The Twelve Lies Of Christmas: A 1920s Cozy Mystery (Kitty Goring Investigates Book 4) by Ella Strike

Author:Ella Strike [Strike, Ella]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2025-12-20T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 13

Ileft the interview room and made my way to the library. The other guests were huddled around the big sofa, trying not to look too worried. Percy and Penelope were missing, though.

“There she is,” exclaimed Julia Fenton. “Quick, Kitty. You must tell us what’s going on. Are they going to arrest Mr Truebody for murder?”

“We know the murder weapon belonged to him,” added Alice. “Major Graves recognised it last night.”

I turned to the retired soldier in confusion.

“How did you recognise it, Major Graves?”

“He showed it to us yesterday morning before you arrived at the house,” he replied gruffly. “I think he was trying to sell it to Percy. But they couldn’t arrive at an agreement over the price.”

“So all the other guests knew about it? Which means anybody could have stolen it from his room,” I murmured.

“Well, that lets me off,” said Gerald. “My room was in the East wing. So I couldn’t have snuck into his room without someone noticing. It had to be someone whose room was along the same corridor as his.”

“Mr Truebody claims he is the only guest staying in the West wing.”

“That’s not true,” said Alice. “Sir Lionel, Major Graves and Dr Langdale’s rooms are in the West wing as well.”

“I assure you I did not steal that knife,” sputtered Major Graves. “And I did not kill Sir Lionel.”

“And the same goes for me, of course,” added Dr Langdale. “I was not even aware of the penknife’s existence.”

Just then, Penelope entered the library and threw herself into a vacant chair by the fireplace.

“I wish I hadn’t played that awful game,” she groaned. “That’s where it all began to go wrong.”

“Come now, darling. You can’t think that silly game had anything to do with it,” protested Gerald.

“What else could it be?” she asked. “I think Sir Lionel wrote something absolutely vile about someone, and they killed him for it.”

“Does everyone still have their little chits?” I asked suddenly. “We should read all of them and discover if there was anything that could have led to Sir Lionel’s death.”

The guests all looked at one another.

“I left mine on the dining table after Penelope said we weren’t playing any more,” said Julia.

“So did I,” added a few other voices.

Penelope extended a slim hand and reached for the bell to call for the butler.

“Babbitt, did you by any chance preserve the little notes we left on the dining table last night? Or have you thrown them away already?”

“I’ve kept them all in a little bowl in the pantry, milady. I was going to ask you what you wanted to do with them, but I didn’t want to trouble you over such trivial matters when you’re dealing with more important ones.”

“Thank you, Babbitt. If you would bring me that bowl, please?”

He bowed and left the room, and I could feel a buzz of excitement course through the other guests.

“Are we going to play the game after all?” asked Gerald, his eyes twinkling with malice. “After all, if I’ve had

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