The Sign of Death Callie Hutton (color ebook reader .txt) 📖

his head. “That, my dear, is ridiculous.”

“Maybe so, but I am concerned.” She grasped the strap hanging by her head when the vehicle hit a hole in the road. “They need to fix these streets.”

“Agreed.”

She adjusted her hat, which had slid backward when they hit the gap. “Have you had any ideas?”

There was certainly no reason to pretend he didn’t know what she was talking about. “Yes. Right now we have Miss Gertrude and Mrs. Burrows who were being blackmailed and Mrs. Whitney whom Harding was cheating. All women. That is a bit disconcerting. I also find it near impossible to imagine any of them killing two people.”

“Why do you dismiss them because they are women?” Amy asked, her brows raised.

“I’m not sure, but I just can’t see a woman killing two people.”

She grinned. “It’s happened before.”

Remembering the case last year, he grinned back. “Ah, but it wasn’t two deaths attributed to her, only one.”

He gathered his thoughts for a minute. “Montrose claimed he was out of town, but I want to check that. He certainly seemed agitated enough with Harding to have done him harm. Patrick was quite sick when the murder took place, and Lemmon seemed more interested in having his solicitor straighten out his finances than in doing anything to Harding.” William leaned his head back and took in a deep breath. “I’m scared, Amy.”

She reached across and took his hand. “I know.”

He opened his eyes and looked at her. “If we can’t come up with the true killer, I might spend the rest of my life in prison, or worse yet, swinging from a rope.”

“Stop!” She squeezed his hand. “We will find the murderer. We will.”

Mr. Colbert hurried up to them as William and Amy entered the room at the back of the bookstore for the meeting. “How is your mother? I heard she had taken ill.”

William frowned. “Where did you hear that?”

“We are supposed to attend the theater tomorrow, if you recall, and I received a missive from her today that she was not feeling up to joining me.”

“I am sorry, Mr. Colbert. I know Amy and I were to attend also, but I’m afraid we will be unable to join you as well.”

Colbert waved them off as if he and Amy were of no importance if his mother couldn’t go.

“How ill is she?” Colbert looked concerned.

Mr. Colbert was certainly someone he could trust, but he preferred to keep the bulk of the story to himself. “I had a bit of a legal issue which has caused Lady Wethington undue stress.”

“Legal issue? You do know I am a solicitor. Can I help you in any way?”

It depends. Do you know who killed the two people that I am being accused of murdering?

“No, I have my solicitor working on it. I’m sure my mother will be up and about in a few days.”

“May I call on her?”

As much as William did not care for Mr. Colbert pursuing his mother, perhaps a visit from him would cheer her up. “Yes. You may call on her. Send a missive around so she will be prepared for your visit.”

“Thank you.” The glow on the man’s face surprised him. Could it be the man really cared for his mother and didn’t have nefarious intentions? Life was so topsy-turvy lately that anything was possible.

Not feeling particularly social, he directed Amy to one of the small settees. “Where has Eloise been? I haven’t seen her in a while,” William said.

“She’s off visiting her cousin in London. She does that twice a year.”

“Does he ever visit her here?”

“Occasionally, but they find more things to do in London.”

The other members slowly drifted in. Miss Sterling and Miss Penelope walked in together, chatting, with Miss Sterling waving her hands around.

Amy stood and wandered over to the two women. William followed her.

“Where is Miss Gertrude tonight?” Amy asked, when there was a break in the women’s conversation.

“My sister was not feeling well.” Miss Penelope offered a slight smile.

“That is too bad. Have her scratches healed?”

“Scratches?”

“Yes, when I visited with you about a week and a half ago, she had scratches on her face. Remember?”

“Oh, yes,” Miss Penelope said. “Those are all cleared up. She is merely suffering from a megrim tonight.”

William and Amy glanced at each other as Mr. Colbert called the meeting to order.

Perhaps Miss Gertrude had a megrim after shooting Mrs. Johnson?

CHAPTER 26

Amy stared at the letter in her hand, vacillating between anger and worry. She was being threatened by her publisher. Either she must sign the enclosed document, agreeing to appear at the Atkinson & Tucker book fair in three weeks, or she would be the defendant in a lawsuit for breach of contract.

She folded the letter and laid it next to her place at the breakfast table. Whatever was she going to do? On the one hand, Papa was adamant that she refuse to appear as E.D. Burton, yet on the other, her publisher was waving lawsuit papers at her.

“Good morning, daughter.” Papa walked into the room. “Why so glum?”

She unfolded the letter and handed it to him. He skimmed the contents and handed it back to her. “I have spoken to my solicitor, and he is prepared to take the matter into hand. We can contact Mr. Nelson-Graves if it goes far enough that we require a barrister.”

“Papa, I don’t want a lawsuit.” She placed her hands in her lap and straightened her shoulders. “I think I should go to the book fair as E. D. Burton. It is time I received recognition for my work.”

Instead of the explosion she was prepared for, Papa merely shook his head. “It would ruin you, young lady. No gentleman would want to marry a woman so notorious.” He shook out his napkin, laid it on his lap, and began to place items from the platters in the center of the table on his plate.

“Papa, we’ve been over this. I do not want to marry.”

“Is that right?” He stopped loading his plate and stared