Afternoon Tea Mysteries Vol Three Read online

  Afternoon Tea Mysteries, Volume Three: A Collection of Cozy Mysteries

  By Tory Hageman

  Copyright Tory Hageman 2011.

  Published by ignacio hills press.

  Note from publisher: Original erratic punctuation and unusual spellings have been retained for this collection.

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  Look for these other exciting books from ignacio hills press:

  A Sherlock Holmes Collection - Four novels and over 40 short stories in the "Sherlock Holmes" series written by acclaimed author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle—the entire collection for just 99 Cents! Beautifully formatted and hyperlinked for easy navigation. Look for the ignacio hills press version on Amazon.

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  Afternoon Tea Mysteries, Volume One: A Collection of Cozy Mysteries – Cozy mysteries are a subgenre of crime fiction in which sex and violence are downplayed. Cozies very rarely focus on sex, profanity or violence. The murders take place off stage, and are often relatively bloodless (e.g. poisoning), while sexual activity (if any) between characters is only ever gently implied and never directly addressed. This edition contains one short story and three cozy novels by acclaimed authors, Anne Austin and Anna Katharine Green. Look for ignacio hills press version on Amazon.

  Afternoon Tea Mysteries, Volume Two: A Collection of Cozy Mysteries – This edition contains four cozy novels by acclaimed authors, Anna Katharine Green, Carolyn Wells and Mrs. Charles Bryce (Marion Bryce). Look for ignacio hills press version on Amazon.

  Dr. McHuskey Mysteries, Book One: A Red Finger Points to Murder – Now available on Amazon.

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  Cozy Mystery One: Sisterhood – A Kristen Carter Mystery!

  Kristen Carter, is a plain Quaker woman in her thirties who finds herself “thrown upon the world penniless and all but friendless” in 1920's London. With no way to earn a living, she decides to try her luck as a detective--which has the unfortunate effect of cutting her off from her friends and original position in society. In this story: Sister Monica has rented a house in fever-haunted Paved Court in Redhill, probably not the best location for the Sisterhood’s home for orphans. The Sisters take children begging around local villages each day and strange to relate, burglaries seem to follow in their tracks…

  Cozy Mystery Two: A Jury of Her Peers

  A classic short mystery by Susan Glaspell. A man is found murdered in his bed. Suspicion falls on his wife. The local women examine her kitchen and gradually piece together the sequence of events.

  Cozy Mystery Three: The Trees of Pride

  A novella by celebrated author, G. K. Chesterton. A man goes missing. Time passes. Bones are found in a well. And the locals in this English village are full of superstition. But is everything as it seems?

  Cozy Mystery Four: One of My Sons

  In this mystery written by acclaimed mystery author, Anna Katharine Green, a dying man accuses one of his sons of his murder. Can the brilliant but reclusive detective, Ebenezer Gryce (featured in “An Ebenezer Gryce Mysteries Collection”) and Caleb Sweetwater get to the bottom of the mystery.

  Cozy Mystery Five: Poor Miss Finch

  A mystery by Wilkie Collins. Lucilla is blind. She loves Oscar and has frissons every time he is near. What will happen when she regains her sight and discovers Oscar’s secret?

  Table of Contents

  Cozy Mystery One: Sisterhood – A Kristen Carter Mystery!

  Cozy Mystery Two: A Jury of Her Peers

  Cozy Mystery Three: The Trees of Pride

  Cozy Mystery Three Chap I. The Tale of the Peacock Trees

  Cozy Mystery Three Chap II. The Wager of Squire Vane

  Cozy Mystery Three Chap III. The Mystery of the Well

  Cozy Mystery Three Chap IV. The Chase after the Truth

  Cozy Mystery Four: One of My Sons

  Cozy Mystery Four Chap I. The Child, and What She Led Me Into

  Cozy Mystery Four Chap II. The Young Doctor and the Old

  Cozy Mystery Four Chap III. What a Door Hid

  Cozy Mystery Four Chap IV. He Drank It Alone

  Cozy Mystery Four Chap V. Hope

  Cozy Mystery Four Chap VI. A Happy Inspiration

  Cozy Mystery Four Chap VII. The Elderly Gentleman by the Newel-Post

  Cozy Mystery Four Chap VIII. The Man behind the Screen

  Cozy Mystery Four Chap IX. The Clock That Had Run Down

  Cozy Mystery Four Chap X. The Pencil

  Cozy Mystery Four Chap XI. Something to Think About

  Cozy Mystery Four Chap XII. Gossip

  Cozy Mystery Four Chap XIII. Indications

  Cozy Mystery Four Chap XIV. A Sudden Turn

  Cozy Mystery Four Chap XV. The Missing Pocket

  Cozy Mystery Four Chap XVI. In The Parlour at Mrs. Penrhyn’s

  Cozy Mystery Four Chap XVII. The Monogram

  Cozy Mystery Four Chap XVIII. The Phial

  Cozy Mystery Four Chap XIX. I Make My First Move

  Cozy Mystery Four Chap XX. The Little House in New Jersey

  Cozy Mystery Four Chap XXI. Mille-Fleurs

  Cozy Mystery Four Chap XXII. A Disagreeable Hour with a Disagreeable Man

  Cozy Mystery Four Chap XXIII. In My Office

  Cozy Mystery Four Chap XXIV. An Old Catastrophe is Recalled

  Cozy Mystery Four Chap XXV. A Summons

  Cozy Mystery Four Chap XXVI. Ferry Lights

  Cozy Mystery Four Chap XXVII. Rain

  Cozy Mystery Four Chap XXVIII. By The Light of a Guttering Candle

  Cozy Mystery Four Chap XXIX. The Quiet Hour

  Cozy Mystery Four Chap XXX. An Unexpected Ally

  Cozy Mystery Four Chap XXXI. Sweetwater Has an Idea

  Cozy Mystery Four Chap XXXII. With the Shade Down

  Cozy Mystery Four Chap XXXIII. In Which We Can Pardon Mr. Gryce His Unfortunate Illness

  Cozy Mystery Four Chap XXXIV. “It Was The Shock!”

  Cozy Mystery Four Chap XXXV. Roses

  Cozy Mystery Five: Poor Miss Finch

  Cozy Mystery Five Chap FIRST

  Cozy Mystery Five Chap SECOND

  Cozy Mystery Five Chap THIRD

  Cozy Mystery Five Chap FOURTH

  Cozy Mystery Five Chap FIFTH

  Cozy Mystery Five Chap SIXTH

  Cozy Mystery Five Chap SEVENTH

  Cozy Mystery Five Chap EIGHTH

  Cozy Mystery Five Chap NINTH

  Cozy Mystery Five Chap TENTH

  Cozy Mystery Five Chap ELEVENTH

  Cozy Mystery Five Chap TWELFTH

  Cozy Mystery Five Chap THIRTEENTH

  Cozy Mystery Five Chap FOURTEENTH

  Cozy Mystery Five Chap FIFTEENTH

  Cozy Mystery Five Chap SIXTEENTH

  Cozy Mystery Five Chap SEVENTEENTH

  Cozy Mystery Five Chap EIGHTEENTH

  Cozy Mystery Five Chap NINETEENTH

  Cozy Mystery Five Chap TWENTIETH

  Cozy Mystery Five Chap TWENTY-FIRST

  Cozy Mystery Five Chap TWENTY-SECOND

  Cozy Mystery Five Chap TWENTY-THIRD

  Cozy Mystery Five Chap TWENTY-FOURTH

  Cozy Mystery Five Chap TWENTY-FIFTH

  Cozy Mystery Five Chap TWENTY-SIXTH

  Cozy Mystery Five Chap TWENTY-SEVENTH

  Cozy Mystery Five Chap TWENTY-EIGHTHr />
  Cozy Mystery Five Chap TWENTY-NINTH

  Cozy Mystery Five Chap THIRTIETH

  Cozy Mystery Five Chap THIRTY-FIRST

  Cozy Mystery Five Chap THIRTY-SECOND

  Cozy Mystery Five Chap THIRTY-THIRD

  Cozy Mystery Five Chap THE THIRTY-FOURTH

  Cozy Mystery Five Chap THIRTY-FIFTH

  Cozy Mystery Five Chap THIRTY-SIXTH

  Cozy Mystery Five Chap THIRTY-SEVENTH

  Cozy Mystery Five Chap THIRTY-EIGHTH

  Cozy Mystery Five Chap THIRTY-NINTH

  Cozy Mystery Five Chap FORTIETH

  Cozy Mystery Five Chap FORTY-FIRST

  Cozy Mystery Five Chap FORTY-SECOND

  Cozy Mystery Five Chap FORTY-THIRD

  Cozy Mystery Five Chap FORTY-FOURTH

  Cozy Mystery Five Chap FORTY-FIFTH

  Cozy Mystery Five Chap FORTY-SIXTH

  Cozy Mystery Five Chap FORTY-SEVENTH

  Cozy Mystery Five Chap FORTY-EIGHTH

  Cozy Mystery Five Chap FORTY-NINTH

  Cozy Mystery Five Chap FIFTIETH

  Cozy Mystery One: Sisterhood – A Kristen Carter Mystery!

  “THEY want you at Redhill, now,” said Mr. Mutchey, taking a packet of papers from one of his pigeon-holes. “The idea seems gaining ground in manly quarters that in cases of mere suspicion, women detectives are more satisfactory than men, for they are less likely to attract attention. And this Redhill affair, so far as I can make out, is one of suspicion only.”

  It was a dreary November morning; every gas jet in the Lynch Court office was alight, and a yellow curtain of outside fog draped its narrow windows.

  “Nevertheless, I suppose one can’t afford to leave it uninvestigated at this season of the year, with country-house robberies beginning in so many quarters,” said Miss Carter.

  “No; and the circumstances in this case certainly seem to point in the direction of the country-house burglar. Two days ago a somewhat curious application was made privately, by a man giving the name of John Murray, to Inspector Garamond, of the Reigate police—Redhill, I must tell you is in the Reigate police district. Murray stated that he had been a grocer somewhere in South London, had sold his business there, and had, with the proceeds of the sale, bought two small houses in Redhill, intending to let the one and live in the other. These houses are situated in a blind alley, known as Paved Court, a narrow turning leading off the London and Brighton coach road. Paved Court has been known to the sanitary authorities for the past ten years as a regular fever nest, and as the houses which Murray bought—numbers 7 and 8—stand at the very end of the blind alley, with no chance of thorough ventilation, I dare say the man got them for next to nothing. He told the Inspector that he had had great difficulty in procuring a tenant for the house he wished to let, number 8, and that consequently when, about three weeks back, a lady, dressed as a nun, made him an offer for it, he immediately closed with her. The lady gave her name simply as ‘Sister Monica,’ and stated that she was a member of an undenominational Sisterhood that had recently been founded by a wealthy lady, who wished her name kept a secret. Sister Monica gave no references, but, instead, paid a quarter’s rent in advance, saying that she wished to take possession of the house immediately, and open it as a home for disabled orphans.”

  “Gave no references—home for the disabled,” murmured Kristen, scribbling hard and fast in her notebook.

  “Murray made no objection to this,” continued Mr. Mutchey, “and, accordingly, the next day, Sister Monica, accompanied by three other Sisters and some sickly children, took possession of the house, which they furnished with the barest possible necessaries from cheap shops in the neighbourhood. For a time, Murray said, he thought he had secured most desirable tenants, but during the last ten days suspicions as to their real character have entered his mind, and these suspicions he thought it his duty to communicate to the police. Among their possessions, it seems, these Sisters number an old donkey and a tiny cart, and this they start daily on a sort of begging tour through the adjoining villages, bringing back every evening a perfect hoard of broken victuals and bundles of old garments. Now comes the extraordinary fact on which Murray bases his suspicions. He says, and Garamond verifies his statement, that in whatever direction those Sisters turn the wheels of their donkey-cart, burglaries, or attempts at burglaries, are sure to follow. A week ago they went along towards Horley, where, at an outlying house, they received much kindness from a wealthy gentleman. That very night an attempt was made to break into that gentleman’s house—an attempt, however, that was happily frustrated by the barking of the house-dog. And so on in other instances that I need not go into. Murray suggests that it might be as well to have the daily movements of these sisters closely watched, and that extra vigilance should be exercised by the police in the districts that have had the honour of a morning call from them. Garamond coincides with this idea, and so has sent to me to secure your services.”

  Kristen closed her notebook. “I suppose Garamond will meet me somewhere and tell me where I’m to take up my quarters?” she said.

  “Yes; he will get into your carriage at Merstham—the station before Redhill—if you will put your hand out of window, with the morning paper in it. By-the-way, he takes it for granted that you will save the 11.5 train from Victoria. Murray, it seems has been good enough to place his little house at the disposal of the police, but Garamond does not think espionage could be so well carried on there as from other quarters. The presence of a stranger in an alley of that sort is bound to attract attention. So he has hired a room for you in a draper’s shop that immediately faces the head of the court. There is a private door to this shop of which you will have the key, and can let yourself in and out as you please. You are supposed to be a nursery governess on the lookout for a situation, and Garamond will keep you supplied with letters to give colour to the idea. He suggests that you need only occupy the room during the day, at night you will find far more comfortable quarters at Laker’s Hotel, just outside the town.”

  This was about the sum total of the instructions that Mr. Mutchey had to give.

  The 11.5 train from Victoria, that carried Kristen to her work among the Surrey Hills, did not get clear of the London fog till well away on the other side of Purley. When the train halted at Merstham, in response to her signal a tall, soldier-like individual made for her carriage, and, jumping in, took the seat facing her. He introduced himself to her as Inspector Garamond, recalled to her memory a former occasion on which they had met, and then, naturally enough, turned the talk upon the present suspicious circumstances they were bent upon investigating.

  “It won’t do for you and me to be seen together,” he said; “of course I am known for miles round, and anyone seen in my company will be at once set down as my coadjutor, and spied upon accordingly. I walked from Redhill to Merstham on purpose to avoid recognition on the platform at Redhill, and half-way here, to my great annoyance, found that I was being followed by a man in a workman’s dress and carrying a basket of tools. I doubled, however, and gave him the slip, taking a short cut down a lane which, if he had been living in the place, he would have known as well as I did. By Jove!” this was added with a sudden start, “there is the fellow, I declare; he has weathered me after all, and has no doubt taken good stock of us both, with the train going at this snail’s pace. It was unfortunate that your face should have been turned towards that window, Miss Carter.”

  “My veil is something of a disguise, and I will put on another cloak before he has a chance of seeing me again,” said Kristen.

  All she had seen in the brief glimpse that the train had allowed, was a tall, powerfully-built man walking along a siding of the line. His cap was drawn low over his eyes, and in his hand he carried a workman’s basket.

  Garamond seemed much annoyed at the circumstance. “Instead of landing at Redhill,” he said, “we’ll go on to Three Bridges and wait there for a Brighton train to bring us back, that will enable you to get to your room somewhere b
etween the lights; I don’t want to have you spotted before you’ve so much as started your work.”

  Then they went back to their discussion of the Redhill Sisterhood.

  “They call themselves ‘undenominational,’ whatever that means,” said Garamond “they say they are connected with no religious sect whatever, they attend sometimes one place of worship, sometimes another, sometimes none at all. They refuse to give up the name of the founder of their order, and really no one has any right to demand it of them, for, as no doubt you see, up to the present moment the case is one of mere suspicion, and it may be a pure coincidence that attempts at burglary have followed their footsteps in this neighbourhood. By-the-way, I have heard of a man’s face being enough to hang him, but until I saw Sister Monica’s, I never saw a woman’s face that could perform the same kind office for her. Of all the lowest criminal types of faces I have ever seen, I think hers is about the lowest and most repulsive.”

  After the Sisters, they passed in review the chief families resident in the neighbourhood.

  .”This,” said Garamond, unfolding a paper, “is a map I have specially drawn up for you—it takes in the district for ten miles round Redhill, and every country house of any importance is marked with it in red ink. Here, in addition, is an index to those houses, with special notes of my own to every house.”

  Kristen studied the map for a minute or so, then turned her attention to the index.

  “Those four houses you’ve marked, I see, are those that have been already attempted. I don’t think I’ll run them through, but I’ll mark them ‘doubtful;’ you see the gang—for, of course, it is a gang—might follow our reasoning on the matter, and look upon those houses as our weak point. Here’s one I’ll run through, ‘house empty during winter months,’ that means plate and jewelry sent to the bankers. Oh! and this one may as well be crossed off, ‘father and four sons all athletes and sportsmen,’ that means firearms always handy—I don’t think burglars will be likely to trouble them. Ah! now we come to something! Here’s a house to be marked ‘tempting’ in a burglar’s list. ‘Wootton Hall, lately changed hands and re-built, with complicated passages and corridors. Splendid family plate in daily use and left entirely to the care of the butler.’ I wonder, does the master of that house trust to his ‘complicated passages’ to preserve his plate for him? A dismissed dishonest servant would supply a dozen maps of the place for half-a-sovereign. What do these initials, ‘E.L.,’ against the next house in the list, North Cape, stand for?”