The Perils of Marie Louise — Deloris Stanton Forbes

Marie Louise was eight years old when she discovered the meaning of murder. She remembers specifically because it was her birthday and everybody in her family was out at her grandmother's and before she could blow out the candles and Grandmere could cut the cake, her uncle Royal fell into the old well and drowned. My cousin Henry said it was a terrible accident, but my cousin Philip said it was no accident -- it was murder.