One name alone stood out among the rest.
But Alex needed to be certain before he said anything, for there was more information to be gathered.
First, what was this suspect’s motivation for harming Mrs.Granger?
Having come up with a name, he could now probe backwards to find out what had made the man desperate or angry enough to harm her and beyond this, to commit murder…assuming his predecessors had been murdered.
However, having a motive was not enough.
Alex needed to figure out how each murder was accomplished.
Who had the means and intelligence to carry out these villainous acts?And to cleverly position Mrs.Granger’s body in the salt marshes to make it look like an accidental drowning once the tide ebbed and her body was found?
And what of Mr.Carver’s daughter, Martha, and poor Elspeth?
Well, Elspeth’s disappearance and probable death might have been at someone else’s hand…his grandfather’s, Alex would guess, even though the old man had supposedly denied it to Mrs.Granger.
But who could trust that wily hound?
What was certain was that Elspeth’s unfortunate end was the inciting incident that had led to all of these revenge killings.
Yes, they must have been killings.
His instincts were never wrong…even if the evidence said otherwise.
He could wrap this all up before tonight’s dinner party, he realized with much relief.
As soon as Mrs.Granger was properly settled, he would start interrogating the elder staff members who had been in service here longest.He intended to start with Mrs.Crabbe, ready to endure her taking a rolling pin to him for distracting her from her meal preparations.
Yes, she had an important feast to cook for tonight.But he wanted to start with her because it was her food delivered to Mr.Carver’s daughter when the poor girl became ill.Mrs.Granger had requested this be done, but he doubted the housekeeper ever delivered the food herself because her own duties would have kept her tied to the house.
Both women had the opportunity to tamper with the meals prepared, but they weren’t the only ones.Besides, he knew from Perty Hester and even from Mrs.Granger’s own mouth that she rarely went into Burnham.
So, she must have arranged for someone to deliver the food to the Carver residence.
Who next had the opportunity to tamper with it before it got to poor Martha Carver?
Mrs.Granger had started to figure this out.The killer must have noticed, got scared, and tried to kill Mrs.Granger only a few minutes ago.
Which confirmed the killer was in their midst.
Lurking dangerously close.
And desperate to complete what he hoped would be another perfect crime.
Alex had to admit that knocking Mrs.Granger unconscious and letting the incoming tide swallow her up was quite clever.The coroner would easily dismiss the gash to the back of her head as an accidental occurrence and conclude death by drowning, for her lungs would have been filled with water when examined.
And everyone would believe she was a distraught woman who had been too overset to realize the tide was coming in…or who intentionally meant to drown herself.
A good plan, except Alex and Mr.Carver had foiled it.
His suspected killer also had to be someone who had time to plant those vials in Mrs.Granger’s drawer in order to make it appear as though she was the one who had drugged Tulip’s food and next meant to poison her…or poisonhim.
That part was foiled by Tulip who had searched Mrs.Granger’s room earlier and knew for a certainty that those vials had not been in the drawer.
But the killer did not know this.
Mr.Carver returned with two maids in tow.“Is there anything more you need of me, Your Grace?If not, I’ll get the men back to work.”
