Free Murder on the Hill by Kennedy Chase

ever speak of enemies or any kind of trouble that Mr. Bellman might have been involved with?”
    Leadbetter pursed her lips as she thought. She tapped her flat-soled beige slip-on shoe against the carpet. “I can’t think of anything that could be called strange or trouble.”
    “You were with her the day before she died, is that right?” I asked.
    “I was, yes, but I can assure you, she was perfectly healthy after I left her. I can even show you my report that Mr. Bellman signed. I had left some notes about Meredith’s exercise regime. She was sitting around too much. I told Mr. Bellman that he ought to try to get her out of the flat more often, get her to walk around more.”
    Leadbetter fiddled with a pin on her breast pocket. A small silver broach in the shape of what looked like a four-leaf clover, but with sharper leaf detail. Leadbetter noticed I was staring and clasped her hands together over one of her stocking knees.
    “Ms. Leadbetter,” Cordi started, “did Mrs. Bellman ever mention the break-in or the item left by the intruder?”
    “No, I heard about it from Mr. Bellman, though. He was quite agitated about it. But Meredith waved it off as some kind of prank. Said it was probably just a competitor trying to scare her husband.”
    “And do you think that’s likely?” I asked.
    “I wouldn’t know. I have no clue. I’m not sure why you would expect me to. I just cared for Meredith for a few hours a week. I didn’t have inside knowledge of their business.”
    Crap, I was antagonising her. I waited for Cordi to bring it back around, but we had little to go on.
    “In your experience,” Cordi said, “is it unusual for someone in Meredith’s condition to die so suddenly? She was only in her sixties.”
    “It’s not rare, unfortunately. I don’t know the details of Meredith’s death yet. I was planning on calling Mr. Bellman, but wanted to give him time—he’s late for his payment to us and racked up quite the bill. I’m sure you can understand that would be awkward to address at this time.”
    “Indeed. It’s entirely understandable,” Cordi said.
    All throughout the questioning, I noticed Leadbetter kept looking up to the door that we had our back to and her face tighten with tension. Finally, I turned around and saw Winkle peering through, staring at Leadbetter. She avoided his gaze.
    “If there isn’t anything else,” she said. “I really ought to get back to my duties.”
    “Thank you for agreeing to speak with us,” Cordi said, standing up and placing her full cup of coffee on the table.
    “I’m sorry I can’t be of more help,” Leadbetter said, also standing, and smoothing her uniform. She strode across the room, opening the door. Winkle shuffled off down the corridor. Leadbetter stood there, waiting for us to leave.
    Cordi handed her a card. “If you do think of anything that could help, please call me. Anything at all.”
    “I really can’t help you, but if something does come to mind, you’ll be the first to know.” She took the card and ushered us out, walking behind us as though pushing us down the corridor. When we got to the reception area, she walked around us and blocked our exit before checking around her. The reception was empty. Winkle must have gone into one of the rooms.
    “One more thing,” Leadbetter said. “Please don’t bother the residents, their minds are not all there, and I’d hate for you to receive wrong information.”
    Cordi eyed her for a moment and then smiled. “Absolutely, we’re leaving right away. Thank you again for your time.”
    Seemingly satisfied, Leadbetter headed back down the corridor.
    We exited the mansion through the double doors. I was thankful to be back out into the open air so I didn’t have to put up with the smell any longer.
    We got into the car, and Cordi was about to turn the ignition when a tap on her window made her squeal with surprise.
    Winkle!
    Cordi wound down the window. “Winkle, you scared the hell out