Murder in Mellingham by Susan Oleksiw

Author:Susan Oleksiw
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: mystery, crime fiction, new england, traditional mystery
Publisher: Susan Oleksiw

Chapter 8

Tuesday Evening

The gatehouse that was now the Vinton home had been separated many years ago from the rambling summer estate for which it was built, the main house of which Medge's parents now occupied. Over the years the gatehouse had been modified, modernized, renovated, rehabilitated, restored, and revived, depending on the mood of the owners and the fashion of the times. When the Vintons had taken it over, they had settled on restoration, and so unsightly modern appendages had come down and historically accurate and tastefully designed extensions had gone up. When the interior and exterior work had been completed, Medge Vinton turned to the grounds.

The various yards had been landscaped to suggest a small French cottage in the countryside, replete with pebbled walks through artfully planned flower gardens and arbors. The mild disarray of the spring garden had taken two nurserymen, one gardener, and Medge Vinton three years to perfect. Three bright red tulips spoiled the intended effect, but cheered Silva, who liked flowers he could name. He wondered how long they would last before being pulled up by a zealous gardener.

Silva liked to glean what he could of a person's character from browsing through the man's or woman's surroundings, but he was stymied for the second time by a setting that was in the best of taste, obviously well cared for, but in no way personal. Where was the person behind the design, he idly wondered as he made his way to the front door. Where was the part of it that made it Medge Vinton's, that made it her garden rather than anyone else's? He looked back at the red tulips and wondered briefly if Medge Vinton left them there as a sly act of rebellion against the demands of her class. With that thought tickling his imagination, the chief rapped lightly on the front door. He was soon admitted by a woman whom Silva knew to be the part-time housekeeper; she left him briefly in the living room, where he could look out on the field that separated the gatehouse from the O'Donnell home, and returned a few minutes later to tell him that Mr. Vinton would be with him shortly.

"Did you know Miss Beth O'Donnell?" Silva asked before the woman could leave the room. Silva knew her name was Em and she worked as a nurse on the weekend at a nearby nursing home.

"I only knew her as an occasional houseguest of the O'Donnells. She was here off and on for lunch when she visited them," Em said as she straightened a pair of embroidered cushions on the sofa. Having taken the job five years ago when she was already in her early forties, Em had remained the casual middle-aged housewife. She declined to learn the rules governing housekeepers and would have been offended by the suggestion that she was a servant. She was not the housekeeper Mrs. Miles had expected Medge to hire and she knew it. Now, whenever they met, Em and Mrs.

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