Mystery at the Masquerade by Josh Lanyon

Author:Josh Lanyon [Lanyon, Josh]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: JustJoshin Publishing, Inc.
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Ellery knew what it was like to be suspected of murder.

He knew how it felt to have people cross the street when they saw you coming or stop talking when you entered a shop. How it felt to have people watching and whispering and all too easily believing the worst of you.

So he got it. And Julian had his sympathy.

But he couldn’t help feeling that he had been pressured into doing something he was not equipped to do. That he wasn’t sure he wanted to do.

Jack wasn’t a fool. Far from it. And if Jack thought he had enough evidence to charge Julian, he definitely had enough to charge him.

That didn’t mean Jack couldn’t be wrong.

Julian had seemed genuinely shocked by the discovery of Brett’s body. But there was such a thing as acting, after all, and maybe that’s what Julian had been doing.

Anyway, Ellery had agreed—promised, in fact—to help Julian, and a promise was a promise. He would do what he could. Maybe, at least, he could come up with some useful points for Julian’s defense, on the awful chance he actually went to trial.

But first things first.

He picked up the phone to return Sue Lewis’s message, considered, reconsidered, and decided he might have more luck dealing with Sue in person.

Not that he ever had so far, but there could always be a first time. He grabbed his phone, located his wallet, went to the front door, and whistled for Watson.

Sometimes Watson responded to Ellery’s whistle. Sometimes he had better things to do. This morning he responded, scampering up all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Literally bushy-tailed. Dead brush had attached itself to his tail, and he was dragging it behind him.

Ellery detached the shrubbery.

“Wanna go for a drive?”

The answer to any question beginning with wanna? was always yes, in Watson’s opinion, and he voiced his approval. Ellery snapped the puppy into his blue harness, found his leash, found his shoes—Ellery’s shoes, not Watson’s, although they did seem to share ownership, judging by the teeth marks—and bundled the puppy into the VW.

* * * * *

“I was starting to get worried!” Nora greeted Ellery when he and Watson walked through the front door of the Crow’s Nest. “Such a terrible thing to have happened at your first Marauder’s Masquerade.”

It probably wouldn’t have been much better at his second or third Marauder’s Masquerade either, but Ellery didn’t argue.

“I thought I’d better come in today for a few hours at least.” He knelt to take Watson out of his harness. “Has Sue Lewis accused me of murder yet?”

He was partly joking, so Nora’s noncommittal, “Mmm,” jerked his head up.

“She didn’t really accuse me, did she?”

“No. She did stress your relationship to Julian Bloodworth—”

“There isn’t a relationship. I was his date. That’s it.” Okay, and he’d signed on to help clear Julian of murder charges, so maybe there was a relationship, come to think of it.

“And she emphasized your previous history with…law enforcement,” Nora said delicately.

Ellery rose. “My previous history? You mean dating Jack?”

“No.

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