Fixing To Die

“Certainly.” An’gel felt like a guilty child caught out doing something she’d been expressly told not to. She headed to the door and slipped inside, nearly bumping into her sister. Dickce had apparently been at the door watching everything.

“Did you find out anything?” Dickce asked the moment the door closed behind An’gel. “It didn’t sound like it.”

“No, only that everyone is upstairs now. Someone will be coming to talk to us soon,” An’gel said. “Though I wouldn’t place any bets on how soon soon really is.” She shared the news with the others and resumed her place beside Mary Turner.

Soon turned out to be nearly twenty minutes later, when the door opened to admit Henry Howard and the young policeman An’gel had met in the hallway.

“The doctor and the paramedics are still upstairs with the police,” Henry Howard said.

“Come sit down,” Mary Turner said. “Right here.” She indicated the chair next to her. “You look terrible.”

Henry Howard smiled tiredly as he sat next to his wife. “It’s a terrible thing. This is the first time we’ve had a guest die in the house.”

An’gel noticed that the policeman did not leave the room. He had stationed himself near the door but well within hearing distance of those in the room. She knew that anything they said might be reported to the officer in charge of the investigation. Dickce and Benjy were aware of that as well, based on their previous experiences with sudden death. She didn’t know whether the Catlins would realize it, however.

“Has the doctor seen him yet?” Mary Turner asked. Her anxiety was obvious, although Henry Howard appeared too tired and stressed himself to realize it, An’gel saw.

“Yes, the doctor looked at him, the paramedics looked at him, and the police looked at him.” Henry Howard slumped back in his chair and closed his eyes. “Thank the Lord I only had to look at him the one time. I don’t like looking at dead people, I can tell you that, especially in that room.”

Mary Turner laid a hand on his arm. “I know, none of us do. Did anyone say anything about how he died?”

“Not that I heard,” Henry Howard said. “They kept me out in the hall after I showed them to the room.”

“Did you happen to notice anyone else upstairs?” An’gel asked. “Other than police and medical personnel?”

Henry Howard sat up. “What do you mean?”

An’gel caught sight of the policeman. She knew he was paying close attention. He had moved a couple of steps away from the door.

“Mrs. Pace left the room abruptly right after you did earlier,” An’gel said. “I wondered if she had gone upstairs to her room, that’s all.”

“I didn’t see her,” Henry Howard said.

Mary Turner looked at An’gel. “Do you think she might be in the kitchen with Marcelline and the others?”

“It’s possible, I suppose.” An’gel wondered why she hadn’t thought of that. Instead she had immediately come up with much less innocent ideas. That’s what getting involved in murder will do for your thought processes.

She noticed Dickce and Benjy across the table, their heads together, whispering. Then Benjy looked at her. “Miss An’gel, Peanut and Endora have been alone in the room for over an hour now. I really need to go check on them. They both get bored, and they might tear something up.”

“You can bring them in here with us,” Henry Howard said. “We don’t mind.”

“No, of course not,” Mary Turner said. “I hate to think of them locked up by themselves all this time.”

An’gel rose and approached the policeman. “Officer, we have a dog and a cat with us. They’re in the annex in Benjy’s room, and as I’m sure you heard, they’ve been there over an hour. Would it be all right if Benjy goes and gets them and brings them here?”

Benjy had joined her. “Peanut will probably need to do his business,” he said to An’gel. “Officer, Peanut is the dog, and he’ll need walking for a few minutes.”

“I’ll ask, if you’ll wait a moment.” The officer turned and opened the door. He stepped into the hall, leaving the door open, and called up the stairs for someone named Thornton.

An’gel couldn’t see who responded but she did hear a voice from the direction of the stairs who asked the officer what he wanted. The policeman explained, and the other voice called out, “I’ll get someone.”

The officer returned to the dining room. “Someone will be here in a moment to go with you,” he told Benjy.

Benjy smiled. “Thank you, sir.” He and An’gel moved back to the table to wait.

They had to wait several minutes but finally another policeman came into the room. Another youngster, An’gel noted, but perhaps older than the first. Not nearly as tall, though. He beckoned to Benjy. “I’ll go with you,” he said, and Benjy followed him out.