Masquerade Party Murder by Leighann Dobbs

Author:Leighann Dobbs
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Leighann Dobbs

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The mansion practically pulsed with sound. During moments of intense concentration, Juniper listened to music at full blast, which was not unlike her usual day-to-day activity, except that she didn’t dance and sing along. No, she was too busy laying out just the facts, like the Duckster said—and God help anyone (Tori) if they (she) mentioned anything about her taking his advice.

Everyone in the estate was used to the noise, so it didn’t bother them, not even Tori, who was up to her eyeballs writing her latest Victorian Gothic. Of course, Tori wasn’t averse to slipping on noise-canceling headphones if she needed to, either.

But Juniper wasn’t thinking about any of that. She was only focused on the facts about the murder. She knew Chalis didn’t do it, and she wanted to figure out who did before Mallard added him to the suspect list. She was sure the killer had a personal motivation, so proving what that motivation was would help calm people’s nerves about her parties being cursed.

A knock sounded at her door, the noise jarring her from her concentration. Frowning, she glared at the door and yelled, “What?”

“You okay in there?” came Tori’s voice, muffled through the thick wood.

“Yes, I’m fine. Tori, open the door. You know I can’t hear you through that thing.”

“And yet you heard my question just fine,” Tori said, opening the door wide. She walked over to Juniper’s desk and leaned against it. “The music stopped. We weren’t sure if it was on purpose or if you’d died in here and were trying to communicate via radio waves.”

“I think I’d use something other than silence to communicate I was dead, Tor.”

“It wouldn’t work the same,” Tori said, shaking her head. “Music is your thing. No music, especially after days of it, is very telling.”

Juniper leaned back in her chair and regarded Tori for a moment. “Sometimes quiet is needed.”

“Ha! With you? Never. If you’re ever quiet, something is up.”

Juniper smiled. “You got me all figured out, don’t you?”

Tori tilted her head. “That’s a trick question, and we both know it. I know you pretty well, I’d say, but having you all figured out is a whole other monster. One I don’t feel like poking right now.”

A chuckle fell from Juniper’s lips. “Not that brave yet?”

“Oh, I’m plenty brave. I just don’t feel like absorbing that much information right now. I’ve got enough of other people’s lives floating around in my head all the time with my characters—and they’re made up. The brain cramp I’d get from you is deterrent enough to keep me from provoking the beast, thanks.”

That made Juniper laugh, then she said, “So is that the only reason you came in here? To make sure I was still alive and hadn’t given up the ghost yet?”

“Pretty much,” Tori said, shrugging one shoulder. “Well, that, and Sabrina said to tell you you’ve got to come taste the potato salad. She adjusted the recipe slightly and wants to know what you think.”

“She’s ruined it is what she’s done,” Jacobi bemoaned as he floated in from the ceiling.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.