Dead in the Water (Olivia Grant Mysteries Book 1) Read Online Free Page B
Author: Phyllis A. Humphrey
there. I might never inherit any of the Mason fortune, no matter what Inspector Kincaid thought. Frankly, if it happened, I decided I could adjust to being called "heiress" in the tabloids. Yet it didn't matter. I didn't need it, since my divorce resulted in a settlement guaranteed to keep me in designer shoes for some time.
Aunt Alice's voice brought me back to the current family problem, a dead body in the lily pond and a detective in the dining room. "Do tell us what the inspector asked you."
I obliged. "Probably the same things he asked you. Who I am and how I happened to find the body." I didn't chide her for having revealed the contents of Edward's will. Kincaid could be intimidating and probably they already knew those things or had ways to find out. "And not to go near the lily pond or to leave town," I added.
"Not go near the lily pond?" Aunt Beryl asked. "Not leave town? Whyever would he say that?"
"They do when they believe someone has been murdered," Elizabeth answered.
"Noreen wasn't murdered," Beryl insisted.
I heard Chaz's voice from behind me. "I shouldn't be surprised at all if someone's gone and murdered the—witch."
The pause before he said "witch" made Elizabeth's eyebrows rise. She took a sandwich and came over to sit next to me. She didn't look at him, but her tone could have frozen boiling water.
"If I recall correctly, you didn't have such a low opinion of her in the not-too-distant past."
"Right you are," he answered, not denying it, and I wondered if Elizabeth could be hinting at some relationship between Chaz and Noreen. Call me a victim of Hollywood stereotypes, but when a younger woman marries an elderly man, it isn't beyond the realm of possibility she'd find a substitute in the sex department. Besides, Chaz was nothing if not sexy.
William, whom I'd already guessed had difficulty hearing, spoke as if he hadn't heard Elizabeth's last remark. "I say, I'm afraid Noreen wasn't much liked. It's possible someone might have murdered her."
From what I'd already learned, I presumed Noreen's habits could provoke aggression in the Mona Lisa.
"We know she was disliked," Beryl said, "but surely she couldn't have been killed by anyone she knew. If she was murdered, it must have been by a stranger, perhaps whilst walking her dog. These days it's dangerous for a woman to go out of doors alone."
Elizabeth scoffed. "A prowler on the grounds? That makes no sense. The lily pond is rather far from a public thoroughfare."
She exaggerated. Although I'm not good at estimating distances, or anything pertaining to geography, the pond couldn't have been more than a football field away from the road.
Still, the whole idea of a prowler killing Noreen seemed absurd to me too. I couldn't make myself believe a stranger saw Noreen walking her dog and casually decided to bump her off.
"Why would a stranger come onto the property and kill someone for no reason? A burglar might try to enter the house to steal valuables, but he'd avoid people."
Elizabeth sounded annoyed. "There was no burglar. No one killed Noreen. She killed herself accidentally. It's the only logical explanation."
"Maybe." Chaz got up and headed for the door. "If the inspector wants me, I'll be in my studio." He glanced around the room before leaving as if daring anyone to forbid his exit. No one did.
I turned to Elizabeth. "Chaz has a studio in the house? An art studio?"
"It's on the third floor. He plays with a band, and he had one room soundproofed so he could practice his music." She said the last word as if it described a strain of anthrax.
After a short silence, while we all continued to eat our lunch, William spoke up loudly. "I say, I shouldn't have minded doing her in myself, but I'm too old for that sort of thing."
"William!" Beryl's voice rose to a "shocked" level. "You mustn't say such things. Someone might take you seriously. I hope you don't plan to say that to the inspector."
"If I were speaking under oath, I should certainly
Aunt Alice's voice brought me back to the current family problem, a dead body in the lily pond and a detective in the dining room. "Do tell us what the inspector asked you."
I obliged. "Probably the same things he asked you. Who I am and how I happened to find the body." I didn't chide her for having revealed the contents of Edward's will. Kincaid could be intimidating and probably they already knew those things or had ways to find out. "And not to go near the lily pond or to leave town," I added.
"Not go near the lily pond?" Aunt Beryl asked. "Not leave town? Whyever would he say that?"
"They do when they believe someone has been murdered," Elizabeth answered.
"Noreen wasn't murdered," Beryl insisted.
I heard Chaz's voice from behind me. "I shouldn't be surprised at all if someone's gone and murdered the—witch."
The pause before he said "witch" made Elizabeth's eyebrows rise. She took a sandwich and came over to sit next to me. She didn't look at him, but her tone could have frozen boiling water.
"If I recall correctly, you didn't have such a low opinion of her in the not-too-distant past."
"Right you are," he answered, not denying it, and I wondered if Elizabeth could be hinting at some relationship between Chaz and Noreen. Call me a victim of Hollywood stereotypes, but when a younger woman marries an elderly man, it isn't beyond the realm of possibility she'd find a substitute in the sex department. Besides, Chaz was nothing if not sexy.
William, whom I'd already guessed had difficulty hearing, spoke as if he hadn't heard Elizabeth's last remark. "I say, I'm afraid Noreen wasn't much liked. It's possible someone might have murdered her."
From what I'd already learned, I presumed Noreen's habits could provoke aggression in the Mona Lisa.
"We know she was disliked," Beryl said, "but surely she couldn't have been killed by anyone she knew. If she was murdered, it must have been by a stranger, perhaps whilst walking her dog. These days it's dangerous for a woman to go out of doors alone."
Elizabeth scoffed. "A prowler on the grounds? That makes no sense. The lily pond is rather far from a public thoroughfare."
She exaggerated. Although I'm not good at estimating distances, or anything pertaining to geography, the pond couldn't have been more than a football field away from the road.
Still, the whole idea of a prowler killing Noreen seemed absurd to me too. I couldn't make myself believe a stranger saw Noreen walking her dog and casually decided to bump her off.
"Why would a stranger come onto the property and kill someone for no reason? A burglar might try to enter the house to steal valuables, but he'd avoid people."
Elizabeth sounded annoyed. "There was no burglar. No one killed Noreen. She killed herself accidentally. It's the only logical explanation."
"Maybe." Chaz got up and headed for the door. "If the inspector wants me, I'll be in my studio." He glanced around the room before leaving as if daring anyone to forbid his exit. No one did.
I turned to Elizabeth. "Chaz has a studio in the house? An art studio?"
"It's on the third floor. He plays with a band, and he had one room soundproofed so he could practice his music." She said the last word as if it described a strain of anthrax.
After a short silence, while we all continued to eat our lunch, William spoke up loudly. "I say, I shouldn't have minded doing her in myself, but I'm too old for that sort of thing."
"William!" Beryl's voice rose to a "shocked" level. "You mustn't say such things. Someone might take you seriously. I hope you don't plan to say that to the inspector."
"If I were speaking under oath, I should certainly
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