Past Resort (A Minerva Biggs Mystery Book 3) by Cordelia Rook

Author:Cordelia Rook [Rook, Cordelia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-05-30T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Percy was right: Stasia was definitely in big trouble. Ruby came before the guests—we were down to nine now—had even finished their breakfast that morning. She was accompanied by Roark and an arrest warrant.

The others looked on in relative silence—at least at first—while Stasia protested her innocence, and Ruby tried to get a word in to tell her her rights. Mitch was clearly delighted. Maryjo looked stricken, Frank solemn. Stan looked arrogant, like he’d personally cracked the case.

“I would never hurt Vi, you know I wouldn’t,” Stasia fumed, though it was unclear which you she was addressing. “I had nothing to do with this.” She gestured vaguely toward Ruby and Roark. “I gave them that flavoring bottle. I handed it to them. Why would I have done that, if I knew there was arsenic in it?”

Percy gave me a pointed look, having asked that same question of me. I still didn’t have an answer.

“Drop the innocent act,” said Goldie. “You know perfectly well it was cyanide.”

“Well, pardon me for being a little distracted!” Stasia snapped. “I meant to say cyanide.” She gave Goldie a look that started out defiant, switched to confused, then turned aghast. “But you know that.”

Roark had been doing his best to lead Stasia away, but Stasia dug her heels into the carpet, stopping short, still staring at Goldie.

“You know that because it was your idea,” she said.

“What are you talking about?” Goldie stared back, looking every bit as surprised and repulsed as Stasia. “You can’t imagine I had anything to do with my sister’s death.”

“But you did!” Stasia looked at Ruby, as if she fully expected this pronouncement to inspire her release. Instead, Ruby nodded at Roark, who gently turned Stasia around so he could cuff her. He was a nice guy, and he did it as nicely as he could, but there’s only so nice you can be about a thing like that.

Stasia barely seemed to notice. “We had a whole conversation, that night we went to Scuppernong. After the last meeting. We were in that giant booth, the …” Being unable to gesture with her hands, she swung her head in something like a circular motion. “The semicircle one. Me and you and Frank, and … Stan, you were there.”

She nodded vigorously at Stan. “And Kirk, I think? We agreed that my character would want to kill Violet’s, but I said I could never pull anything like that off. Violet was too good, she’d catch me.”

“Yes, I already told Chief Walker all about that night,” said Goldie. “About how you said you could put some almond flavoring in some tea that smelled strong, because Violet always liked those weird flavored teas, and if it smelled strong enough maybe you could work it so she wouldn’t smell the flavoring.”

“Of course she said that,” Ray snapped. “Because that’s how we always do it when we fake-poison each other.”

“Not that you would know that,” Maryjo said to Goldie, “being brand new here.” I wasn’t sure whether she was trying to make things better or worse.

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