by VL McBeath
“But there’s not much blood.”
Archie paused. “There’s a bit here on the carpet, but not as much as you’d expect.” He examined the wound. “Probably because the knife’s still in place. The bleeding must be internal but when Mrs Appleton tripped over her, she dislodged the knife enough for a little of it to escape.”
“I didn’t mean to.” Tears welled up in Connie’s eyes. “I couldn’t have known she was there.”
“Of course you couldn’t.” Eliza put an arm around Connie’s shoulder and noticed the way she was holding her wrist. “Have you hurt yourself?”
Connie nodded. “I landed on my hand.”
“Come and sit down and Archie will tend to it as soon as he’s free. We need to give Rosamund some space while he sees to her. Mr Cranford, perhaps the guests could have a brandy.”
Mr Cranford stared down at his wife as Archie rolled her onto her back. “Brandy … yes, right-o. I’ll call the maid.” He remained where he was, seemingly unable to move. “Rosamund dear, speak to me.”
Eliza stayed where she was while Archie held the smelling salts under Rosamund’s nose. They’re not having any effect; she’s not moving. Rosamund’s skin was deathly white and an icy chill ran down Eliza’s spine when the mucus collecting in Rosamund’s lungs began to rattle with each laboured breath.
Eliza bundled Connie onto the nearest chair and stepped back towards the body. “Everyone, come away. She needs space. Mr McRae, will you help Betty up off the floor?”
“I’m not going anywhere.” Betty drew her lips back into a snarl. “Ros is the best friend I’ve ever had and if she’s in trouble, I’m staying with her. You deal with your friend and I’ll deal with mine. None of this would have happened if it wasn’t for her.”
“That’s not true.” Tears erupted down Connie’s cheeks as she stood up and stumbled back towards Eliza. “I didn’t know she was on the floor. I need to get out of here; Eliza, will you come with me?”
“You’re not going anywhere other than jail if you’ve killed her.” The pitch of Betty’s voice cut through the room.
“Of course I didn’t kill her; she’s not even dead.” Connie sniffled into her handkerchief. “Eliza, tell her. I wouldn’t hurt anyone. Not in real life. It’s just…”
Eliza’s heart sank. “It’s just what?”
Connie whined as she spoke through her tears. “I was the murderer in the game. I didn’t want to be, but I had the card … the ace. I’d just pretended to kill Mrs Reed, and it was when I hurried away that I tripped over something. At first I thought it was the edge of the carpet … how was I to know it was Rosamund?”
Eliza took hold of Connie’s shaking hands and glanced at Mr Cranford. He hadn’t moved since she’d asked him for the brandy and didn’t look as if he was about to. Returning Connie to the chair, she sidled over to Mr Bell, who stood by the fireplace.
“Will you go and find a maid and ask for some brandy? Mr Cranford has other things on his mind and there are a few people in here who look like they could do with one.”
Mr Bell nodded and made his way to the door but stopped when he saw Mrs Reed on the settee. “Good grief, what’s up with her?”
Mrs Reed was sitting down but had fallen to one side, causing her mouth to drop open.
“I’ve just found her like this,” Mr McRae said. “I think she’s fainted.” He shook the older woman by the shoulders.
With one look at Mrs Reed, Eliza turned back to her father. “Sit with her while I get the smelling salts off Archie. Mr McRae, please leave her alone. Shaking her won’t help.”
Eliza hurried towards Archie but as she did, she saw Rosamund’s arm flop from Archie’s grip onto the floor.
“Oh my goodness, is she…?” She put a hand to her mouth as Archie glanced up and gave her an imperceptible nod. A moment later, he looked back down at Rosamund and ran his fingers across her eyes, closing them for the last time.
Chapter Five
The silence in the room appeared to last for an eternity but it was probably no more than a couple of seconds before the noise erupted. Jolted from her daze Eliza reached for the smelling salts and hurried back to Mr Bell.
“How is she?” She nodded at Mrs Reed.
“She’s out cold, but there’s a pulse, which is always a good sign.”
Eliza opened the jar and held them under Mrs Reed’s nose. After several breaths, she coughed and then startled everyone with a loud sneeze.
“Thank goodness for that.” Mr Bell placed a hand on his heart. “I’d say she fainted when she saw Mrs Cranford.”
“Rosamund?” Mrs Reed’s voice was faint. “Is she going to be all right?”
Eliza paused while Archie walked towards them.
“No, Mrs Reed, I’m afraid she’s not.” Archie declined the seat Mr Bell had vacated for him. “Why don’t you sit here and I’ll get Mr Reed to join you? I think we have some brandy coming, that will help.”
“Yes, that was my job.” Mr Bell snapped to attention and hurried to the door. “I’ll be as quick as I can.”
Mr Reed crossed the room in seconds. “What’s going on? Is she all right?”
“She’ll be fine; just don’t leave her alone.” Archie gave a sad smile before he joined Eliza a little away from the group.
“Are you all right?”
Eliza closed her eyes. “I’ll manage, I just can’t believe it. Who would do such a thing?” She stopped and studied the guests still hovering around the body. “You do realise one of them is the murderer?”
Archie sighed. “I’m fully aware of it. Why don’t you sit down while we wait for the brandy? You look as if you could do with one too.”
Eliza took a seat and let her head rest on the back of the chair, momentarily closing her eyes. She opened them seconds later when Connie shook her by the shoulder.
“Eliza, tell her, I didn’t do anything.”
Eliza sat up with a start as Betty bore down on Connie.
“Mrs McRae, stop. What’s going on? Of course Connie didn’t hurt Rosamund.”
“Then why was she lying on top of her body?” Betty pushed Connie on the shoulder causing the two of them to face each other.
“I told you, it was an accident. I was the murderer in the game and I’d just tapped Mrs Reed and was making my escape. I didn’t know Rosamund was there, and I certainly didn’t put her there.”
“How do we know you’re not making that up?” Mr Reed appeared more interested in their argument than his wife’s well-being. “We’ve only got your word for it that you were the pretend murderer. Do you have the ace of spades?”
Connie patted down the outside of her skirt, her sense of urgency increasing before she put a hand in her pocket. “It’s gone. I put it in here, but it must have fallen out.”
“That’s a fine excuse … I expect you didn’t have it in the first place.”
“That’s enough.” Eliza stood up and held out her hands. “Connie, go and sit down. Mr Reed and Mrs McRae, you can’t go around accusing someone of murder when there’s no rhyme nor reason to it. Now, we know where Connie was when the body was found but we need to determine exactly where everyone else was. We’d better call the police too. Someone in this room is a murderer and we have to find out who.”
“Well, it wasn’t me.” Betty glared at Eliza.
“Nobody’s saying it was but if you want to clear your name, it would help if you co-operated.” Eliza held Betty’s gaze until she noticed Mr Bell return to the room with a maid following him. “Thank goodness you’re here. Will you go to the police station and ask them to send someone? The rest of us need to stay here and work out what happened. I’m sure we’d all like this sorted out as soon as possible.”
“Why should he go?” Mr Reed’s tone forced Eliza to step back. “Why not me?”
“Mr Reed, my father is the most obvious person to send. There’s no reason to suspect he had anything to do with Rosamund’s death.”
“There’s no reason to suspect I did eithe
r…”
“I’m afraid we don’t know that.”
“Maybe you don’t, but I do. How do I know it wasn’t him?” He stabbed a finger in Mr Bell’s direction.
Mr Bell stepped forward. “Of course it wasn’t me. Do you think I’d try to get away with murder knowing how good a detective my daughter is?”
“That’s enough.” Eliza clapped her hands to quieten the noise in the room. “Can I have everyone’s attention? I’m sure we’re all shocked by what’s just happened but I’m afraid the evidence suggests that someone in this room took Rosamund’s life. We need to find out who.”
There were nods of approval, but no one spoke.
“To help us, I suggest we send my father for the police. I think it’s safe to assume he didn’t wield the knife.”
“I’ve told you, we don’t know that…” Mr Reed thrust his face towards Eliza but she turned away.
“As you can see, not everyone in the room agrees. Is there anyone else who would rather he didn’t go?” When she got no objections, she continued. “Thank you. I’d also suggest, that in the interests of time, and to help the police when they get here, we ask a few basic questions about the crime amongst ourselves.”
“Why have you taken over all of a sudden?” Mr Reed asked. “Just because you were the policeman in the game, doesn’t mean you have permission to carry on the pretence now. As the elder gentleman, I should be the one leading the investigation.”
Eliza placed her hands on her hips while she counted to three. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t aware you were familiar with police procedures. When were you last involved with a murder investigation?”
“Well, naturally I haven’t been, but…”
“But you just don’t want me doing it. Well, either fortunately or unfortunately, whichever way you want to look at it, I’ve been involved with a number of murders over the last couple of years. I don’t believe anyone else has …” She peered at each person until she noticed Archie raise an eyebrow at her.
“All right, Dr Thomson and Mrs Appleton have helped, but for now Dr Thomson needs to look at Connie’s wrist, which leaves you with me. For your information, I’ve worked with the police four times and I’m familiar with the sort of questions they ask.”
“And she’s very good at it too. I’d suggest you do as she asks.” Archie took his place by Connie’s side and examined her wrist. “Now, if we can change the subject, I’ll need some strapping. Can someone get it for me?”
“Assuming I’m allowed to leave, I’ll get some on the way out.” Mr Bell walked to the door but as he reached for the handle, Eliza spotted a maid standing in the corner. She had evidently finished pouring the brandy and looked frozen to the spot.
“There’ll be no need for that,” she said to Mr Bell. “You just get off.”
Mr Bell nodded as Eliza strode towards the young girl. “Thank you, dear, leave the drinks there and we can help ourselves. I wonder if you could find us a sheet to cover the body and some strapping for Mrs Appleton’s wrist.”
The maid nodded furiously, her eyes wide, before she scurried from the room.
“Please, everyone help yourselves.” Eliza gestured to the occasional table as she took a glass herself. “Once you have your drinks, may I ask you all to return to where you were standing when the lights were switched back on?”
“How are we supposed to remember that after everything that’s happened?” Mr McRae asked.
“I know it’s difficult, but could we all try? I made a mental note of everyone’s positions when the light came back on and so I may be able to help if you’re not sure.”
“Well, if you must know, I think I was roughly in the middle of the room.”
Eliza nodded. “Yes, I would say so. Possibly slightly closer to the body than that, but not much. Betty, you were close to the tree if I remember rightly, between Rosamund and Dr Thomson.” She waved her arm at Archie. “I think you were nearer the window than that, yes, there. Stop. Now, Mr Cranford, you switched on the lights, but could you tell us where you were when Mrs Appleton screamed? I presume you weren’t far from the light switch?”
“N-no, I don’t suppose I was. I couldn’t really say. I wasn’t paying much attention.”
“No, quite, it is difficult to work these things out in the dark. Given you reached the switch so quickly, I imagine you would have been somewhere between Rosamund and the door. Perhaps around here.” Eliza stepped away from the light switch towards the middle of the room.
“Yes, that must be it.” Mr Cranford took out his handkerchief and wiped his brow. “That must be it.”
Eliza hesitated. Poor man.
“I was sitting here,” Mrs Reed said from her place on the settee.
Eliza turned and gave her a solemn smile. “Of course and I think my father was nearby, if I’m not mistaken.”
“He was, although I didn’t realise it was him at the time. I just saw the outline of a man heading towards me. I’m sorry, I can’t be much help after the lights came on. I really can’t say what came over me.” Mrs Reed gave a feeble smile.
“There’s no need to apologise, you’ve had a shock, we all have. Are you feeling any better?”
“I’m as well as I can be under the circumstances, but I wonder if you’d allow us to go home.”
Eliza shook her head. “I’m afraid I can’t let you do that until the police arrive. I’m sure they’ll want to talk to us all. Perhaps if they speak to you first, they’ll let you go after that.”
“Yes, thank you, dear, that would be very nice.” Mrs Reed pulled her shawl more tightly around her shoulders. “That wind doesn’t sound as if it’s calming down and I usually like my brandy in a glass of warm milk.”
“As soon as the police arrive, I’ll see what I can do.” Eliza turned to Mr Reed, who had reseated himself next to his wife. “Now, Mr Reed, do you remember where you were when the lights were turned back on?”
Mr Reed’s hand was steady as he pointed to a spot in the centre of the room. “Rather too close to the body for my liking, but there we are. Do you need me to stand there now?”
“If you wouldn’t mind; just for a moment and then you may come straight back. It might help jog someone’s memory.”
“So, let’s see if this helps us.” Eliza stepped into the middle of the room, but Mr McRae stretched an arm out in front of her.
“And where were you? You make us all stand where we were, but you’ve given us no hint as to your whereabouts.”
Eliza took a deep breath. “No, you’re right. Thank you for reminding me.” She took several steps towards the windows beyond Mr McRae and stopped. “I was about here. I believe you were to my right as we look towards the door. Does that satisfy you?”
“Well, what’s one rule for us should be the same for you, that’s all.”
“Yes, quite. May I carry on now?” Eliza gave him a curt smile before walking gingerly towards the body. “So, Betty, Mr Reed and Mr Cranford, you were in the immediate area around Rosamund when the attack took place. Can any of you tell me whether you heard anything unusual while the lights were off?”
“No.” The three of them spoke together as they shook their heads.
Eliza’s brow furrowed. “So, you were all within a few feet of Rosamund and yet you heard nothing? Doesn’t that strike you as odd?”
“Not really,” Betty said. “With the wind howling down the chimney and the fire crackling as it was, it would be easy to miss any small sounds.”
“But the fire’s at the opposite end of the room. You should have been able to hear something being so far from it.”
“Well, perhaps your hearing is better than mine, but it was rather loud.”
“What about you two?” Eliza turned to the men. “Did the fire distract you, too?”
“I can’t say I noticed.” Mr Cranford shook his head. “Ros always said I never listened to her. If you must know I was thinking about the business and not paying any attention to the game. Locked in my own litt
le world.”
“Don’t look at me.” Mr Reed stepped back as Eliza faced him. “I’m rather hard of hearing and didn’t even notice the fire.”
Eliza stared at the others, who stood further afield. “Don’t tell me you all have problems with your hearing. Archie, what about you? There’s nothing up with your ears; did you hear anything?”
Archie shrugged. “I’m afraid I didn’t but to be honest, there might not have been much noise. Mrs Cranford clearly knew everyone in the room and so the killer could have approached her quite innocently before plunging the knife into her. There needn’t have been any commotion.”
“But she must have fallen to the floor.”
Archie bobbed his head from side to side. “Yes, and no. She obviously ended up on the floor but if the killer was strong enough, he could easily have held her in his arms and lowered her to the ground.”
“So you’re saying it must have been a man?”
Archie glanced across to the still visible body. “Not necessarily. As you can see, Mrs Cranford wasn’t a large lady, it would have been possible for any one of us to do it.”
Eliza shuddered as she studied Rosamund again. “Where is that maid? The body really needs covering.” She walked to the door just as it opened and the maid poked her head into the room. “Ah, there you are. Do you have a sheet?”
With confirmation that she did, Eliza took it from her, along with the strapping, and gave them both to Archie.
“We have to get her laid out.” Mr Cranford stepped forward, but Eliza touched him on the arm to stop him.
“We will, but we’ll have to leave her where she is until the police arrive. They’ll want to examine the scene. Now, where were we? Ah yes, nobody heard anything. Mr McRae, you were the next closest to the incident, what about you?”
Mr McRae shrugged. “I’m really not sure. I might have heard a slight ruffle of material moments before Mrs Appleton cried out. It could have been Mrs Cranford’s skirts as she fell to the floor.”
“And that was immediately before we heard Mrs Appleton? That wouldn’t give the killer much time to move.”