Murder in Thistlecross

by Amy M. Reade

  How could someone have done that to her?

  There was a knock at my bedroom door. When I answered it there were two police officers standing in the hallway with Dr. Thomas.

  “We’d like permission to search your room, miss,” said one of the officers.

  “Certainly,” I said, stepping aside. One officer and Dr. Thomas came into the room while the other officer remained in the hallway.

  “Miss, I’d like you to step out here with me,” he said. “We’ll have you remain in the hallway while your room is being searched.”

  I grimaced. “Fine.” He stood next to me, not saying a word, while his partner and Dr. Thomas could be heard rummaging through everything in my room. I heard the armoire doors opening and closing, bureau drawers opening and closing, and furniture being moved around. I was impatient to get back into my room to reorganize everything after the officer and the doctor were done making a mess.

  When they emerged from my room they were carrying a large paper bag that obviously had something in it. “What is that?” I asked, pointing to the bag.

  “We have taken some items that may be necessary as evidence,” the officer said. My blood ran cold.

  “What items? What evidence?” I demanded, my voice rising. I could feel my heart beating faster and my hands were clammy.

  No answer. The two officers and the doctor walked away without a backward glance. I was frantic wondering what they had taken. I threw my door open and went first to the nightstand. As I suspected, nothing seemed to be missing. I went through my desk next, noting immediately that my laptop was missing from its drawer. I rifled through mail that had been on the desk and couldn’t recall everything that had been there, so I didn’t know if anything was missing or not.

  When I went to my vanity I found there were several items missing. Moisturizer, foundation, eye makeup, lip balm, perfume, and lotion. In the bathroom, I found the police had taken other items, too: creams, medicines, and dental floss. I wondered what about my possessions had so interested the police and Dr. Thomas that they felt the need to confiscate them.

  I could feel the heat rising in the back of my neck. Why was I being treated like I had done something wrong? And worse, what if the police actually believed I had done something wrong? I knew I shouldn’t be contacting anyone else who might be in the police’s sights at the moment, but I couldn’t bear to be by myself. I rang up Sylvie. She didn’t answer. I tried Griff and he picked up the phone.

  “This is unexpected,” he said when he answered the phone.

  “Are you busy?”

  “No. Why? What’s wrong?” The stress in my voice must have been more obvious than I thought.

  “I’ve just had my room searched by the police and the doctor they’ve brought in, and they took stuff from my vanity and my desk and my bathroom.” My words were terse.

  “What types of things did they take?”

  “Lotions, perfumes, things like that. And my laptop. Do you suppose I’m a suspect?”

  “I doubt it. What reason would they have to think you killed Annabel?”

  “There’s no reason. That’s what I can’t figure out.”

  “Have they taken stuff from other people’s rooms? Or the kitchen?”

  “I don’t know. I haven’t left my room yet.”

  “Well, let’s figure that out before you panic. Maybe they’re taking those items from every room.” I felt a tiny surge of hope. Of course they would take items from everyone’s room. At this point, all of us were probably suspects.

  “Do you want me to come up to the castle?”

  I wanted him to, but it was not a good idea. “You probably shouldn’t,” I answered. “I’m sure the police will want to talk to you, too, and I don’t want them to accuse either of us of obstructing or colluding or whatever it is they might think.”

  “You’re right. Do you know yet how Annabel died? I assume you have at least an idea because of what the police took.”

  “I do know how she died, but maybe I should keep the information to myself until the police tell you. That way when the police talk to you there won’t be any question that I shared information without their permission.”

  “All right. I guess I’ll just wait in the stables for the police to come find me. They won’t be long, I shouldn’t think. I’ll call you the minute they leave.”

  I tried Sylvie again, but she didn’t answer the phone.

  I had nothing to do and I didn’t want to be alone in my room. Several police officers still scurried through the halls of the castle, visiting various rooms and carting items away in large bags identical to the one they took from my room. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that my room wasn’t the only one with suspicious contents. I wanted to visit the sitting room first to find a book I might take to my room in case I could settle down enough to read. There was an officer right outside the sitting room.

  “Can I go in there?” I asked.

  “Yes, ma’am. We have cleared this room of evidence.”

  I brushed past him and went to one of the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves that lined the sitting room walls. I stared at the book spines for a long time before finally picking out a biography of Welshman George Everest, of Mount Everest fame. Normally I loved mysteries, but I just couldn’t summon the enthusiasm for a mystery, since I was living in one.

  Tucking the book under my arm, I left the sitting room. But I wasn’t ready to go back to my room yet. I wanted to see what the police were doing, where they were looking for evidence in Annabel’s death. I walked upstairs. There was a police officer standing outside Annabel’s bedroom door.

  “Can I help you?” he asked as I drew nearer.

  “I’m just taking a walk,” I replied. “Can I go upstairs?” He nodded. There was a room above Annabel’s that was fully and beautifully furnished. It had been meant as a private sitting room for the family of Annabel’s second husband, but when her second husband died the family no longer came for extended visits. They would stop in to see Annabel occasionally, but there was not much need for a sitting room furnished especially for them. Annabel had loved the way the room was decorated, though, and she had sometimes gone up there to curl up with a good book or a cup of tea.

  I pushed the door open and peered into the room. The curtains had been drawn to protect the carpet and the furniture from fading, so the first thing I did was to slide all the drapes open and let the sunshine stream in. The room was chilly, so I chose a blanket from a large chest against one wall and lay down on the cushy sofa in front of the fireplace. The sofa had a tall back and sides, so I felt protected and cozy, like I was in a cocoon. There was no fire in the grate, but I knew the blanket would warm me in no time.

  I opened the book and began to read, but I found my mind wandering. As much as I wanted to learn more about George Everest, I couldn’t stop the questions swirling around in my head—what had the police found in other rooms? Did they think the person who poisoned Annabel was in the castle? Were any of the family members under suspicion? Did they think her death had anything to do with the death of Andreas?

  I had no answers. I tried reminding myself over and over again that there was nothing I could do at the moment to glean more information or to convince the police I had nothing to do with Annabel’s death, and eventually I was able to read the first chapter of my book. But I was exhausted from the stress of the day, and I was asleep before I began chapter two.

  I don’t know how long I had been sleeping when I was awakened by a soft sound. Groggy and confused, I sat up and peered around the side of the sofa to see what had made the noise.

  Brenda was in the room. I don’t know how she had come in without me hearing her. Her back was to me and she obviously didn’t know she wasn’t alone. Something about her stance warned me not to reveal my presence just yet. She was hunched over a table on the other side of the large room
. I heard again the sound that had awakened me.

  She was sniffing. One long sniff, followed by another. I realized with horror that she was doing lines of cocaine. I was shocked.

  I didn’t know what to do. Should I let her know I’m here? Should I shrink back down and hide on the sofa? What if she finds me here? How will she react?

  Finally my desire to stop her from destroying herself propelled me off the sofa. “Brenda, what are you doing?” I asked softly.

  She spun around, her red eyes wide with surprise, and started coughing. When she was able to catch her breath she straightened up and stared at me, clearly unsure of what to do. I solved the dilemma for her.

  “Brenda, don’t do it. You’re hurting yourself.”

  She recovered her voice and sneered at me. “What do you know?”

  “I know what you’re doing, and I know the damage you’re causing to yourself. What I don’t know is why.”

  “It doesn’t matter why.”

  “How are you getting the cocaine?”

  “None of your business.”

  “It is my business, though, because I care about what’s happening to you. You’re destroying your future.”

  “What future?”

  “You’re young, Brenda. It may seem right now like things are hopeless, but they’re not. You’ll find another job.”

  “It’s not just my job. It’s everything.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like Andreas being dead. Like my mum not understanding anything.”

  “Your mother loves you. She wants the very best for you.”

  Her eyes widened, as if she had just come to some realization. “You’re not going to tell Mum about this, are you?”

  “I should.”

  “Don’t.”

  “She probably already knows, Brenda.”

  “How could she know?”

  “The sniffling, the red eyes. She knows, believe me.”

  “Just don’t tell her that you saw me. Please.”

  “Tell you what. I won’t tell her for now, but you have to kick this habit. It’s obvious to everyone, not just me. Everyone sees your eyes, your nose. They know what you’re doing. In fact, they told me. I wanted to believe you were just distraught over Andreas’s death.”

  “I am.”

  “I know that, but it’s not just Andreas’s death that’s causing those things. Was he the one selling to you?”

  She looked at me sullenly, not answering.

  “Brenda? Was he? Did you buy cocaine from him his first night here, the night he left and slammed the door behind him? It doesn’t matter now, since he’s dead.” No response.

  “I’m going to take that as a ‘yes.’ So where are you getting the cocaine now?” I knew better than to expect a response from her.

  “Just don’t tell Mum, okay? I’m going to try to get off it. I promise.”

  I gave her a skeptical look. “I’m not promising that I won’t tell your mum,” I said. “But I’m going to be keeping an eye on you. I can’t stand the thought of you ruining everything because of some white powder.”

  She looked at her feet, then up at me again. “I didn’t ask for this.”

  “I know that. But now that you’re using, you’re the only one who can make the decision to stop.” She nodded. “You should probably get back to work,” I said.

  “Okay.” She turned around and was leaving when I had a thought.

  “Brenda, were you looking for cocaine in Andreas’s bureau when Sian caught you in there?”

  She gazed at me for a moment, her eyes and nose red and raw-looking, and gave me a short nod. I could only shake my head and she left without another word. I returned to the sofa and lay down, hoping to be able to rest again, but I knew it wouldn’t happen. My mind was wide awake again, reeling with thoughts of Brenda, cocaine, and the horrors I knew could accompany addiction. I didn’t know if Brenda was addicted, but it could happen easily. I tried reading again, too, but I couldn’t focus on the words. Eventually I closed the book, folded the blanket and put it away, and closed the drapes again before returning to the main floor of the castle. The room that had held so much warmth and comfort for Annabel and for me was tainted now with the sight of Brenda sniffing lines of cocaine from an antique table inlaid with mother-of-pearl.

  When I went back to my room Griff was leaving me a note. “I couldn’t find you,” he said with a smile. “How are you doing?”

  I mustered a smile in return. “I’ve been better,” I said. I knew he would think I was talking about Annabel’s death and its aftermath, and I let him think it. I didn’t want to betray Brenda’s trust by revealing her secret to Griff, even though I knew he could be trusted.

  “Did the police come out to the stables to talk to you?”

  “They did, and they searched the office out there, too. They took my laptop, which I keep on the desk.”

  “Why do you think they took that?”

  He shrugged. “Same reason they took yours, I suppose. They told me Annabel had been poisoned with something that grows right here on the property, so they probably wanted to know if anyone has done any online research about how to poison someone using wolfsbane.”

  “I did research on it after they told me she had been poisoned,” I said with a gasp. My body broke out in a cold sweat.

  “I wouldn’t worry about it,” he said in a soothing voice. “They’ll be able to see the date and time you looked it up and that it was after Annabel had already died.”

  Thank goodness he was keeping a cooler head than me. All I could think was that I would somehow be targeted by the police as the main suspect in Annabel’s murder.

  “You’re right,” I said. “I’m just nervous, that’s all. I think I’m still a bit shocked about everything that’s happened.”

  “So how does one kill someone with wolfsbane, exactly?” Griff asked.

  “I don’t know. That’s why I looked it up online, but I didn’t get very far. I read mostly about its history. I assume you grind up the flowers or the leaves or something.”

  “It’s a terrible thought, isn’t it, that someone in the castle might have been grinding up roots or leaves or something in the night like a mad scientist,” Griff said. I shuddered.

  “I don’t even want to think about it.”

  “Then let’s not. Let’s think of something else for a while. What are you doing tonight?” Griff asked. “Care to go into the village for a dinner at the pub?”

  I grinned. “I would like that, but I should see what Sylvie is doing.”

  “Why don’t you invite her to come along? That way she’s not left out and I still get to have dinner with you.” He smiled at me.

  “All right. I’ll text her and let you know.”

  I felt guilty for being happy in the face of the circumstances in the castle, but some tiny nugget of warmth and happiness was beginning to stir in me. I hoped Sylvie didn’t have plans, because I wanted to spend time with her and at the same time I wanted to go to dinner with Griff. Inviting her along would be a lovely solution.

  When I rang up Sylvie she told me she had, in fact, hoped to go to dinner with me at the pub. I’m sure she could hear the smile in my voice when I suggested we go to dinner with Griff.

  “That sounds wonderful,” she said. “Let me know when I have to be ready and I’ll meet you in the front hall of the castle.”

  Chapter 13

  Talking to Griff and Sylvie and having dinner plans gave me a welcome boost of energy. I didn’t want to be alone in my room so I grabbed a heavy coat and went for a walk around the grounds just outside the castle. The English cottage garden was roped off by the police and there were still two officers there, pointing to different plants and holding up mobile phone photos next to the plants, presumably comparing the ones in the garden to photos online. Th
ey glanced up as I walked past, but didn’t seem to care that I was outside.

  I walked around the back of the castle and was startled to see Maisie outside the kitchen door. She sat on an upturned barrel on the ground and looked up as I approached.

  “Aren’t you cold out here?” I asked.

  “Nay, it feels good to me,” she replied.

  “I guess you’ve talked to the police?” I asked. I was in the mood to talk, though I couldn’t tell if she shared the feeling.

  She sniffled, sounding for a moment like her daughter. “Aye.”

  “Did they take anything from the kitchen?”

  “Aye. You should have seen the bags they took away. You could feed a hundred people with all that stuff.”

  I nodded in sympathy. “You’re not alone,” I told her. “They took quite a few things from my room and from all the others’ rooms, too.”

  “They did?” She looked at me in surprise, her expression brightening a bit. “You mean I’m not the only one under suspicion?”

  I shook my head. “No, it seems we’re all under suspicion, at least until they go through the evidence and start narrowing down the possibilities.”

  “Have you talked to anyone else?”

  “No one in the family, though I did talk to Griff. They didn’t take anything from the stables but his personal laptop. They took mine, too.”

  “Why do you suppose they did that?”

  “Probably to see if anyone did research on poisoning with wolfsbane.”

  “I told Annabel long ago that she shouldn’t plant that nasty stuff in her garden. Now look where it’s gotten all of us.”

  “It’s really a pretty plant. I can see why it’s so popular in English gardens. But you sure have to be careful around it.”

  She nodded, seemingly lost in thought. “Have you seen Brenda?” she asked suddenly.

  I froze for just a moment, wondering if Maisie knew I had seen Brenda upstairs in the castle. Then I realized she probably wasn’t referring to that incident at all and I recovered myself. But should I lie and tell her I hadn’t seen Brenda? Or tell the truth and not elaborate?