A Zestful Little Murder

by Beth Byers

  “Wait,” Mr. Russell demanded. “This is all wild guessing.”

  “Don’t you feel it in your bones, Papa?” Rita asked. She gestured to the chalkboard. “The situation was dire there, Father. You know it. I can see it in your eyes.”

  “I—”

  “You promised Dennis Brantley you’d look after his wife and daughter,” Rita told him, flatly. “You failed, Father.”

  Violet left the room, running up the stairs. She threw off her pajamas and kimono and added a simple dress, stockings, shoes, and a coat. Nothing else mattered. Rita could argue with her father about whether or not they were right about Mina Brantley. Maybe they weren’t. But the suspects were together and Vi’s adopted daughter had gone with the over-zealous Izzy Forman.

  Jack had added his coat and met her by the door. Ham was the only person still dressed and the three of them left together with Mr. Russell, who refused to stay. He put a coat over his pajamas and followed them to the auto.

  Jack drove while Violet fiddled with her wedding ring, feeling her heart beat too hard. She finally leaned over and breathed through her nose, pressing her face against her knees.

  “What’s wrong with her?” Mr. Russell asked.

  “Her adopted daughter is in danger,” Jack told Mr. Russell harshly. Jack placed a comforting hand on Violet’s spine, and she focused on the weight of it. The way it felt against her back. The warmth his hand provided. It was an anchor that drew her back to herself.

  Violet sat slowly up. “I don’t care about a confession.”

  “Agreed,” Jack said and Ham was a breath later.

  “I do,” Mr. Russell said.

  “Evidence can still be obtained, Philip.” Ham sounded as exasperated as Violet felt. “We’ll figure out what the murder weapon is, we’ll promise Mina we’ll protect Delilah from whoever has the money in hand next.”

  “Who would that be?” Vi demanded.

  Mr. Russell hmphed and then said, “Probably Josiah. It would be according to what Dennis wrote in the will.”

  “What is Josiah like?”

  “Quite different,” Mr. Russell said. “He’s a good man.”

  Violet leaned back and then she turned to face the back of the auto. “What kind of things did Mina do that had everyone labeling her a fool?”

  “Oh,” Mr. Russell seemed to snap from his own thoughts to the present. “Ah…well…she would go to parts of the city that were quite dangerous.”

  “To do what?”

  “She was rather friendly with the locals.”

  Violet shook her head, disgust flowing over her. “She was generous?”

  Mr. Russell nodded and then added, “Foolishly so.”

  Vi rubbed her brow and turned around so she didn’t have to hide the disgust on her face.

  Jack tangled their fingers together as Ham demanded, “She was generous and went to more alarming parts of the city? She was generous with the Indian people and for that reason her husband locked up the money?”

  “She’d have frittered it away. He worked hard for it, scraped it together, and she’d just hand it out to people. No thought for whether they were trying. No thought for how it was a leaky bucket that you could never fill.”

  Vi rubbed her hands over her face. “So Mina Brantley is really just too kind. She’s not an actual idiot.”

  “I don’t think I ever said she was mentally incapable. She leads with her heart and leaves her brain out of it.”

  Violet was squeezing Jack’s hand too hard, and she knew it. The only comfort to be found was in the furious flexing of Jack’s jaw and Ham’s low curse. The auto transitioned to silent until they reached the inn.

  “The girls are the priority,” Violet told Jack and Ham, ignoring Mr. Russell, so she didn’t wake the entire collection of staff and guests screeching like a fishwife.

  She crossed to the man behind the desk and said, “I need the room for Mina Brantley.”

  The fellow stared at her. “It is rather early.”

  “Give him money,” Vi told Jack since she’d left her own.

  “We’re not that kind of establishment.”

  “What do you think is going to happen?” Vi hissed. “I’m Lady Violet. It’s an emergency. Give us the room or I’ll screech until your guests are woken up.”

  “Or I could call the police,” the man said.

  “By all means,” Vi agreed. She started towards the stairs. “I’ll just scream for her.”

  “She’s out of hand,” Mr. Russell snapped.

  “It’s a matter of life and death,” Ham told the desk clerk. “Give us the floor right now and Lady Violet will make it right with your employer later.”

  “Three-oh-two,” he called just loud enough for Violet to hear.

  Vi darted up the steps with Jack on her heels. She grabbed the door handle and twisted. To her shock it opened. Vi stepped through the doorway and found Mina Brantley, holding her daughter and rocking her back and forth. Only a few feet away Izzy and Ginny were watching the mother and daughter. Both of them were weeping silently.

  Vi stared in shock. Izzy hadn’t come to find the killer and confront them. Or maybe she had, but it hadn’t been something that intended to throw the woman to the wolves. It had been an act of love. Violet stared and then surprised herself when she said, “I thought you had seen something.”

  Her gaze moved around the room and landed on the costumes the Brantley mother and daughter had worn to the fête. It all became clear in an instant, and in that moment, Vi decided upon a more dishonorable course of action, and she did it without an ounce of regret. She knew, also, that she was never going to regret what came next.

  Mina gasped, looking at Vi in horror. “I had to.”

  “Of course you did,” Violet said, hearing Mr. Russell gasp. “He was being so violent. He left bruises on you, didn’t he?”

  Mrs. Brantley nodded slowly, confusion crossing her face.

  “Ginny was so haunted,” Violet lied, looking back and meeting Jack’s gaze. “I knew she must have seen something.”

  “I—” Ginny started. Vi stared very hard at her adopted daughter until Ginny’s mouth closed.

  “He attacked you?” Violet asked Mina Brantley, giving her a chance.

  Mina nodded.

  Vi continued. “After a lifetime of abuse. Of being stolen from. Of being controlled and then he turned his attentions to your daughter? You must have been terrified for your life. And hers.”

  Mr. Russell shuffled, but when Vi’s gaze moved to him, she noticed Ham’s hand digging into his future father-in-law’s shoulder.

  “And then the man dared to physically assault you after trying to force your daughter to marry someone she hated. And with poor Izzy and Ginny right there. What could a mother do, but defend her cubs?”

  Mina met Vi’s gaze and her eyes widened. An offering of a future was being given back to her. Slowly, Mina’s gaze moved to her daughter and settled there for a long moment. What would Delilah do without her mother? Who would protect the young woman if not her mother? The guilt was replaced by a firmness. Her mother would. Her mother had, and her mother would continue to do so.

  “Was that how it happened?” Vi asked. “You were in fear of your life and he attacked you, and you struggled. In the madness, your hatpin from your costume to protect yourself and the girls?”

  Mina Brantley nodded.

  “Was that what happened, Ginny?”

  Ginny nodded. A moment later Izzy did as well.

  “We’ll get you a good solicitor,” Violet told Mina. “Until then, Rita and Ham will look after Delilah. A timely confession explaining the circumstances and the fears of a mother. You’ll be all right.”

  “I will be?” Mina’s tears were flowing again.

  Violet nodded and then Delilah and Izzy threw themselves into Mina’s arms. Despite everything weighing on her, Mina rocked her daughter, whispering assurances and then Vi turned to Mr. Russell.

  “You failed her once.”


  He stared at Violet in shock.

  “Don’t do it again.”

  Their gazes were locked, and Violet could see that Mr. Russell would never be her biggest fan after helping Mina. When he replied, however, he said, “I won’t.”

  Chapter 15

  “You did what?” Denny asked. His gleeful approval made Violet wince. The wide grin and bright eyes had her shivering.

  Violet glanced around the library where they had all gathered late in the morning after what felt like an already full day. Everyone in this room was someone she loved and trusted, except maybe Mr. Russell. And Smith. Vi’s gaze moved to him, and she started when she saw the look of pride on his face.

  “You told her what to say to get out of it.” Smith shook his head but that wicked grin gave her a growing horror. “With Ginny who seems to have no motive to lie and the suspect’s own daughter who refrained from saying anything. Brilliant.”

  “Are you all right, Vi?” Victor asked.

  She shook her head. No, she wasn’t. Maybe there had been a struggle between Mina and Benedict Brantley. Maybe Mina had lured him into that space. Violet wanted it to be self-defense because it absolved her from what she’d done, but she wasn’t sure that she believed it. Mina Brantley had known what she was doing. She’d weighed it out and she’d determined to save her daughter at the cost of Benedict Brantley’s life.

  It was just that the man had brought the situation on himself. And Mina Brantley? She wouldn’t have hurt a fly if the idiots in her life hadn’t bound her tighter and tighter until she felt as though her only option was something abhorrent.

  Violet's gaze moved to Mr. Russell. Speaking of the idiots, Vi asked, “Will Josiah Brantley be a problem?”

  Mr. Russell shook his head. “He’s hired the solicitor. He’s going to stay here with Delilah until Mina is freed. Then, I suggested a home by the sea and a generous allowance. He agreed. He also drove off his nephews before they could swoop in on poor Delilah.”

  Violet didn’t bother to ask if anyone had consulted the women. Did they want a home by the sea? Vi met Rita’s gaze and her friend nodded once. Rita was behind Vi. Their friendship would survive. At that, Vi turned to Jack, wrapping her arms around his waist. He hadn’t stopped her. He would have if he couldn’t live with the lie she’d created.

  “Vi—” Ginny’s voice had Violet flinching into Jack’s chest. Her adopted daughter was the one who mattered the most, and Vi had set up a lie for the girl to tell. “I love you.”

  Slowly Vi turned and met Ginny’s gaze. “I’m sorry.”

  Ginny reached out and took Vi’s hand. “I’ve known for a long time that life isn’t ideal. Mrs. Brantley isn’t going to hurt anyone else and we can leave her judgement to God.”

  Vi wished that were enough. She wished that in the coming days she’d be less haunted by what she’d done. She wished that she didn’t feel like she’d failed, but she also didn’t see another way.

  “Life is hard,” Violet told Ginny. “It seems to get harder and harder. Yet when I say that to you, of all people, I hate that I don’t just see all my blessings all the time.”

  Ginny tugged Violet from Jack and they hugged tightly. “I know life is hard. Mum, Dad, Gran. Being hungry. I know all about that.”

  “I just wish…” Vi stared at her adopted daughter. She was so close to being grown. Had Violet just failed her forever?

  “We have to do the best we can,” Ginny told Violet. “That’s what Gran said. We do the best we can. We be the best we can be. Gran told me it wasn’t always clear.”

  Vi felt a tear slipping down her face. How had she become so lucky?

  “It’s your fault,” Vi told Ginny seriously. “Who wouldn’t I kill to keep my girl safe? What crimes wouldn’t I commit? It doesn't matter that I didn’t have you from the beginning. It doesn’t matter that I’m not your birth mother. All that matters was that I understood Mina, and I think she made the right choice.”

  “I love you,” Ginny replied, crying with Vi. “Thank you for saving me. You saved me as clearly as Mina saved Delilah.”

  Vi didn’t answer. She wasn’t all right. Victor knew Vi well enough to see it in her face and hear it in her voice. Vi had identified with a murderer. She followed Mina’s thought process and could see all too easily doing the same thing. That wasn’t something Vi could just forget.

  But, despite feeling as though she’d nearly committed the murder herself, there wasn’t any regret in her heart for helping Mina. Did that make Vi a villain as well? It wasn’t a question Vi was ready to answer.

  “She’s not all right,” Victor said.

  “But she will be,” Jack vowed. “This isn’t on you alone, Vi. It’s on all of us. We all know, and we all agree. We all did the best we could with what we were given.”

  Vi leaned back.

  “I would have done the same,” Ham said to Vi. “And it wouldn’t have been the first time I looked away.”

  “Me as well,” Jack told Vi. “It’s not my first time either.”

  “Or mine,” Smith added. “I just didn’t lose sleep over it.” Vi met Smith’s gaze, and he laughed. “You are not me. If that’s what you’re worrying over, don’t.”

  Vi kept Ginny in her arm while she stepped back into the warmth of Jack.

  “You did the right thing, Vi,” Rita said. “You take too much on yourself. Any of us could end this and none of us will.”

  Vi took a deep breath in and as she let it out, she realized her shoulders were relaxing. “You don’t hate me?”

  “I don’t hate me,” Rita said evenly. “I hate that Mina was pushed so far and so hard. I hate that she didn’t find another way. I hate that we’ll never know for sure how much of it was self-defense and how much of it was murder, but I don’t hate the rest of it.”

  Vi didn’t let her mind return to taking back the full responsibility. Instead she let it go. “All right. I won’t hate me either.”

  “Not to be callous,” Denny said. “But does that mean we can move onto chocolate and sandwiches? Because I’m starving.”

  “Callous,” Lila said lazily. “As usual.”

  “And with that,” Victor told Violet, “we are back to normal.”

  The END

  Hullo friends! I am so grateful you dove in and read the latest Vi Mystery. If you wouldn’t mind, I would be so grateful for a review.

  The sequel to this book is available for preorder now.

  June 1926

  Violet and Jack are the matron of honor and best man at Rita and Ham’s wedding. Rita’s father is so excited, he’s bought the couple a country house near Vi’s and arranged a several day long celebration culminating in a wedding, wedding breakfast, and wedding ball.

  On the first day, there is a large picnic in the ruins near the house. One the second day, there is a snipe hunt and the winner receives a shocking prize. On the third day, the bright young winner falls dead in his soup. Who would kill the lively young man? And why?

  Order your copy here.

  The latest Poison Ink Book is also available.

  A new baby, an elopement, an unexpected visitor. Georgette Dorothy Aaron and her family of orphans knew it would be an exciting summer, but none of them expected to be drawn into yet another murder investigation.

  When they band together, however, surely they can accomplish anything.

  Order your copy here.

  Copyright © 2020 by Beth Byers, Amanda A. Allen

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

 

 

 
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