Finished Off (A Bellehaven House Mystery Book 2) (19 page)

Staring out the window at the wheat fields flowing past, she thought about her short conversation with Sophie Clark. There was only one thing left to do.

Somehow she had to get her hands on those bank
records and find out if Howard Clark had a stronger motive than jealousy to kill his manager. If so, she would take the evidence to the inspector herself, and put the entire matter into his hands.

Chapter 14

On the ride home Meredith's head hurt with trying
to work out the problem of how she would gain access to the bank records. She would have to enlist the help of her friends, that much was certain.

Arriving back at the school, she was relieved to find both Essie and Felicity in the teacher's lounge, with no sign of Sylvia Montrose.

Felicity gave her an account of the class she'd taken for her. "Your students were remarkably well behaved," she told Meredith as she settled herself on her chair. "You should be commended. They seem to have an avid interest in painting, even if the results do leave much to be desired."

Meredith sighed. "Just once I would love to have a truly talented painter in my class. Some of these girls should never be let loose with a paintbrush in their hand. Their efforts make me shudder. It is so frustrating to spend so much time teaching them how to paint when I know full well they'll never touch a paintbrush again once they leave Bellehaven."

Essie murmured a protest. "You're teaching them far
more than how to paint, Meredith dear. You're teaching them to appreciate the beauty of nature, to enjoy the magical effects of light and shade, to observe the tiny details that make up everyday objects that the untrained eye misses. Their world will be brighter, more colorful, and far more informative because of your efforts."

Felicity sniffed. "They'll be lucky if they have time to notice any of those things. They'll be too busy giving dinner parties, entertaining guests, ordering servants about, and hiring nannies and tutors for their children, not to mention time wasted rolling around in bed servicing their husbands."

Essie shrieked and threw her hands over her face.

Meredith shook her head. "Felicity Cross, for heaven's sake. You have not one jot of decorum in your entire being."

Felicity grinned. "Too bad Miss Snot isn't here. She'd have something else with which to go running to Hamilton. If she dare repeat to his face what I said."

Meredith preferred not to think of Stuart Hamilton in the context of Felicity's earlier comment. "Well, I'm relieved she isn't here. I have a favor to ask of you both, and it's not something I can allow anyone else to hear."

Essie's eyebrows twitched in nervous anticipation, while Felicity regarded her with only mild curiosity. "I suppose this has to do with your ghost," she said, sounding resigned.

"Actually it has a lot more to do with the fire at the Lewis home."

Now Felicity looked alarmed. "You're not asking us to go into that house, I hope?"

Essie uttered a tiny squeak, and Meredith shook her head. "No, no, of course not." She related her conversations with Desmond White and Sophie Clark.

"My," Felicity said when she was finished, "you have been busy. You really think this Howard Clark person might have killed the Lewis family?"

"I think it's possible." Meredith sighed. "I also think it's
possible that Will Barnard might have set fire to the house on orders from his aunt. I just don't know how to prove anything."

"Simple." Felicity beamed at Essie. "We just send our beautiful young maiden here to charm Mr. Barnard into confessing his crime. One look into her eyes and he'll be babbling like a fool."

Essie tossed her head, ruffling the golden curls on her forehead. "Oh, really, Felicity. You can be quite insufferable at times."

"Oh, bosh, Essie. I was only teasing."

"Well, thank goodness." Essie pouted. "You know I have no stomach for entertaining a suspected murderer."

Meredith stared at her. "You know, Essie, Felicity may well be right. If anyone could get the truth out of Will Barnard, it would be you."

Essie gasped in horror, while Felicity laughed out loud. "And how, pray, will you manage to get him to confess to a murder?"

"I'm not expecting him to confess. I do want to know, however, how he knew about those horses on George Lewis's fireplace."

"Perhaps he saw a picture of them somewhere." Felicity reached for her book.

"Perhaps."

"In any case, how could you arrange a meeting between him and Essie?"

"No." Essie shook her head so violently her curls bounced on her forehead. "Absolutely not. I refuse. I simply couldn't." She glanced at Meredith. "Oh, please don't look at me like that. You know how I hate saying no to you."

"Then say yes." Meredith reached for her hand. "We will pay Mrs. Pettigrew another visit, asking for her help with the Christmas pageant. While we are there, you can engage Will Barnard in conversation, and ask him certain questions. Felicity and I would be close by, so you would not be compromised in any way."

Essie still looked doubtful. "What sort of questions?"

"That's something we will have to work out." Meredith turned to Felicity. "Can we count on you to help?"

"Well, of course." Felicity looked at both of them in turn. "I'm game for anything that gets the better of a man."

"Then it's settled." Meredith hesitated. "There is, however, something else with which I'll need your help."

Felicity groaned. "Don't tell me. You want Essie to charm a confession out of Howard Clark."

Essie shuddered. "Please, Meredith. The man sounds positively evil."

"It's all right, Essie. Howard Clark will be on a train returning from London tomorrow." Quickly she told them her idea.

Essie still looked as if she would run from the room, but Felicity applauded with gusto. "Now that's what I call an exciting morning."

"We'll make both visits tomorrow morning," Meredith told them. "We'll call on Mrs. Pettigrew, then go to the bank. Depending on what we find out, we might possibly pay a visit to Inspector Dawson in Witcheston, in the hopes that he will be able to take the matter into his own hands."

"The bank closes early on a Saturday," Essie reminded her.

Meredith nodded. "It also opens late, which is why we must go to the Sandalwood Estate first. You will have to be as swift as possible, Essie, if you are to learn anything from Mr. Barnard."

Essie's frown grew more intense.

"There's just one problem as I see it," Felicity said. "How do we explain our absence to Miss Snot?"

"I've thought about that." Meredith leaned back in her chair. "You will be accompanying me into Witcheston to decide what we shall need to purchase for the Christmas pageant. It will take us some time to compare prices, et cetera. Meanwhile, we shall need a responsible adult to take charge here and see that the students are either sensibly occupied or have permission to go into the village. I'm
quite sure Sylvia will be amenable to taking on the role of supervisor."

"Excellent. You've thought of everything." Felicity rubbed her hands together. "I'm rather looking forward to this adventure. It will be fun to go into Witcheston. It's been ages since I was there."

"Well, it's time we made our way to the dining hall." Meredith gestured at the clock on the mantelpiece. "Supper is early tonight, since we have to be at the village hall by seven o'clock for the recital."

Essie jumped to her feet. "I must say, I'm looking forward to the recital tonight much more than our ventures tomorrow. What if something goes wrong? We will be in terrible trouble."

"Nothing will go wrong," Meredith promised her, sounding far more confident than she felt. "As long as we all keep precisely to our roles, we should have no problems at all."

All through the recital that evening she kept reassuring herself of that. For Essie was quite right. If all did not go as planned, they could be in deep trouble, indeed.

The recital was a resounding success, judging from the applause that kept the students on the stage for quite a while before they could finally make their exit.

By the time the entire student body had been rounded up and shepherded safely back to the school, Meredith was quite exhausted.

Upon lying down on her bed, she fell into a deep sleep almost immediately. She awoke sometime later, too drowsy to realize at first that the room had grown unnaturally cold.

Once the chill penetrated, however, she was instantly awake and shot upright, scanning the room for the green cloud. All she could see was a faint shadow moving in the corner, which could be a trick of the moonlight filtering through the gap in the curtains.

Quickly she found the lamp and lit it. Holding it above her head, she said softly, "Emma? Is that you?"

The shadow moved, and began to form into a cloud. Holding her breath, Meredith waited for the familiar face to appear. For an instant she saw it, just a pale shape, too indistinct to make out the features.

Part of the shadow moved—a hand wafting weakly in the air.

Meredith spoke again in a louder whisper. "Emma? What can you tell me?"

Even before she had finished speaking, the cloud seemed to fold up into itself and then it disappeared.

Meredith stared at the empty corner in dismay. Time was running out for her to help Emma. She was certain of that now. She had to find the answers, and soon.

She woke up in a fever of impatience the next morning, and hurried down to the dining hall to meet Essie and Felicity for breakfast.

Essie looked pale, and sat without speaking while the students chattered all around her.

Meredith noticed several of the girls sending worried glances in their beloved teacher's direction. Being the closest in age to the students of Bellehaven, normally Essie would be joining in the conversation, talking and laughing along with everyone else.

Felicity, on the other hand, seemed vibrant and in excellent spirits. Now and then Meredith heard a burst of laughter from the students at her table, no doubt in response to one of Felicity's irreverent jokes.

Sylvia Montrose, at the fourth table, was holding forth on what appeared to be a serious discussion that was obviously boring to the unlucky young women forced to listen to her.

Meredith smiled. Sylvia would enjoy her morning taking charge of everyone. She had expressed her pleased surprise when Meredith had informed her the night before, and had hastened to assure Meredith that she was quite capable of handling the duties.

As for herself, Meredith felt as if she sat on pins and needles, waiting for the moment when she could dismiss
everyone. Reggie had been told to bring the carriage around to the front door precisely at nine, and it was almost that now.

There were still one or two girls who had not yet finished their meal, and three more who sat talking while their tea grew cold.

Deciding she could wait no longer, Meredith made her announcement. Rising to her feet, she tapped her saucer loudly with her spoon. She had to wait several moments for the chatter to die down, but at last she had their attention.

"Miss Cross, Miss Pickard, and myself have errands to run in Withcheston this morning," she said as a sea of faces turned expectantly in her direction. "While we are gone, Miss Montrose will be in charge."

A few faint groans answered her announcement, and were immediately hushed up by the other students. Ignoring them, Meredith continued, "Those of you who wish to go into the village will ask Miss Montrose for permission, while the rest of you will continue your usual weekend activities under her guidance."

At her signal, the students rose, muttering and murmuring as they filed out of the hall. Meredith, joined by Essie and Felicity, followed them, with Sylvia bringing up the rear.

"I still can't understand why it should take three of you to decide on purchases for the pageant," she complained as they entered the hallway. "Surely that is something you could manage by yourself, Meredith?"

Noting Sylvia's worried frown, Meredith wondered if she might be having second thoughts about being in charge. "We have a budget," she told her. "We have to hunt down the best prices possible from what is offered, and that takes time. With three of us, we can cover the whole town in one morning and be back here this afternoon."

"Well, I suppose . . . " Sylvia's voice trailed off.

Felicity gave her a sharp glance. "If you're not able to take charge of the students, Miss Montrose, I'll be happy to change places with you."

Meredith's breath froze for a moment, then puffed out
when Sylvia's chin lifted. "Of course I'm able, Miss Cross. Able and willing, in fact."

"Well, good." Felicity strode off, throwing over her shoulder, "Just don't let the little darlings take advantage of you, that's all."

Sylvia shot Meredith a worried look. "What exactly did she mean by that?"

Inwardly cursing Felicity's devilish tongue, Meredith said quickly, "Nothing at all, Sylvia. Everything will be quite all right, I'm sure of it."

"Of course it will." Still looking as if she expected the sky to fall on her any moment, Sylvia hurried off down the hallway.

Meredith suppressed a stab of guilt as she hurried after Felicity. Sylvia had to learn to take responsibility sooner or later, and weekends were usually fairly mundane. Felicity was right. After all, what could possibly go amiss that an educated, industrious young woman couldn't handle?

Reggie seemed delighted to be once again taking a trip to Witcheston, though Major had a hard time of it with two more passengers to pull.

Ever conscious of the time slipping away, Meredith grew impatient with the elderly horse's plodding gait, but there was little she could do except pray they had time to visit the bank before it closed.

She couldn't escape the worry that her contact with Emma would be broken before she could bring her family's killer to justice. Everything rested on what she could achieve that morning, and time was of the essence.

Arriving at the Sandalwood Estate, both Felicity and Essie remarked on the grandeur of the house and surrounding grounds. The sprawling Georgian mansion, with its magnificent red brick portico and tiered lawns, was indeed a sight to behold. Driving past ornate ponds with gushing fountains, Essie exclaimed in delight, forgetting her anxiety in the pleasure of viewing such lush surroundings.