Part 17 (1/2)
”I believe I'm fading fast,” Savannah said in the silence that followed her husband's dramatic exit. ”If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to rest, as well.”
”Everyone is tired, but I'd like to get a statement from you before you retire for the night.”
She pa.s.sed a languid hand over her forehead. ”Oh, I don't think I'm up to that, Adam. I will be happy to answer your questions in the morning, but right now...The seance was so draining...And all the negative energy in the house due to the killing...”
I slid Adam a look as I put an arm around her. ”Of course, we understand.
It's been a trying night for everyone.”
”I should be the one comforting you in your newly widowed state,” she said as we walked toward the stairs. Adam, correctly reading my glance, followed. ”You must be beside yourself with grief.”
”I'm still numb with shock, to be honest.”
”Shock!” She shuddered. ”I know how you feel. I'm in absolute shock that Meredith could be involved in something so heinous, so reprehensible! Imagine wasting poltergeists and spirits on a brothel, when there are so many other uses for them.”
I paused for a second. ”Other uses?”
”Of course!” She stopped at the bottom of the stairs and turned to face us, her hands spread wide. ”There is so much we have to learn from them! From you...You know what I mean. From beings of the Otherworld! To use them to satiate carnal desires...well, that's just a waste of a good resource. And so I will point out to Meredith in the morning!”
Adam raised his eyebrows and covertly made a note in his notebook.
”Good luck with that. Meredith doesn't seem to be the sort of man who would be overly welcoming to suggestions,” I said.
”He's not, but sometimes you can get through to him,” she replied, slowly ascending the stairs.
”How long have you been married?”
”Nearly six months now.” She must have sensed my surprise, because she tossed her head and laughed. ”I know, we argue like an old married couple, don't we? That's Meredith's stubbornness for you.”
”Men can be that way. He seemed awfully tight with Spider, though.
Spider's mentioned him to me a few times, but I had no idea that they had such grandiose plans. I wonder if Meredith felt threatened by Spider in any way.”
”Threatened?” She paused at the top of the stairs. ”Which room might I have, Adam?”
”You can rest in mine. It's down the hall, last door on the right.”
”Meredith wasn't threatened by anyone,” she continued, not looking left or right as she marched down the hallway. ”He got along very well with your husband. I admit there was difficulty in Meredith getting funding from him for the electronic devices; Spider seemed to think they were a waste of money until Meredith showed him a prototype of the diffuser. He gave Meredith the money quick enough after that.”
We stopped in front of the door to Adam's bedroom. ”Do you mean that you knew your husband had a machine that would destroy spirits? And you did nothing about it?”
Her laughter spilled out into the hallway. ”Oh, Karma! I did everything but threaten to throttle the man to get him to stop working on them, but it did no good. To be perfectly honest, I never thought it would actually work! I would have destroyed the horrible machine if I thought it would do what it was intended to do, but even if I did know for a fact it was truly dangerous, destroying it would have been difficult. Meredith always kept them locked away at the bank.”
”Them?” Adam asked, opening the door.
”I beg your pardon? Oh, what a lovely room. I imagine it has a glorious view during the day. Is that furniture original to the house?”
”Er...” Adam looked slightly dis...o...b..bulated as he glanced around the bedroom. ”Some of it. You mentioned your husband was working on electronic devices? Plural?”
She patted a large chest that sat at the end of the four-poster bed. ”This is lovely, just lovely. Such a beautiful chest. Is it mahogany?”
Adam frowned. ”Yes. Can you answer my question?”
”I'm sorry; I'm just overwhelmed by this lovely room. Did I say 'them?'
I'm so tired, I'm not really thinking straight. Meredith only made the one diffuser, but there were several versions of it before he got it right, so I always think of it as more than one device.”
”He said he had another one,” I said slowly, watching as she flitted around the room admiring the Victorian furniture. ”Do you think that might have been the cause for an argument between Spider and him?”
”You'd have to ask Meredith, but I doubt it. From what I saw, they were on very good terms. Certainly nothing that would indicate Meredith would kill Spider.”
”You didn't see either of them after they left the living room?” Adam asked when she opened a window and breathed in the night air with exaggerated movements.
”I so love the smell of the sea. No, I didn't see them. I stayed in the living room until everyone returned, and we decided to have the seance.”
”Everyone?” I asked, confused. ”Who left the room while I was upstairs?”
”Oh, goodness ... let me see. ...” She sat on the bed to take off her shoes.
”Spider and Meredith went downstairs to look for a door, as you know.
Obsidian Angel said she had to use the bathroom. Matthew said he was going to check on you, but he didn't come back until just before you came downstairs. And Adam went off to...” She paused, turning to him. ”Why did you leave?”
”I had to check on Nita and the boys. Did you see anyone go down to the bas.e.m.e.nt?”
”I'm afraid I wasn't looking,” she said, scooting back on the bed. ”I took a few moments to do some communing with the house. Would you mind if I rested now? I feel drained, absolutely drained, by the murder and Meredith and everything.”
”Of course. Rest well,” Adam said, holding the door open for me.
”Oh...Karma, do you have a few seconds?” she asked.
”Sure. I'll just be a minute, Adam.”
He inclined his head, gave Savannah a quick, curious look, and left.
”I'm sorry to disturb you after everything that's happened, but I thought it would be best to do it now,” Savannah said, twisting a bit of her dress between her hands.
”Do what now?” Why was she suddenly so uncomfortable?
She got off the bed and took a hesitant step toward me. ”I was wondering ... I thought you might not like...Oh, this is so very awkward.”
”I don't know what's awkward, but you needn't feel concerned about discussing something unpleasant with me. I'm stronger than I look. Is it something about Spider?”
”Yes. No. That is, I was wondering what your plans are for this house.”
The words tumbled over one another as she sat on the end of the bed, one hand touching her amulet bag. ”I know it's too soon after your husband's death to have any specific plans, but I thought I would mention that I am very, very interested in the house, and if the unpleasant circ.u.mstances of Spider's death have tainted the house in any way, I would be only too happy to buy it from you.”
”Stop,” I said, holding up a hand to interrupt her.
”It's Meredith, isn't it?” she asked, shaking her head. ”You needn't worry: I have no intentions of allowing him to destroy this lovely old home by turning it into a brothel. If you sell me the house, I can protect it from him. I will continue to allow it to be a sanctuary to homeless ent.i.ties and beings. It will become the apex of paranormal study in the Pacific Northwest. I will conduct-”