Page 22 of Honey Mead Murder

“On rumours about a client that’s not his?” George wasn’t surprised when Murphy went for his phone. “They might not disclose details with each other, but they’re human beings underneath the legal façade. In my experience, people will talk.”

While Murphy had a quick conversation with their solicitor friend, George flipped to a new section in his notebook. He jotted down what they knew about each suspect. Ella and Bertrand went on the same page.

Had the bitter wife who wanted to leave her husband without losing money done it? Or had Bertrand lied to Murphy? Was Roland in control of his inheritance after all?

Then, there were the wild cards—Darren and Natalia. The former had a clear motive against Ronald. The latter would surely have been angrier with her own husband or Ella.

“If Natalia was involved, why would she have wanted to kill Ronald? He was as much of a victim in the affair as she was,” George muttered to himself and Bumble, who snuffled and went back to sleep. He turned his question to Murphy once he’d gotten off the phone. “What do you think?”

“About?”

“Why would Natalia kill Ronald instead of Darren or Ella? What’s the motive?” George absently doodled on the margin of the page. “It doesn’t make sense.”

“So, either she’s not involved.”

“Possible. Or, she’s protecting her husband.”

“Or she meant for the drink to go to Darren or Ella.” George knew his thoughts were going around in circles. “Maybe they really were having a real massive row in the middle of the village?”

“Maybe. If it smells like a duck….”

“How do you know what a duck smells like?” George rubbed his eyes tiredly for a moment. “Do you go around grabbing them and sniffing them?”

“No.” Murphy gave a choked noise.

“Good to know. What did Evan say?” George didn’t have the energy to decipher neurotypical reactions.

Murphy stared at him for a few seconds before finally responding. “He said we should keep our noses out of a police inquiry.”

George rolled his eyes. He had no doubts Evan was as curious as they were about who’d killed Ronald. “What did he say when he was finished being sensible for the sake of legal liability?”

“He has no direct knowledge about the Donelson will or inheritance. But he does recall being in close proximity when Bertrand and Ronald had an altercation outside of their solicitor’s office. The younger brother was going on a tear about being screwed out of control over his own life.” Murphy came over to sit beside him. He leaned in closer, throwing a heavy arm casually over George’s shoulders. “Ol’ Bertie either lied to my face, or things changed at some point.”

“Like after he murdered his brother?” George absolutely did not snuggle into Murphy’s side. It just looked like he had.

Bumble eyed them from the floor before snuffling back to sleep. George exchanged a grin with Murphy when the snoring picked up again. It was never completely quiet in a house with a pug.

The silence between them dragged on for a few minutes. George enjoyed it. He jotted down a few thoughts in the notebook while resting against Murphy.

Murphy tapped his finger against a note about Bertrand. “Still curious about why he tracked me down?”

“Maybe he was protecting his girlfriend? Have you asked Teagan for their side of the conversation?” George knew them well enough to know they could manage a subtle conversation if required. “Tell them to bring pain au chocolat from the bakery. I want something sweet.”

“Too late for the bakery. Doesn’t she close up shop at six?”

“Bugger.” George had been craving chocolate all day. “Fine, fine. No chocolate for me.”

“I’m sure Teagan can find chocolate for you. Should we invite Margo?”

“Margo doesn’t like driving.” George knew his cousin would also be irritated at missing out on yet another “let’s pretend we’re detectives” session. “And I am vastly understating her feelings on the subject.”

“Maybe Teagan can pick her up.” Murphy snickered.

“Why is that funny?”

“My Teagan has a crush on your cousin.”

“Still not seeing the joke. You’re being decidedly neurotypical.” George froze. He held a hand up to stop Murphy from responding to him. “Did you hear that?”

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