Read But He Was Already Dead When I Got There for Free Online Page B

“I was keeping it as a surprise, darling, but Uncle Vincent has managed to spoil that too. I’ll tell you about it later.”
    â€œTell her any time you like,” Uncle Vincent snapped, “but tell her somewhere else. I want you all out of my house. Right now. Go on—get out!”
    â€œGladly,” Lionel muttered.
    â€œI’m staying here tonight,” Gretchen announced. Lionel didn’t try to talk her out of it.
    There was a sudden exodus; Gretchen ran up the stairs to her old room and Lionel yelled, “Barney!” When the manservant failed to appear, Lionel opened the hall closet, half expecting to find the man passed out on the floor. Nothing out of the ordinary, however; Lionel took out Dorrie’s jacket. “Nicole?”
    â€œI didn’t wear a wrap. Let’s get the hell out of here.” They got the hell out of there.
    In the library, Uncle Vincent picked up Godfrey Daniel and caressed him. “Nice kitty,” he said. “You don’t want my blood, do you, Godfrey?”
    Godfrey scratched him.

3
    They went into the first bar they came to that wasn’t blasting music out at them; they had some serious talking to do.
    And some serious drinking. Lionel Knox, Nicole Lattimer, and the Murdochs all startled the waitress by asking for two drinks each; Malcolm Conner ordered a fish sandwich and a beer. “I didn’t have dinner,” he explained.
    When Malcolm had finished half his sandwich and the other four had one drink under their belts and were working on the second, Lionel said, “I sure came out the villain tonight.” He laughed shortly. “Whew! I had no idea the old boy hated me that much.”
    â€œOh, I suspect he hates everyone indiscriminately, Lionel,” Simon drawled. “You just make a convenient scapegoat.”
    â€œI’m sure that’s true,” Nicole agreed. “That bastard. He wants Ellandy’s for himself, no matter how much he denies it. You were just the excuse.”
    Lionel scowled. “Still, he made me out to be some sort of Bluebeard—marrying women for their money and then talking other women into putting money into my business. Dorrie,” he asked worriedly, “you didn’t believe that stuff, did you?”
    â€œOf course not,” Dorrie reassured him. “You were honest with me about the flower shops, and I did some checking on my own. I don’t regret the partnership one little bit, Lionel. Look how much Ellandy’s has grown in just the past six months! No one could have known Uncle Vincent would drop a bomb on us.”
    Nicole lifted her glass. “To our enemies,” she said. “May they all have Uncle Vincents in their lives.”
    Simon signaled for a third round. “I’m still hungry,” Malcolm said, and ordered a sausage sandwich and another beer.
    â€œThat mean-spirited old man!” Dorrie raged suddenly. “I could kill him! I could just kill him!”
    â€œNow, Dorrie,” Simon said mildly. “Don’t get angry, darling. We’ve all got to keep cool heads.”
    â€œHow unbelievably naïve I was!” she raged on unhearing. “Thinking he would actually give us all that money! My head must have stopped working.”
    â€œIt wasn’t all that unreasonable an assumption,” Malcolm pronounced around bites of his sandwich. “It would have been a good way to assure Gretchen’s future—by helping Lionel. We didn’t know he was having Lionel investigated.”
    â€œAnd me,” Simon said dryly. “I wonder what he hoped to find?”
    â€œYes, that is odd, isn’t it?” Nicole said. “I could see why he might have Dorrie investigated—the other partner. But Simon?”
    â€œFor all we know, he might have had me investigated too,” Dorrie said indignantly. “Who does he think he is, going around investigating people?”
    â€œSo what