Death at the Harbour Arms: A 1920s Historical Mystery by Kitty Kildare

Author:Kitty Kildare [Kildare, Kitty]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kitty Kildare
Published: 2024-09-29T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

Our relaxing time at the beach was cut sharply short by Bishop’s shocking announcement that Patricia believed her husband to be innocent of murder. We dashed back to the hotel to change into more appropriate clothing, as Bishop had arranged for us to visit Patricia in Margate’s small cottage hospital, where she’d been admitted the previous evening.

Apparently, after her blood had been taken and examined, the doctors were so alarmed by the amount of substances in her system, they’d decided to monitor her vital signs to ensure she didn’t suffer from a shock withdrawal.

“It makes you wonder about who you can really trust.” I tugged a suitable dress over my head and smoothed my hair down before glancing at Benji. “You’re supposed to be able to trust your husband.”

He placed his paw over his nose and wagged his tail.

“I trust you! You adorable fellow.”

There was a tap on the door. “Veronica, we need to leave,” Jacob said.

“I’ll be right with you. Be a good boy,” I said to Benji. “You won’t be allowed into the hospital, although I’m certain you’d be a great comfort to Patricia. Matthew and Felix will take the best care of you. I’ll be back as soon as possible.”

He raised one paw again, earning him a scratch behind the ears for being so charming.

Once Benji was safely with Matthew, who’d been delighted to have a reason to return to his room sooner than expected, we were out the door and into Bishop’s car, heading towards the cottage hospital, which sat just outside the centre of Margate.

“Does Patricia know she’s receiving such a big audience?” Jacob asked.

“She requested Veronica attend,” Bishop said. “Although she couldn’t remember your name, she described you as the forthright woman who wouldn’t back down to her husband. I could only think she meant you.”

“That’s an apt description,” Jacob said with a wry smile.

“I’m proud to be forthright,” I said. “How much does Patricia remember?”

“Everything.” Bishop had to slow the car as a group of children carrying sticks of rock and candyfloss bundled into the road, joking with each other. “As soon as Doctor Patterson was taken into custody, her regular dosing stopped. He was using a hefty sedative to keep her sleepy, but he couldn’t keep her incapacitated at all times. As well as sedatives, the tests revealed muscle relaxants, an opioid derivative, a strong painkiller, and something else we’ve yet to identify.”

Jacob shook his head. “I’d like to ring the doctor’s neck.”

“There’s a long queue to do that,” Bishop said. “He’s had the wool pulled over all our eyes.”

“Including Lady Lizzie,” I said. “We met on the beach just before you arrived, and she knew all about Doctor Patterson. She was shocked.”

“It’s no surprise she has all the relevant information. Lady Lizzie considers Margate to be her town. She once described it as her one true love. And she has an open invitation to our detective chief inspector to dine with her whenever it takes his fancy. She takes him to the best restaurants, so he’s always eager to accompany her.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.