Free Ghostly Paws (Mystic Notch Cozy Mystery Series) by Leighann Dobbs Page A

had to admit, whatever Pepper had put in that tea did seem to be mellowing Ophelia. As I started down the hall, I heard Ophelia telling Pepper about the day she and Pete met.
    The hallway had three doors. One led to a study, one to the bathroom and the third to the hall closet. I opened the bathroom door and made a lot of noise shutting it, then crept over to the closet and opened it quietly.
    I thumbed through the coats one at a time, my stomach sinking as I got closer to the end. Tan trench coat, black rain poncho, white wool jacket, a faux fur—or was it real? I had no idea how to tell. There were also several blazers and a tweed wool coat.  
    There was nothing in navy blue wool.
    I eyed the stairway leading upstairs. A woman didn’t keep all her coats in the hall closet, did she?
    I could hear snatches of conversation from the living room. Ophelia was engrossed in her stories of Pete. She sounded almost pleasant. I felt a stab of guilt, but not enough to stop me from tiptoeing down the hall and creeping up the stairs.
    Ophelia’s bedroom was at the top of the stairs, and to the right was what looked like a spare bedroom. At my own house, I kept my overflow coats in the closet of the spare bedroom, so I turned right.
    Trying to walk lightly so they wouldn’t hear me downstairs, I slowly opened the closet door. I didn’t have to look far…right in front of me was a big old wool cape … in dark navy blue.

    ***

    I had to stop myself from racing down the stairs—I didn’t want Ophelia to hear me and know I’d been up there. I crept down them, keeping close to the sides so as to avoid any give-away squeaks. Then, once in the hall, I rushed down to the bathroom and flushed the toilet.
    Back in the living room, Ophelia was still reminiscing about Pete, her back to me. Pepper looked over at me and I gestured wildly with a thumbs up, jerking my head toward the door to indicate we should get going.
    Ophelia turned around and I quickly composed myself.
    “Oh, Wilhelmina, I was just telling Pepper the funniest story—”
    “That’s great, Ophelia, but we really should be going.” I looked at my wrist where a watch would have been if I wore one.
    “Oh, so soon?” Ophelia looked crushed and I narrowed my eyes at Pepper. What the heck had she given her?
    Pepper started to gather everything up and put it in the bag. “Yes, sorry. We do have to get back to our shops.”
    “Oh, of course.” Ophelia stood and extended her hand to Pepper. “Thank you so much for stopping by. I feel much better now … though I didn’t even realize that I didn’t feel good before.”
    “You’re welcome. See, my teas really do work wonders.” Pepper shook her hand then started toward the door.
    “Oh, and Wilhelmina, I do hope you will excuse my nasty behavior at my office. It’s just that … well … I wasn’t in the library that morning and I guess I felt like you were accusing me.”
    “I was just checking on what I heard. I didn’t mean to accuse you.” Like heck I didn’t, I thought, as I pictured the navy blue cape hanging in her closet.
    I opened the door and pulled Pepper outside. Ophelia stood just inside the threshold, her hand on the door, about to close it.
    “You know, there is one thing I remember from that morning that was strange.” Ophelia said as we were walking away.
    I turned back, wrinkling my brow at her. “What’s that?”
    “I was in town … but not at the library.” A pained look crossed her face and she shook her head. “Anyway, as I was leaving after doing my banking, a long black car went speeding past me up the mountain road. They were going very fast, driving recklessly, as if they wanted to get away from something fast. Nearly ran me off the road.”

Chapter Thirteen

    “See now, Ophelia isn’t so bad, is she?” Pepper asked as she drove back to town in her yellow Fiat.
    “Not so bad? I found a navy blue cape in her closet—she’s probably the killer!”
    Pepper glanced sideways at