Free Dangerous Secrets by L. L. Bartlett, Kelly McClymer, Shirley Hailstock, C. B. Pratt

to get my bearings, and then knew where we had to look.
    Across the patio, a magnificent stand of cosmos
blocked the view from the house to the pool. ‶ Over there,″ I said,
leading the way.
    We pushed past the flowers and onto the empty
concrete deck. A smattering of leaves floated on the surface of the pool, and
next to them Eileen Marshall bobbed face down in the hot tub.
    Adam ran toward her, skidding to a halt. ‶ Do
you know CPR?″
    ‶ Don′t touch her!″
    ‶ But maybe it′s not too
late!″
    I let out a shuddering breath. ‶ She
was there when we went in last night. She must have been dead for hours.”
    Except for the hum of an air conditioner
somewhere behind us, it was eerily silent. Adam kept staring at the dead woman,
his face twisted with distress.
    ‶ Come on,″ I said. ‶ We′d
better call 911.″
    ‶ Damn,″ Adam grated. ‶ Susan′s
going to have a shit fit when she hears about this.″
    Susan was pissed. Lips drawn into a thin line,
she surveyed the hot tub′s victim. By the time the first Stowe PD patrol
car showed up some ten minutes later, a rather breathless Zack had also
arrived. His expression was unreadable, but Susan seemed more angry than upset
that Eileen had died on her property. Typically, she viewed the woman′s
death from strictly a commercial perspective: how was this going to affect her
business?
    ‶ Her name is Eileen
Marshall,″ Susan volunteered to the young officer.
    ‶ Who found her?″
    ‶ We did,″ Adam answered,
and nodded toward me.
    ‶ What happened?″ the
officer asked me.
    I read his nametag: Dan Morris. ‶ She
was pretty drunk last night. Maybe she fell asleep,″ I offered, although
I′d known from the moment I saw Eileen floating that she′d been
murdered, but I wasn′t eager to volunteer that information and become the
prime suspect, either.
    ‶ I suppose she could have had a
heart attack. We posted a sign warning people with medical conditions not to
use the hot tub, but there′s not much we can do to stop them,″
Susan said.
    ‶ We′ll wait for the ME to
decide the cause of death,″ the officer said.
    I glanced back at the inn. Some of the other
guests had awakened and were rubbernecking and speculating on the scene before
them.
    Susan spoke to Zack. ‶ I′m sure we
both don′t need to be out here. You′d better go in and supervise
breakfast. I can answer any questions the police have.”
    ‶ Are you sure, honey?″
    ‶ Yes,″ she snapped—her
standard mode of speech. Oblivious, Zack nodded and headed for the house.
    ‶ Can I go in now, too?″
Adam asked.
    ‶ No, we′ll need you here
for a while yet,″ the officer said and ushered us away from the
site—standard crime-scene protocol. I guess I wasn′t the only one
thinking this might not be an accident.
    Adam slumped into one of the patio chairs. ‶ It′ll
be okay,″ I assured him.
    He shrugged, unconvinced.
    ‶ Sir,″ the cop said, and
motioned to me.
    Another standard procedure: separate the
witnesses so they don′t contaminate each other′s stories. This cop
was good.
    ‶ You said the victim was drunk
last night,″ Morris said.
    ‶ I′m a bartender. She was
definitely over the legal limit.″
    ‶ What was her state of
mind?″
    ‶ Argumentative. She said some
caustic things to several of the other guests.″ I told him Eileen had
insulted Mrs. Andolina, what she′d said to Laura Ross the night before,
and her loud discussion with Susan.
    ‶ What time did you last see
her?″
    I frowned. ‶ We left the pool about ten
forty-five, maybe eleven o′clock.″
    ‶ We?″
    ‶ Me and my girlfriend, Maggie
Brennan.″
    He wrote down her name. ‶ And you say the
victim had a bottle of whiskey?″
    ‶ Scotch. Grand Macnish, in a
plastic bottle. She was drinking out of a plastic tumbler. Pool rules, no
glass.″
    The cop looked around. ‶ There’s no sign of
it. Was anyone else around?″
    ‶ Two other guests may have seen
her. Doug and Alyssa. They were out by