Page 59 of The Woman Who Couldn't Scream
“I had to bump another guest to fit you in!”
“Yes.” Lilith transferred her attention to Kateri. “Katherine, do you never groom before you go out in public?”
Kateri thought about the 2:30A.M.call, the bloody crime scene, the subdued officers, the coroner pointing out the tear in Carolyn Abner’s skin where the killer had abandoned his work, the reports, the paperwork, the visit to the Gem Lounge… “This is as groomed as I get.”
“I heard there was a murder this morning?” Phoebe asked. “I didn’t expect that kind of crime when I moved to Virtue Falls.”
“You weren’t paying attention, then,” Lilith said. “A few years ago they had quite the string of ghastly murders. It was in all the news.”
“The visitors’ bureau certainly never mentioned any killers!” Phoebe huffed.
“No. They wouldn’t, would they?” Lilith lifted the hardcover in her lap. “Yet here on your shelves is a fictionalized accounting of the murders. Perhaps you should peruse it.”
“A lodger must have left it here,” Phoebe said. “I’ll read it when you’re done.”
To Kateri’s astonishment, Lacey popped her head up over the arm of Lilith’s chair.
But Kateri’s astonishment was nothing compared to Phoebe’s. “Miss Palmer, I had no idea you brought a dog into the bed-and-breakfast. I’m afraid that’s not permissible.”
“Lacey is my dog.” Kateri moved toward the chair. “I’ll remove her at once.”
“Nonsense!” Lilith shut her book. “Mrs. Glass likes dogs. Don’t you, Mrs. Glass?”
Phoebe smiled. She wasn’t happy, but she smiled because liking dogs was required, and not liking the sheriff’s dog might lead to trouble. For some reason, Mrs. Glass was anxious to avoid trouble. “Of course Lacey is welcome as long as she’s visiting and not staying. Since you ladies wish to visit, I’ll be going to the kitchen to clean up and start tomorrow’s breakfast.”
“Next time you indulge in an argument, do try not to shout.” Lilith watched Phoebe for her reaction. “Sound echoes so through these old houses, don’t you know?”
Phoebe smiled again. Still. With clenched teeth. “Sound is deceptive in these old houses. Really… deceptive.”
Lilith scratched Lacey’s head. “Katherine, this is a beautiful cocker spaniel. Who’s the breeder?”
“I don’t know that there was a breeder. I don’t know that Lacey is a purebred. Someone dumped her in a ditch half-starved and I found her.”
“Oh, no! Who would abandon such a beautiful girl?”
Lacey leaned her head against Lilith.
Kateri had forgotten. Whatever awful accusations could be made about Lilith, she had a way with animals, all animals. Usually Kateri trusted Lacey’s judgment. Now she wished that wasn’t the case.
“I assure you, regardless of the circumstances in which you found her, this is a purebred dog.” Because Lilith was never wrong.
“It doesn’t matter to me. I love her anyway.”
“Of course you do.” In that abrupt fashion of hers, Lilith said, “Katherine, you have blood on your cuffs.”
Kateri looked down, saw the brown stains, remembered too many deadly details and leaned a little harder on her staff.
Lilith said, “Mrs. Glass, would you bring the sheriff some ice water?”
Phoebe zeroed in on Kateri’s face. “Of course!” She headed for the kitchen.
“Sit down before you fall down.” Lilith pointed to the chair opposite her. “One doesn’t suppose being sick at the sight of blood is much of an endorsement of your law enforcement skills.”
“That question never came up in the campaign.” Kateri sat down. “I didn’t vomit, unlike two of my men.”
Lilith waved the men’s queasiness away.
Tail wagging, Lacey stood up on Lilith’s chair and eyed Kateri.
