Page 82 of Murder By the Millions
“I have spies.” She cackled and continued offering hors d’oeuvres to guests.
Tegan hitched one shoulder. “Yes, I told her. She likes to know everyone’s weaknesses.”
“And you assured her I was coming tonight? Before even asking me?”
“I knew you wouldn’t say no.” She gave me a one-armed hug. “Let’s plant Darcy in the garden room off the kitchen and enjoy our wine outside.” She nabbed two glasses of the Biltmore estate chardonnay and led the way out. “Today was fun, despite the car trouble and the failure to find evidence of Patrick being at the caverns. It reminded me of a hike we took when we were twelve. Remember going off the trail and getting lost? Thank heaven we had cell phones. What did people do before those were invented?”
“Asked directions.”
“I meant in the wilds, you goon.” She would’ve thwacked my arm if her hands weren’t full.
We were walking past the office as Patrick and Noeline were exiting. They pulled up short.
“Hey, you two,” Noeline said. “Helga is making a feast. You’ll stay, Allie?”
“Yes.”
“Patrick, would you like to join us?” Noeline asked.
“Can’t. I agreed to have dinner with my folks.”
Tegan glanced at Patrick and quickly lowered her gaze. Was she afraid if she made direct eye contact, she’d blab everything we’d learned so far? “We’re going outside for a glass of wine, Mom.”
“I’ll join you in a sec. Patrick and I are finishing up. One more wall to do.” She silently applauded. “Take a peek. Doesn’t it look great?”
Removing the built-in bookshelves made the space look so much bigger. I said, “I love the soft blue color and the dark blue accent wall.”
“Patrick’s suggestion.” Noeline breezed down the hallway to the kitchen.
Patrick peered into Darcy’s cat carrier. “Hi, kitty. What’s your name?”
“Darcy,” I replied.
“As in Mr. Darcy inPride and Prejudice? I read the book way back when.”
“Willingly?” Tegan asked.
He chuckled. “Nah. I had to do it in order to pass freshman English. Say, Tegan”—he slipped one hand into a jeans pocket— “I heard you’re a hiker.”
“Who told you?”
“An old friend of mine touched base. He said he saw you at Linville Caverns.”
Uh-oh.We’d been caught in the act. Why had Zorro reached out? He said he hadn’t seen Patrick in years.
Hold on, Allie. That’s not what he said.I replayed the conversation in my mind. He’d stated that Patrick’s stepfather had forbidden Patrick to see him ever again, but he hadn’t said they’d complied.
“We did go there, Patrick,” I said. “After you shared your adventure, I had the urge to see the caverns. I hadn’t visited in years.”
“Allie told me about the bats. I was fascinated,” Tegan replied, crafting a reasonable excuse. “We were hoping to figure out what time the furry critters were at their peak.”
“The caverns aren’t open on Wednesdays,” Patrick said.
I groaned. “Yeah, we found out. Dumb. But it was a pretty drive.”
“Zorro said you asked about me.” Patrick’s gaze narrowed.
“We did.” I opted to take the direct approach. “We hoped one of the hikers we questioned would know how you got in. We wanted to sneak in ourselves. Alas, none did.”
