Page 47 of A Whisker in the Night

“Oh, that?” She squints over at me. “I ended up taking it back to the booth. It was far too heavy for even me to cart around.”

She’s not giving in.

I sigh hard. “Hamish tried to stop you from publishing that book, didn’t he?” I venture on, noting how her fingers are suddenly clenched around her purse strap. “He was afraid his reputation would be tarnished beyond repair.”

“That’s right, he did try to stop me.” She gives a little laugh that could frost spring flowers. “But he should have thought about his precious reputation before he landed that tramp horizontal. Before he threatened to expose—” She catches herself, but her thoughts race on.Everything we built, everything I tried so hard to hide.

Now you’ve got her.Jellybean leaps with the thought.She’s about to confess. I can feel it.

Fish nods.She’s given an inch. Let’s see if she gives a mile.

“He tried to blackmail you, didn’t he?” My voice softens as I ask the question, hoping to profit off that dream-like trance taking over her face.

But instead, Matilda’s eyes widen as she snaps her full attention my way, and just like that, the spell is broken.

Footsteps approach from behind. “I’m the one who did it,” a woman calls out to us. “I killed him.”

Chapter 30

Hammie Mae Westoff appears here in the clearing just shy of the Hip Hip Parade taking place down on Main Street this sunny and warm Easter morning.

Hammie Mae is resplendent in a floral maternity dress that looks as if it belongs at a quintessential garden party. Her strawberry blonde locks are curled around her shoulders and her freckles give her that fresh-faced look that only seems to age her backwards.

The baby kicks and I warm my hand over my belly protectively.

After all, Hammie Mae Westoff just admitted to killing her father.

“What are you talking about?” Matilda snaps at her daughter. “You didn’t kill anyone.”

Hammie Mae closes her eyes for a moment too long and both Fish and Jellybean groan at the sight.

I’ll admit, Hammie Mae looks pretty guilty at the moment.

“I confronted Dad in the woods at the festival,” she blurts out with tears already streaming down her face. “I asked him why he destroyed our family, and all he could say was that Mom wasbent on destroyinghim.” She growls in a fit of frustration. “That man never took responsibility for anything!”

Her hands cradle her baby bump protectively. “We argued. He was upset. Just before I left, a tree branch hit the ground right next to us. He said it could have killed us or hurt the baby.” Her voice cracks. “And I—I said I wished it had killed him.”

I gasp at the thought. Those darn eucalyptus trees! It sounds as if they picked a fine time to self-prune.

Oh my goodness. It could have killed both of them—thethreeof them—and it would have been all my fault.

Matilda reaches for her daughter as fresh tears begin to fall.

“I didn’t mean it,” Hammie Mae cries out. “But I left and he stood there in the woods. The only reason he stayed behind was because I had upset him! Don’t you see? Another branch must have fallen and it did indeed kill him.”

The baby gives a sharp kick as if trying to help me find the right words.

“Hammie Mae”—I say gently—“you didn’t kill your father, not even in the way that you think. He wasn’t killed by a falling branch.” Thank heavens. “The detective, my husband, found the murder weapon. I’m not at liberty to say what it was, but you need to understand—you had nothing to do with your father’s death.”

I shoot a quick look at Matilda once again in hopes of a confession and she straightens as if she’s just been electrocuted.

Fish gives a little jump.I think she’s going to confess!

We’ve got a killer on our hands,Jellybean yowls.

Matilda shakes her head as if she heard. “That leaves Verity. She had that exorbitant life insurance policy out on him—everyone knew about it—and she needed every last dime.”

“She did?” I blink in surprise. I didn’t know about it. “But I thought she was doing well. I mean, she mentioned making a fortune with that fancy drink machine of hers.”

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