Maid to Murder by Kate Kingsbury

Author:Kate Kingsbury [Kingsbury, Kate]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Berkley
Published: 1999-01-01T08:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER

11

Cecily felt quite heavy-hearted as she descended the stairs. It seemed as if her entire world were beginning to topple around her. The deaths of those two young girls had weighed heavily on her mind, preventing her from enjoying a restful night.

The fear of what might lay ahead before this fiend was caught had given her nightmares, and on top of all her worries, she and Baxter were at odds. Although there had been times in the past when they’d had their differences, it was particularly distressing now, when they were on the point of betrothal and should be sharing joy in each other’s company.

She reached the foyer and caught sight of Samuel about to depart through the front door. She called out to him, and he turned to hurry back to her.

“Have you had a chance to examine the chimney in Room Seventeen yet?” she asked when he reached her. “If there is something wrong up there, we might as well take care of it as long as the room is empty.”

“No, I haven’t mum. I’ll do it this morning. Though if you ask me, that Sid Evans is hearing things, more than likely.”

“Well, I’d like to be sure.” Cecily frowned, remembering Gertie’s words last night. “You haven’t seen him about this morning, I suppose?”

“Mr. Evans? No, mum, I haven’t.” He hesitated, as if unsure about something, then blurted out, “Daisy saw the bloke we was looking for, though. He was on the doorstep this morning. Scared her half to death, he did.”

Cecily caught her breath. “Where is he now?”

Samuel shrugged. “Don’t know, mum. I went after him, like you said, but by the time I got down the steps, he’d vanished.”

“He wasn’t on the esplanade?”

“Not as far as I could see.”

“That means he could still be on the grounds somewhere.”

Samuel looked apprehensive. “Yes, mum. That’s what Mr. Baxter thinks. He sent me to fetch Ross McBride so’s we can go look for him.”

Cecily glanced at the clock. “Then hurry, Samuel. The inspector should be here shortly, and I would feel a great deal easier if that man was brought in for questioning.”

“Yes, mum. Right away.” Samuel touched his forehead with his fingers, then hurried out of the door, closing it behind him with a decisive thud.

Cecily felt almost tempted to lock the door again. That wasn’t possible, of course, since it must remain open for the guests to come and go. Nevertheless, she felt very uneasy as she hurried down the hallway to Baxter’s office.

She met him coming out of the door, and to her great relief he appeared happy to see her. “I was just on my way to help the men hunt for this prophet fellow whom everyone is talking about,” he told her after they’d exchanged greetings.

She couldn’t resist a sly comment. “You are not concerned about incurring the inspector’s wrath?”

He raised his eyebrows at her. “I am forced to admit, Cecily, that sometimes my caution overrides my common sense.”

“Indeed. It isn’t often you admit that you are at fault.

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.