English Tea Murder by Leslie Meier Read Free Book Online

control him. He was obviously a kid who enjoyed his independence, and it seemed odd that he’d agreed to a trip with his mother. Most boys his age would choose to spend spring break in Mexico or Florida, or in a worst-case scenario, at home, where they had developed ways of deluding and eluding their parents and could hang out with their high school friends.
    “He’s a cute kid,” said Rachel. “Reminds me of my Richie.”
    “Have you heard from Richie lately?” asked Lucy, who knew that Rachel’s son was in Greece, working on an archaeological dig.
    “Come to think of it, not since last month.” She laughed. “He wanted income tax forms.”
    “That’s something at least,” complained Pam. “I haven’t heard a word from Tim since Christmas.” She paused. “Lucy’s so lucky to have Toby living in town.”
    “It’s true. I am lucky.” Lucy put down her fork and dabbed at her mouth with her napkin. “But I have to remind myself not to hover. They may be nearby, but they need their own space.” It was a lesson she thought Laura Barfield would have to learn, too, if she hoped to maintain a healthy relationship with her son.
    Dr. Cope and Jennifer Fain were already waiting on the sidewalk in front of the hotel when Lucy and her friends stepped outside at nine-thirty. The sky was overcast but the TV weatherman had promised later clearing, and the temperature was forecast to rise to twelve degrees Celsius—around sixty degrees Fahrenheit.
    “Are we all here?” asked Pam, consulting her list.
    “Autumn’s still upstairs,” said Jennifer.
    “We’ll wait for her, then,” said Pam, unfolding her map of the Underground. “It looks like we can take the Northern Line from Euston Square.”
    “Lead on,” said Lucy when the door of the hotel opened and Autumn clumped down the steps in her Dr. Martens. Today she was wearing black leggings that stopped at her ankles, a short black jersey dress, and a torn fishnet sweater.
    “Do you think you’ll be warm enough?” asked Pam, unable to stifle her motherly instincts.
    Autumn’s back stiffened and she glared at Pam as if she’d been accused of some dastardly crime. “I’ll be fine.”
    “Okay,” said Pam, backing off. “It looks like we’re all here. The others have made separate plans.”
    “Well, this is nice,” declared Dr. Cope. “I feel like Henry the Eighth, accompanied by six lovely ladies.”
    “Just as long as you treat us better than he treated his wives,” said Rachel, falling into step beside him as they walked along Gower Street to the Tube station.
    Crowds were already making their way to the Tower of London when they emerged from the Tower Hill Tube station into what had become a sunny day. As they joined the throng walking along the outer walls that ringed the spacious grassy moat, Lucy thought it must have been much the same throughout the centuries, especially when traitors and criminals were publicly executed on Tower Hill. Today’s crowds weren’t out for blood, however, but were drawn by the Tower’s various attractions, including the crown jewels.
    Despite the sunshine, it was chilly when they passed through the Middle Tower entrance into the castle complex. Lucy wasn’t sure what she had expected but was somewhat surprised to find the Tower of London wasn’t a single structure; rather, it was a number of buildings collected inside a double ring of walls that would frustrate an attacker. It was a true medieval fortress and reminded her of books about knights and castles she had read to Toby when he was small. Even today, she thought as they strolled along the shadowed path between the two walls, there was something grim about the place.
    “The Traitor’s Gate,” said Dr. Cope, pausing in front of a semicircular opening in the outer wall, blocked with forbidding bars, that connected to the Thames beyond. It was here that prisoners had been delivered by boat.
    “Imagine being brought through there, knowing you’d never