Free Murder in Death's Door County by Elizabeth Rose

cleaning the rooms.”
    I felt a pang of guilt. Cleaning the
whole inn, and without the benefit of an elevator, must be difficult. Millicent’s
untidy grey hair and imposing manner made her seem older than I thought, but
the job would even be tough for a younger woman. Maybe that’s why Millicent was
so bitter and cranky. I vowed to cut her some slack.
    I said, with a forced lightness, “Then
you should probably get started. I’m sure Kitty’s wondering where you are. I
guess I’ll go then, too. Harry must have gone to breakfast without me. That
scamp!”
    At the doorway, Millicent and I parted
ways. Waiting until Millicent turned the corner, I scuttled back into the room
and, again, tried to snag that envelope. However, something distracted me and out
of the corner of my eye, I saw a puddle of reddish brown water on the bathroom
floor. Reddish brown water? Determined to investigate, I walked across the
room. With a sinking feeling, I called, “Harry? Hello? Are you in here?”
    No answer. Tentatively, I entered the
bathroom and saw the source of the puddle. Watery blood was running out of the
bathtub and onto the floor, with Harry smack dab in the middle. My vision got
very fuzzy and tunnel-like as Harry’s frozen face stared back at me.
    I screamed.
    Then, my world went black.

Chapter
8
    W HEN I CAME TO, I SAW AT
LEAST six faces hovering
over me. Oh wait, the six faces became three. Three very concerned faces swam
into focus. Kitty. Some cop. Oh, and a really dreamy dark-haired fella. I
smiled a little. At least I thought I did.
    “Annie? Annie, what happened?”
    “Are you okay?”
    “Miss? Don’t sit up too suddenly. You’ve
had a shock.”
    Their voices were wrapped in gauze.
    Suddenly, the memory of finding Harry’s
naked and very dead body came flooding back to me. I started screaming and
tried to get up, only to be gently pushed back down by Donovan. Donovan? What
was he doing in my bedroom?
    And why was I swimming in my bedroom? I
felt my wet sleeve. And realized my entire right side was wet. Ugh, gross.
    “What happened?” I could hear Lizzy’s
voice as she approached the scene, as though it came from a tunnel.
    “Hey Lizzy,” I heard Kitty’s
distinctively smoky voice. “Don’t worry, Annie’s just in shock. We’re not quite
sure what happened, but we’ve called 911.”
    “911!” Lizzy sounded alarmed. “What on
earth happened?”
    “911! For me? I’m fine, though,” I said,
as I struggled to sit up. “Oof, that wasn’t a good idea.”
    Blood rushed to my head and it throbbed.
    “No, not for you. Well, partly for you,
but mostly for the stiff in the tub,” Kitty jerked her thumb towards Harry.
Despite the situation, I almost laughed. Kitty had such an original way of
sidestepping unnecessary sentiment. Her practical outlook showed a woman who
had a lot of life experience. Compared with my maudlin family, who tore out
their hair about everything, I found it refreshing.
    I saw Donovan gently steer some of the
onlookers out of the bathroom and into the hallway, including the newlyweds. I
heard snatches of their conversations.
    “Did you see the naked man in the
bathtub?”
    “Did that girl who fainted know him?”
    “Yes. I don’t know.”
    “You know, she stopped by our room...”
Straining to hear the rest over the drums beating in my head proved futile.
    “Miss? Can you hear me?” the young
police officer asked, worry creasing his brow. He had a Polish look, very fair
hair and skin, with clear blue eyes. With his beefy build, I guessed he had
probably been a linebacker on his high school football team.
    I let out a huge sigh, “Yes, officer, I’m
fine. A bit embarrassed and wet, but fine.”
    “Good. Good. I was just asking for your
name, miss?”
    “My name? Oh, right. I’m Annie Malone,
er, Joanna Malone.” I stuck out my hand for him to shake. Sheepishly, he shook
my hand. I saw that his nametag said “Michaels.”
    “Gosh, you aren’t making this easy