Read Online Wilmington, NC 03 - Murder On The Ghost Walk by Ellen Elizabeth Hunter - Free Book Online
Authors: Ellen Elizabeth Hunter
Ads: Link
Have y ou ever tasted t his? Here , have a bite ." He dipped his fork into "Crowned Seafood Wilmington" and offered it to me. Shrimp and scallops on a crabmeat pate, with cream sauce and puff pastry points.
"Yum, scrumptious." I sampled my chippano, a seafood bouillabaisse made of tuna, salmon, clams, and shrimp over linguine in a delicate clam sauce. "This is heavenly."
As we ate, I filled Jon in on my conversation with Teddy Lambston. "Teddy said his mother got postcards from Reggie and Shelby from all over Europe. So did most of their neighbors on Orange Street : Sherman and Muffie Warner, in particular. Teddy says the Warners were Reggie and Shelby’s best friends."
Jon broke off a chunk of dinner roll and popped it in his mouth. "The police will question them."
"Tommy says Shelby seemed unhappy."
"Tommy Comer? Your Tommy? He knew Shelby?"
"Yes. He went over there one evening to give her an estimate on reupholstering some furniture, and Jon . . . .,” I giggled . . . “ I think he spent the night with her." The one-night stand between Tommy and Shelby made me uncomfortable. "Tommy let it slip. Then he seemed embarrassed that he had, so I pretended I hadn’t heard. He said she was sad. "
Jon frowned. "Shelby came on to me once too. She didn't seem offended when I turned her down. It was like she didn't really care, like she was going through the motions."
"Tommy said she was a good sport. That she was nice but unhappy . He really liked her."
"Oh, she was very likeable. So was Reggie. But their style was too loose for me."
"What do you mean?"
"This is what happened. They invited me to one of their parties. After dinner, Shelby explained the game to me. The women would retire to the guest bedrooms upstairs. Each woman was to hang an article of clothing on the doorknob, something she'd been seen wearing earlier. The men were supposed to make their selections and join the women inside. It was an old country-house entertainment they'd picked up in England. You know how decadent the Anglos are, and their boring country weekends . Shelby laughed and said next time they were going to have the men hang their neckties on the door knobs."
"Oh, Jon, how tacky." I wrinkled my nose.
"I felt the same way. When I got a whiff of what was going on, I thanked her for dinner and I was out of there. I never accepted another invitation."
"I wonder if their little fun and games backfired. Maybe someone got hurt. By the way, who were the members of this group of swingers?"
"Let's see, there were the Cushmans, Gordon and Cecily. You remember her. She's the big true-crime writer. She's made so much money with her books, they've got a house on Orange Street and a beach house.
"And as you said, Sherman and Muffie Warner who live next door to Reggie and Shelby. Sara Beth Franks, the artist. I suppose now they're all suspects."
"Yes, but suspects in whose murder? Till the skeletons are identified, we don't know who died."
"My money's on Reggie and Shelby."
"Guess mine is too." I decided to take Jon into my confidence. "Jon, I think Melanie might have been friends with Shelby and Reggie too."
"Melanie? I never saw her with them. We were all in high school together, but after school, we went our separate ways, went away to college , drifted apart. Why do you think Melanie was involved with them?"
"Tommy found an antique brooch that had slipped down inside Shelby's sofa. That brooch is Melanie's. So she was in their house sometime before they were murdered. Or before they moved away. Or whatever became of them."
"Maybe she lost it when she was looking at the house to buy it," Jon suggested.
"She'd never have sat on that sofa then. It was filthy. No, she lost that brooch when Shelby and Reggie lived there. She was with them."
Out of the corner of my eye I glimpsed a figure standing just inside the open French doors. I turned to him, thinking he was our waiter and I'd been craving Roy's famous chocolate rum cake. Instead of the
"Yum, scrumptious." I sampled my chippano, a seafood bouillabaisse made of tuna, salmon, clams, and shrimp over linguine in a delicate clam sauce. "This is heavenly."
As we ate, I filled Jon in on my conversation with Teddy Lambston. "Teddy said his mother got postcards from Reggie and Shelby from all over Europe. So did most of their neighbors on Orange Street : Sherman and Muffie Warner, in particular. Teddy says the Warners were Reggie and Shelby’s best friends."
Jon broke off a chunk of dinner roll and popped it in his mouth. "The police will question them."
"Tommy says Shelby seemed unhappy."
"Tommy Comer? Your Tommy? He knew Shelby?"
"Yes. He went over there one evening to give her an estimate on reupholstering some furniture, and Jon . . . .,” I giggled . . . “ I think he spent the night with her." The one-night stand between Tommy and Shelby made me uncomfortable. "Tommy let it slip. Then he seemed embarrassed that he had, so I pretended I hadn’t heard. He said she was sad. "
Jon frowned. "Shelby came on to me once too. She didn't seem offended when I turned her down. It was like she didn't really care, like she was going through the motions."
"Tommy said she was a good sport. That she was nice but unhappy . He really liked her."
"Oh, she was very likeable. So was Reggie. But their style was too loose for me."
"What do you mean?"
"This is what happened. They invited me to one of their parties. After dinner, Shelby explained the game to me. The women would retire to the guest bedrooms upstairs. Each woman was to hang an article of clothing on the doorknob, something she'd been seen wearing earlier. The men were supposed to make their selections and join the women inside. It was an old country-house entertainment they'd picked up in England. You know how decadent the Anglos are, and their boring country weekends . Shelby laughed and said next time they were going to have the men hang their neckties on the door knobs."
"Oh, Jon, how tacky." I wrinkled my nose.
"I felt the same way. When I got a whiff of what was going on, I thanked her for dinner and I was out of there. I never accepted another invitation."
"I wonder if their little fun and games backfired. Maybe someone got hurt. By the way, who were the members of this group of swingers?"
"Let's see, there were the Cushmans, Gordon and Cecily. You remember her. She's the big true-crime writer. She's made so much money with her books, they've got a house on Orange Street and a beach house.
"And as you said, Sherman and Muffie Warner who live next door to Reggie and Shelby. Sara Beth Franks, the artist. I suppose now they're all suspects."
"Yes, but suspects in whose murder? Till the skeletons are identified, we don't know who died."
"My money's on Reggie and Shelby."
"Guess mine is too." I decided to take Jon into my confidence. "Jon, I think Melanie might have been friends with Shelby and Reggie too."
"Melanie? I never saw her with them. We were all in high school together, but after school, we went our separate ways, went away to college , drifted apart. Why do you think Melanie was involved with them?"
"Tommy found an antique brooch that had slipped down inside Shelby's sofa. That brooch is Melanie's. So she was in their house sometime before they were murdered. Or before they moved away. Or whatever became of them."
"Maybe she lost it when she was looking at the house to buy it," Jon suggested.
"She'd never have sat on that sofa then. It was filthy. No, she lost that brooch when Shelby and Reggie lived there. She was with them."
Out of the corner of my eye I glimpsed a figure standing just inside the open French doors. I turned to him, thinking he was our waiter and I'd been craving Roy's famous chocolate rum cake. Instead of the
Similar Books
