Penned In - Lynn Cahoon Page 0,14
woman scream about ten minutes ago?” Angie stood next to him, glancing at his notebook. “It would have been just about the same time as your last surge.”
“No.” Nick’s eyes widened and he turned to the rest of his group. “What about you guys? Did you hear anything?”
“Not a peep. Well, except for Liz’s giggling.” Jamie grinned at his wife. “I found out she’s pretty ticklish.”
Ian caught Angie’s gaze and shrugged.
“There isn’t anyone else in here, is there?” Angie turned back to Bridget. “A woman or someone who screams like a girl?”
“Not that I know. This is everyone who should be here. Well, except the old man.” Glen glanced around the room. “Where did he take off to?”
“The bathroom. That guy lives in the bathroom. He’ll be there all night.” Tad grumbled. “That’s why I don’t invite him to stay with me anymore. Dude, I need access to the toilet once in a while.”
“Tad, that’s disrespectful. Uncle Thaddeus is older. Things don’t move as well as they do when you’re younger.” Tamera chided her brother. “I’m sure he’ll be back as soon as he can.”
“If he’s gone more than ten minutes, I’ll go check on him. I think we need to stay close together.” Marty glanced around at the shadows at the edge of the common room. “No need for anyone else to get hurt by accident.”
“There’s no way you can think that,” Matt pointed to the library, “was an accident.”
“We aren’t trained investigators. When the doors open in the morning and the police investigators look at the scene, then we’ll know for sure,” Bridget said. She nodded to Glen and Marty. “Let’s go see if we can find a phone in the break room. Maybe someone left their cell.”
Ian watched as they walked away. “That’s highly unlikely. I’m getting the impression that our guards have a few secrets they don’t want us to know. Or they’re talking about us.”
“Could be either one.” Estebe said. “Although Marty has the best motive since he was dating Pat’s wife. I’m feeling that Glen might just be our killer. He’s not truthful in his revelations of his whereabouts.”
“I’m feeling the same way.” Ian glanced around the room. “Let’s go sit over at that table. Maybe we can get the rest of the group to follow? I’d like to know their take on this.”
“Without us looking like we’re separating ourselves from the others? No. But I guess we can try. It’s not like we know these people at all.” Angie caught Hope’s gaze and then nodded toward Matt and Nancy. Then she pointed to the table on the far side of the room. Loudly, so everyone could hear, she said, “Since we’re stuck here and not sleeping, let’s go over the menu planning for tomorrow night’s service. I think, when we get out of here, I’m going to sleep for a while before I come in to work and we might not have time to get this together then.”
Felicia stood from where she’d been sitting. “Angie, sometimes you’re such a freaking slave driver. You know everyone’s tired.”
“Yeah, but no one’s sleeping, so let’s get this done.” Angie turned to Tamera. “Sorry, we’ll take the discussion over there so it won’t bother you all. Menu discussions can get a little heated, especially since my sous chef thinks he knows everything.”
“I heard that,” Estebe called from the table. “And you’re right, I do know everything. Glad you finally acknowledged my superior knowledge about local foods.”
Angie rolled her eyes for the others’ benefit, then mumbled as she walked toward the group. “Estebe can be a real jerk.”
When she sat down, the crew at the table was staring down at the floor. One by one they looked up, gave her a quick grin, then dropped their eyes. Matt glanced over at the rest of the people in the room. “No one’s watching.”
“That you can tell,” Estebe corrected. “Let’s talk about soups for a minute, then we should be fine.”
The group discussed the three soups they wanted to prepare this month. There was strong support for both last year’s russet and sweet potato soup and the lamb stew Estebe had brought to the menu. “I’d really like something new this fall. I know we’re already through October, but maybe one more? Everyone brings an idea for next week’s family meal and we’ll take the decision to the table.”
“With that settled, we wanted to ask the rest of you about your feelings regarding the killer. Any ideas?” Ian leaned into