Death a la Carte: Black Horse Inn Mystery Series, #1

By Lucinda D. Davis

Spend some time in the town of Hampton, Vermont …  if you can find it!

This attractive backwater village never shows up on GPS, has a resident ghost, is inhabited by odd, quirky residents and lures the chosen few to its postcard pretty streets.

Former Boston police officer Mo and her husband Alex are enticed to the town and set their sights on the historic Black Horse Inn. They renovate the majestic old landmark and open it as a country inn and restaurant. Life is looking up until the town's most disliked and wealthiest woman dies in their dining room.

Family, friends and other suspects come to light as Mo and gorgeous Sheriff Luther King do some digging. They learn the truth about Clarissa's past life while unearthing long simmering reprisals from decades gone by. Mo also deals with Mad Polly, the neighborhood midnight rambler who dresses like a witch and knows and sees all.

Can Mo and Luther, with a little help from Alice the ghost, discover the killer and keep the Black Horse Inn and the town of Hampton on the up and up, or will the killer bring the town's new-found resurgence in popularity to an end?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lucinda D. Davis
• Release date: Jan 15, 2019
• ISBN: 9781386469865

Lucinda D. Davis

About the Author Lucinda D. Davis has been reading and loving mystery stories since she was old enough to haunt the narrow rows of books at the small Quebec, Canada village library where she spent her summers. After decades of penning ad copy, marketing, and writing for horse sport magazines, she decided to do what people had been telling her to do for years: write some books! She presently lives in a small hamlet on the beautiful Rideau Canal in Ontario, Canada. Her living room view looks out over the locks and waterways. This idyllic setting replete with friends, and more than a few interesting characters inspired her Boddington Bay series of short 'coffee break' cozy mysteries. Her longer Coppin's Lock series brings England to the Canadian countryside! The stories introduce readers to a trendy town in Ontario, Canada that could have been plucked from the English landscape, quirky characters included! Take the essential and quintessential British tea shop, pub and antique shop, throw in two female sleuths, add a Police Chief left shaking his head and you've got the ideal cozy mystery. While the girls may roam from home from time to time, their hearts are firmly set in Coppin's Locks! Visit her website at http://www.lucindadavisauthor.com and Like her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Lucinda-D-Davis-637648859641784/

Book preview

Chapter 1

Harry Hewson was beyond stymied. He was totally flummoxed. The short, portly man sat in his red 1988 BMW 325i convertible on the gravel shoulder of Route 89 and stared at his GPS. He poked a chubby finger on the screen and, for the third time, tapped in the name of the town that was his destination: Hampton, Vermont. For the third time the result was the same: No such location.

Why couldn’t these modern-day navigation systems find the darn place?

He put the car in gear, pulled out onto the highway and continued for ten miles. He saw an exit ahead and Harry, who never stepped outside the box, felt a compelling urge to take it, but had absolutely no idea why. Within minutes he was off the tarmac and on a dirt road lined with overhanging trees. Horses and cows grazed in the fields nearby, birds sang, and stone walls and cedar rail fences followed the curves and twists of the road.  The scent of flowers and fresh mown hay reached his nostrils, and he sighed and relaxed. This was pleasant, the road less traveled, off the beaten track! He was a daredevil indeed.

Minutes later he saw the large sign he’d been looking for: The Black Horse Inn, 2 miles ahead. Hampton, Vermont. Odd that I somehow picked the right exit, or had it picked me? He smiled to himself. He’d been so looking forward to this trip. He’d planned it for ages, ever since he’d seen her name in the newspapers. Imagine buying Mick Jagger’s Bentley! He had found his quarry and he was ready to pounce. After the way she’d treated him years ago, he had a few ideas up his sleeve, and then some! Clarissa Smythe-Brown was never going to forget this visit. Oh yes, it was going to be one for the record books.

By 3:00 p.m. Harry had checked into The Black Horse Inn and his clothes were carefully folded and hung in room 203. Now his adventure could really begin. He put on his peaked cap, grabbed his walking stick and strode purposefully down the main street of Hampton. He stopped at a local pub, the Travelers’ Rest and asked the barman for directions. Within minutes he was making his way towards the residential section of the town. Shady gardens replete with flowers, apple trees and the odd tinkling wind chime surrounded colorful wooden clapboard houses and stone cottages that might have been plucked from the English countryside. But Harry barely noticed them. His destination lay ahead at the end of the laneway to the right. As he turned the corner he stopped dead in his tracks.  Two massive iron gates attached to tall fieldstone pillars stood before him at the entrance of Tanglewood, Smythe-Brown’s estate. A seven-foot fence surrounded the property and Harry could see well-trimmed lawns, shaped bushes and gardens inside. The real prize was the massive red brick house and wide wrap-around porch visible past the towering maple and oak trees. So, this is where the old gal ended up. Not bad for an old schoolmarm. Bet none of her pals know how she started out in life.

Harry followed the iron fence on the right, walked down the road and stopped parallel to the house. An elderly gardener and two young assistants were busy weeding a rose garden. The rich, fragrant smell from the red, white and pink blossoms filled the air. He stood staring for a few moments until he felt decidedly uncomfortable.

Turning around, he saw a tall, slim woman watching him from a nearby field. Meeting his eyes, she abruptly turned and walked towards the woods, swinging a large staff. She was dressed in loose black clothing and the tall dark hat on her head made her look like a witch. Behind her loped an abnormally large German Shepherd, and behind the dog three black cats scampered and frolicked in the grass. Harry stared at the odd group until they got to the edge of the trees. Then the woman turned around slowly and stared back at Harry. Their eyes locked and he felt a ripple of fear go through