Read 5 Murder by Syllabub for Free Online

asked in a loud whisper. Why, I had no idea. If anyone was here, they knew we were also. “If so, will someone please turn them on?”
    Cora Lee moved toward the wall. “Flash that light over  … no, more … there.”
    Lights appeared. Aunt Mary blinked and tensed, ready to run. Or hide. Only, no one jumped out waving a pistol or brandishing a knife. Nothing happened, and there was no sound. She relaxed a little. So did I. I shook out my shoulders and looked around. The room where we stood was actually a wide hallway that ran the length of the house. In the middle was a round table with a badly tarnished empty silver bowl on it. Two straight-backed chairs sat against the walls on each side of the hallway, one with a small table beside it. A huge chandelier hung over the table, but that wasn’t the source of the light. Small sconces glowed on the wall areas between two closed doors. There were double doors at the very end. “What’s behind those doors?”
    “The river.” Cora Lee crept down the hall way, cane tapping, slowly examining each closed door, pausing before one. It was slightly ajar.
    “They open on the river side. In the summer, both sets of doors would be left open to let a cross breeze cool the house.” Elizabeth tiptoed closer to Cora Lee. “Can you see anything?”
    “Not a thing, but I think the smell is coming from in there.” She gestured at the partially opened door.
    Elizabeth pinched her nose and coughed. Her voice sounded gravelly as she tried to see around Cora Lee. “Ugh. That’s foul.”
    Cora Lee held her cane over her shoulder, as if it were a baseball bat. “Don’t just stand there. Push it open all the way.”
    Elizabeth pushed. The smell rushed out to fill the hallway.
    “Oh. I’m going to be sick.”
    “Cora Lee, don’t you dare! I’ll never forgive you.” Elizabeth peered into the room. The light from the great hall only cast more shadows. “Someone’s drawn the curtains. Damn. Where’s the light switch? Mary, where’s that flashlight?”
    “The switch is there, by your left hand.”
    Elizabeth stepped into the room and felt along the wall. Aunt Mary squeezed in behind her, flashing her light around. The house felt empty, but someone had been here. Was he hiding in some other part of the house, waiting for us to leave so he could make his escape? Phew. Cora Lee was right. The smell was overpowering. So overpowering I forgot for a minute to be afraid. Aunt Mary flashed her light on the dark oak floor, then along the walls, but all it illuminated was wood wainscoting topped with red and gold flocked wallpaper. Her light lingered on it a second. Hideous. The light traveled on. An elegant Oriental rug lay inside the door. A long dining room table above another, larger rug was located farther in the room. Carved chairs with ball feet sat around the table. Heavy draperies covered what was probably a window on the far wall. Nothing that could be the source of the smell. I took another sniff and instantly covered my mouth with my hand. We had to find out what it was and get rid of it. Quickly.
    Lights came on. The crystal chandelier above the dining room table blazed, pouring light into every corner of the room. Elizabeth rounded the table, stopped abruptly , and gasped. She was seemingly transfixed by something on the floor behind the table. Aunt Mary moved around and stopped just as abruptly as she, too, stared at the floor by the buffet. “Oh, dear God in heaven.” She gagged and almost dropped the flashlight. “It’s George Washington.”
    Cora Lee pushed in between them. “What’s the matter with you two?” There was a sharp intake of breath as she skidded to a stop. She didn’t say anything for a moment and when she did, her words were almost inaudible. “No, it’s not. It’s Montgomery Eslick.”
    I rounded the table from the other end, confused. What lay there halted me just as quickly. My gasp was loud in the silent room. A man lay on the Oriental rug,