MURDER AT THE ALTAR a completely unputdownable cozy murder mystery by VERONICA HELEY

Author:VERONICA HELEY [HELEY, VERONICA]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Joffe Books cozy mysteries and crime
Published: 2023-09-13T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Diana dumped her overnight bag in the hall. ‘Mother! What is going on!’

Archie Benjamin hovered on the doorstep, holding a large pink-flowered azalea and a bottle of wine. He seemed lost for words.

‘Come in, quick!’ Ellie pulled Archie into the house and slammed the door shut in the face of the first journalist to reach them. She put on the chain and leaned against the door.

‘My dear Ellie!’ Archie perspired, despite the chill wind that had blown in with them.

Diana glared at him, resenting his familiarity. At that moment Armand erupted from the living room.

I am so tired I can’t be bothered to be frightened anymore, thought Ellie. She said, as if this were a normal, everyday event, ‘May I introduce you? Gentlemen, this is my daughter Diana, whom you may or may not have met when she stayed with me for some days over the funeral. Diana, this is my next-door neighbour Armand, who has come here in search of his wife . . . whose car was blown up this morning and me with it. Diana, this is Archie Benjamin, a great friend of your father’s, from the church. You probably did meet him at the funeral.’

Archie tried to find somewhere to put his plant down so that he could shake hands with Diana but she was past observing such civilities. ‘I dare say, but . . .’

Armand was beyond observing the civilities, too. He had failed to find his wife but he did have just enough control left to realize that attacking Ellie physically in the presence of her daughter and Archie Benjamin was going to be counter-productive.

Approaching Ellie, he spat some words low into her ear. ‘I’ll be back!’ He wrestled the chain off the door and flung himself outside. Ellie neither knew nor cared whether he was attacked by the waiting journalists. She thought him well able to take care of himself and indeed in a few seconds she heard his own front door bang. Perhaps the journalists would turn their attention to him now.

She had other problems to solve.

‘Mother, ring the police and get rid of that rabble outside!’

‘I can’t, dear, unless I can get the telephone working again.’ She pushed the telephone cord back into the socket, replaced the receiver and the phone rang at once. Somebody was making use of the latest technology to ring as soon as the line was free. So she couldn’t get a line to ring out. She took the receiver off the hook.

Diana whipped off her coat and gave Archie a withering glance. ‘Mother is perfectly all right now I’m here, so you needn’t stay.’

Ellie wondered why Diana had to be so rude all the time. In her fatigue, she felt a distance growing between herself and the others. Little as she liked him, she didn’t want Archie to go away feeling offended — as indeed he appeared to be at the moment, pursing his lips at Diana, and screwing up his eyes at her.

‘Archie, Diana is right.

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