Paradise Plagued by Sarah E Burr

Author:Sarah E Burr [Burr, Sarah E]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-08-27T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

The five companions stood in silence for a moment as Jax’s words settled over them.

“Can you tell how he perished, my darling?” Ammon asked, placing a hand on the small of Edrice’s back.

Her graceful fingers unbuttoned Tarek’s fine linen shirt, revealing his strong chest. “No wounds anywhere that I can detect.” She lifted an eyelid and peered into his lifeless stare. “His eyes aren’t discolored in such a way that would indicate strangling or various side effects from poisons.”

The mention of poison sparkled a gruesome memory in Jax’s mind. The face of her father, his tongue rotted away from death’s corruption, killed by one of their family’s most trusted friends. “What about on the inside of his mouth?”

Edrice gave her an intrigued look before parting Tarek’s cracked lips.

Perry jumped back, covering his eyes. “I did not need to see that before breakfast.”

Jax’s stomach roiled, too, at the sight. Tarek’s teeth and tongue looked as if they had been coated in black mold.

Edrice’s nose wrinkled at the stench. “I’ll admit I have never seen a reaction like this before. I’m not familiar with a poison that does this.”

Jax caught the skeptical look that appeared on George’s face. He was quick to hide it, but she knew him too well. Despite their conversation just minutes ago, Jax couldn’t be sure Edrice was telling the truth. “I’ve seen something similar stem from one ingesting bloodsleaf.”

“Bloodsleaf?” The High Priestess bit her lip. “I’m familiar with bloodsleaf, but if I recall correctly, it leaves behind a green residue, not black.”

“Perhaps something in the same family, then?” Ammon suggested, holding a handkerchief to his nose.

Jax glanced at the ceiling, picturing the rows of shelving containing dried leaves above them. “I wonder if he died due to an allergic reaction to one of Samira’s teas?”

Edrice shook her head. “No. The human body wouldn’t react in such a contained way if that was the case.” She hesitated a moment before continuing. “Although we cannot dismiss the theory of something having been added to his tea to kill him.”

Worry gnawed at Jax’s insides. Samira was such a sweet girl. Jax couldn’t picture her killing anyone, but her reluctance to marry Tarek did strike her as a viable motive. “We should speak to Samira. She might be able to tell us Tarek’s movements after dinner last night.”

George held up a hand. “We’re going to jump into assuming he drank poisoned tea? What about any food he might have eaten?”

While Jax would have liked to discuss the matter privately, away from the watchful eyes of Edrice and Ammon, she didn’t want to risk offending them. “We need to start somewhere.”

Ammon cleared his throat. “Start somewhere? Am I correct in stating you plan to look into this matter yourself, Duchess? Is that wise?”

Jax measured her thoughts. While she could swear Edrice and Ammon to secrecy about who she really was, she couldn’t very well justify looking into a stranger’s death as Lady Victoire. And while she could let it go and

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.