I waited until my aunt had made it all the way to the top of the stairs before I turned back to Williams. “Let me guess. Dog’s been after Oscar again?”

“I don’t know what to do, Brynn. That crow of your uncle’s just won’t leave him alone,” she said, worry creasing her otherwise unlined forehead. Williams could be aloof at times, definitely professorial, but she really loved her dog.

I nodded sympathetically. Dog, the crow, just to be clear, did have a habit of plucking at our neighbor’s English bulldog’s tail. But in fairness, Oscar did also have a habit of losing his mind barking every time he saw Dog, and if Dog dared land anywhere near his yard, he’d go tearing after him. Well, tearing after him as fast as an older, heavier English bulldog can. “I get it, but I’m not sure you could say Uncle Gideon owns Dog. He just feeds him occasionally.”

“And that’s another thing. I’m finding peanut shells everywhere. In the garden. On the walk. Over the—”

“Brynn!”

I shot a quick look over to the stairs. Nora’s voice sounded panicked. I looked back to Williams and took a step toward the door. “We may have to finish this later.”

“Certainly, but could you at least talk to him?”

Another crash came from upstairs. This time it sounded like the tea service.

“Absolutely,” I said, opening the door so that she could step out. “I’ll have a word with Gideon tonight.”

“Brynn! We need you!”

“Bye!” I clicked the door shut probably a little too close to my neighbor’s face and hurried up the stairs. “Coming!” I raced for Constance’s room. The door was open, as was the one to the adjoining bathroom. I jumped over the teapot and tray toppled on the floor, then rushed past Faustus standing guard at the threshold of the en suite. “Sorry. I just had to see Williams out.”

I stopped dead in my tracks.

Constance Graves lay motionless on the floor, her eyes open and lifeless, blood seeping from her head.

“Oh my, is she . . . ?”

“She’s dead,” Izzy said, twisting her fingers together. “Dead. Dead. Dead. Oh dear. She’s very dead.”

I looked to Nora.

“What are you looking at me for?!”

“I don’t know! No reason!”

“If you’re looking for confirmation, she’s really dead. We checked.”

The three of us stared down at poor Constance.

It seemed like ages before any of us even breathed.

It was Nora who finally broke the silence.

“You know, in hindsight, Brynn, I think our previous conversation may have been in poor taste.”

Chapter 2

Oh my, doesn’t this all look tasty.”

“Thank you so much for coming, Beatty.”

“Anytime. Anytime.” Beatty smiled at Izzy as she placed a tray of fresh brewed coffee and dulce de leche cookie sandwiches on the glass-topped coffee table.

It was a perfect fall day, and there was no better place to take it all in than from the porch of the B&B. The sky was bright blue, the only bit of white coming from the waxing crescent moon, the crickets were singing, and the deep pink roses that lined the front of the house were still blooming, filling the air with their rich scent.