Seductive Suspect

Dylan shrugged. “Just a scream and Mary’s body hitting the ground.”

Across from him, Laura shook her head, her eyes narrowing. If she was the killer, I had a pretty good idea who her next victim might be.

“Which room was she in?” Paul asked. “I mean, who was closest to her?”

“The one in between Isabel’s and mine,” Laura said. “Not like it matters. We don’t know exactly where she went over the railing, and we all came out of our rooms at about the same time.”

I needed to contribute something to our brainstorming session before I got accused of wrongdoing again. “What about physical capability? Is there anybody we can rule out there?”

Dylan gave Paul a pointed look. “I’m sure some of us would have an easier time than others.”

“And I’m sure you wouldn’t have had to strain yourself too much,” he shot back. “My guess is anyone could have pushed her over if they caught her by surprise.”

“What about us?” Brittany gestured between her and Ruth. “We were downstairs. I was getting dressed when it happened.”

“Along with everybody else,” I said.

“But I was! I swear!”

Ruth touched her arm. “Everyone is going to say the same thing, dear. I’m afraid it doesn’t mean much.”

“I really don’t know whether or not you could have gotten back downstairs without anyone seeing you,” Paul said. “So, for now, you’re still suspects like the rest of us.”

Isabel slumped in her armchair. “We’re getting nowhere.”

“Okay, what about Jeremy’s death?” Adam sat back on his end of the sofa. “We were all in here when the power went out, yes?”

“Not me,” Ruth said. “I was cleaning up in the kitchen. Though you only have my word.”

Paul glanced at her. “For the sake of argument, it’spossibleyou might have slipped in and out of the room, although maybe not likely.”

She nodded. “That’s fair. I understand what a difficult situation this is, and I won’t blame you if you don’t trust me yet.”

“The rest of us were definitely in here. Butwhere?” Laura waved toward the pool table. “I’d finished up a game with Jeremy and Paul, and Mary and Isabel had come over to play the next round.” She bit her lower lip. “I think I stood on the opposite side of the table from Jeremy when the lights went out,but I’m not positive. And I don’t remember where everyone else was.”

Dylan pointed at Adam and me. “Those two left me here by myself to go get a drink together.” I blushed, but he glared at Paul. “But if you want to believe I fired a gun from across the room with fatal precision, go right ahead.”

“I had my hands full with a tray of glasses when the gun went off,” Brittany said. “So I couldn’t have done it.”

“The lights were out for a while.” Isabel spoke slowly, as if addressing a child. “You had plenty of time to find a safe place for it.”

“But I didn’t!”

Ruth put her teacup down and reached for the maid’s arm again, this time with a little more force. Catching Brittany’s gaze, she shook her head and put one finger up to her lips.

Paul reclined in his chair, lacing his fingers behind his head. “Anything else we didn’t cover?”

I picked at a loose thread on my sleeve and wondered how he appeared so relaxed. “What else is there? The only thing we established is everyone here had the opportunity to kill both Jeremy and Mary.” A clammy feeling spread over my skin. “Isabel’s right. We’ve gotten nowhere.”

Nobody spoke up to argue with me.

Victor ran his hand through his hair and looked through the window at the steady downpour. “Then all we can do is wait.”

Chapter Four

Time dragged at an agonizing pace. I selected a book from one of the shelves and mindlessly flipped through it, the words failing to capture my attention. The others busied themselves with the pool table and a deck of cards someone found in a drawer, but little conversation occurred. I assumed their thoughts sounded similar to mine.Which one of us is a killer? Who will be the next victim?

Adam shuffled the deck on the coffee table, not far from where I sat in an armchair. “So, Isabel, what kind of law does your firm practice?”