"The detective fiddled with his pipe as he thought. On the surface, it appeared that each of them was guilty. The elderly Mr. Parshings had made a great deal of enemies and had no shortage of people who wished him dead. In this case, it must be the method, not the motive, that determined who had committed the heinous act.
"Young Mr. Parshings, the millionaire's grandson, claimed not to have been in the mansion at the time of the murder, but Cablot thought this unlikely. The maid said she had seen a light in the man's bedroom that evening, and though she had no love for her master, he did not see a motive for her to lie about such a detail. Perhaps Parshing's grandson was innocent and just a victim of coincidence. It seemed too obvious that he should be the murderer, with his grandfather's will read only a week prior. Were someone else to frame the young Mr. Parshings, this would be the ideal time.
"Cablot shook his head. Something about this case did not add –"
"What are you reading?" Annie interrupted.
Finnick showed her the cover of the book, but their daughter had a more detailed explanation. "It's about a detective who's trying to solve a murder! He's talked to everybody who was there, the sussects – "
"Suspects," corrected Ronan, who was sitting on the other side of Finnick.
Maggie stuck out her tongue at her older brother. "But nobody wants to admit they killed the old man. I think it was his grandson because he wanted to steal all his money."
Annie's eyebrows rose, and she turned towards Finnick. "And is this an appropriate book for six and seven year olds?"
"Err, yes? Is that the correct answer?" Finnick gave her his most charming smile. It was usually enough to get him out of trouble, and tonight was no exception.
She rolled her eyes and smiled. "Can I sit with you guys? The story sounds interesting." Maggie scooched onto Finnick's lap so that her mother could fit onto the couch with them. Annie tucked herself into the spot and cuddled against this portion of her family.
"Did you manage to get Dylan to fall asleep?" Finnick asked.
Annie nodded. "Yes, finally." She looked at Ronan. "You, young man, need to be quieter tonight when you go to bed. No waking your brother up."
The boy nodded. "Okay," he agreed. Ronan took his responsibility to be a good big brother very seriously.
"Thank you. I just don't want another fit like last night," Annie said. She leaned over Finnick and Maggie to plant a kiss on her older son's forehead before resting her head on Finnick's shoulder.
"Excuse me, ma'am, but that's my page-flipping arm," he said.
Annie batted her eyes up at him. "I'm sure you'll be able to work around it."
Finnick sighed. "I never win with you, do I?"
His wife laughed, but the children were impatient to start reading again. "C'mon, I want to know what happened!" Maggie whined.
Finnick looked back down at the page. "Okay, where were we?" he skimmed through a few paragraphs before he found a section that seemed unfamiliar. "Ah, found it!"
"Cablot shook his head. Something about this case did not add up. Surely, the killer must have made some mistake, but Cablot could not find that clue among the web of lies that had been spun around Mr. Parshing's death. He sighed and put out his pipe. He needed more information if he was going to crack this case. Perhaps it was time for another chat with the gardener.
"He found the man weeding the extensive rose garden. 'Good day, sir,' Cablot said. "Might I have a word with you?'
"The gardener jumped at the sound of his voice. He clutched his hand to his heart when he saw that it was merely Cablot. 'You gave me a fright, you did,' he said, shakily rising to his feet. 'I've been jumping at shadows all day. This murder has us all on edge, I suppose.'
"'Indeed,' agreed Cablot. 'Tell me, do you have a minute to discuss your master's unfortunate end? I do believe that I am close to finding the murderer.'
"'Any way I can help, sir. I'd be more than happy to.' The two men moved to the garden furniture to continue their discussion. McAbbot, the gardener, described Mr. Parshing as a stern but fair master, unwilling to suffer fools, but appreciative of good work. The other servants had seen Mr. Parshing as overly harsh and demanding, but Cablot did not reveal that to the gardener. Also, he had learned from the head maid that Parshing and McAbbot had argued hardly two weeks before on the matter of McAbbot's wages. Interesting that the gardener chose not to bring up that row."
"Oh dear, it's well past bedtime," Annie said. "Come along, you two, let's get teeth brushed and pajamas on."
Her suggestion was met with resistance. "Mom, I want to finish the story! I need to know who did it," complained Ronan. Maggie probably would have asked to finish the book as well, but she was already asleep.
"No arguments. We'll read some more tomorrow." Finnick scooped Maggie up and carried her to her bedroom. "Goodnight, sweetheart," he whispered, kissing her cheek.
He met Annie back downstairs. "Fancy seeing you here." He leaned down to kiss her.
Annie lifted herself onto her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I think they're liking the book," she said once they separated.
"I'm enjoying it too. I'm excited to see who actually killed him."
"I know what we could do this evening." Annie's voice was low and seductive. She pressed her body flush against his and began to kiss his neck.
Finnick smiled. "I like the way you think." He wrapped his arms around her waist.
"Good, so you do want to finish the book." She laughed at his disappointed expression.
"You're a cruel woman, Annie Odair, but I can't complain. I really do want to find out what happened." Finnick went to grab the book, and they settled onto the couch together, Annie on his lap as they read silently.
"So it was the grandson," Finnick said once they were finished.
"Maggie will be pleased. We'll have to act like we didn't finish it without them. Can you show me your best surprised face?" Finnick opened his mouth and eyes as wide as he could and pressed his hands to his cheeks. She laughed. "That might be a bit much, but it's cute."
Finnick smiled at her. "I'm always cute."
"And modest." Annie pulled him down for a kiss. "So, about your other idea for this evening …"
"I think we can work that into the schedule," Finnick said. He pulled her into his arms and carried her, bridal style, to their bedroom. Annie tried to stay quiet, as to not wake up Dylan, but she couldn't help it that a few giggles escaped.
A/N: Thanks for reading! Sorry it's been so long – since there isn't really a story line to this fic, I tend to write only when I get a flash of inspiration. However, I think there'll be another update tomorrow, so maybe that partially makes up for my neglect. Thank you so much to the guest reviewer and FinnieOdesta4ever for reviewing. I really appreciate the feedback. This fic was written using the Caesar's Place prompt family. Thanks again!
~finnicko-loves-anniec