Thyme for Murder

by Bettie Jane

  “Thank you,” Lizbet said, taking a drink and then focusing back on Lucy.

  “Some of the children saw a man and a woman fighting where Geoffrey died, apparently after he was dead.”

  Lizbet found a seat of her own, sat in abruptly, and sipped the water. Lucy continued since it didn’t appear that Lizbet was prepared to say anything.

  “The children also said that the woman was someone who was helping serve food at the teahouse.”

  At that, Lizbet snapped out of whatever daze she found herself in.

  “The doctor told me that he was poisoned. Belladonna. That’s nightshade, isn’t it?”

  Lucy looked at Janey and then back to Lizbet. Lizbet seemed off.

  “Yes, Lizbet,” Lucy said gently. “I’m afraid he was poisoned.”

  “Whoever poisoned him—and me—was at your teahouse, serving the children…working right beside me? Is that what you are saying?”

  “Not necessarily. We don’t know who did what. Perhaps the man the children saw was the killer. We think it was one of Mr. Pennington’s associate—the one who delivered the note to you. Perhaps the woman just happened to walk in on him?”

  Lizbet continued to stare at nothing and didn’t speak. Lucy and Janey exchanged looks but neither said anything.

  Lucy tried to gather her thoughts. Lizbet seemed to be surprised to hear of all of this, certainly because she was still in an awful shock about Geoffrey.

  “Lizbet, do you remember what the man looked like? The one who delivered the note to you this afternoon?”

  Lizbet looked at Lucy, but her eyes were glassy and she seemed very confused. “The man?”

  “Yes, you said he delivered a note, that he was looking for Geoffrey. Something about national security.”

  A light of recognition flickered in Lizbet’s eyes and then was gone again without a trace.

  Janey whispered quietly to Lucy. “They gave her something to help her sleep.”

  Lucy let out a sigh. “Okay. That’s okay, Lizbet. We can talk more tomorrow. Why don’t you get some rest? Janey will stay with you and I’ll check on you again in the morning.”

  Lizbet nodded, barely reacted to Lucy’s hug, and then remained in the chair until Janey got up and helped her to her room.

  The poor woman was not well and wouldn’t be much help to Lucy or the detective until she’d had some rest. Even then, Lucy doubted Lizbet would be able to remember much.

  Lucy sat in the kitchen, trying to determine what she needed to do next.

  If the children hadn’t recognized the woman in the greenhouse as one of the women serving supper, Lucy could have chalked it up to a stranger coming through the damaged gate. She found herself wishing she could completely rule out Lizbet’s involvement, but under the circumstances, that wasn’t possible. Besides, if she’d been in Lizbet’s shoes, she wasn’t certain she wouldn’t have at least wished for his death.

  Janey came back and joined Lucy. “She’s asleep already.”

  “Do you think…?”

  Janey shook her head. “I don’t know what to think, but if Lizbet was involved somehow, we’ve got to protect her. That’s the only thing I do know.”

  Lucy nodded, agreeing, but still confused.

  “The detective. He was going to the hospital to ask Lizbet about the man who delivered the letter. Did she say anything else to you about it?”

  “No. We didn't see him at the hospital before they sent us home.”

  “Well, he may come around. If he does, just tell him that they gave her something to sleep and that I’m looking for him. I’ll tell him about what the children said. Eventually.”

  Her stomach tightened thinking about that eventual conversation.

  “I need to check on Mr. Winnington and see if she showed up yet and then I need to get back to Sarah. Poor thing is completely alone in a strange place delivering her first baby prematurely. She must be frightened.”

  10

  The next day dawned bright and cheery, but Lucy was operating on so little sleep that she barely noticed the lack of rain. She’d not seen Detective Brighton again and it was weighing on her mind that she needed to update him.

  Sarah delivered a healthy baby girl who she had yet to name. Apparently, her calculations were off by quite a bit because the baby was a generous size even though she was more than a month early. Sister Therese, the mean one as Janey had referred to her, was by Sarah’s side when Lucy got to the hospital and had stayed until the baby was born. Still she was here, tending to Sarah. She looked exhausted, but insisted on staying.

  “Miss Sarah and I have formed quite an attachment to each other. I’ll not be leaving her now. Besides, I want to hold the wee one for a bit, when Mother is ready for a break of course.”

  So Lucy found herself in a hospital room with Sarah and Sister Therese when Mr. and Mrs. Taylor brought Maryam and Ruthbert to see Sarah.

  At first, both the children were fascinated by the tiny babe in Sarah’s arms, but when they noticed the others in the room, something changed. First, they noticed Lucy and their smiles broadened, but then then they noticed Sister Therese and their countenance changed from fascination and excitement to hesitance and perhaps fear.

  They both backed up into Mrs. Taylor’s skirts and looked at the floor.

  Lucy knew she was exhausted and didn’t trust her mind in the present moment, but she’d disregarded these children’s reactions once before and she wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice.

  Sister Therese could come off as quite mean, but after spending a night with her tending to Sarah, Lucy had come to realize what a kind and loving woman she was. It also was not lost on Lucy that Sister Therese was one of the women serving the children last night. Could she have been the woman the children were referring to?

  “Mrs. Taylor, is it alright with you if I take Maryam and Ruthbert on a bit of a walk? I’m afraid I need some coffee and a bit of stretch for my legs.”

  She agreed and the children seemed quite eager to leave the room with Lucy. Once she was some distance from the hospital room, she stopped walking and turned to face the children.

  “Is Sister Therese, the woman in the hospital room, the woman you saw arguing in the garden yesterday?”

  Ruthbert’s face scrunched up and he closed his eyes but didn’t say a word. Maryam looked around the empty hallway then back to Lucy and ever so slightly nodded her head.

  “Thank you, children. You both have done quite well. How would you like to come back to the teahouse with me? Mr. Winnington would love the company and you can tell all about the baby you just got to meet.”

  They both jumped up and down and Lucy told them to wait for her in the hall and she went back to tell the Taylor’s she was taking them with her and to tell Sarah goodbye. When they had no objection to the children going to the teahouse for the day, she gave Sarah a hug goodbye. I’ll watch out for the children, dear, and you rest. I’ll be back to visit you later.”

  Back at the teahouse, the children ate their fill of tea and cake bites then went upstairs to play with a very content Mr. Winnington and Lucy stayed downstairs to use the phone.

  “I’d like to speak to Detective Brighton.”

  “He’s not in yet this morning.”

  Lucy looked at her watch and realized it was only seven o’clock in the morning. “My apologies. Would you ask him to—“

  A knock on her front door caught her attention and she could see Detective Brighton standing on the other side.

  “Nevermind. That won’t be necessary,” Lucy said and hung up the phone.

  She unlocked the door and let Detective Brighton in.

  “I was on the phone with your office.”

  “I’m not there yet,” he said with a smile.

  “I can see that. What brings you by this morning?”

  “Lizbet was gone by the time I got to the hospital last night and when I stopped by her home, Janey said she was asleep. I guess they gave her something to sleep? At an
y rate, Janey wanted to know if I’d talked to you and seemed a bit strange about it all so I decided to just stop by here on my way into the office this morning. Do you have something to tell me?”

  “In fact I do and I’m delighted you are here. Come in.”

  They sat and Lucy caught him up on the children’s statement last night, her initial concerns that Lizbet or Janey might have had something to do with it, then the birth of Sarah’s baby and the children identifying Sister Therese as the one who was arguing in the greenhouse over Mr. Harrison’s body.

  She got all that out in a rush and then paused to take a breath.

  “You did have a lot to tell me. Thank you for the update. Sister Therese is at the hospital now with Sarah?”

  “She was when we left about a half an hour ago. The children were understandably terrified so I made an excuse to bring them here to play with Mr. Winnington.”

  “Ah, so you cat returned unharmed?”

  “Yes,” Lucy said. “Were you expecting a different outcome?”

  “No, I only worried that she may have gotten into the belladonna.”

  “Oh,” Lucy said, somberly. She hadn’t even had a chance to worry about that in light of all the other goings on the past twenty-four hours. “I’m happy to report she is just fine. She’s upstairs with the children right now, getting fat on her second bowl of cream of the day. The children insisted. How could I deny them?”

  That got a chuckle from the Detective and Lucy felt herself blush just the slightest little bit.

  “Sister Therese is from the abbey?”

  “She is. If she isn’t at the hospital, she’s likely there. Detective, she has a reputation for being a bit on the mean side, but I spent the night with her at Sarah’s bedside and she is wonderful woman. I don’t know that she’s capable of murdering anyone—even someone like Geoffrey Harrison. However, you should know that she was here almost the entire day yesterday and I know for certain she was in the garden at least once, possibly more frequently.”

  He nodded and stood to leave. “I’ll take all of that into consideration when I talk to her. At this venture, I’m most hopeful that she can identify the man the children saw her arguing with.”

  “Detective,” she said again. “Be careful.”

  He nodded at her and then was gone as quickly as he’d come, leaving the echo of the bell on the door ringing in her head.

  Before she’d finished tidying up the kitchen from the children’s snacks, the bell jangled again, announcing new visitors. Lizbet and Janey walked in and sat down straight away.

  “How are you feeling this morning, Lizbet?”

  She shrugged. She had circles under eyes and she looked older than she had yesterday. Janey was the perfect person to be with Lizbet during this time of grief. Lucy knew all too well that Janey knew first hand the difficulty in losing a husband.

  “Let’s get you something to eat, Lizbet.”

  Lizbet nodded and laid her head on the table while Lucy followed Janey to the kitchen. As soon as they were out of earshot of Lizbet, Lucy updated Janey.

  “Sister Therese? I know we joke about her being mean, but I can’t believe she is a murderer.”

  “The children only saw her arguing with a man. We don’t really know what happened out there. Detective Brighton just went to talk to Sister Therese to see if she could identify the man the children saw her arguing with and shed some light on what happened in the greenhouse. Has Lizbet said anything else about him since she woke this morning?”

  “No, but I didn’t bring it up. She seems quite distraught.”

  They took tea and cake bites out to Lizbet and they sat enjoying each other’s company in relative silence. Every now and then Lizbet would glance in the direction of the garden, shiver, and then turn back to her her tea.

  Lucy tried to be patient, but she was anxious to know who the man was in the garden. The man who had likely poisoned Geoffrey.

  “Lizbet, do you remember anything about the man who delivered the note to you? We think he might have had something to do with Geoffrey.”

  Lizbet stared out the front window, not appearing to actually see anything.

  “Lizbet, darling, I know this must be so difficult for you, but—”

  Lizbet gasped interrupting Lucy and her eyes opened wide. The look on her face was terror.

  Lucy turned to see what Lizbet was looking at and saw Mr. Pennington and his missing associate standing just outside the window of the teahouse.

  “That’s him. He’s the one who delivered the note. Are you saying he killed Geoffrey?” Lizbet’s voice was whisper-quiet while she waited for an answer.

  “We don’t know for sure. Stay here.”

  Lucy opened the door, and greeted the gentleman. “Gentleman, why don’t you come in and have some tea.”

  Mr. Pennington’s face fell and he looked sternly at the other man who shrugged and accepted Lucy’s invitation that she knew hadn’t sounded exactly optional. Because it wasn’t. She was exhausted, needed to sleep, but needed to put this issue to bed before she could rest.

  “Mr. Pennington. Do you mind telling us exactly what happened yesterday with Mr. Harrison? And no, you did not pay me enough to keep quiet about a murder.”

  He winced at her accusation, but sat down and took a deep breath.

  “It’s not what you think.”

  11

  At first, Mr. Pennington hadn’t wanted to talk and engaged in a staring contest with Lucy. Eventually, she grew weary of his silence and worked out what to do about it.

  “Janey,” she’d said, “please call Detective Brighton and tell him to bring Sister Therese to the teahouse. Let him know we are holding the male suspected of murdering Mr. Harrison in our custody and that he should hurry.”

  At the mention of Sister Therese, both Pennington and his still unnamed associate paled briefly before recapturing their composure. When she mentioned the bit about holding the men in her custody, Mr. Pennington smiled. She couldn’t quite read him, but he seemed genuinely amused at her statement and also not the least bit interested in debating the merits of her claim. He remained seated in the chair while Lucy poured him another cup of tea and they listened to Janey call the hospital, get Detective Brighton on the phone and repeat Lucy’s statement.

  “He’s on his way. He also muttered something about you being in over your head.”

  “Clearly I am, but that makes no difference does it?”

  More silence stretched between the occupants of the teahouse while they waited for the Detective to show up. To his credit, less than ten minutes passed before he arrived with Sister Therese in tow.

  As soon as he walked in, Lucy advised them both to take a seat, which they did and then she looked at Pennington.

  “Now, you may inform all of us at once what happened in my greenhouse yesterday. “

  Sister Therese wore a serene mask on her face, looking not at all guilty and quite composed. The same was true for Pennington and his associate.

  Lucy couldn’t tell if they were simply arrogant criminals or if they were confident in their innocence. Either way, she was more grateful than Detective Brighton could ever know that he’d come so quickly when she’d needed him. She wouldn’t forget that. She also didn’t know how long it would take for her heart beat to return to a normal pace. It felt like it would gallop right out of her chest.

  “My associate and I, we work for the British government. I can’t say exactly what it is that we do, but I will say that we had business on behalf of the Crown with Geoffrey Harrison. We’ve been tracking him for months as he was suspected of working for the Germans.”

  Gasps around the room, but Mr. Pennington didn’t pause at their reaction.

  “We were able to confirm that was indeed the case with the help of Sister Therese who also, and this must remain a secret, also works for the Crown.

  All heads turned to look at Sister Therese who looked as though she was a cat who’d just eaten the canary. Mr. Penni
ngton continued talking.

  “We had to be sure that Lizbet wasn’t also working with Geoffrey, whose real name is Peter Wagner.”

  “And are you? Certain?” Lucy said to Pennington, unable to hide the disdain in her voice. “Because you only need ask and there are fifty people in this town if there is one who could speak to Lizbet’s character.”

  Pennington nodded. “Yes, we are certain. She’s innocent.”

  Janey was holding Lizbet’s hand who seemed to be taking all this in through a smoky haze. She looked confused, her eyes had tears in them waiting to fall, but she didn’t speak.

  “Fine and well if you needed to arrest or even kill him if he’s a German spy, but why did you have to do it in my garden and yesterday of all days with the teahouse full of evacuee children.”

  This time Sister Therese spoke. “We’ve been aware of Mr. Wagner’s loyalties for a brief time, but when he got word of the children being sent here—he somehow knew before we did—he was plotting to kill them all.”

  More gasps, this time from everyone including the Detective.

  “How, why? I don’t understand?” Lizbet spoke for the first time.

  Sister Therese continued. “He knew about your secret, Lucy. The belladonna. He thought I was working with him for the Germans and he’d added the nightshade to the bottle of wine you found near his body. He planned on killing everyone at your teahouse with it, using my help of course. He arranged for us to meet in your garden, though the sidegate—the government will pay for repairs of course,” she said looking sheepish. “He expected me to take the wine from him and sneak it into one of your recipes. Instead,” Sister Therese looked at Pennington’s associate whose name Lucy guessed they would never know and said, “this gentleman was kind enough to encourage Mr. Wagner to taste his own medicine, so to speak, since his identity was no longer a secret of the British government.”

  Lucy thought for a moment and looked at the unidentified man. “You encouraged him to commit suicide rather than have the British government try him for treason? And saved the lot of the children while you were at it. Stellar work, sir.” Then without skipping a beat she said, “He was going to use my teahouse to poison all the children! Despicable. It’s a good thing that man is already dead because if he wasn’t I’d kill him twice over, just for good measure. Sorry Lizbet.”