The Deadly Debutante (The Perfect Poison Murders Book 4) by E.L. Johnson

Author:E.L. Johnson [Johnson, E.L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, romance, Historical
Publisher: Dragonblade Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2023-07-06T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nineteen

Everyone froze. Poppy and Henry looked at each other, and left the dance floor, pushing through the crowd.

Henry cut a swift path through the people as he said, “I’m a sergeant, move aside,” and Poppy followed close behind him. They reached the end of the room and a balcony, where Henry asked, “What’s happened?”

At the scene stood Emily, Mary, Lucretia, and Miss Parkinson, along with Sarah and one other girl. Each girl either stood in tears or fretted.

“I repeat, what happened here?” Henry asked.

“Someone tried to kill me,” Lucretia said.

“She’s dead,” Emily said.

“Who?” Henry asked, “I see no body.”

The girls pointed to the edge of the balcony. Henry and Poppy looked over the side, where on the pavement lay a body, outlined in shadow by the street lights below, their dim light creating an eerie glow around the body. What should have been bathed in warm light now seemed dark and disturbing.

“Good God,” Henry uttered. He told Poppy, “Stay here,” as Mr. Grant entered the balcony.

“I heard a scream. What’s happened? They’re saying someone died.”

“Who are you?” Henry asked.

“Peregrine Grant. I’m a student at the medical college at St Bartholomew’s Hospital.”

“Are you experienced?”

“Yes,” Mr. Grant said.

“Come with me.”

Henry turned and Mr. Grant followed, but not before glancing at the women standing there. His eyes widened but he said nothing and followed Henry out.

Once the men left, Poppy looked at the women. She knew most of them, but it was confusing to be sure. She looked from one woman to another. “What happened?”

“Someone tried to kill me,” Lucretia repeated.

“What do you mean?” Poppy asked.

“Just that. Someone gave me poisoned wine.”

“What?”

“Are you hard of hearing? I just said, someone gave me poisoned wine.”

Poppy blinked. “Then how is it that someone else is dead?”

“Oh, her? Miss Grace took the wine from me and drank, then she choked and before we knew it, she’d fallen off the ledge. It’s horrible, isn’t it? Someone tried to kill me,” Lucretia said.

“Someone did kill Miss Grace,” Mary pointed out.

“It’s true. We were all here. We all saw it happen,” Emily said.

“What makes you think someone meant to kill you?” Poppy asked.

“Aside from the fact that someone has been after me, that was my wine Miss Grace took. It stands to reason that it was poisoned, for the sake of killing me,” Lucretia said.

“Why would someone want to kill you?” Emily asked.

“I could think of a few reasons,” Mary said.

All eyes turned to her. She shrugged. “Whoever was behind this had a good reason. Why else would they go to such trouble?”

“Are you sure the wine was poisoned? How do you know Miss Grace didn’t just lose her balance and fall?” Poppy asked.

Miss Parkinson was pale but began to regain her color, and turned thoughtful. “She was choking and started to gasp for breath. She had started to claw at her throat when she backed up, and pitched over the side before we could stop her.”

“So you’re saying it was an accident?”

“Her death was. But I rather doubt Miss Dobbins’s assertion that it was poisoned wine.

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