by Sonia Parin
Looking at Caro, Evie beseeched her, “If we do this, will you promise you will return with us?”
Caro glanced at the detective. “Perhaps.”
“Follow me,” Mr. Buckton invited.
They filed out of the drawing room and followed Mr. Buckton out of the house.
Tom and the detective walked behind her. Glancing over her shoulder, Evie saw them surveying the area.
Mr. Buckton held the stables’ door open for them. As they moved through the threshold, Evie tensed. Suddenly, she became aware of the possibility of walking straight into danger.
“You have quite a stable here, Mr. Buckton,” Evie said.
“We had them restored a couple of years ago so most of it looks quite new.”
She had been referring to the horses. There had to be over twenty, perhaps more. “They’re all racing horses?”
He nodded.
She walked the length of the stables reading the name plates on the stall doors. Finally, she came to one without a name. She turned to look at him.
“Unfortunately, that’s not one of mine.” He explained how he had been approached the day before to stable a horse temporarily. “They suffered a similar fate to your cousin and broke down not far from here.”
The others walked up for a closer look.
“He’s a lovely chestnut…” Mr. Buckton broke off and turned toward the stable doors. The sound of running footsteps headed toward them had everyone else turning.
A moment later, several constables burst in waving their truncheons and blowing their whistles.
“What in heaven’s name is this about?” Mr. Buckton demanded.
“I believe, sir, you are in possession of stolen property,” Evie said.
Moments later…
Leaving the local constabulary to deal with the situation, they returned to their vehicles and headed back to Hillsboro Lodge.
“It seems the answer lay with Rosebud Green all along,” Evie said. The detective didn’t know it yet, but they were following him back to Hillsboro Lodge.
“You should get a special commendation for this,” Tom said.
“No one has been arrested yet.”
“But you recovered a horse no one knew had been missing.”
“That is strange. How did Sterling Wright not realize he had a different horse in his stable?”
“Didn’t you say he had been vague when he’d talked about Mighty Warrior?”
“Yes and, even after only meeting him once before, I had the impression he didn’t really know much about horses. Of course, I might have been wrong since he said he has a hand in training them. Perhaps he simply doesn’t possess an eye for detail. Or, maybe, he hasn’t been to the stables since his new horse arrived.”
“That’s a possibility.”
During the half hour drive back, Evie tried to piece together a theory that would make sense.
Archie Arthurs had stolen the horse from right under Sterling’s nose. The theft had to be connected to George Stevens’ death.
Evie shook her head.
“What’s wrong?” Tom asked.
“If you repeat a word enough times, it soon loses all meaning. I’m experiencing the same dilemma with the information we’ve been collecting.”
The four motor cars drove through the gates leading to Hillsboro Lodge. Evie expected the detective to stop and tell them to turn back. When he didn’t, they continued to follow him.
As they came to a stop, they saw a rider galloping toward the house.
Sterling Wright.
The detective stood by his motor car and waited for him. When Sterling dismounted, the detective approached him.
Evie nudged Tom and they walked toward them. If the detective saw them coming, he didn’t stop them.
They heard him say, “I would like to ask you a few questions about Mr. Arthurs.”
Sterling handed the reins to a stable boy. “Archie? What about him?”
“When was the last time you saw him?”
“About an hour ago. He’s inside. In fact, your detectives are talking with him right now.”
The detective rushed inside. Sterling Wright looked at Evie and Tom. “Would someone mind telling me what’s going on?”
“Have you seen Mighty Warrior since he arrived?” Evie asked.
He nodded. “Briefly.”
“Did you see him up close?”
“No, it’s been rather busy what with the hunt and the ball and I’ve spent most of today trying to clear my head.”
“I think you might want to go to the stables,” Evie suggested.
The others caught up with them and followed them to the stables.
“What’s this about?” Sterling asked. He pushed the stable doors open and walked in.
The impostor Mighty Warrior snorted.
Even with the stable doors open, the light was quite poor. “I think you might want to take a close look at him.”
He did, however, after a moment, instead of noticing the different coloring, as Evie had hoped he would, he noticed the horse’s frame. In his opinion, it was wider than he remembered.
“What’s going on here?”
“We believe your horse has been swapped.” Evie swung away and walked outside.
Following her, Tom murmured, “George Stevens would have been able to identify him.”
“Yes, the thought only now took shape in my mind. He might have been killed for that very reason. Although, that still doesn’t tell us who killed him.”
Archie Arthurs had organized to swap the horse but someone had assisted him. How had he known where to intercept it and when?
Evie felt they had been witnesses to a crime but she had no idea how to interpret what they had seen.
Turning, she saw Sterling had joined them outside. He looked dumbfounded.
Plucking out one of the many snippets of information she had floating around her mind, she asked, “Does the room opposite the library face the stables?”
Sterling hesitated. He looked up at the house, almost as if he needed to think about it. “Yes, I believe it does.”
Turning to Tom, she said, “Caro said she thought there had been a third person in the room opposite the library. I think Archie Arthurs was here all along keeping an eye on the stables. He just didn’t make an appearance at the ball. We know he went to Rosebud Green, but then he might have returned during the evening.”
“Rosebud Green?” Sterling asked. “Didn’t you ask me about that the other day at dinner?”
“Yes, and you said it sounded familiar.”
Sterling looked up at the house again. “Yes, at the time, I didn’t remember where I’d heard it mentioned but it’s come back to me now. The drivers transporting Mighty Warrior had been in touch with me. They said he had been skittish and might injure himself so they were going to stop at Rosebud Green overnight or however long it took to calm him down.”
“Can you remember when you had that conversation?” Evie asked.
He raked his fingers through his hair. “The day of the dinner.”
“The day I attended the foxhunt.”
Sterling nodded.
It had also been the day Marjorie Devon had gone to Mrs. Green’s establishment. Evie had only just discovered Lotte had decided to dress as her cousin. Shortly after, Caro had received a telephone call from Mrs. Green alerting her of Marjorie’s imminent arrival at her establishment. Despite not finding her there, Evie had found the piece of paper…
Marjorie must have heard Sterling mentioning the place or perhaps she had overheard the telephone conversation.
Had she then told Archie Arthurs and had he used the information to set up his heist?
Why would she share that information? What role did Marjorie play?
The detective had said he had to look into everyone’s background. With this sort of information, she thought he might be able to focus his search. Who would stand to gain the most by taking possession of a valuable horse?
&nb
sp; Some or all of the guests they had suspected might have had a stake in Mighty Warrior’s kidnapping.
The snippets of conversations Lotte had overheard during her overnight stay at Hillsboro Lodge came back to her.
She turned to Sterling. “If Twiggy Lloyd owned a share of Mighty Warrior, would he have the right to sell the horse?”
“It would be ungentlemanly of him to do so without letting me know. He’d need a majority share…” Sterling broke off and looked toward the house again.
“Have others approached you about buying a share?” She remembered him mentioning Matthew Prentiss’ interest.
Sterling still held his riding crop in his hand. Evie saw his fingers tightening around it. If anything, his reaction suggested he had not been involved in something underhanded.
He gave a stiff nod.
After taking a close look at the horse, Sterling had realized he had a different horse. Surely the perpetrators could not have expected to get away with switching horses.
When they had learned of George Stevens’ visit, they must have panicked. Had he been killed because they thought he alone could identify Mighty Warrior?
Lowering her voice, she said, “Maybe they thought they would get away with stealing Mighty Warrior by killing this horse.” But they hadn’t succeeded. Had someone caught them in the act?
“Do you really think Sterling would not have realized it wasn’t Mighty Warrior?” Tom asked.
“Who knows what goes through a criminal’s mind. Those are the sort of mistakes that prevent people from getting away with murder. Which is precisely what has happened here.”
Earlier, she had told Tom they should stop thinking about the letters because they were distracting. However, she couldn’t help bringing them up again.
Looking at Sterling, she said, “Marjorie received more than one threatening letter but you only produced one for Lotte’s perusal.”
He looked at her, his eyebrows drawn down.
“You didn’t ask Lotte to find out who sent them because… I think you already know who sent them and if Lotte had seen those other letters, she would have discovered the person’s identity.” And, Evie thought, for some reason, Sterling hadn’t wanted that to happen.
Evie turned and glanced at Lotte who appeared to be in deep thought. Millicent and Caro stood behind her, their lips slightly parted as if they couldn’t quite believe what they were witnessing.
They heard a commotion coming from the front of the house. They all made their way there and saw two detectives leading Archie Arthurs away.
His protests were loud and clear. They wouldn’t be able to prove anything. They didn’t have any witnesses.
“If the detective’s lucky, Archie Arthurs’ fingerprints will match the one on the syringe,” Tom said.
Evie watched the detective as he walked toward them. She would leave it up to Sterling Wright to reveal the information he held about the letters.
“Archie Arthurs sounds sure of himself,” Evie said.
The detective shook his head. “No doubt he thinks others will cover for him.”
“I think you have your man, detective. And I’m sure the others involved will want to co-operate with you.” Evie sensed her shoulders easing down. She turned to look at Caro and Millicent. They both took a step back.
Smiling, Tom asked, “What now, Countess?”
“Now? Now we’ll have to explain everything to the others. I haven’t decided if I will do that before or after I give them a piece of my mind. Then again, I could delay everything until we hear back from the detective. I’m sure the fingerprints will match.”
“And the letters?”
Turning, she saw Sterling Wright talking with the detective. He’d said he needed to look into everyone’s background where he felt he would find something to indicate a strong motive. Evie felt sure he would find something in those letters.
“But why had Marjorie pretended she didn’t know who’d written them? Had she been in denial?”
“Countess? Are you thinking out loud again?”
“Yes. What would push Marjorie Devon into risking everything? Despite losing her fiancé in the war, she had managed to find another one, and a wealthy one at that. Why did she do this to him?”
Lotte crossed her arms and hummed. “Marjorie Devon’s father is a banker.”
“Yes, I remember you telling us. Do you suspect him of pressuring his daughter into playing a role in switching the horses? Why would he do that?”
“Strange,” Lotte mused, “a moment ago, I would have sworn you thought her father had something to do with it all. Even without mentioning him.”
Evie pushed out a breath. “I’m exhausted. I think it’s time to head back to Halton House.”
Hearing this, Millicent and Caro scurried away.
“I think they’re going to be out of sight for a while,” Tom said.
Evie smiled. “Good. I need them to fear me. But I won’t be too hard on them.” She glanced over her shoulder at the detective. “After all, I might need to use Caro as bait.”
Chapter 23
Halton House
Two days later…
Evie walked into the drawing room. Stopping in the middle of the room, she tapped her riding crop against her leg. “Edgar?”
Her butler appeared at the door. “My lady?”
“Some tea, please.”
Tom entered, made his way to a chair and sat down with a huff. “That was an invigorating stroll around the park. I wonder if there is a single member of your household who didn’t stand by a window to watch us. Can you imagine them trying to read your lips?”
Evie smiled. “You put on quite a performance, flailing your arms about and stomping off.”
“I thought we should give them something to talk about. Edgar has probably rushed off to tell them all is well. How long are we going to keep this up?”
Hearing a rush of footsteps coming toward them, they both looked up. Henrietta burst in. “Here you are at last. This must stop. I don’t understand why we are being punished.”
“No one is punishing you, Henrietta.” Evie tapped her riding crop against her thigh.
“We simply cannot go on like this,” Henrietta complained. “You cannot keep us in the dark.”
“Yes, I can.” Evie nodded and tapped her riding crop for added effect. “You sent Caro and Millicent off on what could have turned into a dangerous adventure.”
“But nothing happened to them. It’s been two days and you still refuse to tell us what happened.”
Evie tilted her head. “What about your spies?”
“They are being fed lies. Someone has made sure of that.”
Evie took a chair opposite Tom who hadn’t stopped smiling. “Do sit down, Henrietta. We’re about to have some tea. Where are the others?”
Henrietta lifted her chin. “They were here a moment ago, but when they heard you heading this way, they fled to the library. You have us all on tenterhooks.”
Evie grinned. “I can’t imagine Toodles being on tenterhooks. You should ask them to join us.”
Edgar came into the drawing followed by a footman carrying the tea tray. “My lady. Detective Inspector Evans has arrived.”
“Thank you, Edgar. Show him through.” Finally, she thought. The detective had telephone earlier to ask if he could speak with Lady Carolina and Evie had taken the opportunity to bargain with him. The fact he had made the request could only mean he had finally closed the case.
Henrietta lowered herself into the nearest chair. “Edgar, please let Lady Sara, Toodles and Lotte know we are about to have tea in the drawing room.”
Evie hid her smile. She knew nothing would budge Henrietta from her front row seat.
The detective appeared at the door and glanced around the room.
“Come in, detective,” Evie invited. “How wonderful to see you again.” She noticed the detective had dressed in country tweeds instead of a gray suit. “What news do you bring?”
“Have some tea, Tom. That couch sounds serious.”
Evie stood up and poured herself a cup of tea. As she turned, she noticed the detective looking toward the door. He could not have looked more disappointed when Toodles, Lotte and Sara entered the library.
Pretending not to have noticed Evie, Toodles asked, “Is it safe?”
Evie gave her a bright smile. “Grans, just in time for tea. Mind where you seat, please. I left my riding crop somewhere…”
Toodles sat next to Tom. Looking at the detective, she explained, “My granddaughter has become a force to be reckoned with.”
“I believe we are all here, detective.”
He glanced toward the door. When he sat back, he seemed to accept the fact Caro wouldn’t be joining them. Certainly not before he divulged every single detail.
“Well,” he said. “I’m glad to be able to tell you we have closed the case.”
“Indeed.”
“We were able to match Archie Arthurs’ fingerprints to the partial fingerprint found on the syringe. If you recall, I also had the milk in the stables tested and the examiner found traces of sleeping powder. So, this had been planned to the last detail. Although, as you pointed out, my lady, those involved made the mistake of thinking Sterling Wright wouldn’t recognize the different horse.”
“Well, that is good news. Did you extract a confession out of him?”
“No, I believe he will maintain his innocence until the end. However, we were lucky to find proof he delivered the fatal blow and, for that, he will face the severest penalty.”
“What proof is that?” Henrietta asked.
“Traces of blood on his coat.”
Henrietta pressed her hand to her throat. “What about the others? Was Evangeline correct in thinking there were others involved?”
“Up to a point, yes. Marjorie Devon came forward first.” The detective looked at Evie. “She was compelled to speak in exchange for clemency for her father who had written those letters to her. He had wanted her to intervene and assist Archie Arthurs in stealing the horse and that is why she provided the information she did.” He glanced at Lotte. “She mentioned something about trying to divert attention by suggesting Looney Lotte had sent them. I’ve searched my mind and tried to recall if you’d mentioned her…”