killed her?â
âNo,â I said, perhaps a bit too forcefully. âWeâre not getting involved in this at all. Are we, Kate?â
Kate took my cue. âAbsolutely not. We always let the police do their job.â
Luckily, Barbie didnât catch Kateâs sarcasm or me kicking her under the table.
Gail walked over and sat in the empty chair next to Fern. Her usual reelection smile had vanished. âThe police are ruining our holiday meeting.â
âI think the fact that one of our members was murdered actually ruined the meeting,â Kate said.
Gail ignored her and turned to me. âHow much longer do you think this will take?â
Since when did I become the expert in police protocol? âAs long as it takes to question everyone, I guess.â
Gail threw her hands in the air. âThat could take all day. This is a disaster. One member dead, two taken away for grief counseling, and the rest of us stuffed like sardines in this restaurant.â
âWho got taken away for grief counseling?â I asked.
âLucille and Margery,â Barbie jumped in before Gail could respond. âApparently Eleanorâs death pushed Lucille over the edge. The police brought in a grief counselor, and Margery went with her to make sure sheâd be okay.â
I felt sorry for Lucille. Sheâd never been the toughest planner around, which I guessed was why sheâd remained an assistant for so many years. At least she still had Margery for support.
âWell, I have an important meeting this afternoon,â Gail said. âI canât afford to sit around here twiddling my thumbs all day.â She stood up. âIâm going to go talk to the police and see if I canât speed things up.â
The uniformed officer whoâd been guarding the door approached our table. âTheyâd like to see you now, Miss Archer.â
I motioned to Kate and Fern. âOnly me?â
Gail opened and closed her mouth a few times before stalking off. I followed the officer out of the café and across Peacock Alley to the Crystal Room.
The ballroom that had previously been so calm and serene now buzzed with activity. Light filled the room and officers swarmed around the riser at the front. I walked to where Detectives Reese and Hobbes stood facing the body. I couldnât help notice how Reeseâs dark green sweater fit snugly over his broad back and tapered to his narrow waist. There was no such tapering for Hobbes, whose own striped sweater looked a little lumpy around the middle.
I cleared my throat, and Reese turned around.
âGood, youâre here.â He took my arm and led me to one of the nearby tables. âI wanted to talk to you privately before youâre questioned.â
I couldnât help feeling pleased as I sat down and folded my hands in my lap. I gave Reese a weak smile. âI know youâre probably really upset that I found another body.â
Reese arched an eyebrow, and I noticed how green his eyes looked against his sweater. âWhy would that upset me?â
âI swear I had nothing to do with it. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.â
Reese held up a hand to stop me. âI donât think you killed her, Annabelle.â
I let out a long sigh. âThatâs a relief.â
âI donât know if you should be so relieved,â he continued. âThese arenât just two unrelated murders you happened onto.â
I swallowed hard. He confirmed my worst suspicions. âYou think theyâre connected?â
Reese gave a curt nod. âThe murders have the same M.O.âs. Itâs pretty clear that weâre looking for a single killer for both murders.â
I took a shaky breath as his words sunk in.
Reese placed his hand over mine, and I felt the warmth spread up my arm. âYou need to watch your back, Annabelle. We may have a serial killer on the loose. And one of the things that