accompanied the detective from the room without complaint. He rubbed a hand across his jaw. His son was dead. He'd needed him out of the way, and now he was gone forever. I really need to hold it together. I can do this.

  The detective ushered the stately man into a chair in the library situated off the front parlor. "Mr. Westbrook, I'm very sorry for your loss. But I need to ask you some questions to determine exactly what happened. Are you able to talk with me?"

  "Yes, I guess so." Gray sat with drooping shoulders and a vacant stare.

  "Did your son have any enemies?"

  "Of course he did. He... He was rich, good-looking, and my son. But I don't know anyone who would do this... Here, in my own home." The father's voice broke and he cleared his throat while blinking back the gathering moisture.

  "I understand he and his girlfriend were arguing before it happened. Do you know anything about that?" Gabe recognized grief in Gray's eyes, but more than one murderer had felt remorse afterward. And there was something not quite right here, he was sure.

  "I know Maribeth was quite upset with Gregory. But I don't know why. She told me he was being a jerk. Greg could be...inconsiderate of the ladies at times. Not as smooth as his old man." Gray ended with a little quirk to his lips, a glimmer of a smile.

  "Inconsiderate how?"

  "He often failed to send flowers or a gift after a night out. He wouldn't finish up one affair of the heart before embarking on another. He sometimes—no, often—forgot a prior engagement when someone new caught his interest. I think he really loved Maribeth, though. She was the first one he ever proposed to, you know? And I only... I just found that out after he died..." Gray turned his head away and swallowed hard, fighting the emotions roiling through him.

  "Mr. Westbrook, what is it you're not telling me? We found your mask in the study. You have blood on your coat. You weren't in the ballroom when the lights went out. Now, wouldn't you like to tell me what happened?" prompted the detective.

  "It's not what you think..." Gray's startled eyes met Gabe's. "Surely you don't believe I could have killed my own son? I must have dropped the mask when we found Greg. As for the blood... Let me think." He rubbed his face with a hand. "Ally, the maid... She came running out of the study and grabbed me. She must have had blood on her hands. But... I... Well, I might have been responsible for what happened to my son. You see, I was asked for a favor. A very big favor, but I brushed it off." Gray shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

  "Yes, sir. I'm listening. You brushed off this favor? Any particular reason?" Gabe stopped writing and looked at Mr. Westbrook. Definitely unlike the self-assured man of the world to be so unsettled.

  "I... Well, truthfully I wanted Maribeth to share her...affections with me. It was wrong, and I wish... But you see, she was so beautiful and just my type, a lot like Gregory's mother. I sent Erica to distract Gregory. I also slipped her a fifty to give to one of the waiters to trip the breaker – just as a Halloween prank. Then I tried to intercept Maribeth in order to comfort her and...ahem...become friendly. I saw her run into the bathroom. I waited around in the hallway, but she didn't come out. Then the power went off and..."

  He shrugged and went on, "My plan seemed doomed to failure. I headed to the ballroom for candles then I heard a scream and the guests began to panic. I continued on to calm them and to get a light to see what had happened. Then we found him..." Once again, Gray cleared his throat and stared, unseeing, off into the distance.

  Gabe believed the man. Who would admit to wanting his son's girlfriend if it wasn't the truth? "All right, Mr. Westbrook, only a few more questions. What was the favor you were asked for and who did the asking?"

  Gray sighed. "The lieutenant governor asked the favor and was... Well, let's just say he was a bit out of sorts when I told him I would consider it and give him an answer in a few days. That's all I will say. You'll have to discuss the rest with him."

  "Was Mr. Stevenson in the ballroom when you arrived after the scream?"

  "No. At least, I don't think so... Surely, it couldn't have been Sam..."

  Chapter Ten

  Gabriel asked Isobel to join him in the library to compare notes from the interviews so far. A member of the forensics team brought in the preliminary results from the fingerprinting and to report they located the server who shut off the power. After conversing several minutes, they requested the lieutenant governor join them in the library for his interview.

  "About time. Do you know how long I've been waiting?" Sam pushed back his sleeve and tapped the face of his watch as he took the indicated chair.

  "We're sorry, sir, but these things take time to unravel." Isobel sat down near the lieutenant governor. "We've just received some disturbing news, Mr. Stevenson. It seems there were three sets of prints lifted from the murder weapon. One of them was yours. Can you offer an explanation?"

  Sam jumped up. "What are you inferring, young lady? Do you know who you are talking to?"

  Gabe stepped closer and quietly, but firmly, insisted. "Sit down, Sam. We have to ask these questions and you know it. Now, how could your fingerprints have gotten on the knife?"

  "How should I know? I'm sure there were knives on the buffet table. I seem to remember buttering a roll with one and slicing cake with another. Anyone could have picked them up after I used them. Is someone trying to frame me? Is that what this is about?" Sam looked back and forth from one detective to the other.

  When Gabe gave her the nod, Isobel answered, "We're not sure yet, Mr. Stevenson, but it is one angle we need to check out. We understand you had a purpose for coming here tonight. Would you share that with us, please?"

  "Purpose? Why to meet and greet, of course. That's what politicians do."

  Gabe placed a straight chair nearer to Sam and Isobel and sat down. "Sam, I know you came here tonight to ask a favor from Mr. Westbrook. He said you weren't too happy about being told to wait for your answer. What did you ask him?"

  The lieutenant governor fought off a coughing spell.

  Both detectives recognized it as a stall tactic, but waited for Sam to regain control.

  "That is confidential and I assure you it has nothing to do with your investigation. I often act as a messenger between our Governor and a constituent such as Gray. How do you think we get new industry and improvements? They don't just happen, you know."

  "I see," Isobel responded. "And the reason you became upset...?" She raised one dark eyebrow.

  Sam took out his pocket hankie and swiped at his forehead. "I knew the Governor expected an immediate answer. I'm not looking forward to telling him to wait." The lieutenant governor stood and began to pace, rubbing a hand over his hair. "Look, I didn't like Gregory, and you'll find that out one way or another. He knew some things—confidential things—I wouldn't want made public. He and I... Well, we frequented the same type of hospitality spot on a few occasions, if you get my meaning."

  Gabe immediately asked, "You were seeing the same hooker?"

  "Not now... Not since I knew he saw me there. But the damage was done."

  "So you killed him to keep him quiet," Isobel suggested.

  Sam stopped in mid-pace then whirled to face Detectives Sands and White. "What? Are you nuts? I might have paid him off if he'd asked, but he didn't. I took it as a gentleman's agreement that I'd do him a favor down the road and we'd be even. That's the way it works in this game." He dropped into his chair and crossed his legs, studying the crease in his black slacks for a moment before stating, "I'm finished answering questions. Either arrest me or let me leave. Now, do I have reason to call my attorney or am I done?"

  Gabe stood and gestured toward the door. "You can go, sir, we're done for now. Don't try to leave the country. There will be a hold on your passport until this is cleared up. We know where to find you if we have more questions."

  Once the lieutenant governor closed the library door behind him, Gabe turned to his partner. "That went really well, don't you think?"

  Isobel could
already hear the official complaint sliding into her folder at headquarters.

  Chapter Eleven

  There were four women in the front parlor when Gabe and Isobel returned. Erica's attorney, Belinda Garrison, had arrived. She looked ridiculous in a Little Bo-Peep outfit and blonde sausage-curl wig. She and her client talked quietly in one corner. Maribeth sat, crying, near the window. Ally, still in her French maid costume, leaned against the mantel with arms crossed beneath her ample bosom.

  Ms. Garrison immediately attacked, "What do you mean detaining my client? Is she being charged with a crime, here? Has she been read her rights? Have you even told her why she's being detained?"

  Detective Sands held up one hand like a traffic cop. "Cool it, Bo-Peep. No jury here to put on a show for. Your client refused to cooperate in a murder investigation. I'm within my rights to detain her for that and you know it. Now, do you want her to answer questions here or at the Halloween madhouse down at the station? I'm good either way."

  "I'll have to confer with my client." Ms. Garrison turned her back and stalked back to Erica.

  "This should be good," the sergeant whispered to his partner. "Let's just take them all on at once and be done with it."

  Isobel's lips almost curved into a smile, but she caught it back just in time. Gabe seemed very likely to start a cat fight if he got his way.

  "Ms. Garrison, Ms Venture, would you join us in the library, please?"

  Once everyone was seated, Gabe began the interview. "Ms. Venture, please tell us what your relationship was to the deceased."

  Erica glanced at her attorney, who nodded. "Gregory and I were lovers, but that ended when he met...that woman."

  "What woman?" Isobel wanted to clarify.

  "That Maribeth Rivers, that's who. I told him she was no good for him, but he didn't believe me. And now, he's...dead." She swiped at her moist eyes with a silk handkerchief.

  Gabe ignored her tears and went on, "Why did you go to the study tonight?"

  "Gray sent me. He asked me to find Greg. The lieutenant governor was asking for him."

  "Did you locate him?" Isobel encouraged.

  "Sure did. He and the prude were arguing in Gray's study. I heard her yell that she would chop out his heart so I knocked and opened the door. She was going after him, all right, with both hands."

  The sergeant wrote a few notes. "What happened next?"

  "She left. I gave Greg his daddy's message and I left, too."

  "Was this before or after the power went out?" Isobel looked up from her own notepad as she asked the question.

  "Definitely before. By the time the lights went out, I was on the side porch smoking a cigarette."

  "Did anyone see you leave the study? Was there someone in the hall or did you run into anyone else taking a smoke break?"

  Erica shook her head and started to speak, but her attorney put a hand on her arm.

  "I'm afraid my client refuses to answer that question at the moment. Please move on."

  Isobel scanned the preliminary fingerprint report even though she already knew the contents by heart. "Ms. Venture, did you use or touch a knife at any time during the evening?"

  Belinda Garrison spoke up, "Puh-lease! There was a buffet. I'm sure she probably touched a knife, as did most of the other guests. Did you fingerprint them all? Are you asking if my client touched a specific knife—?"

  Fast losing his patience, Gabe interrupted, "Let's not do this, Belinda. We all know what knife we're talking about. The one that was stuck in Gregory Westbrook's back—the one that pierced his lung and killed him—that knife. Did you touch it?" The sergeant glared at Erica, demanding an answer.

  "My client refuses to answer that question at the moment. Please move on," Belinda requested again.

  Isobel took up the chase. "The preliminary fingerprint report says that your client's prints were on the murder weapon. If she refuses to explain how they got there, we can arrest her on suspicion."

  Erica looked wildly to her lawyer and back to the solemn faced police detectives in front of her. "But, I didn't kill him! I'm telling you it had to be Maribeth—"

  The attorney interrupted, "Erica, I must advise you not to say any more—"

  "And let them arrest me for murder? Not this girl." Turning her attention back to Gabe, she told him, "I loved Greg! Gray was going to help convince him to marry me. Maribeth would never have overlooked his need for other women like I would. He cheated on her and she killed him because of it."

  Gabe pulled out the new fact from her tirade. "He was involved with other women? Besides you and Ms. Rivers?"

  "Greg enjoyed being with a variety of women. He was a sexaholic. But he always came back to me. Until now..." Erica's voice broke and she bit back the sobs.

  Isobel asked, "Did you know Gregory proposed to Ms. Rivers and was waiting for her answer?"

  "Not until tonight."

  "So you were angry, hurt, and betrayed when you found out. You don't seem the type to take that calmly, Ms. Venture," Gabe pointed out. "What did you do? Did you tip a waiter to cut off the breaker? Then did you sneak back into the study and stab Gregory for betraying you?"

  Erica shook her head so hard the snake headband slid off. It fell unheeded to the floor. "No, I tell you... Well...yes, I did tip the waiter to shut off the power. But I never made it back to the study. The idiot was supposed to give me fifteen minutes before lights out, but they went out too soon. When I started to the study, I took a wrong turn and ended up on the other side of the house. I never killed anyone... Especially not my Gregory..." The tears began pouring again. "I really loved him. He would have married me, eventually. Gray would have made him as soon as I told him..." Sobs tore from her throat and she pressed her hands to her mouth.

  "Told him what, Erica?" Isobel softly urged.

  "I'm carrying Greg's baby..." she sniffled. "Gray's grandchild. Greg would have had to marry me. I was going to tell him tonight."

  Gabe and Isobel exchanged shocked looks over Erica's head. Another one?

  Chapter Twelve

  At the insistence of a bedraggled Bo-Peep, Gabe and Isobel finally allowed Ms. Venture to go upstairs in order to get some rest. They were left with Maribeth and Ally in the front parlor.

  "Ms. Rivers, you may as well leave too. Be sure the officer has your address and phone number. If you need someone to drive you home, just ask," Sergeant Sands offered, running a hand over his chin.

  "Gray asked me to stay. I'll be upstairs if..." She left the room, crying once again.

  Gabe and his partner turned to the attractive, well-endowed woman sitting on the settee. They took the chairs near her and began.

  "You're a maid here aren't you, Ally? For how long?" Gabe asked.

  "Mr. Westbrook hired me back in August... One of the maids left to have a baby."

  "How well did you know Gregory?" Isobel wanted to know.

  "What do you mean? He was Mr. Westbrook's son. I served him meals and cleaned up after him like I was told," Ally answered. She shifted on the small sofa and crossed her long, shapely legs.

  Gabe cleared his throat, lifting his eyes back to her face. "Tell us what happened tonight. Where were you when the lights went out?"

  "I was out in the kitchen. Gray—uh—Mr. Westbrook said to bring more canapés for the buffet. I spoke to Walter, the butler. He'll tell you."

  "And why did you go to the study with the lights off?" Isobel wanted to know.

  "Walter sent me to make sure some lamps were lit in that wing. He didn't want guests wandering around there in the dark. He was afraid they would knock over some of Mr. Westbrook's valuables."

  The detective jotted some notes then asked, "Weren't you worried about roaming around in the dark?"

  "I had a candle... Until I tripped over poor Gregory. Never even saw him laying on the floor before I fell on him. I caught a look at his face just before the candle went out. One hand went in all that – blood. The other landed on...him." Ally shuddered and closed her eyes.
"I knew he was dead. Nothing else feels like a dead person...you know?"

  "We know," Isobel assured her. "Did you hear or see anyone when you went into the study, Ally? Did you pass anyone in the hall?"

  "I saw a couple of guests at the end of the hall as I went by. I heard giggling and they drew back around the corner as I passed. I figured they were fooling around away from the crowd, if you know what I mean. I didn't see or hear anyone in the study."

  "What did you do next, Ally?" Gabe prompted.

  "I screamed and I ran. Took me several tries to find the door in the dark. Then I ran straight into Gray... Uhm, Mr. Westbrook and those other men."

  Isobel tossed out, "Did you and Gregory ever have a relationship?"

  "No... We didn't. I mean – he offered, but I wouldn't. I didn't want to lose my job. And just because I'm...uhm ... like this, that doesn't mean I sleep around."

  "It would be understandable though, wouldn't it? Attractive, wealthy man like Gregory. Could have been a real step up if he'd fallen for you. And we know he liked the ladies." Isobel pushed for more.

  "You can say that again. He had plenty of them on a string. But he tossed them aside like empty cans too—including that lieutenant governor's daughter. I hear she's pregnant. Wouldn't surprise me at all if it was Gregory's. He sure loved the women. Glad he wasn't my type."

  Gabe shook his head. They were right back to Samuel Stevenson again. Tomorrow would be a long day of chasing down the lieutenant governor and learning all about the affair between his daughter and the victim.

  "We have to ask, Ally. Did you touch the knife when you fell? How could your fingerprints get on the knife?" Isobel could guess, but she had to ask.

  Ally thought for a minute. "I don't remember touching the knife... But things happened so fast. I could have, I guess. I was awfully scared. And I helped set up the buffet by wiping down all the silverware before it was put out. There were knives with it."

  "Okay, Ally. You can go for now. Don't leave town and be sure you give the officer at the door your contact information." Gabe stood and stretched. It had been a tiresome day.