Read Manor House 04 - Dig Deep for Murder Online
Authors: Kate Kingsbury
Manor House 04 - Dig Deep for Murder (24 page)
"Not unless he climbs out of his grave to do it," Violet said dryly. "The master's dead. Killed in a bombing raid three years ago in London."
Patsy gave her a solemn look. "Our mum's in London."
Violet caught her breath. "Oh, lovey, I'm so sorry. I forgot. Well, don't you worry. The bombs won't get your mother, I'm sure of it. In any case, she's coming down here to get you this very afternoon. I was keeping it as a surprise, but you might as well know now. She'll be here in a couple of hours."
All three girls stared at her with wide eyes.
"How'd she know we was here?" Patsy demanded.
"I rang the War Office in London. They rang me back a little while ago and said they'd arranged for your mother to come down here and get you."
"We're going back to London?" Maureen's face was red with excitement, and Jenny went on eating her soup with a satisfied smile on her face.
Patsy looked worried. "What about the bombs?"
"Well, things are not as bad as they were when you
left. Your mother probably has an air raid shelter in the garden by now, so you'll all be safe. Now eat your—"
She froze as the door suddenly crashed open so hard it banged against the wall. Sadie stood in the doorway, her face as white as the pillowcases on the line outside.
"What in the world is the matter with you?" Violet demanded. "You look as if you've seen a ghost."
Sadie just stood there, opening and shutting her mouth without any sound coming out of it.
Worried now, Violet dropped the soup ladle and hurried toward her. "Here, sit down a minute. What's happened?" A dreadful thought struck her, and her entire body went cold. "Is it her ladyship? Is it Lady Elizabeth? Sadie? Sad-a-a-y!" She took hold of her arm and shook it hard. "Tell me what's happened!"
Jenny started to cry, and Patsy put a scrawny arm around her. The sound seemed to shake Sadie out of her daze. She started wailing like a cat in heat. "Ooh, it was awful . . . really, really awful. I was so scared. I'm never going back there. Never."
"What? What were you scared of?"
A deep voice spoke from behind Violet. "Is everything all right here?"
Violet straightened, and met the concerned gaze of Major Monroe. "Oh, Major, I'm glad you're here. Sadie's had some kind of scare, and I'm afraid it has something to do with Lady Elizabeth."
"It ain't got nothing to do with her ladyship," Sadie said breathlessly. "It's that blasted cottage. It's blinking
haunted!
There's ghosts in there!" Her voice rose on the last word, and all three children stared at each other in fright.
Violet frowned at the maid in disgust. "Haunted?
Haunted?
You scared the daylights out of me because you thought you saw a blinking ghost? What's the matter with you? Been talking to that crazy old goat, Martin, I don't doubt. Now listen here, my girl—"
Sadie bolted out of her chair. "Don't you 'my girl' me, you bloody idiot. I know a ghost when I hear one. I was walking down the stairs in that old cottage, and I heard it bumping around. Heard it as plain as day. But I couldn't see it. I heard it right on the stairs with me. Right
next
to me, it was, and there weren't nothing there. It was invisible, that's what. Bloody good job, too, if you ask me. I hate to think what it looked like if I'd seen it. Great big hairy monster with glowing red eyes. . . ."
Jenny and Maureen screamed in unison, and Violet started so violently she banged her elbow on the stove. "Shut up, Sadie, for Gawd's sake. You're scaring the girls."
"What cottage was this?"
Earl's words, spoken in a voice of reason, seemed to calm everyone down, though Sadie still sounded shaky when she answered.
"It's the end cottage on Sandhill Lane. It's empty, and her ladyship wanted me to clean it. Well, I went down there, didn't I—"
"Fred Bickham's cottage," Violet said, interrupting her. "Wait a minute. Is it possible . . . ?"
"Anything's possible." Earl glanced at the clock. "Tell me how to get there, and I'll take a look."
"I'm going with you," Violet said firmly. "Sadie, keep an eye on the girls. Their mother should be arriving here in an hour or two. With any luck, I'll be back by then." '
Earl was already half out the door, and she hurried after him. If it was Lizzie that Sadie had heard, then at least she was still alive. There was hope, after all.
It was Violet's first ride in a jeep, and in any other circumstances, she would have found the experience quite thrilling. Right now, however, all she could think about was what they might find at the cottage. She kept going over and over what Sadie had said.
I heard it right on the stairs with me. Right next to me, it was, and there weren't nothing there
.
"The room under the stairs," she said, shouting into the
wind that whipped the words from her mouth as Earl sped down the hill at breakneck speed.
"What?" He glanced at her, then back at the road.
"Under the stairs. It's where we're supposed to hide in a raid. That's why Sadie heard it on the stairs. Somehow Lizzie must have got locked inside." Her heart sank when she remembered something. "No, wait, she can't be. It locks from the inside."
Earl didn't answer, but his expression darkened. Minutes later his jeep swung into the lane on two wheels and came to a screeching halt in front of the cottage.
For a bad moment Violet thought they'd have to break in, since she'd forgotten to get the key from Sadie. She needn't have worried, however. The front door stood wide open. Sadie must have been so scared she'd flown right out of there.
Violet let Earl go in ahead of her, and he headed straight for the hallway. Sadie's bucket lay on its side at the foot of the stairs, with dusters and tins of cleaning powder scattered all around it.
Violet watched Earl hook his fingers around the handle and tug open the door. All she could see was a triangle of light from the hallway spilling into the dark space, and what looked like a bundle of clothes lying just beyond.
Then Earl muttered something she didn't catch. Bowed low, he ducked into the narrow space and began tugging on whatever was lying there. After a moment of grunting, he called out, "Can you get in here to give me a hand?"
Violet leaned over his back and peered inside. As her eyes adjusted to the gloom, she saw what he had seen. "Oh, God," she breathed. "Please, let her be alive."
Elizabeth slowly opened her eyes, and far more quickly closed them again. The light hurt, though she couldn't think why. She'd opened her eyes to the sunlight in this room for as long as she could remember. Why was this morning different?
"She's awake," Violet's voice said by her side. "Polly, go and tell the major."
Now she knew why the sun hurt her eyes. Usually, when she woke up, the blackout curtains hid the glare. And the sun was awfully low for morning. Warily, she opened her eyes again.
"How are you feeling, ducks?" Violet asked, sounding different, somehow. "Better, are you?"
Elizabeth tried to answer, but her throat was on fire and her tongue seemed to be stuck to the roof of her mouth.
"Here," Violet said. Her arm slid under Elizabeth's shoulders and she raised her head. "Drink this. We've had the devil of a time getting water down you. It'll be easier now you're awake. Oops, spilled a drop, didn't you? Never mind. Just keep on drinking. A little at a time, the doctor says."
"Doctor?" Elizabeth formed the word, though it came out in a dreadful rasp. She must have had the flu or something.
"You had a nasty bump on the head, and you were dehydrated, but Dr. Sheridan says with a bit of rest you'll be as good as new." Violet gave her a sharp look. "You had a narrow escape, my girl. If it hadn't been for the major, you could be dead by now. I tell you, when he carried you out of there, lying so limp in his arms, I thought you
were
dead. I hope you've learned your lesson, that I do."
Elizabeth blinked. Now she remembered. Bit by bit it was coming back to her. "Reggie Stewart," she said painfully.
"The constables got him this afternoon in Southampton. Trying to get on a boat to Ireland, he was. They locked him up down there, though George said he'll probably come back to North Horsham for his trial. You know where they found the hammer he used to smash that poor man's face in? Buried in the Victory Garden. In all the excitement, nobody thought to dig the rest of it up." She shook her head. "You must have walked in on him. Must
have been a dreadful shock for you to see him still alive."
Elizabeth sipped some more water from the cup Violet held. "No, I knew he was alive," she said hoarsely. "When I was at the funeral this morning and—"
"The funeral was yesterday, Lizzie. You've been asleep since then. It's Tuesday evening."
Elizabeth frowned, trying to remember exactly what happened. "Well, I saw Reggie at the funeral, and I followed him back to the cottage."
"Go on!" Violet put the cup down. "What was he doing at the funeral? I wonder who they were burying, then?"
"That was Fred Bickham." Elizabeth closed her eyes. "I'm sorry, but my head really hurts, and I can't think straight. I'll tell you the whole story later."
"Of course, dearie. You rest now. You've been—" She broke off as a light tap came on the door. "Just a minute."
Elizabeth watched her cross the room to the door and open it. "Oh, there you are, Major. Yes, she's fine. Sounds like a frog with pneumonia, but I'm sure she'll be right as rain in a day or two."
Elizabeth heard Earl's deep voice say something.
Violet glanced back at her. "Oh, I don't think that's a good idea, Major. I mean, she's really tired, and it wouldn't be proper for you to be in her bedroom."
Elizabeth pulled in a breath, and as firmly as she could manage, said, "Violet, let him in."
Violet tutted, but opened the door wider. "Just for a moment then, Major. She needs her rest."
Elizabeth smiled at the tall figure entering the room. There really was something about an American uniform that did wonderful things for a man. "I understand that once again I have you to thank for my rescue," she said, drawing the sheets up to her chin.
He grinned, and sat down in the chair next to her. "It's becoming quite a habit. You've got to stop scaring me like this."
"Sorry. I suppose it was a silly thing to do. I'd started to suspect that Reggie might still be alive, and I was going
to stop the funeral, but I wasn't certain until Joshua told me it was the first time he'd seen Reggie's nails clean, and then I was certain it wasn't Reggie, and with Fred being missing, I guessed it was him they were burying, and then I saw someone who appeared to be Fred at the funeral and I knew it couldn't be, so it had to be Reggie, and I followed him and that's when—"
Her voice, which had been getting raspier with each sentence, finally gave out altogether.
"Whoa, there, tiger," Earl said softly. "You never did know when to stop yakking. Here, take a drink. You've got a lot to catch up on."
"I do?"
"Well, let's see . . . Sam Cutter is out of the hospital and recuperating in the east wing. . . ."
"I imagine Polly is happy about that."
Earl shrugged. "I think he's giving her a tough time, but she seems determined to hang in there."
"Jolly good for her."
"Then there's the three little guests who've been haunting the manor."
Elizabeth looked at him in alarm. "Ghosts? You saw them?"
Earl laughed. "Not ghosts.
Guests
. But I'll fill you in on all that later. Right now you need a drink, then a long rest. When you feel better, we'll talk."
She started to protest, but then forgot all about her questions, for this time it was
his
arm sliding under her shoulders to raise her head, and she wanted nothing in her mind to distract her from the pure pleasure of the moment.
Author Bio
Kate Kingsbury is the national best-selling author of over sixty books. Her work has appeared on many bestseller lists and her books have sold all over the world. She lives on a golf course in Oregon with her husband, and a rat terrier who thinks she's Great Dane. You can find her website at
www.doreenrobertshight.com
and if you "like" her Facebook page,
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kate-Kingsbury/51478828226
where she keeps her fans updated with all the latest news, she will be delighted to answer your comments.
Other Manor House Books Available on Kindle:
A Bicycle Built for Murder
Dig Deep for Murder
For Whom Death Tolls
THE FIRST TWELVE PENNYFOOT HOTEL BOOKS
ARE NOW AVAILABLE FOR THE KINDLE!
The Pennyfoot hides many secrets and its downstairs staff keeps a tight lip, even when the Edwardian aristocrats are dallying with damsels in the boudoirs, or gambling in the card rooms hidden below the floorboards. Should now and then someone fall prey to a dastardly murderer, however, it is up to Cecily Sinclair to restore order before Scotland Yard steps in and shuts down her infamous seaside hotel. Eccentric characters, mysterious guests and downstairs staff shenanigans add to the merriment of your visit to the Pennyfoot Hotel.
