High Marks for Murder (A Bellehaven House Mystery Book 1) (2 page)

Meredith could see no sign of her friend or even the gardener in the main gardens. The reason became apparent when she entered the cool vestibule.

Tom stood just inside the door, twisting his white panama in his gnarled hands. His rumpled silver hair suggested he'd snatched the hat from his head in a hurry. Felicity stood at his side, a flush of red staining her cheeks.

"I asked him what he wanted," she said, as Meredith paused in front of them. "The silly fool won't say a word."

Felicity had no patience for what she perceived as stupidity. Being a little more charitable, Meredith was inclined to make allowances.

True, Tom took longer than some to grasp the gist of a conversation, and his memory often failed him at the most inopportune moments. Nevertheless, he worked hard and possessed an uncanny knowledge of the plant world. In Tom's eyes, all plants were living, breathing creatures to be tended to as one would children.

None of that mattered for the moment, since Meredith could tell something had highly agitated the elderly
gardener. His gaze roamed over the spacious, polished floor of the lobby as if seeking the answer to some troubling question.

The feeling of foreboding deepened in Meredith's chest. "Tom, is there something you want to tell me?"

When he didn't answer, she touched his arm. His gray eyes focused on her, growing wide as his mouth trembled with the effort to spill out words. "M-miss Duncan." He waved his bony, sun-scorched arm at the door. "Out there."

"Out where, Tom? Is there something wrong with Miss Duncan?"

Instead of answering, he raised his hat in both hands and pressed it to his mouth.

"Oh, for heaven's sake." Felicity stood in front of him and spoke each word as though she were dictating to a dull-witted secretary. "Where . . . is . . . Miss . . . Duncan? What . . . does . . . she . . . want?"

Tom shook his head and his wild gaze sought Meredith's face.

"Show me," Meredith said sharply.

Tom ducked his head and scurried out of the door.

Meredith started to follow, and Felicity called out after her, "Shall I come?"

"And I?" Essie echoed. She'd been standing in the shadows so quietly Meredith had forgotten she was there. "Come if you like," she called out over her shoulder, then saved her breath to follow Tom's lopsided gait across the lawn.

She saw the crumpled heap of clothes long before she reached the rockery. Fearing the worst, she hurried forward, passing Tom in her haste. Kathleen still wore the dark blue skirt and lace waist she'd worn to supper the evening before. Meredith found that particularly ominous.

For a moment she stood transfixed, shock rendering her unable to think or move. Felicity reached her first, uttering an unladylike oath as she took in the scene.

Seconds later, Essie joined them, and immediately emitted a piercing scream that shocked Meredith into action. With Essie's wailing sobs ringing in her ears, she bent over the still form.

A dark pool of blood stained the rock beneath Kathleen's head. Her eyes were wide open and stared sightlessly at the sky, while her outstretched arms hung limp and lifeless.

Tom stood at a distance, mumbling to himself as Meredith straightened.

"She must have fallen and hit her head," she said, fighting back the resurgence of her breakfast.

Essie's wailing rose in a painful crescendo.

"Is she dead?" Practical as ever, Felicity always came straight to the point.

"I'm afraid so." Meredith suppressed a shudder. "She feels cold and stiff to the touch."

Essie moaned and sank to the ground, causing Tom to stagger backward with a hand over his heart.

Felicity muttered something under her breath and bent down to shake Essie's arm. "Come on, you silly goose. Get up. You're making a fool of yourself in public."

Essie moaned in response.

Somewhat reassured, Meredith turned to Tom, who stood gasping for air like a goldfish deprived of water. "Send one of the stable lads to fetch Dr. Mitchell, if you please, Tom. Then find Reggie. I believe he's in the cellar, attending to a leaking water pipe. Tell him to bring a blanket out here."

Looking relieved to be excused from the scene, Tom loped off.

"It's a bit late for a doctor." Felicity knelt at Essie's side, flapping a hand back and forth in front of her face. "After all, he's not going to bring Kathleen back to life, is he."

Essie moaned and closed her eyes.

"We can't just leave her here." Meredith struggled to clear the cloud of confusion that seemed to fog her brain. "I think the best thing to do is for you both to get back to the school and make certain the girls don't wander out here." She glanced at the building, half expecting to see a crowd of anxious young women charging toward her. "We really don't need a mass panic on our hands."

"I feel sick," Essie announced.

"Up!" Felicity roared, as she leapt to her feet. Reaching down, she grabbed Essie's hand and pulled her upright.

Swaying and pale as death, Essie blinked back tears.

Felicity took a firm grip on her arm. "Are you coming with us?"

Meredith shook her head. "I'll stay until Reggie gets here with the blanket. He can wait with Kathleen until Dr. Mitchell arrives. Then I'll come back and address the school. Would you please ring the bell and take roll call. I want to make sure everyone will be in assembly when I make the announcement."

"Of course." Felicity took the sniffling Essie by the arm. "Will you be all right out here alone?"

Meredith sighed. "As all right as anyone can be."

Felicity spared the inert body a brief glance. "Poor Kathleen. We shall miss her."

"We shall indeed." Unwilling to reveal how shaken she felt, Meredith chose a large rock to perch on. "Arrangements will have to be made, of course, but that will have to wait until later. Right now the important thing is to gather all the girls in assembly."

To her relief, Felicity took the hint and strode off, half dragging Essie with her.

Left alone, Meredith wished she'd brought a shawl out with her. In spite of the sun, the air felt cool and damp. She hoped Dr. Mitchell would arrive soon. Keeping company with a dead body was not a pleasant way to spend the morning.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw a flash of white among the trees. Nervous that one of the pupils might have wondered close enough to see Kathleen's body lying there, Meredith jumped to her feet.

The sunlight filtered through the branches and cast shadows between the thick tree trunks. Again she saw something move—a wisp of white that seemed to ploat like a puff of smoke. Then it vanished, leaving her with a cold chill that had nothing to do with the moist air.

Chapter 2

Shaken, Meredith seated herself again on the rock.
The shock of Kathleen's death had caused her mind to play tricks. She needed a good strong cup of tea. That would settle her nerves. Though coming to terms with the tragedy would require more than hot tea.

Kathleen Duncan had been the first person to welcome Meredith when she'd arrived at Bellehaven. The trauma of losing her husband in the Boer War had caused Meredith to miscarry. Still grieving for both her husband and child, she had sought to alleviate her loneliness by joining the staff of a school.

Bellehaven had been recommended to her by a friend of her late husband's and Meredith had taken some time to consider the idea. The prospect of teaching young women how to conform to the rigid rules of high society disturbed her. She had long been an advocate of the women's movement, even though her husband's military career had prevented her from taking an active part in it.

Nevertheless, the opportunity to introduce to these young women the idea that they had a choice in their future appealed to her. Women were generally schooled in the belief that it was their duty to attend to their home and their husband. Meredith held the opinion that the world would be a far better place if women were allowed to have a hand in running it.

As her colleague, Kathleen had understood the delicate balance it required to obey the dictates of the school board and still maintain her own beliefs.

Just then a shout from across the lawn shattered her thoughts. Reggie Tupper, Bellehaven's youthful maintenance man, headed toward her carrying a bundle under his arm.

He stopped short when he caught sight of Kathleen's body. "Strewth!" He edged closer for a better look. "I thought Tom was daffy when he said to bring you a blanket. Is she a goner, then?"

Meredith flinched. Reggie was not known for his sensitivity. For the most part she could overlook his brashness, but she could not allow him to be disrespectful to her friend in that manner. "I regret to say Miss Duncan has passed on. I would appreciate it if you would cover her with a blanket and please refrain from any more coarse remarks."

Reggie's gaze shifted away from her. "Sorry, Mrs. Llewellyn. Wasn't thinking, was I."

"You certainly were not." Meredith stole a last look at her friend. "Miss Duncan will be sorely missed by us all. She was a fine lady and a dedicated teacher."

"That she was, m'm," Reggie murmured. He shook out the white blanket and covered Kathleen's still body. "That she was, indeed. May she rest in peace."

The threat of tears caused Meredith to blink, and she shook her head. "Thank you, Reggie."

"Entirely my pleasure, m'm."

Rising to her feet, she smoothed the folds of her navy blue skirt. "Dr. Mitchell will be here shortly. I'd appreciate it if you'd stay here until he arrives." She glanced at the mound of blanket. "I really don't want to leave her here alone."

"I understand, m'm. You can depend on me."

Past experience had taught Meredith the opposite, but she refrained from saying so. She was about to leave when Reggie added, "So what do you think happened to her then?"

"Miss Duncan enjoyed walking through the gardens in the late evening. It was her favorite time of the day. She liked to listen to the night chorus of the birds." Meredith let out her breath on a long sigh. "I imagine she tripped over something, and hit her head when she fell."

Reggie glanced around him. "Could have been this branch." He pointed at the ground. "It would have been hard to see in the dusk."

Meredith followed his gaze. "I hadn't noticed that." She looked up at the tree overhead. "It looks like a dead branch. It must have broken off."

Reggie kicked at it with his toe. "Nah, it's been sawed off. Look, the end of it is as clean as a whistle."

"Tom must have sawed it off." She frowned. "I wonder why he left it lying there. He's usually so particular about cleaning up everything."

Reggie didn't answer. He appeared to be studying the branch with an intent expression that unsettled her.

"What is it?" she asked sharply.

"Unless I'm much mistaken, m'm, there's blood on it." He bent down and picked up the heavy branch.

"Blood?" Meredith's stomach took a nasty turn. She glanced up again at the tree. "Oh, my. I wonder if Miss Duncan was under the tree when Tom sawed off the branch. The blow could have sent her into the rockery."

"Could have happened that way." Reggie's voice sounded strange. "What I'm wondering, Mrs. Llewellyn, is why he didn't say nothing about it. He must have seen her fall. Seems very strange to me that he'd leave her out here all night without saying nothing 'til this morning."

Meredith had to agree. She remembered Tom's face earlier when he'd tried to tell her he'd found Kathleen's body. His shock and distress had been genuine. She felt quite certain of that.

"I suppose it could have been Davie," Reggie said. "After all, he's a bit of a sissy, ain't he. Wouldn't say boo to a goose, that one. Maybe Tom sent him to saw off the branch and when it hit Miss Duncan he got too scared to say nothing."

Meredith stared at him in dismay. Davie Gray was the assistant Tom had recently hired to help him with the heavy work. She'd noticed that the lad seemed a little quiet and shy, but Tom seemed satisfied with his labor. She hated to think Davie could be responsible for such a dreadful accident.

"I don't think Tom would have allowed him to prune a tree," she said, more to convince herself than Reggie. "Tom's very protective of them. I'm quite sure he would have taken care of that himself."

Reggie's skeptical expression did nothing to ease her concern. "Reckon the best thing we can do is to ask Tom about it."

"I shall do so, just as soon as I've addressed the pupils." She grasped her skirt to raise the hem an inch. "I'd like you
to stay here with Miss Duncan until the doctor arrives. I'd like to make sure no one else sees her like that."

"Yes, m'm." Reggie touched his forehead with his fingers. "I'll see to it, don't you worry."

Worry, Meredith thought, as she hurried across the lawn to the school. How could she not worry, when someone was responsible for the death of a beloved teacher?

How could she possibly explain that to the young women waiting for her in assembly? What would they all do without Kathleen's efficient contribution to their education?

This was a black day for Bellehaven, indeed.

As if to emphasize her thoughts, a dark cloud drifted across the sun, sending a wide shadow across the grass. At the same moment, a wisp of white seemed to float by the corner of the building, only to vanish in the next second.

"I don't know what's going on." Olivia Bunting
paused on the stairs to push her cap back up from her eyebrows, then picked up her mop and bucket again. "All I know is that someone called a general assembly and that's where they all went."

Trailing up the stairs behind her, Grace Parker winced as the carpet sweeper she carried banged against her ankles. "They never call for an assembly on a Sunday unless it's something really important. The last time was when one of the debs painted 'Votes for Women' all over the music room walls."

Olivia's snort of disgust echoed down the curving staircase. "Don't know why they'd get in a tizzy over that. Them teachers are all on the side of the suffragettes."

"Yeah, but they're not supposed to be, are they." Reach
ing the top of the stairs, Grace dumped the sweeper onto the narrow strip of carpet. "Young ladies are supposed to act proper at all times. Painting words on walls is not proper."