Free Death by Pumpkin Spice by Alex Erickson Page A

house, but based on general knowledge of most houses, the bedrooms were probably upstairs. If that was the case, the killer would have had to drag Jessica’s body down the stairs, smash her head through a pumpkin, and then leave her there, all without being seen. Why not just shove her in a closet? It would have been easier, and far safer.
    No, I didn’t buy it. She could have tried to escape the killer and he chased her down, catching up with her outside the pumpkin room. That made more sense, but somehow, it still didn’t quite fit. Someone would have heard or seen something if she’d run. She would have called for help at the bare minimum.
    â€œExcuse me, dear,” Margaret said, perking up. She pushed past me and sashayed across the room to where Paul had just entered.
    I scurried after her, not wanting to miss anything. Besides, I had found Mrs. Yarborough and wanted credit for it. No matter what the status of our relationship was, I did want his approval.
    Petty? Sure. But hey, we all have our needs.
    â€œAll of it!” Margaret was saying as I approached. “Taken straight out of its box.”
    â€œWhere did this happen?”
    â€œMy bedroom, of course,” she said with a wave of her hand. “Where else?”
    â€œAnd are you sure you didn’t misplace it?” Paul sounded as if he wanted to talk about anything other than her missing jewelry, which wasn’t a surprise. He had a lot on his plate with the murder and all. He was just too nice to tell her she was wasting his time.
    â€œI’m positive. I set it out earlier, just in case I needed a costume change. The door was closed, but wasn’t locked, so anyone could have slipped in. I’m certain it was that poor girl’s murderer who did it.”
    Like me, Paul didn’t seem convinced. “I’ll look into it,” he said. “But first, I need to talk to you a few minutes about the victim.”
    â€œMe?” Margaret sounded aghast. She glanced behind her as if making sure no one was listening in before turning back to him. “I had nothing to do with this and have no idea who might have.”
    â€œI’m sure you didn’t,” Paul said. He glanced at me, and I smiled innocently at him, before he turned back to Mrs. Yarborough. “Is there somewhere we can talk privately? It will only take a few minutes.”
    Margaret huffed. “You should be worrying more about catching the maniac running around stealing and killing. You are wasting your time with me. Someone else might have seen something, though.”
    A little ping teased at the back of my mind. Someone had seen something; I had!
    â€œThe nervous man,” I said. Why hadn’t I thought of him before?
    â€œExcuse me?” Paul asked, turning to me.
    â€œWhen Jessica rushed out of the room after the failed proposal, she bumped into a man who looked nervous. I think he was wearing a black suit and hat. He was alone, and had just entered the room. He might have come from Margaret’s bedroom.”
    It was pure speculation, but at least it was something.
    â€œCan you describe him?” Paul asked, sounding excited.
    I thought back. I hadn’t really been looking hard, especially since my focus was on Jessica at the time. And then Paul had come up to talk to me, which made me forget about the whole thing until that very moment. I thought he might have had a mustache, but whether it was fake or real, I had no idea.
    â€œNot really,” I said. “He was wearing a costume like everyone else and I didn’t get a really good look at him. All I know for sure was that he was wearing that black suit and hat, and looked guilty of something.”
    â€œHe might have changed by now,” Paul said with a frown. He peered past me, at the other guests milling around. “And he might not be guilty of anything more than sneaking off on his own.”
    â€œBut we can’t know that until we