Murder Actually by Stephanie McCarthy Read Free Book Online Page A

offensive than usual.”
    â€œYes, he was, remember, Elspeth?” Rose broke in eagerly. “He announced his engagement to Violet Ambler! We were all shocked, especially since Jasper is still married to Nora…was still married…” Rose’s voice trailed away again as Liddell regarded her sternly.
    â€œAre you telling me that Mr. Ware announced his engagement to another woman, here, tonight?”
    Liddell sounded incredulous and I hurried to explain. “It wasn’t really an announcement; it was more of an accident. I mean, Violet Ambler was talking to me about it and the rest of the group overheard us.”
    â€œWhat exactly did Mr. Ware say?”
    â€œWell, he didn’t really say much, Violet did most of the talking. She said Jasper was divorcing Nora and that she and Jasper were going to be married sometime next year.”
    â€œWas Nora Ware at the book reading tonight?”
    I shook my head. “I never saw her.”
    Liddell was silent a moment and then gave his fingers a final sniff. “I’m afraid you’re going to have to come down to the station with me, Elspeth; I need to hear more about this book reading.”
    I’m sure you can appreciate my conclusion that book readings are a very bad idea.
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Chapter 5
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    â€œWhat are you doing here?”
    As the place in question was the All Hallows Public Library and I had a book propped open in front of me, I was understandably reluctant to offer further explanation.
    â€œI’m reading,” I said finally, and to demonstrate I turned a page.
    Julia snorted. Her expression told me such an endeavor on my part was highly suspect. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere. Why aren’t you out investigating your murder?”
    â€œI don’t have a murder.”
    â€œSure you do,” Julia pulled out a copy of the All Hallows Gazette and thrust it under my nose. “Here you are; right on page one.”
    I groaned when I saw the headline, “Murder by the Book” and groaned again after I read the article.
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    Romance novelist Elspeth Gray makes no secret of the fact that she does not like the mystery genre. In fact, at a book reading last night at Inkwell Books, Ms. Gray informed an eager crowd that she thought clues like antique bloodstained daggers were the stuff of Grubstreet. Imagine her surprise when the body of mystery writer Jasper Ware was found in an isolated corner of Inkwell. Cause of death? Stab wound to the chest. Oh, and did we mention the murder weapon was an antique dagger? If we didn’t know any better we would say our Ms. Gray has been reading too many mysteries, maybe even Ware’s own Deadly Harbor .
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    There was a picture of me, dazed and tousled, on one side, and a picture of Jasper, sneering and supercilious, on the other.
    â€œDon’t you see, Betts?” Julia demanded. “Someone at the reading heard what you said and used your idea to bump off Jasper Ware!”
    â€œIt certainly seemed that way to the police; Liddell was questioning me until one o’clock this morning.” I stifled a yawn.
    â€œSo?”
    â€œSo what?”
    â€œSo what are you going to do about it?”
    â€œNothing!”
    Julia sat forward in her chair, her cheeks red with indignation. “Elspeth Caroline Gray, since you gave the murderer the idea to kill Jasper Ware you have a moral obligation to investigate this crime!”
    I regarded her impatiently. Anytime Julia started throwing around terms like ‘moral obligation’ I knew she wanted something, and in this case I knew what it was.
    â€œI’m not going to let you embroil me in a pseudo-investigation; I have research to do.” I pointedly held up the book I was reading, 365 Days of Cupcakes .
    â€œBetts, this is your big chance!” Julia exclaimed. “Jasper Ware was murdered at your book reading and the murderer was there, too. Imagine if we