A Country Gift Shop Collection: Three cosy crime novels that will keep you guessing!. Vivian Conroy

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СКАЧАТЬ went to the door and opened it a crack. “Sorry, we’re still closed.”

      “I understand, but I want to talk to you for a moment. I’m Ms. Tennings.”

      “Oh, of course. Marge told me about your time in the UK. I was sorry I had forgotten to ask you to stop by here. When we talked on the phone?”

      “About Mortimer Gill, yes.” Ms. Tennings looked serious.

      Vicky held her breath, as she wasn’t sure if the news about the murder had also revealed her part in it. Her mother’s friends knew, so chances were it was all over town already.

      Ms. Tennings said, “During my time abroad I caught the bug.”

      Vicky tilted her head. “The bug?”

      “Royalty. I’m totally addicted to anything that has to do with the British royal family. I brought something to show you.”

      Ms. Tennings opened her purse and pulled out three envelopes. “There, the postal mark of Her Majesty’s postal service. Buckingham Palace. And here on the back the crown with the W of William. These are actually thank you cards I got when I congratulated the young couple, first on their marriage, then on the birth of their babies, Prince George and Princess Charlotte. Look.”

      She extracted the cards. On the front was a beautiful full-color photograph, on the back words of thanks from the royal couple. “I thought you might like to display these here in the store, with your royalty memorabilia?”

      “That would be great. People love an authentic touch. I already have someone whose specialty is books, so if you want to do royalty stuff, the two really supplement each other.”

      She realized they were still at the door and stepped back to let Ms. Tennings in. “Please come in for a moment. It’s a bit chaotic with the renovations going on, so please don’t look at the mess.”

      “Thank you.” Ms. Tennings stepped in and looked around. “What a difference from the beauty parlor. I never liked those lilac beams.”

      “Well, I guess it did make the ceiling look higher.” Vicky looked up with a frown, then focused on Ms. Tennings again. “Why don’t you sit down there for a moment?” She pointed at one of the two leather armchairs. “Then you can tell me if they are as comfy as they look. They only came in yesterday.”

      Ms. Tennings sat down and studied the half-finished fireplace. She opened her purse and pulled something out. Mr. Pug came running over and sat down at her feet, gazing up at her with an eager look. Her large purse obviously struck him as an excellent place for some treat.

      But the item in Ms. Tennings’ hand was a folded newspaper. “I was late this morning, so I grabbed it along from the driveway as I left my home. I’m not sure if you had already seen this headline. Mortimer Gill died last night. They suspect foul play. Quite shocking. Especially as you knew him via his work here, right?”

      She handed the newspaper to Vicky. The splashing headline could have been read from a mile away. Local Falconer Murdered.

      Vicky’s heartbeat pounded in her ears. Would her name be mentioned? Or Michael’s? She was sure that if Michael had been able to influence the piece, he would have kept her out of it. But with him in jail somebody else had to have written this.

      Maybe the kid he had been showing the ropes, as he had put it the other day?

      Marge came to stand close to Vicky to read along, over her shoulder. The article told how two locals (no names given!) had gone to the house of local falconer Mortimer Gill and had found the man dead in his living room. He had been killed by a heavy blow with a blunt instrument. He had probably been dead for about an hour, two at the most.

      “See,” Marge said by her ear, “he was killed while he was making his dinner. That’s why his potatoes burned.”

      The article continued that the two who had discovered the body had been held by the police for questioning, but that neither of them was a suspect in the killing. The police had searched the house for clues, but refused to reveal if there had been anything found that could reveal the identity of the murderer. Like fingerprints, DNA or objects left behind.

      The article didn’t speculate at all on who had done it. It did end with the observation that the deceased had kept and trained predator birds and that there was a market for trained birds. But it wasn’t made known if any of his birds had gone missing.

      Vicky made a mental note to ask Cash about that when she went to the station later that day to discuss if Marge’s husband could care for the birds. Suppose the police had found tracks around the birdcages… Maybe not of a thief, but someone looking for the evidence Mortimer had hidden there?

      “Whoever wrote this concluded neither of you is a suspect,” Marge said with relief in her voice. “Maybe Michael Danning has been released also, and the whole accusation against him will blow over?”

      Ms. Tennings looked at them with surprise. “Neither of you a suspect? Does that mean Michael Danning and you are the two locals mentioned here who found Mortimer Gill’s body?”

      Vicky exhaled. Ms. Tennings caught on quick.

      Marge said, “Ms. Tennings here has a keen insight into people. I guess it comes from working with children all of her life. I think we should tell her what happened, so she can help us figure it out.”

      Vicky hesitated. The elderly lady had been living across the pond when Celine had disappeared so she had not been personally involved in that. And a psychological insight might be just what they needed. Marge seemed to trust the elderly lady for having helped her out with the boys.

      But could she just share what she knew with someone she had barely met?

      Ms. Tennings seemed to notice her reluctance and said, “I was in a position of trust with all the families where I served. I’ve never talked about the things I learned within the intimacy of their households. And when something serious is concerned like this murder case, I consider it my duty as a citizen of this town to try and help solve it. I’m well connected and might help you find out information you will otherwise have no access to.”

      Vicky glanced at Marge, who gave her an almost imperceptible nod. Apparently Ms. Tennings was good for her word.

      Vicky decided to take the plunge. After all, Michael was being held, perhaps even charged with the murder. They had little time to gather evidence that another had been involved to divert suspicions away from Michael. Right now every insight could provide an essential piece to the puzzle.

      Vicky gave Ms. Tennings a quick recap of events, including the find of the hundred-dollar bill, the note with the three phone numbers and the curious absence of Mortimer’s cell phone that might prove whom he had called last before he died.

      Ms. Tennings had pulled some knitting from her large bag and sat bent over the tiny baby blue sweater, her needles ticking away. She didn’t interrupt, but only hm-hmed and nodded. But it was clear from her intense listening expression that she took it all in and that her opinion on it developed like the knitting under her busy hands.

      Vicky concluded with her most recent discovery from having called the unknown first phone number off the list. “It was Deke Rowland’s, but I don’t see how he would be involved. At the time he was not dating Celine, but her twin sister СКАЧАТЬ