The premeditation disturbed her. The fact that someone had poured water on the stairs with the intention of causing an accident—fatal as it turned out—sickened her. Suddenly she wished they were all out of the house and had never come in the first place. An’gel should have sent Rosabelle packing. She should never have let her in the door, Dickce thought. But no, Sister had to play the great and generous lady to an old friend in need. Bet Sister’s regretting it now. She allowed herself a small, spiteful grin before her thoughts shifted inevitably back to the crime.
Crime. The word resonated in her head for a moment. Yes, it was a crime. Murder, in fact. There was no way that water got on the stairs by accident.
Dickce shivered. Which member of Rosabelle’s family hated her enough to want to kill her? None of them, except Juanita and perhaps Junior, had any manners to speak of, but being rude didn’t identify a person as a murderer.
Junior and Benjy were out of the running, she decided. Neither of them had an opportunity to put water on the stairs. Junior had meant to help his mother and aunt with their bags, but there had been no time. He and Benjy had gone straight to the parlor with An’gel and remained there until both Dickce and An’gel witnessed the final moments of Marla Stephens’s fall.
Dickce felt pleased by what she determined was proof of innocence in Benjy’s case. She couldn’t explain why, but she felt drawn to the boy despite his appearance. Why would anyone want rings in his eyebrows? Rebellion, she supposed, happy that part of her life was over long ago. She glanced down at the cat beside her. Diesel obviously sensed goodness in Benjy as well; otherwise, he wouldn’t have taken so quickly to him. The cat seemed to be an excellent judge of character, and Dickce decided she would trust the cat’s instincts and her own.
The deputy interrupted her reverie with a cough. “Miss Ducote, Chief Deputy Berry would like you to join her in the other room now.”
Dickce smiled at the earnest expression. “I’m ready, Deputy,” she said as she stood. Diesel stretched again before he jumped to the floor to follow her.
The deputy escorted her and the cat across the hall to the parlor and opened the door for them. Dickce thought Diesel might go in search of Benjy or head to the kitchen, but he came into the parlor with her.
Dickce wasn’t surprised to see An’gel ensconced on the sofa. She wondered whether her sister had been there the entire time Kanesha was interviewing Rosabelle’s family. Trust An’gel to be in the middle of it all, she thought with a tinge of resentment.
Kanesha stood. “Miss Dickce, I’m sorry I had to leave you for last. I know it must have been pretty tedious having to wait for so long.” She glanced down at Diesel. “I’m assuming you had company, though.”
Dickce smiled. “Yes, Diesel was there the whole time.” She took a seat beside her sister. The cat climbed up into the space between them and arranged himself across both their laps. “Have you been here all along?”
An’gel shook her head. “No, of course not. Kanesha called me back in just now so the three of us could talk.”
“First,” Kanesha said, “I’d like Miss Dickce to take me through what happened this afternoon from her perspective.” She flipped to a new page in her notebook.
Dickce took a moment to marshal her thoughts. “It all started when An’gel made the mistake of letting Rosabelle in the house.” She cut a sideways glance at her sister. She could see that An’gel was not amused. Dickce was tempted to stick out her tongue, but she knew this was a serious matter. She focused on complying with the chief deputy’s request.
“Thank you,” Kanesha said when Dickce finished. “Now, I’d like to clarify a point or two. To your knowledge, did either Mr. Pittman or Mr. Stephens have an opportunity to go upstairs today?”
“I was thinking about that while I was waiting,” Dickce said. “I’m sure that neither of them did. I took Junior Pittman out to the garage apartment while An’gel took his aunt, his mother, and his cousin upstairs. He was with me the entire time until we came back to the house. That’s when he accompanied An’gel to the parlor.”
“And Mr. Stephens?” Kanesha prompted.
“Mr. Pittman and I found him in the garage apartment. I don’t see any way he could have gotten into the house without our knowing it. He came with Junior and me into the kitchen, and then he went with An’gel and Junior to the parlor.”
“Thank you, ma’am,” Kanesha said. She closed the notebook and put it aside on the table near her chair. “At this point I’m reasonably certain we can rule out Mr. Pittman and Mr. Stephens as being responsible for what happened. And the two of you, of course.” Kanesha smiled briefly.
Dickce was pleased to hear that Kanesha didn’t regard Benjy as a suspect. Or Junior either, she thought. He seemed like a nice young man.
Kanesha continued, “Earlier I asked Miss An’gel how she felt about allowing your guests to remain here. We discussed the situation, and I told her I would arrange for them to be accommodated at one of the hotels in the area.”
“I said I thought it best to keep them all here,” An’gel said.
“Why on earth?” Dickce asked. She wasn’t really surprised, but she wanted to hear her sister’s reasoning.
“It will be easier for us to keep an eye on Rosabelle,” An’gel said, her tone firm. “I am not happy harboring a murderer in this house, but I don’t think he or she will try again as long as they’re here. I would fear for Rosabelle’s safety if they moved into a hotel.”
And out of your control, Dickce thought somewhat snidely. Except that An’gel hadn’t been able to stop the killer the first time.
“Besides,” An’gel said, her gaze narrowing as she looked at Dickce, “I’ve arranged with Kanesha to hire off-duty deputies to remain in the house with us for a few days until the case is solved.”
“What a good idea,” Dickce replied. “Whoever arranged that nasty fall for Rosabelle will probably think twice about trying something funny with an officer of the law in the house.”
“I should certainly hope so.” An’gel gave an unladylike snort. She turned to Kanesha. “Is there anything else you need from us right now?”
“No, ma’am,” Kanesha said. “I need to check on the status of the evidence search, and as soon as it’s done, I will let your guests go to their rooms.” She glanced at her watch. “I imagine you’ll be ready to have dinner before long. It’s nearly seven o’clock.”
“Goodness, yes,” Dickce said. Now that she thought about food, she realized she was ravenous. Lunch was a long time ago, and she had eaten only a few bites of the snacks she took to the library for Rosabelle’s family members. “I should go see how Clementine’s getting along. I’m sure she’s wondering when we’re going to serve dinner.” She slid Diesel gently off her lap and stood. The cat chirped in protest at being disturbed, but An’gel patted his head to reassure him.
In the hall Dickce remembered the serving cart and food tray in the library. She decided she might as well retrieve them and take them to the kitchen. She found Rosabelle and her family in the room, watched over by the same young deputy. She was slightly surprised but then realized that this room was larger and more comfortable than the office where each person was sent after the interview with Kanesha.
Dickce explained her errand to the deputy, and he nodded. Then Dickce addressed the assembled guests. “I’m about to go check on dinner. I’m sure it won’t be long before we’re able to eat. For whoever might be hungry,” she said.