The Girl with the Uninvited Ghost: Pandemonium Cozy Mystery #1

Chapter 28

Mahogany, Tony, and Guy leaned forward, waiting. Evelina took a bit of lasagna and chewed it slowly. "This is delicious. I need the recipe."

Tony nodded. "What did she do when you mentioned Magic Mike?"

"She exploded. I have never seen someone so mad. She was on the defensive for sure." Evelina paused. "Then I mentioned we have a witness placing her in the brownstone before the murders, and she and Mike argued, and she threatened him."

Guy nodded, still hovering in the casserole dish. "Nicely done."

"Of course, she demands to know who this witness is. That's when I heard another voice from inside the house." Evelina's eyes glittered.

"Whose?" Mahogany and Tony said together.

"Hank, that hunky server from the party."

"Hank was in her house?" Tony said. "Wow, she's got gall."

"Nancy gets all sorts of flustered and tries to shut the front door, but Hank stops her and starts talking about a boy named Steve. Hank tells me how Steve is special to Nancy, and he'd do almost anything for her if she asked." Evelina paused for more wine and food.

"Wait, so who's Steve?" Mahogany asked.

"Steve Murphy." Evelina dropped her fork like a mic.

"You're kidding?" Mahogany gaped at Evelina.

"I don't get it. Who's Steve Murphy?" Tony's gaze darted between the two women.

"He's the nephew of the Walsh clan who owns Tipsy O'Lush's."

"So the woman who wants to drive away all the freaks from Pandemonium is not only a practicing pedophile but dipping her hook in the local pool?" Mahogany shook her head and took a large sip of wine. "And a leprechaun to top it all off."

"Oh, I'm not finished. So Nancy's huffing and grunting at Hank when who should appear but Sylvia Stout." Evelina gazed from Tony to Mahogany and back again.

"The End Halloween Secretary?" Tony asked.

"Ex-secretary," Mahogany corrected.

"She was returning her clipboard from the Committee. So Sylvia goes off on how Nancy is a hypocrite and a horrible person. Then she throws the clipboard at Nancy. It hits her in the nose, and she starts gushing blood everywhere."

"Whoa," Mahogany whispered.

Tony whistled under his breath.

"Hank and I shuffled Nancy into the house and stopped the bleeding, and that's when Nancy started blabbing about being with Steve the night of the murders. Then I high-tailed it over here," Evelina finished her lasagna and took her plate to the sink. "So when do we head over to Tipsy to interview Steve?"

"As soon as I finish stuffing my face," Tony said and took a large bite.

"Did Nancy mention where she and Steve met for their trysts?" Mahogany asked.

Evelina stifled a snort. "It's the worst. They boned in the basement of Tipsy's after hours. There's a couch down there."

Tony choked, and Mahogany gagged.

"Sorry I asked," Mahogany said, eying her plate, her appetite taking a sudden dive. "We still need to speak with Brian O'Malley about Sylvia."

"Oh, don't worry about that. I ran into Brian at the cafe this morning, and the topic just happened to come up." She winked. "He and Sylvia were together last Tuesday."

"That's both encouraging and disappointing," Tony said, placing rinsed dishes into the washer.

"How did the beach go? Did you find Jeff?" Evelina asked as she hopped off the bar stool and took her finished plate to the dishwasher.

"We did, and he's been with Layla all this time." Mahogany carried her unfinished dinner to the sink.

"Get out! Layla the Jinn? I thought she had better taste than that." Evelina frowned and shook her head. "So, he has a solid alibi. Darn it."

"Detective Sawyer showed up as we were leaving," Mahogany said, helping Evelina with the dishes.

"Oh no. What happened?"

"Nothing much, but she made a point of letting us know she saw us," Mahogany said, drying her hands on a dishtowel.

"What do you mean?"

"She means I got a ticket for not signaling as I came into Pandemonium," Tony said, covering the casserole dish with foil.

"But there's no turn coming into Pandemonium." Evelina frowned as she gave Bazgul a loving scratch.

"Exactly," Mahogany, Tony, and Guy all said together.

"That's harassment." Evelina stomped her foot in frustration.

"It's a warning," Mahogany said and held her hand out for Bazgul, who climbed onto her shoulder and nuzzled her cheek.