The Name of the Game Was Murder Read Online Free PDF

late king Gustav Adolph of Sweden, King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, the late king Frederick the Ninth of Denmark …”
    “They’re all royalty?” I asked.
    “All of them,” she said. “In fact, Mr. Trevor calls this ‘the Kings’ Corner.’ ” Mrs. Engstrom’s mouth had a strange twist to it, as though she thought this was putting things on a little too much.
    As Mrs. Engstrom moved on to pass the canapes to theother guests, Lucy came into the room with a tray of assorted drinks and handed me a glass of ginger ale.
    “Thanks,” I said. Eager for someone to talk to, I asked, “Where’s Mr. Trevor?”
    “He’ll be along,” she said quietly, and glanced back at the open doorway. “He likes to come in after everybody else has been standing around waiting for him.”
    I wanted to ask more about Augustus Trevor, but Lucy left, delivering drinks to the other guests. Walter was busy too, so I was trying to decide whether to stand by myself, looking stupid, or stand with one of the groups, looking stupid, when Augustus Trevor entered the parlor. Conversations stopped in midsentence as we all turned toward him. In the silence a gust of wind suddenly rattled the windows, and I wasn’t the only one who jumped.
    Augustus looked like a character in one of the old movies Mom and Dad like to rent. He was casually dressed in a dark red velvet jacket with a belt that tied around his pudgy middle. Augustus also wore dark slacks and loafers without socks, and smiled charmingly at his guests. “How delighted I am that all of you could come,” he said, and made a little bow. “Welcome to our humble home.”
    Laura gave a sigh, as though she’d begun breathing again, and Senator Maggio cleared his throat. Julia was the first to come forward. She clutched Augustus’s shoulders and blew smacky kisses near both ears.
    “You darling man, I’ve been so excited. What
is
this wonderful imaginative game you’ve thought up for us?”
    I saw Buck and the senator glance knowingly at each other, so that answered one question. Each of these guests had received the same kind of invitation.
Threat
, Laura had called it.
    Augustus chuckled and draped an arm around Julia’s shoulders. “All will be explained when the game commences,” he said, and went through the room greeting the other guests with the warmth of a gracious host. I could see what Aunt Thea meant when she had said Augustus could be charming when he wanted to be.
    Augustus even had a smile for me, which made me instantly hopeful. When the weekend was over and his guests had left, he’d offer to read my stories and critique them. I
knew
he would.
    But there was something even more pressing I wanted to ask him. “Tell me about the ghost,” I said.
    He stepped back, and his eyes bugged out, but he didn’t answer, so I said, “You know, the ghost in the haunted burial urn. Isn’t there some kind of legend?”
    Augustus’s eyes narrowed. He hunched forward and grabbed my shoulders as he growled in my right ear, “There’s not only a legend, it also has a curse with it. It’s as simple as this: Stay away from that urn or there will be nothing left of you.”
    “That’s not a very nice legend,” I mumbled, and squirmed out of his grip.
    “It’s not a very nice ghost,” he snapped, and hobbled over to talk to the senator.
    What a crab! His charm didn’t last long, as far as I was concerned. I felt sorry for the ghost and hoped he’d give Augustus Trevor a bad time.
    The dinner was interesting, since I was never quite sure what had been served. There were purple and yellow crunchy things in my salad—things that aren’t too common in Elko, Nevada—and the thin slices of meat rested in some kind of creamy sauce with a red design drizzledaround the edges. There were rows of forks at the left and one above the plate, but I stopped trying to figure out the silverware and menu so I could listen to the celebrities and what they had to say.
    The earlier mood of caution