No Clue at the Inn (Pennyfoot Hotel Mystery Book 13) by Kate Kingsbury Read Free Book Online Page B

came here to see for myself."
    "And he wasn't here."
    "No, he wasn't." Emily's pale gray eyes filled with tears again. "I thought he was with another woman. I'd had my suspicions for a long time. Working at a place like this, he was bound to meet a hussy or two. I suppose I was expecting it in a way. He'd grown tired of me a long time ago. I could tell." A sob escaped, and she quickly smothered it with her crumpled handkerchief.
    "I'm so sorry, Mrs. Wrotham." Anger burned in Cecily's breast when she saw the misery etched on Emily's once pretty face. Any sympathy she might have had for Barry Wrotham's ignoble fate was immediately erased. In her opinion, men who cheated on their wives ought to be horsewhipped. The pain and misery they caused while indulging in their selfish whims could not be measured.
    "In any case," Emily said, still fighting tears, "I was really angry. I wanted him caught with whoever he was with, to bring shame on her and to put an end to it. So I told Mr. Sandringham that Barry was missing. I told him he'd never come home and I was afraid something had happened to him. I could tell Mr. Sandringham didn't care that much, but he knew I was worried about Barry, so he sent Raymond out to see if he could find him."
    "Ah, yes. Raymond told me about finding your husband's body."
    Another sob escaped her lips. "Yes, well, Raymond saw his bicycle leaning against the fence and went in to the farm to look for him. He found him . . . floating . . . in the well." This time her sobs overcame her.
    Cecily was thankful to hear Jeanette's light tap on the door, thus giving Emily a chance to compose herself while she took charge of the refreshments.
    After serving both women with a steaming cup of coffee and a buttered bun, Jeanette left the room, though not without raising a questioning eyebrow at Cecily as she passed by her chair.
    Cecily pretended not to notice. That young maid's curiosity would no doubt get her into trouble one day, she thought, as she took a sip of her coffee.
    Within a few moments, Emily Wrotham appeared composed enough to continue her story. "What puzzles me," she told Cecily, "is why my husband was on that farm in the first place. The land is being offered for sale, I understand, but Barry had no money to buy a place like that, and in any case, he's no farmer. I can't imagine what he'd be doing, wandering around an abandoned farm all alone."
    "Perhaps, if your suspicions about another woman are justified, your husband might have intended to meet someone there."
    Emily nodded her agreement. "That's what I think. It's the only answer, really. I think someone lured him there in order to kill him. And it's my thinking that perhaps the husband or suitor of whomever my husband was dallying with had a hand in it. Why else would someone want to kill a man like my Barry? He wasn't perfect, by any means, but he never harmed anyone in his entire life." Her words ended on a burst of weeping that took some time to dissolve.
    Cecily let the woman cry, understanding that she needed to indulge in her grief. While she waited for Emily to control her sobs, she thought about what she'd heard. There was a ring of plausibility to the widow's words, though she had to admit that until now she hadn't thought about there being another woman involved. It would seem there was much more to Barry Wrotham than she'd realized.
    When the widow seemed to have found her composure again, Cecily asked gently, "Have you spoken to the constable about your suspicions?"
    "Oh, no." Emily dabbed at her pink nose. "I couldn't, Mrs. Baxter. For one thing, I don't know for sure that Barry was seeing someone else. I wouldn't want that sort of thing spread all over town if it isn't true. I have my children to consider. It's bad enough they lost their father. I don't want them thinking ill of him if I'm wrong about him."
    "I see." Cecily's heart went out to this poor woman who had been left to raise her children alone. "Then why have you come