A Twist In The Tail

‘The fall probably didn’t do the trick. Or it’s possible the killer bludgeoned him first and then set the stage to make it look like Charles had fallen by accident.’

‘But wouldn’t someone have heard something?’ I gestured toward the boards. ‘I mean all that sawing makes noise, right?’

Mike rocked back on his heels and looked thoughtful. ‘It does. But it’s possible the person did this some time ago and the sounds were masked by renovations going on in the other part of the house. I mean who can really tell where the hammering and sawing noises are coming from? And I’ve been working pretty steady every day, so the killer would have had plenty of opportunity.’

‘So that means it wasn’t just done in anger when someone saw he had written a bad review.’ If only the police would see it that way, maybe Millie wouldn’t have to promise Seth Chamberlain so many pastries not to arrest me. I glanced over at the window. ‘We found a footprint outside the window. I think the killer might have escaped through there.’

I thought about Tony Murano, my stomach taking a tumble. Charles had written a bad review about Tony’s lemon meringue pie. But if Tony was the killer that meant he’d planned this all out ahead of time. And that he’d come to sabotage the stairs and then lured Charles in here. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to go to his restaurant.? Then again, what could he do to me in broad daylight?

Mike walked over to the window and looked outside then checked the lock. ‘It’s unlocked. You know you should keep all the windows locked here, Sunshine. Oyster Cove might be a nice town but there is a killer running around.’

I refrained from rolling my eyes. There he goes again treating me like a little sister. I remembered it from when we were younger. I hadn’t appreciated it then and I didn’t like it very much now either.

‘Maybe the killer unlocked it to get out. He wouldn’t have been able to lock it back up once outside.’ So there, Mr. Smartypants!

‘Good point.’ Mike walked back to the stairs. ‘Whoever did this went to a lot of trouble to make it look like an accident. They must be angry that we weren’t fooled.’

‘And nervous about being caught.’ I walked back to the staircase and got on my hands and knees to take another look at the sabotage just to make sure that it really had been done on purpose. ‘It looks like you’d have to know exactly where to cut to get the boards to break like this. Who would know that?’

I had been intent on studying the saw marks and hadn’t realized that Mike had crouched down beside me. His voice startled me. ‘Anyone who knew about carpentry, or building.’

I glanced sideways at Mike. ‘Like you?’

Mike looked incredulous. ‘Why in the world would I sabotage the stairs and kill your guest? I didn’t even know the guy.’

‘He might have pissed off someone you’re close to. Someone whose been lurking around here.’ I glanced in the direction of the Smugglers Bay Inn. Not that I really thought Mike would kill someone for Stella, but stranger things have happened. And besides, what about the clog print? Maybe they’d done it together and Stella had hopped out the window in her clogs.

Mike caught my drift and his scowl deepened. ‘You think I did this for Stella Dumont? No way. She might have been interesting in high school but believe me, I have no designs on her. I’m older and wiser now and prefer my women… not quite so made-up.’

He reached out to pluck a cobweb out of my hair and I suddenly I felt self-conscious about my lack of mascara or blush. I had put a little lip gloss on this morning though, so hopefully that counted for something

Self-consciousness gave way to guilt. It wasn’t fair to accuse Mike. I had no evidence and he had been nothing but nice since working here. Even if his kindness was suspicious, it was not suspicious enough for me to accuse him of murder.

‘Sorry. I don’t really think you killed him.’

‘I guess we should tell Barbara Littlefield about this.’ Mike leaned forward and looked underneath the stairs again. ‘She’s been running around town saying this place is unsafe.’

‘I know. I have no idea why she has it in for me. I’m trying to restore it to the way it was originally. You’d think she’d be happy.’

‘I don’t think she’s ever happy,’ Mike said. ‘But it might be me she has it in for.’

‘You? Why would she have it in for you? And why would getting the guesthouse closed down hurt you?’

Mike shrugged. ‘I guess she doesn’t like anyone doing any kind of renovations or improvements. Wants things to stay just the way they are, and since I’ve been back in town, I’ve been doing a lot of renovations. Not to brag, but I am getting kind of popular in the home improvement sector.’

‘No doubt. But why focus on the guesthouse? I don’t see what it has to do with you.’