Fatality by Firelight

by Lynn Cahoon

  Cat held up her hands. “Hold on a minute, he didn’t say anyone was hurt. Besides, he wants to see the retreat guests as well, so I’m thinking it’s something about Tommy or the book they found for the library.”

  Shauna grabbed a hoodie and zipped it up over her cami. “Whatever it is, I’m not getting dressed up for this late night interrogation. I have to be up at five to start baking tomorrow. You know the last day is always special.”

  “Maybe he won’t keep us long.” Cat looked at her watch. “Besides, it’s not really late.”

  Shauna stepped past her and headed to the stairs. “Says the woman who gets to sleep in tomorrow.”

  As they went down the stairs, Shauna looked back at her. “Maybe I should make some hot chocolate and set out cookies.”

  “The cookies are a good idea, but we’re already on the hot chocolate. Seth should be stirring the pot right now.”

  Shauna’s pace quickened. “If he lets it burn in my new pots, I’m going to ban him from dinner for a month.”

  Instead of going into the living room, Shauna sped into the kitchen. Cat hung out in the doorway, waiting to see which door her uncle would use. Seth joined her and handed her a cup of the cocoa. “I’ve been banned from kitchen duty.”

  “If you’d messed up, she would have banned you from dinner. Which would you rather have?” Cat took the cup and sipped the warm chocolate mixed with whipped cream. “This is good. You didn’t let it burn.”

  He stepped closer. “I do have skills.”

  Cat felt her body reacting to his heat, but then a rap came at the front door. Uncle Pete had arrived. She hurried to let him inside. “What in the world’s going on?”

  He took off his snow-covered boots and his coat and left them in the hallway. “Is everyone together?”

  “I told them to go into the living room. I haven’t counted yet. And Shauna’s getting us treats in the kitchen.” Cat followed him as he walked to the living room.

  “Go get her. We don’t need treats for this discussion.” He turned right into the living room. As Cat pushed the door open to the kitchen, she heard him address the group. “Sorry to disturb all of you so late, but I needed to ask you a few questions about what you may have seen at the library tonight.”

  Cat found Shauna finishing the treat tray. “He’s in a mood and says it’s not a treat kind of discussion.”

  “Too late, I’m done.” Shauna picked up the tray and headed toward the living room. “Did he say what it was about?”

  “He said he had to talk to them about what happened tonight at the library.” Cat snagged a cookie off the tray and followed her. “So the question is, what did happen tonight at the library?”

  Chapter 15

  Uncle Pete waited at the door to the living room. He shook his head as Shauna offered him a cookie. After Cat and Shauna found a place to sit, he looked around the room. “Sorry to bother you all this late at night, but there’s been an incident at the library.”

  “Please tell me no one’s hurt,” Christina blurted out. “You all may be used to people dying around you, but I’ve had just about enough of the underbelly of human actions. I want to talk about snow angels and hot chocolate.” She filled a cup from the carafe on the table.

  “No one’s hurt,” Uncle Pete said.

  Bella broke in. “That’s a relief. I mean, one dead guy, one attempted kidnapping, one lost book …”

  “Two. Two lost books.” Uncle Pete interrupted. “The one you all found at dinner and a new one—this was a signed copy of a first-edition Hemingway. Much rarer. And it disappeared from the exhibit tonight during the reception.”

  Cat sank back into the couch. This was getting seriously out of hand. “We were all at the reception, so why are you here?”

  “That’s a good question.” Uncle Pete looked around the room. “I have video of most of you arriving together promptly at six. Did anyone leave the conference room alone after you arrived?”

  Jeffrey nodded. “I went to the restroom, but I didn’t leave the floor.”

  The others shook their heads. All except Christina. Uncle Pete focused on her. “Miss Powers?”

  “This is going to look bad. But I swear it’s the truth.” Christina looked around at the group. “I went to the restroom too, but there was a long line for the woman’s facility and I knew that each floor had a restroom at the same place by the stairs, so I went down a flight.”

  “The floor where the collection is stored,” Bella whispered. “Girl, you know how to put yourself in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

  Christina glared at her. “I didn’t do anything. I peed, washed my hands, then went back up to the party.”

  “Were there lights on?” Now Uncle Pete was writing in his notebook again. “What time was this?”

  “Just before the presentation. I could see they were getting ready, so that’s another reason why I didn’t want to wait in line.” Christina paused, seeming to imagine the scene in her head. “The bathroom lights were off, but when I opened the door, the sensor saw me. But the stairwell and the rest of the area was fully lit. I didn’t think anything of it except for they had the bathrooms on a different sensor. But that’s not true, is it? You think that’s when it was taken? Oh my God. Oh my God.” Christina repeated the phrase, over and over. “I could have been killed or taken again.”

  Cat rushed to Christina’s side when the girl started hyperventilating. “Just breathe.”

  “You weren’t taken the first time,” Jeffrey reminded her.

  “All I want is a quiet life with a picket fence and a happy-ever-after. Why am I constantly being thrown into these things?” Christina started crying and Shauna found a box of tissues.

  “Look, the rest of you can go unless you saw something that looked unusual or out of place tonight.” Uncle Pete studied each person for a reaction. When he was satisfied with the lack of any nonverbal clues, he blew out a breath. “Miss Powers, let’s go over what happened one more time. Do you think you can do that for me?”

  As the group left the room, Uncle Pete moved to sit by Christina and Shauna. Cat and Seth huddled in the corner, where they could see the guests taking the staircase to their rooms. Seth took a cookie off the table. “Well, it’s never boring around here.”

  “I would like some boring. Or at least to get through one retreat without a dead body or a stolen treasure. That doesn’t seem to be that big of a wish, is it?” Cat looked at her friends. All she wanted to do was sink into Seth’s arms and cry. She shook away the feeling. She knew she was tired. The problem was being tired always made things seem worse than they truly were. Sure, things were bad, but she’d gotten through worse.

  Christina stood and bolted to the staircase, her hair flying behind her.

  Cat, Seth and Shauna joined Uncle Pete on the couch. Cat noticed her uncle looked as tired as she felt. “So another book was taken? You don’t think it’s a prank like last time?”

  “I’m not sure last time was a prank.” He put his notebook away. “I don’t think Miss Powers had anything to do with the theft, but she’s darn lucky she didn’t get hurt when she wandered into the crime scene. Whoever took it had to be holding their breath while she used the restroom and returned to the party.”

  “What about the library surveillance video? That has to show who was there.” Seth leaned forward with his forearms on his thighs. “I worked on that project a few years ago. The main contractor was out of Denver, so he needed someone local to do the grunt work.”

  Uncle Pete considered Seth. “I knew about the surveillance system, but apparently so did the thief: All the cameras on the floor and any exits were turned off.”

  “I was with your niece the entire time.” Seth turned his gaze on Cat. “You are going to tell him this, right?”

  “Once you parked the car, you were with me for the rest of the time.” Cat thought about the people milling around the room. “What about Dante? Did he leave the room?”

  Uncle Pete sho
ok his head. “The party feed shows him talking to you, then leaving when Seth showed up. I don’t know what kind of game the three of you are playing, but he didn’t leave the room until Miss Applebome closed out the evening.”

  “I came in late, but I was with Kevin the entire time in the parking lot.” Shauna arranged the plate on the cookie tray.

  “We have your actions taped. Even when you and that man of yours were doing shots in the parking lot. By the way, that’s against school policy to drink in the parking lot. You should have come into the party; the library had an open bar.”

  “I think Kevin had other plans.” Shauna stood. “So, if we’re done here, I’ll take this to the kitchen. Then I’m going to my room. I’m beat.”

  “I’m heading home too.” Uncle Pete covered a yawn. “Miss Applebome will be calling first thing tomorrow for an update on the missing book. That woman is relentless and not afraid to tell me how to do my job.”

  “I’ll start up the truck, then hang out in the kitchen until it defrosts.” Seth kissed Cat on the cheek. “You go on upstairs. I’ll use my key on the deadbolt.”

  Cat followed her uncle to the front door. “You really didn’t think any of the guests were part of this heist at the library, did you?”

  “I didn’t, but Miss Applebome did. She wanted to make sure I talked to them before they start disappearing on Sunday.” He put his boots on and then ran both hands over his head. “What about you? Do you think any of your guests might be involved? You tend to have a good gut sense about these things.”

  “I know Christina didn’t have a thing to do with this. That girl is running on her last nerve. I’m afraid it will only get worse when she gets home and returns to Stalker Land.” Cat tried to hide a yawn behind her hand. “The others? Who knows. None of them look like practiced thieves.”

  “Well, I’ll let you get some sleep. I’d hoped this book nonsense had been put to bed. You don’t think someone’s just getting a kick out of reading something a famous guy had signed, do you?”

  Cat pondered the question. “I’m thinking it’s going to be a collector. But I don’t know any one who would give back a book once they stole it for their bookshelf. That part doesn’t make any sense at all.”

  “Unless he already had the book he returned in his collection. Why do people do anything?” Uncle Pete kissed her on the top of her head. “No use thinking about it tonight. Time to grab some z’s. I’m sure this will make more sense in the morning.”

  Cat doubted that, but she locked up after her uncle then checked the kitchen. It was already dark. Shauna upstairs and Seth in his truck. Cat went over to the doorway and checked the lock, just in case.

  When she started to head upstairs, a light shown down the hallway from Michael’s office. Bella must have left it on when she came to the living room to talk to Uncle Pete. Cat opened the door and stepped back when she saw someone at Michael’s desk. When her heart stopped racing and her vision cleared, she realized Bella was furiously scribbling into a notebook, a text open in front of her.

  Just like Michael used to do.

  Bella looked up, confusion at the interruption filling her face. When she saw it was Cat, she smiled. “Sorry, burning some midnight oil here. This stuff is a gold mine. I already checked your December retreat to see if I could just come back next month. But it’s full. You are popular.”

  “If I had another room ready, I’d be glad to open up another spot. Maybe January?” Cat leaned against the doorway, not wanting to enter the room. The feel of Michael still had such power in this room. Maybe it was because she was tired, or maybe she was reacting to Bella working in the study. If she was going to open it to guests, she probably would have to redecorate.

  “I hope to be editing by then.” Bella rolled her shoulders. “I should have most of what I need before I leave on Sunday. I feel like I won the lottery on the subject, though.”

  Cat wished her a good night and, as she left the floor, wondered if she would find the woman asleep on the desk in the morning. Michael had claimed that chair was as comfortable as the bed. Cat couldn’t see it. Memories of her marriage were coming faster these days. She wondered if it was because she was opening his part of the house up for use, or maybe because she herself was opening up her heart again.

  She started the last flight of stairs, a layer of fatigue settling in on her. No matter what, she wouldn’t worry tonight. She was beat.

  *

  Waking the next morning, Cat thought, one more day. Not the most charitable thought and she hated wishing away time, but it had been a long week. She only had to play hostess for one more day. Then the group would start to disappear to the airport, and by dinnertime, she and Shauna would be alone in the house again. They hadn’t even started to talk about plans for Thanksgiving, but Cat assumed they would host a dinner at the end of the month for Uncle Pete, Seth, and maybe Kevin. If he was even in town. Or out of the doghouse by then. She’d mention it to Shauna on Sunday once the retreat guests had left.

  Thinking about the holidays got her planning how she wanted to decorate the living room, with its large mantel. The lobby would host the tree. And she’d put a flameless candle in all of the guest room windows. Feeling more cheerful than she had in days, she dressed and headed downstairs to the kitchen for coffee. Time for writing, but first, she had to fuel her caffeine habit.

  Before going into the kitchen, she checked Michael’s study. No Bella. She crossed over to the desk and looked at the notebook with what appeared to be a genealogy chart. Dante’s name was highlighted with a few generations filled in, but she saw the question marks on the next generation’s names. Apparently, Bella was digging deep into the family connection to the college. Even though it was interesting, Cat thought Bella was going down the research rabbit hole. Sometimes, fiction needs less reality.

  Cat shut the door but left it unlocked so Bella could continue her work once she awoke. She would pop in when she heard the woman come downstairs and impart her unsolicited wisdom.

  As Cat stepped into the kitchen, Shauna called out a cheery good morning. If Cat had drunk half of what her friend had the night before, she’d be in bed all day. “Just here for coffee. How are you doing?”

  “If you mean, am I hung over? No. I don’t seem to get sick from drinking. My metabolism burns off all the alcohol. I was 90 percent sober by the time your uncle left.” Shauna was mixing together something in a large bowl.

  “I’ll let you get back to the baking, then.” Cat filled her cup and a carafe. “I’m upstairs working until the dinner tonight. If someone needs to talk to me, send them up.”

  “Will do.” Shauna turned up the volume on the radio and started swaying to the beat. “I love this song.”

  When Cat reached the second floor, she heard a scuffling sound. Peering down the hall, she saw Jeffrey lean down and stuff something under one of the room doors. She took another step and he scurried back to his room, not even looking to see who had watched him. Counting off the doors, she realized he’d been at Christina’s door. Had the poet taken a chance to reveal his feelings for the woman before the retreat was over? Or was something else going on?

  Christina needed some good in her life, but was Jeffrey what she needed? The guy was intense.

  As she thought about the idea, a scene for the book filled her mind and her fingers itched to get into her office and writing. Maybe having retreats wasn’t going to kill her writing energy as much as she’d thought. Being around other people could make her own writing more realistic and emotional.

  *

  A knock on the door pulled her out of Kori’s world. She glanced at the clock—almost eleven. “Come in,” she called as she saved her work for the day.

  Bella peeked in around the door. “Sorry to bother you, but—Wow, this is a great office. Look at your view.” She walked inside and paused at the window looking out over Warm Springs.

  “I’ve always loved this office. I can’t say it makes the words fly faster, but it
certainly doesn’t suck.” Cat leaned back in her chair and watched her guest. “I was planning on coming to talk to you anyway. Are you just stretching your legs? I was glad to see you at least got a few hours’ sleep last night.”

  “Well, technically, it was this morning.” Bella turned back and watched Cat. “I do have one question I need to ask about your ex-husband.”

  “Shoot.” Cat wondered if it would be the standard question about Michael: How did you let this smart, funny, organized guy go?

  “He writes about putting copies of articles in ‘the blue folder.’ Do you have any idea where that could be?” Bella had dark circles under her eyes, and Cat figured she must have gotten only a few hours’ sleep. She could sleep on the plane, Cat guessed, but she hated seeing anyone dragging this badly.

  “Really, I don’t. I have several boxes they brought over from the college, but he didn’t keep much in his home office.” Cat thought about the hidden office and boxes of files she’d taken from the attic last month. Had any of those been blue?

  “Well, it was worth a shot. I thought maybe he might have a list of some additional resources he used.” She stretched her arms over her head. “A couple more hours, then I’m taking a nap before we go out tonight. My plane leaves early so, if it’s okay, I’ll spend most of tonight after the dinner in the study.”

  “Whatever you want. I can set a wake-up call for you tomorrow. Ask Shauna for some snacks to get you through the session. Sugar tends to keep me running long after my normal bedtime. Are you starting to write?” Cat asked, hoping she wouldn’t have to do the lecture.

  “The book’s written. All I have to do is go back and make sure my family theory is valid. I thought I told you that.” Bella smiled as she said, “You must have thought I’d be falling into the research twilight zone.”

  Cat watched as Bella made her way out of the office. At the door, Bella paused and turned to face Cat.

  “You told me to leave the note papers in the books?”