In this excerpt, Mitch is talking to Miss Eleanor, who thinks he’s possessed by the spirit of Albert, a.k.a. The Dead Guy At The Summerhouse.

Who Killed Me?

excerpt from A DEAD GUY AT THE SUMMERHOUSE
by Marian Allen

I shivered, but I don’t think Eleanor caught it. “She told me you were back. I know she did! Then she said you weren’t. I don’t understand. But I know you’re back now, and I’m so glad!” She raised my hand and kissed it.

“Has… uh… has she been helping you avenge my death?” I asked.

“I’ve been trying, Albert, truly I have, but I’ve… I’ve failed you, dearest. I’m so sorry.”

Unlike Corrie, Eleanor wasn’t afraid. Apparently, Albert had shown her a different face than he’d shown poor Corrie.

“That’s all right, um, Nell. Just tell me what you’ve tried.”

“Someone’s coming! Mary always looks for me here!”

I heard the footsteps on one of the gravel paths, too, distant but clear in the Sunday quiet. I didn’t particularly want Mary to find me with Eleanor again, but I had to know.

I grasped Eleanor’s shoulders. “Nell, who do you think killed me?”

“Those dogs!” she whispered. “Those dogs of Aunt Amelia’s! Mary agrees with me, but she won’t let me kill them!”

“Not the dogs,” I said. “It wasn’t the dogs.” I knew, as surely as if I’d been told, that Eleanor wasn’t totally delusional: Albert’s death hadn’t been an accident. But I knew just as surely that the dogs had had nothing to do with it. So who had caused it? I remembered Dr. Andrew’s face whenever he talked about Albert. Mr. Walton – Aunt Amelia had accused him of insane rages, and I had figured she was just picking at him, but what if she wasn’t? I remembered Corrie’s changeability, and how intense she could get. I remembered Aunt Missy telling me that Mr. Walton had made Albert hateful to her. How much strength would it have taken to drop a rock on somebody’s head, supposing you tricked him into – say – kneeling down to pick something up for poor little you?

~*~

Intrigued? I hope so! A DEAD GUY AT THE SUMMERHOUSE is available through Amazon in print and for Kindle and all Kindle apps. It’s cheap at the price, too.

A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: Take any group of people you know and outline reasons, circumstances, and personality traits that might make them plausible suspects in a murder case.

MA