Murder on the Downs: A Violet Carlyle Historical Mystery (The Violet Carlyle Mysteries Book 41) by Beth Byers

Author:Beth Byers [Byers, Beth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-06-24T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 6

Smith was sitting in the auto when Vi and Beatrice returned. Violet saw him blithely reading the contents of a document folder.

“Smith, you were supposed to read it and leave.” Beatrice scolded.

“But I didn’t want to,” Smith told her. “I wanted to read it all and then criticize.”

Bea snorted and then leaned her head back against the seat. “I’m not sure how much faith I have in that man.”

“He did give me iron pills.”

Bea started to reply and then said, “Those will make you even more nauseous.”

Vi looked down at the jar of pills that she’d received and tossed them to the side of the back bench seat. “He said my pulse was fast.”

Smith shot Vi a look that refused to indulge her. Instead he asked, “Were you lying?”

She nodded, hating him already.

“Were you planning on helping me break into his home and pry into his privacy? Perhaps that might have been why your heart was racing even though your expressions and tones were showing the perfect actress.”

Vi groaned. “Oh, be quiet.”

“I can’t. I won’t.”

Bea elbowed Smith and told Vi, “I’ll make him pay later.”

“I’d prefer you make him pay while I’m watching.”

Smith grinned at Vi. “There’s a reason you’re my favorite of Bea’s useless friends.”

“You might pretend that you don’t love us, but we know you do.”

With that comment, Smith remained expressionless. But Bea grinned at her husband, and Vi suspected that her friend saw something in Smith that Vi missed.

“What did you learn?” Vi asked.

Smith shrugged. “Lots of symptoms that seem to reflect he’s sick.”

“What is his diagnosis?”

“Generalized weakness.”

Vi blinked and then glanced at Beatrice to see if her friend had heard the same nonsense.

“That can’t be right,” Beatrice murmured. “Who would even accept that diagnosis?”

“Maybe someone who knew he was dying.” Smith didn’t seem that surprised, but he was frowning as he glanced over the notes again.

“What?” Vi asked him.

Smith didn’t answer. But the smallest wrinkle between his brows made Vi wonder if Smith was seeing something Vi didn’t.

Was it shell-shock? Maybe what he was seeing was someone who didn’t want to live? Maybe Smith didn’t want to tell Jack and Ham that their friend had given up. Surely he must have if Daniel Poole had received such a nonsensical description for why he was dying and didn’t seek out another doctor.

Vi stared out the window, seeing the rolling hills of the downs as they reached the edge of the town and then followed a barely familiar winding road towards the house they had taken. They paused when they saw that Ham’s auto had returned, which meant that Ham and Jack were also back at the house.

Vi popped a ginger candy into her mouth, and she knew that she had shifted from amused to upset. She didn’t want to see Jack’s eyes full of grief, but they hadn’t found anything to help Jack’s friend, Poole, or to ease their guilt.

Vi suspected she was going to have to go meet Poole, knowing he’d accepted the foolish diagnosis

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