by Beth Byers
On the day of Lizette being attacked only Katherine and Mitchell had a reliable witness to speak to their location. On the day of the murder, the family had been together. They had known who attacked Lizette, but she’d been acting odd. It wasn’t necessarily true that whoever attacked her with the fence post had been the person to murder her.
Joseph cursed and then cursed again and called Higgins back. “Get Margaret Lynd instead.”
The constable nodded, brows lifted and left the police station.
Joseph waited until the constable had been gone long enough to reach the Lynd house before telling Jedediah to leave. He gave the man a fierce scolding, but the man only nodded before walking causally away.
The moment he was gone, Joseph smiled evilly. Margaret Lynd was Jedediah’s wife, and he was going to be furious when he realized they’d timed things for Jedediah not to realize Margaret was being questioned until it was too late.
She arrived a quarter hour after her husband had left and she came in white-faced and alarmed. Her cheeks were flushed with rings of red, and her eyes showed signs of having cried. Joseph left her sitting long enough to bring the doctor from the cell to just outside the office.
“Mrs. Lynd,” Joseph snapped, making himself sound harsh. “Your husband is suspected of murder.”
“He wouldn’t have,” she said tremulously. “He’s a good Christian man. This is all a terrible accident.”
“It’s murder.”
Margaret Lynd didn’t answer.
“Who killed Lizette?” His voice was gentle that time and Margaret looked up with swimming eyes.
“I don’t know.”
For the first time, Joseph actually believed a Lynd. “Do you know who hurt her the other day?”
Margaret shook her head quickly, but he thought he’d found her lie. Was she lying to protect her husband? Husband or someone else? “It must not be murder. How could it be?”
Joseph wasn’t nearly as kind when he answered. “Someone took a pillow and held it over Lizette Lynd’s face until she died. She died, lungs burning, terrified, murdered by someone she thought of as family.”
Margaret gasped and the tears started. Dr. West stepped into the room then and Joseph silently applauded the doctor’s sense of timing.
Slowly Margaret looked up to the doctor and asked, “Is that true?”
“It is.”
If only the poor man didn’t look quite so much like a schoolboy. Joseph saw the doubt seep into Margaret Lynd’s gaze as she examined the doctor.
“It’s being confirmed by Scotland Yard,” Joseph told her flatly. “But there’s little doubt. Just think—your children are in that house. They’re in the same house with a killer. Will they be next?”
It was the wrong tack. Her eyes blazed with fury as she hissed, “I don’t know who killed Lizette. I was sitting with the children reading to them when Katherine started screaming, but I can tell you this. She was a monster, and I’m not sorry she’s gone.”
Joseph frowned as Margaret Lynd rose. “We’re not done here.”
“I won’t speak to you further without my husband. Arrest me or get him. The only reason I came was because he was supposed to be here.”
Joseph let her go.
“Why doesn’t anyone believe me when I say she was murdered?” Dr. West asked with frustration.
“Because you look like you’re playing doctor after having stolen your instruments from a real doctor.”
Dr. West flushed.
“It’ll get better in time, man,” Joseph said almost kindly. “You’ve a hard road here, looking as you do.”
He scowled as he replied, “I think you should let John Lynd go. I suspect he has a heart condition on top of everything else. He needs medicine and care or he’ll be dead in a year.”
Joseph gestured at the door and said, “Might as well. Those brothers decided in advance on their course of action. We need a crowbar to make them talk, but I don’t know what that is. Not yet.”
Chapter 15
GEORGETE DOROTHY AARON
Georgette crossed to visit Anna the next morning and found both Anna and Katherine in the back garden.
“Oh,” Georgette said. “I’m—I didn’t mean to intrude. Are you all right, Katherine?”
Katherine shook her head, pressing her handkerchief to her face. “I should have stayed home, but I couldn’t breathe there.”
Georgette sat down and took Katherine’s free hand. There hadn’t been an invitation, but Georgette ignored that niggling voice in her mind.
“What has been happening?” She kept her voice fused with sympathy and love, and Katherine pressed her handkerchief harder into her face.
Both Anna and Georgette waited as Katherine wept and struggled. Finally she said, “I’m not sure really.”
“Do you know who injured Lizette last week?”
Katherine shook her head. “My children realized which of them did it and they banded together. They wouldn’t tell me. Even Emmanuline knows, but she won’t say a word.”
Georgette looked towards her own garden. What if their wards had done the same? Georgette immediately realized that it would be Janey who was the criminal of the three. Eddy was too focused on his goals. Lucy was too kind and responsible. Janey was the one who was full of mischief. Without other factors, Georgette could guess in her family, and they’d only had the orphans for a few short months.
She nibbled on her thumb as she considered further. What would a woman like Katherine guess? She knew her children well, she probably knew why Lizette had come to her house, she could guess how each of them might react.
“You know who hurt Lizette though, don’t you? Even without a confession, you have a good idea.”
“I don’t know anything,” Katherine replied, “and I don’t necessarily think that the person who…who…”
“Who hit Lizette with a fence post,” Georgette filled in. The worse were harsh, but her tone was gentle.
Katherine nodded, wiped her face again, and then said, “That one. I don’t…I don’t…I don’t think that they were the one who…who…who…”
Georgette was a little less patient when she filled in, “Who smothered your daughter-in-law?”
Katherine flinched.
Anna finally spoke. “You know that one of your children was the one who injured Lizette. And either that same child or another one murdered her.”
Katherine’s tears were falling as she nodded. “I have a guess as to who might have injured Lizette.”
“Who?” Georgette demanded.
Katherine shook her head. “I know my children well. I know who might snap in anger, but—I would have sworn to you without hesitation that none of them would have hurt Lizette or anyone else.”
“Hurt?” Anna used the same unequivocal but gentle tone that Georgette had. “They killed Lizette, Katherine. Why did Lizette come here?”
It took Katherine a while to gather herself, and Georgette was shocked when her friend answered. “Lizette had been cooking up a plan.”
Neither Georgette nor Anna dared to breathe or ask a question.
“She wanted to sell my property, have me move in with Emmanuline, and split the money from the sale. She had been hinting at it. That it was only right. That they were suffering. That John was hurt and needed help.”
Georgette’s shock bled away. It was new information to either of them. She and Anna had discussed it before, but Katherine didn’t seem to realize it.
“She thought I should give them everything I have.”
“But Gregory is buried in your orchard,” Anna said.
“I know,” Katherine said, closing her eyes. “Lizette said he was gone and the location of his body no more mattered than me clinging to the remnants of a life that just hadn’t petered out yet.”
“My heavens,” Anna muttered. Her tone made it clear that she would have been tempted to knock Lizette Lynd down with a fencepost herself.
“That’s why she spoke about
avarice on Sunday,” Georgette said. “You were clinging to your riches by refusing to give them to her.”
Katherine nodded. “It got worse. When we returned from church, Lizette made it clear that I could sell my property or she’d tell who hurt her.”
“She intended to blackmail you into giving up everything you own?”
Katherine nodded, still crying.
“What did your sons have to say?”
“They dared her to do it. Jed and Mitch did anyway. I’m not sure John even realized what she was saying. He’s always loved her. It’s like the moment he decided he loved her, he could never see another flaw.”
“That’s a pretty big flaw to miss,” Georgette said without sympathy.
“He’s a dreamer,” Katherine said. “He doesn’t live in the same world as the rest of us. Do you know why he was injured? He was daydreaming and forgot one of the steps for safety. While he recovered, he wrote the same story that distracted him in a series of short stories.” Katherine shook her head, baffled. “They were terrible, but he pinned all his hopes on getting them published. He’s been sending them to publishing house after publishing house. He even thought of approaching your Charles, Georgette, but it seems that Charles already turned him down.”
Georgette winced and then flinched further when Katherine added, “Twice.”
“I—”
“Don’t apologize,” Katherine told Georgette. “Charles isn’t running a charity and John’s stories really are bad.”
“Has anyone heard from Joseph?” Georgette asked when she returned home. Katherine wouldn’t speak any more on the subject of Lizette, so Georgette left the two friends together.
Charles nodded. “He stopped in to use our telephone to call his supervisor. He didn’t want to be overheard. Did you learn something?”
Georgette recapped her conversation and then said, “I have an idea, but—”
“But you feel bad about it after hearing what Lizette was up to?” Charles suggested. “I’ll call the police office and see if we can get Joseph here. You can tell him your plan.”
Georgette nodded. She paced the parlor until Joseph arrived along with Dr. West and one of the constables. Marian had been watching from the corner and the way the two met each other’s gaze was painful to see. Before Georgette could begin, Eunice came into the parlor.
“There’s a telephone call for you, Marian. It’s your mother.”
Marian closed her eyes and nodded, excusing herself. The look on her face was fierce as she approached the library where the phone was housed.
“Georgette?” Joseph demanded. His tone told her that he wasn’t waiting for Marian. Fierce and hurt.
Georgette sighed and then began. “I think I might know who injured Lizette. Katherine knows who it was and she’s not convinced it is the same person who killed Lizette. In fact, I would guess that Katherine is positive that they aren’t the same person.”
“Who do you think struck down Lizette?”
Before answering, Georgette explained what had been happening in the Lynd family. When she reached the end of the tale, Joseph cursed, a nasty habit he was forming, in Georgette’s opinion, and Dr. West swallowed thickly.
“That’s not right,” Dr. West said. “Lizette Lynd’s plan is not right.”
“You won’t get an argument from Georgette,” Charles told him. “She would be an avenging angel if not that the engineer of such madness weren’t already dead.”
Georgette murmured a hushed agreement and then added, “I would bet the proceeds of my next book that Katherine offered John and Lizette a place in her home. Combining households would have eased everyone’s burden, but I am also betting Lizette refused.”
“Who do you think struck Lizette down?”
“Emmanuline,” Georgette said. “Notice that her husband and children aren’t here. I asked Anna about it, and she said Emmanuline’s in-laws watch the children whenever she wants. Katherine was providing service, the brothers all have work, the other Lynd women have children as well, but may not have ready caretakers to leave them.”
Joseph paused. “It’s all guesses.”
“But they make sense,” Charles added. “They make a lot of sense, really. Emmanuline is probably the one who looks after Katherine the most. Mothers can have a strong influence over their daughters.”
Joseph shot Charles a black look.
“They do,” Georgette agreed. “Daughters are also the ones who become the confidant of a mother’s worries. How many times did Katherine tell Emmanuline that she felt closer to her deceased husband in her own house?”
“What is your plan?” Joseph asked Georgette.
“Wait a moment,” Dr. West cut in. “I think there’s more to be said here.”
“Oh?” Joseph asked.
“It actually makes a fair amount of sense that it was Emmanuline who injured Lizette because Lizette didn’t die.”
“And?” Joseph’s expression said to get to the point.
“Lizette was a strong woman,” Dr. West said. “I noticed that when tending to her. She was also much larger than Emmanuline who is, I believe, a mother not a farmer’s wife?”
Georgette nodded in answer to Dr. West’s question.
“I don’t think Emmanuline would be strong enough to smother Lizette Lynd. It’s been on my mind all day, actually. The woman would not have suffocated without struggling. I think holding her down would have been possible only by one of the brothers.”
“You didn’t think to tell me this before?” Joseph snapped.
“It’s been on my mind.” Dr. West shrugged. “I wanted to consider. Jedediah Lynd is most likely the stronger, but John Lynd could have used his bulk.”
“What about Mitchell Lynd?” Joseph asked, obviously taking to the idea. “He’s my bet. Family leader, mother threatened. He didn’t love Lizette. He’s taken charge this whole time.”
“I think,” Georgette said, “you might easily get a confession.”
“How?” Joseph demanded.
“You need to drive a wedge between those brothers and make them turn on each other.”
“Yes,” Joseph growled. “I’ve been trying.”
“But you aren’t using the right force. You have to arrest someone who they love more than they love each other. Someone they want to protect. Someone they’ve been protecting.”
“Georgette,” Charles breathed, staring at her in shock. “Do you mean Emmanuline?”
She was dry-eyed as she nodded. Joseph shook his head. “I’ll need to talk to my superior before I do such a mad thing, knowing she is probably not the killer.”
Georgette felt sick at her idea, and she went to her room the moment Joseph left, taking the doctor with him. Marian came into Georgette’s room and found her on the bed with dogs surrounding her. She climbed in next to Georgette.
“Mother demanded I return home. She was furious I didn’t leave this morning and more furious when I told her what was happening.”
Georgette closed her eyes. The headache that had been building since the previous night stabbed at her. It came and went with her morning sickness, but lingered whenever she was tired, upset, or assaulted by paint fumes.
“What did you say?”
“I told her no. She said she didn’t know me anymore. That you and Joseph had turned me from a tractable daughter to a demon.”
Georgette winced for Marian, hearing the pain in her friend’s voice. She reached out her hand and clutched Marian’s. She could smell the salt of tears, and all she could offer was a hand. It seemed to be enough. Marian cried quietly and somehow, they both slipped into sleep.
Chapter 16
JOSEPH AARON
“Do you think it will work?” Higgins asked as Joseph motored to the Lynd house.
Joseph considered for a moment. “Georgette is usually right about people. Those brothers love Emmanuline. They might confess to having done it even if it was her.”
“But it wasn’t?”
; “Probably not,” Joseph said, hearing the distraction in his own voice. Certainly, Mrs. Parker had been calling Marian home. It might well be the last time he saw her as his betrothed and he had a murderer to catch. Her parents had a point about his work, he thought as he stopped his auto in front of the Lynd house.
Before he’d even taken two steps from the auto door, Mitchell Lynd appeared outside the house. His gaze was furious. “What now? Can’t you see we’re still mourning?”
“Additional information has come in,” Joseph told Mitchell flatly. “Step aside.”
“Additional information?”
Joseph didn’t answer, instead bypassing the Lynd son. Was this the one who had murdered Lizette Lynd? Mitchell had Joseph’s vote, but he suddenly wondered who Georgette suspected. He should have asked before he’d left the house, but he wasn’t playing his best game with this case.
Joseph let himself into the house. The parlor contained all the Lynd siblings, Brent having arrived that day, their mother, as well as the vicar. Only the children and the wives of the brothers were missing. With Joseph, the constable, and the doctor, the house felt bursting at the seams.
“Detective?” Katherine asked shakily.
“I’m afraid I’ve come to arrest one of your children on suspicion of murder, Katherine.” Joseph used his gentlest voice.
She gasped and leaned into her daughter, which made the next sentence all the more terrible.
“Emmanuline Smith, would you please come with me?”
She gasped.
“You were seen after your attack on Lizette Lynd.”
“That doesn’t mean she killed Lizette,” Jedediah shouted. “She’s gentle and kind.”
“She struck down another woman and left her unconscious and abandoned,” Joseph replied flatly. “Of course she’s the killer.”