The Marsh Madness by Victoria Abbott Page A

was on my third cup of the signora’s coffee. I’d lost count of the almond cookies. They had no tranquilizer benefits, as it turned out, so I was relying on the spine I inherited from the Kelly side of the family.
    With Tyler following, I was escorted back to the study by Stoddard. I noticed he avoided looking at Vera’s ancestors on the way.
    A long, awkward walk was had by all.
    Castellano was waiting for me. She was installed behind Vera’s desk, fitting right in with her natural air of authority. Vera was nowhere in sight. She would have gone up in flames if she’d seen the detective installed in the seat of power, acting like she owned the joint (to quote my uncles’ favorite phrase). Smiley seemed to have vanished too. Maybe his job was to lead them to me. Weasel.
    I used every trick in the Kelly book to keep myself cool. But alarming questions kept firing in my brain. What if they searched my room?
    Be calm
, I answered myself.
There is nothing in your room.
That was true. My beloved Sweet Sixteen lock picks were hidden behind the baseboard in my old room at Uncle Mick’s place. No worries there.
    My possessions in my attic rooms at Van Alst House were limited and vintage. I might have cherished them, but they were not the kind of thing that anyone in their right mind would steal. So even though my conscience was clear, why I was more nervous than Bad Cat?
    Senior detectives do not show up at your home without good reason. I was weirded out by Tyler Dekker’s presence and aloof behavior. I had a feeling there were more backups in the driveway.
    Obviously, they knew we’d been at Summerlea the same day that Chadwick died. But he’d been alive when we left. The butler was still there. Lisa Troy was still there. He must have been alive when they left or they would have called for help when he fell.
    Could this visit be about something other than his death? Had something of great value been stolen from Summerlea? I was praying that Uncle Kev hadn’t actually managed to liberate some tiny incredibly valuable artifact while my back was turned. Instead of letting anxiety take over my brain, I concentrated on the unnervingly attractive and slouchy Stoddard.
    Castellano had actually smiled at me when I entered the study. I wasn’t fooled for a minute by her inquiring face, or the soft caramel two-piece suit or the paisley wool scarf she had looped fashionably around her neck. She’d have to be very smart and very tough to get where she was. She looked totally at home in the job. And if Kev had done something to get us in trouble, she was the enemy.
    She fingered her scarf. “Cold in here.”
    “It always is. You’ll be glad you’re wearing those boots.” She’d left her cognac-colored, knee-high boots on too.
    She smiled at me and said, “Everyone seems quite tense.”
    As if to reinforce her point, the signora skittered through the door as though pursued by wasps. She deposited some slices of ciabatta bread and cheese and fled. Bad Cat reached out again.
    “Nothing to worry about, Miss Bingham,” she said. I noticed her smile didn’t reach her dark eyes.
    “I’m sure you’re right,” I said, smiling back. “But it is unusual to be interviewed by the police without any explanation. Isn’t it?”
    “I get that,” she said.
    “I’m sure you do. And as we all have things to do today, can we get to the point? What is it you want to ask us about?”
    “Chadwick Kauffman.”
    “Okay. What about him?”
    “You’ve heard the news?”
    “About Mr. Kauffman’s accident?”
    “His death, yes.”
    Was she implying it wasn’t an accident?
    “Yes, his death. That was a shock.”
    “I’m sure it was.” She was one of those people who could say one thing and you knew that she meant the opposite. “How did you learn about it?”
    My uncles always say, answer the question you want to. “Yes, it was a surprise and very sad. But I still don’t know why you’re here.” It suddenly occurred to me