Creeps Suzette (27 page)

“Oh, yes,” Kenneth replied, seemingly undisturbed.

“What the hell is it?” Renie shouted.

Kenneth retreated on the stairs. “It's Suzette,” he said, and disappeared around the corner.

“S
UZETTE
?” J
UDITH ECHOED
, racing after Renie who was chasing Kenneth. “What are you talking about?”

The cousins trapped him outside his room. “Suzette's been dead for sixty years,” Renie declared. “There are no such things as ghosts.” She grabbed Kenneth by the front of his shirt. “Out with it, tell us what's going on or I'll have to hurt you.”

“She's not a ghost,” Kenneth said, now looking frightened. “She's real. She's in great danger. I want to save her.”

“Over the edge,” Renie said out of the corner of her mouth. “Should we get help?”

Before Judith could respond, a series of squawks and a flurry of wings appeared from out of the stairwell shadows. Judith let out a startled cry and Renie let go of Kenneth. The young man darted out between his would-be captors and ran down to the bottom of the stairs.

“Now you've scared Suzette,” Kenneth called out in an accusing voice.

Slowly, Judith and Renie followed him around the winding steps. They saw Kenneth by the door, a brightly colored parrot on his shoulder. “I've taught her to defend herself,” he said, looking indignant. “Creepers isn't safe for my wild friends anymore, so I'm taking her some
where that is.” With a parting glare for Judith and Renie, Kenneth went through the door and into the passageway, the parrot leaning her head against her protector's.

“A damned bird,” Renie muttered. “How could we be so dumb?”

“It was feathers I felt against my face,” Judith said in exasperation. “Shoot.”

“No wonder Leota doesn't want Kenneth bringing his menagerie to Creepers,” Renie said, trudging down the rest of the stairs.

“I'll bet he sneaked that parrot in Monday night when he came the first time via the back door,” Judith said. “Remember how the windows in his room were open when we first peeked in there? Suzette, as he calls her, must have been flying in and out like Superman.”

“Too bad Roscoe didn't eat the damned thing,” Renie said as they entered the parlor.

“Roscoe was in a cage,” Judith reminded Renie, “which is where Suzette should have been, too.” She sank into one of the chinoiserie chairs. “Want to hear my theory before I forget what it is?”

Naturally, Renie was all ears. “It's not bad,” she said when Judith had finished. “But you—and maybe the detectives—haven't got a shred of evidence.”

“The police might,” Judith said. “They just aren't telling us. Or maybe they haven't put it all together.”

“Are you going to share your theory with Edwina and Danny?” Renie asked.

Judith frowned. “I'm not sure. I don't want them to laugh at me.”

“Maybe you should, though,” Renie said. “Aren't we leaving?”

Judith glanced at her watch. It was going on three o'clock. “I suppose we should. Leota didn't sound as if she wanted us hanging around anymore. But,” Judith added, her eyes narrowing, “you can see why she feels that way.”

“Only if you're a threat to the family's reputation,” Renie said.

Judith got up from the chinoiserie chair and began to pace, a habit that seemed to be growing since her arrival at Creepers. “I'd like to talk to at least a couple of people before we go. Maybe we can stall.” She stopped to stare at the telephone. “I should call Joe. Maybe he's back from wherever he went by now.”

Once again, Arlene answered the phone. “Joe just left again,” she said, laughter bubbling up in her voice. “Oh, Judith, your mother is such a sketch. We brought her into the house—really, I think it's so unfair that she can't live in what really is her home—and we're playing charades. I'm on her team, and Vivian and Carl are on the other.”

“Vivian?” The name thudded out of Judith's mouth. “She's back from Florida?”

“Yes, she got in yesterday, with such a gorgeous tan that I can hardly stand it,” Arlene went on, “and you know how fond she is of your mother, but of course who wouldn't be unless they had a
heart of flint
.”

Judith ignored the implied barb. Perhaps the return of Joe's first wife explained his absences from Hillside Manor. Despite everything, including eight happy years of marriage, Judith could still feel pangs of jealousy. Vivian Flynn was much older, but she still possessed a certain hard-edged glamour that Judith envied.

Still, it was Arlene's needling about Gertrude's self-imposed exile that rankled most. “You know perfectly well that Mother refused to—”

“You'll never guess,” Arlene interrupted, “what your mother did to win the last round. Cambridge, Massachusetts! She got to take out her teeth twice. It was hilarious!”

“I'll bet,” Judith murmured.

“And for the first syllable of Massachusetts, she did ‘sounds like' and wiggled her—”

“I'm sure she was terrific,” Judith cut in. “Just tell Joe I might be home later today. If not, I'll be there around noon tomorrow, okay?”

“Don't rush on our account,” Arlene said. “We're doing just fine. The rooms are all booked for tonight. Oh, my
goodness,” she continued, lowering her voice to a whisper, “I just got Woody Woodpecker. Well, that ought to be easy with Carl around. Bye, Judith.”

Looking dazed, Judith hung up. “They're playing charades, with Mother and Herself.”

Renie held up a hand. “Say no more. Please. Where's Joe?”

“I suspect he couldn't stand the idea of Mother coming into the house and lording it over him with me not there,” Judith said. “As for where he's been, I assume you heard.”

“The Return of Herself,” Renie said, and couldn't hold back a smile. “Now do you want to go home or did I hear you correctly when you hedged about our ETA?”

In the middle of the room, Judith was turning this way and that. “I don't know. I wish I knew if the little footman really was the weapon.”

“Would it change your mind about who killed Dr. Moss?” Renie asked with a puzzled expression.

“No.” Judith rubbed her temples, wrung her hands, and shuffled her feet. Then she gave herself a good shake and eyed Renie with determination. “Come on, let's go find somebody.”

“Who?” Renie asked, following Judith out of the parlor.

“Caroline, for one,” Judith called over her shoulder. “Let's hope she's in her room.”

Caroline, however, didn't respond to Judith's knock. Frustrated, Judith paced the hallway, but stopped abruptly when Kenyon came out of Mrs. Burgess's suite.

“Do you know where we could find Caroline or Kenneth?” Judith asked the butler.

Kenyon cupped an ear; Judith repeated the question.

“Miss Caroline and her mother went back to Mrs. Peggy's residence at The Willows,” Kenyon replied. “Mr. Kenneth has left.”

“Left, as in gone?” Renie asked.

Kenyon nodded solemnly. “I believe he's rather disturbed by the events of the past few days. Sarah is taking him to his place in town. They just went out through the
back way. Mr. Kenneth was carrying a large bird.”

“Thanks, Kenyon,” Judith said, rushing past the old man and down the staircase. “Come on, let's head 'em off at the drive,” she called to Renie.

The Cadillac was just pulling out of the garage. Judith stood in the driveway, waving her hands. Sarah Kenyon braked, then opened the window and leaned out. “What is it?” she asked, looking slightly annoyed.

“Could I talk to Kenneth for just a second? Please?” Judith begged.

After a brief discussion between the housekeeper and Kenneth, the young man got out of the car. Suzette could be seen sitting on the passenger headrest. “I'm never coming back,” he declared, lower lip thrust out. “Not until
Grandmaman
says I can keep my animals here.”

“How about getting a job?” Renie muttered under her breath.

With a warning glance at her cousin, Judith approached Kenneth. “Have you considered,” she began in a gentle tone, “using your inheritance to buy land in a less populated area for your sanctuary?”

Kenneth's blue eyes widened. “But then I couldn't live at Creepers.”

“Yes, actually, you could,” Judith asserted. “Many people live in one place and work in another.”

“Do you?” Kenneth asked, his head lowered so far that his chin almost touched his chest.

“Well…no, but that's because—”

The young man pointed to Renie. “Does she?”

“Ah…no, but…Never mind.” Judith shook her head and waved a hand. “Forget it. Tell me something, Kenneth, why is your sister Caroline so frightened of the tower rooms?”

Kenneth took a step backward. “Because she's silly,” he replied, though there was an uncertain note in his voice.

“She's not silly,” Judith insisted. “She's scared, and I think I know why. Who told her stories that made her think the tower was haunted?”

Jamming his hands in his pockets, Kenneth twisted and turned in place. “Oh,” he finally sighed, “it doesn't matter. It was a long time ago, when we were little kids. Carrie heard Aunt Bev talking about how my mom and Uncle Wayne used to scare her. She asked Aunt Bev, but she wouldn't tell Carrie. I guess it was because she didn't want her to be scared, too. But Carrie started having nightmares and getting stomachaches. Finally, she was told some tale about a servant named Suzette from a long time ago who'd died in the top part of the tower. That's why I named my parrot Suzette. I guess that's why the room was sealed up. But Carrie never got over it. In fact, she got worse. She built it up in her mind and wrote poems about it.”

“Who told her?” Judith asked as Sarah honked the horn.

“My dad,” Kenneth replied. “He and Carrie were always real close.”

Sarah honked again. Kenneth turned and hurried back to the Cadillac.

“That,” said Judith to Renie, “is what I figured.”

“What now?” Renie asked, watching the big sleek sedan disappear.

Judith tapped her foot on the pavement. “I'm thinking. We don't want to do anything foolish.”

“Like getting ourselves killed?”

“Like that.” Suddenly, Judith snapped her fingers. “I've got it. Let's make a phone call.”

Fifteen minutes later, Judith and Renie were back in the parlor. “It's three-twenty,” Judith said, checking her watch for the fourth time. “I set our little meeting for four o'clock. Should we have a drink?”

“It might be a good idea,” Renie said. “Dutch courage, I believe it's called. Let's head for the bar in the drawing room. I'd hate to have to wait for Kenyon to serve us.”

Kenyon, however, was at the door of the drawing room. To the cousins' surprise, he barred the way with a feeble arm. “I'm sorry, ladies. Mr. Wayne is in here, speaking with the private detective. Would you mind waiting or may I help you?”

“We could use a drink,” Renie said bluntly. “Would you mind?”

“Certainly.” Kenyon lowered his arm, and Judith swore she could hear his joints creak. She could also hear low, masculine voices inside the drawing room. “That would be bourbon for you, Mrs. Jones, and for Mrs. Flynn, it's…” His face went blank.

“Scotch-rocks,” said a voice from behind Kenyon.

Judith gaped as Joe Flynn came through the drawing room door.

Judith's knees all but buckled. “Joe! What are you doing here?”

He patted the breast pocket of his navy blazer. “I got my license. I'm a certified private eye. I come highly recommended.” The green eyes sparkled with the old familiar magic.

“Joe…” To Kenyon's astonishment, Judith fell into her husband's arms. “I had no idea…When…? How…?”

“I've been thinking about it ever since I retired,” Joe said between kisses. “I picked the license up yesterday. The local agency that Mrs. Burgess contacted this morning couldn't send anybody right away, so they called me.”

Judith was speechless. Renie, however, was grinning. “Did Bill help talk you into this?”

Releasing Judith, Joe nodded. “He said it was a good idea to keep busy outside the house. Otherwise, you end up doing all sorts of horrible things, like cleaning out the basement. That's a lot harder than working part-time.”

There were tears in Judith's eyes. “I can't believe you're here. I can't believe you're a private eye. I can't believe you didn't tell me.”

“I wanted to surprise you,” Joe said simply as Wayne Burgess joined them. “By the way,” Joe went on, “Wayne knows we're married. In fact, he knows the story of my life about now. He seemed to like it.”

Wayne looked sheepish. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry, but I was intrigued when I found out that you two had
married later in life after unhappy first marriages. It's a…heart-warming tale.”

Kenyon cleared his throat. “Should I mix four drinks?”

Surreptitiously, Judith looked at her watch. It was going on four. “Um…Maybe we'd better skip ours. Believe it or not, we have…an appointment.”

Joe regarded his wife with skepticism. “I don't believe it. But I'll let you play your little game. I still have to meet Mrs. Burgess upstairs.”

Judith avoided Joe's eyes as she pushed Renie in the direction of the entry hall. “I feel like an idiot,” she murmured. “Here I've been criticizing Joe, and all the time he was considering how to spend the rest of his life.”

“Until he retires again,” Renie said dryly. “Are you sure you want to go through with this now that he's arrived on the scene?”

“We have to,” Judith said as they turned into the hallway that led to the tower stairs. “Our guest is probably waiting for us. It's almost four.”

“I'm having misgivings,” Renie said as they started up the winding stone steps. “Are you sure your so-called guest will show up?”

“Fairly sure,” Judith replied as they reached the fourth floor. “My offer was irresistible.”