Castle Deadly, Castle Deep (A Dinner and a Murder Mystery, Band 2) - Softcover

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Veronica Bond is the pseudonym of a beloved author who has taught high school English for twenty-nine years.

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1

The Catacombs

The candle in my hand shook slightly, the flame flickering in the drafty cavern. In the silence, my heels scraped softly against the stone floor, accentuating the hollowness of this space beneath the castle. I swept my light over the crumbling wall to my right, where skeletal remains jutted from the ancient stone, and a skull suddenly loomed into sight, jaws gaping, lurid in the darkness. I stifled a scream and stepped away, bumping into a form next to me-no skeleton, but a living being. I shouted in surprise. The form moved swiftly past me, and moments later, a light went on, dispelling some of the gloom and revealing these ghoulish catacombs for what they were: a carefully constructed facade.

"How do you like my Halloween display?" asked Derek Corby.

Derek was my employer at Castle Dark, and he had persuaded me to come down early, before we had to perform here for the autumn show, to "familiarize" myself with the space. In other words, to make sure I didn't have a panic attack once the show began. He led me around now, pointing out that the bones were made of plaster, and the cobwebs hanging from the walls and ceiling were carefully placed, meticulous as tinsel on a tree. At the end of the cavern, he assured me, were a spacious and attractive wine cellar and some neatly tended storage rooms.

"It's all for show, Nora. You have to get into the spirit of the thing."

I agreed and thanked him for bringing me down for an early look, but I longed for the main floor, with its blissful sunlight. And I tried not to look at the mournful skull calling to me in a silent scream. On our way to the stairs, I said, "Why do people love being scared, anyway?"

Derek paused on the first step, turning to look at me. "Because it's invigorating. Fear can be a blissful experience."

"Blech. Give me flowers and puppies and happy endings."

Derek laughed. "I think my brother would agree with you, about the happy endings at least."

"Paul would?"

But of course he would, I thought. Paul was a romantic, but Derek and I both knew he hadn't gotten the happy ending he had envisioned with Gen.

Reading my thoughts, Derek said, "He was hoping to have more of a chance with your sister. He would have been willing to try a long-distance relationship."

"Gen was being realistic," I said. "She's a practical person."

I felt defensive on her behalf. She lived in New York, and Paul was determined to stay here in the Chicago region, living in the castle that he loved. He had finally retired from his job in Indianapolis, and much to everyone's delight, he was back in the castle full-time as CFO.

"They would have made a good couple, though," I admitted.

Derek turned back to the stairs and began to climb. "Yes, they would have," he said.

A light appeared at the top of the stairs, and Connie's golden head was visible, her hair floating like a halo around her. For a surreal moment, it seemed that she was Persephone, and Derek was Hades, climbing out of the darkness to be with the woman he loved.

"Where have you guys been?" Connie asked with her usual intensity. "I'm getting lonely."

Derek bounded the rest of the way and wrapped her in his arms. The two of them, recently a couple and paradoxically both beautiful to behold and annoying to be with, were my most frequent companions when I was not in the presence of my own new boyfriend.

I frowned at the thought of John Dashiell. I would think about him later.

Connie peered at me over Derek's broad shoulder. "Nora, you said we could run our lines this morning."

"Yes, that's fine. Should we go on the back patio? It's really nice outside, and I'm craving sunshine after being in the dungeon."

Derek laughed. "A perfectly nice wine cellar."

"Don't drag Nora to your dreary catacombs," Connie reproved. "She thrives in the light, like most living things."

Derek held up his hands. "Two against one. Okay, go practice. I have to talk with Paul." He kissed Connie's cheek and turned away, but not before I saw the worry in his eyes.

I followed Connie down the main hall and out the south entrance to the sunny patio. She looked at me, her face smug after her bout of kissing. "He's so perfect."

"For you, yes."

"And John is perfect for you."

"Yes." I changed the subject. "Derek seems kind of worried. Is it just because of the financial stuff?"

"Yeah, I guess he's brainstorming with Paul about some other income possibilities. I never thought about it before, but the castle is so huge-just the basic maintenance is outrageously expensive."

"That makes sense. I wonder if there's anything we can do to help."

"Derek is proud. He probably wouldn't accept it."

"Hmmm."

Connie fluffed her hair and said, "Anyway. I brought the script, but I guess we can try it without first."

"You never understood our father," I said coldly. "It was never about the money for him. It was about his children-all five of us-and the life he wanted to provide for us."

Connie sneered. "You always thought you had some sort of special bond with Dad, but you weren't his favorite, and you weren't special. You weren't even legitimate. Don't pretend you're like the rest of us."

"I was his favorite," said Dorian Pierce, our newest actor, striding toward us with a slight smirk on his handsome face.

Our friend Tim had left the castle a month earlier to get married and move to Seattle. Derek had hired Dorian at the end of August, and I hadn't yet determined what I thought of him. He always wore a slightly condescending expression, but Connie told me that I was judging him too harshly.

"Are we running lines?" Dorian asked, joining us at the table without waiting for an invitation.

I shrugged and continued with my dramatis persona. "You weren't his favorite, Dorian. I heard the two of you fighting last night. You were screaming at him. And two hours later Mara found him with a knife in his chest."

Dorian's eyes sparkled with malice; he really got into character, I had to admit to myself.

"You know what they say about the person who finds the body. They are often the perpetrators."

"You say that about your own sister?" Connie shouted.

"Aren't you saying the same about me?" Dorian said.

His eyes had darted away from us and begun watching something in the northwest corner of the castle, near the parking area. I followed his gaze and saw Derek and Paul gesticulating, their heads close together. From this distance, they looked sinister.

Dorian stood up suddenly. "We'll have to continue this later," he said as though Connie and I were expected to stop rehearsing, as well. "I have to speak to Derek."

Everything Dorian said was weighted with faux gravitas. Connie rolled her eyes at me and I smothered a laugh.

Connie watched him stride away. "I'll say this for him, he's got a really handsome face."

I shook my head. "His expression is always sarcastic. That ruins it."

"I think that's just his face."

"Your boyfriend is much more handsome," I said.

Connie's smug smile returned. "Like I said, he's perfect. But that doesn't keep me from...