Read Finished Off (A Bellehaven House Mystery Book 2) for Free Online Page B

it."
    Essie nodded in agreement. "Any of those would be better than Chest House. I wonder who thought that name would be good for an orphanage. How awful. Think of all those little boys and girls with sad eyes, desperately needing someone to love them. Why, it almost makes me want to cry."
    There were actual tears on her long lashes, and Meredith felt sorry for upsetting her. She leaned forward to pat her hand, and as she did so, a vision of the child ghost popped into her mind. A little girl with sad eyes. Chest House.
    She sat up, so suddenly Essie drew back, startled. "Good gracious, I wonder if that's what she meant!"
    Essie's blue eyes regarded her in confusion. "If who meant what?"
    Even Felicity lowered the paper and stared at her.
    Meredith looked at each of them in turn. "My little ghost. She kept pointing at the chest. I wonder . . ."
    "Oh, bosh, Meredith." Felicity rustled the paper and raised it again.
    Essie kept on staring. "You think your ghost is someone from the orphanage?"
    Meredith felt a twinge of excitement. "I don't know, Essie. But I certainly intend to find out. I shall go to this Chest House and make some inquiries."
    "You're going to ask them if they sent you a ghost?"
    Meredith winced at Felicity's bored tone. "No, of course not." She leaned back, her brow creasing in a frown. She would have to think of a way to ask about the little girl. Some way that wouldn't sound as if she were completely insane.
    Perhaps she was being foolhardy, but this was the first glint of a clue to the child's identity. Something told her there could be a connection between her ghost and the orphanage, and in spite of what Felicity or anyone else thought, she would not leave that stone unturned.

Chapter 4
    It was the following day before Meredith could pay a visit to the orphanage. Being a Saturday, breakfast was served an hour later than usual. Then she had to give individual permission to all the students who wished to go into the village that afternoon.
    By the time she had finished the rest of her duties, she was in a fever of impatience to be on her way. She considered inviting either Essie or Felicity to go with her, then decided against it.
    Inquiring about an orphan who might have died at the hands of a killer was likely to be a delicate matter. She didn't need Felicity's cynicism or Essie's squeamish disposition to hamper her efforts in finding out what she could about the child.
    After ordering the maintenance man to bring around the carriage, Meredith pulled on her best navy wool coat and her favorite Sunday hat trimmed with blue and white silk blossoms. She wanted to look her best for the coming visit.
    Reggie Tupper had been in charge of Bellehaven's maintenance since before Meredith had taken a position atthe school. As such, he often felt entitled to a certain degree of familiarity with the staff, much to Felicity's wrath.
    Although young in age, he had begun working at twelve years old, and knew the mechanical aspects of the vast, aging building better than anyone.
    He also drove the carriage on the rare occasion that the teachers ventured beyond the village. For the most part Meredith put up with his impertinence, since he often came in handy whenever brute strength was needed, and he was usually most accommodating.
    So when Reggie uttered a somewhat vulgar whistle at the sight of her, she chose to view it as a compliment.
    "Whew, m'm, look at you. Going to meet a fancy gentleman, are we?"
    "No, we are not." Meredith gathered up her skirts and stepped up into the carriage, ignoring Reggie's proffered hand. "We are going to the Chest House orphanage, on the road to Witcheston."
    Reggie wrinkled his brow. "Orphanage?"
    "Yes, I do believe I've seen it on passing. It's a large house that's almost hidden behind overgrown trees and shrubs. There's a rusty iron gate in front that leads up to the road."
    Reggie still looked puzzled. "Well, I reckon you'll have to point it out to me when we get there." He closed