A SCANDALOUS DEATH by Fiona Grace

Author:Fiona Grace [Grace, Fiona]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-12-13T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

What a moment to meet up with Gilbert MacLeod! Mary tried to suppress a surge of panic at the unfortunate timing of the situation. Last night had been bad enough, bumping into him when she was upset and tear-stained and in no condition to speak to anyone coherently.

But this felt even worse. Now, here she was, in the middle of an investigation, and carrying a plate of poisoned beans back to the kitchen!

It was becoming very hard to come across the way she wanted to, in front of Gilbert, when their meetings were occurring at such inopportune moments.

Inopportune was a word that her schoolteacher mum had found it difficult to explain to her, but Mary was understanding that definition perfectly, now that she was living and breathing it.

“Gilbert,” she said, moving her thumb just a little so it didn’t touch the beans. She wanted nothing to touch those beans.

“Mary.” He moved forward, speaking quietly. Surprised, she saw how worried he was looking. His dark hair was wilder and wavier than usual. His eyes looked reddened, as if he hadn’t slept well, and he looked paler than she remembered. At any rate, those appealing freckles were more visible – if she herself hadn’t been so preoccupied, she would have paid them better attention. What a missed opportunity it was.

“I’m worried. That whole business last night – well, you might think it strange of me, but I’ve been wondering if it wasn’t an accident. It just seems so unlikely. But yet, the alternative is unthinkable. Anyway, I wanted to discuss it with you.”

Her eyebrows rose. He was right on the money there.

“I think Sarah-Jane was deliberately murdered,” she muttered to him. “And I’m going to find out who did it.”

There was a short, loaded silence.

“Mary, no, please!” Gilbert said. “I came to warn you, because surely this could get very dangerous? I – well, I don’t want you in harm’s way. I want you to stay safe. That’s what I came to tell you. I feel like I know you as – as a friend. And as a friend, I’m very concerned for you.”

He was worried now? Mary wondered how much more worried he’d be if he discovered that she’d followed a poisoner down to the cellar, caught him in the act, and was even now clutching the spoils of that encounter?

“Sarah-Jane was a friend of mine, too," Mary said. "And I'm not going to leave it alone. She was a good person, and she found something out that got her killed."

Gilbert frowned. “But if you find the same thing out, you could be killed, too.”

Mary hesitated. “It’s a possibility, but I can’t let that hold me back.”

“Won’t the police investigate it?”

She shook her head, causing the now congealing beans to wobble. “The police think it was an accident, and that inspector is not going to change his mind. He’s been persuaded, somehow, that this is what happened.”

She could hear the contempt in her own voice. There was no respect at all due to people like Inspector Braham.

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