Deception at Dark Hall (The Briony Martin Mystery Series) by Stacey Coverstone

“Did something happen at Shelby’s house?” she asked.
    A frightened expression glazed his eyes. He nodded.
    “Who’s Shelby?” Mark asked.
    “Sharlyn Dark’s twin sister.” She quickly explained how they’d met her today, and how she’d invited Daniel for a drink.
    “Whose blood is on your hands, Daniel?” Mark asked.
    Paige returned with the cloth. Daniel was in such a bewildered state, he didn’t move, so she wiped his hands. “We should phone the police. Shouldn’t we?” she asked Mark.
    “Not yet.” Briony lowered to her knees and gazed into Daniel’s eyes. “Tell us what happened. Don’t leave any detail out.”
    He took a few moments to compose himself and then began. “I arrived at the address Shelby had given me promptly at seven o’clock. The building was a brownstone downtown. I rang the doorbell and waited, but no one answered. I rang again. Still, no one came to the door. Feeling like I was being watched, I turned my head and saw someone next door duck quickly into the shadows. I guessed it was a nosy neighbor. Instead of ringing the bell a third time, I lifted the brass knocker on the door. That’s when I realized the door was ajar. I pushed it further open and called out hello. The foyer was dark. I stuck my head in a bit and could see there were no lights on inside, which I found odd, since Shelby was expecting me at seven. I called out her name. Still no response.” He paused and inhaled a deep breath through his nose.
    “Go on,” Briony urged. “What did you do next?”
    “A sense of dread and foreboding suddenly came over me. The air inside the brownstone was thick and stale, like the house had been closed up for a long time, and it smelled of something sweet. And then I heard it.”
    “It?”
    “A moan. It was the sound of a human, not an animal. Someone inside was hurt or sick. At least, that’s what I imagined. Naturally, I thought it was Shelby, so I barged through the door and followed the noise to the parlor. The room was deep in shadows, but I could see the shape of a body lying on the floor, face up.”
    Paige covered her mouth with her hand.
    “I rushed forward and had just bent to see that the person lying on the floor wasn’t Shelby at all, but a man, when I heard footsteps rush behind me. Before I could turn, I was hit in the head and rendered unconscious.” He touched his scalp and fresh blood coated his fingers.
    “Good God!” Mark exclaimed.
    Briony rose and gently examined the gash in the back of his skull. “The injury is deep. It’s going to need stitches.”
    “It’ll wait,” Daniel said. “I want to finish my story. When I woke up, I had a God-awful headache and remembered being bashed with something. But what I was most concerned about was the body next to me.”
    “Did you touch it?” Briony asked. “To check for a pulse?”
    “No. The poor fellow was obviously dead. He wasn’t breathing, and there was dried blood on his mouth. Then I saw the hole in his shirt and more blood around the wound. He’d been shot. I panicked. There was no way to know if whoever had killed him and clocked me in the head was still in the house, so I gathered my wits and ran. I should have called the police, but I was afraid they’d think I was the perpetrator.”
    “And you have no idea if Shelby was in the house?” Briony asked.
    He shook his head. “For all I know, someone murdered her, too. I should have searched the house.” He hung his head in his hands. “I didn’t know what to do. I wasn’t thinking clearly.”
    Mark patted his leg. He clenched his teeth and flashed a fearful look at Paige and Briony. “What do we do now?”
    “We have to get him to the hospital,” Paige said. “Besides stitching that wound, he might have a concussion.”
    “First, Daniel must call the police,” Briony said.
    His head lifted. “No! The neighbor next door will tell them she saw me at Shelby’s door, and they’ll accuse me of the murder.”
    Briony’s