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“What were they saying?” I asked, confused as to how this was the smoking gun we needed.

“Just stuff about plans and being ready. Again, I thought it was about an affair, but maybe they were plotting something else. Maybe they were working together to sabotage your stay.”

Neither Billy nor Mrs. Mackenzie said anything in response to this accusation. That’s when Mr. Mackenzie joined us.

“What’s all this talk of having an affair?” he asked good-naturedly, clearly thinking it was out of the realm of possibilities.

“We think—” I started, but Blaire cut us off.

“Sorry to be the one to break it to you, but your wife is cheating on you with that guy!” Blaire pointed to Billy.

He looked from his wife to Billy, then burst out laughing.“No way. That’s our son. Didn’t you know?”

“What?” Madame Blue shouted. “How come nobody said anything to me?”

“I guess it slipped our minds,” Mrs. Mackenzie said with a wave of her hand.

“Or you didn’t want her to know,” I suggested, unmoved by this shock twist. If anything, it made the pieces fit together more perfectly. “How long ago did you hire Billy to help out around here?” I asked Madame Blue.

“About two years ago. Why?”

“That was after your most recent inspection, right?”

“Just a couple months after, yes. It was the enormity of the repairs needed that made me realize I couldn’t do it all on my own anymore.”

“Madame Blue, you’re not losing your memory. You’ve been double-crossed,” I revealed dramatically.

“Of course I’m not losing my memory. I’m sharp as a tack, but what do you mean about double-crossed?”

“These two”—I pointed at the mother and son—“were working together to sabotage your business. She has a special place in her heart for the house but can’t buy unless you put it for sale. Billy has been her inside man. He’s been secretly damaging the house, ruining the gardens, and encouraging guests to leave bad reviews,” I added thinking back to how nonchalant he was while we were changing rooms, even going so far as to suggest we leave negative feedback online. “Scaring off the bees was probably meant to be the last straw, since you love them so much. He thought that you’d have no reason to stay with everything that was going wrong.”

Mr. Mackenzie did not look happy about any of this.“These are very serious accusations you’re making.”

“Yet somehow they’re true.”

“You can’t prove anything,” Billy said flatly.

“Well, my friend, you messed with the wrong guests,” I said with a smirk of my own. “My husband’s a lawyer and I’m a private investigator.”

“And I record almost everything,” Blaire added.

“I’m sure with a little digging we could piece together a timeline of events, uncover receipts for repairs that never happened, and even get a clean bill of health from Madame Blue’s doctor to prove her memory is just fine.”

“We should get another inspector in too. To check out the stairs and see if there’s been any obvious tampering.”

“There’s no need to do that,” Mrs. Mackenzie said. “We’ll leave. That’s what you wanted, right? You want the good room back?”

“This is about so much more than a room.”

“Did you really do what they’re saying, Madeline? Billy?” Mr. Mackenzie asked with a crestfallen expression. “I know we wanted this place, but we all agreed to wait until the old woman died. Goodness knows that should happen soon enough.”

“Billy, you’re fired,” Madame Blue growled. “Get off my property.”

“Before you go.” Charles stepped forward with a business card in hand. “I’ll be representing Madame Blue in a suit to reclaim damages due to willful destruction of property. Expect a call from me soon.”

EPILOGUE

FOUR DAYS LATER

“Mmm,” I moaned as the creamy goodness filled my mouth. “So worth the wait.”

“Cheers to that,” Charles said, holding up his fork to bump it to mine as the sun rose over the garden.

“Ready for another round?” Madame Blue asked, hovering nearby with a Pyrex dish half-filled with the delicious homemade biscuits and gravy.

“We should save some for Blaire,” I suggested, daintily wiping at the corners of my mouth as if I weren’t making a huge mess of myself already. “She’ll be hungry when she finishes replanting those roses.”

This was the last day of our stay at the old stone mansion so beloved by my parents. Now that Billy and his parents had gone, it was a perfectly lovely place to vacation. The inspector had come out yesterday to assess the house and its property. We were still waiting on an official report, but he noted at least sixty thousand dollars’ worth of new damages since the last inspection.

Charles had wasted no time in letting the Mackenzies know that they were expected to pay for all the damages in duplicate—or he would file a suit over the accident he’d suffered on the tampered staircase, and he would be sure to win.