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“And?” Maisy asked.
“The last update was that they’d arrived at the farm manager’s house and were about to go inside. Once they get the coroner settled and secure the scene, Aroostine and Carl will head up here with Hatty and John. Did you two pick your rooms? We should get that sorted before they get here.”
Sasha and Maisy exchanged an uncertain look. They were best friends with Naya. Their trio kept few secrets from one another. If they told Naya about finding the secret passage, she’d want to see it. Not that Sasha blamed her. But she was dead on her feet.
‘Tomorrow,’she mouthed to Maisy.
Naya pulled a face. “What are you whispering about?”
Sasha took a big swig of still undrinkably hot coffee to buy time to formulate an answer, but Maisy jumped in.
“You’re right. We need to get people settled in their rooms. Grab that scanner, and let’s go herd some cats.”
Naya narrowed her eyes, not fooled by the attempt to change the subject. But she must have been as tired as she claimed because she did something she wouldn’t ordinarily dream of doing: she let it go. She sighed and stood, pocketing the scanner in the process. “Let’s do it then.”
They found the others in the room they’d designated as the bag room. Chris and Daniel sat in the pair of wing-backed chairs, surveying the others like proctors watching over an exam. Paul had dozed off in an overstuffed chair by the window. His mouth hung open, and his head lolled to the right. Sasha winced at his position. He was going to wake up with a stiff neck. His wife sat with Annette, Tessa, and Bethany at a square table on the other side of the room where a jigsaw puzzle in progress was laid out. Leeza half-heartedly tried to fit a corner piece into the puzzle’s border. Her friends watched tiredly. Joy was also sleeping. She’d claimed one end of the loveseat, where she’d curled up under a quilt. Chance sat at the other end and stared down at his feet. Brian sat on the floor, his back against the wall, reading a paperback.
Daniel gestured to the quiet, dispirited gathering. “Puts you in mind of an airport terminal during a long delay, doesn’t it?”
“That’s the vibe,” Sasha agreed. She raised her voice to address the room. “If you’re ready to call it a night, you can head up to the bedrooms. Leo and I will take the blue and yellow one near the top of the stairs, but otherwise, they’re all fair game.”
Joy jerked awake at the sound of Sasha’s voice. Paul slept on, snoring softly. Finally, Leeza crossed the room and gave his shoulder a gentle shake.
“Come on. We’re going to bed,” she told him softly.
Tessa eyed Joy, rubbing the sleep from her eyes on the loveseat, and sighed. “You can bunk with me and Bethany,” she told the drowsy redhead.
“Thanks.”
Brian and Annette grabbed their bags.
“So, I guess I’m the odd man out,” Chance said to no one in particular.
Sasha watched Bethany turn toward him. The husband and wife locked eyes. Chance’s expression could best be described as pleading. After a moment, Bethany relaxed her shoulders and opened her mouth. Before she could speak, the police scanner buzzed.
“This is Officer Pete Duncan. We’ve arrived at the farm manager’s cottage to secure the crime scene and the corpse. Doctor Graham and Doctor King are going to stay with Mr. Stoddard’s body until the forensics team arrives, at which point Hank Richards will escort them to the main house to attend to Grady Jones’ corpse. The others will head up to the manor as soon as they’ve warmed up.”
The dispatcher’s voice crackled through the static. “Pete, is this for my benefit or theirs?”
“Theirs. The group in the house has the scanner.”
“Copy that.”
The radio went silent.
“Can we still go to bed?” Annette all but pleaded.
“I don’t see why not,” Sasha told her. “The police will want to talk to all of us, but it’s going to take them hours to get two separate crime scenes and two bodies secured. You might as well catch a nap if you can.”
“Music to my ears,” Paul mumbled as he shuffled over to grab his bag.
Chris slung his bag over one shoulder. Daniel lifted his chin and eyed Sasha. “We’ll take your bags up for you and Leo.”
Sasha managed a tired but grateful smile. “Thanks.”
Naya, Maisy, and Sasha watched the others file out of the room until only Chance and Bethany were left. Naya elbowed Sasha, who elbowed her back.
“Ouch.”
