redolence of detergent in the laundry room by the door.
I put down the platter and headed for the garage. I wasn’t sure how many steaks we’d need, since Sara Louise was unavailable for comment. Madison would surely drag herself back in time for dinner, though, which meant we needed at least four. I’d forgotten to stop by the grocery store, but Caron and Inez would not mind an excuse to drive Dolly’s car.
In painful contrast to the garage at my apartment, this one was fastidious. Hoses were neatly coiled around hooks on the wall, and the few gardening tools were aligned on a metal shelf. No stacks of newspapers or boxes of books cluttered the floor, which looked as though it was scrubbed on a weekly basis. And, of course, no rodents scurried out of sight or eyed me with disdain.
The freezer was large. I had no idea of cubic feet or whatever measure was used to gauge capacity, but this one had lots of them. I raised the door, then stopped as a blast of arctic air engulfed me. My eyes bulged in a most unattractive fashion.
For the first time, I had a decent view of the body Caron and Inez claimed to have seen. And this time, he wasn’t going anywhere.
Chapter Five
I dropped the freezer lid and backed into the pantry, fighting the primal instinct to dash through the kitchen and out the front door, squawking in a most unseemly manner. My knees were wobbling so badly that I had to grab the edge of the counter to steady myself. I stared at the freezer as if I were expecting to see the lid slowly rise of its own accord—or propelled by an icy, misshapen hand. I grabbed the door, slammed it closed, and locked it. Only then was I able to exhale the gulp of air that had crystallized inside my lungs.
I’d seen dead bodies before, in that my modest attempts to assist the police had at times led to sticky situations of a somewhat gothic disposition. But none of them had been so ghastly as the man in the freezer, his skin gray, his eyes flat, his face reflecting only minimal surprise, his arms curled around his bent legs. He was loosely wrapped in some sort of transparent plastic. And, as Caron and Inez had claimed earlier, he had a small wound ringed with blackish blood in the middle of his forehead.
Still unsure of my gelatinous knees, I risked letting go of the counter and made it into the kitchen, where I sank down onto a stool. From the patio I could hear the girls cheerfully prattling about ads in the fashion magazines. Could the person or persons who’d done this be in the house? I’d looked around for Madison, but I hadn’t opened closets or peered under furniture. With its gazebo, shed, pine trees, and bounteous azaleas and rhododendrons, the backyard could have provided cover for a platoon of malefactors. I began to shiver, either from shock or the sudden realization that we might all be in danger. I tried to yell Caron’s name, but all I could produce was a strangle , croak.
I finally forced myself up and went to the sliding door that led to the patio. “Girls,” I said evenly, “come inside now.”
“Yeah, okay,” Caron said without looking up. “Well be there in a few minutes.”
“Come inside now,” I repeated.
Inez turned her head. “Goodness, Ms. Malloy, is something wrong? You look like you’re about to throw up.”
Caron snickered. “She probably found Madison in the butler’s pantry panting with the butler.”
“We have a butler?” said Inez, glancing over her shoulder as if Jeeves might be bearing down on them with a plate of sticky buns.
I bit down on my lower lip for a moment, then said, “Both of you, now. Inside.”
They put down the magazines and came across the patio. “You do look pretty awful, Mother,” said Caron with the faintest flicker of concern. “Has something happened?”
I nodded. “I’ve found your missing body. Go upstairs to Sara Louise’s room, lock the door, and stay there until I come get you.”
Inez’s eyes widened. “He’s in the
I put down the platter and headed for the garage. I wasn’t sure how many steaks we’d need, since Sara Louise was unavailable for comment. Madison would surely drag herself back in time for dinner, though, which meant we needed at least four. I’d forgotten to stop by the grocery store, but Caron and Inez would not mind an excuse to drive Dolly’s car.
In painful contrast to the garage at my apartment, this one was fastidious. Hoses were neatly coiled around hooks on the wall, and the few gardening tools were aligned on a metal shelf. No stacks of newspapers or boxes of books cluttered the floor, which looked as though it was scrubbed on a weekly basis. And, of course, no rodents scurried out of sight or eyed me with disdain.
The freezer was large. I had no idea of cubic feet or whatever measure was used to gauge capacity, but this one had lots of them. I raised the door, then stopped as a blast of arctic air engulfed me. My eyes bulged in a most unattractive fashion.
For the first time, I had a decent view of the body Caron and Inez claimed to have seen. And this time, he wasn’t going anywhere.
Chapter Five
I dropped the freezer lid and backed into the pantry, fighting the primal instinct to dash through the kitchen and out the front door, squawking in a most unseemly manner. My knees were wobbling so badly that I had to grab the edge of the counter to steady myself. I stared at the freezer as if I were expecting to see the lid slowly rise of its own accord—or propelled by an icy, misshapen hand. I grabbed the door, slammed it closed, and locked it. Only then was I able to exhale the gulp of air that had crystallized inside my lungs.
I’d seen dead bodies before, in that my modest attempts to assist the police had at times led to sticky situations of a somewhat gothic disposition. But none of them had been so ghastly as the man in the freezer, his skin gray, his eyes flat, his face reflecting only minimal surprise, his arms curled around his bent legs. He was loosely wrapped in some sort of transparent plastic. And, as Caron and Inez had claimed earlier, he had a small wound ringed with blackish blood in the middle of his forehead.
Still unsure of my gelatinous knees, I risked letting go of the counter and made it into the kitchen, where I sank down onto a stool. From the patio I could hear the girls cheerfully prattling about ads in the fashion magazines. Could the person or persons who’d done this be in the house? I’d looked around for Madison, but I hadn’t opened closets or peered under furniture. With its gazebo, shed, pine trees, and bounteous azaleas and rhododendrons, the backyard could have provided cover for a platoon of malefactors. I began to shiver, either from shock or the sudden realization that we might all be in danger. I tried to yell Caron’s name, but all I could produce was a strangle , croak.
I finally forced myself up and went to the sliding door that led to the patio. “Girls,” I said evenly, “come inside now.”
“Yeah, okay,” Caron said without looking up. “Well be there in a few minutes.”
“Come inside now,” I repeated.
Inez turned her head. “Goodness, Ms. Malloy, is something wrong? You look like you’re about to throw up.”
Caron snickered. “She probably found Madison in the butler’s pantry panting with the butler.”
“We have a butler?” said Inez, glancing over her shoulder as if Jeeves might be bearing down on them with a plate of sticky buns.
I bit down on my lower lip for a moment, then said, “Both of you, now. Inside.”
They put down the magazines and came across the patio. “You do look pretty awful, Mother,” said Caron with the faintest flicker of concern. “Has something happened?”
I nodded. “I’ve found your missing body. Go upstairs to Sara Louise’s room, lock the door, and stay there until I come get you.”
Inez’s eyes widened. “He’s in the
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