Mahjonged (An Alex Harris Mystery) by Elaine Macko

ask us all a few questions.” I didn’t see any reason to clue everyone in on the fact they were going to be interrogated to within an inch of their lives. It was that stampede thing again, and I didn’t think the two officers standing sentry in my living room would be able to contain thirteen women hell bent on getting out of my house. Heck, I wanted to get out of my house and run as fast as I could and I lived here.
    “I’ve never been interrogated before,” Meme said. “But I see them do it all the time on TV. They like to try and trip you up.”
    I gave a huge sigh and shook my head.
    “What do you mean interrogate ?” Mia asked, eyes wide with horror.
    I cast a murderous glance over to where Meme sat, but she conveniently avoided me. An air of restlessness began to permeate throughout the room. “Calm down, everyone. It’s only natural the police want to ask us all questions. Everything will be fine.” Except of course for the one who killed Penelope, I thought, but didn’t say. In all the confusion with the police arriving, I had forgotten, once again, that one of these women, or maybe Bert, was a murderer and had been in my house all night. I shook myself out of my thoughts and looked at the crowd again. “Now, I’m going to go see what we have left over to eat.” I eyed the coffee pot and tea sitting on the sideboard and suggested everyone have something warm to drink.
    After I pulled every edible thing out of my kitchen and brought it all out to the dining room, the police turned my little breakfast nook into an interrogation room where they systematically took us one by one.
    As I sat on the sofa sipping what seemed like my hundredth cup of tea and surreptitiously munching on M&Ms I kept hidden in my pocket lest I have to share, I watched a parade of police technicians marching in and out of my study. I glanced at my watch and saw it was two-twenty in the morning. I was fading fast and a quick look around showed so was everyone else. Most of the women slept except for the unlucky one currently being questioned. My mother look scared to death when asked to join Detective Maroni in the kitchen and she still hadn’t come out yet.
    I knew my mother wasn’t the murderer, but God only knew what she was telling the police and why it was taking so long. Meme hadn’t gone in yet and I had a feeling she was looking forward to it. I glanced over to where Bert sat. The police had cut the tape from his body and mouth. Of course he began ranting and raving the minute he was free until Detective Maroni told him to be quiet or he’d wrap him up in tape himself. This shut Bert up, but he still had a scowl for anyone unfortunate enough to glance his way, which I currently did. I quickly averted my eyes and nervously began fingering the fringe on the blanket covering my lap.
    I must have fallen asleep because all of a sudden I felt groggy and lightheaded. I looked at my watch again and it was a little after three. And then I looked at the other end of my sectional sofa to where Meme had been sitting next to Theresa, but she wasn’t there. And then out of the corner of my eye I could see someone else was missing as well. Bert. No, it couldn’t be. Not with police all around.
    “Oh, my God!” I tried to jump off the sofa but felt a hand take firm hold of my arm.
    “Alex? What’s wrong?” my sister asked.
    I hadn’t even noticed her sitting next to me. “Where’s Meme?” I asked in a panic. “And Bert?”
    “Calm down. Bert is in with the police and Meme just went to the bathroom. You must have been dreaming.”
    I put my head in my hands. “Oh, Geesh,” I said. “I guess I was.”
    “You’ve never been much of a night person, you know,” my sister said, telling me something I was well aware of. “But how you could fall asleep with all that caffeine and chocolate, I’ll never know.”
    “What chocolate?” I asked, peeking into my pocket and finding it empty. “How’d you do that without my even