Sieve and Let Die by Victoria Hamilton

Author:Victoria Hamilton [Hamilton, Victoria]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: small town, revenge, amateur sleuth, recipes, antiques, family mystery, framed for murder, lake michigan, online bullying, animal mysteries
Publisher: Beyond the Page Publishing
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Sixteen

Angry, red-faced, belligerent Connor Ward, the one suing her, was at the inn that night and yelling at Mandy? Jaymie’d need to jot all of this down soon and then tell Vestry about it. That was all Taylor recalled. Jaymie thanked her, then went back inside, seeking Edith. She was in her usual spot, the reservation and check-in desk.

After preliminary niceties, Jaymie asked about the Sunday evening dining room guest list. Fortunately Edith didn’t ask why Jaymie needed that information, she simply consulted her computer and rattled off the diners Taylor had already mentioned, then said, “But there were others who didn’t reserve—casual diners, you know, plus some of our inn guests.”

“Do you remember any of those?”

She gave more names, but they had all since checked out, except . . . there was one name that caught Jaymie’s attention. “Wait, who?”

“Mrs. Shannon Manor-Billings.”

“Manor?”

Edith looked at Jaymie over her reading glasses. “She’s a guest here. Manor-Billings is hyphenated. She’s very particular about that.”

Shannon, Chad Manor’s older sister! “How long has she been staying here?”

“Oh, a week or so. She’s in town on business, she said, when she asked about long-term rates. Not a very friendly lady.”

Edith was talkative, and Mrs. Manor-Billings likely was not. Could she be the elegant stranger Taylor spoke of, who spoke with Mandy?

The phone rang and Edith answered, sitting down at the computer to confirm a booking, so Jaymie returned to the dining room. As the ladies prepared to break up the tea party, Jaymie questioned each then sat in her SUV for a few minutes, letting the vehicle warm up as she wrote detailed notes of everything she had learned, which was quite a bit, as it turned out. The trio of ladies confirmed and made more precise what she already knew about who arrived when. With the avidity of the Queensville gossip telegraph in triple force, the three of them, with some squabbling, had been able to say who else arrived when.

Jaymie jotted down the arrivals in order. Ti Pham. Then Olivier Ricci and Randall Kallis, followed soon after by Candy Vasiliev, looking for her sister. Mandy de Boer then arrived. Bonnie Smith stomped in a few minutes later and accosted the businesswoman. Dina and Connor Ward came in.

Connor was furious. He accosted Mandy, which appeared to frighten her and Candy. Randall intervened and calmed the waters. The Wards then left without having dinner, too upset by Mandy’s presence, apparently. None of the Dickens Days committee knew or noticed the woman Jaymie thought was Shannon Manor-Billings and could not attest to when the woman arrived or with whom she spoke or interacted.

Jaymie got out her phone and did a brief internet search of some local websites, including the Wolverhampton Howler, inputting the name Shannon Manor-Billings, and there she was, the late Chad Manor’s sister. She called Val, told her what she had discovered, and asked her friend a few questions, like, could a fall down basement stairs resulting in facial bruising have resulted in a concussion.

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