Seductive Suspect

“Whatever.” Slouched in his seat, he picked at his shoelaces while we kept playing.

After I lost yet again, a funny feeling crept over me. “You don’t think there’s anything wrong, do you?”

“Wrong?” Isabel’s nose scrunched up. “How so?”

“It’s most likely nothing.” I shook my head. “We ate around five o’clock last night, and now it’s after six. But the ham’s probably taking longer than expected.”

Anxious glances were exchanged around the table. “Maybe one of us should check on things in the kitchen,” Laura said, setting down her wineglass.

Dylan stood. “I guess I’ll go. You did say it was my turn, right?”

He mumbled something to Victor on his way out of the room. Hands trembling, I put down my drink. Adam collected mycards, his hand brushing against mine. “Should I deal you in for the next round?” he asked.

I shook my head.

My worst suspicions were confirmed when Dylan reappeared in the doorway. “Uh…Paul?” he called out. Eyes wide, he ran his fingers through his messy hair. “I think you should come in here.”

I rose from my seat, and the others did the same. Although I could guess what had happened, I needed to see for myself. Moving together, we trudged out of the library and into the kitchen.

Ruth sat on a stool beside one of the counters, her upper body slumped against the smooth granite. The ham sat in a tray next to the oven, covered in a slimy sheen from being out of the refrigerator for too long.

Bending his knees, Paul touched the cook’s shoulder and peered at her face. As he had earlier in the day with Mary, he checked for a pulse, but we all knew what the answer would be.

“Shit,” he said, straightening.

“I swear I found her like this when I got here.” Dylan crossed his arms over his chest. “You can tell by the state of our unfinished dinner.”

Laura looked at him with disdain. “Is food really all you can think about right now?”

“Don’t try to pin this on me!” He returned her angry glare. “You were in here with her before lunch!”

Isabel closed her eyes and rubbed the sides of her head. “All of us were in here at one point or another. Or at least most of us.”

“Great,” he snapped. “That’s helpful.”

“Stop fighting.” Adam put his hands up. “It’s not contributing anything useful.” He turned to Paul. “How did she die?”

“Oh.” He shrugged. “Good question.”

I looked around the room, searching for clues. My gazerested upon a kettle at the front of the stove. I walked toward the counter, trying to keep a safe distance from Ruth’s body, and gestured toward her empty cup and saucer. “The tea,” I whispered. “She’d been drinking it all day.”

“But she made it herself,” Brittany said.

Paul opened and closed some of the cabinets, rummaging through the shelves. “Someone could have tampered with it this morning, or last night, or even when we arrived.” He pulled out a plain metal tin and opened it to reveal a pile of unmarked tea bags. Pulling one out of the box, he held it up, gave it a sniff, and frowned. “I’ll be honest, I don’t know what I’m looking for here.”

“Don’t touch it, just to be on the safe side,” Victor said.

Paul shoved the tin back into the cabinet and slammed the door. “It doesn’t matter, anyway. She’s definitely dead.”

We stared at each other, fear and distrust washing over the faces of everyone in the room. My previous feelings of contentment vanished as I was confronted with a reminder of our predicament.

No one was safe.

Chapter Five

We sat around the table, picking at lukewarm leftovers from lunch. I reviewed what I remembered about the comings and goings of the others in an effort to narrow down the pool of suspects, but came up emptyhanded. I didn’t even know what Ruth had been poisoned with, or how long the toxins took to have an effect, or any other useful information. Trina would be disappointed to hear how inefficient I was at finding clues and solving the mystery.

If I got the chance to tell her.