Read SAY MURDER WITH FLOWERS: A Rex Graves Mini-Mystery Online
Authors: C.S. Challinor
SAY MURDER WITH FLOWERS: A Rex Graves Mini-Mystery (5 page)
“You can’t prove any of this!”
Giannelli said, echoing his compatriot.
Maybe not, Rex thought grimly. It was all circumstantial, but the accusations had certainly got the wind up the hotheaded Italian. And he wouldn’t be giving Shannon any more roses.
*
Rex called the solicitor upon leaving Gino’s garage and made an appointment to report his findings.
“Premeditated murder is not easy to prove in this case,” Rex concluded at Mr. Whitmore’s office. The solicitor sitting at his desk was a fussy little man with womanish hands. “Giannelli caught a lucky break if his intention was to O.D. his fiancée. A reckless driver beat him to the punch, with perhaps a little help from Casanova. Elise Howes was drunk and probably distracted to-boot, so it was a perfect opportunity. Pure coincidence it was one of Giannelli’s cars.”
“Ye-
es,” Mr. Whitmore said ruminatively. The tapered fingers, on which glinted a bejewelled wedding ring, drummed the mahogany surface of the antique partners’ desk. “Well, we had better just stick to the facts. Sir Howes can draw his own conclusions. It won’t be the news he anticipated, of course. What a devastating thing to have happen. Vittorio Scalfaro’s reputation will be ruined if this gets out. However, that Sir Howes’ prospective son-in-law was cheating on his daughter will come as no surprise. But I would have credited Shannon with more sense.” The solicitor checked his gold Rolex and grabbed a hat and umbrella from the coat tree behind his door. “Sir Howes is expecting us. There’s a car waiting outside.”
The cabinet minister resided at Wilton Crescent in a grand terrace house five stories high, a frill of black iron balconies adorning the stone clad façade. He received his guests once again in the rich wood
-panelled library and offered them sherry, barely able to disguise his displeasure when he heard the results of Rex’s investigation. It soon became clear he intended to make public Vittorio Scalfaro’s involvement in his daughter’s death.
“What a can of worms,” he growled, turning to Rex. “And
Giannelli sold him that Ferrari. Bloody stupid, if you ask me, bombing around in one of those dangerous toys. And then my future son-in-law left my little girl to die on the street. He might’ve well have just killed her himself.”
Rex privately concurred.
*
Several weeks later at his chambers in Edinburgh, Rex received a call from Mr. Whitmore to the effect that Gino
Giannelli had overdosed on Ecstasy. He had been found by his cleaning lady drowned in his bathtub, naked among a sprinkling of floating petals. A card in Italian found on the tile floor, and subsequently leaked to the press, thanked Gino for making the sender’s time in London more pleasurable; however, in view of Gino’s past connection with the Howes family and the “unfortunate accident,” the flowers were being sent not only as a token of tender affection but of regretful adieu. Signed, “Vitto.”
There existed no possibility in Rex’s mind that a lovelorn Gino had committed suicide, still less that he was homosexual, as the message and flowers insinuated. The Italian Ambassador had vehemently denied sending either, as, in the mind of the public, he would. Rex could not suppress a wry smile of appreciation at the apt and subtle revenge exacted on Gino and Vittorio
Scalfaro. “A curiously Shakespearean concept,” he remarked to Mr. Whitmore, reflecting on the watery grave and ironic floral touch.
“Quite,” replied the
Howes family solicitor, adding that his client had made it quite clear that he did not require Rex’s assistance in this particular case.
“Mum’s the word
,” the Scotsman acknowledged, appropriately, he thought. However, as a man of the law, he felt somewhat conflicted.
Apparently Sir
Howes, with the aid of his loyal Danish factotum, had prescribed justice to his full satisfaction.
BOOKS IN THE REX GRAVES MYSTERY SERIES:
Christmas Is Murder
Starred
Review from
Booklist:
The first installment in this new mystery series is a winner. The amateur detective is Rex Graves, a Scottish barrister, fond of Sudoku puzzles and Latin quotations. In an old-fashioned conceit, Challinor begins with a cast of characters, along with hints of possible motives for each. Although set firmly in the present, this tale reads like a classic country-house mystery. Rex and the others are snowed in at the Swanmere Manor hotel in East Sussex, England. Being the last to arrive, Rex immediately hears of the unexpected demise of one of the other guests. By the time the police arrive days later, additional bodies have piled up and motives are rampant, but Rex has identified the murderer. At times, it seems we are playing Clue or perhaps enjoying a contemporary retelling of a classic Agatha Christie tale
(And Then There Were None,
or
At Bertram’s Hotel)
with a charming new sleuth. A must for cozy fans.
Murder in the Raw
Mystery Scene Magazine:
In
Murder in the Raw
, Scottish barrister Rex Graves must expose—and I do mean expose—the killer of Sabine Durand, a French actress who goes missing one evening from a nudist resort in the Caribbean... Set on an island,
Murder in the Raw
is a clever variant on the locked room mystery, and Rex discovers that everyone in this self-contained locale has a secret when it comes to the intriguing Sabine. Who, though, would benefit from her disappearance or murder? With a host of colorful characters, a dose of humor and a balmy locale, you will want to devour this well-plotted mystery. I won't spoil your pleasure by divulging the solution, but suffice it to say that Challinor provides a most compelling answer.
Phi Beta Murder*
Foreword Magazine:
Readers meet up once again with Rex Graves in the third mystery to follow the Scottish barrister with a knack for getting involved in the ultimate crime. Rex is on his way out of the beautiful Scottish countryside leaving behind Helen, his new woman friend and his mother to visit his son on the campus of his American college. Campbell Graves is supposed to be enjoying life at Hilliard University in Jacksonville, Florida, but lately on the phone he's sounded rather distant, and Rex wants nothing more than to see his son and make sure everything is all right. Unfortunately the day he steps on campus is the day a young man is found in his locked room hanging from the ceiling. Soon Rex must split his time between worrying about his son, solving a crime that seems to involve a million people with a million different agendas, and trying to balance his love life without losing people in the process. Humor and well-written characters add to the story, as does some reflection on the causes of suicide. A wonderful read and great plot for cozy mystery lovers.
*
This title has not been endorsed by the Phi Beta Kappa Society. The Phi Beta Kappa fraternity depicted in the novel is in no way affiliated nor associated with the Phi Beta Kappa Society.
Murder on the Moor
BellaOnline
:
Scottish Barrister and amateur sleuth Rex Graves purchased Gleneagle Lodge so that he and his girlfriend, Helen D’Arcy, could get away to spend some private time together. Now he wonders why he had agreed to host a housewarming party. When one of the guests turns up dead, her body found in a nearby loch, the finger-pointing begins. Graves cannot help but put his sleuthing skills to work as he tries to find out who killed his house guest while he also gathers clues as to who is committing the so-called Moor Murders. He is wondering if the two are tied and if he is hosting the killer. When a storm prevents anyone from leaving, Rex and Helen do their best to keep everyone calm during their forced confinement. Set in the Scottish Highlands, Challinor successfully utilizes the atmosphere of the countryside to enhance the tension going on inside the Lodge. The characters seem typical of the type seen in many mysteries written by such authors as Agatha Christie, and are a welcome diversion from today’s style of writing. The writing is crisp and the story fast-paced. The inevitable gathering of the guests in the library comes with a twist or two, and the ending is a satisfying conclusion to a solid whodunit.
Murder of the Bride
Buried Under Books:
Rex Graves is back, this time visiting his fiancée, Helen d’Arcy, so they can attend the wedding in Aston-on-Trent of one of her former students. Polly Newcombe is very pregnant and her groom, Timmy Thorpe looks a bit peaked, but is it just the dreary day leading Rex to think the success of this marriage is doubtful? Perhaps not, as the reception at the bride’s family country home in Derbyshire soon turns from a pleasant celebration to a scene of mayhem when Polly collapses, looking more than a little green. Leaving the reception and heading to Aston-on-Trent, Rex learns a great deal more about the secrets of the Newcombe and Thorpe families. Is jealousy behind the attacks? Greed? Infidelity? Overbearing mothers? Rex and the local police have an overabundance of clues and evidence, and getting to the solution to the case will require much thought and cooperation. This latest case for Rex Graves is every bit as charming and entertaining as those in earlier books and readers will not be disappointed. The setting, an English country home, is as much a character as the people, and many of those characters are a delight, especially Police Constable Perrin (and the cast of characters provided by the author is very much appreciated).
Murder at the Dolphin Inn
Cozy Mystery Book Reviews:
Scottish barrister, Rex Graves, and his fiancée are on a cruise to Mexico. When they disembark at Key West, Florida, they hear of a bizarre story surrounding the local B&B. The owners, Merle and Taffy Dyer, were killed during the Key West's October Fantasy Fest. Rex can't resist a mystery and can't wait to abandon the cruise and dive head first into solving this mystery. It's going to take all of Rex's sleuthing skills to find out who out of all the seemingly innocent family and friends killed the owners. The premise of this mystery reminds me of the traditional mysteries I read in my teens. It is very much reminiscent of M.C. Beaton and Agatha Christie, with a quaint inn and a sleuth determined to find the truth. From their first discovering of the murders to the final revealing of the murderer, Rex and Helen are an outstanding sleuthing duo. They reminded me so much of Agatha Christie's Tommy and Tuppence, hunting down clues and uncovering killers. With numerous twists and turns,
Murder at the Dolphin Inn
provides a first class whodunit, and I absolutely can't wait to find out what adventure Rex and Helen go on next.
C.S. Challinor, born in Bloomington, Indiana, was raised and educated in Scotland and England. She now lives in Southwest Florida.
Visit the author at
www.rexgraves.com
.