Creeps Suzette Read online

  Judith gave Renie a puzzled look. “Why you? What about relatives or other friends? What about a private detective?”

  Renie wadded up her napkin and tossed it on the low table between the matching armchairs. “A private detective is out. Bev already suggested it, but this is an old, wealthy family that doesn’t care for strangers in their midst. At least that’s the way Leota Burgess feels about it. I met Bev’s mother a couple of times, so I’m considered a friend. And it seems I’m the only chum from around here that Bev’s kept up with. You know how it is—most people aren’t letter writers.”

  “What about family?” Despite herself, Judith felt a twinge of interest.

  “That’s the problem,” Renie said with a sly smile. “Bev’s mother thinks that one of them may be the aspiring killer.”

  “Wow.” The intrigue level rose in Judith’s brain. “How old is Mrs…. Burgess, is it?”

  “Right. Leota Burgess is almost eighty, but Bev says she’s still mentally sharp. Physically, she’s got all the usual ailments of the elderly—arthritis, neuralgia, and so forth.” Renie sat back in the armchair, watching her cousin closely.

  “It’s hard to believe that there’s no one Bev—or Mrs. Burgess—can trust within the family circle,” Judith said.

  “It’s a sticky situation,” Renie replied. “For one thing, Bev never got along with her sister and brother. She was the child of a second marriage, and they resented her. Which brings up another reason why I feel I should help her out. When we were in college, there were times when Bev felt she should get away from her sorority house, but didn’t want to go home. Her half-brother and half-sister tended to make her life miserable. So Bev would stay with us. She was at Grandma and Grandpa Grover’s one year for Thanksgiving. That’s probably one of the times you met her.”

  “Yes, I vaguely recall that,” Judith said. “Wasn’t that the year that Uncle Al put a frog in the gravy?”

  “You mean the frog that was wearing suede pants?” Renie shook her head. “No, that was the time that Auntie Vance knocked out Uncle Corky with a drumstick. Bev thought it was all pretty funny.”

  “Her relatives must have been more restrained,” Judith said.

  “Most other people’s are,” Renie replied. “But the point is, I’ve always felt a special bond with Bev. To me, she was always The Little Rich Girl Who Had Everything Except What She Needed. She might have found our family a trifle eccentric, but she sensed there was a lot of love. I guess I feel sorry for her and want to help.”

  “Does Bev have kids?” Judith inquired.

  “Two,” Renie replied, glaring at a young couple who clearly wanted to take over the chairs that the cousins were occupying in front of the fireplace. “They’re boys, Mark and Matt, who’ve just finished their degrees—Mark got an MBA and Matt completed his undergraduate work in marine biology. They’re celebrating by taking a road trip across the United States and Canada,” Renie explained. “They left this morning.”

  “That seems hardhearted,” Judith remarked. “Couldn’t they have stayed around for a while to make sure their grandmother was safe?”

  Renie gave Judith an ironic look. “They did, for about a month, but they think Granny’s batty. Of course young people think all old people are batty. We know better, don’t we, coz?”

  “But my mother is batty,” Judith remarked.

  “Mine isn’t,” Renie countered. “Yet.”

  “She will be.” Judith paused, sorting through what she was already calling The Burgess Problem. “Of course Bev’s mother isn’t as old as our mothers.”

  “That’s right.” Renie continued to study Judith while the young couple indignantly took their beverages outside to sit in the brumal February sun. “Well?”

  Judith grimaced. “I’d feel like a third wheel. I barely know Bev.”

  Renie poked Judith’s arm. “I didn’t really know that old high school chum of yours who owned the B&B up on Chavez Island. But I went with you to house-sit the place and damned near ended up being accused of murder.”

  There was no disputing Renie’s statement. She’d gone beyond the call of duty. Inside her head, Judith felt as if a wrestling match was going on between Responsibility and Adventure. Or Good and Evil. Or maybe just between whether or not she could leave Joe and her mother and the B&B without serious repercussions.

  “The Rankerses are back from their annual sun break,” Judith said more to herself than to Renie. “Unless she’s stuck with her grandchildren, Arlene probably wouldn’t mind taking over at Hillside Manor. She’s done it before, and seems to enjoy it.”

  “It’s a huge house, out in Sunset Cliffs,” Renie said in an undertone. “A gated community. Very exclusive.”

  “As long as Arlene and Carl are around, Mother never misses me that much,” Judith murmured. “They spoil her.”

  “A full complement of servants—maid, cook, butler, housekeeper. You won’t have to lift anything heavier than a Waterford glass filled with Glenmorangie Scotch.”

  “I wish Herself wasn’t still in Florida.” It never ceased to amaze Judith that Joe’s first wife, Vivian, had been able to make friends with Gertrude Grover. “Of course, she’s due back any day.”

  “The house was the first one built in Sunset Cliffs,” Renie said, her eyes roaming around the interior of Moonbeam’s. “In fact, old Maxwell Burgess, the timber baron, once owned the entire area, including where the golf course is now. He was Mrs. Burgess’s father-in-law. Her husband, Walter, died about ten years ago, leaving her enormously wealthy.”

  Judith burst out laughing. “Coz, the way you describe all this, it sounds like a perfect setup for murder. Maybe Mrs. Burgess isn’t crazy.”

  Renie avoided Judith’s gaze. “I’m only stating facts. You can make of them what you will.”

  “So I can.” Judith’s laughter subsided.

  “I can always go without you,” Renie said, still not looking at her cousin. “After all, you and Bev have no ties.”

  “Joe would be very upset.” Judith pursed her lips. “He’d feel abandoned. I’d be sending him the wrong message about his retirement.”

  “Architecturally, it’s a Richardson-inspired house,” Renie said, staring up at the ceiling. “Very Romanesque, built just at the end of the nineteenth century.”

  “On the other hand, my absence might force him to find something to do,” Judith said.

  “It’s called Creepers,” said Renie in her natural voice.

  Judith gave a little start. “What? Creepers?”

  Renie locked gazes with Judith. “The house. Where we’ll be staying. In Sunset Cliffs.”

  “Creepers?” Judith made a face. “I don’t know…”

  “Today’s Friday. I’ll tell Mrs. Burgess to expect us Monday morning, around ten-thirty. Okay?”

  Virtue, goodness, responsibility, and perhaps common sense fell to the canvas and couldn’t get up.

  “Okay,” said Judith, then cocked her head at Renie. “Did you really say Creepers?”

  Renie nodded.

  “Oh,” Judith replied, getting up from the armchair. “I wonder why.”

  “We’ll soon find out,” said Renie.

  TWO

  “I CAN’T GO,” Judith said into the cordless phone an hour later. “Joe’s feelings are hurt and Mother thinks she’s coming down with a cold. Mike called, and he and Kristin and baby Mac might be stopping by next week for dinner. Mike has a couple of days off from the ranger station up at the pass.”

  “That’s tough,” Renie retorted. “I already called Bev to tell her we’d do it, and I woke her up because I didn’t realize it was the middle of the night in Mugwump, Egypt, or wherever the hell they are.”

  “Can’t you do it alone?” Judith asked, a pleading note in her voice. “I haven’t seen my son and his family since before St. Valentine’s Day.” Little Mac was now almost eight months old, and crawling around with a frenzy. Judith felt that he changed every day, and never wanted more than a couple of wee
ks to go by without catching up on her first grandchild.

  “Of course I could do it alone,” Renie said in a testy manner, “but we work pretty well as a team, in case you haven’t noticed. Plus, you’re better than I am when it comes to dealing with batty old ladies. My mother isn’t nearly as goofy as yours.”

  Judith sank onto a stool by the kitchen counter. “I’m really, really sorry. I just can’t. Besides, what do you expect to find out? That Mrs. Burgess is nuts or that she’s about to get herself killed? If it’s the latter, will you sit by her bed at night with a gun in your hand?”

  “I thought we’d play it by ear,” Renie said, sounding snide. “Your instincts about these things are better than mine. Since when did you quit sleuthing?”

  “Ooh…” Judith twitched on the stool. “I’m not a real sleuth. I just keep getting into situations that sometimes require—”

  “Bull,” Renie interrupted. “You are a one-woman murder magnet. I don’t know how, I don’t know why, but you seem to attract homicidal maniacs.”

  “I’ve told you before, part of it is because I run a business where I meet a lot of different people,” Judith said. “Part of it is because Joe was a homicide detective before he retired. And the rest is…well, just coincidence. Besides,” she added rapidly, “if I’m the Grim Reaper, I’d think that somebody like Mrs. Burgess wouldn’t want me around.”

  “She doesn’t have to know how grim you really are,” Renie snapped. Then her voice suddenly softened. “Where’s Joe?”

  “Uhh…” Judith glanced at the hallway, then the dining room. “I’m not sure. He must be up in the family quarters.”

  The front doorbell rang, indicating that guests were arriving. The back door was reserved for family and friends.

  “I’ve got to go,” Judith began, carrying the phone with her as she turned around and crashed into Joe. “Yikes!” she cried, dropping the phone. “Where did you come from?”

  “The dining room,” Joe replied, looking alarmed. “Are you okay? I think somebody’s at the door.”

  As the doorbell rang again, Judith scooped up the phone. “Coz? I’ll call you back later.” As she headed through the dining room to the entry hall, she called to Joe over her shoulder: “Stop hovering. You scared me half to death.”

  “I’ll help greet the guests,” Joe offered, trailing along behind her.

  Judith ignored him. A middle-aged couple was standing on the doorstep, luggage in hand. “Welcome to Hillside Manor,” Judith said, forcing a bright smile. “Do come in. You must be the—”

  The phone rang. Reining in her patience, Judith shoved the receiver at Joe. “You answer,” she said under her breath.

  As Judith asked the guests to register, Joe clicked the phone on. “It’s for me,” he said with a surprised expression. “It’s Renie.”

  Judith gave her husband a curious glance, then led the visitors upstairs. They were named Drabeck, and had come from across the state for a family reunion that was to be held downtown at the Cascadia Hotel. Judith put on her best innkeeper’s face as the Drabecks explained how they didn’t want to pay the high room charges at the Cascadia, and had heard that Hillside Manor was highly recommended. After ushering them into Room Three, the largest of the second-floor bedrooms, she hurried back downstairs.

  Joe had just hung up the phone. “I didn’t realize Renie wasn’t well,” he said with a worried expression.

  “What?” Judith thought she hadn’t heard right.

  “This palsy thing,” he said, frowning. “When did that start? She doesn’t seem to shake very much.”

  “Palsy?” Judith suddenly understood. Renie was playing upon a case of Bell’s palsy she’d had years earlier after developing adult chicken pox. “Well. It’s a recurring problem.” That much was true, Judith thought, though Renie had never really gotten the disease again. “Stress aggravates it.” That might not be true, but it sounded good. “She needs to get away. But of course she’s not at all steady on her feet.” Renie was never too steady, though probably “clumsy” would have been a more apt description. “I hated to turn her down, but as we discussed, you and Mother and the guests need me here.”

  “Poor Renie.” Joe passed a hand over what was left of his graying red hair. “Bill’s never mentioned her medical problems.”

  “You know how Bill is,” Judith said, placing crackers on a pewter tray. “He’s very tight-lipped about some things. But I’m sure Renie will be okay as long as she goes into the hospital every day for her electric shock treatments. I’m not sure if she can drive, but maybe they’ll have somebody at her friend’s home who can give her a lift. Of course,” she went on, “it’s embarrassing. One side of her face gets absolutely frozen and her eye droops. She probably has to patch it, but she insisted before that it doesn’t totally impair her vision, except for depth perception.”

  “My God!” Joe exclaimed. “I’d no idea.”

  “You were married to Vivian at the time,” Judith said, taking a bowl of liver paté from the refrigerator. “How could you know? You and I were out of touch for over twenty years.”

  “Don’t remind me.” Joe came up behind Judith and put one arm around her shoulders and the other around her waist. “I’ve been kind of a pain lately, haven’t I?”

  Judith juggled the tray and the paté. “Well…I think it’s taking a while for you to settle into retirement. You did go out a year early.”

  “I know,” Joe said, nuzzling Judith’s ear. “I’m like one of those college players who turns pro before their senior year. Maybe I needed more seasoning.”

  Judith leaned against Joe. “But not more spice.”

  “It’s only four-thirty,” Joe said, glancing at the schoolhouse clock. “How about spicing up an otherwise humdrum afternoon?”

  Judith started to protest, then managed to set the tray and the paté on the counter. “Why not? If you’ve got the spice, I’ve got the thyme.”

  While the four guests were drinking sherry and eating appetizers in the living room, Judith and Joe sat in the front parlor, sipping Scotch. A mellow feeling filled the room as Joe convinced Judith that she should go with Renie to help take care of her friend’s mother.

  “The old lady’s sick, right?” said Joe as they warmed themselves by the small stone fireplace. “How much can Renie help if she’s sick, too?”

  Judging from what Joe had said so far, Judith gathered that Renie hadn’t mentioned Mrs. Burgess’s fears for her life. “I still don’t feel right about leaving you and Mother.”

  Joe grinned, and the magic gold flecks were back in his green eyes. “Are you afraid I’ll whack her?”

  Judith smiled back at her husband. “No, you’ve managed before when I’ve had to leave. Carl and Arlene are excellent buffers. If,” she added on a dubious note, “they agree to help out with the B&B.”

  “I’ll help out. And they’ll pitch in.” Joe was still grinning. “I called them while you were serving the guests.”

  “Oh.” Judith bit her lip. “Of course I’ll only be half an hour from Heraldsgate Hill. But I feel guilty, even if it’s only for a couple of days.”

  Guilty, Judith thought, because the premise is a big, fat lie. It wasn’t like Renie to tell such a tall tale. On the other hand, her cousin must really want Judith to come along. But for whose sake? Her own—or Renie’s? In fact, they both should be more concerned for Leota Burgess. Even if she was imagining things, she was still a weak, and no doubt frightened, old lady.

  Judith lifted her glass and gave Joe a warm smile. “To a most sympathetic husband.” And a gullible one, too.

  The gold flecks were still shining in Joe’s eyes. “To a pleasant stay at Sunset Cliffs. You and Renie will probably have a wonderful time.”

  Judith’s smile froze. “Yes. I’m sure we will.”

  The weekend turned out much busier than Judith expected. A tour bus from California had run into mechanical troubles, and some of the travelers had been put up at Hillside Manor Saturday night,
filling all six rooms. On Sunday, a group headed for a big family reunion discovered there had been a mix-up in their reservations at two other local B&Bs. Ingrid Heffelman from the state association had called to see if Judith could take in at least five people. She could, which not only filled the rooms for the second straight night, but made Judith’s February profit and loss statement look less dismal.

  Meanwhile, Judith and Renie had exchanged phone messages regarding their departure plans for Monday, March second. The last message came from Renie at ten o’clock Sunday night while Judith was next door, making final arrangements with Carl and Arlene. Renie asked if Judith could drive, and if so, not to bother calling back. Unlike the Flynns, the Joneses owned only one car. Bill would drop Renie off on his way to the chiropractor.

  By ten the following morning, Judith was ushering some of her guests out through the entry hall. Four more remained upstairs, and since checkout time wasn’t until eleven, she didn’t feel right about hustling them along.

  “I’ll handle it,” Joe said. “Finish packing, and forget about your duties here. As of now, you’re on vacation.”

  Giving her husband a grateful smile, Judith hurried up to the third floor to add a few last-minute items to her suitcase. She was back in the kitchen ten minutes later, ready to go.

  “I must say good-bye to Mother,” she told Joe as she headed out the back door. “I suppose she’ll be cranky.”

  The day was mild, with only a few clouds moving slowly across the blue sky. False spring, Judith thought as she passed the patio and the statue of St. Francis, then noticed that the pussy willows had burst into full bloom almost overnight. She wished she had time to pick a bouquet for the entry hall. Maybe Arlene would do it.

  A piercing shriek emanated from the toolshed where the door stood ajar. Judith froze, then saw her mother struggling on the threshold with her walker.

  “Help!” Gertrude yelled. “I’m being attacked! By pirates!”