Penned In - Lynn Cahoon Page 0,17
love her husband though. She watched him like a hawk all the time we were talking and he was talking to Ian.”
Angie filed that under honeymoon weirdness. She turned to her friend. “Felicia? Anything more out of Tamera?”
“She apologized for her brother not once or twice even. She apologized ten times, which was hard to do in less than ten minutes. She says he’s a little freaked out about his life this year. But he’s on a good path.”
Everyone looked at each other.
“Just because the sister is worried doesn’t mean he’s our killer.” Angie reminded them even though she wanted to scream it was the final straw. She wasn’t sure she had enough facts to even have a police officer question him. She checked her list. “Matt? What about Jamie? Any skeletons there?”
“Not a one. He’s a good guy under all those preppy clothes. He loves his ghost stories though. He and Liz are taking off in an RV in a week to go visit a bunch of haunted places. Liz is writing a book.” Matt paused, looking up at the ceiling. “And that’s all he told me. Well, except the fact Nick and Sara were supposed to ride along, but she put the kibosh on the plans this morning.”
“Never going to last.” Nancy said.
“Okay, thanks for the report, Matt.” She looked down at her list. She needed to report her news and Estebe hadn’t talked yet. “Estebe? What about Tad?”
“That man is a self-consumed jerk who should never be around people again. He said he hoped this place was haunted, and he hoped his uncle would have a heart attack when he saw the real ghost.” Estebe sighed. “I do not like the man. I wish he had killed the guard another day. One where we weren’t here.”
Chapter 6
“Do you really think Tad killed Pat?” Angie stared at Estebe. He wasn’t looking at anyone at the table. Instead he was watching the others.
“I think someone in this building did. Why not Tad?” Estebe rubbed the top of his head.
Angie felt the challenge in Estebe’s words. So instead of responding, she glanced around the room. “We don’t just pick the easiest target. We need to know who was in on this.”
“Sorry, that was an overreaction. Which was still better than what I wanted to say.” He stood from the bench and stretched. “I’m tired. Words seem to be coming out of my mouth on their own terms. And I hate charlatans.”
“Gift horses and all,” Matt provided.
“Exactly.” Estebe slapped Matt on the back. “Thanks buddy.”
Angie wasn’t sure where this conversation had gone off the rails, but it was obvious that everyone was tired and needed some sleep. She glanced around. The guards still weren’t back. “Let’s go find Bridget, and then we’re going to the closest cells and getting a few hours of sleep. One of us will stay awake just in case.”
“We could switch off every hour.” Matt added. He yawned, rubbing his eyes.
“I’ll take the first watch.” Ian nodded to the bank of cells near the back of the room. “I’ll wait for our hosts to come back. You all go get some sleep. Who wants second shift?”
Felicia raised her hand. “I’m good with cat naps.”
“Let’s do two on guard. I’ll sit up with Ian first. Then Ian will go to bed and I’ll stay up with Felicia. Then I’ll go to bed and Felicia can sit with the next person.” Angie suggested. “That way it’s less likely that our guard will fall asleep too.”
“Hey, I might resemble that remark.” Ian smiled at her. “But it’s a good call. I’m drained and this way, I have someone to talk to.”
“Then put me on the third shift,” Nancy said. “With having two jobs that will be just about the time I’m used to getting up anyway.”
“That would bring us up to the unlock time. Then we just have to stop for coffee and get home so we can open on time tomorrow.” Estebe looked at his watch. “Or technically, today.”
“See you all in the morning,” Ian called as he refilled his coffee cup. He held up an empty cup, “Want some?”
“Yes, please.” Angie met him at the coffee pot.
They took the coffee and followed the group to the bank of cells. There was a table close and Ian sat with his back to the cells, watching the front.
Angie pointed to the cell block. “Should we walk through before they go to sleep to make sure no one’s there?”
“Estebe was