“Did they say what kind?” Mrs. A wants to know.
“Or how it was administered,” Mr. Namura adds.
“Was it fast-acting?” Grandma Lainey demands.
Mrs. A nods at this. “Exactly. Have they established a timeline?”
Mervyn raises both hands. His bow tie is askew. “Please. I’ve told you what I know.”
“Which is what?” Felix whispers to his grandfather, who is sitting closest to the entrance.
“Poison,” Mr. Gutierrez replies.
I sit down heavily. The other residents have noticed our presence and are turning to face us.
“You mean it wasn’t an allergy?” Felix asks, like he’s sure he heard wrong.
“This was no accident,” Malia confirms, standing and raising an arm. “It was murder!”
Mervyn covers his face with both hands.
Grandma Lainey twists an invisible dial. “Let’s take it down a notch, shall we?”
“Less excitement would be good,” Mervyn agrees. “I need you all to stop acting like spectators and start thinking like”—he swallows before continuing—“suspects.”
The echoes of the s-word are still reverberating when Sofia walks in, holding a phone in a familiar case.
“You left this in the back seat.” She passes it to me before noticing the atmosphere in the room. “What’s going on?”
“Plot twist,” Mr. Namura says, ducking his head in apology when Mrs. A clears her throat.
“Last week’s accidental death may not have been an accident,” Grandma Lainey explains.
Sofia looks stricken. “That Bradley guy?”
“Bumped off,” Malia says from behind her hand, like that makes it discreet.
“Oh shit.” Sofia clutches the back of a chair for support, her knuckles going white.
My sentiments exactly.
This changes everything.
An accidental death with a few suspicious details felt like a mystery we could solve.
Homicide is on another level.
I have no idea how to approach Mervyn about what we learned from Bradley’s dad. For one thing, he looks utterly crushed, and I’m afraid one more piece of bad news would send him under. For another, I’m not sure whatmurdermeans for Castle Claude. It certainly doesn’t say “Here is a safe, well-maintained place where nothing dangerous happens!” If Bernie and Mr. Odell were scheming about lawsuits and contesting Claude’s will before, this gives them an opening the size of a barn.
She’s going to gloat so hard. This is everything she wanted people to believe about Castle Claude. It’s surprising she’s not here now, delivering herI told you sospeech. I’m not the only one to register her absence.
“Where is Bernie?” Mr. Gutierrez asks.
Mr. Namura turns to look at him. “Do you think someone got to her too?”
“Not now.” My grandmother’s voice is sharp. I’m not the only one taken aback. Mrs. A frowns at her but refrains from commenting.
Maybe Grandma Lainey is thinking what I’m thinking,namely that Bernie is already working on how to use this to her advantage. She could be heading to meet with Bradley’s dad to talk strategy.
