Weekend For Murder (1985) aka Murder On A Mystery Tour by Marian Babson

Author:Marian Babson [Babson, Marian]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2014-09-14T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

'For God's sake, Dad,' Reggie said. 'What the hell are you doing here?'

'Don't overwhelm me with affection,' Eric said bitterly. 'I might get above myself.'

'Well, of course, we're glad to see you,' Midge said. 'We just never expected it. How did you get in? When did you arrive? Why didn't you let us know?'

'I wanted to surprise you,' Eric said. 'I flew into Heathrow and hired a car. Then I found I was driving straight into a storm. It got worse and worse. Finally, I was obliged to abandon the car and continue on foot—' He flapped a hand towards the window framing the blizzard. 'It's still out there somewhere.'

'Impeding the snow ploughs,' Midge murmured.

'Fortunately, I was quite near by then, but it was very late. The Manor was dark when I arrived. I let myself in with my own key, had a snack—'

'The three missing chicken fillets—' It was all becoming clear. 'You ate them!'

'Not all of them,' Eric said defensively. 'I shared one with a friendly cat. He's new since my time, but seems very pleasant. In fact, that's how I knew where to find them. He led me over to the larder and looked so hopeful I knew there must be something good inside.'

'Trust Ackroyd!' Midge said. 'No wonder he looked so guilty. He was to blame for them going missing.'

'Then I went up to bed,' Eric continued. 'I didn't want to disturb you in the family wing, so I checked the register for an empty room and went up the service staircase to it.'

'Producing the ghostly footsteps where they shouldn't be.'

Reggie grinned across at Midge. 'No wonder we've been dogged by the supernatural today. I suppose—'he addressed his father—'you utilized the service passage to disappear into when the hunting party almost caught up with you in the upper corridor?'

'Now that you've brought it up,' Eric said, 'I've been meaning to ask you: what's going on here? When I left it to you, this was a perfectly respectable family hotel. Why have you hired it out as a lunatic asylum? Who are all these mad screaming females? And who was that demented girl who hurled herself at my head and called me Daddy?'

'About that—' Reggie said. 'Now that they've spotted you, I'm afraid you're going to have to resign yourself to the fact that she is your daughter, the Honourable Petronella Van Dine. Bertha is right—it's the only explanation. Especially with that tan.'

'What's wrong with my tan? Why should I claim a complete stranger as a daughter? Who are all these—?'

'Hard cheese, old boy.' Cedric had strolled into the kitchen and was grinning evilly at his brother-in-law. 'You've walked right into the middle of it and you'll have to take the consequences. You'll be lucky if you're not done away with before the weekend is over. I was.'

'What are you talking about?'

'Don't pay any attention to Cedric,' Reggie said. 'He's dead.'

'What?'

'Perfectly true, old boy. I turned up my toes after the mushroom soup last night. Unless there was something in the coffee.

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