by Sonia Parin
“What’s happened?” Henrietta demanded. “You both look perplexed.”
Forgetting her earlier frustration with Henrietta for leaving in the middle of the night, Evie nodded. “Yes, we are rather pleasantly surprised. We believe Caro has acquired an admirer.”
“You mean, Cousin Carolina.”
“Both. The detective knows her real identity but was happy to go along with her ruse.”
Henrietta hummed. “Considering the current state of affairs, with so many women destined to remain single, we must do everything in our power to encourage them. However, I have other pressing matters which require our immediate attention.”
Sara settled down opposite Evie. “Henrietta couldn’t wait to come and tell you in person. She has spent the morning working herself up into a frenzy.”
“I suppose you noticed our absence at breakfast,” Henrietta said as she sat down beside Sara. “I should apologize. I tossed and turned for half an hour and, unable to settle down, I…”
“You dragged me out of bed and forced me to go back to the dower house with you,” Sara complained.
“All for a good cause. Although, as it turns out, it was actually a lost cause. My spy network has been shattered.”
“How did that happen?” Evie asked.
“I’m afraid Hillsboro Lodge is beyond my people’s reach.”
“Oh, that’s disappointing.”
“It most certainly is. We must find a way to overcome the problem of a tightknit household.” She glanced at the footman. “At least the housekeeper has agreed to share any news with us. Have you made the arrangements? Last night you agreed to pay her for information.”
“My apologies, Henrietta. It slipped my mind. Perhaps we can send Edmonds over to Hillsboro Lodge.” Evie gave it some thought. “Oh, I know. We could ask Mrs. Horace to prepare a thank you basket for looking after Caro. Edmonds can slip the payment in.”
Henrietta tapped her umbrella on the carpet. “How soon can you organize it?”
“Straightaway,” Evie assured her.
When Evie didn’t make a move, Henrietta’s eyebrows shot up. “How soon is straightaway?”
Sara smiled. “I told you she’s in a state of frenzy.”
Evie got up. When she turned toward the fireplace and the bell pull, Henrietta moaned softly.
“Henrietta, would you like me to go down to the kitchen and speak with Mrs. Horace myself?” Evie asked.
“That would be more expedient, Evangeline.”
Leaning in, Tom whispered, “You’re fighting a losing battle, Countess. I’ll accompany you down.”
“Only because you’re afraid of what Henrietta will make you do if you remain,” Evie whispered back.
They both headed for the door as Henrietta said, “That took some effort.”
Tom managed to contain his laughter until they reached the door to the back stairs.
“Honestly, I don’t know what’s come over Henrietta.”
“At least she’s no longer twitching,” Tom said.
“True.”
Halfway down the stairs, they encountered Edgar coming up.
“My lady… I was just coming up to bring you a message.”
Heavens, what now?
It had to be important for Edgar to come himself instead of sending a footman.
Edgar looked flustered and out of breath. “T-the… the housekeeper.”
“Mrs. Horace?”
He shook his head and, still sounding out of breath, said, “No, the other housekeeper, Mrs. Brook. She’s here.”
Mrs. Brook?
Tom chortled. “The Hillsboro Lodge housekeeper came to us. Henrietta will be pleased.”
They hurried down to the kitchen and found Mrs. Brook sitting down with Halton House’s housekeeper, Mrs. Horace.
“She must know something really important,” Evie whispered. “Do you carry money with you?”
Tom dug inside his pocket and drew out some bills.
Evie looked at them and took one. “How much are we supposed to give her? I didn’t ask…” Taking another one, she added, “We should play it safe.”
Tom gave her another one. “She might want to vacation in the Riviera.”
They greeted Sterling Wright’s housekeeper. “We were just about to set out to Hillsboro Lodge,” Evie said. “Has something happened?”
Mrs. Brook looked at the money Evie held and smiled. “Yes, indeed. I thought I’d come and tell you myself.”
Evie didn’t know if she should pay her now or wait to hear the news. She had no idea how these transactions were supposed to be performed. Although, it made sense to withhold payment until she could be certain of the quality of the information.
Mrs. Brook gave her a knowing smile. “The police found something in the stables.”
Evie called on her patience. It seemed Mrs. Brook wished to draw out the suspense.
She continued, “One of the stable boys saw them.” The housekeeper held two fingers out and spread them slightly as if to indicate a distance or a measurement. “A small piece of fabric.”
“What color?” Tom asked.
Mrs. Brook smiled. “Pink.”
Moments later
The library
Marjorie Devon had worn a pink dress.
Why hadn’t the detective shared the information?
Tom and Evie walked into the library and found Lotte sitting with Henrietta and Sara sipping tea.
“It’s all been taken care of,” Evie assured Henrietta. “Our timing could not have been better. The housekeeper came to us.”
Henrietta set her teacup down. “Oh, thank heavens. A woman of action.”
“A woman intent on getting her payment,” Tom whispered.
“Worth every penny since she brought us some interesting news. Actually, more than pennies, but never mind all that.” Evie told them about the fabric found in the stables.
“From Marjorie Devon’s dress?”
“Yes. Most likely. Well, we can’t think of anyone else who wore a pink dress last night.” Evie imagined the detective had already discovered the link between the piece of fabric and the dress it had come from.
Had he questioned Marjorie?
Of course, he had.
The detective obviously knew how to do his job. The night before, they’d given him a list of names of people who had been absent at one time or another from the ballroom. If he hadn’t thought of Marjorie as a suspect worth considering before, that piece of fabric must surely have put her at the top of his list now.
What had been her explanation?
Lotte stood up and walked to the window. “We now have proof Marjorie went to the stables. That’s something.”
“Yes,” Evie said. “However, we don’t know when she went there. Directly after she left the ballroom the first time? Or the second time. I wonder if we can make another connection? Thanks to Caro, we also know Marjorie had been fretting before George Stevens’ arrival.”
“Do you think she killed George Stevens?” Sara asked.
Evie nibbled the tip of her thumb. “The fabric puts her at the scene of the crime. That doesn’t mean she had a hand in his demise. But she will have to explain herself.” Evie glanced at Lotte. “And if the detective isn’t convinced, he will look for motive.” And, Evie thought, he would have the necessary resources.
Why hadn’t the detective mentioned it? Had it been an oversight? Had he forgotten to tell them because he’d been dazzled by Caro? Of course, he was under no obligation to share news with them. Then again, he’d told them about the syringe.
Evie started pacing. She came full circle, looked up and saw Lotte had moved away from the window and had also started pacing around the room.
Stopping in front of Evie, Lotte asked, “What do you think?”
How could they put together the puzzle from a distance? “Maybe you should get in touch with Sterling Wright.”
Lotte blinked. After a moment, she nodded.
Swing
ing around, they both resumed their pacing. Along the way, Evie glanced at Tom.
Henrietta groaned her displeasure. “Would someone please explain what is happening? You are all looking at each other. Is there some sort of secret language we are not privy to?”
Evie stopped and sat down in the nearest chair. “I’m trying to think of some questions.”
“I have plenty of those,” Henrietta said. “Would you like to hear some?”
Getting up again, Evie circled back and again met with Lotte who nodded and said, “I should go to Hillsboro Lodge now.”
Evie nodded. As a seasoned detective, Lotte would know how to wrangle information out of Sterling Wright. She could also justify her visit.
“Edgar,” Henrietta hollered.
“My lady?”
“Oh, here you are. My apologies, I see you now. Do we have today’s newspapers?”
“Certainly, my lady.” Edgar directed a footman to fetch them.
Henrietta dug around her handbag. “Heavens, in my haste to come here I seem to have forgotten my spectacles.”
When the footman brought the newspapers, Henrietta turned to Tom. “Could you please look through them to see if there is any mention of last night? And pull up a chair next to me. I want to make sure you don’t miss anything.”
Edgar provided the chair and Tom sat down, saying, “I promise I won’t spare you the gory details.”
Turning to Evie, Henrietta said, “Since you won’t ask, I will volunteer a question. Had anyone considered the mysterious gentleman who arrived with the platinum blonde woman last night?”
Evie and Lotte stopped and looked at Tom.
“No, don’t look at Tom. He is busy reading.”
“Perhaps Lotte can find out his identity when she goes to Hillsboro Lodge,” Evie suggested. “I must admit, I did not keep track of him.”
“Well, he certainly looked suspicious.”
“Yes, I mistook him for George Stevens. He had a certain look about him.”
Tom set the newspaper down. “There is no mention of the death.”
“Isn’t that odd? George Stevens was a prominent member of the criminal world,” Henrietta observed. “Doesn’t the detective wish to get his name in print?”
“Evidently not.”
The door to the library opened and Toodles walked in. “Here you all are. What did I miss?”
Sara grinned. “Cousin Carolina has an admirer.”
Henrietta tapped her umbrella on the floor. “Could we please focus on one wedding at a time. I mean… On the murder.”
Lotte headed for the door, saying, “I’m going to Hillsboro Lodge.”
“As Cousin Ophelia or as yourself?” Evie asked.
That stopped Lotte in her tracks. “Good point. I’ll have to go as myself. I can’t think how Cousin Ophelia would justify her presence and going as Loony Lotte is out of the question, which is a shame because I rather like her. On second thought, she wouldn’t have to explain her presence. She could just go into a rage.”
“Yes, but I doubt Sterling would be willing to divulge any information to Loony Lotte. In any case, Tom and I will follow. We’ll wait nearby.” Evie surged to her feet and headed out of the library.
“What about us?” Henrietta asked. “Are we supposed to hold the fort?”
Sara plumped up her cushion. “Someone has to and thank goodness for that.”
Toodles settled down by the fireplace. “What’s this about Caro having an admirer?”
“Hurry,” Tom mouthed as he caught up with Evie.
Evie rushed up the stairs to get her coat. In her room, she found Millicent and Caro arguing over a pile of clothes.
“Excuse me.” Evie dug around the pile and snatched a coat.
Caro took the coat from her and gave her another one.
“You might want these too, milady.” Caro handed her a pair of gloves.
“And this scarf, milady,” Millicent offered.
Not to be outdone, Caro produced a hat.
Millicent huffed. “Or perhaps her ladyship wants this hat.”
“They’re both quite suitable but I only have one head.” Before they could present their arguments, Evie hurried away and left them to sort out their territorial disagreements by themselves.
She hoped the dowagers and Toodles didn’t realize she had used following Lotte as an excuse to leave the house without anyone following her.
In her opinion, the police had the matter in hand and she and Tom no longer had a role to play in the investigation. However, if she told the others they would insist that she follow through and prod around for more information.
“Edgar, if we are not back for luncheon, please make an excuse for us. Feel free to say we telephoned and… decided to elope.”
Edgar’s lips parted and his eyes widened. “With all due respect, my lady. If I drop that particular bombshell, I might not be able to keep Lady Henrietta or Lady Sara or, indeed, Toodles, from setting off in pursuit of you.”
“Fine, tell them we stopped at the pub for lunch.”
Breathing a sigh of relief, Edgar nodded.
Tom must have seen the exchange from the motor car because when Evie settled in, he asked, “What did you say to poor Edgar?”
“It’s how he reacted that should concern us. It seems we are not allowed to elope.”
“Were we thinking of eloping?”
“It’s an option. At least, it would have been.” Evie slipped on her gloves. “I suppose we’ll have to talk about it sometime.”
“Before or after we find George Stevens’ killer, the one we’re not looking for because we’re not really involved in the investigation?”
“On the other hand, it would be interesting to see what they did if we tried to elope.”
He laughed.
Ahead, Lotte drove off in her motor car and they followed.
Evie sat back and thought about the storm several people had mentioned. The sky looked gray but not threatening. Maybe the storm they’d spoken of had been George Stevens’ death.
Smiling to herself, she wondered if she should share her thoughts with Tom. That would add several more people to the list of suspects. Mr. Crooked Tie and his wife, Mrs. Mauve Dress. There had been another couple who’d mentioned the weather but she hadn’t given them names.
Pulling her collar up, she also thought about George Stevens’ wife. Had she known about his criminal activities or had she enjoyed blissful ignorance? Did she have any idea what had prompted her husband to attend a public event other than his desire to buy back a horse?
Evie even tried to grasp at straws. What if Mrs. Stevens had wanted her husband dead?
Heavens. There were so many possibilities, so many reasons for killing someone.
She tried to remember if Detective O’Neill had ever spoken about the perfect murder.
How would one succeed in killing someone and getting away with it?
No, Detective O’Neill always expected to find some sort of evidence. Something to lead him to the culprit. He didn’t even like to contemplate the idea of someone getting away with murder.
They had done well to observe everyone at the ball. But what if they had missed someone obvious?
Tom slowed down. Looking up, Evie saw they had arrived at Hillsboro Lodge. Lotte had stopped ahead and Tom came to a stop beside her motor car.
“Is there anything in particular you’d like me to try to find out?” Lotte asked.
“The official cause of death.” Evie really didn’t want the horse to be responsible. “Did they find a vial? The poison must have been stored somewhere.” Brightening, Evie said, “If they haven’t found a vial on him or in his room, then that throws into the question the presence of the syringe.”
Tom shifted. “Countess? You seem to like the idea of a conspiracy.”
Evie shrugged. “Someone else put the syringe in the stall to throw suspicion off or point the finger at him and suggest George Stevens went to the stall to kill the horse
. For all we know, someone lured him there and then planted evidence.”
“Someone had the opportunity or created the opportunity,” he said.
“Yes.”
He looked at her for a moment. “It is possible the horse kicked him…”
“If that’s the case, I’d prefer to think someone lured him inside the stall and startled Mighty Warrior. Oh, if you see the detective, you might want to mention rosebud green. With all the excitement last night, I think we forgot to tell him about it. Actually, I might have hesitated. Who knows what the detective would have made of my tale. And… we also want to know about the man who came with the platinum blonde woman.” Evie nodded. “We’ll wait for you.”
They watched Lotte drive into the estate and then sat back to wait.
Chapter 20
The waiting game
Outside Hillsboro Lodge
Tom checked his watch.
Evie followed the gradual rise of his eyebrows and tried to read his expression. Either they’d only been waiting for a few minutes and that surprised him because it already felt like an eternity, or they had been sitting out in the motor car for longer than he’d thought.
“We’ve been out here for an hour,” he said.
Alarmed by the news, Evie asked, “Do you think Lotte needs rescuing?”
“She can look after herself. At least, I hope she can. I’m actually surprised because we’ve been quiet for that long.”
It took a moment for Evie to understand his meaning. She’d spent the time replaying everything that had happened over the last few days and she assumed he had been entertaining similar thoughts.
“Have we ever been silent for such a long stretch of time?” she asked.
“Not that I recall. Not even when we’re in the library reading.”
Her brows furrowed with concern. “Do I need to ask how you feel about that?”
“I’m just pleasantly surprised. You must admit, silence is rare at Halton House. There is always something happening.”