Vineyard Quilt: Pattern Of Betrayal Part 12

Yes, she knew it was strange to shop all afternoon long and not buy a single thing. And it was even weirder to say you were from one place and there be no record of you living there.

Yet just because Julie couldn't find out anything about the shy girl didn't mean she had taken the journal or that she had killed Alice. But one thing was certain-the pet.i.te blonde was hiding something.

NINE.

"Where was the book when it disappeared?" Frost asked as they entered Julie's office.

"Locked in the safe." Julie paused. "I think."

"Think?"

"It's been a long couple of days." Julie tapped a finger to her chin. "I had just shown it to the guests-"

"All of them?"

She nodded.

"Together or one at a time?" he asked.

"Together. It was after everyone arrived."

He took out his notepad and made a few notations as Julie filled him in on the details.

"The article that appeared in our local paper was picked up by a larger publication," she said. "Word got around that we'd found a Civil War journal here at the inn, and they asked to see it."

"You're saying that your guests came here knowing you had the journal?"

"Yes." She didn't want to believe that any of her guests were capable of stealing the journal, but the fact remained that someone had. Was it the same person that killed Alice Peyton? Or did she have two criminals under her roof? "Or at least some of them did."

"Who?"

Julie thought back. "Sadie and Joyce knew about it. And Alice."

"Our murder victim?"

"The same."

"Anyone else?"

"I guess they were the only ones. At least they were the only ones who had said anything at the time."

"I see." Frost scribbled something on the notepad and then turned his sharp focus back to her. "You brought out the journal for everyone to see. Then what happened?"

"I brought it back in here and put it in the safe. ... I'm almost positive."

"And this was before Ms. Peyton was murdered."

"Yes."

The detective walked to the safe, studying it from a variety of angles. "Could you have put the book away and then accidentally set it on a day lock? Or perhaps not even locked it at all?"

"Unfortunately, that's very possible," Julie said.

"Did you unlock the safe when you discovered it was missing?"

"Yes," Julie said. "Then I searched the whole house for it."

"We could dust for latent prints, but the possibility of getting a clear print that isn't yours would be a long shot."

"Right," she muttered with irritation, even though she knew it wasn't the detective's fault.

"Has anyone staying here shown an exaggerated interest in the book?" Frost asked.

Sadie and Joyce had been eager to see the book, but Sadie was a retired librarian, and Joyce seemed to follow her lead on most everything. Liam had seemed very interested as well, but given the facts that he was a writer and a professor of literature, that would only be normal. Kenneth, Susan, and Carrie had shown average curiosity, while Alice and Gregory hadn't given it a second glance.

"Wait a minute," Julie said, pausing to get her thoughts in better order. "Even the average Joe would find something old and rare a little fascinating."

"Beg your pardon?"

"Alice and Gregory," she said. "Neither one of them even looked at the book."

"And you think that's strange?"

"Well, yeah," Julie replied. "I think most people would be at least a little interested in a Civil War journal from 1861."

"Noted," Detective Frost said. "Anything else?"

"I'm not sure if this matters or not, but Gregory was arrested for stealing a rare baseball card."

"When was this?" he asked. "When was he arrested?"

Julie shrugged. "A couple of years ago."

"And he came right out and told you this?"

"I searched it online," Julie admitted.

"What about Alice Peyton? Did you find out anything unusual about her?"

"Yeah," she said. "I did. Alice worked for Eric Rutherford, the first book expert I called about the journal. Now Alice is dead, and the journal is missing."

"Hmmm ..." Detective Frost wrote something in his small notebook.

"I'm wondering if the crimes are related."

"It's possible, but hard to know for sure. I hate to say it, but so far our investigation has turned up nothing in the way of concrete evidence that would point to any one person being responsible for Ms. Peyton's death."

Julie nodded. Not exactly comforting news.

"There's one other thing," she said. "We found a snake in one of the bathtubs yesterday."

"Is this the same snake Mrs. Calhoun mentioned earlier?" Frost asked.

"Yes," Julie said, feeling very much like a kid called before the princ.i.p.al for telling lies.

He frowned. "Why didn't you call me then?"

"The wildlife removal expert seemed to believe that it was a chance occurrence. He said the snake most likely crawled up a pipe."

"Was the snake venomous?" Frost asked.

"No."

"Hmmm ...," the detective said again.

"It seemed like a perfectly logical explanation at the time," she added.

"But you think it's suspicious now?" He eyed her over the top of his notepad.

"I don't know. I'm starting to think everything is suspicious."

"Crime will do that to you." The detective's mouth twisted into a wry smile.

Lovely.

He made a couple more notes in his little book and then clicked his pen and tucked the tablet back into his pocket. "I'd like to talk to the guests. Find out if anyone saw anything that might shed some light on this."

"Of course."

Julie led the way back to the tearoom, where everyone had gathered. As promised, Shirley was playing hostess. The guests were seated around the frame, quilting and listening to Shirley spin another of her fantastic tales about the rich history of Straussberg. Julie wondered if everyone was quiet because she was telling a story or if she was telling a story because everyone was quiet.

"Did you find out who killed poor Alice?" Susan asked, her eyes darting anxiously around at the group.

"We're still investigating that, ma'am. Tonight I'm here for another matter. It seems that a very valuable book is missing, and I need to talk to you all about it."

"What's this?" Gregory grumped, looking up from his tiny st.i.tches. "Now you're accusing us of theft?"

And so it begins.

"No one is accusing you of anything," Julie said calmly. "But the detective needs to know if anyone has seen anything suspicious recently."

"Besides a dead body in the dining room and a black mamba in the bathtub?" Joyce asked.

"We've already established that it was a rat snake and not anything poisonous," Julie said.

"Venomous," Sadie corrected. "There's a difference."

Julie said nothing and kept her pleasant smile pasted firmly in place.

"Perhaps it would be helpful if you clarify exactly what you mean by 'suspicious,'" Liam said.

This from the mystery writer.

"If you saw someone lurking in the halls after everyone had gone to bed," Julie clarified. "Or saw someone where they weren't supposed to be. Basically, anything out of the ordinary."

"No matter how small," the detective added. "Whatever it is, I need to know about it."

Julie made a mental note to tell the detective in private what Gregory had said about Kenneth. She wasn't sure how much stock to put in it, but he needed to know-a.s.suming Gregory hadn't already told him.

"This entire weekend is out of the ordinary," Gregory said with a scowl.

"At least it's turned out to be interesting," Kenneth countered. Then he immediately looked like he wished he could take back the statement.

His wife smacked his arm. "Kenneth! What a thing to say."

Carrie ducked her head over her work and didn't look up. Was she concentrating? Maybe hiding something? Or merely laughing at the Calhouns' antics?

Detective Frost gave his spiel about contacting him if anyone remembered anything. He handed out business cards as Julie paced.

Despite his stern request, no one said a word. Of course not. There was a murderer among them. Everyone was afraid to step forward, thinking they might be next. Yet Julie wondered how many of them would be on the phone with the detective before darkness fell.

Millie was not going to like this. Julie didn't like it much either. It was ironic, really. She'd left behind the intrigue and subterfuge of underground antiquities thieves to have a peaceful stay in small-town Missouri. So far, her time here had been anything but peaceful.

Gregory held the detective's card as if it were contaminated with bubonic plague.

"And one more thing," the detective said, "I feel I should remind everyone that a murder investigation is still underway."

As if they could forget. Though the yellow police tape was gone from the dining area, they were still eating every meal in the breakfast room.

One more day, Julie told herself. Just one more day.

"Everyone is required to remain in town for the full duration of the seventy-two hours. I'll come by tomorrow evening and release you when it's time for everyone to leave."

Dinner was a quiet affair-as most of the meals had become. There was no denying that the inn's first murder mystery weekend had turned out to be a disastrous affair. Julie thought it was a solid argument against ever hosting another one. But knowing the owner the way Julie did, she was sure Millie would do whatever she felt like doing. It was one of the reasons Julie both admired her and wanted to strangle her at the same time.

Rich tomato soup started their meal, followed by a fresh green salad. Then the main course: Amish-inspired oven-fried chicken. Hannah had outdone herself again. The chicken was crispy on the outside, not too greasy, and perfectly seasoned. On the inside, it was tender and juicy.

The guests seemed to think so as well. Even Gregory was more relaxed. It appeared that the way to his good side might be through his stomach.

"This is so delicious," Sadie said.