Lady Marmalade Cozy Murder Mysteries: Box Set (Books 1 - 3)

by Jason Blacker

  “What was Gerald’s main concern?”

  “He wanted Jack to hand over the reins to the business to him.”

  “And was he agreeable?”

  “No, my Lady, in the strongest terms he wasn’t. So Gerald threatened him and said he'd get rid of him from the business one way or the other.”

  “Did he threaten his life?” asked Florence.

  “No, ma’am, not directly. He stormed out of the study then and left the home in quite a hurry I might add.”

  “All because of mismanagement and deceit,” said Frances to no one in particular.

  Then she looked back at James.

  “Is there anything else you might like to share with us, James, before I ask you to let me speak with Agnus.”

  James looked out the window into the garden. You couldn’t see anybody out there from where the three of them were sitting, and they could see most of the garden.

  “It’s that Enoch chap, my Lady. I don’t know why Mr. Forsyth hired him. He’s not like any groundskeeper I’ve seen. He’s rough a sort too. I don’t care for him and I can’t say I was upset when the police carted him off. I should've thought he’d done it, but he’s back now.”

  Frances nodded at James and smiled warmly at him.

  “I don’t think he’ll be around for much longer, James. You’re right, he’s not a proper groundskeeper as you’d expect. But I don’t believe you have anything to worry about as far as he’s concerned.”

  “Thank you, my Lady.”

  James got up.

  “I hope I’ve been helpful.”

  “You most certainly have, James. Thank you for your honesty and forthrightness.”

  “Can I bring you anything to drink now?”

  “No, thank you. But if you could get Agnus to come speak with us, I’d be terribly grateful.”

  “Certainly.”

  James bowed and left the living room.

  “I don’t know about you,” said Florence, “but this whole thing has just become as opaque as the Prime Minister’s office.”

  Frances laughed out loud and grabbed at her friend’s hand.

  “Oh Flo, you are too much. I love your way with words. It does seem a little opaque, doesn’t it. Though honestly, I think things are coming into place quite nicely.”

  “I have no idea how you can see through any of this mess.”

  Florence went over to another arm chair and dragged it closer to Frances. She sat down into it.

  “Well, I think a lot of it has to do with the gold. And perhaps those letters in the box which I believe are related to the gold somehow.”

  “If you say so, though I can’t seem to make hide nor hair of any of this, even Ginnie’s murder.”

  “Ginnie’s murder is definitely clearer for me now. All will be explained in time, my dear Flo. The question we must ask ourselves is what was Jack doing at the docks last night and who might have been with him?”

  “I have a suspicion that you might already know the answers to most of that.”

  “I have a hunch that this is all interrelated like some incestuous family.”

  SIXTEEN

  Chapter 16

  AGNUS Van Buren walked softly into the room and curtsied to Lady Marmalade and Florence. She wore the classic black dress of her profession with a frilly and thick white collar. The arms of her dress went all the way to her wrists where they met white cuffs. She had on a white apron. The dress was not becoming on her and ended just a few inches above her ankles.

  “You wanted to see me, my Lady?” she said, barely making eye contact with Lady Marmalade.

  “Yes, thank you for joining us, Agnus. Please sit down, I know you must get tired standing on your feet all day.”

  Frances pointed to the couch that James had just recently sat in, and Agnus took a seat in it. Though she looked as though she were sitting on a porcupine.

  “Am I in trouble, my Lady?”

  Frances chuckled.

  “Good heavens, no,” she said, “but I hope you might be able to help me in finding out who murdered Ginnie or Jack.”

  Agnus clutched her bosom with her big hands.

  “Something terrible has befallen this home, my Lady,” she said.

  Frances nodded. Agnus was middle aged and of average height. Her hair was tucked up and out of the way, covered in a white bonnet, and what you did see of it was mostly gray, She either didn’t care to or couldn’t afford to color it. She had a pleasant face which was by no means pretty. Her nose was too large and reminded one of an eagle's beak.

  “James had been most helpful to us already and he suggested that you’d be just as helpful as well. Was he correct?”

  Agnus nodded. Her hands were now in her lap and she was sitting bladed towards Lady Marmalade, her left side towards Frances and her legs pointing to the far corner of the living room.

  “He did not lie, my Lady. I’ll do whatever I can to help.”

  “That’s exactly what I thought,” said Frances. “Can you tell me what you and Enoch were speaking about earlier when I saw the two of you down by the greenhouse?”

  Agnus looked out through the windows at the end of the living room and out into the garden. Nobody was out there. The grass was green and the sky was gray but it shed no rain for Jack’s death. She looked back at Lady Marmalade.

  “He was asking me why so many people had been coming and going from the greenhouse the last few days. I said I didn’t know why.”

  “Did he have any idea?”

  “No, but he kept asking me if I’d heard anything about the greenhouse. I told him I hadn’t. I don’t think he quite believed me. He told me that this morning he’d seen Dr. Garnet leave the greenhouse just before eight and then Mr. Forsyth leave the greenhouse at just before nine. He’s an odd sort, my Lady, that Enoch, I don’t quite care for him. He sticks to himself mostly unless he wants something and he’s not much of a groundskeeper neither.”

  “I understand. I don’t think he’ll be around much longer, so you needn't be worried. Did he mean Gerald or Garrett Forsyth?”

  Agnus seemed visibly relieved by that. She glanced back outside again and Frances followed her gaze. Enoch could be seen kneeling over the patch of tilled ground at the end of the garden.

  “He was speaking of Mr. Gerald Forsyth, my Lady.”

  “Have you been in the greenhouse, Agnus?” asked Frances.

  “No, my Lady. It isn’t part of my duties and I’ve never had reason to be in there.”

  “What about James? Have you ever seen him in the greenhouse?”

  “No, it isn’t part of his duties. The only ones I’ve seen are Mr. and Mrs. Forsyth, Mr. Garrett Forsyth and now I suppose seeing as Enoch says Dr. Garnet and Mr. Gerald Forsyth have been in, I guess them too.”

  “But you haven’t seen them go in have you?”

  Agnus shook her head.

  “No, my Lady.”

  “You and James and Enoch were having lunch together on Tuesday. Did you see anyone enter the greenhouse then?”

  “Yes, my Lady. Now that you mention it, it was just before Enoch left us to go and eat by himself. I guess that would have been about two thirty, I saw Mrs. Forsyth enter the greenhouse and she was followed a couple of minutes later by Ms. Church.”

  “Do you know why they might have been interested in visiting the greenhouse together?”

  “No, though I didn’t get the impression they were together.”

  “And you didn’t see Enoch enter the greenhouse?”

  “No, my Lady. He went to eat his supper by the shed so he said, though I didn’t see him after that.”

  “Did you see Meredith or Ginnie leave the greenhouse later that afternoon?”

  “No, my Lady, but I was washing up our plates before three and then I was back in the house at three to start afternoon tea. I only heard Ms. Church when she came down when the police had arrived.”

  “Why do you think Enoch was so interested in the greenhouse?”

  “I
can’t say, I guess he felt maybe it was part of his responsibilities and he didn’t much like others interfering with what he was supposed to be taking care of. Though he did say something strange to me.”

  “And what was that?” asked Frances.

  “He asked me if I’d seen any gold in the house at all. I told him I hadn’t and that I wouldn’t say if I had, not to his kind. I told him he shouldn’t be speaking like that?”

  “How was he speaking?”

  “I think he was thinking about robbing Mr. and Mrs. Forsyth if he could. And I wasn’t about to encourage it.”

  “Did you tell him that?”

  “I said if anything went missing I’d be sure to tell the police about this conversation we’d just had and he told me to mind my own business.”

  “Did he say anything else after that.”

  Agnus shook her head and fiddled with her fingers in her lap.

  “No, my Lady, I think he was upset at me then, because he huffed off into the shed and I haven’t seen him.”

  “So you think he was planning on robbing the Forsyths now that they’re both dead?”

  Agnus nodded and looked earnestly at Lady Marmalade.

  “I do.”

  “I want to ask you a personal question Agnus, and I’d appreciate your honesty.”

  “Yes, my Lady.”

  “Have the Forsyths been regular with your salary?”,

  “No, my Lady, they’ve only paid me half what I’m due over the past year. But Mr. Forsyth promised it was just an accounting error and that he’d catch me up soon.”

  “Do you know much about the Forsyth’s business affairs?”

  “Nothing more than what I’ve heard the rumors saying which is that their business is in bad shape.”

  “Do you know if this affected Jack and Ginnie’s relationship at all?”

  “I’m sure it must’ve but whenever I overheard Ginnie and Jack fighting it was about Meredith or his gambling or opium.”

  “When was the last time you heard them argue?”

  “It was last week. Might have been Wednesday or Thursday, I think. She said she knew about his daughter and his mistress and that was the last straw. She was going to leave him.”

  “What did he say?”

  “He said it’d be the last thing she did. She wasn’t going to get a penny of his. She said she didn’t need it anyway she’d found his secrets out.”

  “Do you know what she meant by that?”

  “No, my Lady, but the last thing he said as she left was that it wasn’t his and she’d better not if she valued her life.”

  “I see. Do you really think he’d kill her?”

  “I wouldn’t have thought so, but now that she’s dead, maybe he did.”

  “How was Garrett’s relationship with his father?”

  “He hated his father, that was well known. Mostly he hated him for being weak and treating his mother so poorly, but I know Mr. Garrett was aware of how his father was ruining the business.”

  “Did you hear anything the two of them might have said about any of these matters?”

  “Once they had a fight about it and I thought Mr. Garrett was going to strike his father, but that was when I entered and they stopped.”

  “What gave you the suspicion that Garrett was going to hit his father?” asked Frances.

  “Well, my Lady, he had his fist up as if he was about to box him.”

  “What had they argued about?”

  “They had been arguing about Mr. Garrett wanting his father to stop going around with Meredith and to clean up his gambling and drug problems, and if he didn’t then he, Mr. Garrett, said that he and Mr. Gerald Forsyth would have him removed from the company.”

  “And how did Gerald and Jack get along, can you tell me about their relationship?”

  “Theirs was very strained too. I heard Mr. Gerald and Mr. Jack talking once, actually they were arguing, and Mr. Gerald told him to get his act together and straighten out. He said that he wasn’t going to lose everything because his brother was so lily-livered and weak. He said he’d taken out insurance on him for one hundred thousand pounds and if Mr. Jack didn’t get it together he’d get his share one way or another.”

  “What did he mean by that?”

  “That’s what Mr. Forsyth asked his brother, Mr. Gerald, and Mr. Gerald said that he and Meredith and Garrett, and even Dr. Garnet who had lent Mr. Jack a large sum of money would be paid out one way or another. That’s all he said.”

  “I see. Did you hear anything else about the conversation?”

  “A little bit more. You must understand, my Lady, it was hard to be deaf to it, their voices were loud and carried almost throughout the entire house.”

  Agnus looked at Lady Marmalade a little nervously. She didn’t like telling on her employer. It made her uncomfortable, but she supposed that with them both being dead now, perhaps she was doing more good than harm.

  “I understand, Agnus, please carry on. This is all very helpful you know.”

  Those few words were just the encouragement she needed.

  “Mr. Jack Forsyth said that he couldn’t get him out of the business, and Mr. Gerald said he could. In fact, he said there were two ways. One was if something unfortunate happened to him. And Mr. Jack said something to the effect that Mr. Gerald wouldn’t dare to which Mr. Gerald said he had money on it. And the second way was that Mr. Gerald would speak with the board of directors and tell them about Mr. Jack’s wicked ways, those were the words he used, and he’d be sure they’d relieve him of his duties.”

  “Thank you, Agnus. That’s most helpful.”

  “Now earlier, you mentioned Ginnie finding out about Jack’s daughter and mistress. Do you know about this daughter? Because Garrett is Ginnie’s and Jack’s only child, correct?”

  Agnus nodded her head and fiddled with the hem of her apron.

  “Yes, my Lady, as far as I know, Mr. Garrett is the only child to Mr. and Mrs. Forsyth.”

  “Do you know who this daughter might be? Have you met her?”

  “No, my Lady, I haven’t met anyone saying they’re Mr. Forsyth’s daughter. I think this is new, as Mrs. Forsyth only seemed to have found out about it late last month.”

  “Did Jack deny having a daughter?”

  “No, he didn’t. Mrs. Forsyth had said she’d seen the letter, so maybe someone had written to tell him. What he did say, is that it was a long time ago, when he was young and stupid.”

  “And how did Ginnie respond to that?”

  “Well she said she’d found out about his mistress and his plans to go to Argentina. I forgot to mention that. I heard her say that during the argument with Mr. Forsyth.”

  “How did she know about Argentina?” asked Florence, quite enjoying playing the part of Frances’ Watson.

  “Like I said, ma’am, she said she’d seen the letters.”

  “I’m confused, Agnus, this mistress, is she Meredith, and if so, why would they be writing to each other when they could just talk in person or over the telephone?” asked Florence.

  “I got the impression that Mrs. Forsyth wasn’t talking about Meredith. It felt to me that this was another woman.”

  “How so?”

  “Well, she said something like ‘does Meredith know’. And I think she was talking about the mistress and not the daughter as she said that after they’d spoken about the daughter.”

  “I see,” said Florence.

  “Agnus,” said Frances, “have you ever heard Jack or Ginnie talking about Argentina before?”

  “No, my Lady. They’ve hardly spoken of holidays together for a long time.”

  “And these secrets that Ginnie mentioned. Did they say anything else about that at all?”

  Agnus looked down at her lap, still fidgeting with her hem before she looked back up at Lady Marmalade.

  “I didn’t hear them say anything else about it. I just assumed the secrets were the things they had just spoken about, the daughter and the mistress.�
�

  “Have you seen Jack with anyone else other than Meredith?”

  “Well, my Lady, I don’t wish to speak ill of the dead.”

  “It’s quite alright, Agnus, this is very important and helpful.”

  Agnus nodded her head.

  “On occasion, Mr. Forsyth would leave, vanish for a few days and when he got back he’d smell of cheap perfume, he looked disheveled and he’d act strangely.”

  “How would he act?”

  “Almost like he wasn’t really himself, he seemed very slow and vacant almost. I overheard Mrs. Forsyth cursing him a few times whenever he came home like this. She said he’d been out whoring in Blackpool, if you’ll pardon my language, my Lady.”

  Frances smiled at her.

  “It’s quite alright.”

  “I want to ask you, Agnus, if you were awake this morning and late last night when the police came?”

  “I was in bed sleeping when James woke me around three. The police had come to our quarters round back, not getting any response from the main house.”

  “So was there nobody at home at that time then?”

  “I guess not, my Lady, though there should have been.”

  “Who do you think should have been home?”

  “Well, Mr. Garrett, Mr. Jack, and Ms. Church most likely as she’d been staying around the house a lot lately.”

  “But none of them were here then?”

  “No, James and me got up and spoke with the police and they told us that Mr. Forsyth had been shot at the docks in Liverpool. Then they asked us to open the house so they could speak with whoever was home. We opened the house and there wasn’t anybody home.”

  “What did the police do?”

  “They looked around for a bit and then left telling James that they’d be back later to speak with everyone and that we were to tell them, especially Mr. Garrett and Ms. Church, not to go anywhere. So we stayed up and made a pot of tea. Ms. Church came home shortly after the police left.”

  “Did you tell about Jack?”

  “I did, my Lady, I offered her some tea but she said she’d just be going off to bed. I suppose that’s where she still is now.”

  “How did she seem when she came home?”

  “She seemed tired and she looked as if she’d been crying.”