Perilously Fun Fiction: A Bundle, Pauline Jones [top 100 novels of all time .txt] 📗

“No. They said it wasn’t any of my business.” Mickey gave her an exasperated look that Luci met with a limpid one. “It was a badly played scene from the get-go. I was missing the Hepplewhites and they were missing me—”

“Any idea why they went catatonic without killing you, Luci?” Pryce asked.

“I think they saw a...ghost,” Luci said.

He twitched. “Shit.”

“No shit,” Mickey said morosely.

Mickey’s headache was doing better. He’d found some aspirin tablets that had rolled under the bed. The twitch had slowed to intermittent, but everything else was still screwed up. The good news was that Dante wasn’t happy either, because it was Max, Dante’s assistant, whose body had been taken out of the chimney and was now lying in front of the fireplace with two bullet holes in his back.

Dante looked shaken, angry. “What the hell happened here? And where’s my aunt?”

“None of your damn business what happened here,” Pryce snapped. “Ross? Send someone to find his aunt.”

“Can they take her home?” Dante countered, starting to regain his equilibrium. After all, he was no stranger to the grim reaper.

“Not until she answers some questions,” Mickey said, stepping up to Dante, just hoping he’d take a swing.

“She doesn’t know anything.” Dante looked like he’d like to oblige Mickey.

“Then she doesn’t need to worry.” Mickey got right in his face. “You, however, should worry.”

“I,” Dante said, not giving an inch, “want my lawyer.”

“Get him out of here,” Pryce ordered, shoving a hand through his hair.

“Can I leave then?”

“No. You can wait until your lawyer gets here. Put him outside and watch him.”

When a uniform had hustled Dante away, Mickey turned to Pryce. “Look, sir, we can’t begin to do a thorough search with all these people around. We gotta clear some space.”

“If we get names and addresses, we can let most people leave.” Pryce thought for a moment. “I’ll go down, pass who I can. Delaney can get statements from anyone I can’t personally vouch for. I’ll try to free up as many people as I can to help search.” In a rare show of emotion, he ruffled his own hair. “What a mess.”

“Sir?” Mickey gestured towards the seated Luci. “I’ll bet Luci would be a big help clearing people to leave.”

Luci shrugged and stood up, her eyes promising future retribution for Mickey as Pryce ushered her out.

Mickey grinned, then turned to his men. “We take this place apart top to bottom. Leave no stone unturned, no cupboard unsearched, no door closed. Got it?”

As soon as Pryce got distracted by the governor Luci slipped away and joined her aunts. Not because she was worried they’d be upset. She was starting to worry they’d done it. There didn’t seem to be a lot of other viable suspects that she could see.

The time had come to ask, so she did.

“Kill anyone?” Miss Theo looked thoughtful. “I don’t think so, dear. Hermi, Weena, have you killed anyone?”

Hermi smiled. “I’ll admit I thought about killing Reggie when he first showed up here. It was bad enough that he was a Seymour without being an ex-con, but he turned out not so bad.” She brightened. “And the gazebo turned out lovely.”

All eyes turned to Weena. She ruffled indignantly. “What makes you think I’d kill Reggie?”

“Well, you do have a gun, dear,” Miss Theo pointed out.

Luci found herself wishing she’d picked up a few aspirin, too.

“So? Doesn’t mean I’d kill Reggie with it. Besides, I gave it to Reggie before he left for Cleveland.” She stuck her tongue out at her sister, then added, “I must say, I thought it was very tacky of him to show up here with that woman. Can you imagine what Velma would have done if she’d come after all?”

Luci felt her eye twitch. It was an odd sensation, one she’d never felt before. Had finding her father somehow brought her Pryce-ness into ascendancy? She was seeing the world though non-Seymour eyes. And it wasn’t pretty.

“Reggie...” She rubbed the twitching spot. “...was at the party?”

Each aunt gave a sigh and a nod. Taking care of them was turning out to be a bigger job than even she had imagined. “With a woman?”

“Well, he was invited.” Hermi shrugged.

“Did you talk to him?”

“Well, I was going to tell him how much I liked the gazebo, but then the Hepplewhites came out and—”

“I think I understand.” Luci had to smile, though a little ruefully. “It might be better if you don’t mention Reggie’s specter to Mickey. He has a headache.”

“But, Luci dear,” Miss Theo protested. “Perhaps the dear boy would like to ask Reggie who shot him? Wouldn’t that be good for his headache?”

“Only if he knows who shot him,” Miss Weena pointed out. “I mean, Gracie doesn’t know who shot her. And this is Reggie we’re talking about. If he hadn’t mismanaged his death he wouldn’t have turned up under a bush.”

“I expect you’re right, Miss Weena.” Luci was really feeling the strain. Was this how Mickey felt all the time? No wonder he wanted to strangle her. “And it’s not like the testimony of a ghost is permissible in a court of law.”

“We probably shouldn’t mention this to Velma either.” Miss Theo glanced towards Velma’s house. “They weren’t married and Reggie is free to choose a more—accessible companion—now that he’s dead, but it’s not particularly sensitive of him. She was practically a carbon copy of poor Velma, too.”

“Really?” This was interesting, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on why. There was something about Velma that kept teasing the edge of her brain. Something...but what?

“Miss Luci?”

The uniformed officer had approached without them noticing.

“Yes?” She felt the beginnings of apprehension tighten her insides. Had they found the missing corpse? Luci looked at her aunts, their aging eyes as tranquil as always.

“Could you come with me?”

Luci gave the uniform a nod, then with a reassuring look at her aunts she followed him through the thinning party crowd to the front parlor Mickey and Delaney had