Free Two Birds with One Stone (A Marsden-Lacey Cozy Mystery Book 1) by Sigrid Vansandt Page B

in English literature so naturally
one of the few avenues open to me was teaching. An absolutely exhausting
experience. I taught in prep schools for a few years and then decided to go
back and get my masters in curatorial studies. My first curatorial job was in
Massachusetts working in a private collection.”
    Johns studied Louis Devry for a few seconds. “How did you
end up here again, Mr. Devry?”
    “About a year ago I got a phone call from Piers. He asked if
I would be interested in a position with a museum he was involved with. I
thought it would be a nice way to catch up with friends and I was aware of The
Grange’s famous collection. He invited me over for a look around and I wanted a
change in my life, so I accepted.”
    “Do you have a wife, maybe a girlfriend?”Johns asked.
    “Long time ago. The family I worked for after I finished my
master ’ s program had a daughter. Her name was Emilia. I
fell in love with her but she was sent to school in Switzerland. I never
married.”
    Johns pushed further. “What ever happened to Emilia?”
    “She ’ s dead.”The muscle on the left hand side of
Devry’s jaw tightened and then relaxed.
    Johns never took his gaze off Devry ’ s
face and was acutely aware of the man ’ s every movement and
energy. “How did she die?”
    “In child birth. It still happens you know? Women still die
that way. She was extremely ill during the pregnancy and it took a toll. I was
told something went wrong and she lost too much blood. She never regained
consciousness. She died too young.”
    The last words were said more to the clenched hands in his
lap than to Johns.
    “What happened to the child? Did it live?”Johns asked.
    Louis Devry actually blanched. Johns realized he had hit a
nerve.
    “I…I…believe Emilia ’ s husband, Sir
Carstons, would have been raising the child.”
    There it was. An extremely bitter connection between the two
men: a woman. Johns noted that Devry had said “raising”not “father.”
    “Emilia was married to Sir Carstons?”
    Devry nodded in the affirmative.
    “He has been described as a brutal man. Do you know if he
was the same with his wife and child?”
    Devry took a deep breath and the vein in his neck pulsated
visibly. “Emilia was a free spirit. I would like to believe she might have left
Sir Carstons once the child was born. I ’ ll never know, of
course.”
    Johns decided to change direction in his questioning. “You
said you had gone to see your mother the day Sir Carstons was killed. A
stepmother I presume?”
    “Yes, Carissa is my stepmother but I call her mother. She
has been like one to me since I was twelve. At first I resented her and made
her life a hell, but she would bring me treats and knew how much I loved books.
If there was ever a woman who truly loved me, it ’ s
Carissa. I ’ ve been blessed to have her in my life.”He finished with a
barely audible sigh.
    “Mr. Devry where were you last night before Mr. Cousins was
shot?”
    Devry gave Johns a confused look. “I had gone up to my room.
My head was killing me and I wanted to be done with the party. It was only when
I heard the sirens coming up the road that I woke up.”
    “You had fallen asleep?”Johns asked.
    “I guess so because I remember coming to and hearing the
noises outside. I got up and saw the ambulance and the party guests out on the
lawn. I went downstairs and ran into Mrs. Thyme. She was frantic and she told
me what had happened. I made a dash for the garden but they had already put
Piers on the gurney.”
    “You never heard the shot?”
    “No. My windows were closed but my room is on the side of
the house opposite the garden. I must have been sound asleep.”
    “I have one more question. Where did you go after you saw
Cousins put into the ambulance?”
    “I went back upstairs to my room. The whole evening, well in
fact, the last three days have been a great strain.”
    Johns had noticed how much of an effort the man had been
making during