Murder in Rose Hill by Victoria Thompson

Author:Victoria Thompson [Thompson, Victoria]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2024-04-23T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

• • •

Frank walked slowly through the rooms, nibbling at his lunch while casually eavesdropping, but all the men were talking about the president’s death and what it would mean to business, and the women were gossiping about people he didn’t know. No one, it seemed, was thinking of Louisa.

Finally, he found Oscar Rodgers out on the back porch alone, smoking a cigar.

“Why are you still here? Haven’t you upset my mother enough?” he asked when Frank joined him.

“I did not intend to upset your mother, but I have to do my job.”

“Do you? I can’t see how harassing a grieving family will help find who killed Louisa.”

“That’s just it,” Frank said. “Not everyone in your family seems to be grieving.”

Oscar jerked the cigar out of his mouth and turned to fully face Frank. “What do you mean by that?”

“I mean your father is obviously distraught, but you and your mother seem almost . . .”

“Almost what?” Oscar challenged angrily.

“I’m not sure how to describe it, but you certainly don’t seem sad that Louisa is dead.”

“Maybe we don’t have any reason to be sad,” Oscar said.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean I’ve spent my entire life in Louisa’s shadow. She was better at everything than I was, except for sports. She wasn’t interested in sports, but neither was my father, so he scoffed at my accomplishments. The only thing he cared about was education, and I didn’t have any accomplishments there. I hated reading, and arithmetic made no sense to me. My father ordered Louisa to help me with my schoolwork, but no one wants a girl telling them how stupid they are, so she only made things worse. She never let me forget that she excelled at everything my father valued and I didn’t.”

“And this killed any affection the two of you might have had for each other,” Frank guessed.

Oscar flushed scarlet. “We could hardly stand the sight of each other. I was glad when she moved out. She said it was to be closer to her office, but I knew she wanted to get away from Mother.”

“And from you, too?”

“By the time we were grown up, we simply ignored each other.” He turned away and jammed the cigar back in his mouth.

“Were you really at home with your mother the evening Louisa was killed?”

When Oscar turned back to Frank this time, his scowl was murderous. “To me it seems like simple laziness that you have decided to accuse Louisa’s family members when she obviously was killed by an opportunistic stranger.”

“It isn’t that obvious to me,” Frank said.

“Then you aren’t worth the money my father is paying you.”

“We’ll see, won’t we?”

Oscar shook his head in mock despair. “Mother was right.”

“About what?”

“She told Father he was a fool to hire you, that you’d never find the killer and you’d just keep bleeding him for money while you tortured him with the hope of bringing Louisa’s killer to justice.”

“And she advised him to dismiss me,” Frank guessed.

“Of course she did. It’s the only sensible thing to do, and it would end this torment so we can get back to our lives.

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