Chapter 16

Chapter

Sixteen

B ack at the house, Cat walked through the empty rooms and finally found Shauna in the kitchen finishing up a batch of brownies for tonight’s after-dinner treat. Cat sank into a chair and put her head on the table. “Why is life so hard?”

“Life has always been hard. That’s why you write fiction and not true crime. You like the softer side of human nature.” Shauna set a cup of coffee in front of her. “Typically I’d avoid giving you caffeine this late in the day, but we have dinner and probably margaritas tonight so I think we’ll be fine. What happened to make you this puddle of a person?”

Cat sat up and sipped her coffee. “Lucy Johnson is pretty much off her rocker. I didn’t know her before Allen’s death, but she’s not doing well. I asked Uncle Pete to send someone over to evaluate her. I’m not sure she’s safe alone.”

“I thought that Kim person was staying with her?” Shauna got her cup and sat too. “The one you and Seth met after the funeral?”

“I didn’t see her. Roxie Scarsdale was there but her presence was agitating Lucy. She accused her of having an affair with Allen after telling her she knew Roxie was doing all the work but Allen was supposed to get all the accolades. It was weird.” Cat closed her eyes, trying to get the image of Lucy staring at that dress out of her mind. “Roxie left as soon as I got there. Well, as soon as I moved my car. She sat outside waiting for me to leave. Maybe I should have waited for Uncle Pete to get there.”

“You did what you could. You brought her food and called a professional,” Shauna looked at her watch. “And if you don’t hurry, you’re going to be late for the Seth bus to dinner. That’s why all the authors are upstairs getting ready. He told them that he wasn’t waiting for any of them and if they weren’t down here at six, they could find their own rides. I’ve never seen people move so fast.”

“Seth can be intimidating, but we shouldn’t be threatening our guests.” Cat felt a smile curving her lips.

“I think he was worried that the hostess at Three Tequilas would cancel our reservation. She can be a little snippy when people are late. Like last month.”

Cat groaned. “I remember. The horror authors thought it would be fun to dress in character. Dracula almost got us kicked out of the restaurant.”

“To his defense, the waitress started flirting with him first and she dropped the tray. He saved it from falling on the floor.” Shauna reminded her. “And the bar cheered at his save.”

“Good times,” Cat finished her coffee and stood. “What are you wearing? Tell me pants. I don’t want to get dressed up for this.”

“Wear your black jeans with the purple cashmere I bought you last month. It’s professional and classy. With your leather jacket, you’ll look like an author.” Shauna walked over and checked the lock on the kitchen door. “I’ll be right up. Everyone’s in their rooms so I’ll lock up before I go get dressed.”

Cat hurried up the stairs, pausing at the top to wonder why Shauna was so security-conscious today. Was it what Cat had said about Lucy? Or had the murder at Dante’s house down the street bothered her more than she was letting on? Shauna still saw a grief counselor after the murder of her fiancé. Maybe working at the murder retreat wasn’t the best place for her.

If they could just get through a few months of retreats without having someone killed in town, maybe they could lose the moniker. But, as she walked to her bedroom, more likely it would take years to lose the nickname.

She quickly got dressed and pushed some mousse into her hair to pump up the curl. Then she grabbed her coat and purse and headed to her office. She needed to check the word count sheets that Shauna had pulled at three from the living room to determine the Word King or Queen. Once that was done, she needed a cup for display. The winner would have the option of having one shipped. Packing light for a book event was hard, even before they started gathering souvenirs.

Cat’s phone went off. “Hi, Uncle Pete. I was just getting ready for dinner. Can I call you when we get back?”

“Two things, Grace Evans is back. She got stuck in Denver after drinking too much to drive home. And now, Lucy Johnson is gone. I arrived about ten minutes after your call and she’d already rabbited. You’re sure she didn’t kill her husband?” Uncle Pete asked.

“Sure, no, but it doesn’t feel right. I’m sorry, I should have stayed with her.” Cat pulled on her jacket after checking the word count. She grabbed a mug off her bookcase and put it in her purse along with a piece of paper that listed off the winner. It wasn’t a big thing, but she didn’t want to look like an idiot and not remember who the winner was at the restaurant.

“If I’d thought she’d bolt, I would have asked you to stay and I wouldn’t have taken that one last phone call. There are plenty of should haves going around.” He said something to someone at the Johnson house. “Go have a nice dinner with your writers. At least on Monday, they’ll be gone and I won’t have to worry about them getting involved in this investigation. Sometimes your guests are a little nosy for their own good.”

Cat locked the office door and hurried downstairs where most of the group was standing by the door. Maggie Martin was still missing as well as Debra Jennings. She smiled at the group. “At least Maggie has her car if Seth leaves without her.”

“Man, your boyfriend is brutal in his schedule announcements,” Jon adjusted his jacket. “I wouldn’t want to be on his bad side.”

“Oh, I’m a sweetheart, right Cat?” Seth was coming up the hall with Shauna. “Everyone here?”

“I’m coming, I’m coming,” Debra called from the stairs. “I got a call from my daughter when I was upstairs. I’m going to be a grandmother, again.”

“Congratulations, but still, no reason to be tardy,” Seth teased and started counting heads. Cat slapped him on the arm. “Fine, it’s a pretty good reason. We’re still missing one.”

“Maggie,” I took his arm. “Shauna? Can you call up to her room?”

Alicia held up her hand. “Maggie had to go talk to her husband. She said she’d meet us at the restaurant.”

“Okay, let’s go. I’m starving. I always eat more as a designated driver. The alcohol isn’t there to suck up the room in my stomach.” Seth grinned as he held the door open.

“Nice visual. No wonder the writers love you so much, you’re their example of a color character in their books.” Cat followed the last guest out and waited while Shauna got everyone in the van. Seth was a few steps behind since he stopped to lock the front door and set the alarm.

With everyone finally inside, they made their way to the restaurant. The chatter was all about the progress people had made during the week. With some groups, Cat just connected but with others, like this one, it seemed like the group bonded together without her. She listened to their chatter and wondered what the difference was between the two experiences.

And, did it matter as long as the guests had a positive experience? Shauna did guest evaluations, she would ask her about the question sometime next week. It seemed rude to ask why people didn’t like you while they were still in the house.

Seth reached over and squeezed her hand. “You’re quiet today.”

“Too much to think about, I guess.” She looked back and saw that Shauna was watching her too. Maybe she was the determining factor. Had she been more distant this week? “Maybe I need a week somewhere warm and sunny. With a beach.”

Shauna leaned forward. “Now that I can get into. When do we leave?”

“Hey, no fair. You guys are planning a retreat without us. Have you ever thought of having one somewhere warm, just for a change?” Debra leaned forward. “I’d love to have a writers' group week in Charleston. Going alone seems a little dull, especially after this week where I got to tourist a bit and get writing and research done.”

“There’s a library in Wales that lets you sleep in the actual library,” Jon added to the discussion. “I bet there are ghosts too. We could all go together. Write in the morning, tourist in the afternoon, and hang out around a fire at night.”

“A vacationing retreat?” Cat looked at Shauna and she could already see the wheels spinning.

“Kind of like a semester abroad but more intense,” Alicia added. “I bet the college might even let you set it up as an actual class.”

Cat laughed and shook her head. “Now you might be overcomplicating the process, but this is a really good idea.”

Maybe that was her problem, she was getting bored with the day-in and day-out of life here in Colorado.

As they pulled up to the restaurant, Shauna said, “One of the benefits of attending the retreat is you get a quarter newsletter from us about what’s going on here at the Victorian, usually a recipe, and upcoming events. Watch your newsletter to see what comes out of this discussion. Maybe we should name the retreat for you guys?”

“Winter 2024 group?” Debra suggested.

“No, the Freewriters. You know, like freeloaders?” Patrick suggested. Patrick had been a quiet guest, but he’d put out a lot of words during the week. “Or the Brownie Mafia?”

The group continued to throw out ideas as they waited for the table. Shauna stood next to Cat. Seth was still outside as he’d dropped them off in the front before he parked. “This is a good idea, don’t you think? I don’t want to overstep my role here.”

“Are you kidding? It’s a great idea. I can’t believe we didn’t think of it before. We’ll have to adjust the schedule, kind of what Jon laid out, and I’ll talk to the college administration to see if we could be considered an elective, but I don’t want the guests to have to pay for credit along with the cost of the travel and housing. I don’t know, but maybe Charleston or somewhere in the States would be a good trial run.” Cat stopped as the hostess came to seat them. “There will be two more, one’s parking the car and the other is driving herself.”

“We’ve got you set up in the banquet room this evening. Your groups are always so lively.” The hostess smiled as she led them into the restaurant.

Shauna whispered, “That’s hospitality code for we’re too loud for the main dining room.”

Cat waved her away and then sat down at the table. Shauna picked a chair a few spots away and pointed out a place for Seth. As everyone got seated, Cat outlined the schedule for the dinner. “Order whatever you want. Drinks, appetizers, main courses, even dessert. This meal is on us. It’s mainly Mexican cuisine, but there are a few more basic entrees for your enjoyment for the less adventurous. We’ll get our drinks and our order in, then we’ll have a short chat about the retreat. What you liked, what you didn’t. Don’t worry about being honest, I’ll ask after the first round of drinks.”

The group chuckled.

“Then with dessert, we’ll crown the King or Queen of Words for the week. We’ll get your picture to go up on the wall of fame and head home to get ready for tomorrow’s departure.”

“Do we have to go home?” Jon asked.

Seth joined the group, “You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here. Isn’t that the two am call out?”

Jon laughed and then studied the menu. Cat met Seth’s gaze and smiled. He had made a place for himself in the retreat. The three of them worked well together. Cat’s earlier melancholy disappeared as they enjoyed their time together.

Cat glanced at her watch as the waitress took their order. She texted Maggie and asked if she knew what she wanted for dinner. No response. Alicia was sitting next to Cat. “Have you heard from Maggie?”

Alicia checked her phone too. “No, but she said she might miss the meal. Her husband is needy. After talking to her, I know I don’t want to marry someone with a high-powered job. I want someone who will come home from work and cuddle on the couch with me. If he made good money too, that would be a bonus.”

“Well, if she answers, I’ll get her meal to go,” Cat set her phone out on the table so she wouldn’t miss the text. “Move that chip basket closer. They make their chips in-house.”

By the time they were on coffee and finishing desserts, Maggie still hadn’t responded. Cat figured that she must have been swept back into the role of the wife of a college president. Tomorrow, Cat would pull her aside and talk about setting boundaries around her writing time so Maggie could finish her project. Everyone needed time to create without worrying about someone stealing it from them.

Cat stood and pulled out the bag with the word count cup inside. “The winner of the word cup is…”

The group made a drumroll with their fingers on the table.

“You guys are good,” Cat laughed, “Okay, the winner is Alicia Smith. Our Covington student. And for the record, this is the only time a Covington student has won the cup. Usually, they’re bouncing back and forth from the retreat to campus and can’t find time to get words in. Congratulations, Alicia!”

Cheers went around the table and Alicia blushed as Cat handed her the cup. Seth came up to Cat’s side and said, “We’ve got to go.”

Cat turned and they stepped away from the table with Seth. “What’s going on?”

“The alarms are going off at the house. Someone’s trying to break in.” He glanced at the group. “Your uncle is already there and has someone in custody.”

“You’ve talked to Uncle Pete?”

Seth nodded. “We got lucky. A patrol car was in the neighborhood when the alarm system sent the first alert to their dispatch. They caught the intruder. Your uncle wants you to see if anything is missing. They broke the window on the back door to the mud room in the kitchen. Shauna’s going to be ticked off until we get that window replaced. The kitchen will be freezing, even with the inside door closed.”

Cat let the initial fear subside. Break in’s happened. Especially in the old college row since thieves thought having a big house meant having expensive things. For Cat, it just meant more bills. They would have gotten more at Dante’s house but he had a security team on site. And, she realized, that was why the patrol car was so close. They were watching Dante.

“Hey guys, we need to get this party over and get back to the house. I’ll warn you, there are a few emergency vehicles there. We had an incident at the house while we were gone, but officers have cleared the house and it’s safe.”

The writers stood and got their coats on, gathering their things. Seth had already left to get the car. Debra stopped next to Cat as the others followed Shauna out of the room. She’d already paid for the dinner.

Cat looked up at Debra, “I’m sure it’s fine.”

“I just wanted to say, the retreat started with a crime and ended with another. Maybe you should consider relocating or making this vacation retreat a monthly thing. Aspen Hills seems a little dangerous.”

Cat wanted to disagree, to tell Debra all about what a great place to grow up the town had been when Cat was a kid. But this wasn’t the time. “Let’s just get back to the house and figure out what happened. I’m sure it was just some kids looking for something to grab and go.”

As they all climbed into the van, Cat thought about Debra’s words. Maybe the idea of having a safe spot for mafia family kids was an old-fashioned one. Especially since someone had felt comfortable enough to steal from the college and try to frame one of the families’ leaders. Maybe some people weren’t following the rules set up so long ago.

She texted Grace Evans and asked if she had time for coffee tomorrow. If she asked Grace, would she get a straight answer? She had been excited that Dante was dating someone stable. Even though Cat had explained they weren’t dating, Maggie had to know that Cat understood the secret code around the college.

Cat knew she was an outsider in the very town she’d grown up in. Maybe that’s why it was feeling dangerous to Debra. And, if these things kept happening, would Cat even be able to hold the writers’ retreats anymore here in Aspen Hills?

Her dark thoughts kept running through her mind all the way home. She felt both Seth’s and Shauna’s gazes on her at times, but she ignored them. The writers were talkative, but more subdued than on the way here.

As Seth turned the van onto their street, the flashing red and blue lights lit up the houses. Mrs. Rice, their next-door neighbor was standing in her front window, watching. Her elderly cat was in her arms. Cat wasn’t sure if the feline was comforting his owner or the other way around. She could hear Sam barking out in his little fenced yard.

Uncle Pete walked up to her and nodded to the front. “Shauna, can you let your guests in through the front door and ask them to go to their rooms? If anything is missing, please have them come back down. Otherwise, can they stay in their rooms until we finish our investigation here?”

Shauna rounded up the guests and led them inside, giving them Uncle Pete’s instructions as they walked.

“I need you to see this,” Uncle Pete led her to the ambulance that was sitting in her driveway. The lights were off.

Not a good sign. Cat took a breath and looked in when her uncle opened the door. Lucy Johnson sat there with a leather-bound book in her arms. There was blood on her hands and arms. “Lucy? Are you hurt?”

“I found his book. She was sleeping with my husband. It’s not right. We took vows. She took vows.” She looked up into Cat’s face and Cat felt like this was the first time Lucy had really seen her. “You understand. Your husband broke his vows and paid with blood atonement.”

“Lucy, who was sleeping with Allen?” Cat looked at her uncle when she didn’t answer. “Maggie Martin didn’t show up for dinner. Did you check the west wing guest rooms?”

Uncle Pete swore. “I thought you only use those for reunion guests?”