Mrs Lillywhite Investigates Box Set
Page 46
“Yes, Anna, it is,” Rosemary agreed.
Chapter 24
Inspector Boothe and his team had arrived minutes later and promptly arrested Margaret. The murder weapon having been found in her cabin shortly thereafter effectively sealed her fate. Walter argued his innocence to anyone who would listen. Still in charge, Gloria promptly relieved him of his position even though Boothe declined to bring charges against him.
Now, two days later, Rosemary and her friends sat around one of the tables in the lounge and prepared for their departure from Cyprus. None amongst them desired to finish out their stay at The Aphrodite, particularly Anna, who had opted to have breakfast sent to the suite rather than face being pelted with questions by curious guests.
Richard Wright hunched in a chair to their left, and though he’d nodded once in Rosemary’s direction, he’d been uncharacteristically quiet since Margaret’s arrest.
“It looks like Benjamin and Geneviève had the same idea we did,” Rosemary commented as she watched Benny wheel their luggage out of the lobby to a bus waiting at the curb. They still appeared besotted with one another, and Rose merely shook her head at the thought of what their future might hold. “And good riddance.”
“You never know, Rosie,” Vera said, turning her attention away from Frederick. “They might spend the rest of their lives together, happy as clams.”
Her opinion raised both of Rosemary’s eyebrows. “Since when did you become an optimist?” she quipped, her gaze darting from Vera to Frederick.
“Recently, I suppose,” she winked at her friend and elbowed Freddie in the ribs.
“I give it a month, tops,” he said with a snort, earning himself a narrow-eyed glare followed by a kiss that demanded the rest of the group avert their eyes.
At least Rosemary only had to concern herself with her own love life now, though the thought of confronting that situation made her stomach churn. “I wonder what Boothe is doing here,” she said, her attention, for the moment, having been captured by the sight of the inspector escorting a balding man in a natty suit across the lobby.
He approached Benny, and after a brief conversation, the two went into the hotel office and shut the door behind them.
“He’s probably tying up loose ends,” Max explained. “I think he’s still mildly irritated that you solved the case before he could.”
“I can’t take the credit for this one,” Rosemary said. Nor did she want to. “I was certain Mr. Wright was the murderer, and then nearly as certain of both Gloria and Walter. Benny is the one entitled to the glory. If he hadn’t been there, and if you three hadn’t arrived…well, I don’t know what might have happened.”
“Sometimes, Rose, it’s not about the glory,” Max replied. “Sometimes it’s about legwork. You can’t speak as to what would have become of Anna had she been left alone with Walter and Margaret. You probably saved her life. Let’s call it a group effort.”
When, sometime later, Benny emerged from the office behind Inspector Boothe, he wore a smile that contrasted starkly with his red-rimmed, watery eyes. Both of them approached the table where Rosemary and her friends were finishing up breakfast.
“I wanted you to be the first to know,” Benny said, shifting from one foot to the other, barely able to contain his emotions, “that I’m the new owner of The Aphrodite.” He let the revelation sink in, as much for himself as anyone else.
Inspector Boothe introduced his companion, who turned out to be the executor of Cecily’s will. At Benny’s insistence, Mr. Cardington-Vale revealed the reason he had come all the way to Cyprus.
Cecily DeVant had a son. A baby she’d named Ben. A baby born out of wedlock and raised by a married but childless friend. Benny knew the woman who raised him hadn’t been his real mother, but he’d had no idea the woman he’d known as Aunt Cecily was blood to him.
“That has to be the saddest thing I’ve ever heard of,” Vera said, a tear threatening to form in the corner of her eye. This time, it had nothing to do with her bout of the sniffles, and everything to do with her soft heart.
“Not for me, Miss,” Benny said softly. “I thought my mother had died long ago. I’d made peace with the fact that I’d never see her or know her. But I did get to know her. She left me a whole box of letters along with her share of the hotel. The Aphrodite is mine now.”
Mr. Cardington-Vale would stay on for a few months to help Benny come to terms with his new life. When Richard Wright heard the news, he packed his bags in record time and pressed Inspector Boothe into offering him a lift. He seemed anxious to shake himself loose from the Aphrodite as quickly as possible.
Satisfied he’d done his duty by all concerned, Boothe gave Rosemary one long look and then turned on his heel. The last she heard from him was a low-voiced, and not especially complimentary, comment about lady detectives.
The End
Connect with Me
The easiest way is to join my reader’s club here to get news, updates, and new release alerts whenever a new book comes out.
If you aren’t a fan of email, then you can also follow me on Bookbub and they will let you know when I’ve released a new book.
You can also visit my website.
Or find me on Facebook.
Or even on Amazon.
Other Books by Emily Queen
Books in the Mrs. Lillywhite Investigates series:
Book 1: The Case at Barton Manor
Book 2: The Murder Next Door
Book 3: Death on the Isle of Love
Book 4: A Body Among the Roses