The girl’s eyes widened. “Are you saying Mrs. Archer was Miss Information?” She caught her lip between her teeth. “Does this help Mr. Evingdon’s cause?”
Oh, dear. “It certainly seems like more than a coincidence, but I don’t believe it helps him at all.” Heavens, this might actually remove the motive of blackmail.
“You should inspect the other files.” I turned to see Lily had given up all pretense of writing invitations and was watching us intently. “They can’t all be gossip columns. It hasn’t been running for that long. What are the other files for?”
Good question. I turned my gaze to the three other bundles tied up in heavy paper covers. “We’ve reviewed two of them. This one is filled with rather inflammatory information.”
I pushed it to the side, remembering it also contained the note about me. Though I certainly didn’t want anyone else to see it, I could hardly remove it as it was evidence. “I have yet to examine the other two files.”
As I picked up one and opened it, I wondered if I should take them to my bedchamber or send Lottie back to Hetty. Delaney hadn’t wanted to admit they existed, and George wanted to keep them confidential. But that was when we all thought the files were for the purpose of blackmail. If Mary was only writing a gossip column . . .
“There’s a note on this folder that says Do not use.”
I glanced over at Lottie to see she had untied the strings binding the fourth file and was examining the inside of the paper cover. Setting aside the pages I’d been reading, I turned back to the inside cover of my folder and saw the words December 1898 through May 1899 written in pencil. Could this relate to the columns for that time period? I reached for the file that contained the current columns and turned back the cover. June 1899 through—.
Lottie craned her neck to see the note. From her expression, I saw we’d arrived at the same conclusion. Our gazes moved to the file I’d pushed aside, still sitting on the table. I moved the two from my lap to the sofa and pulled open the file I’d been reading yesterday. The note on the inside cover also read Do not use.
“Perhaps these notes weren’t interesting enough for her column.”
“I’ve read some of them. I suspect just the opposite is true.”
She turned to the first note.
“I’d rather you didn’t read those, dear.” I reached out to close the folder just as she spoke.
“She uses Pitman shorthand.”
I stopped my hand in midreach. “You’re familiar with this style of writing?”
“Oh, yes.” She waved a hand over the file. “I found it very useful when I took minutes at the board of directors’ meetings.” She raised her brows at my blank stare. “My volunteer work at the Metropolitan Museum. Recording minutes became much easier when I learned this type of stenography. Perhaps I might help you go through these files?”
Before I could answer, Mrs. Thompson escorted George into the drawing room. I leaned closer to Lottie. “I’ll have to speak to Mr. Hazelton about that. Can you give us a moment?”
“Of course.” She greeted George and excused herself to return to the library with Hetty and Graham. Lily pretended to be working intently on her invitations. I motioned for George to take a seat next to me.
“It seems we’ve made a discovery,” I said.
His gaze took in the files on my lap and strewn across the tea table. “We? Never say the young ladies have been working with you?”
“Not in the manner you think.” I handed him the newspaper clippings. “Lottie has been collecting these clippings from the newspaper and they match Mary’s notes perfectly. We strongly suspect she was writing the Miss Information column.”
He gave me an empty stare. “Misinformation?”
“No. Miss Information.” I tapped the heading on the clipping he held. “It’s a play on the word and a column in the Daily Observer.”
“Interesting. Tell me more.”
I gave him a summary of our morning’s business. “Though I can’t say for certain she isn’t blackmailing anyone, the files filled with the scandalous tales are marked as Do not use. What do you make of all this? And have you discovered anything yourself?”
“What I discovered is making a little more sense now that I’ve heard your information.” He flicked a glance across the room at Lily, now paying more attention to us than to her own work.
I huffed. “Lily, those invitations are not going to write themselves. And they must be delivered today.”
George waited until Lily returned to her work before speaking. “In checking with Mrs. Archer’s bank, I found regular deposits of a fairly small amount. Either she was utterly inept as a blackmailer, or she had some other source of income. Until now, I assumed it was some type of allowance from her family or the Archers; now I wonder if it was from her employment.”
“I’m beginning to wonder if she was not on the best of terms with her late husband’s family. The Archers are quite well-to-do. If they were giving her an allowance, she would at least have been able to keep a maid-of-all-work, and that was not the case. Last evening, Mr. Kendrick told me he’s been a social acquaintance of the Gordon Archers for a year now and yet he knew nothing of Mary’s existence. I suppose that doesn’t mean they were at odds, but it does make me wonder about her relationship with that family.”
“What of her own family?”
I let my fingers roll the edges of the papers in my lap as I tried to remember something about Mary’s family. “Her parents are deceased, I think, and her only sister is married to the third son of Viscount Spencer. A prominent family, but not much money. He’s a solicitor with offices in Oxford.” I chewed at my lip, wondering what sort of income a solicitor might earn. “I doubt they could provide an allowance for her.”
“Well, I suppose it should be easy enough to verify if she was employed with this newspaper.”
“If she was, that is not good news for Charles.” As I spoke the words, it occurred to me I had no idea what was happening with my cousin. “Good heavens, how could I forget to ask about him? Is he still in police custody?”
He chuckled. “I wondered if you had forgotten about him in the excitement of your new discovery. The viscount is seeing to his release as we speak. I expect him to arrive at my house this evening. I’ve invited him to stay for a few days.”
“Why should he stay with you?”
“Rather ironically, I’m concerned about gossip. Reporters haunt the police divisions for just such a story as this. So far, they’ve been discreet in this matter and the viscount has threatened the career of any constable who breathes a word of Charles’s questioning.” He shrugged. “Still, word could get out. I thought it best if he stayed out of sight and out of society until the police make it clear he is no longer a suspect.”
“I hope that will be soon, but if we confirm Mary was Miss Information, that eliminates blackmail and makes the case against him even stronger. Though I will be happy to stop searching for potential victims.”
George rested his palms on his thighs and leaned toward me. “I’m sorry to contradict you, Frances, but simply because the file says Do not use we cannot make any assumptions. She might still have been blackmailing.”
“But you said she had no large deposits to her account.”
“Yes, but I haven’t obtained access to her house yet. She might have money hidden there. We can’t rule it out yet.”
I frowned. “So, we still don’t know anything.”
“I’m afraid not. But you have uncovered a helpful clue in this gossip column. We should make Delaney aware of it.”
“We?”
“Yes.” He gave me a sheepish grin. “I bumped into him at the Chelsea division this morning and he inquired, with some asperity, why I wasn’t inspecting Mrs. Archer’s files.”
I raised my brows. “You told him?”
“Merely confirmed his suspicions. Delaney knows Evingdon is my friend and that I’d been investigating on his behalf.” He raised his hands in
a gesture of helplessness. “He had to know someone was poring through the files. He’s a clever fellow. I’m sure he suspected that someone was you.”
“And he didn’t object?”
“He might have done if it were known among his superiors, but as long as we’re discreet, I’d say he’s just happy he doesn’t have to do it himself.”
My hand fluttered up to my chest and I struggled to suppress a smile. That Delaney hadn’t objected to my participation was very much like a vote of confidence. My pleasure faded a bit when I considered the prospect of digging through these files again. I wondered how far I could push his goodwill.
“How do you suppose he’d feel if I enlisted some help?”
He raised a brow. “Your aunt Hetty?”
I took a glance over my shoulder, surprised to see Lily hard at work. Apparently, she’d given up trying to eavesdrop. I turned back to George and lowered my voice. “Lottie.”
He twisted the corner of his mouth downward. An objection was clearly imminent, so I pressed on.
“I would not normally ask a young lady to read material of this nature, but she has just the skills for this and, having met her mother, I doubt any of it will shock her.”
He leaned away and stared through narrowed eyes. “You have just shocked me. Her mother?”
“Is carrying on with a French count—a married French count.” I raised my hand to forestall his response. “Don’t misunderstand me. Lottie is a lady in every sense of the word. I suspect her volunteer work is a way to escape her household. The most important part is she can read stenography.”
His expression cleared. “I see. That would be helpful.”
“Indeed, it would. If you agree to let her assist me, I’ll be certain to stress the confidential nature of these notes.”
His expression told me he was beginning to see my point. “We’ll move through these files much more quickly with her help,” I added.
George looked up to the ceiling and scrubbed a hand down his face. “All right,” he said finally. “She would certainly be an asset to the investigation, but she must not breathe a word of what she is doing.”
“I will vouch for her. And since you mention keeping things to ourselves, could we wait to tell Delaney about the gossip column? I don’t want to give him any more reason to suspect Charles.”
A smile crept across his face. “May I assume once he’s a free man you’ll have no further reason to withhold information from the police?”
“Goodness, I suppose that is what I’m doing, isn’t it? Well, it’s only until Charles is released. And as you said, just because she was writing a column doesn’t mean she wasn’t blackmailing someone as well.” I shuddered. “I hate saying something like that about a friend, especially a deceased friend.”
“That reminds me. When is the funeral?”
“Tomorrow morning.”
“Damn.” He raised his gaze to mine. “Apologies. I’d hoped to attend, but I don’t see how I can make it. Are you going?”
“Yes, I’d planned to. Why?”
He moved closer and lowered his voice. “Try to pay attention to everyone there—family, friends—even minor acquaintances. Take note of anyone who seems out of place. Anyone who didn’t know her well, whom you wouldn’t expect to see there. Or anyone just acting out of character.”
“Goodness, that’s a great deal of attention to pay. I shall have my hands full.” I studied him through narrowed eyes, searching for whatever he wasn’t telling me. “Are you asking me to watch out for the killer? Do you think he might go to her funeral?”
“It happens quite frequently.” He placed a hand over mine. “Mind you, I don’t want you to take any action yourself. Just make note of anyone who seems suspicious to you. If it’s at all possible, I’ll meet you there. I daresay Delaney will attend. If you have a concern about any of the guests, tell him.”
“I can do that.” A thrill of excitement coursed through my veins. If I weren’t so worried about Charles, I might actually enjoy this investigative work.
Chapter 9
Once George departed, I organized my troops. Lily had finally finished her invitations, and we sent them with Jenny to the Kendricks for delivery. I appropriated Lottie from her work with Graham and Hetty and brought her back to the drawing room.
Since the three of us were already seated around the tea table, and since it was nearly four o’clock, we made our battle plans over tea. There was no longer any point in secrecy as I needed Lottie’s help. I had no authorization to involve Lily, but quite honestly, I felt rather guilty leaving her out. I’d simply restrict her to the common gossip files. Once we each enjoyed a bracing cup of tea, I explained Delaney’s blackmail theory.
“But didn’t we decide she was using this material for her gossip column?” Lottie waved a hand over the files on the sofa between us.
“We haven’t yet verified that she was writing the column,” I corrected. “But even if she was, we must still consider the files marked Do not use. Though she may have chosen not to use them for her column, that doesn’t eliminate the possibility she was using them for blackmail.”
“Just how much does a blackmailer earn, do you suppose?” Lily wondered aloud. “How do they determine what to charge?”
“We still haven’t verified that either, Lily—whether she was blackmailing anyone or if she received any payments,” I said as I reconsidered Lily’s involvement in this task. “Perhaps this was her first attempt.”
“Oh, dear,” Lottie said. “It seems she chose the wrong person to threaten.”
Lily tipped her head to the side. “If someone she blackmailed murdered her, wouldn’t he take the notes about himself?”
I gave the girls a summary of everything we’d learned so far about the case, including the fact that the notes had been hidden.
Lottie’s mouth fell open as she drew in a gasp. “Are you saying this is all of society’s dirty laundry?”
“Heavens, no. I’m certain it’s just a small sample. And I think we should refer to it as salacious gossip. Just because we’re reading it, doesn’t mean we should lower ourselves by speaking in such a common manner.”
Lily almost choked on a biscuit, recovering after a quick sip of tea. “We get to read this?” She waved her hand over the files on the table.
“All of your invitations are done?”
She slid forward to the edge of her chair and eyed the files. “So many people are away from town right now, it didn’t take nearly so long as I expected.”
“I’m allowing Lottie to read the rather nasty files only because she understands this code they’re written in.” Biting my lip, I turned to her. “Do you mind, dear? I’d rather not involve you, but I truly need the assistance.”
She waved away my concern. “If this will help Mr. Evingdon, I’m happy to do it.”
I reached for the first Do not use file and froze as my fingers closed around it. Sitting back in my seat, I stared openmouthed at Lily.
“What?” she muttered, leaning away to distance herself from me.
“So many people are out of town.” The information was slowly processing through my brain. I clamped my mouth shut and stared at her. “Lily, do you have a list of those people? The ones who were out of town?”
“Well, they were on the original list and their names are now crossed off.”
“Where is it?”
Setting down her tea, she stepped over to the card table where she’d been working. I should have known she wouldn’t have picked up after herself. Sorting through the mess on the table, she returned with the list.
“All right. As we go through these notes, check the names of the parties involved against this list. If they’ve been gone longer than a week, they should go in a stack on the table.”
“If one intended to commit murder, I hardly think they’d balk at traveling back to London to do so.” Lily raised her brows with the challenge.
“I agree, so we won’t completely exonerate the
m. We’ll simply set them aside for the moment. But if someone had already removed to the country then returned for a short time, people would notice. It’s almost impossible for someone of prominence to sneak back into town. Their servants would need to provision the house and word would get out. Even if they stayed at a hotel, they’d draw attention to themselves. And a murderer wouldn’t want to do that.”
“That means our most likely suspect is someone who is still in town,” Lottie said.
“But someone who left just Wednesday is even better.”
“How will we know when they left?”
“If we aren’t sure, we’ll just consider them out of town. We can review that group later.”
With our assignment established, the girls eagerly pulled pages from the files. I scooted toward Lottie. She might be able to read the notes, but she’d need help with the initials.
“Before we begin, you must understand you are not to breathe a word about anything you read today. All of this information stays in this room.”
I obtained a promise from both of them and we continued in silence, Lottie transcribing the notes, while I inserted the appropriate names. We then placed the pages in the various stacks. By the end of two hours we had a stack about three inches high for those who had been out of town for some time. Another stack held about ten pages. These were the people who had left within the past week, though we didn’t know the exact day. A third stack held about fifteen pages. These were the people who were still in town.
I’d cringed at some of the things I’d read, but still found it hard to believe anyone would kill to save their reputation. I also wondered how Mary managed to collect this information on her friends and acquaintance. Although it was marked Do not use, she’d gone to the trouble of making note of it. Would she have used it as blackmail if necessary? And what would make it necessary?
It wasn’t that difficult to put myself in Mary’s position. Alone in the world and without funds. It wasn’t so long ago I’d have been in the same position if not for Lily and Aunt Hetty. As soon as I’d left the Wynn family home, Graham had filed a suit to claim the funds in my bank account and the bank denied me access to them until the suit was settled. If my mother hadn’t sent Lily and Aunt Hetty to me, along with a large bank draft to cover their expenses, I’d have been penniless in a matter of weeks.
A Lady's Guide to Gossip and Murder Page 10