Wilmington, NC 03 - Murder On The Ghost Walk

Nick see that?"
    "Maybe he does. The police would be keeping their leads quiet."
    I hoped that was true.
    The waiter brought our order and we divided it. "Jon, who among that crowd traveled to Europe when those phony postcards were mailed back home?"
    "As I recall most of that crowd traveled a lot. Sherman and Muffie went often. They said they tried looking up Shelby and Reggie but couldn't find them. And Gordon and Cecily took one of those epicurean tours of France and Italy."
    "Italy? Teddy said his mother got a post card from Shelby one summer from Tuscany. So either the Warners or the Cushmans could have sent a fake post card."
    Jon looked thoughtful. "You know, even your mother and Melanie went to Europe that next summer."
    "You're right! They stayed overnight with me in New York before flying out of JFK."

28

    "Ms. Morgan has got a lot of fans out there and every one of them is ringing the Chief's phone off the hook. They're demanding we bring in her killer." Nick stood in the middle of my living room. It was late and we were both tired.
    "And so you're going after Melanie who wouldn't harm a fly!"
    Hot tears stung my eyes and I covered my face with my hands. The gulf between us grew wider and deeper with every quarrel. Not even the roses he'd brought me, lush and velvety as they were, could bridge the gap. I was determined not to let him see me cry.
    I felt him move in, felt his hands cup my elbows. His jacket smelled of rain, and his face, so close to my own, smelled lingeringly of aftershave . I lowered my hands as far as my chin and fixed him with a defiant stare. What I saw in his eyes surprised me. Pain, confusion. His extraordinary hazel eyes, usually scrunched up in a scowl so he wouldn't give away any emotion, brimmed with compassion because I was hurting.
    "I know what you're going through," he said softly.
    I pulled my arms out of his grasp. "No, you don't! You might understand how it's torn me up to have to institutionalize Mama, but you have no idea what you're putting me through because you're being so pigheaded. You're blind and stubborn. You don't have a sister -- an innocent sister -- who's being accused of murder by the person who is . . . " I stopped. Who's what? The man I'm falling in love with?
    "Who's supposed to be my friend," I finished lamely, admitting to myself I didn't know what we meant to each other. I gave myself a shake. This was no time to be evaluating my relationship with Nick. Melanie was in trouble.
    "I'm not accusing her of murder, Ashley. But when evidence against her comes in, I can't ignore it."
    Again, I noticed how tired he seemed. This hurts him too, I realized. Nervously, I said, "Sit down , Nick. I've got to find a way to convince you Melanie is not a murderer. I'm going to tell you some things I haven't . . . well, I haven't had a chance to tell you before."
    He moved around to the opposite side of the coffee table and sat on the white love seat.
    "There are many people who have a motive for murdering Mirabelle," I said. Calmly, I related the quarrel I'd witnessed between Mirabelle and Bob King, the labor leader. "King threatened her. He said some day she was going to get what she deserved. You saw for yourself how irrationally he behaved at the party. The next day Mirabelle was murdered."
    Nick did not comment as I went on.
    "She humiliated people who worked for her, like me and Jon, and her assistant Teddy Lambston. Then there's the money she owed Gordon Cushman, a half million dollars she refused to repay because they were having an affair. She threatened she'd tell his wife about the affair if he refused to wait for the money. That's blackmail. Now Mirabelle is dead, Cushman will be able to collect from her estate."
    I related everything I could remember about the conversation I'd overheard between Mirabelle and Gordon. "Don't you see? There were others with strong motives and opportunity. You should be investigating all of them."
    Nick leaned forward, elbows on knees, hands clasped. "Ashley, I assure you I am investigating this murder from every angle. Jon told me about the quarrel in Ms. Morgan's office. I looked into it. King has an alibi for the period from five to seven P.M. on Saturday evening when she was murdered."
    "Did you check King's alibi? If his union friends are providing the alibi, they're in on it too. They hated Mirabelle as much as he did."
    "You're suggesting a conspiracy?"
    "Well, why not? A conspiracy by union members, or by Gordon and