Deadly Duet by Emma Jameson

Author:Emma Jameson [Jameson, Emma]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lyonnesse Books

Chapter Three

“Get out,” Hannah told Peter.

“Gladly. I’ll be gone within the hour.” Redness suffused his face; even his ears were scarlet.

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep. You’ve slept in Mariah’s bedroom for three months. You can sleep there another night if that’s what it takes to get you out for good. I don’t mean an overnight bag. Take everything you’ve ever touched,” she said. “Whatever of yours I find after you’ve gone, I’ll burn in the front garden for the neighbors to see.”

“May I suggest an armistice for the remainder of the afternoon?” Tony interrupted mildly. Here his long-perfected rhetorical device, the patrician tone of command, was useless. Not only because he addressed blue bloods who occupied a higher place on the aristocratic food chain, but because it was a warring couple. Only imbeciles took on embattled spouses on their own turf.

“That is,” he continued, “if you’ve decided to allow me to take over the case as Ms. Wheelwright proposed. Assuming you have, I’d quite like to interview each of you separately, in greater detail. Also, to view the twins’ bedrooms, if you’ve maintained them.”

“She’s already boxed up Mark’s things,” Peter accused.

“Because I’m not a ghoul. Wait till you see Mariah’s room. Kept up like a bloody shrine,” Hannah said.

I’ll take that as acceptance of my professional services, Tony thought. He’d expected his first real case to begin with fee negotiations, a contract, perhaps a nondisclosure agreement. A hard-nosed career woman like Kate would have insisted on all three, plus twenty-four hours to read the fine print. The Earl and Countess of Brompton, by contrast, seemed willing to proceed as Peers of the Realm so often did—by a verbal contract. It wasn’t because they were more honorable than the hoi polloi. It was because the law had great difficulty proving, or disproving, an unwritten agreement after the fact.

Hannah regarded Tony tiredly. She looked drained of all emotion, as if she might never weep again. “Which of us will you interview first?”

“Lord Brompton,” Tony said. He always wanted a go at the psychologically weaker person first. Also, statistically speaking, the father of a dead or missing child was the most obvious person of interest. Followed by the mother, the second most obvious.

“Very well,” Hannah said. “I’ll be upstairs. Ring my mobile when you’re ready for me.” Gathering the tea-things onto the tray, she made as if to exit, then turned back.

“Lord Hetheridge. Remember what I said. We were never honest in our family life. I’m convinced my husband—my soon-to-be ex-husband—has secret knowledge of Mariah’s final days. Knowledge he’s never disclosed to anyone. Do try and carve it out of him. Even if it’s something ghastly. Something you might imagine a mother couldn’t bear to hear. At this point, any pain is preferable to the hell of not knowing.”

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.