She checked her watch. Nearly six o’clock. She’d told Clementine earlier they would eat at seven. The food would be ready, but would everyone want to sit down to dinner together after what happened this afternoon?
If they didn’t, she decided after brief reflection, they could fill their plates and take them to their rooms. She really didn’t care. It might even be less stressful for all of them. She didn’t relish another scene like the ones they had witnessed last night or today.
“Ladies, would you come with me now?”
Startled, An’gel realized the deputy had come to take them to Kanesha. “Of course.” She was more than ready.
She and Dickce followed the deputy across the hall to the library and took their seats in front of the desk. An’gel thought Kanesha looked frustrated and tired, much as she herself probably looked to the chief deputy.
“Have you made any progress?” An’gel asked.
“Hard to tell,” Kanesha replied. “Not a single one of them saw anything that is useful. From what they’ve told me, they all might as well be invisible once they get up on the second floor.” She shook her head. “I thought surely, if I took them through their movements, one of them at least might have seen one of the others coming out of a room, going into one. Anything that could give me a break in this case. But not a single thing.”
“Have you talked to Benjy Stephens yet?” Dickce asked, rather abruptly, An’gel thought.
Kanesha nodded. “Yes, ma’am, before I talked to Signor Mingione. He told me about the water pistol and the rubber spiders.”
“You’re not seriously considering him a suspect because they belonged to him, are you?”
An’gel thought her sister sounded militant all of a sudden, almost as if Benjy were her son instead of someone else’s. What was going on in Dickce’s head? And more important, in her heart?
“They do link him to both murders,” Kanesha said. She held up a hand as if to forestall another protest from Dickce. “I know it’s only circumstantial. According to Mr. Stephens, everyone knew about the water pistol and the rubber spiders. Everyone also had access to his room in California, and I see no reason to doubt that. I am sure he didn’t have the opportunity to go upstairs and set up the accident that killed his mother. I also strongly doubt that he had anything to do with putting those spiders in a towel for someone to find.”
“That’s good,” Dickce said. “He’s a nice boy, and I’m sure he has nothing to do with all this. He simply has the misfortune to be connected to an ill-fated family.”
An’gel thought that made Benjy sound like a Tybalt or a Mercutio, both of whom paid dearly for their membership in two feuding houses. She resisted the urge to snort at her sister’s hyperbole.
“So what’s next?” An’gel asked.
“My first concern is to stop another murder from happening,” Kanesha said.
“Do you really think there will be another attempt on Rosabelle?” An’gel said.
“It’s entirely possible,” Kanesha said. “I don’t think the murderer has achieved his complete purpose yet.”
“Does that mean you think Rosabelle is the intended victim?” Dickce asked.
“Eventually, yes,” Kanesha replied.
“What do you mean by that?” An’gel asked, startled.
Kanesha smiled grimly. “I’m almost certain that Mrs. Pittman was the intended victim today, and not her mother.”
CHAPTER 34
“How can you know that?” An’gel asked.
“I asked them all when they took their baths,” Kanesha said. “I found out that they didn’t know about the water heaters, and none of them likes cold baths. So they discussed it and came up with their own schedule. Mr. Thurmond always showers at night, as does Miss Cameron. They set times an hour apart, although it wasn’t necessary from what you told me.”
“I forgot to tell them about the hot water,” An’gel said. “Did you say anything, Sister?”
“No, I didn’t think of it,” Dickce said.
Kanesha continued with her list. “Mrs. Cameron likes to bathe first thing in the morning, and Mrs. Sultan, or rather, Mrs. Mingione, likes to sleep in. She had her bath shortly before her husband arrived, as it turns out. That left Mrs. Pittman, who decided to have hers after lunch.”
“Antoinette cleaned up in that bathroom while they were all eating lunch,” An’gel said. “She put fresh towels in there.”
“It wasn’t until after Antoinette put in those fresh towels,” Kanesha said, “that the killer hid the spiders inside the one on the top. Antoinette removed three towels from that bathroom and replaced them with four more.”
An’gel considered what Kanesha shared with them and realized the chief deputy was right. Maudine Pittman was the target, not her mother. The evidence seemed clear.
An’gel recalled her conversation with Dickce before they were asked to join Kanesha a few minutes ago. “Maudine was the target for the second murder, then. What about the first one? Do you think Rosabelle was the target, as she claims? Or was Marla the intended victim all along?”
“That depends on the overall motive,” Kanesha said. “What would be the motive if Signora Mingione died before anyone else? The most obvious answer is money. But how much? I think the amount depends on the order in which they die. If the signora dies first, her three children get their money from their fathers’ wills, and then they can do whatever they want with it. Spend it all or leave it to their heirs. If she dies after any of the children, she benefits until her death. I’ve got a call in to her lawyer in California to discuss the situation with him. I don’t know whether I can get him to talk without getting the client involved, but I have to try.”
“Dickce and I were discussing all the possibilities while we were waiting to talk to you,” An’gel said. “The variables make it so difficult to figure anything out.”
“Yes, they do,” Kanesha said. “Ladies, I think I need to remind you that figuring this out is my job. I appreciate everything you’ve done to help, but I want you to be extremely careful. I have no reason to believe that the killer would go after either of you—unless you somehow stand in the way. Please do not do anything that would make the killer think that you are a significant obstacle.”
An’gel appreciated the chief deputy’s concern for their welfare. She did not want to attract the murderer’s attention, nor did Dickce. Of that she was certain. The fact remained, however, that there was a killer in her house. One who had killed twice and, she was convinced, intended to kill again. She wanted it to stop.
She realized Kanesha was waiting for a response. “We both understand.”
“Yes, we do,” Dickce said tartly, with a slight stress on the pronoun.
“I’m going to ask both of you the same thing I asked everyone else,” Kanesha said. “I want you to consider everything you’ve seen, every interaction you’ve had with your guests, and if the slightest thing seems odd, I want you to tell me. It doesn’t matter how trivial it might be. I want to know about it.”
“I’ll do my best,” An’gel said, this time careful not to answer for her sibling. Dickce could be so touchy sometimes about being the younger sister.
“I will, too,” Dickce said.
“One more thing,” Kanesha said, “and then I think we’re done for the moment. I want to post two of my men in the house overnight, along with the off-duty man you’ve hired. I want to monitor everyone’s movements as much as possible. Once everyone has gone to bed, I’ll have my two men remain in the upstairs hall. Your man can patrol the first floor. Is that all right with you?”
“I’m frankly relieved,” An’gel said. “Very pleased as well. Thank you.”
“What about the garage apartment?” Dickce asked. “What if someone manages to slip out of the house and attacks Junior and Benjy?”