Two Birds with One Stone (A Marsden-Lacey Cozy Mystery Book 1) by Sigrid Vansandt Page B

have this dance?”Piers asked as the musicians began to
play “Red Sails in the Sunset.”
    With a soft blush, Helen accepted and Martha gave her a “go
have fun”wink
as the couple moved onto the dance floor.
    Martha decided to find the ladies ’ room. The
windowed-hallway flanking the garden was softly lit by candles in sconces, and
people half in shadow came and went along its length. Lightheaded from all the
champagne, Martha came into the main hall and as she passed Piers’study, she thought
she saw a movement. Stopping abruptly, she strained to see if there was someone
moving in the room’s darkness. With only candles lighting
the hall, it was difficult to tell.
    Martha ’ s curiosity went on red alert.
She peeked around the corner of the door to see a silhouetted form sitting in
front of an illuminated computer screen. Could it be a man? From her position
she couldn ’ t tell. The person was frantically typing
something into a white box which kept coming up on the screen. Each time it
reappeared, they would try again.
    As she watched, Martha leaned on the door and it creaked.
The figure spun around and moved away from the desk. Quickly backing out of the
doorway, Martha dashed for the stairs.
    She heard people coming. Two women in evening gowns moved
languidly down the hall, laughing. They stopped directly in front of the
office. Whoever was in there was blocked from leaving. Martha decided not to go
up the stairs. Instead, she walked past the women, down the long glass
corridor, and back to the garden. Her fuzzy headedness gone, she decided the
ladies room would have to wait.
    When Martha returned to the garden, Helen and Piers were
sitting at a table laughing cozily together. Martha went over and told them
what she had seen. Piers got up and the two women followed him to his office.
    Switching on the light and they discovered the office in a
terrible mess.
    “Who would have done this?”Piers asked, turning to Helen and Martha.
    “I couldn't tell,”Martha said. “Can you tell if anything is gone?”
    “What do you think they were looking for?”Helen asked.
    Piers searched through his desk then sat down in front of
his computer. “Honestly, I can ’ t tell much from fiddling
with this thing. Nothing of value is gone from my desk.”He swiveled to face them. “I keep
everything important in my safe which hasn ’ t been touched.
If our intruder wanted something, it must have been access to my computer and
that could be devastating. I don ’ t want the police out
here again tonight but I don ’ t think I have a choice.”
    “ Piers, don ’ t
touch anything. Fingerprints could be on things,”Martha warned.
    At that moment a tall, thin strawberry blonde woman with an
extremely clingy, silver-beaded evening gown leaned into the room. Her cleavage
was a better accessory than a diamond necklace. In fact if she had been wearing
the Hope diamond, no one would have noticed it.
    She gave Piers a cute, pouty look and with her curled index
finger she motioned for him to come. “ Piers, ” she
cooed in a deep Louisiana drawl, “I think the last dance is about to
start. You know how I love to… dance, darling. ”
    Martha turned from the strawberry blonde to look at Piers.
Then, like a man whose will was controlled by a power greater than his own, he
excused himself politely, saying he had promised Lana the last dance.
    Taking his arm in hers, Lana laid her head gently on his
shoulder and they left the room.
    Alone in the room, the girls were quiet for a few seconds
until Martha said, “Whoa! I feel like I just witnessed the mating ritual of a
Louisiana cougar.”
    Helen turned to Martha and said hotly, “Cougar is right.
What ’ s the deal with so many Americans in England these
days? Don ’ t they have better places to be?”
    Martha laughed. “Now simmer down. We’re Americans. Remember?
You were outflanked by a Louisiana woman. Almost anyone would be caught by one
of those molasses-dripping