“That’s right,” Mom agreed. “But you might want to burn some sage, just in case those rumors about Jedediah’s ghost really are true.”
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No sooner had Mom and Millie left, than the front door opened and I heard the Biddefords come in. At least they wouldn’t be digging up the yard tonight. The police had taken their shovels, but I also doubted they would be so cold-hearted to want to dig when that’s how their brother had been killed. I lurked in the hallway, hidden by the staircase—not to eavesdrop, but to give them some privacy. Okay, maybe Iwanted to eavesdrop a little. They were my prime suspects and one of them might say something incriminating.
“I think a nice simple service with no wake is fine,” Carla said. “We don’t really need to rub elbows with any of Bob’s unsavory acquaintances, so there’s no need for a wake.”
“If the police ever release the body,” Earl said.
“Maybe someone could do a cheese sculpture of a dove to put on top of the casket?” Doris asked.
The kids mumbled their agreement.
“White cheddar would work well for that,” Paula said.
“Boy that Marinara Mariner sure has spicy sauce. I’ll be up all night.” Earl burped.
“Maybe you shouldn’t have eaten so much,” Carla said. I could hear her sniffing. “Did Josie bake something? Maybe we should make sure the kitchen isn’t on fire.”
The siblings laughed and I resisted the urge to march right out there and give them a piece of my mind. I’d burned a few loaf cakes since the Biddefords had been here, but I didn’t burneverything I put in the oven.
“I’m going to bed to see if I can get some sleep,” Arlene said. “It’s kind of freaky knowing there is a murderer running around. I knew this town was weird. Luckily, we’ll only be here a few more days. I don’t even care about the town celebration or how Earl’s ancestors practically founded Oyster Cove anymore.”
“You can say that again,” Carla agreed. “And honestly, I don’t know if I want to sleep in this creepy old house with Jedediah Biddeford’s ghost rambling around. I don’t want to be his next victim.”
“You don’t really think there is a ghost here, do you?” Arlene scoffed.
“That’s what they’re saying in town.”
Great. People were starting to believe this murdering ghost nonsense. Now even the current guests were afraid to stay. I heard the stairs creaking as they all went up to bed.
“You know, it would make sense that it would be Jed’s ghost,” Earl said. “I mean, who else would want to kill Bob?”
“You mean other than one ofush?” Paula slurred.
“Yeah,” Earl said. “Maybe Bob really did find something and Jed made good on his curse to harm whoever messed with his treasure.”
“Stop it!” Arlene admonished. “I won’t sleep a wink. There’s no such thing as ghosts.”
“Well I, for one, hope there really is,” Doris said. “And I hope Jed is rambling around in here. In fact, I hope he pays me a visit tonight.”
“Why is that?” Henry asked.
“Because then maybe I can persuade him to tell me where he hid the darn treasure!”
Eighteen
The cats had been sitting silently at my feet the whole time I listened to the Biddefords’ conversation. They blinked up at me as if in agreement that the whole family was crazy. But was one of them a killer?
Nero rubbed his face on my ankle and then looked up at me adoringly. I could see why people got so attached to the furry creatures. I was really starting to like them, they could be very friendly and attentive. They were especially attentive when I headed toward the fridge and got out some cheese and an apple for a snack.
“You guys want a snack too? Okay maybe a little cheese.” I broke off two pieces and added it to my plate. At their protesting meows I articulated, “You can have these up in our room after I get this quiche out of the oven.”
Ourroom. Who knew I’d be thinking of the cats as part of my family in that way?
Meow!they chorused.
Sounded like they’d understood. But when I started toward the back stairs, after securing the quiche in the fridge, the cats meowed loudly… prancing off in the direction of the butler’s pantry. Did they not understand we were going to our room? Or maybe I was the one who didn’t understand. I decided to follow them and find out.
As I started toward them Nero’s tail twitched and he trotted off even further, casting glances over his shoulder as if to make sure I was following. I’d determined he was the smarter of the two after watching them interact. Marlowe seemed younger, more impetuous. Marlowe had trotted ahead not even looking back, her tail waving in the air like a flag to follow.
The other side of the pantry opened into the hallway. At first, I thought they’d go toward the west wing. That seemed to be where everything happened. Bodies, skeletons, who knew what would be next? To my relief, they veered off to the right continuing down the hall to the conservatory.
Oh no. Was something wrong in there now? Had Ed started work and uncovered something dastardly or, even worse, been injured? I’d given Ed the day off but it would be just like him to come in and work anyway. The room was off the beaten path and no one would be walking past it to look in and see if someone was hurt in there.
We came to the French doors that opened into the room and my fears were put to rest when I saw it was empty except for the plants Millie had given me. Maybe the cats were trying to remind me to water them.
“Nice try, guys. Everything looks fine in here.” I scanned the room. Even in its dilapidated state, it was clearly once lovely. Large Palladian windows—most of which were temporarily boarded up—ran the length of the room and French doors opened to the overgrown garden. The moon shone in from the one window not boarded, creating a swatch of silver light on the floor. Wait… what was that shadow on the floor, over by the giant ficus tree?
The cats trotted over. Uh oh… was this why they’d come here? Dread washed over me. The cats always seemed to insist on summoning humans when something terrible had happened.
The electricity had been shut off to this room, so I ventured in to get a closer look. I bent down slowly… phew! It was only dirt.
“Hey, did you guys do this?” I asked.
The cats looked up at me, the moonlight reflected in their eyes, making them glow bright. I inspected the ficus. Yep, looked like someone had rummaged in the dirt. I was pretty sure the cats liked to dig, I’d seen them digging outside.
“It’s not nice to dig in the house. That’s for outside.”
They gave off some confused meows. Nero batted at the dirt.
“Don’t spread it around or you won’t get any treats.” I tapped the plate with the cheese.
Mew!
Marlowe had something in the corner. I hoped it wasn’t a mouse. She crouched down and swatted. It rolled out toward me. Thankfully too small to be a mouse. I bent down to pick it up. A shiny nail? Had Ed been working in here? He’d said he hadn’t started here yet.
I stood and looked around. I didn’t see any tools or any evidence that work had been done. The nail could have come from anywhere though, the cats were known for batting things around and then leaving them in other rooms. They particularly liked the plastic water bottle caps. They must have batted the nail in here all the way from the ballroom.
They were looking up at me as if expecting praise. I held the nail out to them.“I don’t think it’s a good idea to be batting nails all over the house. A guest could step on one and become injured.”
The cats looked at each other, shook their heads and trotted off. I looked back at the dirt as I left. Too bad I couldn’t train them to pick it up. I’d have to have Flora do it. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to have plants in the house with the cats? And they must not be as smart as I’d been giving them credit for if they led me to their mess.