Buried to the Brim (A Hat Shop Mystery) by Jenn McKinlay

Author:Jenn McKinlay [McKinlay, Jenn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2020-01-28T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

Harrison let out a very rude, very loud curse. Aunt Betty looked at him in dismay. “There’s no need for that sort of language, Harrison.”

“I’d say there’s every need,” he muttered. Then he looked abashed and said, “I’m sorry.”

“That’s better,” she said.

“How did you know?” Bronson asked again. The frown was getting deeper as if the unhappy vee between his eyes was now permanent.

“Don’t answer unti—” Harry said but Aunt Betty interrupted.

“Common sense,” she said. “He was clearly murdered, otherwise why hide the body? And it had to be poison because as Scarlett remarked after she found him, there wasn’t a mark on him except for the bluish tinge to his fingertips and lips.”

“So, you’re saying you just deduced that it was poison?” Bronson asked.

“Exactly,” she said.

“What sort of poison?”

“Well, I’m sure I don’t know that,” Aunt Betty said. “I mean, it’s not like I poisoned him.” The three of us stared at her. She put her hand over her mouth. “Oh, is that what you thought?”

Harry rubbed a hand over his face and Bronson pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and his index finger as if to squeeze away a headache. I blew out a breath. This was turning into quite the pickle. Aunt Betty looked so distraught that I felt the need to make her feel better.

“Actually, I was thinking the exact same thing,” I said. Harry looked at me with wide eyes while Bronson narrowed his eyes at me. “Well, I was.”

The office door banged open and we all turned.

“Oy, what’s this?” Alistair Turner stood there, looking impeccable in a dark gray suit and white shirt with a bold blue necktie. “Aunt Betty, I thought we agreed that there would be no interviews with the police unless I was present.”

“That was fast,” I said.

“He was already here, planning to talk to Aunt B before meeting with another client,” Harry explained.

Aunt Betty looked at Alistair and then leaned forward and whispered to me, “Why won’t Viv date him? He’s adorable.”

Of course, her whisper wasn’t a whisper and everyone heard it. I saw Alistair close his eyes for a second as if searching for patience and I decided to throw caution to the wind, because that seemed entirely appropriate.

“Because she’s thick,” I said. “However, I happen to think that our assistant, Fee, who’s rather stunning herself, would be delighted to date him.”

“Ginger, it’s not really the time or place for matchmaking,” Harry said.

I shrugged and glanced at Alistair to see what he made of what I said. He gave me a considering glance.

“As fascinating as the love life of your attorney is,” Bronson said, “how about we get back to the matter at hand?”

Alistair stepped all the way into the room and closed the door behind him. I vacated my seat so he could sit with Aunt Betty, and moved to the back of the room to stand beside Harry.

We listened as Bronson asked where Aunt Betty had been yesterday morning before the agility competition. Since we were with her all morning, it was easy to verify her alibi.

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