“I’m afraid not, ma’am,” Benny said. “I was raised in New York City. My mother earned a living as a seamstress for Broadway shows.”
“Oh, I thought you were both raised in California,” I said.
“Nope.”
“Then how did you have an internship at a picture studio?” Eleanor asked.
“I moved to California to attend college there. I met Wallace at the JFK Airport.”
“Interesting enough, I was leaving for college, too, that day,” Wallace said.
“That’s a shame,” Rosa Lee mused. “You know, if you went out to pick strawberries, I could make you shortcake.”
Rosa Lee walked both Benny and Wallace to where the strawberries were growing, handing them each a bucket to collect the ripe ones.
Eleanor and I busied ourselves making the biscuits for the shortcake just as my cell phone rang.
“Where are you?” I asked Andrew.
“Where are you?”
“Oh, we’re at Rosa Lee’s house, making biscuits for strawberry shortcake. Why?”
“Just checking to see if you were with Sara. I can’t seem to get ahold of her.”
“Us either, but we’ll sure check back at the mansion, unless you want to.”
“No, go ahead, just let me know whether you find her or not. Her agent is having quite the fit about her disappearance.”
“Don’t get me thinking Sara is missing now,” I said.
“Let’s give her some time, I’m sure she’ll call me back when she’s ready,” Andrew said.
“If Sara is missing, you know Sheriff Peterson or the state police won’t even be out looking for her. Well, not unless they suspect foul play. We’ll do a wellness check at the mansion just as soon as we eat the strawberry shortcake. Rosa Lee managed to get those young men who are taking us around town to pick the berries.”
Andrew laughed as he ended the call.
“Sara’s missing?” Eleanor asked.
“Let’s hope she’s just laying low. I like it better that way.”
“I couldn’t say I’d blame her.”
“Blame who for what?” Rosa Lee asked, as she led Benny and Wallace inside.
“Andrew hasn’t been able to get ahold of Sara Knoxville. Andrew is my husband and Sara’s attorney,” I explained to the men.
“What are we going to do about that?” Wallace asked.
“We’re going to the Butler Mansion after dessert.”
Chapter Eight
MY STOMACH IS GOING to explode,” Eleanor complained.
“Not if mine does first,” Wallace said. “We probably shouldn’t have eaten so many strawberries while we were picking them.”
“It was hard not to when they were so sweet and juicy.”
“Rosa Lee has a green thumb,” I said.
Benny made the turn into the driveway of the Butler Mansion and when the car finally rumbled to a stop, I noticed only Millicent’s car was in the parking lot.
“It looks like nobody is here,” Wallace pointed out.
“Millicent’s car is here. Hopefully she knows where Sara might be.”
“Don’t bother with that wheelchair,” I said, as I stepped from the car. “I won’t be able to manage the few steps in it anyway.”
“We could lift your chair over those few steps,” Benny countered.
“I know, but I’d hate to put a mark on the lovely mahogany floors of the mansion.”
Eleanor rolled her eyes. “Fine, I’ll grab your cane instead, but don’t blame me if you fall on your face.”
“Or if you hurt your ankle even more, earning you more time in that wheelchair,” Benny said, as he held the camera.
“Fine,” I conceded, adding, “But don’t blame me if you hurt your back lifting the wheelchair.”
Eleanor pushed the wheelchair toward the mansion and I gasped when Wallace picked me up like I weighed nothing.
“Um, please put me down,” I pleaded with him.
“I will just as soon as we are at the top of the stairs.”
Once we reached the top, Eleanor pushed me through the doorway of the mansion much to my chagrin, but at least Wallace wasn’t still carrying me!
“Oh, my, Agnes,” Millicent said. “I didn’t know you were frail enough that you needed to be carried around by a handsome man. I-I mean, that you needed help. Oh, bother ... Never mind.”
Wallace smiled. “Thanks. I rarely get a compliment that nice.”
“So, what brings you by?” Millicent asked, as her hands went to her hips.
“Andrew has been trying to find Sara, but she won’t return his phone calls.”
Millicent bit a fingernail. “Oh, my, that doesn’t sound good.”
“So, you’re saying you haven’t seen Sara today?” Eleanor asked.
“No. I mean, she wasn’t here when I arrived, but neither were her guests.”
“I thought they were all staying here?”
“Oh, but they are. Of course I can’t say where they are right now. Maybe Sara took her friends out for a lovely drive along U.S. 23, or maybe they went fishing?” Millicent suggested.
“I can’t see Roman Douglas fishing.” Wallace laughed. “Filming someone fishing is more like it.”
“Is he a snob?” Eleanor asked.
“Eleanor!” I gasped.
“How did he seem when you met him?” Wallace asked.
“He was kind enough to have suggested we be filmed. Even if we haven’t allowed you to go everywhere with us.”
“I still don’t understand why you wouldn’t let us film at Rosa Lee’s house,” Benny said. “She’s a real hoot.”
“Country people can be like that,” Wallace added.
“Country?” I asked sharply.
“Well, she has a garden.”
“And so do a majority of people, I might add.”
“All I’m saying is that she’s a lively character.”
“She’s not a character, she’s our friend.”
“Can I take a quick look around?” Benny asked. “I’d certainly like to film the mansion.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Eleanor said. “You wouldn’t want to get Millicent in trouble, would you?”
“What could it hurt?” Benny asked, as he approached the stairs.
“Besides that the mansion is haunted, you mean?” Eleanor asked with a snicker. “Go on upstairs, if you dare,” she finished with a menacing voice.
“I hope you know Benny will only want to go upstairs even more now,” Wallace said.
“Take a look upstairs, but the rooms are off limits,” Millicent said. “They’re all booked up for the night.”
Benny and Wallace moved up the stairs and I turned my attention back to Millicent. “Are you positive you don’t know where Sara might have gone off to?”
“Look, it’s not like she checks in with me before she goes anywhere.”
“I understand that. I just don’t know where else to go from here.” I sighed. “Did Sara mention how her party went?” I asked.
She shook her head.
“Any problems?” Eleanor asked. “Scandals?” She snapped her fingers in Millicent’s face. “Come on and spill it. You’re the manager here. You must have heard something.”
I took ahold of Eleanor’s arms and pulled her back. “Dear, we didn’t come here to harass poor Millicent.”
“I hardly think Millicent wants to be referred to as ‘poor’ Millicent.”
“I d-don’t,” Millicent stuttered. “What I meant is, don’t call me poor anything. It makes me sound pathetic. Just because I don’t have a man in my life doesn’t mean you need to rub it in.”
“See what you did, Eleanor?”
“I believe it was you who used the word ‘poor’ with Millicent’s name.”
“Oh, right. By the way, I don’t think you need a man in your life unless you want one,” I said.
“Maybe we should check on the men,” Millicent said. “What if they go into the attic?”
“Oh, you mean the one that is supposedly haunted by the original owners of the Butler Mansion? I wouldn’t worry about that,” I said.
I tried to minimize thoughts about the few times Eleanor and I have encountered what we believed might have been a ghost. Neither of us wanted to put any more thought into it than that.
Eleanor walked to the staircase and down came the two men we had spoken with briefly at the pizzeria ... Tom and Damon.
“What are you gentlemen doing here?” I asked with a frown.
“Yeah,” Eleanor said. “I thought you were planning to crash the party Sara held here the other night.”
“We had a little transportation problem,” Tom said.
“As in Tom forgot to gas up and we ran out of gas. It took a little longer for the wrecker to arrive,” Damon explained. “We would have huffed it if we weren’t dressed up.”
“To the Butler Mansion or the gas station?” I asked.
“The gas station, of course. It’s not like we could take a taxi or hop aboard a bus here.”
I nodded. “You’re right about that. I’m shocked it would take the wrecker driver so long to come to your aid.”
“Are you calling me a liar?” Tom hissed.
“Why are you getting so excited?” Eleanor asked. “Agnes wasn’t saying that at all. We just know Jimmy, the man who owns the towing company. He’s very dependable.”
“Not last night he wasn’t, but no sense in discussing this any longer.”
“Do you have rooms booked here?”
“We had one room come available today,” Millicent said. “Actress Brandy Stokes left quite suddenly. I’d rather not speculate the reason.”
“It was kind of Brandy to give us a heads up,” Damon began, “and of course Millicent here was so gracious to allow us to book the room in her stead.”
“A full room is always better than a vacancy.” Millicent smiled. “Actually, we’ve never had a vacancy here at the mansion since it opened as a bed and breakfast.”
“Could we speak privately, gentlemen?” I asked.
“Not now. We’re late for an appointment,” Tom said. “Perhaps we’ll catch up with you another time.”
I pointed at the front door after the men left. “Hurry, Eleanor, what car are they driving? We only saw Millicent’s car when we arrived.”
“They’re parked in the back,” Millicent said, as she flipped though her registration book. “They’re driving a yellow Lincoln.”
“It’s a beater, from the looks of it,” Eleanor said, as she spied the car from behind the curtains.
“I can’t even imagine having a yellow Lincoln.”
“It should be easy to spot. It’s school-bus yellow.”
“Do you happen to have any of that wonderful cherry pie we always order when we come here, Millicent?” I asked.
“Funny, I don’t remember you ever ordering pie, but I’ll meet you in the dining room all the same.”
I allowed Eleanor to wheel me into the dining room. The large oval table was covered with a lace tablecloth and there was a bouquet of pink and white roses centered on the table that matched the wallpaper.
Eleanor plopped down and sighed. “I hope you plan to ask Millicent a few more questions.”
“You know me too well.”
“And so do I,” Millicent said, as she whirled into the room balancing three plates of cherry pie. She set them down and the plates slid right across the slippery tabletop, much to my surprise. “I’ll be right back with milk and silverware,” she said.
“Don’t forget the Cool Whip,” I said.
“Don’t push it, Agnes,” Eleanor cautioned.
Millicent managed to set down the full milk glasses and a container of Cool Whip without incident. Eleanor and I quickly topped off our pie with a huge scoop of Cool Whip.
“So, go ahead and bombard me with questions, ladies.”
“Why did you allow Tom and Damon to book the empty room? To my knowledge they don’t even know Sara.”
“Knowing Sara is not a prerequisite to booking a room here.”
“Oh, but I thought with all of her Hollywood friends here, she planned on privacy.”
“There is plenty of privacy and neither Tom nor Damon have made any indication that they wished to speak to any of the other guests.”
“Did they take any meals with them?”
Millicent was lost in thought for the moment. “Didn’t I mention they just checked in?”
“So, you have nothing to add about the men?” Eleanor asked.
“Sorry but no.” Millicent frowned. “I’m sorry you wasted your time coming here.”
“Actually, I’m finding it hard to believe you didn’t overhear any conversations from the guests last night. I mean, it’s not like you can shut off your ears.”
Millicent frowned again. “I know that, but Sara relies on my discretion. I won’t betray her confidences.”
Eleanor interlaced her fingers. “Ah, now we’re getting somewhere.”
“Oh, no, we’re not.”
“Aren’t you a little concerned where Sara went off to?” I asked.
“Sara has always come and gone as she pleases. And I would tell you if I knew where she was, if only to get you two off my back.”
“I admire you, Millicent, but we really need to know if there were any problems at last night’s party.”
“Beside you breaking your leg?”
“I sprained my ankle,” I insisted.
Millicent forked a chunk of pie into her mouth, appearing deep in thought as she chewed. “I know I can trust you ladies, but I’m afraid I’ll lose my job if I tell you anything. It doesn’t matter anyway, since gossip does and will happen.”
“Sorry, I’m confused. Are you planning to tell us some juicy details or what?” I asked.
“The ‘or what’ is what I want to hear,” Eleanor said, as she wiped her mouth with a napkin.
Millicent leaned forward. “It appears that Brandy left in a huff ... something to do with an argument she had with Liv.”
“Is Liv staying here?”
“Neither Liv nor Nash booked rooms here. They probably booked rooms at the Tawas Bay Beach Resort. I’d check that.”
I tried to not let on that I knew where Nash and Liv were staying and that it certainly wasn’t at the Beach Resort Hotel. “Who else is staying here?”
“Well, that director Roman and his wife Coco. Laith Ahmed, I believe you met him at the party. Oh, and Woody Wentworth.”
“He’s the man who spotted me deterring the purse snatcher’s retreat,” I said with a nod.
Millicent continued, “Sara’s book publisher, Julian Seals.”
“Are any of them here now?” Eleanor asked hesitantly.
“No, they all left after breakfast, including the new arrivals.”
“And you’re not aware of their destinations for the day?”
“Sorry, but I don’t know. Why don’t you drop by later? I’m sure all the guests will be here after dinner.”
“Unless they plan to stay elsewhere for the night,” Eleanor suggested.
“They didn’t take any bags big enough for overnight bags,” Millicent said, as the dining room door was flung open.
“Oh, there you are,” Wallace said, his breathing erratic, as if he had run a long distance.
“Where is Benny?” I asked.
“He’s outside trying to find another camera lens.”
“What happened to his lens?” Eleanor asked.
Wallace scratched the back of his head. “It’s the strangest thing, really. This is an amazing mansion. And while we were in awe over the woodwork, we inadvertently entered through a third-story door.”
“There’s a sign to keep out of that room,” Millicent said firmly.
“I know that now, but whenever I see a keep out sign, I just have to investigate.”
“Are you getting to the point soon?” I asked bluntly.
“Yes! It’s such a cute room th
at we weren’t certain why you wouldn’t allow the guests to see it.” He swallowed hard. “That’s what we thought before objects randomly fell to the floor.”
“It was probably a cross breeze. You know how old houses can be,” I said.
“I suppose so, but when a photograph fell and broke ... so did the camera lens.”
“Are you saying a picture frame was broken?” I asked suddenly.
“I’m really sorry about that, but it wasn’t our fault. I swear. It just flew to the floor and broke.”
“We better check that out,” I said. “Or Eleanor and Millicent can, since I can’t manage the stairs.”
“I-I don’t want to go up there,” Eleanor said with chattering teeth.
“I’ll take care of it,” Millicent said. “I’ll be sure that door stays locked in the future.”
“Make sure that you do,” I said. “It’s rumored that the mansion is haunted.” I laughed. “Several guests have reported paranormal activity in that room, too.”
“Can we please leave now? I can imagine you’ve asked this lovely lady enough questions already,” Wallace said.
“I think I like you.” Millicent blushed. “I-I mean, you’re right.”
I held back a laugh when we were back inside the vehicle. We left Wallace to do the explaining to Benny about what happened upstairs, or what allegedly occurred. Eleanor and I have seen a few unusual things in the past, but nothing like objects falling to the floor as Wallace claimed. No, cold spots were the extent of it.
When the men were back inside the car, Benny laughed nervously. “You must think we’re a couple of wimps.”
“Not if you went to the third floor.”
“I’d rather drop this conversation. I’m just glad I had a spare video camera lens. They’re not cheap and I can’t imagine I could find one in this sleepy town.” He smiled.
Chapter Nine
“DID THE MANAGER KNOW where Sara might have gone?” Benny asked on the way to the sheriff’s department.
“No, and we only spoke with two of the guests today, but they don’t even know Sara personally, from my knowledge.”
“Are you certain it’s a good idea to speak to the sheriff now?” Benny asked.
“He’s right,” Eleanor said. “Sheriff Peterson isn’t going to launch an investigation into Sara’s whereabouts unless we have evidence of foul play.”
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