SAY GOODBYE TO ARCHIE: A Rex Graves Mini-Mystery

by Challinor, C. S.

  He stared Felicity down where she cowered on the sofa vehemently denying everything, her face scarlet between her red hair and pink blouse.

  “A newsworthy item,” he went on. “ ‘Beloved Literary Cat’s Demise Under Suspicious Circumstances Ignites Indignation and Grief.’ Was that the sort of thing?”

  “Of course not!”

  “Archie’s murder was intended as a publicity stunt to garner attention from the legion of Claude fans.”

  “How could I have carried out his murder?” she demanded.

  “You came up from London on Wednesday to discuss some work with Patricia and to attend the book club. You left during the book club on the pretext of an important call and came through Patricia’s side gate. The foxglove was readily available in the garden. You used your umbrella to draw the bowl towards you. You mixed the poison with the tuna, and then went on your merry way back to London after the book club. The button yesterday was a red herring when you discovered Patricia suspected foul play. You threw it into the foxglove patch along with the crumbs, thinking to frame Roger. What did you use to cut up the foxglove? Nail scissors?” However, he saw from Felicity’s frigid expression that he was not going to get all the answers. “Patricia was no doubt a demanding and eccentric client, and you were stressed,” he allowed. “You presumably felt it was preferable to retire the cat and curtail the series rather than terminate your contract with Mrs. Forsyth.”

  “Those are a lot of conclusions to jump to,” the agent scoffed, recovering some of her composure.

  “Motive, means and opportunity, Felicity. And I have proof. Your guilty slip yesterday is what made me consider you more closely as a suspect.”

  “What guilty slip?”

  “When you said you never had a chance to say goodbye to Archie.”

  “So?”

  “It was the exact wording that was on the note.”

  “It’s a common enough thing to say, saying goodbye to someone.”

  Rex looked insistently in her blanched face. “You didn’t even ask aboot the note just now. Because you already knew aboot it.”

  “Patricia told me.”

  “She did not. You posted it through the front door as a warning. Perhaps you did not intend to kill Archie, just the series. But then something happened to make you snap. And what’s more, I have evidence of your guilt.”

  Felicity licked her dry lips. “What evidence?”

  Rex removed the note from its envelope, which he carried in his jacket pocket. “A sample of your hair is stuck behind one of the letters on this note.” He peeled back the “G” so she could see. “I don’t know anyone else with hair that colour. Not that is doesn’t become you,” he lied.

  Felicity’s cheeks looked as though they could melt wax, her mouth frozen in the shape of an “O.” Although no words came out, her reaction spoke louder than words.

  “In any case, the hair can be forensically proved to belong to you.”

  “You’re going to the police?” she asked in shock.

  “That will be up to Patricia. I would think a very public firing at least would be in order. I don’t think many authors would want to be represented by an animal killer, do you? Good day to you.”

  Rex let himself out of the flat.

  *

  Once he was settled on the train to Edinburgh, he called Patricia on his mobile. “It’s her,” he confirmed. “She as good as confessed and fell for the false evidence. I recorded the whole conversation on my phone.”

  “Oh, goodness. You came through for me, Reginald! I’m so very grateful.”

  “You can thank Roger. Your illustrator was a fount of information.”

  “Village life makes gossips of us all.”

  They discussed suitable retribution for Archie’s murder. Nothing was too severe in Patricia’s view. “But I think today may be the turning point,” she said. “Dr. Strange came by shortly after you left, and you’ll never guess what he brought.”

  “A kitten?”

  “You knew!”

  “He mentioned it in passing yesterday.”

  “A little ginger tom. His mother was hit by a car. Dr. Strange was able to save her, but she won’t regain her strength for a while. The litter is just about weaned. At first I refused. I thought it would be too soon, but he said the kittens urgently needed homes, so I let him persuade me.”

  “I think it’s a splendid idea.”

  “Yes, perhaps now that I have some closure, thanks to you… And I’ve decided to call him Reginald, Reggie for short, in your honour.”

  Rex found himself speechless for a moment. But perhaps Reggie wasn’t such a bad name for a cat. Rex would suit a dog better. “It is an honour, Patricia,” he said. “I’m so glad I could be of help.”

  After he ended the call, he took out the picture of Archie that she had given him, and smiled. This cat had made an old lady both happy and rich, and was responsible for making long words a hit with short people. How many humans could claim to have achieved more? Aside from the satisfaction of solving the case, he now had a whole new respect for pets of the feline persuasion.

  Please be kind, review!

  www.amazon.com/SAY-GOODBYE-TO-ARCHIE-Mini-Mystery-ebook/dp/B00EFE6JVQ

  BOOKS IN THE REX GRAVES MYSTERY SERIES:

  Christmas Is Murder

  *Starred* Review from Booklist:

  The first installment in this new mystery series is a winner. The amateur detective is Rex Graves, a Scottish barrister, fond of Sudoku puzzles and Latin quotations. In an old-fashioned conceit, Challinor begins with a cast of characters, along with hints of possible motives for each. Although set firmly in the present, this tale reads like a classic country-house mystery. Rex and the others are snowed in at the Swanmere Manor hotel in East Sussex, England. Being the last to arrive, Rex immediately hears of the unexpected demise of one of the other guests. By the time the police arrive days later, additional bodies have piled up and motives are rampant, but Rex has identified the murderer. At times, it seems we are playing Clue or perhaps enjoying a contemporary retelling of a classic Agatha Christie tale (And Then There Were None, or At Bertram’s Hotel) with a charming new sleuth. A must for cozy fans.

  Murder in the Raw

  Mystery Scene Magazine:

  In Murder in the Raw, Scottish barrister Rex Graves must expose—and I do mean expose—the killer of Sabine Durand, a French actress who goes missing one evening from a nudist resort in the Caribbean... Set on an island, Murder in the Raw is a clever variant on the locked room mystery, and Rex discovers that everyone in this self-contained locale has a secret when it comes to the intriguing Sabine. Who, though, would benefit from her disappearance or murder? With a host of colorful characters, a dose of humor and a balmy locale, you will want to devour this well-plotted mystery. I won't spoil your pleasure by divulging the solution, but suffice it to say that Challinor provides a most compelling answer.

  Phi Beta Murder*

  Foreword Magazine:

  Readers meet up once again with Rex Graves in the third mystery to follow the Scottish barrister with a knack for getting involved in the ultimate crime. Rex is on his way out of the beautiful Scottish countryside leaving behind Helen, his new woman friend and his mother to visit his son on the campus of his American college. Campbell Graves is supposed to be enjoying life at Hilliard University in Jacksonville, Florida, but lately on the phone he's sounded rather distant, and Rex wants nothing more than to see his son and make sure everything is all right. Unfortunately the day he steps on campus is the day a young man is found in his locked room hanging from the ceiling. Soon Rex must split his time between worrying about his son, solving a crime that seems to involve a million people with a million different agendas, and trying to balance his love life without losing people in the process. Humor and well-written characters add to the story, as does some reflection on the causes of suicide. A wonderful read and great plot for cozy mystery lovers.

  * This title has not been endorsed b
y the Phi Beta Kappa Society. The Phi Beta Kappa fraternity depicted in the novel is in no way affiliated nor associated with the Phi Beta Kappa Society.

  Murder on the Moor

  BellaOnline:

  Scottish Barrister and amateur sleuth Rex Graves purchased Gleneagle Lodge so that he and his girlfriend, Helen D’Arcy, could get away to spend some private time together. Now he wonders why he had agreed to host a housewarming party. When one of the guests turns up dead, her body found in a nearby loch, the finger-pointing begins. Graves cannot help but put his sleuthing skills to work as he tries to find out who killed his house guest while he also gathers clues as to who is committing the so-called Moor Murders. He is wondering if the two are tied and if he is hosting the killer. When a storm prevents anyone from leaving, Rex and Helen do their best to keep everyone calm during their forced confinement. Set in the Scottish Highlands, Challinor successfully utilizes the atmosphere of the countryside to enhance the tension going on inside the Lodge. The characters seem typical of the type seen in many mysteries written by such authors as Agatha Christie, and are a welcome diversion from today’s style of writing. The writing is crisp and the story fast-paced. The inevitable gathering of the guests in the library comes with a twist or two, and the ending is a satisfying conclusion to a solid whodunit.

  Murder of the Bride

  Buried Under Books:

  Rex Graves is back, this time visiting his fiancée, Helen d’Arcy, so they can attend the wedding in Aston-on-Trent of one of her former students. Polly Newcombe is very pregnant and her groom, Timmy Thorpe looks a bit peaked, but is it just the dreary day leading Rex to think the success of this marriage is doubtful? Perhaps not, as the reception at the bride’s family country home in Derbyshire soon turns from a pleasant celebration to a scene of mayhem when Polly collapses, looking more than a little green. Leaving the reception and heading to Aston-on-Trent, Rex learns a great deal more about the secrets of the Newcombe and Thorpe families. Is jealousy behind the attacks? Greed? Infidelity? Overbearing mothers? Rex and the local police have an overabundance of clues and evidence, and getting to the solution to the case will require much thought and cooperation. This latest case for Rex Graves is every bit as charming and entertaining as those in earlier books and readers will not be disappointed. The setting, an English country home, is as much a character as the people, and many of those characters are a delight, especially Police Constable Perrin (and the cast of characters provided by the author is very much appreciated).

  Murder at the Dolphin Inn

  Cozy Mystery Book Reviews:

  Scottish barrister, Rex Graves, and his fiancée are on a cruise to Mexico. When they disembark at Key West, Florida, they hear of a bizarre story surrounding the local B&B. The owners, Merle and Taffy Dyer, were killed during the Key West's October Fantasy Fest. Rex can't resist a mystery and can't wait to abandon the cruise and dive head first into solving this mystery. It's going to take all of Rex's sleuthing skills to find out who out of all the seemingly innocent family and friends killed the owners. The premise of this mystery reminds me of the traditional mysteries I read in my teens. It is very much reminiscent of M.C. Beaton and Agatha Christie, with a quaint inn and a sleuth determined to find the truth. From their first discovering of the murders to the final revealing of the murderer, Rex and Helen are an outstanding sleuthing duo. They reminded me so much of Agatha Christie's Tommy and Tuppence, hunting down clues and uncovering killers. With numerous twists and turns, Murder at the Dolphin Inn provides a first class whodunit, and I absolutely can't wait to find out what adventure Rex and Helen go on next.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  C.S. Challinor, born in Bloomington, Indiana, was raised and educated in Scotland and England. She now lives in Southwest Florida.

  Visit the author at www.rexgraves.com .