“I did take a look at the books Gordon Betts had out on the table in his suite.” I paused because I hated to admit the next bit. “I picked up one of the books and handled it.”

“Which one?” Kanesha asked, frowning.

“A copy of The Mystery at Spellwood Mansion. Turns out it was one of the rare ones that I told you about.” I shrugged. “No way to tell, though, when Betts acquired it. Or how.”

Kanesha pulled out her notebook and jotted a few words in it. She glanced back at me. “Anything else?”

“No, that was the only book I touched. I did go in his bathroom, though.” I related to them how I had attended to Betts in his drunken state. “I did not, however, go through any of his personal things in the bathroom or the bedroom. I swear to it.”

Kanesha nodded. “Were you in any other rooms last night? Besides Mr. Eagleton’s and Mr. Betts’s?”

“No, I wasn’t,” I said. “What are you getting at? Has someone actually accused me of breaking into their room and going through their things?”

“Well, I never.” Melba was clearly annoyed. “Sounds to me like some jerk is just trying to make trouble for Charlie.”

“Not you specifically,” Kanesha said, addressing me and appearing to ignore Melba’s interjections. “But two of the guests complained to me that their things had been gone through. They were pretty adamant about it, and they both gave me believable explanations of why they were sure it happened.”

“Who were they?” I asked. “Like Melba said, it sounds like someone’s trying to make trouble for me.”

“Not you specifically,” Kanesha repeated. “Your name came up as a possibility, and I’ll have to admit I did wonder about it. I know you have a tendency to get pretty involved in these things, and sometimes it’s easy to let your curiosity get the better of your judgment.”

“I guess I can be a little on the snoopy side, like Melba said.” I smiled at my childhood friend. “But I do have my limits. Now, who was claiming their rooms were searched?”

“Gordon Betts and Della Duffy,” Kanesha answered. “Frankly, I didn’t really think you had done it. I reckoned you might have looked through the books they had lying around in their rooms, but I can’t see any harm in that. Or any violation of privacy since they were out for anybody to see. I also didn’t think you would have entered their rooms without their knowledge or consent.”

“Didn’t happen,” I said. “I helped Gordon Betts to his room, but I don’t even know what room Ms. Duffy is staying in. Or even if she has a room at the Farrington House.”