The Happy Family Facade: The Fourth Holmes & Co. Mystery (Holmes & Co. Mysteries Book 4) by Allison Osborne

Author:Allison Osborne [Osborne, Allison]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-11-10T22:00:00+00:00

* * * * *

Irene set the freshly developed photograph of the article next to the picture she took in Mr. Johnston’s bedroom of the woman she assumed was Chloe from his bedside table.

“This beauty mark,” she began, pointing to both the woman’s face and the small girl’s. “It sits right at her jaw.”

“What beauty mark?” Joe looked at the picture. “Oh my, I thought that was a dot on the film, but it is the same mark. This is the same girl. What happened to her?”

“Maybe our theory of her being from another mother may check out,” Irene said, moving swiftly to their investigation board. “Mrs. Johnston told me she had a son. Yet, she said Mr. Johnston loves his children. Plural. Perhaps this child is from another mother.”

“But why hire Miss Flagner?” Joe asked. “A woman who looks practically identical to his daughter.”

“He misses her.” Irene shrugged, attempting to think of another reason.

Joe sighed and scratched at his beard. “There is something else, though, that you might not have considered.”

Irene folded her arms across her chest and tried to figure out what Joe would say before he spoke. Surely there wasn’t something she missed. The case wasn’t solved, but she could run every scenario through her head faster than either of them could speak it.

“Divorce is more common now,” Joe continued. “But it is still rare. And even rarer fifteen years ago. A man with that big of a reputation probably wouldn’t have wanted to flaunt two children from two different mothers at a company picnic.”

Irene grunted, nodding at Joe. She had not thought of that.

“So, both children are Mrs. Johnston’s,” she allowed. “But where is the daughter? She obviously grew to be an adult, but where could she have gone?”

“Perhaps she died in the war,” Joe offered.

“But why all this secrecy that seems to surround her?”

Joe shrugged. “I am not sure. Either way, Mrs. Johnston didn’t want to be a mother it seems, so that would explain why she has no pictures of either of her children.”

Like a light bulb flashing to life, Irene had a thought.

“What if neither of the children belongs to Mrs. Johnston?”

“Okay, now I know you are as tired as I am,” Joe said. “Have you ever seen a child look more like their mother than Hughie does of Mrs. Johnston?”

Irene groaned. “Dammit, you are correct, Joe.”

The door opened, and Miss Hudson tut-tutted.

“Language, dear,” she chided.

“Miss Hudson?” Joe stood instantly as if something were wrong with the landlady. “It is after ten. What are you doing awake? Are you alright?”

Miss Hudson frowned at the photos scattered all over the table. “I got a whiff of those chemicals and wanted to make sure you didn’t dump them in my flowers in the front garden. I will not have them die off before they’re supposed to because of your chemistry.”

“We will not,” Joe comforted her. “Don’t worry.”

“Oh, I don’t worry about you, love,” she said. “It’s our lovely Miss Scatterbrain over there.”

Irene was about to

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