by Sonia Parin
The vicar looked red-faced but he didn’t appear to be struggling.
Would an innocent man protest his arrest or would he think everything would eventually be sorted out?
The detective saw Evie. He spoke to a constable and put him in charge of the vicar so he could approach Evie.
“Lady Woodridge.”
“Detective. I see you have made an arrest.”
“Yes, finally.”
“What about Abigail?” Evie asked.
“What about her?”
“Didn’t the vicar try to embroil her in the plan to kill Mrs. Sheffield?”
The detective looked puzzled. “Why would he do that?”
“Are you saying the vicar didn’t mention Abigail at all?”
“No, he didn’t.”
That didn’t make sense. “Did he tell you where he got the honey from?”
“Not yet. But he will.”
It had taken a little research to discover the effects of mad honey. Had the vicar been aware of what it would do to someone with a weakened heart?
How would he know about Mrs. Sheffield’s condition? It hadn’t been common knowledge.
Evie gasped. “Charlotte Davis would have known.”
“Pardon?”
“Mrs. Sheffield’s sister would have known about her condition.” Charlotte would also know her sister well enough to realize she would never approve of the vicar. Not because there was anything wrong with him, but simply because… Well, they had already decided Mrs. Sheffield loved to make other people miserable with her petty criticisms. “Detective, this might sound like a strange question.”
The detective looked over his shoulder and then back at Evie. “I have a few moments. What is on your mind, my lady?”
“We know Mrs. Sheffield inherited the house and the land. Did she retain ownership of it and who inherits it upon her death?” Evie knew the police must have looked into possible motives, among them, financial gain. “Detective, I believe the vicar will eventually confess to receiving the honey from Miss Charlotte Davis.”
Epilogue
“I’m not sure about this color.” Evie stood in front of the mirror scrutinizing her new gown. “Yellow doesn’t really suit me.”
“It’s not really yellow, milady.” Caro adjusted the sleeves. “I think it’s closer to mustard.”
“I’m wearing the color of a condiment?”
“This shawl complements it beautifully.”
“I still feel I’m fading into the background.”
Caro pinched her cheeks.
“Ouch!”
“You just need a little color on your cheeks. There, that’s done the trick. You look quite cheerful now, in a grim sort of way. You should be quite pleased with yourself, milady. You helped the police find the real killer.”
And yet, she couldn’t find pleasure in that. The vicar had been cleared of all wrongdoing while the real culprit awaited trial.
Evie tried smiling. “Is that better?”
“Much better.” Caro stepped away and busied herself gathering Evie’s floral pattern dresses. “I’m ever so grateful for these dresses, milady. They are so pretty. I shall have to plan outings for every Sunday until the end of days.”
“I’m glad you like them. You can still have something new made. Perhaps something in a bold shade.”
“Oh, but I rather like the floral patterns, milady.”
“Nevertheless, Mrs. Green is expecting you.”
“I hope you don’t mind me saying so, milady, but Mrs. Green had a close call. She’s lucky to still have you as a client. After all, she gave the police a conflicting report which made the dowager look bad.”
Yes, but poor Mrs. Green had been under the influence of mad honey too…
Evie cast a forlorn glance at the dresses. She had a wardrobe full of new gowns, all in bold colors, with more on the way because she had promised to give Mrs. Green more work to make up for the customers she had lost. Toodles would definitely approve.
Time to move on, she thought.
“I think I’m as ready as I will ever be.”
“Have you been rehearsing your lines?” Caro asked.
Evie nodded. “I’m sure I have been practicing them in my sleep. These last few days I have been waking up with a dry throat.” Evie turned and glanced at her reflection. “I’m not sure this is the right dress to wear. After all, I am playing the role of a poor relation rescued from the poorhouse.”
“But at least you won’t be the killer.”
“Do you think the scriptwriters will change their minds?” Evie asked. “It doesn’t quite seem right to base their story on fact.”
“If you ask me, that woman had it coming. If she’d wanted to marry the vicar, she should have eloped. But, oh no… she wanted to inherit the money as well. That’s greedy. I would have been content to find a good husband.”
“Is that what you want, Caro?”
Caro tilted her head from side to side. “Eventually.”
Picking up the hat Caro had chosen for her, she tried it on. Sighing, Evie asked. “What about Millicent? Do we have any news about her infatuation?”
Caro grinned. “As a matter of fact, Mrs. Horace was rather busy this morning preparing a basket for Edgar and Millicent. They are going on a picnic this afternoon.”
Evie swung around. “Really?” Her smile faded. “Wait. Should I be concerned?”
Caro shook her head. “They both look happy. Edgar has been walking around rehearsing his lines and smiling like a giddy school boy.”
“Do we know how it happened? Did he ask her out or did Millicent take the plunge?”
Caro laughed. “Millicent gave him an ultimatum. She cornered him and said she was too old-fashioned to ask him out and he should be man enough to do it. So, she said she would wait until he decided what he wanted to do but he should hurry up because there were plenty of fish in the sea and she had no intention of waiting around forever, but she would give him a month or so. After which time she would definitely start looking elsewhere.”
“She said all that?”
“And then some. By the time Millicent finished giving Edgar a piece of her mind, he had made up his mind to just get it over and done with and he told her so. Then, he said it would be a shame to start on such a wrong foot so he would wait a day for the dust to settle and then ask her out because he wanted to and not because she had forced his hand. They both put on quite a show.”
“I really hope it all works out for them.” And since she had asked Millicent to stay on at Halton House, Edgar would also stay on. Evie’s smile brightened.
Caro stood back and asked Evie to turn around for a final inspection. “What I don’t understand is why Abigail agreed to sneak the honey in. She should have been more suspicious.”
Evie agreed. “The same could be said about the vicar. He should have been suspicious of Charlotte Davis instead of believing the honey would please Mrs. Sheffield no end. Anyway, Abigail said she was afraid of losing her position.” Evie tapped her finger against her chin. “Heavens, I think I’ve forgotten all my lines.”
“You can’t have. You’re so bright, milady. You even knew Charlotte Davis was up no good because you saw her riding away from the apiary.” Caro shook her head. “Such a bad apple. Just like her sister who couldn’t stand for anyone to be happy. Actually, Charlotte was worse than her sister and proved it when she went out of her way to interfere with the blossoming love between the beekeeper and Anna Weston.”
Yes, a bad apple indeed.
“Yellow,” Evie shook her head. “Caro, you’d tell me if the color isn’t right for me.”
“Of course. I would never hesitate. Even at the risk of it sounding like criticism. My mother taught me better than to be petty and critical. She always says such behavior says more about the person than anything else. So, I would employ the utmost discretion. And, for the record, I don’t mind that you’re American.”
“Heavens, I’d almost forgotten M
rs. Sheffield had also criticized me for that.”
“I’ve spoken with a few villagers,” Caro continued, “and they all reported Mrs. Sheffield had been a tad harsh with quite a few of them. To think this all started with Mrs. Sheffield’s petty criticism.”
“Oh, but it started long before then,” Evie said and turned to study her reflection. Charlotte Davis had been plotting to get rid of her ever so critical sister for a long time. Or at least since learning of Mrs. Sheffield’s weakened heart. To think she had used her sister’s weakness for honey against her.
“Do we know if Charlotte Davis gave Anna Weston mad honey?” Caro asked as she adjusted Evie’s hat. “It would certainly account for the woman’s odd behavior.”
“Yes. I forgot to tell you. The detective said Charlotte Davis confessed to leaving a pot of honey outside Anna Weston’s house. She played on the woman’s vulnerability by making her think it had come from the beekeeper. I must say, she was quite cunning, killing two birds with one stone. Charlotte Davis knew her sister had been a regular visitor and so she used the opportunity to expose her to more mad honey.
“Well, I’m glad it’s over. Now we have your grandmother’s visit to look forward to.”
Evie’s shoulders hitched up.
Laughing, Caro rested her hands on Evie’s shoulders. “You should take a deep breath now, milady.”
“Thank you for the reminder.” Evie scooped in a breath. “I’m ready if you are. As they say, the show must go on.”
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading Murder in the Cards.
Next in the series: Book 5 – Murder in the Third Act.
If you wish to receive news about new releases, please follow Sonia Parin on BookBub
Author Notes:
All care has been taken to remain historically correct. Normally, I include a list of words or phrases which had been in use well before the 1920s. This time, however, I am only including one. The phrase does not appear in this story because the phrase came into use in 1939
The penny drops
The Oxford English Dictionary states that this phrase originated by way of allusion to the mechanism of penny-in-the-slot machines. The earliest citation of a use of the phrase with the ‘now I understand’ meaning, is from The Daily Mirror August 1939
Other books by Sonia Parin
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An Evie Parker Mystery series
House Party Murder Rap
Murder at the Tea Party
Murder at the Car Rally
Murder in the Cards
Murder at the Seaside Hotel
A Dear Abby Cozy Mystery series
End of the Lane
Be Still My Heart
The Last Ride
The Last Stop
The Last Dance
A Deadline Cozy Mystery series
Sunny Side Up
Snuffed Out
All Tied Up
The Last Bite
Final Cut
Sleeping With the Fishes
A Kink in the Road
The Merry Widow
Dying Trade
A Mackenzie Coven Mystery series
Witch Inheritance
Witch Indeed
Witch Cast
Witch Charm
Witch Trials
A Mackenzie Witch Collection: Witch Namaste, Good Witch Hunting & ‘Tis the Season to be Creepy
Witch in Exile
A Mackenzie Witch Collection 2: Jingle Purrs, Potion Heist and The Power of Two and a Half
Witch Fairy Tale
A Mackenzie Coven Mystery short
Witch Namaste (Novella)
Good Witch Hunting (Novella)
‘Tis the Season to be Creepy (Short)
Jingle Purrs (Short)
Potion Heist (Short)
The Power of Two and a Half (Short)
