Free Death Tidies Up by Barbara Colley Page A

after she’d read only a few lines. With regret, she placed the book back on the table. Just as well, she thought. Five-thirty would come around all too soon.
    Once she’d switched off the bedside lamp, she snuggled down in her bed. Though faintly, she could hear music coming from Louis’ half of the double, and she smiled when she recognized an old Righteous Brothers song. She and Louis might disagree on a lot of things, but evidently, one thing they had in common was their choice in music.
    She was just drifting off when Louis’ words about Todd Roussel intruded. He’s nothing but a rich-boy hoodlum. Again she thought of Cheré and wondered what, if anything, she could do.
    Then the song ended, and within seconds, yet another one she recognized all too well began. Charlotte felt her throat grow tight as she listened to the familiar lyrics, a sad song full of longing…of lovers separated yet hungering for each other.
    For her, it had been a lifetime of hungering for someone she could never have. There was no wondering if he was still hers. And it did no good to wait for him. A terrible war in Asia and death had ended her wait…forever.

Chapter Seven
    O n Saturday morning, Charlotte was still a bit uneasy when she unlocked the back door to the Devilier house. Before she left home, she’d called Marian and told her about the missing screen and the raised window, as well as the evidence she’d found that indicated someone had been camping out in the old house.
    Marian hadn’t seemed concerned in the least. She’d quickly assured Charlotte that if someone had been staying in the house, they weren’t there anymore. Marian had said that she knew for a fact that Katherine Bergeron had gone by around eight the night before to check out the apartments, and Katherine hadn’t mentioned finding anyone there then.
    Taking a deep breath for courage, Charlotte stepped just inside the Devilier entrance hall. For several seconds she stood perfectly still and listened for any sounds of life in the old house. But there was nothing. No squeaking floorboards, no footsteps. Nothing at all.
    Charlotte hesitated a moment longer. Then, as an added precaution, she cupped her hands on either side of her mouth and shouted out, “If anyone’s here, you’d better leave now!”
    Her voice echoed throughout the cavernous hallway, and then there was silence. Still a bit uneasy, but somewhat satisfied that she’d given fair warning just in case someone was still lurking around inside, she backed out of the entrance hall and firmly pulled the door shut. All she could do now was hope that if anyone was hiding out, they would leave the same way they got in. With one last backward glance at the door, she walked purposefully to the patio table in the small garden to wait for the rest of her crew. While she waited, she stared at the back of the old house and debated whether or not to tell her crew about the possibility of an intruder. She didn’t want to frighten them, but she didn’t want them going into a possibly dangerous situation without being forewarned either.
    Charlotte wasn’t surprised in the least that the first of her crew to arrive a few minutes later was Cheré Warner. Dependable and energetic were Cheré’s middle names, and for the two years she’d been employed by Charlotte, not once had a client ever complained about her work.
    Charlotte smiled, and as she motioned for the attractive younger woman to join her, she decided that Cheré would be the perfect one of the crew to ask about warning the others.
    Like Charlotte, Cheré was dressed in the Maid-for-a-Day standard uniform that Charlotte insisted all of her employees wear. With Cheré’s dark, bouncy hair and her shining black eyes, the cotton navy top and pants covered by a white bib-type apron were a perfect foil for her slim figure.
    Cheré flashed her a smile as she seated herself