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

by Jason Blacker

  Frances, Alfred, and Ginny got up, each clutching their now empty port glasses. The port bottle was still almost half full, it would survive another day. Ginny picked up the wooden board which still held most of the three cheeses and several crackers with the fallen crumbs of their recently devoured comrades.

  They walked up the stairs and entered Marmalade Park. Alfred and Ginny walked to the living room to lay everything down. Frances wanted to call Lula and see how Ms. Hollingsberry was doing through the raid. It would be a terrible calamity to lose her to the Germans when Lady Marmalade was trying her best to keep her safe from Michael. Frances picked up the telephone but the line was dead. She tried the operator but got no response.

  Frances walked into the living room and sat down on the couch.

  “It appears that the telephone system has been hit by the bombings,” she said.

  “That’s unfortunate,” said Alfred.

  “Yes, it is, I was hoping to get hold of Lula to see how the raid was for them,” said Frances.

  “If you’d like, I can take a quick walk over and see how things are,” said Alfred.

  “That’s all right, thank you Alfred. I’m sure they’re fine, and if anything is wrong I’m sure we’ll get word. No point in fretting about what might be when we have no reason to be worried.”

  “Very true, I’m sure they’ve been mostly untouched by the bombs as we were. Not that I can say for certain, but it didn’t seem like we felt many bombs landing that were coming from their direction.”

  Alfred was trying to ease any residual fears that Lady Marmalade had. In truth he couldn’t be certain at all. How could he be? When the bombs landed around them and he felt them through the trembling walls and floor of the bomb shelter he couldn’t be certain they were landing just above them in the garden or down the street a block away.

  Lady Marmalade decided to take another slice of Stilton and put it on a cracker, which she nibbled at. When she was finished she picked up the paper and started reading about international affairs.

  Much of the news was filled with the battles raging between the countries involved in this Second World War. The Battle of Midway which had just recently been won was still being discussed as a great victory, while the attack on Sydney Harbor by Japanese midget submarines was being criticized heavily.

  Lady Marmalade read with interest, not because she was enamored with the war but because she liked to keep abreast of international affairs. And it seemed to her that the allies were winning. Though it was still early in the war and God knew how much longer the chaos would continue. But the recent and welcomed entrance into the war by the Americans in December of ’41 had given Lady Marmalade great hope that victory would come to the allies sooner than later.

  Ginny sat next to Lady Marmalade on the couch and picked up the sections of the paper as Lady Marmalade put them down after she had finished with them. Alfred begrudgingly took another piece of Roquefort as his nose and mouth fought with one another, his mouth finally winning.

  The smell was nausea inducing but the taste was something just short of heavenly. He closed his eyes and savored the moment. Frances put down the rest of the paper and looked at her watch. It would be nine p.m. very soon, and the port was starting to make her sleepy. She doubted that there would be a second raid tonight and her thoughts turned towards bedtime.

  Ginny was mesmerized about an article in the lifestyle section about Cash and Cary. She couldn’t, as did most women of the time, quite understand what Cary Grant found in Barbara Hutton. Ginny didn’t think it would work, though she was certain she could make Cary Grant the happiest man alive.

  “I think I’ll retire for the night,” said Frances, standing up.

  Alfred and Ginny stood with her.

  “Would you like some warm cocoa?” asked Alfred.

  Frances shook her head.

  “I think I’ve had quite enough for the evening. The port was just what I needed.”

  The grandfather clock chimed in with nine bells. They all stood quietly until it had finished.

  “Very well, my Lady. I wish you a goodnight and we’ll see if we can’t bring Ms. Hollingsberry some justice tomorrow,” said Alfred.

  “Agreed,” said Frances.

  “Goodnight, my Lady,” said Ginny.

  “Goodnight.”

  Frances started to walk out of the living room when they all heard a loud and determined knocking on the front door.

  “I wonder who on earth could be calling upon us at this ungodly hour so soon after an air raid,” said Frances.

  “Not sure, my Lady. I’ll go and have a look. Perhaps one of the neighbors needs help with something. Let me deal with it.”

  “Thank you, Alfred.”

  Frances followed Alfred out of the living room and down the hall where she started up the stairs as he went on to answer the door.

  SEVENTEEN

  Chapter 17

  ALFRED opened the door and a frantic Lula Beckenswidth greeted him. She looked a mess. Her eyes had been tearing and she was clenching and unclenching her hands and shaking them in front of her as if they were on fire.

  “Come in, Lula, come in,” said Alfred. “What is it?”

  Lula came in and tried to start speaking but she was babbling incoherently.

  “It’s, it’s terrible... bad things... I don’t know what to do.”

  Frances had heard her as she had started up the stairs and she came back down quickly. She walked up to her and put her hand around her shoulder.

  “Take a deep breath, my dear, and tell me what happened.”

  Frances guided her to a chaise lounge that was up against the wall in the hallway just past the entranceway and she sat down next to the visibly upset Lula.

  “It’s Granny,” she said, “she’s dead.”

  Frances looked at her and her face frowned. This was not the news she was hoping to hear.

  “What? Did you say that Madge is dead?” asked Frances, not quite believing her ears, at first.

  Lula nodded.

  “Yes. I went to get her when the sirens started, to take her into the shelter, but she was already dead. I had to leave her there.”

  Lula started crying and Frances put her arm around her and hugged her in closer to herself.

  “Could you get some tissues please, Alfred?” she asked.

  Alfred nodded and walked briskly down the hall to the bathroom to collect some tissues for Lula.

  “There, there, dear, let it out and then tell me exactly what happened.”

  Alfred came back just as quickly as he had left and handed the tissues to Lula who took them eagerly. She wiped her eyes and blew her nose and then looked up shyly at Frances.

  “I had poured Madge her bath like I usually do and had added her bath oils as always and then I’d helped her into the bath where I left her.”

  “What time was this my dear?”

  “It was shortly after seven.”

  Frances nodded.

  “She usually likes to take a long bath every other day, so I thought nothing of it until the sirens went off at around eight p.m. I went up to help her get dressed and to bring her down into the shelter. I thought she would likely be out of the bath already so I went to her room but she wasn’t there. I went back to the bathroom and knocked on the door. I got no answer so I walked in and found her...”

  Lula sobbed again and Frances rubbed her back. She dabbed her eyes with the tissues.

  “Madge had her last bath on Tuesday then?”

  Lula nodded, then stopped and shook her head.

  “No, she was supposed to but she took her last bath on Monday evening instead.”

  “I see, so the door was closed but it wasn’t locked?” asked Frances.

  Lula nodded.

  “She’s not allowed to lock the door in case something happens, she’s old you know, and not in the best of health.”

  Frances looked up at Alfred.

  “Alfred, please take off to the nearest polic
e station as fast as you can and see if they can’t get hold of Inspector Pearce and ask him to join us at Ms. Hollingsberry’s as quickly as he can.”

  “Right away, my Lady.”

  Alfred left the house, closing the door behind him, and headed off to the local police station which, thankfully, was only several blocks away. He started off at a light jog.

  “Tell me what you saw when you got into the bathroom,” said Frances.

  “I saw Granny in the bathtub, her face was under the water. I ran up to her and pulled her head up out of the water as best I could but she was already dead. I could tell. Her face was blue and she wouldn’t respond to my yelling.”

  “And then what happened.”

  “I yelled for Jeremiah and he came running up the stairs, followed by Colin. Colin took charge and checked for her breathing. He told me she was dead, that there was nothing we could do. That we had to leave and save ourselves and take cover in the shelter. Then afterwards we could call the police and get it sorted out. I didn’t want to leave her there like that. I really didn’t...”

  Lula took to crying again and Frances comforted her and waited until she composed herself again.

  “But you did leave didn’t you?”

  “I had no choice,” Lula said looking at Lady Marmalade with pleading puppy dog eyes. “Colin dragged me out and we all went downstairs into the shelter and waited until it was all over. Then as soon as they gave the all clear I ran here as fast as I could.”

  “What about the others? Did anyone go for the police?”

  Lula shook her head as she balled up the tissues in her small fists.

  “No, Penelope was going to go but Colin told her not to. He said that you’d be calling the police in any event as soon as you heard.”

  “Hmm,” said Frances.

  Lula looked up at her confused and frightened.

  “Should I have called on the police first?” she asked.

  “No, my dear, it’s all right, you did the right thing. Alfred’s gone for the police so the best we can do now is to head back to Madge’s home so I can start taking a look around and investigate what happened to her.”

  “But can’t you see, my Lady, Madge drowned. Nobody killed her.”

  “So, nobody came round this evening who shouldn’t have been there, just like I asked?”

  Lula nodded.

  “It was just the four of us and Jeremiah and Mollie.”

  “Did anyone else go upstairs to check on Madge from when you drew her bath until you went to get her when the sirens went off?”

  “Not any of the boarders,” Lula said, nervously. “We were all downstairs in the living room. Colin was sketching Penelope. Matilda was reading a magazine and I was knitting.”

  “What about Jeremiah or Mollie?”

  “I can’t say about them, they weren’t with us. You don’t think one of them would have drowned her?”

  “It can’t be ruled out my dear. Come, I think we should make our way back to your grandmother’s home to keep an eye on things and wait until the police arrive.”

  Frances stood up and helped Lula. Lula dabbed at her eyes. Frances reached into the side table that was by the front entrance and took the keys to the Aston Martin and they exited Marmalade Park and went into the garage. Frances opened the garage door, drove the Aston Martin out and closed it again behind her. She did the same with the gate to Marmalade Park and then drove the two of them, at great speed, to Ms. Hollingsberry’s home.

  “Take me right to Madge, please Lula,” said Frances as she got out of the car and followed Lula up the stairs to the house.

  Lula walked in and Frances closed the door behind them. They went straight upstairs and headed down the hallway towards Madge’s room. Just before they got there, on the right hand side, opposite Matilda’s bedroom, was the bathroom.

  The bathroom door was slightly ajar. Lula pointed to it feebly, “She’s in there.”

  Lula was afraid to go in, so Lady Marmalade opened the door and walked in. The bathroom was large and in the middle at the back was the claw footed bathtub. It was filled to within just a few inches of the rim, right up to the overflow drain. Madge was half floating half sinking in the bathtub, her face barely under the surface.

  Frances walked up to her and looked her up and down. She didn’t look as if she had struggled with anyone. There were no signs of injury, and just as Lula had said, it looked as if she had simply drowned. Yet there was an ever so slight sweet smell in the air that hinted of sugared almonds but with a fake chemical hint to it. Lady Marmalade knew exactly what that was.

  She looked around and saw the toilet with the seat down and the sink with cabinets underneath and cabinets above. Close to the bathtub, up against the wall by the head of the bathtub was a towel rack with a pair of white towels on it. The floor was tiled in small black and white squares.

  Madge’s dressing gown lay crumpled by the side of the bathtub and there appeared to be no water that had splashed out of the bathtub and onto the floor. Frances turned around and saw Lula standing by the doorway.

  “Where are these bath oils that you poured in for Madge?” she asked.

  Lula pointed at the cabinet beneath the bathroom sink. Frances opened it up and took a look inside. There was a large glass bottle that held about two cups and it had a floral paper sticker on it that advertised it as the worlds best lavender bath oils. Frances picked it up.

  “Is this it?”

  Lula nodded.

  “She likes me to use about half of it for each bath. She thinks it helps her skin.”

  “Then there was only half left this evening?”

  The bottle was empty except for a small amount that had settled on the bottom of the bottle. Lula nodded again.

  “Though it was strange. It didn’t seem to smell as strong as it had on Monday evening when I used it as a fresh bottle. I mean, it didn’t smell as strongly of lavender as I remember, it had a slightly different, sweeter almost nuttier smell, but I didn’t really pay attention to it.”

  Frances nodded. She held the bottle away from her and gingerly unscrewed the lid. She brought it back and quickly drew it across and under her nose. She inhaled just the smallest amount and it smelled exactly as she had expected.

  “Your grandmother was murdered, Lula, I’m afraid to say. I’ve seen all I need to in here. I suggest we head downstairs and wait for Inspector Pearce with the others.”

  “But how? Nobody was in here, at least I don’t believe there was. I can’t say for sure about Jeremiah and Mollie but surely they wouldn’t have drowned her. I put her into the bathtub myself and left and closed the door after myself. She must have slipped or something and drowned. Her health is not the best.”

  Lula was looking down and shaking her head, trying to understand how her grandmother could have been murdered when there was nobody up here to do it. Frances walked out of the bathroom and Lula followed her into the hallway. Frances closed the door behind them.

  “Tell me Lula, did you feel a little different after helping your grandmother into the bathtub? A little queasy or dizzy?”

  “Yes, I did actually. But Madge is heavy. I often get lightheaded when helping her into the bathtub and then standing up again.”

  Frances started walking down the hallway towards the stairs with Lula by her side.

  “I don’t understand,” said Lula. “How could she have been murdered?”

  “I’ll tell you all when we get downstairs,” said Frances.

  And they walked in silence down the stairs, down the hallway and back into the living room which felt to Lady Marmalade as being almost as familiar as her own living room.

  When they got there, everyone was gathered around. Colin had a tumbler of whiskey in his hand and Penelope and Matilda were drinking what looked like port. They were clearly all quite distraught. Jeremiah stood solemnly to one side and Mollie stood by him, not quite sure what to do with herself. For the first time since Frances had met them, their faces were n
ot crinkled into idiotic smiles, and rightly so.

  Colin was standing behind the couch where Penelope and Matilda sat together. He had his free hand on Penelope’s shoulder. Lula took the couch next to Matilda and Penelope. Frances sat down in the armchair she had sat in the last time she was here. She looked at them all somberly and rested her eyes on Colin.

  “Why did you instruct Penelope not to call for the police?”

  “Oh, come on,” he said, looking upset already. “Lula had gone to fetch you and I knew you’d be taking care of it. Besides, you’re much closer to us than the police are for heaven’s sake. And she’s been dead for some time, already. Surely an extra half hour isn’t that important.”

  “No, it’s not, but don’t you think you should have come, a big strapping fellow like yourself rather than sending a young woman out in the middle of the night? Do you have no shame?”

  Colin sent her a stern look and swallowed some whiskey.

  “Look, we’re all quite unnerved by this whole thing. It’s the first time any of us have ever seen a dead body. I wasn’t thinking clearly. Lula took off like a shot at the first opportunity. I barely had the chance to ask her where she was going.”

  Frances looked at Lula and she nodded in agreement with what Colin had said.

  “Very well. Did any of you disturb anything upstairs in the bathroom when you went in?”

  She was looking at Colin mostly. He shook his head.

  “I went in after Jeremiah and saw Lula trying to hold Madge’s head up above the water. She was crying and hysterical. I checked Madge’s breathing and I knew she was dead. I told Lula we had to leave, that we needed to get into the shelter. I had to pull her away. I didn’t touch anything while I was in there.”

  “And you, Jeremiah?”

  Frances turned to look at the butler. He shook his head soberly.

  “No, my Lady. I got into the bathroom before Mr. Abbermann, but he took charge right away. I stood to the side and watched. I didn’t touch anything and I agree with everything that Mr. Abbermann said.”