Make the Ghost of It (Witch Woods Funeral Home Book 3): (Ghost Cozy Mystery series) (6 page)

Chapter 11

That night I woke up several times and checked my phone. I had texted Basil to ask him to send me a text when the police released him, even if it was the middle of the night. I woke at dawn, and immediately snatched up my phone. There was no word from Basil. I forced myself to have a shower and make myself look presentable before I went downstairs to make coffee. On the off chance that Basil were to arrive without warning, I didn’t want him to see what I look like first thing in the morning, pre-caffeine. After my first cup of coffee, he still hadn’t called. I stared at the phone once more, willing it to ring.

I had just given up, and had decided to take my mind off it by painting, when the doorbell rang. To my relief, it was Basil. He looked white and drawn. He hadn’t shaven; his hair was sticking out in all directions, and he looked a good ten years older.

“Are you all right?” I said. Before he had time to speak, I added, “Come in and have some coffee.” The machine was still on, so I dropped in a pod. “I’ve been so worried about you. I had no idea what had happened.”

Basil looked puzzled. “I texted you and told you all about it. I got worried when you didn’t reply, so I came over to check on you.”

I looked at my phone. “No, there are no texts.”

Basil pulled his phone from his pocket and scrolled through it. “Oh no, I’m so sorry. I did write a text, but it didn’t send.” He held out his phone to show me.

“I hate it when that happens,” I said. “But did they arrest you? What happened?”

“They didn’t arrest me, but I had to get a lawyer. I didn’t get out of there until three in the morning.”

“But why? What makes them think you did it?”

Basil had been standing, leaning back against the countertop, but now he sat down on a seat and put his head in his hands. “Laurel, I’m Lewis’s main heir.”

“What?” I gasped. “You’re kidding!”

Basil shook his head. “I wish I were.”

“But why you?” I asked him. “I thought you’d hardly seen him since college?”

Basil waved his hands in a gesture of helplessness. “I don’t have a clue. I’ve inherited his accounting firm. “

“But would anyone murder someone if their only motive was that they inherited accounting firm?” I said, scratching my head.

“And a whole lot of money with that,” Basil said, looking somewhat embarrassed. “It turns out that Lewis was a millionaire.”

I took a while to process the information. “Did you know he was a millionaire?”

Basil shrugged. “He was always splashing his money around. I don’t think he ever said he was a millionaire, though. He just said that his parents were very wealthy. Anyway where is he?”

“Actually, I haven’t seen him since the morning of the memorial service,” I admitted. “Next time Ernie shows up, I’ll ask him to go and find Lewis.”

Basil looked grim. “Anyway, I’m telling you all this out of chronological order. The police took me down to the station to question me—the detectives, that is—and then they escorted me to the reading of the will.”

“So Violet was right? There’s already been the will reading? I didn’t think it would be so soon.”

Basil nodded. “All the beneficiaries were there, and as the memorial service was being held in town, apparently Lewis’s lawyer decided to hold the will reading there.”

“Is that usual?” I asked him.

“No idea.” Basil finished his coffee before continuing. “Norbert and Violet looked absolutely furious. They were livid with rage. If the police hadn’t been there, there would have been some yelling at the very least. They looked like they wanted to murder me on the spot.”

“You’re kidding!”

Basil shook his head. “Norbert and Violet were protesting throughout the will reading, and as soon as it was over, the detectives hurried me out of there and back to the station for more questioning. So, you can see that I
do
have a motive. I was the major beneficiary of the will, and I went skydiving with him. I had access to his parachute. It’s an open and shut case.”

I thought for a moment. “No, if it was an open and shut case, they would have already arrested you.”

“I hope you’re right. That’s what my lawyer says, too. They didn’t find any riser threads on any of my clothes, and the Touch DNA samples didn’t come back with any of my DNA. They took all the scissors from my house, but they didn’t find any risers threads on those either.”

“What! They searched your house?”

“Yes, they had a warrant.”

“This is all too much.” I shook my head, frustrated. “But doesn’t that mean they figured out that you didn’t do it?”

“No, sad to say, it just means that they think I wore gloves. But the good news is that although it doesn’t prove I didn’t do it, it doesn’t prove that I did do it, either.”

I rubbed the back of my neck. “What happens now?”

Basil frowned. “There’s nothing we can do. The police will make of the evidence what they will, and there’s nothing I can do about it.”

“But there
is
something we can do about it,” I said. “We can find out who the murderer is, and somehow get that evidence to the police. Ernie, Lewis, are you there?”

“Hello?” a loud voice rang out.

Basil and I exchanged glances, and then I realized that the voice belonged to a human being, a live human being. “Oh, I forgot. It’s the plumber!”

I hurried to the door and let the plumber in. Basil had followed me out. I turned to him. “I’ll just go and show Tom to the bathroom.”

“I’d better be going,” Basil said. “When I got back last night, I fell asleep on the sofa. I need a shave and to get cleaned up, and then I need to speak to my lawyer.”

Tom looked Basil up and down. “It must be awful being a murder suspect. I heard you got home in the middle of the night.”

“How did you know?” I asked him.

Tom laughed. “Everyone knows everyone else’s business in this town.”

I had to agree that he was right. “Basil, would you like to come back for lunch?”

Basil said that would be lovely, and I noticed a glint in Tom’s eyes. No doubt that too would soon be all over town. On a brighter note, the plumbing news wasn’t anywhere near as bad as I feared.

“I’ll have it up and running in no time,” Tom said, wielding a wrench. “Someone’s already done all the work, and their only mistake was that part that caused the flooding earlier. It won’t take much to get it all working. I wonder why they didn’t finish it when they had come so close.”

I shrugged. “No idea. Would you have time to look at the kitchen as well, please?”

I didn’t know if my luck would continue to the kitchen, but it did. Tom informed me that the kitchen was all right to go; he only had to turn on a tap inside a cupboard.

I stayed in the kitchen while Tom went back to wrestle with the bathroom. I had diverted all my calls from my landline to my cell phone, so I checked that the volume was high. I looked in my refrigerator, but it was only stocked with the bare emergency essentials: chocolate, wine, and ice cream. I didn’t know how Basil would feel about those items for lunch, despite the fact that they looked awfully good to me.

I had a couple of hours before Basil returned, and there were no bookings for the day, so I threw myself into cleaning up my apartment. I opened the windows to let in the fresh air, but they only succeeded in letting in the flies. I lit some incense and put a stick in each room, smiling as I did. Mom had not allowed me to burn incense in her house. She always said that incense was evil and New Age.

Now that the water was running in the kitchen, I decided to clean it. The kitchen really needed replacing, but it would do for now. The countertops were old and yellow, and the cabinet doors were some sort of horrible timber veneer. I figured I would paint everything white, and it could stay like that until I could afford to have the whole thing replaced. The kitchen had never been used, so at least I didn’t have to clean up anyone else’s years of dirt and grime.

I had bought a thrift store find table for five dollars when I had first decided to move into the apartment, and I had put it here. I had already chalk painted the legs in white, and dry brushed the top. It looked quite attractive. And while I didn’t have any nice chairs for the table, I did have three old metal chairs that I had bought for a bargain. They were awfully uncomfortable and not very attractive, but they sure beat sitting on the floor.

After I cleaned the kitchen, I debated whether to start painting, but I wanted to have a nice lunch with Basil in my apartment and didn’t want the paint fumes to be overwhelming. I looked at the time, and realized I had taken longer than I thought.

I grabbed my keys, told Tom I wouldn’t be long, and headed out to town.

I went to my favorite Chinese restaurant, which happened to be the only one in town, and bought a selection of food. I realized how little I knew about Basil, when I realized I had no idea of his food preferences.

By the time I got back to the funeral home, Tom was just leaving. He handed me his statement. I looked at it, and smiled. It was quite affordable.

“Just put it into my bank by bank transfer,” Tom said. “I’ve got my account details on the statement.”

“Thanks Tom; I appreciate it. I’ll go and transfer the money now.”

Just then, Basil’s car drove up, and Tom winked at me. “No hurry, Laurel. I know where you live.” He chuckled, and went to his vehicle.

Basil looked a lot better than he had. I wondered if he’d had time to have a little sleep as well. “That smells good,” he said.

“Hungry?”

“I’m ravenous,” he admitted.

I held up the bags. “I hope you like Chinese.”

“I love Chinese.”

I smiled and turned around, and ran straight into Lewis. To be accurate, I walked straight through Lewis. It was an unpleasant feeling, somewhat akin to walking through a veil of water.

“Where have you been, Lewis?” I asked him.

“Why didn’t you tell me that I was the major beneficiary in your will?” Basil asked him.

“Well, excuse me!” Lewis said sarcastically. “A little thing like being murdered happened to me. Forgive me if I can’t remember everything.”

I hoped Lewis wasn’t going to ruin our lunch, and I wondered how I could give him a hint to leave, but just then a car approached the funeral home at great speed.

Chapter 12

Violet and Norbert jumped out of the car, which had come to a halt with a squeal of brakes.

“I thought I’d find you here, Basil,” Violet said icily. “Why don’t you come clean and tell me how you convinced Lewis to change his will.”

Basil’s expression seemed to change from surprise, to anger, to frustration. “I had no idea I was even
in
Lewis’s will.”

Violet stomped her foot, just like a two-year-old child throwing a tantrum.

“Tell us; how did you convince Lewis to change his will?” Norbert asked him. His tone was controlled, but it was clear that he was just as angry as Violet.

Basil crossed his arms. “I’ve told you; I had no idea I was in the will, let alone that I was the major beneficiary.”

Violet made a strangled sound. “Lewis told me that if we got engaged, he would change his will and I would be the sole heir.”

“Quite obviously, he didn’t get around to it,” Basil said, “but Lewis never so much as mentioned the will to me.”

“After we were engaged, Lewis told me that he’d already changed it and that I’d get everything,” Violet snapped.

Norbert chipped in. “Yes, that’s right. Violet told me back then.”

“So you and Violet were in very close touch at that time, were you?” I said.

Both Violet and Norbert turned their attention to me as the implication of my words sank in. “I don’t know what you’re implying. Ms. Bay, but Violet and I are only friends,” Norbert said coolly.

I knew that wasn’t true, because Lewis, in ghost form, had seen the two of them being so not ‘just friends.’

Violet continued with her tirade. “You talked him out of it, somehow, and I’d like to know how!”

Norbert took her by the arm. “Come on, Violet. He’s not going to tell you.”

Violet narrowed her eyes once more. “I’m contesting the will. I’ll see you in court.”

They departed with a smell of burning rubber.

I was a bit shaken after the encounter. Basil and I walked into my apartment, and I placed the Chinese food on the dining room table in the middle of the kitchen.

“I can’t believe how much you’ve done in here in such a short space of time.” Basil looked around the room with obvious admiration.

“I have to replace the whole kitchen, but this will do in the meantime. After I paint the rest of the house, I’m going to paint everything in here white. Then it won’t be so hard to live with until I can afford to replace it.” I always ramble when I’m nervous, and I was always nervous around Basil.

I got some of my plates from a cardboard box, and placed them on the table. “I haven’t really unpacked yet,” I told him. “I want to get the apartment painted first.”

“How did things go with the plumber?” Basil asked me.

I smiled. “It went really well, much better than I expected. I thought I’d have a huge plumbing bill, but it was much less than I thought. Tom said most of the work had been done already.” I didn’t know if Basil was truly interested in the plumber, or whether he was trying to be polite and making conversation. Although he was clean-shaven and rested now, there was an undeniable air of fatigue around him. “Don’t worry, Basil,” I added. “I’m sure the police will find the murderer soon.”

Basil shook his head. “I don’t know about that. My lawyer said they seem pretty sure it’s me. I really don’t think they’re looking elsewhere; they’re just looking for evidence to pin it on me.”

I could feel a headache coming on, and I rubbed my temples. It was a sudden, nasty headache with pressure behind my eyes and at the bridge of my nose. I supposed it was a tension headache.

We ate in companionable silence for a few moments, until Basil spoke. “This is really good of you, Laurel. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.” He laid his hand over mine, and my knees trembled.

The touching moment was broken by a man’s voice yelling my name at my apartment door. We both jumped.

“Who on earth is it?” Basil said.

“I think it’s Lewis.” I stood up.

“Why didn’t he just come in?” Basil asked me. “I thought ghosts could walk through walls.”

“They can as a rule,” I said, “but I have red brick dust and black salt all around the perimeter of this apartment, and I also have it warded in order to keep ghosts out. I
do
want my privacy.”

Basil appeared to be thinking it over, but once again Lewis screeched out my name.

“I’d better go and see what he wants,” I said. I opened the door to find an agitated Lewis floating there. “Can you please land, Lewis?” I asked him. “Floating makes me nervous.”

“Why?”

I shrugged. “I just find it creepy.”

Lewis looked at me as if he were about to say something cutting, but changed his mind. He looked over my shoulder at Basil. “Hey mate, I’m glad you’re here. I’ve been hanging around at the police station, and they’re sure you murdered me.”

Basil sighed. “I didn’t murder you, truly.”

Lewis held up his hands. “
I
know that. It wasn’t an accusation. I’m just coming to tell you that the police don’t have any other suspects. They’re not looking into anyone else.”

“That’s what Basil and I were just saying,” I told him. “They haven’t mentioned any other suspects at all?”

Lewis shook his head. “I don’t think they’re really looking. Those detectives seem in a hurry to wrap things up.”

I looked at Basil, and was worried to see that his complexion had turned ashen. I also saw for the first time that he had deep dark circles under his eyes.

“Who do you think murdered you, Lewis?” Basil asked him.

“I’ve told you a hundred times!” he exclaimed. “It was Norbert! He murdered me to get my girlfriend.”

I shook my head. “That doesn’t seem a really good motive, Lewis. Could he have a motive other than that?”

“I have to agree with Laurel,” Basil said. “Anyway, we don’t want to be like the police and look at just the one suspect. Can you think of anyone else who might have wanted to kill you? What about Violet?”

Lewis was visibly taken aback. “Violet? No, she’d never hurt me. We were in love.”

I didn’t know whether to point out that Violet had taken up with Norbert what seemed like only minutes after Lewis was killed, so I would hardly think she was in love, but I thought it better not to point that out. Basil appeared to be thinking the same thing, because he didn’t mention it either.

Basil was the first to speak. “Who else could there have been? Think hard, Lewis.”

“Well, there was that other accounting firm of course,” Lewis said. “You know, I’ve already told you about them—
It’s Accrual World
, the accounting firm where someone was embezzling from the trust fund. I called Simon Smarts, the head guy, the night before I came here to tell him that I’d found evidence of embezzlement. The timing works out, so he could be a suspect, although I know for a fact that Norbert did it.” He crossed his arms over his chest and pulled a petulant face.

“Is that another joke?” I asked him.

Lewis looked puzzled. “Is what a joke?”

“Simon Smarts. Is that really his name?”

“Yes.”

I shrugged. “Okay.”

Ernie materialized beside Lewis. “Accounting jokes, did I hear you say?”

“No!” I said emphatically.

Ernie smirked. “Welcome to the accounting meeting, where everybody counts.”

Lewis, Basil, and I groaned in unison. Lewis vanished, followed by Ernie, while I shut the door and then turned to Basil. “Let’s go and eat any food that isn’t cold, and make a list of suspects.”

I had resigned myself to the realization that my relationship with Basil couldn’t progress until after this murder was solved. After all, that was the priority.

“I’m sorry, Laurel,” Basil said once we reached the table.

“Sorry for what?”

“I just wanted to have a nice lunch with you, but the murder investigation is getting in the way.”

I nodded. I had only just thought that, and I didn’t have the words to say. Instead I said, “True. Who are our suspects?”

“Well, there’s Simon Smarts from
It’s Accrual World
. He’d have to be the main suspect, given the timing.”

“I’m surprised the detectives aren’t looking into him,” I said. “After all, Lewis told Simon Smarts about the embezzlement the very night before he was murdered.”

Basil tapped his pen against his chin. “You know, I bet the police don’t know that! Lewis only told us that after he was already a ghost, so who was there to tell the police?”

“Theo Derringer!” I exclaimed. “He was Lewis’s right-hand man, so he must’ve known that Lewis was auditing the firm, even if he didn’t know that Lewis had just uncovered the evidence of embezzlement.”

“Good thinking, Laurel,” Basil said. He smiled the first genuine smile I had seen in days. “Let’s go and ask Theo some questions before he leaves town.”

I agreed. “Let’s go over the other suspects, too. I’ll add Theo to the list. Just because we don’t know what motives he had, doesn’t mean he didn’t have a motive. Besides, maybe he thought that Lewis would leave the business to him. There could be any number of reasons.”

“And there’s Norbert and Violet, too,” Basil said. “Violet certainly had a motive, because she thought she was inheriting everything, and Lewis was a millionaire. Plus Norbert could’ve been in it with her. It’s mighty suspicious how they hooked up together right after Lewis’s death.”

“There’s one thing that puzzles me with Violet being a suspect. Surely she could’ve waited to kill him until after she was married to him? Then she’d inherit for sure.”

Basil tapped his chin again. “Yes, that’s a good point. We need to look into them all.”

“And we’ll start with Theo Derringer,” I said.