Considerations
They began to make their way through the kitchen, and Meg noticed Tessa had moved on to some sort of baking. She offered a smile but said nothing as they passed through. Meg made a mental note to make sure that Tessa received enough money that she wouldn’t have to work anymore. It was the least she could do for the woman who’d served her mother and put up with her uncle for so long.
Mildred was standing in the foyer speaking to an officer Meg didn’t recognize. The other officers Det. Weber had mentioned must have arrived, because several men in uniforms stood both inside the entryway and on the porch. Officer Brown was speaking to the ones on the porch, and Meg decided to wait for him to notice her rather than announce her presence and be forced to get on with her report of what happened with her uncle any sooner than necessary.
“Mary Margaret,” Mildred said, turning to face her daughter. “You’ve returned. Did you get everything taken care of with the Bitterly boy?”
Meg found it unamusing that her mother still addressed him that way after all of these years. “I did.”
“Good. I had a feeling he wasn’t telling the truth. And to think you nearly gave up everything for that wretched man.” She looked at Charlie as she spoke and then back at Meg, a snide grin pulling at her thin lips.
The words stung worse than they should. “Yes, Mother, I suppose I nearly did. Would you happen to know anything about that, Mother? About making the wrong choice?’
“I don’t know what you mean….”
“When you chose Bertram over Da. Did you ever regret that? Once his promises of making the company so grand and profitable fell through, when he buried himself in a bottle and embarrassed the hell out of us at social functions? Did you ever think perhaps you should’ve stayed loyal to Da?”
“Mary Margaret, your uncle and I have only ever been like brother and sister,” Mildred said, her head shaking slightly as she said it.
“Please don’t speak to me as if I am an idiot, Mother. Anyone could see that was obviously not the case. I just don’t know when it all started. I’d always assumed you found solace in the arms of that vile creature after Da passed, but now, I’m not so sure.”
Mildred looked at the officer she’d been speaking to, who was now at least a foot closer to the door, and at Charlie before she said quietly, “Mary Margaret, I’m not sure now is the time to discuss such matters.”
“There will be no other time, Mother. Once I leave here today, you can rest assured I will never return.”
The older woman took a deep breath in through her nostrils. “Perhaps we should retire to the parlor then….”
“No, Mother. That’s not necessary. I see everything on your face. I had hoped that the information I just received concerning your… participation… in Da’s death was simply rumor, but you really are capable of killing, aren’t you, Mother?”
“Mary Margaret!” Mildred warned. The police officer looked much more interested in the conversation now. “I don’t know what you’re speaking of, but I assure you, I was just as shocked when your father passed away as anyone.”
Meg couldn’t say more, not right then anyway. She had secretly hoped for a confession, that her mother would admit what she had done, and while the answer was written all over her smug face, Meg realized she should’ve known better than to think Mildred would actually confess. She had always been about self-preservation. “You’re right, Mother. Now is not the time.”
Her mother nodded, and even though she was nearly four inches shorter than Meg, she still managed to look down her nose at her daughter. “I shall assume your accusation is due to your flustered state and shall let it go.”
If she expected an apology, she wouldn’t get one. Especially now that Meg realized what she’d done to her poor, trusting Da. The tears threatened to come again, and Meg crushed them with the weight of her hatred.
“Mrs. Westmoreland, we are ready to move forward with our investigation,” Officer Brown was saying as he stepped back through the door. “We have enough information now to take him in.”
Meg glanced out the door and saw Ezra being put in the back of one of the police vehicles. “Are you arresting Ezra?” she asked, stepping closer to the glass so she could see better.
“We are,” Officer Brown nodded. “We believe he is responsible for the murder of Charlotte Ross.”
“Dear God,” Mildred mumbled, her hand flying to cover her mouth.
Meg felt her stomach lurch. If it hadn’t been for Charlie’s arm tight around her waist, she may have fallen forward.
“Have you a body then?” Charlie asked for all of them.
The officer nodded. “She was found yesterday in some brush near where the automobile was located.”
“What was the cause of death?” Meg asked, her hands trembling.
“Strangulation,” the officer replied, dropping his head. “That’s all I can say at this time.”
“Poor dear,” Mildred said, casting her eyes at the ground. Then, raising them, she looked at her daughter. “That could’ve been you, Mary Margaret.”
Meg didn’t need her mother to say the words in order to know that. She said nothing, only stood on weak knees, thankful that Charlie had become a steady rock in a stream that was quickly breaking over its banks.
“We would like to collect your brother-in-law, Mrs. Westmoreland, if you don’t mind.” The voice belonged to Det. Weber, and Meg realized she hadn’t even noticed him coming back in through the back door, Jonathan behind him. The politeness, she was sure, was just a formality.
“Of course I mind,” Mildred replied. “But I suppose I have little say in the matter. Two arrests in one day,” she mused. “Mr. Ashton, you aren’t reconsidering your arrangement are you?”
He tightened his grip around Meg to the point she could hardly breath. “Not in the least. Meg is certainly not a product of the evil that has gone on under this roof for far too long.”
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
