The woman's expression turned into a scowl when she spied Abby and Lulu. "What are you two doing here? You're trespassing. Ravenna will have your butts for—ahhhh!"

  The shriek came from Edwina Holcombe, the mayor's wife. Her gaze had shifted from Abby and Lulu to the body lying on the ground near their feet.

  Another shriek, loud enough this time to split the air and send the Bohems fleeing into the pale gray morning sky, ended when the mayor's wife crumpled to the stone steps.

  Abby ran to Edwina and knelt down to shake her shoulder. When there was no reaction, she gave the woman's cheek a gentle slap. When Edwina didn't stir, Abby slapped her cheek again, harder this time.

  Edwina's eyes fluttered open and flickered with terror when she saw Abby. Her hand shot up to push Abby away from her. "Get away from me. Get away!"

  "Stop it, Edwina. Calm down. I didn't hurt you. You fainted."

  Then another scream sounded from inside the house.

  Abby jumped up and scrambled up the steps.

  Entering the foyer, she stared at the extraordinarily wide mahogany staircase that led up to the second story.

  On the left side of the staircase was a living room with elaborate crown molding and high ceilings. On the right, a formal dining room with chair-high wainscoting and two large crystal chandeliers.

  Next to the staircase a dark paneled hallway ran from the foyer to the rear of the house. A gloomy unease chilled her. I don't like it here, she thought.

  "What's going on out there?" called out a female voice. "Who screamed? What's wrong? Come get me. I'm locked in!"

  Abby shouted back. "Where are you?"

  "In here! Go down the hallway right past the statue and you'll see a door."

  Abby eyed the four-foot bronze statue of a ram as she passed by it and came to a stop in front of the door.

  The voice gave her more directions. "See for the Chinese chest with the claw feet? Look under the marble turtle for a key."

  Abby located the Chinese chest farther down the hallway. On the top shelf were a few magazines; on the bottom she spotted the marble turtle and found the key.

  She inserted the key in the lock; the door flew open. A skinny young woman with light brown hair stood in front of her.

  Abby recognized Brenda from when she saw her at the diner's Thanksgiving dinner. Brenda gave Abby a tremulous smile. "I'm so glad you heard me. She locked me in."

  "Who locked you in?"

  Brenda's forehead crinkled. "Pardon me for asking but who are you? You weren't here last night for the party, were you?"

  "No. What party?"

  "Did Ravenna let you in?"

  "No."

  "Does she know you're here?"

  This time, Abby didn't answer. Instead, she said, "Why were you locked in the bathroom?"

  Brenda's lips curled into a tight smile. "She thinks it's funny. Usually she lets me out in an hour or two, but this time, she'd didn't. I have been locked in here for, gosh, hours and hours. Is she around? Did you see her?"

  "Yes. I'm afraid I did."

  Chapter Three

  Sheriff Ethan Moser climbed out of his white Jeep, the county's official vehicle, and stalked toward Abby who stood guarding the body of Ravenna Ramstead.

  "Where's Tallulah?" he asked as he crouched down.

  "Inside with Brenda. She's Ravenna's live-in homecare person, and she's pretty devastated. Lulu's consoling her."

  He kept his eyes on the body when he asked, "What was this about the mayor's wife?"

  Abby had left a message with the emergency dispatcher explaining that she and Lulu were out bird-watching near Ramstead Manor when they discovered Ravenna Ramstead. She'd blurted out every detail she could remember and asked for the information to be relayed to the sheriff.

  "Edwina fainted, but she's okay now. After she calmed down, she ran upstairs and woke up the mayor and Gilbert Inglewood. He'd come to the party too."

  Sheriff Moser lifted his eyes to hers. "What party?"

  "Ravenna gave herself a birthday party last night. Hank, Edwina, Gilbert and some other people were here. The other people left around eleven, but Hank, Edwina and Gilbert spent the night."

  Abby glanced at the body and shook her head. "This looks like a tragic accident to me."

  He stood up. "Does it?"

  Her head bobbed. "Oh, yes."

  "How do you figure that?" His bemused expression signified his awareness of Abby's penchant for puzzles and mysteries. They'd had a prior experience solving a murder shortly after her arrival in Moon Water back in October.

  "According to Brenda, liquor flowed like a tsunami last night." She pointed to the green hose lying on the ground. "See that hose?"

  His eyes flicked to the hose and he nodded.

  "After I phoned nine-one-one, I visually searched the area."

  "Visually searched it?"

  "Yes, visually. I'd never actually tromp around. That would contaminate the scene. I know better than that. Instead, I examined the area visually because it occurred to me that there was no rain last night or this morning and yet the ground around the body was, I mean is, muddy and sticky."

  She pointed toward a spigot near the corner. "The hose is connected there and it's still trickling. I didn't touch it. I found it like that. I didn't touch the body either or the birdhouse."

  Her eyes traveled to the shattered birdhouse, its roof stuck in Ravenna's neck. Then she turned and pointed. "See how the pole for the birdhouse is listing to the right? It's got termite damage right near where the pole sets into the concrete base. It's really chewed up. And it's chewed up near the top, too, where the pole connects to the birdhouse. That's why it fell."

  Her brows knitted together. "But the termite damage wasn't the only reason it fell."

  The sheriff glanced from the pole to the birdhouse and back to Abby as she continued, "I believe the hose was accidentally left on and the water oozed for hours, soaking the ground around the pole. That eroded the ground."

  "Okay. Go on."

  "Ravenna was out here and, because of the wet ground, she might have slid into the pole. She had to be pretty toasted from the liquor. I'm thinking when she fell against the pole it shifted and that caused the birdhouse to totter and fall. It struck her in the head." She heaved out a deep breath. "It's a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and that's why it's a tragic accident."

  The sheriff's dark eyebrows winged together. "You said you didn't go near the pole?"

  "That's what I said." Annoyance filled her voice. "I told you I know better than that. I used my binoculars to inspect it." She lifted the binos. "Here, try 'em. You can see what I saw."

  "I believe you. Let's keep going. Tell me the rest. You found the body. Edwina screamed but then you heard another scream inside the house."

  "You got it. It was Brenda who screamed. She was locked inside the hall bathroom."

  "Who locked her in?"

  "She said Ravenna did. Apparently, Ravenna likes—liked—to do stuff like that to her. Anyway, she yelled and I heard her and ran inside and unlocked the door, and, of course, she was upset when I told her what happened."

  "Did she see Ravenna outside?"

  "No. The last time she saw her was during the party. She had a drink with them when the party first started, then served appetizers and then dinner and cake, but eventually Ravenna made her go upstairs to her room. But later on, she came down and was told to get the bedrooms ready for the guests. Edwina told me—"

  He interrupted, practically growling.

  "Excuse me. You interviewed my witness?"

  Abby gulped, backpedaled. "Um, no. I didn't interview. I-I merely asked a few questions of them."

  Well, more than a few, but she wasn't going to tell him that. Not now. He seemed too angry for her to be totally candid with him.

  "Them?" His brown eyes hardened. "Besides Edwina, who did you talk to?"

  "Um, well, Brenda. She's the only staff here since Ravenna fired the cook last week. Brenda said she had to bring in food from a restaurant in Fennerton for the party."

  Fennerton, the county seat, had three reasonably good restaurants since it had a larger population than Moon Water.

  He cleared his throat. "Focus, Abby. Who else did you talk to?"

  "Hank Holcombe … and Gilbert Inglewood."

  "So, all of them." With a fleeting scowl, the sheriff stuffed his hands into his down insulated parka. The forecast had predicted a cold but sunny day, but Mother Nature had changed her mind again. In the past hour, the sun had disappeared under gunmetal clouds and the wind was picking up.

  Abby's shoulders slumped. "I'm sorry. I guess I shouldn't have talked to them."

  "But you did. Tell me what they said."

  Despite his obvious ire, she perked up. "I did a timeline. Hold on a second."

  She dug into her pocket, removed her cell and scrolled down to her notes. "This is from Brenda. Shortly before six-thirty, she set up a buffet table, created a centerpiece with an heirloom gold leaf candelabra and then put out four trays of appetizers. Edwina and Hank Holcombe and two other couples arrived a few minutes later. Gilbert Inglewood came soon after them. He brought two bottles of champagne which disappeared quickly."

  She looked up from her notes. "Brenda had one glass but declined a second when Ravenna shot her a 'don't touch another drop' look. I'm saying that so you know how bossy Ravenna could be."

  "I already know that. I met Ravenna Ramstead."

  "Oh." Abby returned to the notes on her phone. "After the champagne was gone, Ravenna told her to decant the wine and to make sure there was plenty of vodka and scotch in the bar for cocktails.

  "Around eight, Brenda replaced the appetizer trays with food—prime rib, ham, mashed potatoes, vegetables, salad—and the partygoers served themselves."

  She stopped reading, looked up at him. "Well, Ravenna didn't. She had Brenda bring her a plate. Ravenna preferred eating in the living room and made everyone else eat there too. Plates on TV trays. I don't understand that. Why sit in there when she has this formal dining room? Yes, it needs a little touch-up paint and the walnut wainscoting needs polish as does the dining table which easily seats ten, but aside from that—"

  "Abby."

  Noting the frustration edging into his voice, she knew she'd better stop going off topic. "Back to the timeline. Brenda sat in the kitchen to eat and, after a while, she heard the intercom summoning her. She went back to the living room and gathered up the dinner plates and took them to the kitchen. A little while later, she brought in the birthday cake, a scrumptious almond cheese cake."

  Again her head bobbed up. "I make mine with pistachios and a hint of mango. I like the riff of color and most people find it whimsical and delicious."

  His silence forced her to plow on. "Okay, okay. So then Brenda tried to lead the others in singing “Happy Birthday,” but Ravenna hushed her saying, 'I'm not a toddler.'”

  Abby's nose twitched. Why be so rude? she thought. "Brenda cut the cake and served it, and then Ravenna basically told her to go to her room which she did."

  "What did Brenda do in her room?"

  "She read and wrote in a journal or something and polished her shoes. Around eleven, Ravenna's voice came over the intercom so she hurried downstairs. She was told to prepare the blue bedroom for the Holcombes—it has two queen beds and separate bathrooms."

  Abby rolled her eyes in a non-verbal comment at the excessive luxury. Two bathrooms for one bedroom.

  "And what room did Gilbert stay in?"

  She checked the notes. "The lavender room. Only one bed and one bathroom."

  "And why were Hank, Edwina and Gilbert spending the night?”

  "Ravenna wanted to play games. She liked to force people to do whatever she wanted, so she demanded they play charades. Under her rules whenever someone made a wrong guess, the person had to take a shot of vodka or scotch. I'll bet she made a lot of bad guesses deliberately."

  He ignored her editorial comment. "Then what?"

  "Edwina almost fell asleep while they were playing. She made Hank help her upstairs to the blue room. Brenda had laid out night clothes for them. Brenda told me Ravenna thought of herself as royalty and that the great estates in Europe always provided for their guests."

  "Go back to Edwina."

  Abby glanced at her notes. "She said she changed into the nightgown, and when she came out of a bathroom, Hank had passed out on his bed. Remember I said there were two queens."

  "I remember. I guess that means they left Gilbert downstairs with Ravenna."

  "Yes. He and Ravenna played a little poker, but she started reminiscing about her life and wouldn't let him go upstairs to bed. He went into the kitchen to find leftovers and made himself a sandwich, and when he returned, Ravenna wasn't in the living room. He assumed she'd gone to bed.

  "He was getting himself another piece of the birthday cake when his girlfriend, Camille, called him from New York. They broke up on Thanksgiving, and she had flown to New York and he said she wouldn't return any of his calls. But that night she called and finally agreed to see him again. That was around three in the morning. He went to sleep and whatever happened after that, he claims he doesn't know a thing. Edwina and Hank said that too."

  "And no one heard Brenda yelling when she was locked in the bathroom?"

  "I don't think she yelled. She thought it was Ravenna who locked her, so she finally let herself doze off. When Edwina woke up around eight-thirty, she came downstairs, saw the front door ajar and she poked her head outside. That's when she saw me and Lulu standing over the body. She screamed and, well, I told you that part."

  He said, "Let's go back to Brenda. She was locked in a downstairs half-bath, right?"

  Abby nodded. "She woke up around five in the morning and thought she had better check on Ravenna."

  "Why would she do that?"

  "She usually did. It was routine, especially when Ravenna had too much to drink. She peeked into Ravenna's bedroom, saw the bed was still made, so she went downstairs and was surprised when she didn't find Ravenna on the couch. She heard a noise in the hallway and went to check it on it, and suddenly she was pushed inside. Brenda assumed it was Ravenna since she'd pulled the prank before."

  "Afraid of waking up the guests, Brenda didn't shout or bang on the door. Instead, she waited for Ravenna to unlock the door. Hours went by and she fell asleep; she didn't wake up again until she heard Edwina's scream."

  Moser asked, "Why did Edwina come downstairs?"

  "She said she left her phone in her coat downstairs. It was on the coat rack and she wanted to check for messages regarding the Winter Festival. She's in charge of it this year."

  In the distance came the wail of a siren, signaling the impending arrival of more officers. "Is that it?" he asked. "Did you ask them more questions?"

  "Well, I did wonder if that"—she gestured at the furry boots and dark green evening gown on the body—"was what Ravenna wore to the party. Brenda and the others confirmed it was what she was wearing that night."

  Minutes later, the sheriff left one deputy to guard the body while he and the other deputy entered the manor with Abby trailing behind them.

  In the great room a chill had settled on the occupants. Brenda was sniffling on the couch with Lulu patting her back to console her. Gilbert Inglewood, perfectly groomed as usual despite his haggard hung-over expression, sat leafing through a magazine.

  Edwina sipped coffee and scrolled through the email on her cell while her husband harangued someone in his office to get out a public relations statement on Ravenna's death.

  When he saw the sheriff Hank Holcombe immediately disconnected his phone to demand that he and his wife be the first questioned.

  Moser gave him a steady look, then motioned to Brenda. "You're first. Where's a quiet room we can talk?"

  Edwina spoke up. "The library's down the hall."

  Before escorting Brenda to the library, the sheriff told everyone in the room to not discuss what had happened. "Mayor, you and Edwina can remain in here but not a word of this to each other or anyone else." A nod to the deputy made it clear that he was to enforce the directive.

  Another nod went to Lulu and Abby. "Thank you. If I need to ask you more questions, you'll hear from me." It was a clear dismissal. Lulu started to protest but his impassive expression told them both to go home.

  "C'mon," Abby said, taking Lulu's elbow, "the law is the law."

  Chapter Four

  By the time Abby and Lulu returned to their respective homes on Curiosity Street, the grapevine's rumors were volleying from one end of town to the other.

  Abby's car squealed to the curb in front of Lulu's purple foursquare. "Need help to get inside?"

  "Help?" Lulu huffed. "What's wrong with you? You see a dead old lady and think I'm next on the Grim Reaper's list of pickups? Beat it, Buttercup. I'm fine."

  She wasn't fine. Lulu had a heart problem and a back problem that caused her pain from time to time. Abby had noticed her slow and careful movements when they were searching for a good spot to watch the Bohems and again when she was comforting Brenda as they sat together on the couch at the manor.

  Lulu opened the car door. "I do have a pie and coffee. Excellent fair trade coffee I brought back from a bodega in Chicago. You could come in for a slice of pie, if you want."

  "I promised Jill—"

  Lulu laughed. "We both know she's not up. She's a teenager. Sleeps until past noon unless there are horses in close proximity. Then she's up before dawn to get them fed."

  Abby grinned. Lulu's assessment was absolutely dead on. Jill's dream was to become an expert equestrian with the goal of someday participating in the Grand Western National. She lived and breathed horses.

  "C'mon, Abby Little, let's talk over what happened today while we devour honeyberry pie."

  Honeyberry bushes were prolific in southern Oregon, especially the area around Moon Water. Resistant to cold weather, the oblong purple berry tasted like wild blueberries and grew all over the woods, the town, even the banks of Moon Water Creek.

  Fifteen minutes later, Lulu tapped Abby's empty plate. "Want another slice?" They were seated at the fruitwood drop-leaf table in her kitchen.

 

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