Ridge House - Chapter Three



 

The Grandsons hired two maids

I found out that the three grandsons and Connie had the same father but not who he was at present. I had quickly realized that everything was on a need to know at Ridge House.

Connie and the three grandsons had different mothers.  Each mother had died under suspicious circumstances, but no investigation followed. It was the same sheriff who called it “natural causes” even though there were a lot of questions that needed answers.

Now there were five deaths at Ridge House without the full story coming out.

One day two servant girls arrived. They had been hired by the grandsons to serve at the parties. They decided to keep them on after the parties even though Lady Johnson said they weren’t needed. They also hired a cook which was a good idea for Connie had to do most of the cooking.

A year passed without anything tragic occurring.

The parties each month created some extra work for me but nothing I couldn’t handle. It mostly revolved around setting things up for theme parties. This was interesting and was a bit of fun at the same time.

The pirate’s ball was one of my favorites with every dressing up as pirates and wenches. It was made up pirate talk and barrels of rum drinks. I was taught to be a bartender and served, Mojitos, Mai Tai’s, Pina coladas, Frozen Lime Daiquiri, Caribbean Rum Punch, and a host of other drinks. I was even was provided with a pirate suit.

There were a host of people there but Connie was my favorite wench. Then it happened the three grandsons became ill. They got worse as the weeks passed. Some six weeks later Lawrence passed away. The sheriff after consulting with the local doctor put in his report, “natural causes.”

Two months passed and the other two grandsons also died. The sheriff said it was ‘natural causes’ again.

On behalf of the family I ordered a private autopsy and found they had been poisoned with Mercury and another poison compound which they couldn’t identify.

To say I was nervous was putting it mildly for I was eating the same food and I feel fine.

I went to a clinic in the big town and they said I was in perfect health. The two maids were in good health but they had quit because of being worried they might be next.

As it turned out the cook was the instigator of the poisoning for some years ago the grandsons had all raped her and didn’t recognize her when they hired her.

She didn’t want them to die quickly for she has been living with the torture of the rape for years.  Her fiancé dropped her after the rape and the word spread concerning what happened.  This was her chance to get even so she took it.

She told the story to Connie and me after getting drunk one evening. We never told anyone and the sheriff once again said it was “natural causes” or something they ate.

The cook resigned and left when she realized she had spilled the beans. We told her not to worry about us telling anyone for we would leave it up to her to confess it or not.  She has been okay with circumstances as they are so far

I asked Connie if she was alright and she said she was.

She said all three of the grandsons were after her but she never said anything to anyone but was glad they paid the price for what they had done.

She knew how the cook must have felt being taken advantage of like she was. This was a surprise to me for I never knew what was going on.

With Connie doing the cooking again I felt a lot more secure even though the cook had nothing against us. This left us with the question, “Who killed the butler?”

It was murder as sure as I could be.  I knew where the wire came from because it was from my supplies in the storage shed.  Everyone had access to it so anyone could have gotten it from there.

There was only the three of us left who was there at the time of the Butler’s demise or so I thought.

There were a number of temporary helpers who came in for specialty work which I wasn’t trained to do. I sat down and made a list who worked here on the dates in question.

There were three that stood out;  A plumber, who completely redid Lady Johnson’s bath,  A kitchen specialist who installed a new stove that would handle the larger party needs, and a phone company that put in new phones in the grandsons rooms.  There were about fifteen men involved with the phones so this detective work was going beyond my expertise.

I went and talked to Lady Johnson and asked if we should pursue it any further. She said, “No, just let it lie and some day the truth may come out.”

Then I remembered that the three grandsons were there also.

I had completely been dropped from favor with my family when they no longer received all my salary. I really didn’t care for I was treated by my family like a slave much of my early years.

Connie and I have grown closer and we are considering getting married. Lady Johnson hasn’t given her approval as of yet but I think she is almost ready.

It is partly because she is unsure we will stay with her afterward. I believe Connie has convinced her we will stay but if she keeps refusing we may leave. Without her approval Connie won’t get her huge estate both land and cash but our happiness is on the line and we are willing to give up the money if necessary.

We have been cheating a little and getting ahead of the ceremony but we have strong feelings for one another and the pressure was too much.

Connie has given her a deadline for an answer, and we will know soon.

To be Continued