Free Folly by Stella Cameron

selfish. Getting Doc James over here like that with some silly tale about cat allergies. Shame on you.’
    â€˜The doctor said I had a cold,’ Mary pointed out, managing a couple of dry sniffs.
    Alex cleared her throat and sat in a red velvet slipper chair in need of reupholstering. ‘The police were at Lime Tree Lodge half the night,’ she said. ‘But you mustn’t tell a soul until I give you the word. You’d get me into trouble with the police if you did.’
    She had the full attention of two bright-eyed women instantly. Mary enjoyed a good gossip but she was devoted to Alex, who knew she could trust her.
    â€˜Somebody’s playing games. Trying to frighten me. It worked. I spent what was left of the night in my room at the pub.’
    Harriet gave her a skeptical look. ‘What happened?’
    Another thought grabbed Alex’s attention. ‘Mary, you won’t be able to play in the darts match tonight. I’d better make a quick call and have a replacement found.’
    â€˜I will be playing,’ Mary said imperiously. ‘It will do me good to get away from the source of my misery.’
    As if called, Oliver got up, stretched his long, thin body, and strolled to rub himself back and forth on Mary’s legs. She put a handkerchief over her nose and mouth and shook her head.
    Exceedingly short-sighted, for dart matches she donned heavy glasses with lenses the thickness of the bottoms of Coke bottles but tended to wipe out all competition. Since she was arthritic and walked with a cane, she had given in a couple of years earlier and agreed to stand within the safety shield of a walker for matches. She couldn’t play with a cane in one hand, but with the promise of grabbing the walker in an emergency, she was fine – more than fine. Mary was an ace darts player.
    Alex noted that the woman didn’t try to stop the rangy tabby from leaning on her and rubbing his face against her shins.
    â€˜What happened last night?’ Harriet’s thin patience was well known. ‘
If
we’ve finished pandering to Mary’s eccentricities.’
    Pouring more tea, Alex said, ‘It sounds silly when you put it into words. Someone fooled with the motion sensor lights. Whoever it was turned them on and off till I thought I was going mad. Must have been moving in and out of their range, which wouldn’t be easy unless you figured it out first.’
    â€˜Horrible,’ Harriet said, aghast. ‘That’s mean, if not evil.’
    â€˜And they let the air out of one of my tires,’ Alex said, leaving out the bit about a dart.
    â€˜You shouldn’t be up there on your own at all until this mad person is caught,’ Mary said at once. She hadn’t touched her tea and it must be cold. ‘If I were your mother, I wouldn’t allow it.’
    â€˜Alex has been married and divorced,’ Harriet said, exasperated. ‘She owns a pub and she won’t see thirty again. She makes her own decisions. What are you talking about, Mary?’
    â€˜If you get tired of staying at the pub, and if your mother doesn’t want you, we do. We can make room here.’
    â€˜Stop, stop.’ Alex laughed and scooped up another piece of cake. ‘I’m fine where I am and I can get what I want from the lodge in the daytime. No way will I let a bully completely get the better of me.’
    Mary gave her an arch, nursing sister look, ‘Not even a murderous bully?’
    A lull in the conversation didn’t last. Harriet said, ‘We all know something’s wrong with Cathy Cummings. What is it? Is she looking for attention? Why would she get hysterical about a stranger’s death?’
    â€˜The past,’ Mary said under her breath.
    Alex waited for more and when it wasn’t forthcoming, said, ‘What about the past?’
    â€˜I think everyone’s just about forgotten what that woman went through. People hardly knew