“And why the port glass?” asked Anthony.
“The same reason Lilly said for Ellie. He knows his mother’s likes and dislikes and he likely knows that she’ll have a glass of port after a dinner such as they had and so he poisoned her glass, much like Jane’s method. I suppose it could have been the wine glass, but I like the idea of the port better. Speaking of port, how are you feeling, Sir Tony?”
“Now that you mention it,” said Anthony, “I feel, horri—”
And Sir Tony pretended to collapse dead against the back of the couch. Everyone laughed and then Anthony opened one eye and looked at everyone which elicited more laughter.
“The port was marvelous. You might say it was to die for!”
“Glad you liked it,” said Frances.
“Hey, did you just give us the method of murder?” asked Jane.
“You’ll have to wait and see, dear. But I was just joking around with Ellis. Okay, Lady Marmalade, your turn.”
“Well, I think it was somebody completely different. I believe it was Laura with the mint sauce.”
Ellis frowned, so did Lilly.
“But her prints were never found on the terrarium,” said Lilly, looking at her notes again.
“That’s right dear, but I don’t believe the killer would have been that careless. This is how I think it happened. Roger manipulated Laura, his lover, into poisoning the mint sauce to kill his wife. So I suppose that one could say it really was a twisted love that murdered Melissa. Both Roger and Laura will be found guilty of murder. The key for me came when Sir Tony read what they were able to extract from the letter that Roger wrote to Laura. The letter mentions that ‘she keeps the mint…’. I don’t believe this is referring to money, but rather the mint sauce. I believe that Roger was instructing Laura how to make use of the poison. Knowing his wife’s personal tastes, he is saying that she keeps the mint sauce to herself. Roger also knows his son’s preferences as well as his own, and getting Laura to do the poisoning, Laura will also know what to avoid. That leaves just Ellie. But again, Ellie, being his wife’s sister would have been round for dinner on many occasions and I’m sure he would have noted her preferences. A bit of a gamble to be sure, but in any event, if Ellie was poisoned accidentally, then really, all the better for Roger as he wouldn’t have to worry about fighting her in court for the inheritance. As for motive, when you have an unhappy marriage and a mistress on the side, coupled with a large sum of money, you have a recipe for murder.”
“Fascinating,” said Jane, “I like it.”
“Well, Sir Tony,” said Lilly, “who was it?’
“I present to you,” said Anthony, “the world’s greatest sleuth, Lady Marmalade, who as usual has got her man, and in this case, woman, too.”
Anthony clapped and the others joined in. Lady Marmalade waved her hand down towards them in modesty.
“So she got the whole thing right?” asked Ellis.
“Exactly as if she had been present in the court when their confessions were read out,” said Anthony.
“My hat’s off to you, M’lady,” said Ellis, bowing his head slightly in respect.
“Oh shush, it’s elementary, my dear Hutchinson,” said Frances.
About Jason Blacker
Jason Blacker was born in Cape Town but spent most of his first 18 years in Johannesburg. When not grinding his fingers down to stubs at the keyboard he enjoys drinking tea, calisthenics and running. Currently he lives in Canada.
Under his own name he writes hard boiled as well as cozy mysteries, action adventure, thrillers, literary fiction and anything else that tickles his muse. Jason Blacker also writes poetry and daily haikus at his haiku blog.
You can find his haikus and other poetry at his website www.haiqueue.com.
To stay up to date and learn about new releases be sure to visit www.jasonblacker.com where you can find more information about his writing and upcoming projects.
If you enjoy space opera in the tradition of Star Trek then take a look at Jason Blacker’s pen name “Sylynt Storme”. It is under the name Sylynt Storme where you can find both sci-fi and vampire fiction written by Jason Blacker.
“Star Sails” is the space opera series and “The Misgivings of the Vampire Lucius Lafayette” is his vampire series.
Four Red Diamonds (A Lady Marmalade Mystery Short Story Collection Book 1) Page 17