What Child Is This?: An Ellie Kent Mystery by Boatwright Alice K

Author:Boatwright, Alice K.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Firefly Ink Books
Published: 2023-12-22T00:00:00+00:00

As she walked back across Oxford to meet Graham and Isabelle, Ellie came out onto Cornmarket Street, which was so crowded with shoppers taking advantage of the post-Christmas sales that you could hardly see where you were going. She did not find it a comforting sign of home that American chains such as The Gap now existed cheek by jowl with Oxford’s ancient buildings, but the locals didn’t seem to mind.

She tried to sum up what she had learned that morning—but what she hadn’t was more evident. Nothing David Pettibone said or did and no sixth sense supported the idea that he enjoyed inappropriate attachments with his students, though he had probably provided the inspiration for the Ophelia imagery. At least she hadn’t made up that link. She supposed she could be pleased about that.

The news that Anthea and Deborah had gotten their tattoos at the same shop did not really advance her investigation very much. Ellie was surprised to find out that a younger, red-haired girl had been there with Deborah and did not like the thought that it might have been Sarah Henning. It hadn’t occurred to her until now that Sarah could have also joined the Kingbrook Drama Club.

Then she realized that if Sarah had been close enough to Deborah to accompany her on the excursion to Beezlybub’s, she might also know the name of Rosie’s father. The one who made Deborah want that tattoo. Her Hamlet. And suddenly the whole mystery seemed to shift toward resolution. If only the redhead turned out to be Sarah. And if only she trusted Ellie enough to tell her everything.

She quickly dialed Sarah’s number and waited while the phone rang, but there was no answer, and she decided it was best not to leave a message. She’d have to try again later or go by the Hennings’ house. She was long overdue for a visit to the family anyway.

The century-old Blackwell’s Bookshop took her mind off solving mysteries as soon as she climbed the two steps to the front door, crossed the creaky wooden floor, and inhaled the fragrance of thousands of books. When she decided to leave San Francisco for Oxfordshire, Blackwell’s ran a close second to Graham in terms of the advantages her new life would offer.

She was browsing through the British literature section, when she heard a voice call out “Ellie!” and looked up to see Morag MacDonald approaching, with a man a few steps behind.

“How funny to run into you here. What are you doing in Oxford?” Morag asked. She had an armload of books, and her face was flushed and happy.

Ellie held up the thick, just-released biography of Charlotte Brontë she’d been looking at, and said: “I’m bankrupting myself—or I will if Graham and Isabelle don’t get here soon. How are you?”

“Fine. Crispin and I are on our way to a matinee. Crispin, this is Ellie Kent, my friend from Little Beecham.”

Crispin Souter was tall with dense, chestnut-brown hair and gray eyes that matched the tweed jacket he was wearing with stylishly faded jeans.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.