“I do,” Severine answered without hesitation.
He grinned evilly, ignoring her answer, and she knew he’d revel in whatever would come out of his mouth next.
To stop what he would say, she told him, “I’m not under the illusion that Lukas DuNoir was anything but a villain.”
She could see actual surprise in her brother’s expression and then he spun, shooting at Mr. Brand. Severine shot at her brother, but she closed her eyes as she did, and she missed. He shouted a laugh and ran down the hall and towards the back door.
Severine rushed to Mr. Brand, but he was sitting up. “I’m fine. Grayson is bleeding.”
“Charles,” Severine said, using Mr. Brand’s first name for the first time, even as she rushed to Grayson. “I closed my eyes. I didn’t want to shoot Andre.”
“He’s gone,” Mr. Brand replied. “That’s all that matters.”
Mr. Thorne was holding his hand to his side, trying to stop his bleeding. He was pale and she dropped to her knees, pushing him onto his back so she could put pressure on his wound.
“Lisette?” Mr. Brand called.
“He escaped through a window,” Lisette answered down the stairs. “Mama is hurt.”
Mr. Brand ran up the stairs and came down with Chantae.
“We need a doctor,” Severine said and then noticed the howling of her dogs, locked in the bedroom upstairs.
“I’ll use the phone across the street,” Lisette said and ran out of the house.
Theodosia Grantley had seemed quite old when Severine had spoken with her at that party so long ago. The widow looked like the walking dead as she took in the sight of her granddaughter bound to a chair and gagged in the office of Severine’s house. Mr. Oliver stood over her, having just returned from his fruitless hunt.
“What do I have to do to handle this myself?” Mrs. Grantley asked. “What is the price for my granddaughter?”
Mr. Oliver cleared his throat, glancing at Severine with a plea. She nodded as he said, “We want real answers.”
“I can give you names and places,” Theodosia Grantley said. “I shall need a pen and a paper.”
They waited in silence as she scratched out the words. The sound of the pen moving across the paper was the only sound in the whole of the house. Mr. Oliver watched each movement of the pen with desperation. Mr. Grayson, pale from blood loss, watched with exhaustion that said he’d given up hope. Mr. Brand watched with disgust, knowing that there would be no real repercussion for Amelia Grantley.
Severine didn’t watch the old woman. She eyed Amelia, who returned her look with hatred. That was fine. Severine didn’t think much of her either. The silence was broken by hammering and Severine glanced towards the front of the house where Lisette was supervising the addition of iron bars on the windows of the house. The locks had already been replaced and a new door had been added.
They had been invaded once and Severine was going to make sure it didn’t happen again. When the list was handed to Mr. Brand and Mr. Oliver, they read their papers and then Mr. Brand nodded at Severine to cut the ropes on Amelia Grantley.
She slowly rose and started to say something, but Mrs. Grantley snapped, “Silence.”
And with that, they left the room and the house.
“Is this where we celebrate victory?” She was exhausted. “I don’t think that’s what this was.”
“We won this battle,” Mr. Brand said.
“And we’ll win the war as well,” Mr. Thorne added.
“And then?” Severine asked. “What comes after this?”
It was Granny who answered from the doorway. “Good days and bad. Happiness and sadness. Perhaps a long summer by the sea with quiet. And some of that kindness your nun ordered up. Kindness fills the heart after days like these.”
“What shall we do that is kind?” Severine asked, entirely without an idea.
Granny immediately answered with the most unexpected of words, “The DuNoir Free School and Home for Girls.”
It was just the right thing to say. Suddenly, like the parting of clouds to let through the rays of the sun, hope danced through their hearts.
The END
Hello friends! Thank you for giving this new series a chance. I so hope you enjoyed Severine’s beginning, the introduction of Brand, Thorne, Oliver, Lisette, and others. A review for this book would be so very helpful. If you would be willing, please leave a review.
As time goes by, the mystery of Severine’s past and her parents death will be uncovered. In the process, we’ll also discover more about why Thorne and Oliver are in Louisiana rather than England and what is driving their own investigation. Along with that, we will uncover a little more about Lisette and her family. I hope you’re as excited as I am to dive into these bigger mysteries.
The sequel to this book is now available for preorder.
October 1925
The hunt for the person who killed Severine’s parents continues, and things are intensifying. She’s finally got a direction to discover just what her parents had been doing? Will she be able to find out why they were killed?
As she presses forward, she again encounters the man in the shadows. Who is this person who is trying to stop her from learning more about what was happening when her parents died? Why is he invested enough to find her expendable? And just what will happen if she continues?
Order yours here.
Also by Beth Byers
The Violet Carlyle Cozy Historical Mysteries
Murder & the Heir
Murder at Kennington House
Murder at the Folly
A Merry Little Murder
New Year’s Madness: A Short Story Anthology
Valentine’s Madness: A Short Story Anthology
Murder Among the Roses
Murder in the Shallows
Gin & Murder
Obsidian Murder
Murder at the Ladies Club
Weddings Vows & Murder
A Jazzy Little Murder
Murder by Chocolate
A Friendly Little Murder
Murder by the Sea
Murder On All Hallows
A Jolly Little Murder
Christmas Madness: A Short Story Anthology
Hijinks & Murder
Love & Murder
A Zestful Little Murder
A Murder Most Odd
Nearly A Murder
A Treasured Little Murder
A Cozy Little Murder
Masked Murderer
The Mysteries of Severine DuNoir
The Mystery at the Edge of Madness
The Mysterious Point of Deceit
Mystery in the Darkest Shadow
The Wicked Fringe of Mystery
The Poison Ink Mysteries
Death By the Book
Death Witnessed
Death by Blackmail
Death Misconstrued
Deathly Ever After
Death in the Mirror
A Merry Little Death
Death Between the Pages
Death in the Beginning
A Lonely Little Death
The 2nd Chance Diner Mysteries
(This series is complete.)
Spaghetti, Meatballs, & Murder
Cookies & Catastrophe
Poison & Pie
Double Mocha Murder
Cinnamon Rolls & Cyanide
Tea & Temptation
Donuts & Danger
Scones & Scandal
Lemonade & Loathing
Wedding Cake & Woe
Honeymoons & Honeydew
The Pumpkin Problem
The Hettie & Ro Adventures
cowritten with Bettie Jane
(This series is complete.)
Philanderer Gone
Adventurer Gone
Holiday Gone
Aeronaut Gone
Copyright © 2020 by Beth Byers, Amanda A. Allen
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.