High Marks for Murder (A Bellehaven House Mystery Book 1) (22 page)
Read High Marks for Murder (A Bellehaven House Mystery Book 1) Online
Authors: Kate Kingsbury
Convinced she was having another nightmare, Amelia pinched herself. It hurt. She stared at the figure, her mouth dry. It was hard to see in the faint glow of moonlight, but she could swear there was no head.
She shut her eyes tight, then carefully opened them, praying the strange figure would be gone. Not only was it still there, it moved toward her.
Shrinking back, Amelia cried out in a voice that sounded nothing like her own. "Who are you? What do you want?"
The creature halted, but it swayed from side to side, ut
tering a dreadful moan that filled Amelia with cold, chilling dread.
"Go away!" she shouted, clutching the eiderdown for protection. "Go away or I'll scream for the teachers."
The figure lifted its arms and moaned again. Then, in a weird, quavering voice, it spoke. "Vengeance. I want vengeance."
Amelia drew her knees up under her chin. Her teeth chattered so badly she could hardly speak. "Go away! I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want with me."
"You do know who I am. I'm Miss Duncan." The figure moaned again. "I'm here to punish the one who killed me."
Tears spurted from Amelia's eyes and rolled down her chin. "Oh, no! I didn't mean to kill you. I was angry with you. You made me look like a fool in front of the class and I followed you that night to tell you how angry that made me. But when I called out your name you just kept walking away. That made me even more angry that you wouldn't listen to me." Giving in to the sobs that shook her body, she buried her face in her arms.
"You killed me," the figure moaned. "You must face your punishment."
"I d-d-didn't mean t-to!" Amelia fought hard to get out the words. "I know I lost my temper and picked up the branch. I didn't mean to hit you with it. I wanted to throw it in front of you to make you stop and listen. B-b-ut it was heavy. It hit you instead. I tried to wake you up. I really d-did. But then I got scared and ran back to school. I'm s-s-sorry." Once more she let the sobs take over.
Dimly she heard the scrape of a match, then light glowed all around her. Cautiously she opened her eyes. Standing in
front of her, a glimmering oil lamp in one hand and a white sheet in the other, was Mrs. Llewellyn.
"So," Felicity said. "you pretended to be Kathleen's
ghost. How creative."
"It really was clever of you, Meredith." Essie reached out to the vase of chrysanthemums on the table, and rearranged some of the flowers. "I'm sure I wouldn't have thought of it."
"Actually, it was you who gave me the idea." Meredith leaned back with a sigh. She had asked Felicity and Essie to meet her in the library before breakfast so they could discuss what to do about Amelia.
Last night she had been angry enough with the girl to want her taken away in handcuffs, but now that she'd had time to sleep on it she had to acknowledge that the tragedy was more of a dreadful accident than murder.
Yet Amelia was at fault, even if her intention wasn't to harm Kathleen, and some sort of punishment was merited.
"Me?" Essie's surprised exclamation broke into Meredith's thoughts. "How did I give you the idea?"
"When you said it was a pity Amelia couldn't see Kathleen's ghost. That's when I decided to let her think she was indeed seeing the ghost."
"But a sheet," Felicity said, shaking her head. "How on earth did you get away with that?"
"Moonlight." Meredith smiled. "It plays tricks with your eyes. Also, Amelia's guilt made it easier for her to believe she really was seeing Kathleen."
"I suppose." Felicity yawned. "What are you going to do now?"
"That's what I want to discuss with you." Meredith looked at each of her friends. "What do you suggest I do?"
"Well, expel her from school of course. We can't have a pupil with that vicious a temper running around threatening everyone who gets in her way."
"I agree." Essie shuddered. "I should be too nervous to ever chastise her again, in case she comes after me with a tree branch."
"I'd already decided to do that. We shall have to tell her parents why she is being sent home, of course. But what concerns me is the fact that P.C. Shipham should be informed."
"Oh, dear." Essie's face creased in concern. "Do we have to? I mean, she didn't mean to kill Kathleen by all accounts. I hate the thought of such a young woman being dragged into court and perhaps put in prison."
"Nevertheless, she was responsible for the death of her tutor." Meredith hesitated, reluctant to pursue the matter yet knowing she must. "Whether it was carelessness, bad judgment, or uncontrollable temper, she has to answer to that."
"Absolutely." Felicity lifted her hand in a fist. "Justice must prevail. After all, isn't that why Kathleen tried so hard to tell us who killed her? She needed justice to go . . . wherever we go when we die."
"Essie?" Meredith held out a hand in appeal. "Surely you agree?"
Essie looked most unhappy, but reluctantly inclined her head. "I suppose so. Such an awful pity, though. She's a bright girl and I really hate to see such great promise go to waste."
"Well, maybe it won't be a waste. Perhaps the courts
will go lightly on her and she will have learned her lesson and will control her temper from now on."
"That's my Meredith," Felicity said cheerfully. "Always looking on the positive side of things."
"Do you think Kathleen is satisfied now?" Essie looked wistfully out of the window. "Do you think she's crossed over to the other world?"
"I hope so." Meredith followed her gaze. "But I'll miss her. Although I couldn't communicate directly with her, it was comforting in a way to know she was still with us."
"Well, I certainly hope she has gone." Felicity surged to her feet. "Perhaps now you can stop looking like a ghost yourself and find some peace. Get some color back in your cheeks. Really, Meredith, you've looked positively haggard these past few days."
Meredith winced. Trust Felicity to put some reality into the conversation. "I think we should all go to breakfast," she said, rising to her feet. "I'm absolutely ravenous."
"That's the most invigorating thing you've said all morning." Felicity strode to the door. "Last one in the dining hall is a sissy."
Amelia's parents arrived that afternoon and were
astounded to hear that their daughter had been responsible for the death of a teacher. P.C. Shipham arrived an hour later, and seemed not at all grateful that Meredith had solved the mystery of Kathleen's demise.
After explaining to the Websters the necessity of a court case, he took a tearful Amelia into custody. As they were leaving, he couldn't resist a parting shot.
"I do hope, Mrs. Llewellyn," he said, as Meredith accompanied them to the main doors, "that you will not make
a habit of sticking your nose in business that doesn't concern you. You were lucky this time. Next time it could be a dangerous murderer."
"I sincerely hope that it won't be necessary for me to track down another killer," Meredith assured him. "I would hate to see anyone else struck down like that."
Shipham looked down his nose at her. "They won't be, as long as they don't go walking about after dark by theirselves."
"However," Meredith continued, "should something that unfortunate occur, I can assure you, Constable, I shall pursue the matter with as much fervor and determination as I have done for Miss Duncan."
The constable's face darkened. "One of these days, mark my word, you'll be sorry you said that."
She watched him lead Amelia down the steps, followed by her anxious parents. She felt sorry for the young woman. Life would be difficult for her for a while.
She was preparing to retire that evening when to her utter dismay, she felt the room grow icy cold. Standing by her bed, she froze. Surely Kathleen could not still be here. For a moment she panicked. Had she made a mistake? But no, Amelia had confessed. It had all been explained.
Hoping it was merely her imagination, she turned toward the window. No, she hadn't imagined it. For there was the cloud, with Kathleen's figure slowly materializing in the middle of it.
"It was Amelia," Meredith said sharply. "It's all been taken care of, Kathleen. You can go in peace now. Justice will be served."
The apparition grew stronger, and now she could see Kathleen's face. There was something else, though. Something different about the shape of Kathleen's body.
Staring at the odd vision forming at her late friend's side, Meredith blinked, and blinked again. She was not mistaken. Standing at Kathleen's side, just as transparent and elusive, was the figure of a child.
Meredith looked up at Kathleen's face, but already she was fading. Ghostly hands pushed the child's figure toward her, then Kathleen was gone.
Meredith knew in that instant that she would see her friend no more. Kathleen, however, had left a parting gift. For the gossamer figure of the child remained, looking up at her, hands stretched out in appeal.
Meredith sank onto her bed. It would seem she was not done with ghosts after all. She looked at the child, cringing at the thought of what lie ahead. "All right, my precious," she said softly. "Now what's your story?"
Author Bio
Rebecca Kent is the alter ego of Kate Kingsbury, the national best-selling author of over sixty books. Her work has appeared on many bestseller lists and her books have sold all over the world. She lives on a golf course in Oregon with her husband, and a rat terrier who thinks she's Great Dane. You can find her website at www.doreenrobertshight.com and if you "like" her Facebook page,
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kate-Kingsbury/51478828226
where she keeps her fans updated with all the latest news, she will be delighted to answer your comments.
Other Bellehaven House Mysteries Available on Kindle:
High Marks for Murder
Finished Off
Murder Has No Class
THE FIRST TWELVE PENNYFOOT HOTEL BOOKS
ARE NOW AVAILABLE FOR THE KINDLE!
The Pennyfoot hides many secrets and its downstairs staff keeps a tight lip, even when the Edwardian aristocrats are dallying with damsels in the boudoirs, or gambling in the card rooms hidden below the floorboards. Should now and then someone fall prey to a dastardly murderer, however, it is up to Cecily Sinclair to restore order before Scotland Yard steps in and shuts down her infamous seaside hotel. Eccentric characters, mysterious guests and downstairs staff shenanigans add to the merriment of your visit to the Pennyfoot Hotel.
