Murder Cuts the Mustard

Book 3: Beryl and Edwina Mystery

by Jessica Ellicott

Genres: Historical Mysteries

Synopsis

In the lean years following World War I, brash American adventuress Beryl Halliwell and prim and proper Brit Edwina Davenport form a private inquiry agency to make ends meet, hoping that crime does indeed pay...

The latest occurrence to disturb the peace in the quaint English village of Walmsley Parva hits rather too close to home — in fact, the prime suspect has taken up residence in Edwina's potting shed. Her elderly gardener Simpkins has been secretly sleeping there after a row with his disreputable brother-in-law and housemate, Hector Lomax.

When Hector is found murdered in the local churchyard, Constable Gibbs comes looking for Simpkins, who was last seen arguing with his kin in the pub the night before. Based on the sad state of her garden, Edwina has grave doubts that the shiftless Simpkins could muster the effort to murder anyone. The two sleuths throw themselves into weeding out suspects and rooting out the real killer.

But this is no garden variety murder. The discovery of a valuable ring, a surprise connection to Colonel Kimberly's Condiment Company, and a second homicide all force Beryl and Edwina to play catch-up as they relish the chance to contain the culprit . . .

Release date: October 29, 2019

Publisher: Kensington Books

Print pages: 304

Sample

Edwina stood with her hand hovering above the door handle of the motorcar.

“Are you quite certain this is a good idea, Beryl?” she asked.

“There is no one I would trust more with my prized possession than you,” Beryl said. “Besides, what’s the worst that can happen?” She yanked open the passenger side door and slid across the smooth black leather seat. Edwina reluctantly eased open the driver’s side door and leaned her head inside.

“I imagine that I could run us into a tree, crumple the bonnet, and permanently incapacitate us both,” Edwina said. Her stomach roiled at the thought of causing an accident. The news would be all over the village by teatime.

“We are only taking it round the drive, Ed. There is very little trouble you can get us into if we confine your lesson to off the road,” Beryl said, patting the seat beside her encouragingly. “Besides, imagine how smart you will look in a new driving cap.”

That decided things. There were many things in life Edwina loved, but very near the top of the list was a reason to purchase a fetching new hat. Edwina tipped her head to the side, imagining a trip to the milliner. She hoisted herself gingerly behind the wheel.

“Now, you remember what we discussed during our practice run?” Beryl asked. “Keep your eyes sharp and both hands on the wheel.”

“I can’t help but believe there is a good deal more to it than that,” Edwina said.

Beryl leaned over and patted her arm. “That’s really all you need to think about for your first run round the drive.”

Edwina nodded and adjusted her perfectly ordinary hat on her head. She grasped the steering wheel with two gloved hands. Within moments, and with only a few choking, sputtering false starts, Edwina managed to start the car and to begin creeping along the drive.

“I think I might be getting the hang of it,” Edwina said, her voice quivering with excitement.

“Give it a little more gas,” Beryl said. “Or, as you would say, petrol.” Obediently, Edwina pressed a bit more firmly down upon the accelerator and moved the motorcar along the drive at a speed approximating that of a pedestrian stroll.

“How’s this?” Edwina asked.

“You need to give it more gas, or it’s going to stall out,” Beryl said.

Edwina most assuredly did not want to go through the ordeal of getting the motorcar started up again. She stomped on the accelerator, and the car lurched forward violently. Beryl began shouting something about the clutch and perhaps the gearbox, but Edwina’s attention was firmly fixed on a red squirrel that had appeared in the drive a few feet in front of her.

She felt her normally impeccable posture stiffen to a painful degree. Her head and neck seemed to have lost the ability to turn. The animal stopped and stood stock-still in the middle of the drive then reared up on its hind legs to face her. She wrenched the wheel and swerved away from the creature, careening the motorcar off the drive and into a handsome stand of beeches, for which her house was named.

The motorcar shuddered to a stop. Edwina heard a hissing noise issuing forth from somewhere under the bonnet. Through clouds of steam she watched as the squirrel raced up the side of one of the beeches and paused halfway up to chatter a vehement scolding at her. She could not bring herself to face Beryl.

She knew she had not been ready to drive any motorcar and had been even less prepared to learn on Beryl’s pride and joy. She had suggested that if learning to drive were really so important, she ought to take lessons from the driving instructor at the local garage, but Beryl had insisted on providing both the vehicle and the lessons herself.

“As first lessons go, I think you did rather well,” Beryl said.

“How can you say that?” Edwina asked. “Your motorcar is ruined.” She turned with a heavy heart to face her friend. Beryl simply shook her head and waved one of her hands dismissively.

“I did far more damage to it crashing into the pillar at the end of the drive the day I first arrived at the Beeches last autumn. If necessary the Blackburns will have it put to rights,” Beryl said.

Edwina had no desire for news of her reckless driving to make the rounds in the village. While she wished Michael and Norah Blackburn every success with their garage and driving school business, she did not relish the notion of serving as an example of why it was unwise to attempt to learn the art of motoring without their assistance.

“Must we tell them how the damage occurred?” Edwina asked. She valued honesty as much as the next person, but there were times when it did not seem necessary to tell all one knew. And Beryl was always willing to stretch the truth if it pleased her to do so.

“We shall say that urgent business called me into the house and I forgot to set the hand brake, which caused the old bus to roll into the trees whilst my back was turned,” Beryl said magnanimously. “Why don’t you head back into the house and fix yourself a cup of tea. I’ll check the old bus over and join you soon.”

Edwina nodded and extracted herself from behind the wheel. As relieved as she was to follow Beryl’s suggestion, she could not help but feel her friend had hurried her away. She couldn’t help but wonder if Beryl was more distressed than she wished to appear. Despite her misgivings, she hurried as quickly as her quaking legs would carry her to the back door leading into the scullery.

Beryl scrambled out of the automobile and held her breath as Edwina made a beeline for the house. After assuring that her automobile had sustained no real damage, she allowed herself to turn her full attention to the potting shed situated at the edge of the garden. Just before Edwina had yanked on the wheel, Beryl had unexpectedly spotted a figure through the shed’s window. Mercifully, Edwina had been far too concerned with preserving the local wildlife to notice any irregularities herself.

The door of the shed opened, and Edwina’s disreputable and elderly jobbing gardener emerged. It was not one of his scheduled days to tend out on the Beeches. Simpkins, a man never interested in doing more work than he could absolutely get away with, was unlikely to be at his place of employment for any wholesome reason.

Unless her eyes were deceiving her, it appeared that not only was Simpkins at the Beeches on the wrong date, but he was swathed in altogether the wrong sort of gear for the job. Beryl cast a glance over her shoulder, and after assuring herself that Edwina was not looking out the window, she took a few steps in his direction. Even at a distance there was no doubt about it. The man was clad in a dressing gown. She did not want to entertain a guess as to what purpose had urged him to wander out of sight around the back of the shed.

As far as she was concerned, Edwina was altogether too inclined to be hard on Simpkins. While she loved her friend, she knew that Edwina struggled with class consciousness and the role a gardener was expected to play. Simpkins seemed to delight in thwarting his employer at every possible turn. He appeared at mealtimes, eager to stick his hobnailed boots beneath her dining room table. He disagreed with her on the subject of all gardening matters, and he made a habit of interrupting when guests came to call. All in all, their relationship was a contentious one.

Beryl, on the other hand, found Simpkins to be a tonic. They shared a love of all manner of racing, card games, and high-proof spirits. He had even been instrumental in helping them to set up in business and in solving their first cases. She had done all that was in her power to shield Simpkins from Edwina’s wrath whenever possible. Beryl was not eager for him to be dismissed for appearing in the garden in a state of undress.

There was only one thing for it. She would have to inform Simpkins that he had been discovered and encourage him to make himself scarce. Then she would make sure to keep Edwina occupied at the front side of the house whilst he did so. She crossed the lawn and met the elderly man as he made his way back to the front of the shed. He gave her a gap-toothed grin and raised a gnarled paw in the direction of the automobile.

“I knew you shouldn’t have insisted on teaching Miss Edwina to drive,” he said. “With you as her instructor, it was bound to end in tears.”

“So is your history of employment with her if she finds you lurking about the property, not as dressed as you ought to be,” Beryl said, trying to keep the irritation out of her voice. If there was one person in the world she felt qualified to speak on the finer points of piloting any form of conveyance, it was she. After all, Beryl was a celebrated adventuress who held a number of both land-speed and airspeed records. Simpkins’s assertion was preposterous. “If you do not wish to explain what you are doing here on your day off, wearing nothing but a bathrobe, you had best do a flit.”

“I was just on my way to the pub, anyway. I expect you plan to be there yourself, don’t you?” he asked, casting a glance towards the house.

“I wouldn’t miss it. Why don’t you hurry on ahead and save me a seat. As soon as I make sure Edwina has suffered no lasting effects from our adventure, I will join you.”

“I’ll have them put the first round on your tab,” Simpkins said with a wink before slipping back into the shed.

“Are you sure you will be all right if I leave you on your own?” Beryl asked. “I’ll be gone for some time.”

“I will be fine. Although, I’m still not sure it’s quite nice for you to spend the afternoon at the pub,” Edwina said.

“Nonsense,” Beryl said. “Think of it not so much as spending time at the pub as participating in what will prove to be a historic event.”

“And how do you figure that?” Edwina asked.

Edwina was not one for the pub. In fact, Beryl had just barely introduced her to the value of strong drink in the face of a crisis. She was pleased to see that her friend had proven an apt pupil on the subject of gin fizzes. But gin fizzes or no gin fizzes, Edwina was not willing to hobnob with the locals in the pub. She much preferred to imbibe in the privacy of her own home or that of those she considered her equals.

“It’s the first time the results of the Derby Stakes are being broadcast on the wireless,” Beryl said. “Even you have to admit that that’s quite an extraordinary event and worthy of attendance.”

Edwina picked up her knitting from the side table next to her favourite spot on the sofa in the parlour. Beryl marveled at the amount of knitted output Edwina could produce in any given week. For a woman with only one pair of hands, one pair of feet, and one head, she seemed to be constantly creating hats, mittens, and socks for someone. Beryl squinted at the soft woolly item emerging on Edwina’s rapidly clicking needles. It appeared to be some sort of tiny pair of trousers. Beryl could not imagine spending her time in such a way.

“I prefer the wireless to be used for more wholesome pursuits, like the agricultural report or the upcoming weather,” Edwina said. “I shudder to think what Marconi would think of his magnificent invention being used for such unsavory purposes.”

“Having met Mr. Marconi, I assure you he would most definitely approve,” Beryl said. Her travels had taken her far and wide, and she had met many interesting and famous people along the way. She didn’t usually like to boast, but occasionally, she could not resist needling Edwina ever so slightly. After all, her friend was as interested as the next person in celebrities, even if she was loath to admit it.

“I expect there will be no changing your mind,” Edwina said.

“None whatsoever. Are you quite certain you won’t join me?” Beryl asked.

Edwina looked up from her hands and gave Beryl a withering glance. “Driving around the grounds earlier was quite enough excitement for me for one day,” Edwina said. “I’m quite sure an outing to the pub to get the latest on a horse race would be the end of me. It would certainly be the end of my reputation.”

“Suit yourself. But you will be glad I went if I find out that I won,” Beryl said. “I rather hope the wager that I laid brings in a tidy sum.”

“I thought you weren’t interested in races in which you are not a contestant,” Edwina said. “Besides, can’t you listen to the results of the race here?” Edwina pointed her empty knitting needle at the new wireless set Beryl had purchased from the winnings of her last bet. Edwina conveniently forgot about how strenuously she disapproved of gambling when it came time to listen to something on the wireless.

“It’s just a very small flutter,” Beryl said. “Besides, I want to keep my hand in with Chester White. You never know when a bookie’s information will come in handy.”

With that, Beryl headed out of the parlour and along the corridor. As she picked up her handbag from the hall table, she was quite certain she heard the opening music to one of Edwina’s own secret vices. Despite her genteel exterior and vigorous protestations to the contrary, Edwina possessed a thirst for adventure, at least so far as it extended to the realm of fiction. Many was the time Beryl had paused at the door to the parlour and eavesdropped on Edwina as she sat close by to the wireless set, listening to lurid radio programs. She smiled to herself as she let herself out the door and closed it behind her a little more loudly than was absolutely necessary. Why should Edwina not enjoy herself too?

Beryl pushed open the door of the Dove and Duck and looked around. The pub was unusually busy, and the atmosphere buzzed with excitement. Beryl squeezed through the crowd, not an easy thing to do with a figure as statuesque as her own, and stepped up to the bar. Bill Nevins, the publican and a somber man with a mustache like a push broom, gave her the nod and asked for her order.

“A largish whisky, please, Bill,” Beryl said as she glanced about, looking to see if her favourite table was available. She was not at all surprised to see Simpkins in possession of it. He could frequently be found at the pub and had taken to occupying the table she preferred. Beryl was not sure if he liked being seen with a celebrity or if he thought her a soft touch where paying for drinks was concerned. It was even possible he enjoyed her company as much as she did his.

She hoped to catch his eye to offer him another round, but his head was tipped towards another man, who was also seated at the table. The second man was significantly younger, with dark hair and a slightly disheveled appearance. Even from a distance, the conversation between the two did not look to be a pleasant one. She called for the publican again and ordered a second whisky for Simpkins. She could not imagine the old reprobate would deign to refuse it.

Bill nodded, poured out a generous measure, and slid the glasses along the bar without a word. If Beryl had to guess, she would say the popularity of the Dove and Duck had a great deal to do with the owner’s ability to keep quiet about all that he saw. In the months she’d spent in Walmsley Parva, she’d barely heard more than a sentence at a time pass the man’s lips. Although it was possible he had a great deal to say but that the sound of his voice rarely made it past the barrier of his facial hair.

She started a tab and made her way towards a table near the edge of the room. Beryl always liked to sit where she could keep her back to the wall and her eye on the exit. One never knew when hostilities would break out in an unfamiliar environment. Not that the pub was unfamiliar, mind you, but it was a habit of long practice, and she did not feel comfortable giving it up.

Her travels across the globe had taught her that the most powerful position in the room was a place where one could watch everyone else. As she traversed the smoky low-ceiling space, patrons seated at several tables closer to the center of the room invited her to join them, but she shook her head firmly and continued on. As she approached, Simpkins abruptly shoved back his chair and towered over the second man. He made a fist and shook it in the other man’s face.

“Say that again and you won’t live to say it a second time,” Simpkins shouted.

The voices in the pub fell silent as heads turned to stare at Simpkins. Beryl could feel the anger pulsing between the two men like a live thing. The second man grabbed his pint of beer and stood. He shrugged and gave a little laugh before turning slightly to make sure he could be overheard.

“You must be going soft in the head if you think you could inflict any damage on me. Stick to what you know, old man,” he said, pointing at Simpkins’s nearly empty glass. He turned his back and strode across the room to the bar.

“Who the devil was that?” Beryl asked, handing Simpkins the drink she had brought him before taking a seat.

“No one,” Simpkins said. He lowered himself into his chair and sent a blistering scowl towards the younger man’s back.

“Come now, Simpkins, from what little I heard of your conversation, I assume that you at least know his name,” Beryl said.

“More’s the pity,” Simpkins said. “Aye, you could say that he and I have an acquaintance of long standing.” Simpkins leaned back in his chair and took a long tug on his whisky.

“I confess, Simpkins, I’m surprised to hear you speak of anyone derisively. You’re usually such an affable fellow,” Beryl said. “Do tell.”

“I’m very sorry to say that man is my brother-in-law Hector Lomax,” Simpkins said.

“That’s Hector?” Beryl said. She had heard of Hector Lomax from other people in the village. She even knew that Hector and Simpkins shared a cottage on the outskirts of Walmsley Parva. But what she did not know was that they had had a falling-out.

“I thought you were quite close to your wife’s brother,” Beryl said. “Has something happened to cause a rift?”

“You could say that,” Simpkins said.

Before she could ask for the cause of the familial discord, the publican called for everyone to quiet down. He turned up the wireless, and the results of the Derby were dutifully read aloud.

“Have you made a killing?” Beryl asked Simpkins when the results were in.

“I believe I’ve made a tidy sum, but I am content to wait here until some people have cleared off before I collect my winnings,” Simpkins said. He lifted a knobby finger towards a table in front of them, where Chester White, the local bookie, held court at the center of the room. Men of all types clambered around Chester’s table. Chester sat facing the door, with a well-worn leather ledger spread out before him. One by one, men approached the table to check on their winnings. With no concern for the queue, Hector muscled his way to the head of the line. The pub seemed to hold its collective breath as Chester ran his finger down a column in his ledger.

“Better luck next time, Hector,” Chester said.

“I followed your advice, and look where it got me,” Hector said.

“You know I never hand out advice, at least not where betting is concerned,” Chester said. “Your bets are your own responsibility.”

“I don’t know how you live with yourself, taking money from an honest workingman like me,” Hector said.

“No one is forcing you to place a bet,” Chester said. “Everyone here knows how this works, and with the number of bets you place, you know better than most.” Chester leaned back and looked behind Hector. He motioned for the next person in line to step up to the table. A bearded man with a limp, whom Beryl knew to be Frank Prentice, moved up next to Hector. Hector turned to him and gave him a sour look.

“Everyone also knows you aren’t exactly an honest workingman either,” the bearded man said.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Hector asked.

“It means exactly what it sounds like. You aren’t above spreading lies to get what you want,” the man said.

Beryl thought she detected a slight wobble in Frank’s gait. Not that she was surprised. Frank was known to have trouble with drink. It was an all-too-common state of affairs and one she attributed to memories of the Great War. Frank was said to drink up the grocery money, but she had never heard he was at all violent. She had made a point of asking around about him after having formed an unexpected attachment to his young son Jack, the paperboy. If she had caught wind of Frank laying a hand on that likable child, she would have made quick work of sorting him out one way or another.

Although she could not blame him for seeking solace in the bottom of a bottle, as so many others had done in the years since the war began, there was no denying that men like Frank were just the sort the temperance movement had used as examples to convince Congress to pass the Eighteenth Amendment, enacting Prohibition. And while Frank was English rather than American, it was not stretching the facts to say men just like him back home were Beryl’s reason for seeking sanctuary in Great Britain until what she considered America’s collective madness was repealed.

Frank reached out and placed a hand on Hector’s back. In the blink of an eye, Hector batted away Frank’s hand and sent him sprawling onto the floor. All the men in the line took a step back and looked away from Frank except for one. She saw several different men elbowing each other or furtively lifting a finger and pointing in Hector’s direction as a bald man with round cheeks leaned over and helped Frank to his feet with one powerful tug of his hand.

“Up to your old tricks, then, are you, Hector?” the bald man said. “Knocking a man down without warning.” He crossed his bulging arms over his broad chest and glared at Hector.

“Do you want to have a go at me too?” Hector said. “We can take it outside as soon as you say.”

“I’ve a mind to finish my drink, but I may just take you up on that once I’ve collected my winnings. Unlike you, I know how to back a winner.” The bald man turned his back on Hector and bent over Chester’s ledger.

Beryl kept her eyes moving over the scene in front of her. There was something in the room she didn’t like. She had met more men like Hector than she cared to remember, and they brought trouble with them wherever they went as surely as Edwina brought her knitting.

Sure enough Hector reached for a chair. He managed to lift it as high as his waist before Bill, the publican, made it out from behind the bar.

“Out,” he shouted. “And you too.” He raised a finger and pointed it at Frank and the bald man.

Hector turned and gave Simpkins a smile before heading out the door. Frank followed on his heels, and the bald man trailed after once he had concluded his business with the bookie. Even Simpkins seemed to have lost interest in his drink. To Beryl’s absolute astonishment, he shoved away his half-filled glass, stood, and shuffled out the door without stopping to collect his winnings.

She would not have believed it unless she had seen it with her own eyes. But there was no sense in letting good whisky go to waste. She finished off the contents of his glass. After all, considering the winner of the Derby, she had cause to celebrate.

Beryl, as was her habit, was still asleep when Edwina heard the relentless pounding on the front door. Ever since Beryl had moved into the house several months earlier, Edwina had come to value her own lifelong habit of rising early. Back in the autumn she had been desperate for some company, her loneliness a burden al. . .