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After that, we marched outside, Blaire and Charlene in tow, and together Charles and I pointed out the spots where skunk cabbage had been both planted and systematically trampled. We also showed her the place where daisies had been swapped for a lookalike invasive species.

“I can’t believe any of this,” Madame Blue said in a jarringly quiet voice. It was the first time since our arrival two days back that any of her words hadn’t been yelled.

“Looks like Billy has some explaining to do,” Blaire said with a smirk before setting her phone to record video. That girl lived for the drama.

Me? I just wanted a happy resolution for all involved, especially the bees who depended on this garden for their livelihood.

I couldn’t wait to hear what Billy had to say for himself.

20

We marched in a straight line to the third floor of that old stone mansion.

“Billy! Get out here right this instant!” Madame Blue yelled through a closed door.

He grumbled something I couldn’t quite make out, then pried the door open, seeming to have forgotten to put on a shirt. “What is it? I don’t start work for another hour, and you know that,” he complained. His eyes grew wide as he saw the entourage that joined his employer—me, Charles, Charlene, Blaire, and Blaire’s phone, already recording.

“Let me put on a shirt,” he muttered, shutting the door on us.

We all waited in silence until the door popped back open and Billy ushered us in. His room was small, just like the new one we’d been moved to on the first floor. It felt incredibly crowded with all five of us standing in the space, but nobody wanted to leave before getting answers.

“Well?” Billy demanded with a snide expression on his grizzled face. “What’s so important that it couldn’t wait one hour?”

The old lady marched right up to him and poked him in the chest with her finger.“What’s this I hear about skunk cabbage and bees?”

“What about it?” Billy answered smoothly. “You asked me to find a way to get rid of the bees, so I opted for a natural method.”

“I did not ask you to get rid of the bees!” Madame Blue stomped her foot in frustration. “You and I both know how much those bees mean to me.”

Billy’s featured pinched. “But you did ask me, Bluebell. Why else would I try to drive them off?”

“Lies!” the old woman hissed.

“Not lies,” Billy countered calmly. “Let me get dressed, and I can drive you into town to see your doctor. We both knew this day was coming.”

“If you’re trying to suggest I’m senile, you’ve got another think coming. My hips are bad, hearing’s gone, but my memory is just fine. I did not ask you to scare off my honeybees.”

They both seemed so sure of their position, it was hard to know who was telling the truth.

“Knock, knock,” someone called from out in the hall. Before anyone could answer, Madeline Mackenzie let herself into the room. She was wearing yet another Hawaiian shirt. How many did this woman have in her wardrobe?

“I heard shouting and just wanted to make sure everything was all right.” She shot Billy a meaningful glance, and that’s when it all clicked into place.

“You!” I rounded her, pointing a finger in accusation. “You’re the one who caused all those accidents. You locked my husband in our room, and I’m willing to bet you messed with the stairs, too.”

“That’s ridic—”

“The game is up, Madeline,” Billy interjected, obvious relief coloring his expression. “Just admit what you did.”

Everyone waited for someone to confess, but nobody did.

“You wanted the house for yourselves,” I explained. “You were willing to do anything to get it, including endangering the other guests.”

“Silly and offensive!” Mrs. Mackenzie shouted.

I came right up to her and poked my finger into her chest, same as Blue had done with Billy.“And true!” Now we were all shouting.

“I didn’t do any of those things,” she fumed, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Okay, can you prove that you didn’t?” Charles posed calmly.

She growled but didn’t respond with any words.

“I think maybe I can,” Blaire said, coming forward with phone in hand. She handed it to me.

“You know how I’ve been sneaking around at night to take things from the kitchen? I didn’t put two and two together before, but look at this.” Blaire hit play on the video, and my eyes grew wide as I watched the scene unfold. She’d managed to catch footage of Mrs. Mackenzie and Billy meeting by the broken staircase before it had been broken.

“They didn’t see me, and I thought this was some kind of midnight lovers thing despite the obviously enormous age gap.”

“Why would you record that?”

She shrugged.“I record everything. Thought this would either turn funny, disgusting, or into good blackmail fodder. Since I didn’t have money to keep staying here, I thought maybe I could convince one of them to foot the bill in exchange for me keeping their secret. I just hadn’t hit that point of desperation yet.”

I watched as they talked for a while, pointed at the stairs, talked some more, then hugged and wandered off in separate directions.