Ghostly Affairs by K E O'Connor

Author:K E O'Connor [O'Connor, K E]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: cozy British mystery, Cozy ghost mystery, cozy humor, cozy murder, Cozy mystery with animals, Ghost murder mystery
Publisher: K.E. O'Connor
Published: 2017-05-20T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

The delicious dinner of ice-cream sandwiches, macaroons, and tea was gone. I licked my finger and pressed the final crumbs off the plate to savor the last tasty morsels.

“Time to go snooping?” asked Helen.

I nodded. “Billy or Ranulph?”

Helen grimaced. “They’re both awful. May as well start with Ranulph.”

I watched as Katie and Johnny faded back into the wall, and then Helen, Flipper and I left the kitchen and headed towards the forbidden main staircase.

I had to admit to feeling nervous about breaking the invisible barrier Lady Camilla enforced. One of her rules was that staff were not to go upstairs unless it was for work duties. And this was definitely not work related. In fact, it was the first time I’d gone up the staircase.

“I saw Ranulph leave the house earlier this evening,” said Helen. “I’m sure he’s not back yet. We can have a look in his bedroom and see if we can find any clues.”

I frowned, not liking the thought of spending even a second inside Ranulph’s bedroom, but it was an obvious place to look. “What are you hoping to find?”

“Could be anything in there. Have you seen the back of the car Ranulph drives?” asked Helen. “If his room is the same, then he never throws anything away. If there’s evidence to be found, it will be under a disgusting heap of unwashed clothes. We could even find Katie and Johnny decomposing in one corner.”

I wasn’t sure what I found more unpleasant, the discovery of two rotting bodies, or having to rifle through Ranulph’s dirty underpants. Both prospects made me feel queasy. “Let’s get this unpleasant task over with.”

After a quick look around to make sure Lady Camilla wouldn’t see us sneaking upstairs, we dashed up the stairs.

“Which one is his room?” I asked.

“No idea,” said Helen. “I keep as far away from him as possible.”

We tried the first couple of rooms without success. They both looked like guest rooms, neat and tidy, but not lived in.

The third door I tried revealed a pale cream and bronze colored bedroom. Several items of Lady Camilla’s clothes were scattered on a dresser. “This isn’t it.” I softly closed the bedroom door just as Helen opened the next one.

“This isn’t it either,” whispered Helen. “It’s being used as a storeroom.”

At the end of the corridor, though, we struck gold. Well, musty, unclean gold. As Helen pushed open the bedroom door, her eyes widened and she clamped her hand over her nose. “This is the most disgusting bedroom I’ve ever seen.”

I peered over her shoulder and inhaled a heady mixture of dirty clothes and body odor. “You were right about Ranulph and his inability to keep things clean.” There were heaps of clothes on the floor and an overflowing hamper in one corner. A white chest of drawers was covered in opened product bottles, and the mirror had a film of grease and dust over it.

“The man is a complete slob,” said Helen.

This would pain Helen to see such a mess, and I knew she’d be itching to clean it.

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