King of Murder by Betsy Byars Page A

for Herculeah.”
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œOh, dear. She was at my house for tea and I scared the girl. I didn’t mean to. It was the last thing in the world I wanted to do. ”
    Meat waited. He knew there was more.
    â€œI get carried away. First I showed her the sacrificial altar. And I indicated—I didn’t insist—I just indicated that I wanted her to get on it. I felt it would inspire me.”
    â€œAnd that scared her, so she left.”
    â€œThere’s more. Then we went in the Den of Iniquity, and I was explaining that she would be in my next mystery—she would be the next victim.”
    â€œAnd that scared her, and she left.”
    â€œThere’s more. Then I locked her in the Den of Iniquity.”
    â€œAnd that scared her and she left.”
    â€œHurriedly,” Mathias King said. He sighed. “I have to apologize to the girl. I really carried the whole thing too far.”
    â€œI agree.”
    â€œI thought she might be home by now. Maybe she is and she just won’t come to the door. Could you go up and try? She might open the door for you.”
    â€œShe’s not home.”
    â€œWhere is she?”
    â€œI don’t know. A woman picked her up in her car about a half hour ago. They haven’t come back.”
    â€œA woman?”
    â€œYes.”
    Mathias King’s eyes sharpened. “What did she look like?”
    â€œWell, I couldn’t see much—she didn’t get out of the car—but she had white hair, and it was cut sort of like a monk’s.”
    â€œHerculeah’s in danger. Get in.”
    â€œIn the hearse?”
    â€œGet in! You want to save your friend’s life, don’t you?”
    â€œThat would make up for a lot,” Meat admitted.
    â€œThen get in!”

27
    THE SACRIFICIAL DAGGER
    â€œYour fingerprints?” Herculeah asked. She didn’t want to believe it, but the crazed look on Gilda’s face made it true.
    â€œYes, my fingerprints.”
    â€œWait a minute. Are you saying your fingerprints are on the knife because ... because”—she could hardly get out the words—“because you killed her?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œYou killed your friend.”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œBut why?”
    â€œDo you remember when we were in Rebecca’s house? When we were leaving, I said that only a person who was insane could kill someone like Rebecca.”
    â€œI remember.”
    â€œWell, that’s what it was like—insanity. I didn’t mean to. I didn’t plan to kill her. I don’t even remember doing it.”
    â€œHow did it happen?”
    Herculeah was relieved to see that Gilda had not actually picked up the knife, and had withdrawn her hand. Herculeah knew Gilda had murdered with that knife. Once it was in her hand, she wouldn’t hesitate to use it again.
    She had to keep her talking. Maybe Mathias King would come home. Maybe something would happen. She knew she could always dart around Gilda and beat her to the stairs, but she would have to leave the knife! With the fingerprints!
    â€œShe was like a sister to you,” Herculeah said.
    â€œOh, yes. She was the older sister. She handed down her clothes to me. My mother was housekeeper there—did I mention that? I wore her cast-off clothes, and she never let me forget it. In front of our friends, she would say things like, ‘I always wore that blouse with the top buttons open. It showed off my gold chains.’ ”
    â€œShe doesn’t sound like much of a friend to me.”
    â€œShe was a very greedy girl. She had everything, but like so many greedy people, she wanted it all.”
    â€œI don’t understand people like that.”
    â€œIf I got a friend, Rebecca would move heaven and earth to get the friend away from me. And she had the money to do it. I thought when we went to high school that I would be free of her. She was going to an expensive private