by K E O'Connor
“Slow down,” said Helen. “What are you talking about?”
“I found women’s clothes in Ranulph’s closet,” I said. “He’s our killer.”
Helen’s mouth fell open. “You’re being serious? You think Ranulph dressed up in women’s clothes to kill Katie and her boyfriend?”
“He might not have dressed up deliberately,” I said. “What if he’s into wearing women’s clothes, just like Henry is into your shoes? Ranulph could have been wearing ladies’ clothes when he killed Katie and Johnny.”
Helen’s eyes widened. “So, the ghosts are confused because they remember seeing someone in women’s clothing when they died. Ranulph could have been wearing those clothes to hide his identity. You don’t know for sure he’s a cross-dresser.”
I rubbed my forehead as I puzzled through the clues. “I’m not sure. And I assumed the clothes in his closet were spares Lady Camilla kept in his room. But what if they weren’t? What if he secretly likes to dress up? He has to be our killer!”
“A cross-dressing killer,” said Helen. “That’s a new one on us.”
“We need to find out for sure,” I said. “Let’s go back to Ranulph’s room and have another look at those dresses I found.”
Helen groaned. “Do we have to go to that pigsty again?”
“We’ll just look at the women’s clothes,” I said. “I didn’t check them properly, and it will be easy to see if they’ve been tailored for Lady Camilla. She’s tiny. And Ranulph, well, he’s—”
“A chubby slob,” said Helen.
“He does carry a few extra pounds,” I said. “And if the clothes have been tailored for him, we’ll know. It will show he’s serious about this cross-dressing business and wasn’t wearing a disguise to confuse anyone who saw him killing Katie and Johnny.”
“I’m not sure what’s worse, disguising yourself as a woman to kill someone, or a man dressing up as a woman because he enjoys it,” said Helen.
I shrugged. “It’s not so bad. We all have our little quirks.”
“You’d be happy to walk in on Zach dressed in your favorite outfit?”
I bit my bottom lip. “Okay, you make a good point.”
“Let’s go see what that little creep is hiding from us,” said Helen.
We crept up the stairs of the main house, Flipper by my side, and stopped by Ranulph’s bedroom door.
“You go in first,” whispered Helen.
I pressed my ear to the door and then backed away. “I can hear noises in there. We’d better not risk it.”
“What do we do now?” asked Helen. “If Ranulph’s in there, we can’t check the clothes.”
“Let’s hide in the room opposite,” I said. “It’s a spare bedroom. We can wait until Ranulph goes to the bathroom, and then sneak in and have a quick look.”
We dashed across the corridor and slid through the door, leaving it ajar so we would easily spot when Ranulph was on the move.
Helen went to put the light on, but I stopped her. “We need to stay in the dark. Don’t want anyone spotting us.”
Helen knelt and peered through the door crack. “If Lady Camilla catches us in here, we’ll be out of our jobs.”
“She goes to bed early,” I said. “She’s probably already in bed reading by now. And her room isn’t close to Ranulph’s. There’s no reason for her to come along here.”
Ten minutes of waiting, and my back was aching from where I was hunched over, looking through the gap at Ranulph’s door.
“Looks like he isn’t planning on leaving his room any time soon,” muttered Helen. “Let’s see if I can find something for us to sit on.”
I heard her stumbling around in the darkness and cursing a few times before she returned with a chair. “Only one, but it’s better than nothing. I’ll take the first sitting session, you can go next.”
“You’re such a good friend.”
“I’m the one who’s been wearing high heels all day,” said Helen as she sat down.
“I know what to get you for your next birthday,” I said. “You can never go wrong with a good pair of walking boots.”
“If you ever get me walking boots as a present, I’m disowning you as my best friend,” whispered Helen.
I chuckled in the darkness and then peered through the gap again. “It sounds like Ranulph is on the move. I think he’s coming out.”
“Make sure he doesn’t see you,” whispered Helen.
We backed away from the door, and a few seconds later, I heard a door opening and closing from across the corridor.
“It’s getting late,” whispered Helen. “Wonder where he’s going?”
“Hopefully he hasn’t convinced some poor woman to go on a date with him.”
After a second of waiting, I opened the door and poked my head out. Ranulph was at the top of the stairs, a black bag slung over his right shoulder.
“Looks like he’s going away for a few days.” I stepped into the corridor and gestured for Helen and Flipper to follow me.
“You don’t think he’s trying to make a break for it,” said Helen. “Since you’ve been questioning him about Katie, he might be worried you’re on to him, and he’s going to try to skip the country.”
“We’d better follow him to see what he’s doing if that’s the case,” I said. “We don’t want him to escape.”
“What about the clothes?” Helen pointed to Ranulph’s bedroom door.
“This is more important,” I said. “If you’re right, and Ranulph’s trying to get away, we need to stop him.”
The three of us hurried down the stairs, just as the sound of the front door closing echoed along the hallway.
I flung open the door, and we dashed onto the gravel driveway. I spotted Ranulph turning right and heading towards the garage.
“He must be getting a car,” I said, as we continued to follow him.
“Be careful. Make sure he doesn’t run you over,” said Helen. “You know what he’s like when he gets behind the wheel.”
I ran after Ranulph, pausing by the corner of the house and poking my head around the building.
“What’s he doing?” whispered Helen, as she caught up with me.
“He’s gone straight past the garage,” I said.
Helen looked around the corner. “He’s heading towards Billy’s apartment.”
“He did say they hung out together. Maybe they’re having a boy’s night in, and he’s not running off.”
“That’s something I’d rather not see,” said Helen. “Billy and Ranulph getting drunk together won’t be fun to watch.”
My hand went to my mouth. “When I was searching Billy’s bedroom, I found a drawer full of women’s underwear. I guessed it was from the women he dated, but what if it’s more than that? He could be a cross-dresser as well.”
Helen grimaced. “Now that’s an unpleasant thought. Billy pulling on a pair of women’s silky panties, and Ranulph strutting around in some of his mom’s tailored dresses. It makes me queasy.”
“We need to go and take a look,” I said. “See what they’re up to.”
We hurried on, stopping by a window in Billy’s apartment. I peered through and immediately ducked. Ranulph was inside, removing his shirt.
“Are they in there dressed up as women?” asked Helen.
“No, but I couldn’t face watching Ranulph taking his clothes off.”
Helen shuddered. “Don’t blame you there. That image would give me nightmares for a month.”
I waited a moment before we both peered through the window.
Helen stuffed her fist into her mouth, and a muffled groan came out.
My eyes widened as I stared at Ranulph. He was dressed in a long, pale-pink, silk gown, his large belly straining the fabric’s seams. He also wore long white gloves, a white feather boa, and had on a high pair of pink heels.
I pulled Helen back down beside me. “That’s it! Ranulph must be the killer.”
There was the sound of muted laughter from insi
de, and we looked through the window again.
“Oh no, it can’t be,” I said, as Billy strutted out of his bedroom, looking like a low-class hooker, wearing a black garter belt, fishnet stockings, a push-up bra, padded with goodness knows what, and a pair of heels so high they made my eyes water just looking at them.
“So, Billy could be the killer,” said Helen in a hushed tone, as we watched the bizarre scene unfold in front of us. “But if he was wearing that outfit on the night he killed Katie and Johnny, you’d think they’d remember something so... revealing.”
I nodded, too stunned to speak. Billy’s chest hair sprouted out in all directions, and his leg hair was almost as dense, as it peeked through the holes in the fishnets he wore.
“I don’t feel so good.” I bent over and took a couple of deep breaths. “This is getting ridiculous.”
“You’re not the only one feeling bad,” muttered Helen. She let out a squeak and fell to her knees, her breath gasping out of her. “No, I don’t believe it.”
“Now what?” I looked through the window again and gulped. Henry was strutting around the room, wearing what looked like one of Lady Camilla’s cream silk dresses.
Chapter 19
Helen looked up at me with wide eyes. “Tell me that wasn’t Henry I just saw. I didn’t see him wearing women’s clothing as well.”
I knelt next to her and grabbed hold of her hand. “Pretty sure it’s your Henry in there. Unless he has a really ugly sister.”
“He’s not my Henry. Not if he goes around wearing women’s clothing on the sly. It makes sense now, why he wanted my shoes.” Helen thumped her head back against the wall.
I pressed a finger to my lips. “Don’t want them to hear we’re out here.”
“I won’t mind if they do know they’ve been seen,” said Helen. “I want to talk to Henry about what he thinks he’s doing.”
“Even so, three men in drag is a bit much for us to handle.”
“I’d be able to outrun all of them in those ridiculous shoes they’re wearing,” said Helen. “None of them look like they fit properly.”
“Let’s get out of here,” I said. “We need to talk to Katie and Johnny and find out what they remember about what their killer was wearing.”
“I wasn’t convinced by any of their outfits,” said Helen, as she hurried along next to me, Flipper at my heel. “None of them would pass as convincing females.”
I shook my head. “One of them must have killed Katie and Johnny, though.”
“Let’s try in the garage,” said Helen. “Isn’t that where you first saw the ghosts?”
“Yes. Let’s see if they can help us figure out which one of these cross dressers is their killer.”
We ran to the garage, and Flipper whined as we drew nearer. That was a good sign our ghosts were about.
I pulled open the door and flicked on the light. Flipper paced around the garage, his tail up and his nose pointed towards the wreck of the red car that had been towed back to the house.
“Katie, Johnny,” I said. “Are you here? We have an idea about who killed you.”
A swirl of cold air passed my face, and Katie shot into view, closely followed by Johnny, who had an anxious expression on his face.
“They’re here,” I said to Helen, before turning to Katie. “Are you sure it was a woman who killed you both?”
Katie nodded.
“It couldn’t have been someone dressed to look like a woman?”
Katie tilted her head to one side and then turned to Johnny. He shrugged, but then shook his head.
“It’s just that, well, we’ve got a few suspects, all male, but all who like to wear women’s clothes,” I said. “Think carefully, was your killer a woman? No doubt about it?”
Katie’s eyes widened and she turned and grabbed hold of Johnny’s hands. They gestured to each other and had a conversation neither Helen nor I could hear before Katie turned back to me.
“Could your killer have been a man in disguise?” I asked.
Katie raised her eyebrows but then gave a slow nod. She raised her hand a good foot above her head.
“It was a tall woman you saw before you died?” I asked her.
She nodded again and pointed at Johnny.
“Someone about Johnny’s height?”
Another nod from Katie.
“Who’s the tallest out of Billy, Ranulph, and Henry?” I tried to picture them, but all I got were lurid flashes of them wearing their finest ladies’ outfits, and the heels they all wore didn’t help when it came to getting their true heights.
Helen gave a sigh and bit her bottom lip. “That would be Henry.”
Chapter 20
“Henry’s our killer?” I shot an apprehensive look at Helen, who’d gone worryingly pale.
She waved a hand in the air. “You told me to be careful of him, but I wouldn’t listen.”
I patted her shoulder and looked at Katie and Johnny. “Did either of you have a falling out with Henry before you died?”
Katie shook her head and Johnny shrugged.
“They don’t have a problem with Henry,” I said to Helen. “It might not be him.”
“But he’s the tallest,” said Helen, as she sank against the garage wall. “It must be him. I’ve fallen for a killer.”
“We don’t know for sure.” I grabbed her arm and pulled her towards me. “But we need to find out.”
“You want me to snoop on my future husband, don’t you,” said Helen, her expression glum.
“He won’t be anyone’s future husband if he killed Katie and Johnny.” I took a deep breath. “But, yes, I think we do need to go and see what he’s up to.”
Katie shot in front of my face and gestured to me, before pointing out of the garage.
“Calm down,” I said to her. “We don’t know for certain Henry is involved in your deaths, but we’re going to find out more. Don’t go disappearing on me now. And I promise I’ll find you and give you an update as soon as I can.”
Katie pressed a cold hand to my face, before blinking out of sight with Johnny.
I looked over at Helen and saw her head hanging low. “Are you up to this? I can investigate Henry on my own if you don’t want to be involved.”
Helen pulled in a long breath and then straightened her shoulders. “I’ll be fine. If Henry is the killer, then I need to know. No point in wasting my affections on a cross-dressing killer.”
“Yes, the cross-dressing issue is the most important one here,” I said, as I shook my head. “I can’t see you sharing your wardrobe with him.”
“Exactly.” Helen shoved open the garage door and stalked out in front of me. “We need to get this sorted out either way. If I’m intending to get married to a murderer, then it’s important I know all the facts.”
I grinned at her. Helen was made of stern stuff. She’d get over this.
We hurried back to Billy’s apartment and stationed ourselves outside a window. From the sound of the raucous laughter inside, they were enjoying themselves. Maybe they didn’t find high heels such a pain to wear as I did.
“I hope they’re not too long,” muttered Helen.
“Let’s get comfortable.” I sat on the ground and rested my back against the wall. Flipper lay next to me and placed his head on my knee.
After some muttering, Helen joined us. “We should bust in and accuse them all. Might make one of them confess, or at least point the finger at somebody else.”
“Or, we could end up in a room full of angry men, and one of them is a killer. I’m not keen on doing that.”
“It would save us having to get damp butts sitting out here,” said Helen.
“I’m happy to have a damp bottom if it means I get to stay alive.”
Helen grumbled some more, before settling into a comfortable position and leaning back against the wall.
“You take the first watch,” I said.
“What are you doing to do?”
“Some deep thinking.”
>
Two hours later, I jerked my head up.
“Glad you’re back with us,” muttered Helen. “You left me undefended.”
“Flipper’s here to look after you. And I wasn’t sleeping.” I wiped my hand across my mouth, and noticed Flipper was sound asleep next to me. “Did I miss anything?”
“The party’s breaking up,” said Helen. “Someone just slammed a door. That’s what woke you.”
“We need to follow Henry, then,” I said. “See where he goes next.”
“I hate spying on my boyfriend,” whispered Helen. “It feels so deceitful.”
“He could be a killer,” I said. “If he is, then he’s hiding a big, horrible secret from you. And you should never hide things in a new relationship.”
“Definitely not things like that,” said Helen. “Come on, I can see Henry. He’s walking across the garden towards his estate. He showed me a shortcut when we were on our date.”
“Lead the way.” I scrambled to my feet.
I looked down at Flipper who was still snoring softly on the ground. “Why aren’t you complaining about Flipper being asleep?”
“He’s a dog,” said Helen. “Sleeping is his favorite hobby.”
“He’s supposed to be keeping us safe,” I said.
“That’s only relevant when it comes to ghosts,” said Helen.
I patted Flipper on the head, and he blearily opened his eyes and blinked at me. “Some guard dog you are. We’ve got suspects to track, and there’s a killer on the loose.”
Flipper stood and shook his fur, before looking at me with his pale-blue eyes, his ears erect.
I pointed in the direction Henry was going. “Track that suspect.”
Helen and I followed after Flipper, who was pointing his nose in the right direction. I honestly didn’t know if he was tracking Henry or the scent of a pheasant.
“How are you going to get Henry to confess?” asked Helen.
“Not sure yet,” I said. “The only evidence we’ve got to go on is his cross-dressing and the insistence by two ghosts that they were killed by a tall, ugly woman.”
“You could tell him you had a vision or a dream that Katie was telling you Henry killed her.”
