The Cherry Tree Murder: A Colonel Bainbridge Mystery (The Gentleman Detective Mysteries Book 8) by Evelyn James

Author:Evelyn James [James, Evelyn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Red Raven Publications
Published: 2023-07-23T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

It was not possible to seek out Mr Nesbitt immediately as the journey would prevent them from attending dinner with Mr Nottridge and the other guests. Bainbridge refused to miss dinner. Victoria knew when she was attempting the impossible and so did not try to persuade him otherwise.

“Mr Nesbitt would have to go to a lot of trouble just for the sake of disrupting Mr Evergreen’s and Mr Langley’s businesses,” she said, thinking that perhaps he was not even worth the bother of pursuing.

“There is no knowing what extent a person will go to when they are angry over something,” Bainbridge muttered.

“But Miss Botham has already confessed to putting the tissue paper in Evergreen’s trees. Therefore, Nesbitt was not the one who sabotaged the stall,” Victoria said feeling frustrated by everything. “Just stop a minute, I have a stone in my shoe.”

She dropped down onto a handy bench and began the lengthy process of unlacing her boots.

“I feel as though we are just going around and around in circles,” she complained. “Everyone hated Evergreen, but we have no proof of who might have wished to harm him.”

“Which is why we must visit Mr Nesbitt, even if the chances are he has nothing to do with this, he may give us further ideas of where to look.”

Bainbridge sat down next to his niece, sighing as he took the weight off his feet.

“Most of the cases I have undertaken have felt like this at some point,” he explained to his niece. “I have wondered why I am bothering at all. Houston referred to it as the calm before the storm. The time right before every clue, every suspect and every possible motive suddenly came slamming into your awareness.”

“Were their times when that did not happen?” Victoria frowned.

“Very occasionally,” Bainbridge confessed. “However, those cases always felt different at the very start. I cannot quite explain it, but there was something about them right from the moment I started investigating that made them unpromising. This case is not like that.”

Victoria had removed her boot and extracted the stone which, for its diminutive size, had caused considerable irritation. Now she went through the process of relacing her boot, which was likely to take longer than unlacing it.

“I am still very concerned at the lack of witnesses to the stone throwing,” Bainbridge said thoughtfully. “That does not make sense. Someone ought to have seen something. The Speltmans and Mr Rodriguez were in prime positions to see someone lobbing a stone. The person must have stood near one of their stalls, for a start.”

“The Speltmans saw Miss Botham,” Victoria remarked darkly.

“You are convinced she killed Evergreen,” Bainbridge stated, smiling at her.

“Women can be extremely vengeful when they have been hurt deeply. Trust me on that one,” Victoria was thinking of her former husband-to-be, Sven, who had betrayed her with another woman. “I think Miss Botham has more anger inside her than she is admitting to. And, yes, I think she could have killed Evergreen in a fit of passion, then regretted it afterwards.

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