Chapter 23

B-"Well, in my younger days I was rather..." Euph trailed off. "Mrs. Kahn, I'm sorry to tell you, but we have one of your recent victims that you didn't quite finish off waiting outside the door," said Sarah. "Do you possibly recognize this little Bloodhound?" asked Betsy. Euphemiana glanced over at Poppy and seemed to really see her for the first time. A flickering of recognition passed over her face but she wiped it off before anyone but Sarah or Betsy could notice. It was enough though. "And what about this poor beaver?" asked Betsy (because as it turns out the Beaver was not dead after all! The girls found out about this shortly before the interview but didn't to mention it to the rest of the group. They thought it would be best, and more entertaining to catch Euphie off guard.) The Chief Popo carried little Dodo, the beaver, (short for Dorothea Opal) into the room and Euphie got a look of terror in her eyes. "Dagnabit..." she muttered, "I just knew these beavers would be the ruin of me!" Simon who had been sitting like a very fine gentleman during this whole exchange was just starting to realize that his grandmother was a beaver nabber (which was illegal in the greater part of Scotland) and mostly likely the Killer of Killwinning...
S-“Grandmother, what is the meaning of all this?” he inquired as surreptitiously as possible but everyone’s attention was fixed on the exchange. Euph sat resolutely with lips clenched shut. “How could you do this to us? Our family is surely ruined! All that we have worked for; all that Grandfather worked for. Gone. We will never be respectable ever again.” With that Simon slumped down in his chair head buried in his hands. “And with that all over with,” Betsy--with eyes twinkling excitedly--whispered in a very Dorcas-Lane-when-she-is-up-to-mischief kind of whisper, “we shall get back to business.” (I hope you know that I’m jealous that you get to be Dorcas Lane-esque) “Now,” Sarah said, her eyes shooting daggers at Euph for breaking poor Simon’s heart, “we know who the murderer of Killwinning is even if you won’t admit it. Please allow us to present our evidence. Firstly, the murder weapon of the Sultry Scot’s sister was a halbert. Who in the world owns a halbert? People who live in manor houses and hunt beavers do.”



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