Death By Bourbon Read Online Free PDF Page B

chance to respond as we heard a door crash open. Matt ran down the
     hall shouting for Charles.
    “What is it?” cried June, her diamond-laden hand jerking in concern to the thin red
     ribbons that made up her mouth.
    “Call the doctor. Someone’s having a fit,” yelled Matt.
    I wheeled past June and was soon in the huge library where a group of men were clustered.
     I wheeled across the expansive hardwood floor, around the couch and antique marble
     end table, through a knot of men.
    Lying on the floor before a massive carved marble fireplace was Addison DeWitt with
     Jake hovering over him. Jake had taken his coat off and was protecting Addison’s head
     while other men were holding Addison’s twitching limbs. It was frightful to watch
     as Addison pitched, trembled and thrashed. Several men gave Jake pillows, which he
     put around Addison’s head to cushion it. Another man took off Addison’s shoes and
     loosened his belt and tie.
    Other guests were on their cell phones calling 911. Charles and Matt ran in with some
     blankets and covered the fact that Addison had soiled himself.
    By now, the women were pushing through the doorway. Matt stopped them. Pulling Meriah
     aside, he asked her to take the ladies back into the parlor; they were simply getting
     in the way. Like a pro, Meriah herded the whispering and confused ladies back down
     the hallway – all that is, except Doreen DeWitt, who now stood with the little crowd
     of men, looking frightened. She kept whispering something over and over.
    Suddenly a chill ran down my spine. Something was off . . . like when someone sits
     next to you at a party and something in your gut tells you to move. You may not be
     able to put the correct name to it, but you realize something evil is near you. I
     was sensitive to things not being right. I made it my business anymore.
    What was out of kilter?
    All of a sudden, the twitching stopped. Jake checked Addison’s eyes and leaned over
     to hear if he was breathing. He instructed the man helping him to press on the chest
     when he gave the word. Then Jake bent over to give mouth-to-mouth. They kept at until
     the ambulance came, but Jake shook his head when he caught my eye.
    Doreen let out a wail and tried to lay down with Addison’s body as the ambulance crew
     tried to revive him to no avail. She eventually had to be given a sedative by the
     paramedics, and was taken upstairs as the police walked in the front door.
    The cop who strode through the door was Officer Kelly. He gave me a quick look, but
     we acted as though we didn’t know each other. He asked Charles what the problem was.
     They whispered for a long while in a little huddle.
    I wondered who had called him. This wasn’t a police matter, but a medical one. Wasn’t
     it?
    It wasn’t long before Officer Kelly ordered the men into the parlor with the women
     and cordoned off the library.
    Kelly told me to “get thee to the parlor.” Of course, when his back was turned, I
     wheeled straight to the kitchen and got a plate of hot food. I was starving.
    Charles’ wife was putting things away until Officer Kelly walked in and told her to
     join the guests as well. “You too, buddy,” he said curtly to me.
    I took several more mouthfuls as Kelly started pushing my chair out the door. “Kelly.
     Kelly,” I said in a stage whisper. “Something’s odd about that man’s death.”
    “Why?” he asked out of the corner of his mouth.
    “I just know it. The room felt creepy.”
    After he rolled me into the parlor with the others, Kelly called Goetz.
    “I’ve got a dead body.”
    “Yeah?”
    “It looks like a heart attack to me, but Josiah Reynolds is here. She thinks something
     is wrong. Says the room felt creepy. I’ve known her since I was fourteen. Mrs. Reynolds
     has good instincts.”
    There was silence for a few seconds before Goetz responded. “I’ll be right there.”

7
    Meriah was sitting in a corner with Lady Elsmere, both of them looking