by Beth Byers
“What do you want from me?” Jack demanded.
“I want you to investigate with the assumption that Victor and I could be right.”
“Do you love him?”
“Yes,” Violet said.
Jack’s jaw clenched, she could see the muscle clenching in his jaw.
“She’s always loved him, you fool,” Victor said. “We both have. He’s like a brother to both of us. That’s all.”
Jack didn’t believe. Violet could see it in his face. She could see it in the way he stared at her hips and it took her a moment to realize Jack was fixated on where Tomas had clutched at her. They were fools. All of them.
“Fine,” Jack said. “Fine.”
He slammed from the room, leaving the twins staring at each other.
“You yelled at me,” Violet told Victor. “You acted like I wasn’t on your side or Tomas’s side.”
He rubbed his hands through his hair and slammed out of the library, only to come back in and state, “We don’t know who killed Bettina. I won’t leave you alone. This house isn’t safe anymore.”
She smacked his arm, pushed past him, and ran up the stairs. Victor followed after until Violet reached her room. She slammed the door in his face and then opened it, smacked his arm again and then slammed it in his face.
“Lock the door,” Victor shouted.
Violet shrieked in reply.
“Oh my,” Lila said. “I didn’t think you two fought.”
“Out,” Violet declared. “Just out, please.”
“Vi…” Gwennie started.
Lila cut in, “Gwen, love. When the twins fight, lesser mortals flee. Come now, darling.”
Chapter 12
Violet paced. There was no sleeping while she was as alienated as she was. Things might be—probably were—ruined with Jack. Victor was angry with her, making her feel like she was drowning. Tomas was lost to the memories. She frowned. What had she said when they were arguing? She wasn’t chattel. She was the one who decided what she wanted, and she’d be making her own choices.
Aunt Agatha had raised Violet to be more proactive than pacing in her bedroom, bemoaning that she’d made the men in her life upset. Enough was enough. Violet wasn’t going to wait for Jack. Or for Victor. This needed to end.
Violet had business to conduct. She had a life beyond the murder of that fiend of a woman who did not deserve to die but definitely deserved a good, hard slap. First the murder. Then Helen Mather’s baby. Then Violet would decide what happened next.
Violet considered her options. It was late, but there was one person she could start with: easily-led Algernon. She walked to Algernon’s bedroom and knocked on the door.
As she did, Jack came up the stairs. He had his notebook in his hand and he eyed her with a furious frown. “What are you doing?”
“Talking to my cousin.” She didn’t smile. His gaze searched hers, and she wasn’t sure what he saw, but he wasn’t pleased.
“Talking to your cousin or looking for information?”
She smiled at him. “Did you find out who was actually in the room when Bettina died? Were the policemen able to remove people as suspects?”
“I see,” he said, ignoring her question. “You are going question your cousin, who may well have killed this woman. Do you think he won’t hurt you if he killed her?”
Violet shrugged and saw Jack’s jaw tick. She was getting a whole new skill set at making him angry. “Did you want to come in as well?”
“You need to go back to your room.” His voice was a snap of fury.
“Yes, of course,” Violet said, opening the door to Algernon’s room and going inside.
“Violet,” Jack called.
She ignored him and sat herself down in one of the chairs by Algernon’s fireplace. She had turned on the light when she entered his room, but he wore an eye mask and didn’t move in his bed.
Could he really be asleep or was he just pretending? She had no desire to shake him awake, so she grabbed the nearest book and threw it towards him. It smacked into his back and he grunted.
“Algie,” Violet said, “sit up or I’ll throw something else.”
He snuffled rather like a pig. “What the devil?”
“Algie,” Violet snapped.
He pushed off his eye mask and stared at her. She could tell by his bleary gaze he had been sleeping. How did he slip off into sleep’s embrace without a care in the world?
“Violet, why are you here?” He was wearing pajamas, in his bed. She was, she knew, being completely inappropriate by entering his room. Jack was there, Algie was her cousin, and there was a murderer afoot. “What is going on? Is that you, Jack?”
“It’s me,” Jack said, glancing at Violet and lifting his brow.
“What the devil?” Algie asked again, pulling his covers up to tuck them into his armpits. “Go away.”
“No,” Violet said. “Where were you? You weren’t at the party when Tomas came in.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because you scream like a girl, and you would have screamed when Tomas showed up bloody.”
“I do not,” Algie said with a squeak. “I would not have.”
“Where were you?”
Algie glanced away, a sure sign he didn't want to say, and Violet’s gaze lowered on him. If they had been ten years old, she’d have been able to say with surety that it was Algie who’d stolen the tarts. Algie set his jaw and refused to answer.
Violet sighed. He’d used the same tactic as children. “Bettina is dead, Algie. You were…associated…with her. When you add in that Tomas is family and he’s the main suspect here, you will answer.”
“Tomas?” Algie demanded. He glanced at Jack and laughed nervously before shaking his head. “No, I can’t believe that. Remember when we found that dog? It was vicious, and Tomas took care of it even though it bit him a good number of times.”
“The war changes people,” Jack told Algie. “The memories make him dangerous.”
“I…don’t know about that. Not Tomas.”
“Where were you?” Violet demanded. “Answer the question, you fool.”
“Well, ah…I had an appointment to…ah…”
“What?” Jack demanded. “Out with it, man.”
“I had an appointment to see Theo. I rather owed him some money. Went to find him around the time Jack came in. Why are you asking me? I heard about that catfight between Juliette and Bettina. Maybe it had a second round, eh? Got a bit out of hand? Makes more sense to me than Tomas. Ladies aren’t rational creatures. You know that, Jack.”
Violet did throw the next thing she laid her hands on, an ashtray, at Algie. A catfight? Not rational? Coming from this fool?
Violet growled under her breath. “And did you find Theo?”
“No…ah…I wasn’t able to find him. So…well…by the time I got back inside, the party had been moved and everyone was being sorted by the bobbies, and well…I just nipped up the stairs to my room instead. More comfortable, you know. Long day. Big dinner. A good sleep seemed like just the thing.”
“When we were children, you used to get all choppy with your answers. It was always how Aunt Agatha knew you were hiding something.”
“I’m not hiding anything!” Algie squeaked.
“Mmmm,” Violet said with sheer mockery that made Algie flush a brilliant red.
“No call to be cruel. I liked Bettina. Wouldn’t have killed her. She was a fiery thing. And by Jove, the woman had quite the set of lungs on her. Why would I have killed her though?”
“Because she was linked with you and then moved on to Tomas with an eager eye on his fortune.”
“Well now—”
“Did Bettina leave Stroud for you, or the other way around?” Violet interrupted.
Algie squeaked once more. “I…how…what? This isn’t quite the thing, you know, Vi. Improper.”
“She was a viper, Algie. You are well out of it. You want a wife, but you wouldn’t have wanted Bettina
Marino for much after she had you bound to her.”
Algie nervously glanced at Jack. “You know I do want a wife. Settling down seems to be a good idea. Wouldn’t have married Bettina though. I mean…no. Even if she weren’t a screecher, no.”
“How does Violet know you want to marry? And why not Bettina?”
“He offered to take me off of Victor’s hands and help me out with my fortune,” Violet replied.
Algie winced and glanced apprehensively at Jack. “Listen now. Why not me? I’m a good fellow. Keeps the money in the family. All that. Probably what Aunt Agatha wanted really.”
“Who hasn’t offered to marry you?” Jack demanded of Violet. He shoved a hand through his hair. “This doesn’t have anything to do with the matter at hand.”
Violet wouldn’t have answered that question regardless, but a very obvious answer came to her mind. “Algie, where did you really go after you couldn’t find Theo?”
“I…I…” Algie was blushing furiously. “I…”
“How do you know he is lying?” Jack asked.
“A lifetime of him lying to me,” Violet replied. “He’s hiding something.”
“Hey now. Rather unkind. Speaking of cats…” Algie looked piteously at her, but she was unmoved.
“We’re going to think it was Bettina unless you tell us who it really was,” Violet warned him. “Where did you go? Were you by the folly? If not, then where? Who? Juliette? Someone else?”
He cleared his throat. “A gentleman doesn’t talk.” His expression was mulish and Violet knew there would be no tricking him. She’d insulted him, and he wouldn’t be persuaded until he’d decided he’d proved his point. She’d seen that particular tilt to his expression too many times.
Whomever he was with would probably answer and the fool would have his alibi. “What about Bettina? Why not marry her? Why were you with her if you weren’t serious?”
“This is completely inappropriate. Your brother is a fool to let you run around like this…talking about….these…by Jove, Vi. By Jove, you’re a devil. A cattish devil. A man has needs, Vi.” His expression looked for a reaction, but Violet held it back.
In fact, she just kept herself from throwing something else at Algie. “Did you ever intend to marry Bettina? That was her goal, wasn’t it? She was trying to get one of you to offer for her. Or were you just taking what she was offering?”
He laughed, but his ears were red with his fury as he said, “She was offering. I took what was there. Would I have married her? Of course not. She’d been the round of my friends.”
“Did she realize? That you wouldn’t marry her? The others as well?”
“Stroud…he was a bit more upset than I’d have thought when she threw him over. He…well…he might have been persuaded. Bettina was a woman that wasn’t easy to forget.”
Violet scowled at Algie. “It didn’t bother you that Mr. Stroud cared about Bettina when she threw herself at you?”
“He knows how it is,” Algie said. His red ears and cheeks declared he was lying. Violet was betting that Algie had imagined himself in love with Bettina just as well as Stroud. Because if Algie admitted that Stroud was upset, the man must have been furious. Or heartbroken. Or both.
“What about Theo? Did he associate with her as well?”
“Didn’t give her the time of day,” Algie admitted. “He’s more business-minded than that. He was pretty furious when Victor shut him out of the group. You know Tomas’s little sister is in her last year of school. The girl’s trust is enough to turn many a head.”
Violet ignored that last comment and slammed out of his bedroom. She ignored Jack, who followed after.
“Theo is here? The one who left bruises on you at your aunt’s house?”
Violet casually tucked her wrist behind her. “Victor threw him out the second we ran into him.”
“He’s around, though, Violet, and this man has to be angry with you and Victor. It’s not safe if he’s come creeping around this house with you in it.”
“Perhaps,” she admitted. “We should talk to…”
Jack shook his head. “Violet, it’s midnight. Your friend is fine for now. Go to bed.”
“I can’t,” she said. “I can’t sleep for worry about all of this.”
“I see.” He glanced away. “I will investigate this. I will free your soon-to-be-betrothed. Or are you engaged already?”
“I am not engaged. Nor will I become engaged to Tomas. I don’t care for him in that way.”
Jack’s face was entirely unreadable when he replied, “But he cares for you that way.”
She didn’t see why that was something they had to focus on. Hadn’t she given her answer to Tomas’s request for her hand? Why did it have to be what these men were interested in?
Jack glanced at his pocket watch. “Violet, go to your room. Lock your door. It’s too late to keep working. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Chapter 13
Violet didn’t sleep well and when she woke, she dressed quickly. She’d put on a long-sleeved simple dress, stockings, basic shoes, and then after some thought, jewelry around her bruised wrist.
It was too early to go to the breakfast room, and Violet wanted to gather her thoughts before she saw anyone else. There was a magic to journaling that helped to uncover her thoughts. She quickly made her bed because the mess would distract her, and put her things away. When she was finished, she sat down at her desk and pulled out the journal. She started by writing about Victor being angry with her and then Jack’s reaction to Tomas.
As she described what happened, she was forced to accept that she would have been upset if she’d seen that episode between Jack and another woman. Perhaps his reaction was justified if there really was the beginning of an understanding between them?
As far as Bettina went, Violet had to admit that if the killer was some random passerby, she would never be able to help find them. Hopefully, Jack would do the work she knew he was capable of and find that kind of killer. If, however, the killer were one of their party—and she guessed he or she was—then Violet could help. Could and would help. She thought over who they had been traveling with and began to make notes about each of them.
Bettina Marino — The victim. Where had she come from? How had she met the group of friends and somehow persuaded them to bring her along? Did the gentlemen all realize that she’d been teasing if not having a relationship with all of them? Why did they pay her way if they knew? Did they really not recognize she was after their money or was that just part of the game?
Violet tried to remember who she had seen Bettina with. Vi had seen the woman track down Tomas and link them. She was so overt in her attentions that it quite bowled over Tomas, at least, who was rather unsure of what to do with someone who ignored polite conventions.
Bettina had a relationship with Mr. Charles Stroud that she threw over for Algie and then she threw Algie over for Tomas. Did her affections actually belong to anyone or were they all a means to a wealthier end?
ALGERNON ALLYN—Cousin. Wealthy. Thrown over by Bettina for Tomas. Was his pride hurt?
Violet scoffed at the question she’d written out and scratched it out.
His pride was certainly hurt.
Violet sketched on a heart near his name and then put an X through it. She tapped her pen against the page. If Algie truly loved Bettina, certainly his heart had been hurt, and Violet guessed that he hadn’t been happy regardless. Algie proposed to Violet the first day in England. He wouldn’t have done that if he’d had any hope of Bettina.
Violet tapped her pen against the page again and with a heavy heart wrote out:
TOMAS ST. MARKS — He didn’t love Bettina and asked for help in getting rid of the woman. He didn’t have a motive to kill her, but he had been having memories of the war that day. Could his nature have changed so drastically when he was lost to his ghosts?
Violet paused in her thoughts again. She didn’t want to believe Tomas could have hurt someone,
but she was also sure that Jack wasn’t lying to her about those who had unknowingly hurt their spouse. What if Tomas hadn’t been just seeing his dead? What if he’d been seeing some battle where his friend, his young Ben, had died? What would Tomas have done then?
She continued writing. He admitted to removing the knife from Bettina. His prints would be on the knife. He saw her first. He was alone. He was struggling with terrible memories. He was the easiest answer for who might have killed Bettina, and if there was another killer, that person would know that. Would anyone throw unnecessary suspicion on Tomas? If so, could that be a sign?
Violet hated the truth that her notes showed about Tomas and hoped she was very, very wrong. She had to, however, set aside her love and care for Tomas. And in doing so, she had to admit that it was possible that her good friend had killed that woman.
CHARLES STROUD — ?? He seemed to have been connected with Bettina at some point. He was the one who’d hauled Bettina off of Juliette, which was the last time Bettina had been in the room where the party was being conducted. Her body was, however, found some time later. What had he done with her? What had happened between when he’d pulled her off of Juliette and she’d been found mortally injured? He’d manhandled Juliette—would he have done the same to Bettina? Algie made it fairly clear that Charles had been upset when Bettina moved on from him. How upset.
If a man was thrown over by someone he cared for and he watched her throw herself at his friends instead and he was rough with women, could he have killed Bettina?
Violet immediately answered. Yes.
But did he? He seems to have been the first of Bettina’s lovers in this party—if he was the killer, why did he wait?
Violet sniffed and considered the rest of the party.
FRANÇOIS BOUTET— dancer with his sister. Somehow got Tomas to provide patronage, at least for a while. Didn’t help his sister with Stroud. Was he looking for another patron? Maybe even a long-term supporter through Stroud? Maybe he hoped that Stroud would move on from Bettina to the far lovelier and calmer Juliette Boutet?