Manor House 04 - Dig Deep for Murder Read Online Free PDF Page A

narrow skirt of her frock over her knees.
    "Hang on to your bonnet," Earl said, giving her hat a rather critical glance. Then they were off, roaring down the driveway at an alarming speed.
    George's house was at the far end of the village. Actually, Sid's house was closer, but since George always took charge of a situation, while Sid merely looked helpful most of the time, George was the lesser of the evils.
    Earl insisted on accompanying her to the door, and the two of them waited on the tiny porch for someone to answer the loud rap of the door knocker. "Is Polly okay?" Earl asked, as the wait dragged on for a minute or two.
    Elizabeth thought that was awfully nice of him to ask.Before she could answer, however, the door opened, and Millie, George's wife, peered out at them. "Oh, good heavens, it's you, your ladyship." She clutched the neck of her blue flannel dressing gown and seemed quite flustered. Even more so when she caught sight of Earl. "Oh, dear. Whatever's happened?"
    Elizabeth did her best to give her an encouraging smile. "Is George here, Millie? I'm terribly sorry to bother him, but I need to speak to him for a moment."
    "He's just finishing his supper, your ladyship. Would you like to come in for a minute?" She glanced nervously at Earl. "You, too, sir, if you'd like."
    "Thank you." Elizabeth ducked under a tangle of ivy and stepped into the tiny parlor. Earl followed her and pulled his cap from his head.
    "He's in the kitchen," Millie said, backing away. "I'll get him." She fled through the door and disappeared.
    Moments later George's gruff voice could be heard from the kitchen. "What's she want?"
    Millie's voice was a low, unintelligible murmur.
    "Does she know I'm in the middle of me supper?"
    Millie raised her voice in an audible shushing. Again she murmured something.
    "All right, all right, I'm going. Keep your bloody hair on."
    Earl raised an eyebrow and Elizabeth felt a quite insane urge to giggle.
    Then George appeared in the doorway. "Lady Elizabeth, this is a nice surprise." He ambled into the room, giving Earl one of those peculiar, uneasy glances most of the villagers reserved for the Americans. "Evening."
    Earl nodded.
    Elizabeth decided not to waste time with niceties. "George, you have to come back to the Manor House with us. There's something you need to take a look at."
    George looked pointedly at the clock on the mantelpiece. "Can it wait until the morning, your ladyship? I'm in the middle of me supper right now."
    "No, it can't wait. George, there's a dead body in my Victory Garden."
    George's eyes grew wide. "I beg your pardon, m'm?"
    "I said, there's a dead body in my Victory Garden. Polly dug it up. It's a man. That's all I can tell you. His face . . . " All of a sudden the room seemed terribly warm.
    "Look, buddy, I think you'd better go take a look," Earl said bluntly. "Bring the M.E. with you."
    George stared vacantly at him. "M.E?"
    "Medical examiner. Doctor. Whatever you guys use to check out a dead body."
    George turned pale. "I'll give Dr. Sheridan a ring. He can take me up there in his motorcar. Perhaps you should take Lady Elizabeth home, Major."
    At that moment Elizabeth was concentrating on taking very deep breaths. Finding her voice again, she said firmly, "I want to be there when Dr. Sheridan arrives."
    George pulled himself up another half inch. "This is police business, your ladyship. I can't have anyone interfering."
    "The body is in my Victory Garden. I have a right to know who he is and how he got there." And, she added silently, she wasn't going to rest until she discovered the answers to both those questions.

CHAPTER
    3
    Elizabeth stood with her back to the vegetable plots while the men examined the body. Dr. Sheridan had brought both George and Sid with him and, in spite of their protests, reinforced by Earl's suggestion that she wait in the house, Elizabeth had insisted on being present.
    She had to admit she was terribly glad of Earl's comforting presence as she