Coastal Corpse by Rena Leith

Author:Rena Leith [Leith, Rena]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: cozy cat mystery, amateur sleuth, ghosts, beach read, Halloween, supernatural, female protagonist, small town, séance, California, coast
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Published: 2019-07-19T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

The next morning we put our plan into effect. As soon as Jack and Thoris left for their meeting with George at the station, Gillian and I went to find Dave and Niles. I’d seen a lot more of George in the past few days than I had of Dave, and that was not normal. I wondered what was going on with those two.

I knocked at Dave’s patio door and saw movement inside, but he didn’t answer. “Dave, it’s me, Cass. Gillian’s with me. We need to talk to you.”

The door opened. The room was dark. He hadn’t turned on any lights, and the blinds were drawn. I stepped in despite the gloom, and Gillian followed me. Dave stood behind the door and shut it as we entered.

“Can we turn a light on?” I asked.

He flipped the switch next to the door, and the lava lamp burped sluggishly orange in the corner. Ragged didn’t even begin to describe the condition he was in. He hadn’t shaved or combed his hair. He wore only pajama bottoms. His feet were bare. But the most disturbing thing was that Dave, the consummate host, didn’t greet us or offer us anything to drink. I’d never entered his house before without those amenities.

“Dave, where’s Niles?”

He shook himself and smiled wanly. “Hi, Cass. Gillian. Welcome to my humble—and somewhat messy—abode. Niles might still be at the police station or he could be at the hospital by now. I don’t know.”

“Is he okay?” I asked.

Gillian said, “Do they suspect him?”

“I don’t know if they suspect him. I know they suspect me. They asked him if he’d go with them to answer some questions. I’ve been up, thinking about everything that’s happened. It all hit me. I’ll never see Aunt Amelia again. I didn’t think I’d miss her this much. It’s like losing my mom all over again. There didn’t seem to be any reason to get dressed today.”

“Dave, there has to be a party somewhere.” I tried to appeal to his sense of fun. He snorted, and I realized I’d never heard Dave express any cynicism before. Regret, yes. Cynicism, no. “What happened? Something else must have happened.”

He ran his fingers through his tousled hair. “Maybe the cops think I did it.” Tears welled in his eyes.

“But you didn’t do it. Want to come over to my place for some lunch?”

His front door on the street side opened, and Niles walked in followed by George’s partner Bill and a uniformed officer.

“This is a search warrant.” All business, Detective Daniels handed a folded paper to Dave, who took it, hand shaking.

“What are you looking for?” I asked.

Bill looked me up and down. “Do you live here?”

“You know I don’t.”

“Then I suggest you leave. Now.”

“Go, Cass. It’ll be okay.” Dave opened his patio door for us, and Gillian and I left.

“How rude!” I had a mind to stay and argue, but Gillian pulled me away.

“We’ll find out what’s going on from Dave after they leave, and maybe Jack will come back with some information.

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