by K E O'Connor
“There are no huge debts on here,” I said, as I scanned down the credit card statement. “It looks like several are overdue, though.”
“This is his motive for killing Katie and Johnny,” said Helen. “If he’s got himself into debt, he’ll need to get his hands on all the money in the estate. Ranulph needed his sister out of the way so he could have her money.”
“Lady Camilla has millions in the bank,” I said. “And I expect her children were given healthy trust funds. I can’t see Ranulph being concerned about paying off a few hundred pounds from a card. Not concerned enough to kill his own sister anyway.”
“There could be more debt we don’t know about,” said Helen. “Maybe this is just the start. He could have run up thousands of pounds of debt on different cards and be trying to conceal it.”
“If he did, his mom would have paid those off for him. Better that than have the family name sullied in any way.”
“He could be too ashamed to reveal he’s got himself into debt.” Helen pointed to a line on the statement. “Especially when he’s buying things like inflatable adult toys.”
I shook my head, looking around the room and hoping not to spot whatever an adult inflatable toy looked like. It wouldn’t be pretty. “Let me check the closet before we leave. But we’d better not stay here much longer in case somebody hears us.”
“Or Ranulph returns and finds us in here,” said Helen, as she stuffed the bills back into the drawer. “If he did find us, he’d assume we wanted to have some fun times with him. And that’s never going to happen.”
“Agreed.” The thought of having fun times with Ranulph made my stomach flip over unhappily. I walked over to the closet and pulled open the first door to find empty hangers. Not a surprise, considering most of his clothes were on the floor.
The closet ran across the entire length of the wall, and I made my way slowly along it. I pushed aside some coats and looked into the back, but didn’t see any access panel or hiding space where Ranulph might conceal his sordid secrets.
In the last section of the closet were some women’s dresses. I gave them a brief examine, but they looked like the sort of thing Lady Camilla would wear.
“Anything of use?” asked Helen.
“Nothing.” I shut the door and turned to Helen. My gaze drifted to the bed. “How about under Ranulph’s bed?”
“There’s no way I’m looking under that bed,” said Helen, a look of horror crossing her face. “There could be all sorts of nasty things lurking. Probably all his adult toys, and I bet he’s into adult movies. I saw mention of them on one of those bills. It was for the purchase of a triple bundle of filth, so he buys his sordid stuff in bulk.”
I eyed the bed base with suspicion. I wasn’t sure I was up to the challenge of rooting around under there either and discovering Ranulph’s dirty little secrets. And one thing I could be sure of if I did go under there, it would be dirty, and I would get covered in dust.
I dropped to my knees and peered under the bed from a safe distance. There were more clothes, crumpled tissues, and a few dirty plates. I stood and brushed off my trousers, that was as close as I was going to get. “There’s nothing there.”
Helen grinned at me. “Since we’re in the mood for investigating, why don’t we see what Billy’s up to, next?”
“I’ve not seen him since Katie and Johnny chased him away,” I said. “He’s probably licking his wounds somewhere and feeling sorry for himself.”
“Bet he’s wondering what happened to him,” said Helen. “Must have freaked him out being spooked by those two.”
“I hope it did, it might make him stop telling lies,” I said, as I crept the bedroom door open and peered into the corridor. I looked back at Helen and gave her a thumbs up to show it was all clear. “It can’t do any harm to see inside his apartment.”
“So long as it’s not full of adult toys and dirty laundry, I really won’t mind what we find,” said Helen.
Chapter 13
Helen, Flipper and I hurried down the stairs and out into the garden. The light from a bright white, full moon, meant we had to keep to the shadows to avoid anyone inside the house spotting us as we crept towards Billy’s apartment.
“Look through that window,” I said to Helen, gesturing to the window by the back door.
“You look,” said Helen. “I don’t want him to see me and get accused of spying on him.”
“That’s exactly what we are doing,” I said.
Helen gestured at the window. “You do it. He might not even be home.”
I took a quick breath, grabbed the window frame, and peered inside. The window looked in on a dark room, only the light from a television screen providing any illumination. There was a high-backed chair positioned in front of the screen, and I could make out Billy’s head poking over the top of it.
“He’s home,” I said as I pulled back from the window.
“Which means we can’t go in and look around,” whispered Helen.
I bit my lip as I looked over at her. “I could go in if I had someone to cause a distraction.”
“What kind of distraction?” Helen narrowed her eyes at me.
“The kind that will get him out of his television seat and to the front door.”
“I’ll knock on the front door and ask about the noisy pipes in the kitchen, but that’s it,” said Helen. “You’re not going to convince me to charm Billy.”
“You don’t have to charm him, just get him off his backside and give me a chance to look around.”
Helen pulled an unhappy face but then nodded. “If he lays one finger on me, I’m going to make sure his fun parts are out of action for a while.”
“If he does try anything, I’ll set Flipper on him.”
“You’ve got five minutes, after that, I’m running away and leaving you on your own.”
I grinned at her as she stalked away. That was all the time I needed.
I waited until I heard the sound of Helen knocking on the front door, and peered back in the window. At first, Billy didn’t move. In fact, he turned up the volume on the TV some more.
Helen began thudding on the door relentlessly, and I watched as Billy flung the remote down, pulled himself out of the chair, and left the room.
I tried the window I was looking through, but it was locked. I moved onto the next one, which looked like it was Billy’s bedroom, and after a few seconds of tugging, I felt it shift, and the window slid up.
“Right, you wait here,” I said to Flipper, who had been following my break-in attempt with interest. “Make sure you alert me if Billy comes around this way.”
Flipper sat down, his nose pointed in the direction of the front door, and his ears pricked. I knew I could rely on him.
I forced the window higher, jumped onto a ledge, and slid through onto the floor.
The room smelled musty as if the bedding needed washing. There were several pairs of black socks on the floor, which I skirted around, but the room was much cleaner and tidier than Ranulph’s, so I couldn’t be too disgusted.
There was a pile of letters on Billy’s dressing table, but a quick scan through them revealed nothing exciting; they were circulars or credit card statements. And from an inspection of the last statement, Billy was a man who paid his credit card off in full, so there were no concerns about him killing for money.
I snuck into the lounge on my tiptoes. From this room, I was able to hear Billy talking to Helen. His tone sounded irritated and his comments to her questions were short. I hoped he wasn’t going to do anything rash like slam the door in her face and come back too soon. There was nowhere to hide other than behind the armchair. There was a TV, a small table littered with paper and a couple of beer bottles, a glass-fronted cabinet full of guns, and a small dresser. I pulled open the doors on the dresser and discovered old car parts and a few sets of car keys. I ran my fingers over the keys, wondering if they started any of the cars in the garage.
I returned to the bedroom, not
feeling enthusiastic about what I’d found. I yanked open the top two drawers of the dresser and discovered women’s underwear. I wrinkled my nose and shut it quickly. He most likely kept them from his numerous conquests. The man was a pig.
I spun around, my heart hammering in my chest, as I heard a muffled yell from Billy. I dashed to the window, slung my legs over the edge, and hit the ground. Flipper was by my side in an instant, his ears pricked and hackles raised.
“We’d better go and make sure Helen’s okay.” I ran around the side of the building towards the front door, and found Billy on his knees, clutching his groin.
“I did say what I’d do if he laid a finger on me,” said Helen as she spotted me.
“You’re crazy, woman,” hissed out Billy. “I was only being friendly.”
“All I was asking about was the repairs to the dodgy pipes in the kitchen,” said Helen, fixing Billy with an evil glare. “You didn’t need to get so hands-on with me.”
Billy’s head sank to the ground and he let out a groan as his gaze settled on me.
“What are you doing here?”
“Having an evening stroll,” I said. “I hope you’re not misbehaving?”
Billy shook his head. “You women are all crazy. Don’t know what you want half the time.”
Helen huffed and folded her arms over her chest. “We know that we want nothing to do with you.”
I grabbed hold of Helen’s arm, seeing she was tempted to give Billy another kick. “Let’s get out of here.”
Helen gave Billy a final glare before the three of us dashed into the night and back towards the house.
“What did you find?” whispered Helen. “I held off for as long as I could but had no choice but to knee Billy in the end. He was being so rude.”
“You did a great job, but I didn’t find any clues,” I said. “Lots of guns, some women’s underwear, and a few sets of car keys. Nothing to suggest Billy was involved with Katie and Johnny’s deaths, or who our mystery woman could be.”
Helen let out another huff. “And there was me, hoping you’d have a diary full of his sordid revelations. He’s such a creep. I won’t be surprised if he is involved with this. It took him less than a minute to twist the conversation we were having, and make it inappropriate. I tried to stop him, but he was relentless. Someone needs to neuter Billy.”
“Looks like you did a pretty good job of that with your knee,” I said to her as we reached the backdoor of the main house and hurried inside.
“I did my best,” said Helen. “I should have worn some pointed-toed shoes, they would have put him out of action for a while.”
I let out a sigh as I shut the door behind us. “Well, after our investigations, we’re no closer to finding out who’s involved with Katie and Johnny’s murders.”
“How about one last macaroon?” asked Helen. “That could provide us with some inspiration.”
I shrugged as I followed Helen and Flipper to the kitchen. I doubted it would, and was frustrated about the mystery surrounding these deaths. Who was this woman? Where was she hiding, and how did she kill Katie and Johnny?
Chapter 14
“Once you’ve finished that file, I have these bills that require paying.” Lady Camilla brandished a pile of papers at me. “Write the details on the checks, and I will sign them.”
I pushed the last file into place and shut the cabinet. After the unsuccessful investigation into Billy and Ranulph’s guilt last night, I was out of ideas as to who killed Katie and Johnny. It didn’t help that the ghosts weren’t around much, so I was left to make up possibilities on my own, with the help of Helen, who still thought we needed to look for a serial killer.
“Don’t keep me waiting.” Lady Camilla waved the papers in the air again.
I hurried over and sat at a desk opposite her. I took the papers from her bony hand and began to hand write the checks. Honestly, who still pays with a check these days?
The first two were straightforward enough, payments for refurbishment work in the estate barns. But the next one made me pause; it was a check for a firm of private investigators. They’d sent an invoice for two-thousand pounds for their investigation of a family matter.
“Is something wrong?” asked Lady Camilla.
I looked up from my study of the paperwork and saw her cold blue eyes boring into me. “I wasn’t sure if this invoice was correct.” I held aloft the paperwork. “It’s for a private investigation service.”
“What of it?”
“Well, nothing. I suppose I was just curious,” I said, as I lowered the invoice. “You’re not having any troubles?”
Lady Camilla sighed and laced her fingers together. “No troubles you need to concern yourself about. You write the check for the amount they need.”
I filled in the details on the check, before passing it to Lady Camilla. “I hope you don’t mind me asking, but does this relate to your daughter?”
“I do mind you asking.”
I swallowed my nerves. “Are you still searching for her?”
“I am not personally looking for anybody.” Lady Camilla’s hand shook as she signed the check with an old-fashioned, silver-colored fountain pen.
“Do you think Katie is in some sort of trouble?”
“I believe my daughter is dead,” said Lady Camilla. “But even if she is alive, she is dead to this family. She disgraced us. I want no part of her life.”
“Why are you searching for her if you don’t care for her anymore?”
The nib of the pen snapped, and black ink spilled onto Lady Camilla’s fingers.
I jumped up and hurried around the desk with a hankie. “Let me help with that.”
Lady Camilla dropped the pen into the trash container next to her. “It’s just a defective pen. I do not require your assistance.”
I passed her the hankie anyway, and after a second’s hesitation, she took it from me and mopped at the ink on her skin.
“I didn’t mean to upset you,” I said.
“I am not upset.”
“Losing a daughter must be hard, even if you weren’t close.”
“Not when that daughter was an embarrassment,” said Lady Camilla.
“How did she embarrass you?” I returned to my seat and sat facing her.
“She was a strong-willed girl,” said Lady Camilla. “Katie tried her best to fit in with this family, but it was a struggle for her.”
“Did she do something to bring the family name into disrepute?”
Lady Camilla’s eyes narrowed. “What do you know about her?”
I clasped my hands together. “I’m curious about your daughter, that’s all. And you seem unhappy about whatever happened.”
“Katie did something foolish,” said Lady Camilla, not taking her gaze from me.
“Was it something illegal?”
“In my eyes it was,” said Lady Camilla. She let out a sigh and leaned back in her seat. “But no, my daughter was an honest person. But she was too trusting of others. And she became involved with someone most unsuitable for her and this family.”
“And you cut her out of your life, and then she disappeared?”
Lady Camilla’s gaze snapped back to me. “You are well informed about my family’s business.”
“Ranulph said a few things about his sister, that’s all.”
“I did not expect her to vanish,” said Lady Camilla. “We both said angry words, and I do regret some of mine. But I have a heritage to uphold, and she was making that difficult.”
I gestured to the invoice. “What are the private investigators looking into?”
“Where Katie is living,” said Lady Camilla. “She left with an unsuitable gentleman, and I want to make sure she has not been disappointed by him.”
“You don’t think he harmed her?”
Lady Camilla dismissed my comment with a wave of her hand. “Not unsuitable in the sense that he was a violent individual, but he was not appropriate to become a member of this family.”<
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“But you think something bad happened to Katie?” I was pushing my luck by keeping the questions going, but now Lady Camilla was actually answering me, this could be my only opportunity to discover more.
“I do not know,” said Lady Camilla, after a short pause.
“But you would like to know?” I leaned forward. “It shows you care about her.”
The air in the room cooled, and I saw Lady Camilla shudder just as Katie appeared by her mother’s shoulder.
“She was my first born,” said Lady Camilla. “I had great hopes for her.” She pulled open a drawer next to her and lifted out a folder. She extracted a photograph from it, before passing it to me. “She was a beautiful young woman. And smart as well. Too smart for her own good.”
I looked at the photo and saw the bright, vibrant version of the ghost standing in front of me. Lady Camilla was right, Katie was beautiful, with shiny blonde hair and large hazel eyes. She was smiling in the photo I held, her arm wrapped around her mother’s shoulders.
“Ranulph mentioned Katie was a lawyer.”
“That’s correct. But Ranulph was not close to his sister. They often fought, and when she left, it got quieter in the house. No more children bickering, you see.”
A pile of papers slid off a nearby filing cabinet to reveal more photos of Katie. Hanging on the corner of one was a gold locket in the shape of a heart.
Lady Camilla jumped up as she saw the papers fall. “You must get better at organizing these papers. I don’t know what I’m paying you for, this should all be sorted by now.” She shot me a glare before walking over to the filing cabinet. Her hands hovered over the framed pictures and a gasp shot from her lips. “I wondered where that locket had got to.”
“Is it yours?” I asked.
Lady Camilla shook her head as she took the locket off the frame and opened it. “It’s Katie’s. She rarely took it off. It was a present from her father, and she adored him. There’s a picture of the two of them inside.”
“You must miss her.” I stood and walked over to the filing cabinet, before patting Lady Camilla’s arm. She was bird-like thin, and all I could feel were her bones beneath the flesh.
