Things Cannoli Get Better : An English Village Culinary Cozy Murder Mystery (Baker's Rise Mysteries Book Nine) by R. A. Hutchins

Author:R. A. Hutchins [Hutchins, R. A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-05-18T16:00:00+00:00

16. Stir over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, until sugar dissolves

They bundled Hilda out of the tearoom with all the politeness of a flock of Reggies, and then the two detectives, Flora, Adam and the parrot rushed up the hill to the manor house. Flora fumbled with the key, trying to lock up the café at such speed that she wouldn’t be left behind. This wasn’t about simple curiosity, no, she was determined to make sure her friend got a fair hearing. After all, they only had the word of a drunken pensioner to go on. That being said, things weren’t looking good for Genie, not good at all.

McArthur had used her spare key for the back door and was through the kitchen before Flora caught up, huffing and puffing behind them. She had been skipping one too many Jazzercise classes and it was starting to show.

“Watch out! Hide it all!” Reggie warned as they all ignored the empty kitchen and made a beeline for the front drawing room. Finding that room also devoid of life, the two pairs split up, with Flora and Adam searching the rest of the downstairs and the two detectives taking the upstairs. Meeting back in the study several minutes later, all looking red faced and decidedly more dishevelled, it was to report that the manor house appeared to be empty.

“Right, let’s check that secret corridor, and Timpson, you go and see if the housekeeper has emptied her wardrobe,” McArthur spoke quickly, “Flora, just to confirm, that passageway is the only secret space you know about?”

Flora shot a look at Adam, which didn’t go unnoticed by his former colleague. Reluctantly she moved to the mantle and pulled the fake candleholder to the side. The familiar grinding noise followed as the secret door slid open and revealed the small, neat office inside.

“Cool!” Timpson exclaimed, his eyes wide.

“Sleep with the fishes!” Reggie added from his perch by the window. No good ever came from this little room being opened.

“Well, that’s a turnup for the books,” McArthur’s eyebrows were unnaturally high but her voice remained even, “and this is all?”

“Ah no, actually,” Flora stepped inside, moved the rug and showed them the trapdoor, “it leads into the basement, and from there you can go through the external door to the patio at the back of the house.”

McArthur’s mouth widened into a momentary grin that even she couldn’t control, “Very neat, very neat indeed,” she said, before quickly flicking back to being all business, “Right, Timpson, you get down there, walk right through the cellars and come out the back. Adam, you and I will check out the servants’ corridor, and Flora please check Genevieve’s room to see if anything looks amiss or cleared out in haste.”

Timpson looked like a schoolboy in a sweetshop as he disappeared into the bowels of the building, before Flora hurried off to her friend’s bedroom. It certainly felt like an invasion of privacy, to be honest, but Flora knew they couldn’t clear Genie’s name if the woman herself wasn’t present to do so.

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