Murder at the Arlington

Chapters 28 & 29

A Sydney Lockhart Mystery

Ruth fell asleep or passed out, is a better way of putting it before room service could deliver the pot of coffee and meal I’d ordered. Poor girl. She needed her rest. And I needed a little time to myself. Being stuck here in my room was comforting — sort of cozy. With two cops outside my door keeping bad guys out, I could relax and contemplate the day.

I couldn’t believe everything that had happened since I woke up on the cot in Ruth’s hospital room: my early morning massage and meeting Margaret Rochester, picking my cousin up off Margaret’s sun-room floor, discovering Muldoon’s true identity, and I almost forgot, the incident with Dixon.

I went to the phone and picked up the receiver. I should tell him what I’d learned from Margaret. I put the receiver down. What had I learned? Obviously nothing that Dixon and Muldoon didn’t already know.

I picked it up again. I should have told him about the conversation Margaret had overheard when Mr. Charles was on the phone. What had she heard? Not a blasted thing. I put the receiver down. I had nothing to report. Besides, I didn’t want to appear forward. I didn’t want to seem eager. I didn’t want to be the first one to pick up the damn phone. After all, one little kiss does not a girlfriend…