Read Online Lucy and the Valentine Verdict by Rae Davies - Free Book Online

brought me to Montana. I didn’t feel the need to share that
much about me though. So, I made some polite noises about wanting
to experience something different and took a bite of quiche.
    “And your business in Helena, is it doing
well?”
    “Well, enough.” Again, I couldn’t see how
this was any of her business or why she would care.
    “But a young woman alone, building a
business... it has to be tough. I’m sure you’re always looking
for... financial stability.”
    Financial stability was not something I
could claim for longer than maybe two weeks at a time, but now I
could see where this was going.
    “I did not steal your watch. I’m dating a
police detective! You don’t think he would notice if it turned up
in my shop?” My outrage was enough that I would have stood, but my
butt seemed to have sunk a bit too far into the cushions. I
struggled like a flailing trout until finally giving up and falling
back onto the seat.
    Her eyes narrowed in an apprising manner.
“This isn’t about the watch.”
    I didn’t know what else it could be about,
but I didn’t have a chance to find out. From somewhere in the house
a bell tolled.
    Lady York gave me one last laser-sharp stare
and then snapped back into character. “Sir Arthur,” she called. “I
do believe it is time for our party to resume.”
    As everyone moved back into the living room,
Lady York handed out a new stack of envelopes. Mine contained one
note. You are not the killer.
    Well, that was a relief. I slipped the note
back into the envelope and looked around to see if I could catch
any telling expressions on anyone else’s face. What I noticed was
that everyone else had a lot more to read than I did.
    Mr. Blore, still standing behind the bar,
pulled something from his pocket and mopped at his face.
    I frowned. Was that a...
    Sir Arthur stepped into the center of the
room. “Mr. Blore, is that a stocking that you have?”
    Mr. Blore looked down and blinked as if
surprised to find the piece of hosiery in his hand.
    Dr. Armstrong strode forward and jerked it
away. “It’s monogrammed!” he announced.
    Mrs. Peabody wandered back into the room.
Standing hidden from view, she made circular motions around her
ears.
    She was right. This production was bordering
on insane.
    “Monogrammed?” Miss Claythorne asked. “With
what?”
    The good doctor held the stocking up as if
peering at some delicate stitchery. “An A and a P.”
    “Mrs. Peabody’s!”
    More than one person said the last. It
seemed to be a bit of a universal line.
    Emily Brent, who had thought to bring her
Bible prop with her, took Sir Arthur’s place. “But... I saw...” Her
eyes darted around, finally resting on the doctor.
    “What, Ms. Brent? What did you see?”
    She looked around again, as if whatever
secret she held was so heavy she risked all by revealing it. “Lady
York, leaving Mr. Blore’s chambers. It was dark, after midnight and
she was wearing a nightgown.”
    The group sucked in a breath and swiveled to
stare down our hostess.
    Mrs. Peabody plopped down onto the seat next
to me and handed me a mimosa. Kind of liking the way this was
going, I forgot my concerns with dogs and their hair and took a
drink.
    I pulled out my notebook and wrote, Mr.
Blore sleeping with Lady York and Mrs. Peabody. Could Lady York
have killed her out of jealousy? Or maybe Mrs. Peabody threatened
to reveal the affair to Sir Arthur?
    Below that I scribbled, Means?
    Mrs. Peabody was poisoned, but there had
been no mention of Lady York having access or knowledge of
poison.
    I tapped my pen against the notebook and
waited for the next clue to reveal itself.
    Miss Claythorne spun and pointed to the
table where the vase full of flowers from the night before had been
moved. “And she had poison. Those flowers!”
    Ah... of course.
    Lady York gestured to the vase. “Those
flowers? They are just something I picked from my garden.”
    “Monkshood, you mean. One of the most toxic
plants known to