English Trifle

by Josi S. Kilpack

  She relived the entire conversation she’d had in the kitchen without remembering anything that she hadn’t already written down. If only Sadie had had a few more minutes with the woman. And not only for Sadie’s well-being; Mrs. Land had seemed so relieved to confide in Sadie. Imagine how much better she’d have felt if she’d had the chance to tell Sadie all her secrets. Sadie imagined the lightness that could have entered the woman’s countenance, how much more confident and comfortable she’d have felt if she’d been able to truly relieve herself of her burdens.

  Wait a minute—Mrs. Land had seemed more confident and comfortable during their final conversation. She had made eye contact and her voice had been stronger even though Grant was right there. Sadie had assumed that was because she was excited to see her son. But what was it she’d said?

  “Oh, good, you found your book. I asked Grant to make sure you got your book back.”

  Was Sadie imagining that Mrs. Land might have emphasized the word “sure” in that sentence?

  “I asked Grant to make sure you got your book back.”

  No, she had emphasized that word. She’d been trying to tell Sadie something that Grant wouldn’t pick up on.

  Mrs. Land had written something in the recipe book!

  Sadie hopped off the bed as fear gripped her heart. Had someone taken that book too? But a quick sprint for the bedside table assured her that no one felt her recipe book held any clues. She picked up the book, but it slipped out of her hands and fell to the ground, thanks to her eager fingers. She bent down and picked it up by the spine, righted it on the bed and began flipping through the pages, scanning the handwritten recipes in search of handwriting other than her own. When she reached the end and found nothing, she questioned herself. Was all the mystery going to her head? Had Mrs. Land really only been glad Sadie had got her book back?

  Sadie went back to the front of the book and turned page after page, slower this time as she looked for something, anything, that indicated Mrs. Land had used the recipe book to tell her what she hadn’t had time to say when Grant interrupted their conversation. Sadie reached the end of the book a second time and let out a breath. The adrenaline of the expected discovery was wearing off and Sadie once again felt like an idiot.

  She slammed the cover shut. “Ah, crickets,” she cursed. Well, at least Breanna hadn’t been a part of this one, she thought as she turned back toward the bed where she’d left the new clue notebook. She took a step, but her foot slid across the hardwood floor. A dry slide.

  Looking down she realized a piece of paper was under her shoe. Darned stupid piece of paper, she thought—more than willing to pin all her frustration on it for the moment. Where had it come from anyway?

  Then she paused.

  Could that darned stupid piece of paper have fallen out of the recipe book when she dropped it?

  She snatched up the paper, turning it over in her hand. The words made the breath catch in her throat. She read them twice to make sure she’d read them correctly.

  Please return the keys to the drawer next to the sink when you’ve learned what you need to learn. I’m sorry I can’t tell you what I know, but I need to make sure Rupert is safe. I can tell you this much though—Master Liam moved John Henry into the vegetable pantry.

  Chapter 34

  ~

  Sadie blinked at the paper and read it again. Mrs. Land had given her the keys.

  But the last part of the note quickly pushed everything else from her mind.

  Liam moved the body.

  The very idea made her ill. She grabbed the new notebook, put it in the waistband of her pants, stuffed the notes and letter in her pocket, and hurried out the door, texting Breanna as she hurried toward the east wing. Seconds later she unlocked the door to the earl’s sitting room and let herself in, quickly scanning the room. Breanna wasn’t here nor had she answered Sadie’s text. The room was empty, but still as beautiful as she remembered it from her two previous visits. For the smallest moment she felt a little disappointed that she and Breanna hadn’t had their own sitting room too. As her eyes took in the antique desk, silk draperies, and leather chairs, she noticed a door on the opposite side of the room from the door she knew led to the earl’s chamber. The room was organized in such a way that the door was behind a chair, and not easily accessed. She’d never noticed it before and immediately wondered if it was perhaps the countess’s bedroom Mrs. Kinsley had mentioned. All those Regency romances talked about separate bedrooms and such—would the two rooms, however, share a sitting room?

  Distracted by this new discovery, and since Breanna wasn’t there anyway, Sadie went to the door and tested the knob. It was locked—of course—and although she had the key, she took a few moments to argue with herself.

  Breanna’s not here, it would only take a minute.

  Liam could be a crazed murderer and Breanna could be with him in the other room.

  But he loves her.

  But he’s been lying all along.

  Basically it came down to curiosity vs. Breanna. It was still a hard choice to make, so she forced herself to review the note she’d found in Grant’s room, along with Mrs. Land’s note that said Liam had moved John Henry’s body. In the moment it took to visualize Liam wrenching the poker from the wall and catching the crumpling body of John Henry, Sadie made her decision and turned away, wriggling her hips due to the fact that the notebook tucked into her waistband wasn’t very comfortable.

  She went to the earl’s bedroom door and focused her thoughts before turning the knob. It was also locked—sheesh, you’d think Liam didn’t trust anyone at all! She only hesitated a moment before inserting the key, turning it in the lock, and pushing the door open. She saw the earl first and looked away, but only for a moment before her eyes went back to the bed. He was awake! Well, his eyes were open anyway, though he looked rather out of it.

  “Mr. Martin?” she asked, then caught herself. “I mean, uh, Earl Martin—or, uh, Lord Garnett or, uh—”

  “William.”

  She snapped her head to the side, having forgotten that she’d entered this room looking for someone. But it wasn’t Breanna she saw and Sadie froze as she faced Liam. He wasn’t alone. Another man Sadie had never seen before rose to his feet from behind a small desk by the window. Liam turned to him. “It’s okay, this is Breanna’s mother,” he said, passing her so he could shut the door. Then he turned back to Sadie. “How did you get in here?”

  Sadie casually put her hand behind her back, hiding the keys. She looked back at the earl to distract Liam from the question he’d asked. “Your father?” she asked. “He’s awake?”

  Liam and the other man shared a look. After a few more moments, Liam let out a breath. “Dr. Sawyer,” he said, waving toward the other man, “this is Sadie Hoffmiller. Sadie; Dr. Sawyer.”

  The doctor moved toward Sadie and put out his hand, which she shook while taking an appraising look at the man. He was quite attractive, with dark eyes and dark hair just beginning to go gray at the edges. Sadie had a sudden desire to go back in time and fix her hair, touch up her makeup, and lose fifteen pounds. Never mind that she had Detective Pete Cunningham back in Garrison. Pete who?

  “A pleasure to meet you,” Dr. Sawyer said in a voice so melodic with his accent that it sounded like a song. Sadie grinned for a few seconds before realizing he expected an answer.

  “Oh, yes,” Sadie said. “The pleasure is all mine.” They all paused for a moment, and then her reason for being there in the first place came rushing back and her admiration of a beautiful man was pushed to the back-burner almost as quickly as it had come. “Who are you again?”

  “Um, he’s my father’s doctor,” Liam said.

  Sadie looked at him, confused. “I thought Austin’s father was his doctor?”

  “Dr. Sawyer was Dad’s doctor before Austin’s father took over, and now he’s Dad’s doctor again.”

  “Okay,” Sadie said slowly, and yet she didn’t quite have a handle on it. She cocke
d her head to the side. “Huh?”

  Dr. Sawyer spoke. “I used to be the earl’s physician—I practice in London. Until today I hadn’t seen the earl for several months, and I didn’t know until yesterday about his supposed stroke.”

  Liam cut in. “When I arrived, John Henry seemed to be trying to keep me away from my father. I was up to my ears in accounts and other estate business, so I didn’t push too much, but during our tour of England I determined I wouldn’t be so easy to push around when we got back. John Henry and I had several arguments after my return. He didn’t want me staying with my father for more than fifteen minutes at a time and he wouldn’t let me read my father’s medical file. I spoke to Dr. Melcalfe once, and he simply agreed with John Henry on every count. Yesterday, I just lost it and told John Henry to get out. John Henry had told me that Dr. Sawyer agreed that Austin’s father would be better prepared to care for Dad due to his close connection to the family, but I wasn’t so sure. Basically, I wanted a second opinion in regards to the course of treatment for my father. I left a message with Dr. Sawyer’s office yesterday, hoping he could help me understand where to go from there.”

  “Okay,” Sadie said with a nod so that he would know she was keeping up.

  “Well, Dr. Sawyer called me back after dinner. He knew nothing about my father’s stroke or that he was receiving care from Dr. Melcalfe. As you can imagine, this worried me even more. Dr. Sawyer walked me through some assessments I could make in regards to my father’s condition. Turns out that my father doesn’t show any signs of having had a stroke at all.”

  Sadie’s eyebrows shot up. “What?” She looked at the earl again who had closed his eyes. “Then what’s wrong with him?”

  “We aren’t certain just yet,” Dr. Sawyer said, walking over to the bed and taking his stethoscope from around his neck and putting the earpieces in his ears. A blood pressure cuff was already attached to the earl’s arm. Dr. Sawyer took the bulb used to inflate the cuff in one hand and began pumping. “But we’re guessing that he’s been overmedicated—in a kind of drug-induced coma, if you will.”

  Sadie was shocked. “Really? But why?”

  “That part is still unclear,” Liam said, watching the doctor at his father’s bedside. “Dr. Sawyer arrived this morning—no one knows he’s here but you, me, and Breanna. That’s why I didn’t argue when Austin sent the inspectors back to the police station to finish the investigation. When you add this to the missing family Bible and Austin’s overall attitude—it makes everything going on at Southgate look very suspicious and I think it all comes back to the fact that my father is being kept in a vegetative state for some reason I can’t figure out.”

  “But why not tell the inspectors all this?” Sadie asked. The police had been here all morning and telling them would be the best way to ensure care for his father—right?

  Dr. Sawyer looked over his shoulder and raised one eyebrow, indicating that he was wondering the same thing. The blood pressure cuff hissed slightly as he turned his attention back to the gauge on the earl’s arm.

  Liam let out a breath. “It’s complicated,” he said. “Austin seems to have the police in his pocket and . . . well, I just want to make sure my father’s taken care of before I get them involved—just in case.”

  “Things will become even more complicated if we don’t get your father to a hospital,” Dr. Sawyer said. He released all the air out of the cuff and took the stethoscope out of his ears. He even moved nicely, Sadie noticed as the doctor continued speaking. “I need to find out what he’s been taking if I’m to give him the proper care without making his condition worse. I’ve reduced the flow rate on the IV as much as I dare and his blood pressure is rising. I need a full line of tests and the equipment necessary to properly monitor him while we figure out what’s been going on. I need another IV bag.”

  Liam scowled and went to the armoire. He opened the door, revealing shelves of medical supplies, including several bags of IV fluid. “There’s something in these bags that isn’t on the labels,” Liam explained to Sadie as he pulled one off the shelf. “I believe Austin and some of the staff are involved too—John Henry couldn’t have done this all by himself.”

  “That’s it!” Sadie said, putting a few pieces together. “That’s the conspiracy—that’s what Mrs. Land was in on and what had Austin acting so strange.”

  Liam suddenly looked nervous, instantly reminding Sadie of the note Mrs. Land had left her. There was more going on than the conspiracy against his father and his mystery illness. Sadie considered that Liam’s own secrets were probably the real reason he hadn’t talked to the inspectors about his suspicions—he knew he’d be implicated in John Henry’s murder if they knew the whole story. Would he really come clean once he knew his father was safe? With so many secrets going around, it was hard to say.

  She took a step back, looking at Dr. Sawyer and then at the earl—at least they lent credibility to Liam’s story. This part of it anyway. “Where’s Breanna?”

  Liam didn’t meet her eyes; he handed the IV to the doctor and then shoved his hands into his pockets. “She went down to get something for us to eat—neither Dr. Sawyer nor myself has had anything to eat since Dr. Sawyer arrived this morning. Austin dismissed the security personnel, and then said he had to take care of some things in Exeter. I’ve told Grant to have the staff ready to leave as soon as possible as well—I want the house cleared before I call an ambulance, hopefully before Austin returns.”

  Sadie noted that she would have a hard time getting Manny his macaroons now that the security team had been dismissed, but she didn’t allow herself to dwell on it right now.

  Dr. Sawyer was shaking his head. “He needs medical intervention, now,” he said again. “Your staff is the least of my concerns.”

  “Wait—Dr. Sawyer arrived this morning?” Sadie asked, looking back to the doctor who was writing down some notes in a small notebook. She’d been in the kitchen all morning, and staff had been everywhere once she was let out of the cooler—how did they get the doctor up here without anyone knowing about it? “What time did you arrive, Dr. Sawyer?” She refused to look at Liam, but felt him tense at her question.

  “A little after six-thirty a.m.,” Dr. Sawyer said, fiddling with the IV line as he hung the new bag. “I was on call until midnight and unable to leave London before then.”

  Sadie gasped slightly as her eyes slowly moved back to Liam, who was staring at the floor, his hands still pushed into his pockets. She looked back to the doctor. “How did you get past security?”

  Dr. Sawyer looked at Liam. “I didn’t see any security,” he said. “But we came through the kitchen. Perhaps security was elsewhere.”

  Dr. Sawyer had come through the kitchen during the exact time Sadie had been locked in the cooler. Her heart sank as she turned her eyes, once more, to the man her daughter had fallen in love with.

  “Liam,” she said in a low whisper as her heart continued its slow descent. What kind of man does a thing like that? He’d not only moved the body, but he’d removed the poker from John Henry’s chest, and then locked her in the cooler with the body? She didn’t even know how to verbalize the shock and disappointment and fear she felt as the realization seeped through her skin and began swimming through her veins. She took a step back, watching the understanding blossom into Liam’s eyes as well—he knew what she was putting together. They turned fearful and somewhat desperate. She was suddenly glad not to be alone with him right now.

  “It’s not what you think,” he said slowly, taking a step toward her, which caused her to take another step away from him. “It wasn’t supposed to happen like that.”

  “Lord Martin,” Dr. Sawyer interrupted, “if you don’t call an ambulance, I will have no choice but to do so in your place. Your father is in need of serious medical intervention—decreasing the rate of his medication can have serious complications. Time is of the essence.”

  A knock caused all of them to look at the bedroom door. Liam hurried toward
it, leaving Sadie to stay where she was, though she pivoted to keep him in sight.

  “Who is it?” he asked.

  “It’s me,” Breanna’s muted voice said from the other side. Liam opened the door and Breanna came in holding a tray. She smiled at Liam as she entered the room, but when she saw Sadie she stopped mid-stride, stumbling slightly. Liam put a hand out to keep her from falling. Sadie tried to ignore the smell of sausage and pastry coming from the tray Breanna held, but even though Sadie had eaten just a couple hours ago, she was suddenly famished. Good food does that to a person—convinces them they’re hungry when they have no reason to eat.

  “She knows,” he said softly. Breanna looked at him with a questioning expression.

  “How much?” she whispered back as if Sadie couldn’t hear every word.

  Liam shrugged apologetically. Breanna looked back at Sadie with guilt and fear in her eyes. Sadie put her hands on her hips and cocked her head to the side as if to say, “Explain your way out of this one, young lady.”

  Before they had a chance to talk, however, Liam asked Breanna a question. “The staff, are they gone yet?”

  Breanna shook her head. “Mrs. Kinsley said some of them were already gone, but I know she and Grant are still here. Her daughter brought in a lot of food and Mrs. Kinsley was finishing up these sausage rolls when I got there.” She dared a glance at Sadie, perhaps to see if her mother’s steely look was softening. It wasn’t, so she looked back to Liam. “She was working on some soup we can heat up for dinner tonight. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s gone in another half an hour.”

  “And Austin?” Liam asked, setting the tray on the dresser top and setting out the plates so he could dish up lunch. “Is he back?”