The Baron at Bishops Avenue (A Lady Marmalade Mystery Book 9)

by Jason Blacker

  "Sinjin," said Husher.

  Frances nodded.

  "He also said how she was his Fleur de la Nuit."

  "His night flower?"

  "Well yes, that's the direct translation, but more importantly, Fleur de la Nuit is the most expensive perfume, made by the French perfume house Maison Tortue."

  "Strange name for a perfumery," said Husher.

  Pearce had a big grin on his face.

  "And women spend a lot of money on this?" asked Pearce in comic doubt.

  "Oh yes, yes indeed," said Frances. "It might surprise you to know that a bottle of Fleur de la Nuit is ten pounds, if it's on sale."

  Pearce stopped what he was doing and looked at Frances with a frown.

  "You must be joking."

  "I never joke about perfumes," said Frances. "I have a bottle myself."

  "So you think he gave her a bottle of this perfume?" asked Husher.

  "Oh yes, almost certainly."

  "Well," he continued, "that might suggest that they were having an affair but it doesn't mean he killed the Baron."

  "Not in and of itself. Just wanted to keep you up to date."

  "Thank you," said Husher as he continued to study the bookshelves.

  On the desk in front of Frances were assorted papers, mostly bills that were coming up in parliament and other political correspondence. There was also a large ashtray, a big lighter the size of her hand and a humidor of Cuban cigars.

  Frances opened up the first drawer on her right hand side. It was lockable but it had not been locked. It was a shallow drawer over a larger bigger drawer. Inside it were some coins from various European countries as well as English coins. There were some writing implements too and three telegrams. They were all from the same person. Frances took them out and looked at them. The top one was the newest so she read the oldest one first.

  DOUBT OVER YESTERDAYS OFFICIAL UGLY LAWS STOP

  OLIVER VILLENEUVE ERRS MORE EVERYDAY STOP

  A

  The second newest telegram read:

  INTERESTINGLY, THE INCOMPETENT ROBSONS EGG ON FREDERICK STOP

  HARANGUING IS MADDENING STOP

  A

  And the last one read:

  KING IS LEAVING LATER STOP

  HOW IS MORNING STOP

  A

  "This is interesting," said Frances.

  Husher looked up.

  "What is it?" he asked.

  I have three telegrams here that seem to have come from Agnes Marphallow. It is easily determined from the post office and the telegram number, but I'm fairly certain they're from her. Husher came on over and took the telegrams from Frances.

  "The first one is dated the 22nd, this second one the 24th and the last is from the 25th," he said.

  Frances nodded. Pearce came on over and read the telegrams over Husher's shoulder.

  "We only have the two from Lord Paussage, right?" he asked.

  Frances nodded.

  "I only found the two when I was looking through Lady Marphallow's dressing table."

  "How did the Baron get ahold of these?" he asked.

  "That's a good question, probably how we're finding them here. From snooping around in Lord Paussage's office," offered Frances. "Remember, that the Baron was looking to divorce her. You'll recall I found those legal documents in the Baron's room."

  Husher nodded.

  "Still, I don't see how these can help. Correspondence between the two doesn't seem to suggest a conspiracy to murder."

  "Maybe it doesn't," said Frances. "But at the very least it adds more credence to the fact that they were likely having an affair, and as we both know, murder is a crime of passion very often."

  Husher nodded.

  "I'll keep these just in case," he said.

  "Before you do, Inspector," said Frances, "can I just make a note of them."

  Frances wrote down what they said in a small notebook she kept in her handbag, and then she returned them to Husher. They went back to exploring the parts of the office that they had been looking at before. Nothing else came to light that seemed relevant.

  Before they left the House of Lords, Frances and Husher and Pearce popped into Lord Paussage's office, which he shared with another peer. As such, there wasn't much in there of note. Nothing personal that belonged to Paussage. Rather bland, boring and business only focused.

  They stepped out onto the Old Palace Yard. Behind them was the River Thames, in front of them stood Westminster Abby, an important church mostly responsible for coronations and weddings. In fact, Princess Patricia of Connaught had been married just the year before to Captain the Honorable Alexander Ramsay in the Royal Peculiar as the church had become known in function. It was a wedding in February of 1919 which Frances had attended.

  Frances stood facing the Abby with Husher to her left and Pearce to her right facing her. Over Husher's right shoulder she could see the statue of George the 5th, across the road, standing in full regal attire on a large white block.

  "Would you like a ride back home?" asked Pearce.

  Frances nodded.

  "That would be lovely, thank you."

  "Well, that didn't seem quite as hopeful as I had originally anticipated," said Husher in a dour tone.

  "I disagree," said Frances, "I think it was just what we needed."

  "I don't see how."

  "Perhaps you could join me tomorrow at the Baron's home and I'll explain everything. Do you think you could ensure everyone is in attendance, including Lord Paussage?"

  Husher looked at her with a raised eyebrow for a moment.

  "You know who did it then, don't you?" asked Husher.

  Frances nodded.

  "We all know who did it, Inspector, the question remains, why was it done?"

  "Do tell," said Husher.

  Frances smiled slyly at him.

  "I'll tell it all tomorrow. You have all the information that I have, Inspector," said Frances.

  "I know why he did it," said Pearce.

  Frances and Husher looked at him.

  "Jealousy!" he exclaimed. "That's always the reason in instances like this."

  "Quite right," said Frances.

  "Only that's not the only thing that Frances will give us tomorrow Constable," said Husher. "Why did he do it that night? What drove him to it? Why not just continue with the affair? What's the rush?"

  "I'll come to those answers by tomorrow too," said Pearce, smiling.

  Husher turned to look at Lady Marmalade.

  "Do you think you'll get a confession out of him? That's what we really need," he said.

  "I do, Inspector. I do," said Frances. "I believe I have all the clues needed for that. And even if they don't, I imagine any prosecutor in London will be happy with the evidence we've gathered."

  "Good," said Husher as they walked off towards the police car. "What time then?"

  "Let's say afternoon tea," said Frances. "Three tomorrow afternoon."

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Marphallow Home

  FRANCES arrived at about ten minutes to three in the afternoon. Eric was with her. He wouldn't miss it for the world. She was going to weed out the murderer. He knew it and she knew it too. The evidence was strong and convincing, but Lady Marmalade was also hoping for a confession just to make the case stronger. And if things went well, she'd likely get her confession. She had her notes with her in her handbag and she was prepared to go with the flow of it as it went.

  The police were already at the Baron's home. Frances saw their cars. There were two of them. It brought her great comfort as it meant that Inspector Husher had great confidence in her. As he had before. As he should.

  Frances and Eric walked up to the home and knocked on the door. Humphrey opened it up and let them in. He smiled naturally at Frances.

  "It's very good to see you, my Lady, my Lord," he said to both Frances and Eric.

  Frances looked at him and smiled.

  "It is very good to see you too," she said.

&nbs
p; She offered him her hand and he shook it. She placed her other hand over top of his and looked him straight in the eye.

  "Thank you for taking care of my fine," he said, somewhat low and in an embarrassed tone.

  Frances nodded.

  "Not at all, my dear man. And I hope that one day you will not have to hide your true self in the shadowy corners of our society."

  He smiled sadly, and nodded. Frances walked into the home. Lord Marmalade shook his hand and exchanged pleasantries. Humphrey led them all into the living room. Agnes sat in a chair across from the sofa where her husband had been murdered. Lord Paussage sat in another chair across from her with another leather sofa between them. No one sat on the sofa that the Baron had been murdered on.

  Lord Loughty sat on the sofa by himself. Frances was surprised to see him there, but it worked wonderfully well for her. He would make for a good red herring. Edith and Vera were not present. A couple of constables that Frances had not met were positioned in the room, and Inspector Husher and Pearce looked on at everyone from behind the Baron's leather couch. Husher nodded at Frances.

  Frances walked over to where Husher and Pearce were. Eric went and sat down next to his friend, Larmer.

  "You got here early," said Frances.

  "The better to bring this investigation to an end," said Husher.

  "Vera and Edith are in the kitchen I assume?" asked Frances.

  Husher nodded.

  "They're making scones and tea. I thought it better to keep them busy. Do you want to speak with them?"

  Frances nodded.

  "Edith is the last important piece I need to fit into this puzzle."

  Husher nodded.

  "It's the flour isn't it?"

  Frances nodded.

  "Would you come with me? Your stern demeanor might be just the trick I need to get what I want from her."

  Husher nodded and she and Pearce walked with him off towards the kitchen. In the kitchen, Vera was just brining out some fresh baked scones from the oven. It smelt wonderful in there, with the fresh baked smell of those scones. The kettle was slowly coming to a boil on the stove. Vera saw them enter and smiled. Off to the right sat Edith, nervously fidgeting with her fingers and hands as she sat at the staff's table where Frances had met her the very first time she had come to the Marphallow home. The three of them walked up to her.

  Edith startled and stood up from her chair. She tried to put a smile on her face, but it fell right off. She looked down at her hands. She had been chewing at her nails. She looked at them and then put her hands behind her back.

  "Terrible habit, I know," she said nervously. Though Frances hadn't noticed before, for she hadn't chewed at them before.

  "Do you know why we're here, dear?" said Frances, pleasantly.

  Edith nodded.

  "You're going to arrest the one who killed the Baron," she said, and then she blurted out. "It wasn't me."

  Frances nodded.

  "Yes, we know that, dear," she said. "But you are not entirely without guilt."

  Vera placed the scones on a wire rack to cool, pretending not to pay any notice to them but of course pricking her ears to hear every word.

  "I don't know what you mean," said Edith, looking at them briefly before looking away again.

  "But you do," said Frances, "and we can do this civilly or we can take you down to the station in front of everyone here. Isn't that right, Inspector?"

  Frances turned to look at him and he nodded gruffly.

  "Unfortunately for you, Mrs. Edevane," he said in his gruff authoritarian tone, "we don't have a separate space for female suspects. You'll be put in with the men, unfortunately. Not the best place, I'm afraid, for a lady such as yourself."

  Husher was lying, but Edith wouldn't have known any better. She swallowed and her face went pale.

  "No, please don't, I don't think I could stand it," she said.

  "Then make it easy on yourself," said Frances. "We know you put the money in Humphrey's overcoat. We saw the flour on your jacket cuff, so we know you had the key and you hid it in the flour. What we want to know is why you did it?"

  "She made me do it," said Edith, looking between them and the table in front of her.

  "Who?" asked Frances.

  "Lady Marphallow," she said under her breath.

  "Why?"

  "I don't know, my Lady," said Edith. "She just told me to take the money and the key and put it in Humphrey's coat. She said that if I wanted to keep my job I'd do as I was told."

  "So you went and took the money?" asked Husher.

  "No, Inspector, Lady Marphallow handed the money and the key to me. The money was in the envelope so I took it out and stuffed it into Humphrey's pocket. And the key I tried to hide in the flour. I thought it wouldn't be found that way. I told her about it and she seemed quite pleased."

  Frances nodded slowly.

  "And what time was this?"

  "Early, shortly after I arrived."

  "And she came out to the kitchen and gave you the money then, whilst Vera was here?" asked Frances.

  Edith shook her head.

  "No, my Lady, that was the odd thing, she came right out the front door as I came walking by. This would have been just around eight thirty when I'm scheduled to be at work."

  "I see, and did she seem out of sorts in any way?"

  Edith looked down and furrowed her brow for a moment thinking. Then she nodded her head.

  "Yes, she was. At first I thought she was upset with me."

  "Why is that?"

  "She came out quite flustered and looking agitated Lady Marmalade," said Edith, looking at Frances, "but then she thrust the envelope with money at me. She told me to put it in Humphrey's jacket and to hide the key."

  "And you just did that?" asked Husher, interjecting.

  Edith looked over at him, and shook her head.

  "No, Inspector. I told her that was an awful lot of money and it would get Humphrey in trouble. She said there was already plenty of trouble with the money and that she couldn't keep all the staff on account of the Baron's financial troubles."

  "Was that all?" asked Frances.

  Edith shook her head again.

  "No, she said that she knew that Humphrey was dissatisfied with his wages and that he was going to get what was coming to him. She would give him this as his severance. It sounded odd but I could see the logic to it, my Lady."

  "What else did she say?" asked Frances.

  "Only that if I spoke a word of this to anyone that it would be the end of my employment as a housekeeper anywhere in London. She was very firm when she said that. What could I do, my Lady? I need the job you see, I take care of my sick mother and there isn't much money to go around. Not lately."

  "I understand," said Frances. "Doesn't sound like you've committed a crime." She looked over at the Inspector. "Inspector?"

  Husher looked over at her and nodded.

  "So long as we get your cooperation at court, Mrs. Edevane you'll have nothing to worry about."

  Edith smiled a little at that and her whole face brightened.

  "How did she look to you?" asked Frances. "You said she was flustered and agitated. How else would you describe her?"

  "Yes, that's right. At first I thought she was upset at me. But she didn't sound any more upset than usual. What I mean to say is that she can be a very stern woman. No, my Lady, she looked to me like she hadn't slept in days. Her makeup didn't look fresh, her hair was a little disheveled and she had on the same clothes I'd seen her in on the day before. If I could be quite honest, she looked haggard."

  "Very good," said Frances. "You've been quite helpful. You'll stay here with Vera and bring out the tea and scones when they're ready. You'll likely be unemployed come the end of the day but don't leave here under any circumstances until you've been dismissed by either myself, the Inspector or one of his constables."

  Edith nodded. Frances turned to look at the Inspector.

  "I think we have everythin
g we need," she said.

  "Agreed."

  Pearce nodded his head and the three of them turned and walked back out of the kitchen and towards the living room where only Eric and Larmer spoke with each other. Everyone else was quiet. Frances came up and stood next to the side table which had some days before held the Baron's empty tumbler. Paussage looked up at the three of them.

  "Could we get on with this," he said. "You do know that the House of Lords is in session and I'd like to make the tail end of it if possible."

  Frances nodded at him.

  "I do apologize, Lord Paussage, for this great inconvenience," said Frances. "It shouldn't take long and we'll have you on your way in no time."

  Paussage nodded, very pleased with himself.

  "But perhaps we could wait for just a few minutes until afternoon tea is served. It might be just what we need to soothe our spirits under such difficult circumstances."

  "So long as it happens quickly, or I'll be on my way by myself," said Paussage.

  The group of them sat in silence for just a couple of minutes until some commotion could be heard from the kitchen. Vera came out carrying a tray with a couple of teapots on it and enough teacups and saucers for everyone, including the police. Edith followed her with another tray with a dozen scones on it, still warm from the oven, clotted cream in a bowl and strawberry jam in another with some knives on the tray as well.

  The two of them sat the trays down.

  "The tea has been steeped," said Edith, and then she looked at Frances. "Should I pour for everyone, my Lady?" she asked.

  "That is not necessary," said Agnes, visibly upset that she wasn't being addressed.

  Edith bowed slightly and disappeared back into the kitchen with Vera. Humphrey stood off to the side like the good butler he was.

  "The impertinence," said Agnes to no one in particular. "I should think she'll be fired by the end of the day."

  Nobody said anything to that. Paussage leaned in and poured himself some tea without offering anyone else first. He also took a scone, broke it in half and smeared both sides with cream and jam.

  Eric leaned in after him and offered Agnes tea. She accepted so he poured her a cup. He offered his wife a cup and she took one too. There was no carafe of cream so Frances took milk and sugar in hers. She didn't take a scone. Eric offered his friend Larmer a cup of tea which was accepted and he offered the same to Pearce and Husher. He was turned down by Husher but Pearce as usual took him up on the offer.