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The elderly woman nodded.
“You live here at Everlasting Manor?” Jason continued.
“That is correct.”
Jason had a large portfolio pad in his lap and was taking notes. “What exactly is your position here?”
The sound of footsteps reached her, but she didn’t have to turn to know Flynn had entered the room. His scent washed over her, and an energy bounced from his body to hers. She couldn’t help herself, she turned and glanced at him. He was leaning against the doorjamb, coffee cup in hand. Their gazes locked again and he offered her a small smile. Images of him naked filled her brain. Heat pooled between her legs.
Mrs. Carruthers cleared her throat. “I am the manager here. It’s my job to make sure things run smoothly for our members.”
“I see,” Jason said but he was now staring at Harper, his eyes slightly narrowed.
Heat rushed up into her cheeks. She felt like she’d been caught with her hand in the candy jar or something. She needed to get a hold of herself. Astrid needed her to focus.
Jason turned back to Mrs. Carruthers. “So, you brought in Calli to help with the party?”
“No. That was Gina Ling.”
A frown marred Jason’s features. “Gina brought her?”
Mrs. Carruthers sniffed. “Yes. Gina is the membership coordinator.”
“I’m sorry, I seem to be confused. What is the difference between your position and hers?”
“I oversee everything operational. Gina makes sure the members are…entertained.”
Harper felt a distinct chill in the air. Helen Carruthers did not like Gina one bit. There was some professional jealousy going on there for sure. But was it enough to make her kill? Harper couldn’t picture it. And how could this older woman throw Calli down the stairs if she was already dead? Dead people weighed a lot. Or so she’d learned by watching true crime shows on cable. Did that mean there was a partner?
Jason turned toward Flynn. “Can you get Gina down here? I’m going to need Calli’s contact information.”
Flynn nodded and disappeared into the darkness of the house.
Jason continued, “Can you tell me your movements this evening?”
Drawing herself up to her full height in her seat until her back was ramrod straight, she asked, “My movements? That poor girl fell down those stairs. It’s the only thing that makes any sense. Asking me for my movements as if she was murdered is just distasteful.” She was positively indignant.
Jason’s facade of calm was starting to crack, and Harper immediately felt for him. He was under a lot of pressure with Astrid’s murder. Adding another murder victim was just crazy.
“Mrs. Carruthers, Calli is dead. We don’t know what happened but there is some evidence to suggest she was murdered. I apologize for the bald delivery, but it’s the truth. I am trying to determine where everyone was last evening. That way I can discover who might have seen something useful. So please, your movements.”
All the blood seemed to leave the older woman’s face. She laced her hands together in her lap and stared down at them. Finally, she started. “We served dinner and had some unexpected guests.” She glanced at Harper and sent Jason a pointed look. “Then I made sure that the staff had cleaned up properly and the kitchen was ready for breakfast in the morning.
“So the power went out at what time?”
“Dinner was over by nine. Clean-up was done by ten thirty. I did a walk-through of the house as I always do and then headed up to bed.”
“And what time was that?” Jason asked, pen poised above the portfolio.
“I went to my room around ten-forty-five.”
“The lights were out in the foyer,” Flynn said from the doorway. He was back but no Gina. “What time do those go off?”
“They shouldn’t go off, but we’ve been having some issues with that type of thing lately.”
Jason shot a glare at Flynn but asked Mrs. Carruthers, “Issues?”
“Yes, someone keeps hitting the master switches.”
