Snuffed It in the Library

by Kate Hamilton

  ‘Fire ahead, my dear.’

  ‘Albert Seddon’s brother has been a parishioner at the church here in Tangley Tarrant for years. Albert was in service before being butler at The Court. He had a great desire to fly in the Great War, but poor eyesight and TB put paid to that.’

  ‘Dear, dear.’

  ‘He has however kept up close links with Larkhill, and visits the Mess and his contacts there regularly, despite his age. He is getting rather slow about the house. I am not entirely sure that his eyesight is that good even at close range, now. But his hearing seems unimpaired. He is intimately involved with the household as he has been butler there since Caroline’s mother Mildred married Sir Tempest.

  I have no reason to think he would have had any connection to Wittering Shapley whatsoever. And there is no reason to suspect him of wishing to murder Sir Tempest. By his own admission he says he has a good pension. I would imagine his tastes are moderate.

  ‘One would have thought if he had any grudge against Sir Tempest it would have become apparent long ago.’ Gregory took a sip of tea.

  ‘He does have a very close bond with Edie. Protective of her. Next we come to Mrs Hoskins. The cook is very hard working, much appreciated and happy in her work. She is very deaf. I suspect she lip reads at least some of the time. On the day of the murder the kitchen clock was broken. She therefore had to rely on Albert Seddon to hear the hall clock strike three before laying out the tea things. The kitchen clock had been broken for some while. Travers mends such items around the house. Mrs Hoskins was instrumental in suggesting that the assistant gardener, Ben Brown, be given the job.’

  ‘And alibi?’

  ‘Sad to say, no one has an alibi. That is except Fenella. But we will come to her.’

  ‘Fenella, is the sister? Ah, yes, the lady in the glass house.’

  ‘Sir Tempest did attend a course in law very early on, in London. But there is no reason to believe he ever came across Mr Shapley, let alone have any reason to murder him. He did not know that Bidcombe was not coming down on the Tuesday. In fact he was expecting him. He was the only one to remain in the conservatory, so had no occasion to place either the note on the saucer, or the poison in the tea. He is very protective of his sister Fenella. By the same token he is pretty impatient with all three of his children.’

  ‘But you tell me that there is a lot of wrangling going on between them.’

  ‘Quite.’

  She paused while Gregory poured her another cup of tea.

  ‘Unfortunately I could not get a great deal out of Richard Travers, the gardener and handyman. He’s a good looking, well spoken sort and has attracted the attention of both Fenella Harrington and Edie.’

  ‘Dearie me.’

  ‘According to Mrs Hoskins, he and Fenella are about to become engaged.’

  ‘Well, that would certainly put the cat among the pigeons.’

  ‘However, it is possible that Travers could well have come through the back door and put poison in a tea cup.’

  ‘One thing. Did you ascertain whether the cups were differentiated?’

  ‘I did. The cups are all from one tea set and therefore identical. There would be no way of knowing whose cup it was.’

  ‘It would be doubtful he would murder Fenella’s brother, if he wished to marry her.’

  ‘Stranger things have happened. However, as we have ascertained that it was Edie’s handwriting on the note, one wonders how he would have had access to it. I never at any point saw him encouraging the girl.’

  ‘Go on.’

  Miss Lavender consulted her list.

  ‘Fenella has her brother’s protection. I doubt she has any real money of her own. Unless he was to write his three children out of his will and leave all to her, it would not make sense for her to have murdered him. She is the only one with an alibi. Everyone saw her at work in the glass house when they were taking tea.’

  ‘Next.’

  ‘Next we come to Rupert Blessington-Smythe, and his lovely wife Caroline. Now, I think, we have the closest thing to a motive. Although Colonel of the Regiment, I do not think that Caroline is happy, either with the way of life, or with his income. She seems desperate for money. They own no property. And she is very afraid that her father will leave his money to her half brother and sister. The most valuable volumes in the library, the earliest copies of the Magnacopious, she insists are her right to inherit from her late mother, Mildred. Wittering Shapley identified them as valuable and passed this information on to his colleague Mr Constantine shortly before he died. However it would appear that Sir Tempest believes them to be his, and not Caroline’s.

  We have already ascertained that Rupert and she could well have written the note, copying Edie’s handwriting. And she knew that it was Shapley who was to turn up that Tuesday morning. In fact she met with him in the library before lunch. But it would appear she also knew that Shapley did not wish to eat any afternoon tea, and so even if she had slipped through to the hall, why would she put the message on Shapley’s saucer, if it was intended for her father?’

  ‘And presumably there would not be time.’

  ‘I shall come to that in a moment. Simon is a personable young man. A sensitive sort, who has never got over the death of his mother. He is a somewhat muddled young man. And lashes out angrily at his father. It is all quite understandable. He is caught between wanting to be free of the entire family, making his own way, and seeing some sort of resolution and closure over his mother’s death. Personally, I feel a cleverly thought out and well laid plan to murder someone would be beyond him. A sudden lashing out in anger - say, with a knife - would be more in keeping with his temperament. If he was capable of such a thing. Which I very much doubt.’

  ‘I do hope he can be successful. It must be very difficult for him.’

  Gregory Honeybun rang for Mrs Aggers to remove the tea. ‘Will you stay on for supper? Evidently it is mutton stew. Very tasty.’

  ‘Oh, how very kind. Yes, I’d like to take you up on that.’ She waited for Mrs Aggers to close the door behind her. No doubt she was listening at the door, but Miss Lavender kept her voice low.

  ‘Now we come to Miss Edie. I have to say there is a great deal of evidence against her. I would say she has a complicated relationship with her father. Neglected and indulged and put down at every turn. She does, however, hold her own. I think more successfully than her brother. One does not get the impression that she was close to her mother. But, of course, one can never tell. She has set her cap at Richard Travers, but been rebuffed. However this has certainly upset Fenella.’

  ‘That is not surprising, if what you say is true and she is planning to marry him.’

  ‘If she did plant the note, then why put it on Wittering’s saucer? She would presumably know which tray was bound for the conservatory and which for the library. I am unclear that she was away from the conservatory at the time that Seddon was bringing up the trays from the kitchen. I think she had come back to her father before even the first tray was brought up. She certainly would have no motive whatsoever for murdering Wittering Shapley. Admittedly she is something of a little minx. She would have me believe that her father never drank tea, for example.’

  ‘Mmmh. And Ben? The under gardener?’

  ‘Ben is a bright lad who keeps his ears and eyes open. He suspected early on that Edie was flirting with Travers. But what motive would he have for killing either Shapley or Sir Tempest? I imagine he values his job very much. And remember, he wasn’t at The Court that afternoon.’

  ‘So possible methods of entry, then. Let us look at the possibility of it being Shapley who was the intended victim. He arrives down from London, and is followed by the killer?’

  Miss Lavender shook her head.

  ‘They would have to know the location of the library, at the back of the house. They would need to know that he was to remain in the library and that his tea was brought to him. Beyond that they would also need to know which tea cup to put the poison in
. And the garden door in the library would need to be unlocked.’

  ‘An accomplice then. What about Travers?’

  ‘Possibly. But what about the note?’

  She sighed. They appeared to be going round in circles.

  During supper they continued to worry at the problem.

  ‘Let’s try another tack,’ suggested Gregory. ‘What about the timing? Start with the family in the conservatory.’

  ‘Very well then. Caroline arrived as the hall clock was striking three. Seddon opened the door to her. He went back down to the kitchen to prepare tea. Caroline met Simon in the hall, and then spent some time with Shapley in the library before going through to meet the family in the conservatory. Simon was there already and told them that Fenella would be skipping tea. They all saw her working in the glass house from where they were sitting. I checked from the kitchen window and it was also possible to view the glass house from there. Both Mrs Hoskins and Seddon say they saw her working away in the glass house.

  Seddon took the two trays for the family up to the conservatory when he heard the hall clock strike the half hour. He returned to the kitchen and brought up Shapley’s tray which he left on the hall table while he took the family’s second tray bearing the sandwiches and cake to the conservatory. He then returned and took in Wittering Shapley’s tray.’

  ‘Without seeing the note?’

  ‘Correct. If you recall, his eyesight is not so good these days.’

  ‘And how far, would you say, is it from the hall to the conservatory?’

  ‘You walk through the dining room. A minute at most.’

  ‘Even if you were rather slow, and bearing a heavy tray?’

  She nodded her head.

  ‘It is a mystery, isn’t it.’

  II

  Opus was delighted to see her, and made a point of bringing a present of a dead mouse just as she was getting into bed. She accepted it graciously. It was good of the cat to let her stay away from home for so long.

  She sat up in bed, her long silver hair in a plait, her knitted shawl round her shoulders, steadily working on her next project. Opus, with enormously loud and exultant purrs snuggled down beside her. The weather had turned after the warm spring days. A storm was coming through. Miss Lavender knew all the cherry blossom would be dashed down by the morning. It happened every year without fail. This knitting was much quicker than the lace. She was pleased. The steady motion calmed her, and let her think. She was irritated with herself. She had thought she could work it out with her head, with Gregory Honeybun’s help. The solution was proving most elusive. Finally, with a sigh, she put away her knitting, finished drinking the cup of hot chocolate by her bed, turned out the light and settled down to sleep.

  A loud crash awoke her. Quickly she put on her light. Opus growled, but did not leave her bed. She peered at her bedside travelling clock. It said five minutes past four. The wind was whipping at the curtain. A brilliant flash of light struck the room. Followed by a roll of thunder. She swiftly went to the window and closed it. The storm was right overhead. Standing at the window, with the lightening crackling through the storm clouds of the dark skies, she suddenly saw it all clearly. It was as though the pieces fell into the right arrangement in her head.

  ‘Of course,’ she said with a chuckle. ‘Of course.’

  Chapter Twelve

  Miss Lavender suggested to Sir Tempest that it would be best if the family members and the staff be assembled in the drawing room. After all, the occasion was a formal one. They came in twos and threes, an inquisitive and uneasy look on everyone’s face. Most sat, there were enough chairs. But Seddon and Travers insisted on standing at the back of the room. Fenella came last. Pulling off her gardening gloves with a worried frown. She glanced at Travers, and went to sit in the sofa opposite to where he was standing. Caroline and Rupert sat together on the sofa by the great marble fireplace. Simon and Sir Tempest chose chairs near Fenella. Edie sat on the pouffe by the bay window. From there she could look out on the view. Her face had a closed look. Rather more pale than usual. Gregory Honeybun was already sitting by the fire opposite Caroline and Rupert, Mrs Hoskins to his left. Miss Lavender took up her position by the door where she remained standing. Ben hovered behind Fenella.

  The clocks struck four. The grandfather clock in the drawing room taking its turn after the ones in the dining room and billiard room next door. It felt like a summons, which indeed it was.

  Miss Lavender smiled gently round the group.

  ‘As you all know, my dear friend Sir Tempest has very kindly had me to stay for a few weeks.’

  She paused, waiting for Simon to come out with his usual wise crack, but he said nothing. He was looking at her with what could only be described as a look of defiance. Head held high, and chin stuck out. Presumably he felt he was about to be accused of attempted murder.

  ‘I don’t think it has escaped any of you that I have been asking many questions.’

  There was a slight ripple through the room. Not of laughter. More of nervous reaction. Someone coughed. A few throats were cleared. No one said a word. All eyes were on Miss Lavender as she moved away from the door and took her place beside Gregory Honeybun.

  ‘Firstly let me introduce Father Honeybun, from St Michael and All Saints in my village, Tangley Tarrant. Mr Seddon, I think you know one another?’

  There was a smile and nodding of heads.

  ‘We have come to outline a few theories with regard to the sad demise of Mr Wittering Shapley, here at The Court, last week. Now, the facts of the case are as follows. Mr Shapley was found to have died very quickly due to the ingestion of poison taken in his cup of afternoon tea. That cup of tea was delivered between three thirty-five and three forty-five at the very latest. During this time the family - Sir Tempest, Caroline, Simon and Edie - were in the conservatory. Fenella remained working in her glass house as she did not wish any tea. His body was discovered by Edie some time after four o’clock.’

  ‘Let’s consider the setting for a moment. We can take it that Mr Shapley met his last, in the library where he had been valuing the books. There is a door from the library into the garden path that runs along the east side of The Court. But this door is normally locked. Another door is normally kept locked. This is the door at the bottom of the garden. It leads across a public footpath to paddocks and the tennis courts. Keys for all the outside doors - back door included - are kept in the garden shed. This shed is locked, presumably at the end of the day, and the shed key is hung in the pantry by the kitchen door. There are no copies of this key. Is that correct, Miss Harrington?’

  Fenella smiled sweetly and crossed her legs.

  ‘Quite correct, Miss Lavender.’

  ‘A three volume work, the Magnacopious, remains in the library. At some point before Mr Shapley met his demise, he made a phone call to his colleague in London, a Mr Constantine, to inform him of its existence and possibly also of its value. This information was communicated in passing to Simon. Both Caroline, and Sir Tempest suspected the work is very valuable.’

  Caroline blushed, but didn’t say a word.

  ‘Clocks are important at The Court, and there are a number. They are a collection of grandfather clocks. They all chime and strike the hour in order, starting with the hall clock and finishing with the large clock on the landing. Seddon is in charge of keeping them up to time. The hall clock is the only one that strikes the half hour. There is also a clock in the kitchen. This was broken and was not working on the day of the murder. Mr Travers is responsible for mending it.’

  She glanced at Mr Travers. All eyes followed and he nodded.

  ‘It has since been mended,’ he said.

  ‘At the time of the murder you, Miss Fenella, were alone, working in the glasshouse. You had not wished afternoon tea. Neither gardener was at The Court that day. Seddon and Mrs Hoskins were preparing tea down in the kitchen. We come now to the rest of the family.’

  Simon stuck his chin out a little further, and
pursed his lips. Edie stared fixedly out the window. Caroline moved uneasily in her seat, putting her hand up to her pearl necklace, but continued to look at Miss Lavender.

  ‘Afternoon tea at The Court can be served in a number of places, but that Tuesday, as it was a sunny day, the conservatory was chosen. Sir Tempest, you had been there for quite a while.’

  He nodded. ‘Since after luncheon, actually. Wanted to catch up on the papers. And seeing as I couldn’t stay in the library, I thought I’d settle myself there.’

  ‘There are a number of contradictory reports as to the movements of the family at three o’clock, as Mrs Blessington-Smythe arrived. She had time to greet Simon in the hall, to go to the library and have a conversation with Wittering Shapley, to meet with Edie and proceed with her to the conservatory. At that point there is some confusion as to their movements. However we can accept that Caroline, you went to find your handkerchief in your coat pocket. Edie went to the cloakroom to pay a visit, and Simon becoming hungry, went in search of Seddon, whom you thought was being very slow in serving the tea.’

  Simon went rather red, and scowled.

  ‘Evidently Caroline also left at some point to go down to the kitchen to remind Seddon to include the sugar lumps, as they had been forgotten on a previous occasion.’

  ‘I say!’ Caroline burst out, but was hushed by her husband, and said nothing more. The others stared. Seddon looked at the floor. Simon and Edie grinned at one another.

  ‘When the clock struck three in the hall, Seddon was opening the front door to Mrs Blessington-Smythe who had forgotten her own key. He then made his way down to the kitchen and prepared the tea with Mrs Hoskins.’

  ‘That’s right,’ said the cook, who was looking the most serious and miserable of all the company. ‘Ginger cake, it was, on that particular day.’