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“Then I went to the second floor, knocked on a couple of doors, but didn’t get any response. The door to one room was wide open, and it didn’t look like it was occupied.”
Lyons finally broke in. “I thoughtnoneof the rooms were occupied because everyone was at the party.” He bent over the table, standing over her right shoulder in a pseudo-threatening manner, almost pouncing as if he’d caught her in a lie.
Bad cop.
No way was she falling for that one. A quick glance at Daniel confirmed that he, too, had pegged the game these guys were using. He gave her a reassuring little wink.
“No one answered at any of the rooms, and all the doors were closed. This particular room, I believe it was the Bonnie Parker Boudoir, had an open door. There was no luggage, no unmade bed and no personal items were in evidence. I therefore assumed it was not being occupied by anyone staying at the inn.” Sophie almost applauded herself for sounding just like the kind of credible witness she often wrote about in her court scenes.
Lyons conceded the point with a brief nod and stepped back, removing himself from Sophie’s personal space. She felt Daniel’s hand drop onto her leg under the table. He gave her a reassuring squeeze that both congratulated her and reminded her to keep calm and cool and not get cocky just yet. They weren’t through with her, she imagined. Not by a long shot.
“Did you go into the room?” the first officer asked.
“I did. I found the sewing kit in the table, went into the adjoining bathroom and took off my costume to fix it.”
“All right. Anything else?”
She nodded. “I was standing in the bathroom in my long underwear, sewing my skirt when I heard the shot.”
This time Willis looked slightly confused. Skipping right over the vital “shot” part of Sophie’s statement, he asked, “Long underwear? It’s only September.”
“I was Little Bo Peep,” she explained with a simple shrug.
He still looked confused.
Daniel interjected, “Not long johns. Long frilly…female-looking things.”
The officer’s face pinkened slightly. “Ahh.” The second officer—bad cop—merely grunted.
“I had to get dressed again before I could go see what was going on.” She got tired just thinking about what a pain in the neck that costume had been.
Then again, it could have been worse. She could have taken Daniel’s advice and gone as Freddy Krueger. Wouldn’t that have been interesting to the cops?
Their questions continued for another half hour, and Sophie continued to answer as truthfully as possible. She admitted that she’d had a bad relationship with Miss Hester. And yes, she’d created some characters based on the woman in her books. And yes, she had murdered her in those books.
“But I also murdered my piano teacher who used to smack my knuckles with a ruler,” she added helpfully.
Lyons pounced again. “Her name and address?”
Sheesh. These guys had no sense of humor at all.
“Okay, gentlemen,” said Daniel, “you’re grasping at straws.” He stood and dropped his hand on Sophie’s shoulder. “She’s answered your questions. Now I think you should go.”
Sophie could have kissed him right then and there, because she’d truly been at the end of her patience. Thank God Daniel knew her so well. He’d recognized that when she started cracking smart-ass jokes, she might go on to say just about anything.
Lyons gave Sophie a piercing look. “We were hoping you’d provide a sample of your handwriting and your fingerprints.”
Daniel took the man by the shoulder and ushered him toward the door. “You want fingerprints and handwriting, you charge her. Don’t come back without an arrest warrant.”
Sophie sucked in a breath, shocked at how quickly Daniel had become angered. After the men left, she asked, “You don’t think that went well?”
He shook his head. “I’m afraid not. They have something, some other evidence, and they think it ties back to you.”
She thought it over but could think of nothing. In her fiction career, however, she knew the suspect was often blindsided by an unexpected witness or damning bit of testimony.
She was living one of her novels. A sick feeling rolled through her stomach. “Thank you for getting them out of here. I don’t think I could have stood much more.”
He stepped close and pulled her into his arms, giving her the kind of kiss that had always made her toes curl. When they drew apart, she asked, “You sorry you hooked up with me? Sorry you ever came to my rescue when that dog knocked me over onto the ice last winter?”
