Fixing To Die

Mary Turner Catlin—out of fear of losing her family home and seeing it razed to the ground.

Henry Howard Catlin—for his wife’s sake perhaps, but if he didn’t know about Nathan Gamble’s threat, his motive was weak.

One of them did it, An’gel knew, but which one?

If Alesha Jackson were to be believed, Serenity had a loud, potentially violent argument with Nathan Gamble around eleven thirty last night. She could have killed him then. But how? An’gel felt incredibly frustrated by her lack of knowledge about how the man died.

He was either alive or dead when Serenity left him after the argument. Henry Howard was the next person on the scene. He had come upstairs from the library a minute or so past midnight to carry out his performance. He slipped into the room through the secret panel in the wardrobe and attempted to frighten the occupant of the room. He got little reaction, aside from a moan or two that he thought he heard.

Gamble might still have been alive, or he might have been dying. That was a horrible thought, and she hoped it didn’t occur to Henry Howard that he might have been able to save the man’s life. But Henry Howard, seeing his prank falling flat, had left the room the way he came in. He had gone to bed soon after that.

Had anyone else gone into the French room after Henry Howard?

An’gel had no way of knowing. She had slept through the comings and goings last night, and she had never heard the argument between the siblings. Neither had Dickce, or she would have mentioned it by now.

Any one of the five could have done it. Mary Turner could have slipped across the hall and killed Nathan, either after his argument with Serenity and before Henry Howard went in to play his prank. Or afterward, when Henry Howard was asleep, and the house was quiet.

Marcelline could have come upstairs at some point. She probably had a passkey, the same one that Henry Howard and Mary Turner had. She had to oversee all the housekeeping, so certainly she had one. An’gel hadn’t considered that before.

Last, but to her mind, least, Truss Wilbanks could have gone back to Nathan Gamble’s room sometime after midnight, after Henry Howard was in bed.

Any one of them could have done it. An’gel wanted to scream in frustration. If Lieutenant Steinberg had convincing evidence, he would have at least taken one of the five in for questioning at the police station, An’gel felt sure. He hadn’t, however, so she figured that meant he had no clear lead to the killer’s identity.

She wished she could persuade him to tell her how Nathan Gamble was killed. If he actually knew himself. Perhaps he did know, and had known all along, but was being cagey with all of them when he had originally said the cause of death wasn’t immediately apparent. She wouldn’t put it past him, nor could she blame him for doing so. It was a good tactic, to keep the murderer in the dark.

An’gel got to her feet. Time to find Dickce and Benjy and share the information from their separate interviews. Maybe Dickce or Benjy had picked up a clue from Marcelline or Truss Wilbanks that could be useful.

She pulled out her cell phone and texted both of them to find out where they were at present. Benjy responded right away to say that he was in his room, and that Dickce was with him. An’gel replied that she was on her way to join them.

As she stepped into the hall, the doorbell rang. An’gel answered it. Lieutenant Steinberg stood on the porch, along with two of his officers.

“I’m glad you’re here, Lieutenant,” An’gel said. “I have some things to tell you.”

“This may surprise you, Miss Ducote,” the policeman said as he stepped inside, followed by his men, “but I am eager to hear them.”

CHAPTER 34

An’gel was slightly suspicious of Lieutenant Steinberg’s change of attitude toward her. What on earth could have brought it about?

“I must say I’m rather surprised, Lieutenant,” An’gel said.

Steinberg nodded. “I’ll explain everything to you, Miss Ducote, but first I have to speak to Mr. Catlin.”

“Here I am, Lieutenant.” Henry Howard appeared in the hallway near them, having apparently come from the direction of the kitchen. An’gel had not heard his approach.

“In the library, please,” Steinberg said to Henry Howard. To An’gel, he said, “Perhaps you won’t mind waiting in the parlor?”

“No, not at all,” An’gel said. “I’ll be ready when you want to talk.” She watched as Steinberg, his men, and Henry Howard moved into the library and closed the door behind them.

She took time to visit the powder room before she did as the policeman asked and went into the parlor to wait. She texted Dickce and Benjy again, telling them of the lieutenant’s arrival and asking them to join her in the parlor. After a moment, she added, When you come through the kitchen, if Marcelline is there, ask her for something to drink.