In case you missed it... Chapter One, Chapter Two, Chapter Three

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Chapter Four

Miss Ethel Collins could not believe her eyes. Her most famous guest was sprawled on the stairs of her Bed & Breakfast! Most of her other guests had crowded around the doorway of the parlor, afraid to get any closer, but wanting to be close enough to see what was happening. They stared at the body as they waited for the ambulance to arrive, but after Dr. Jacobson's failed attempt at CPR, they had lost hope. They knew that Giuseppe Tremolorio was dead.
   The total silence of the scene was gradually replaced with quiet questioning murmurs. "What happened? . . " "How? . . ." "Was it his heart? . . ." "A stroke? . . ." And though none said it aloud yet, a feeling of something more sinister slipped into their thoughts. They grew uncomfortable staring, and started withdrawing back into the parlor. The conversation level increased, and some people automatically returned to their sandwiches and glasses of wine. Suddenly, Minnie rushed to Johnny Jacobson and grabbed his wrist, blurting out, "Don't eat that!" Johnny froze, his mouth open, and lowered his eyes to focus on the piece of cake on the end of his fork. Minnie's grasp was tight on his wrist, and she looked so serious that he simply replied, "Yes, Ma'am." She relaxed her grip, and realized that the eyes of the guests were now turned on her. But not for long. The siren grew very loud as the emergency vehicles arrived in front of the old house, and they crowd once again shifted its attention to the scene in the front hall. Johnny and Minnie, however, did not follow.
   "Minnie, what's wrong?"
   "The cake. It was the last thing Mr. Tremolorio ate before he . . .before . . ."
   "Uh oh." Johnny looked down at the plate in his other hand. Minnie looked too. It was empty.
   "All that work you gave me to do made me hungry!" Johnny explained. "And anyway, I feel OK. And besides, Miss Ethel made that cake herself. She wouldn't have put poison in it!"
   "Of course not, but maybe someone else did. Are you sure you feel well? We had better get your father in here."
   "No, he's busy, and I'm fine!"
   Polly Iverson, at the rear of the crowd and thus not too far from the worried housekeeper, decided it was time to speak up. "Don't worry about the cake. I sneaked a little icing myself. I'm sure Mr. Tremolorio did not die from eating a piece of that mandolin shaped cake."
   Johnny, wanting to know who his new defender was, asked, "What are you, some kind of detective?"
   "As a matter of fact, yes, I am some kind - the private kind. Hi, I'm Polly Iverson."
   "Wow! A real private eye? Cool! My name's Johnny Jacobson."
   "Yes, I know."
   "You did? How? Oh, I get it. You know all kinds of things. Hey, what do you think happened to Mr. Tremolorio? Obviously, it wasn't the cake. Do you have any clues? Any suspects?"
   "Hold on. It could have just been a heart attack. Anyway, I'm here on vacation."
   "Oh, yeah, sure, I get it. 'On Vacation.' Sure." Johnny attempted a sly wink in Polly's direction, amusing the detective. She then turned back to the crowd, with Johnny close at her heels.
   In the front hall, the emergency medical technicians were leaning over the body on the stairs. Another siren grew in intensity as it approached and then stopped. Miss Ethel, stationed by her front door, greeted the policemen as they entered.
   Polly turned to her new shadow. "Things just got a little more interesting, Johnny. They're from Homicide."

Chapter 5