“If you had shown your mother some love every now and then, she might have given you the same information,” he snapped.
Lemon took a threatening step toward Luis. “All you ever wanted was her money, and now look at her. Why, I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve got the knife hidden up the back of your shirt.”
Luis clutched his collar, which I took to be his version of clutching his pearls. “You horrible girl. I would never have hurt your mother. I loved her with all my heart.”
“And all your open wallet,” Lemon snipped.
“That’s enough,” Roan said angrily. “If we’re going to reach help before the morning, we need to start working together.”
Luis arched his brows. “Even if one of these people is a murderer?”
You could feel his words seeping in as each and every one of us realized exactly what that meant. Yes, one of the people in this house had taken a knife to Zelda. Who was it? Was it Tex, the Texan who was in such a rush to leave? Had it been Lemon, the daughter who did seem a bit neutered by her mother? Was it Luis, who I suspected wasn’t quite what he seemed? Or was it Traylor, who was married to Lemon but kept sneaking looks to Luis?
There were only two people in the room who I knew had nothing to do with Zelda’s death—myself and Roan. But everyone else was up for suspicion. It also meant that I didn’t want me or Roan to be alone with any of them. It was unclear whether this was a one-time deal or if the murderer planned to kill someone else.
“We need to keep track of each other,” I said. “At all times.”
Tex blotted a handkerchief over his forehead. “Why?”
“To keep everyone else safe,” I said.
“What makes you think that I can trust you?” he said to me.
Fire burned in my veins. “Because Roan and I were standing in the hallway when Zelda came up to us. She’d already been stabbed.”
“Likely story,” he said.
“Where were you?” I countered.
Roan spoke. “Okay, we’re not going to get anywhere pointing fingers at one another. Luis, direct me to where you think the box is, the one that has disabled the phone lines. Blissful and I will check it out. The rest of you—set up a base camp in the séance room.”
Luis motioned for us to follow. “Come with me.”
Without another word, Roan and I let Luis lead us down the hallway. Sprigs of mistletoe dangled from the ceiling, and elves leaned over to kiss one another.
I had the creepy sensation that the elves had eyes. If only one of them could tell us what had happened.
Chapter 10
Luis handed us two flashlights and pulled a string that led to a ceiling door. The flap unhinged like a jaw, revealing a set of stairs that looked like teeth.
Roan unfolded the stairs. “You think it’s up here?”
Luis shivered. “Zelda said something to that affect one time. I don’t know what it looks like, but it will be up there if anywhere, I do believe.” He glanced around the empty corridor. “Do you want me to stay?”
Roan glanced at me to answer. I shook my head. “No, thanks. We’ll be fine. Just make sure everyone is gathered in one room.”
Luis rubbed a hand over his tired features. “I doubt that I will be sleeping tonight. I never thought that I would lose my Zelda.”
He wept into his sleeve, and I patted his shoulder. “I’m so sorry. She seemed like the sort of person who had a lot of passion.”
“Oh, she did. So much passion. She was a light in this world.” His mouth dipped sourly. “That daughter of hers is like a leech. She wanted to suck all of Zelda’s life and love from her.”
“Maybe you should stay here,” I suggested, not wanting him to have a nasty confrontation with Lemon.
He shook his head. “No, I will be fine. I will wrangle the chickens and keep everyone together, even that pesky Mr. Tex.”
I thanked him, and Luis headed off. Roan sighed. “Think he’ll be okay?”
