Sweet Murder (Madeline Donovan Mysteries Book 8) Read online

  Sweet Murder

  A Madeline Donovan Mystery

  Madison Kent

  Contents

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Author’s Notes

  Prologue

  Chapter One: A Chicago First

  Chapter Two: August Bowman

  Chapter Three: Rose Petals

  Chapter Four: Shadows in the Park

  Chapter Five: A Puzzling Request

  Chapter Six: A Parting of Friends

  Chapter Seven: Genevieve’s Hope

  Chapter Eight: Bruno’s Brew

  Chapter Nine: Dutch

  Chapter Ten: Feathers and a Funeral

  Chapter Eleven: A Metal Tin

  Chapter Twelve: Motives

  Chapter Thirteen: Ogden

  Chapter Fourteen: A Secret Love

  Chapter Fifteen: A Dark Place

  Chapter Sixteen: Unraveled

  Chapter Seventeen: A Statue in the Park

  Chapter Eighteen: A Missing Piece

  Chapter Nineteen: Buried Treasure

  Chapter Twenty: Evil Intended

  Chapter Twenty-One: Farewell, For Now

  Dedication

  To Karoline

  a grand lady possessing unlimited warmth

  and old world beauty

  And always to my sister, Debbie

  forever in my heart, and still with

  me with every breath I take

  Copyright

  © 2018, Mister Welling Publishing

  Title: Sweet Murder

  Book Cover Art: Lourdes Blazek

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission of the author/publisher.

  Author’s Notes

  The Madeline Donovan Mystery series now includes the following books according to the order of publication: Stalking Jack, The Harrison, The Mystery at Belle Magnolia, Some Saints Prey, Silver Bells Slaying, and A Smidgeon of Ghosts, Devil on Deck, Sweet Murder, Smoked in Ybor, and newly released Death at The Detroit.

  Each book can be read independently, without reading any of the others in the series. However, it does enhance the reader’s experience to read them in consecutive order. I am currently working on the ninth in the series.

  Book excerpts and trailers are viewable at

  https://www.madisonkentbooks.com

  Stalking Jack

  (A Madeline Donovan Mystery)

  Book One

  Madeline Donovan is a complicated woman, distressed and ready to abandon life as she knows it. A recent tragedy has left her without the vision or moral compass to go forward. She is not leading her own life at the moment; it is leading her. The journey she will take into London’s Eastside will show her sides of life she has never seen before, and rather than being repelled by it; she immerses herself into this dark side of London. After all, Jack the Ripper must be stopped.

  The Harrison

  A Beautiful Place to Die

  (A Madeline Donovan Mystery)

  Book Two

  In 1889, Chicago, the city is booming. Lavish buildings and must-see architectural and cultural wonders are springing up everywhere around the city. Even in Madeline Donovan’s little-known neighborhood of Goose Island, a luxurious hotel goes up within a half-mile of her home. The Harrison, built by a trio of brothers, has designed its three-story building with unusual features that attract many to its doors.

  But soon after its opening, young girls begin to disappear. One of the girl’s brothers has employed her to look into her disappearance.

  It will begin her journey into the Harrison brothers' secret world and others who reside in this mysterious place.

  Her friend Hugh returns to America, and Jonathan Franks, the reporter from the New York Times, is sent to Chicago to cover a different story but finds himself with Madeline and Hugh on the trail of the perpetrators.

  They will soon discover the terrifying secrets hidden beneath the surface of the beautiful hotel.

  The Mystery at Belle Magnolia

  (A Madeline Donovan Mystery)

  Book Three

  What could be the reason for the urgent telegram her father received from Belle Mayfair, owner of a beautiful, southern mansion in New Orleans? Dr. Donovan had read the message to Madeline, Hugh Scott, and Jonathan Franks on the very evening that the Goose Island murder came to its conclusion.

  Belle gave little indication of why she requested his presence as soon as possible, but her father did not hesitate and made immediate plans to leave.

  Madeline, having just recently become gainfully employed as a female detective, not only wished to see her friends at Belle Magnolia but was intrigued to find out what the reason was behind the request.

  Upon their arrival, she would be introduced to the world of the occult and drawn into the world of Maria Laveau, the deceased Voodoo Queen of New Orleans. Events would unfold quickly that put her and her friends in danger at every turn. Somehow she would have to determine who killed the boy Armand LaLande if she were to save Belle Magnolia and the people who lived there.

  Some Saints Prey

  (A Madeline Donovan Mystery)

  Book Four

  Madeline Donovan is on her way to St. Augustine for a brief respite at the home of Emily and Edgar Montgomery. But even on the train ride to their home, Emily tells her of the recent disappearance of two young men and their connection to the infamous Emma Montgomery. Emma is the city’s little princess―young, beautiful, and rich. Her precocious behavior prevents her from settling on just one suitor.

  When Madeline and Oliver Mandrake begin their search for the missing men, what she will find will not just shock a city, but astound the country.

  Silver Bells Slaying

  (A Madeline Donovan Mystery)

  Book Five

  It's Christmas in Chicago in the year 1889. The snow is blanketing the city with icicles and lavish decorations for the season. For the first time in many years, Madeline is determined to enjoy the holiday. But that all changes when Ziggy, the postal boy, appears with a beautifully decorated red box with dangling silver bells attached to the top. Its contents will send Madeline and her friends; Hugh Scott and Jonathan Franks, looking for someone they believe must be psychotic. She will have to find her way into the men's club; it is the best source of information to begin her search for the murderer.

  A Smidgeon of Ghosts

  (A Madeline Donovan Halloween Mystery)

  Book Six

  Halloween...it is a bewitching night, a time when the spirit world descends upon us and makes believers of us all. When Madeline receives a request to attend a gala on the night of the dead to assist in exorcizing a human demon with murder on their mind, she thinks it is nothing but stuff and nonsense. But when Halloween arrives, strange events occur that will send her on a journey to catch a ghost.

  Devil on Deck

  (A Madeline Donovan Mystery)

  Book Seven

  The SS City of New York is about to sail for London, and once again, amateur sleuth Madeline Donovan will be aboard. However, this time, the year is 1891, and her cherished friend, Hugh Donovan, will be her traveling companion.

  But nothing is as it seems on the Grand Lady, and on their first day at sea, a mystery unfolds that will perplex and confuse them as to what is truly going on in the underbelly of the New York.


  Sweet Murder

  (A Madeline Donovan Mystery)

  Book Eight

  Madeline Donovan and her father are enjoying the company of Anna and Helen, their friends from Whitechapel, England. The two dear ladies have busied themselves doing local volunteering work. Because of this, Madeline is unexpectedly thrown into investigating a case of murder when the ladies request she solve the mystery of an injured man in the park and find who he is and what he’s doing there.

  Thus begins an intricate and unusual case where everyone is disguising who they are and what their true intentions are.

  Smoked in Ybor

  (A Madeline Donovan Mystery)

  Book Nine

  Jonathan Frank’s Uncle Thomas is in Ybor City, Florida. He and a good friend, Manuel, embarked on an adventure, left New York, and ended up in Ybor’s cigar-making city.

  When trouble starts for them, they call on their nephew and friends to assist in Ybor. Amateur sleuth Madeline Donovan and her friends come to Ybor and find the city is also in the throes of planning for Jose Marti’s arrival, who seeks to encourage the city to assist with the second revolution of Cuba.

  Madeline finds it is not just Thomas and Manuel who is in danger and then begins the conspiracy.

  Prologue

  After returning home from England, the lovely, young widow and amateur sleuth Madeline Donovan is content to once again enjoy the summer days in her exciting city of Chicago. She wishes to dismiss thoughts of murder and conspiracy from her mind. After what she experienced on the SS City of New York on her voyage to London, sipping lemonade and long walks in the park seem very appealing.

  But when news of the Valley Gang, an Irish immigrant group, invading their city comes to everyone’s attention, and then is followed by a gruesome murder, Madeline and her friends feel they must become involved.

  The events that will follow will be steeped in intrigue and curious events that seem to have no connection to the murder that is…until they do.

  Chapter One

  A Chicago First

  Heat like that radiating from a bonfire blowing at your face was common in Chicago during the blistering days of June in 1891. The petite, auburn-haired, sleuth, Madeline Donovan, sipped on a glass of lemonade with one hand and with the other firmly grasped a blessed delicate lace fan, continuously waving it in an attempt to cool herself. In her thirty-first year of life, she envied all people, such as her visitors, who did not seem to have internal struggles as she did.

  Swaying slowly in her white, wooden, rocking chair on the front porch of her home, she delightfully listened to Helen and Anna’s accounts of their latest adventure in her city.

  Madeline and her close friend, Hugh Scott, a slender, tall, handsome Englishman in his mid-thirties, recently returned from a trip abroad. The intent of the trip was to visit Hugh’s ailing father in London. However, while traveling aboard the ocean liner, SS City of New York, they became entangled in a mystery at sea that involved two unexplained deaths. After a harrowing and unexpected outcome to their investigation, they were both grateful to arrive in London. They were happy to be on land and in the company once again of friends and family. Madeline had met the two elderly sisters, Anna and Helen, in 1888 when she traveled alone to London. Five-foot-tall Anna reminded Madeline of her dear grandmother, now long passed, who wore matronly looking clothing. Her pleasantly plump midriff jiggled when she laughed, and she laughed often. Helen, on the other hand, was slender and slightly taller than Anna. She took great pains in her appearance, her coiffed white hair meticulously groomed, and wore brightly colored fashionable clothing.

  Their desire to find their niece, Polly, subsequently led her to journey to Whitechapel, England, to hunt down the demon, Jack the Ripper. This incident also stirred in her a passion to pursue the profession of detective.

  A great friendship ensued amongst all of them, and she always hoped one day the ladies would visit them in America. When Madeline came into an unexpected windfall of money during their ocean voyage, she implored the two to return with them to Chicago, offering to absorb the expense of their passage and accommodations once they arrived.

  They had stayed in London from March until mid-May. When it neared the time to leave London and return home, Hugh gently coaxed the ladies to reside with him during their stay in Chicago. They would most likely stay the summer, and Madeline’s home was too small to accommodate even one of the ladies, let alone two. Hugh’s home in Oak Park was quite large, and he had servants that would also be able to assist with any needs they had.

  Her physician father, Dr. Brian Donovan, his youthful-looking days now gone, wearing spectacles and greying at the temples, was delighted. Madeline suspected an attraction to one or both of the ladies, but she thought he glanced at Anna in a particular way.

  Her mother passed away from illness when she was relatively young, yet her father remained single, never venturing into any relationship with another woman since then. Sometimes, on a Saturday morning, he might meander over to enjoy a cup of coffee with one of the many older ladies who lived in the neighborhood, but nothing more. She hoped this might change during Anna and Helen’s stay in Chicago.

  At least once a week, Hugh would drop the ladies off for an afternoon visit at her home on Erie Street in the quaint neighborhood of Goose Island. He would then return at six to join all of them for the evening meal.

  They had been home from London for almost three weeks, and Anna and Helen wasted no time becoming familiar with her neighborhood and the city. In Whitechapel, their place of residence in London, they volunteered at their local church and were quite active in their daily lives despite being considered old enough by some ‘to be put out to pasture.’

  Consequently, they involved themselves in similar activities in her city.

  Recently, a remarkable service became available for the first time to the residents of the city. It was made possible through the benevolence of an extraordinary woman, Miss Genevieve Sweet. She was well-known in Chicago as a lady of some stature with a long list of civic accolades.

  Miss Sweet solicited funds from her wealthy friends to provide the horse-drawn carriage designed to become Chicago’s first ambulance. Two individuals, a medical person, and an assistant, drove the carriage throughout the city. The intent was to traverse the public areas and aid any injured person and, if necessary, transport them to the hospital. Minor injuries attended to at the scene eased the burden of taking one to a doctor or hospital.

  Anna and Helen volunteered to roll needed bandages and attend to other miscellaneous duties to assist in the ambulance service. Mrs. O’Malley, their cook, was near to their age, similar to Anna in appearance and dress, and was already a member of the volunteer service when the ladies came to visit. When the cook encouraged the sisters to join her, they gladly accepted, excited to be a part of this goodwill adventure.

  Although Mrs. O’Malley only volunteered intermittently due to the responsibilities of her position at the Donovan home, Helen and Anna spent two or three afternoons a week at the building that housed the ambulance carriage. Two long tables were provided for the ladies to perform their services.

  Madeline stifled a yawn as the sun and the pleasant, almost melodious voices of the sisters, calmed her and gave her a peaceful feeling. She listened to their stories, but her attention was drawn to the children playing in the street and their joyful laughter, and also because she was simply enjoying the luxury of a lazy day until she heard Helen speak these words,

  “Sister, don’t you think it peculiar? I think Clarence was right, most definitely right. I used one of the knives from the kitchen, and it was too awkward.”

  Now Madeline was alert. Straightening in her chair, she asked, “Helen, what are you saying? You took a knife and experimented with it for what purpose?”

  Helen said, shaking a scolding finger at her, “Madeline, I don’t think you were listening. It’s about what Clarence told us.”

  Madeline asked, “Who i
s Clarence?”

  “Clarence Sweet, he’s Genevieve’s brother, the person in charge of the ambulance.”

  Anna offered, “When Miss Sweet was organizing everything, she insisted her brother be the person in charge of the medical staff. He’s been to university and studied medicine.”

  “I see,” said Madeline. “Tell me everything…from the beginning.”

  Helen began, “When we are at the building where the ladies volunteer for the ambulance service, we sit at a big table and talk. Sometimes Genevieve comes to welcome us and say how grateful she is that we’re there. She’s a fine lady. But mostly, we see Clarence when he comes and tells us his stories about his day. That’s the exciting part. I think that’s what keeps sister and I coming back. It’s rather a tedious little job we have, but when Clarence starts talking, I feel I am sitting in the theatre.”

  It was not unusual that when one sister hesitated for a moment, the other sister continued talking, almost without a hint of disruption in thought. She thought of them as two halves of a whole being.

  Anna said, “Yesterday, Mr. Clarence told us about the most interesting patients. Clarence always goes to the parks because with all the children playing there, it seems inevitable one of the little ones gets into trouble.”

  Helen said seamlessly, “The little dears…one of them always needs bandaging up.”

  Anna continued, “Mr. Clarence returned to the ambulance to get something when a vagrant, lying on a bench, called over to him for help.”