Murder at the Seaside Hotel: A 1920's Historical Cozy Mystery (An Evie Parker Mystery Book 5)

by Sonia Parin

  “Yes?”

  “Oh, I’m just thinking of Henrietta. You know how she dreads calling my granny by her nickname of Toodles. I wonder what she would make of Edith Wharton being known as Pussy Jones to her family?”

  Caro returned and noted, “I seem to have missed something.”

  “Oh, we were merely filling in the time,” Evie said. “Now, before I forget, we encountered Edmonds on the road. He appeared to be…” Evie clicked her fingers, “what’s the word I’m looking for? Trailing?”

  Tom suggested, “Tailing.”

  “Yes, tailing Mr. Addington.”

  Caro grinned and said in a hushed tone, “Yes, I decided he looked suspicious.”

  “What prompted you?”

  “He walked past Mr. Prentiss and I swear they exchanged a look.”

  “A look?” Evie didn’t feel entirely convinced. “They might have been acknowledging each other. Obviously, they’ve seen each other around the hotel and the general area.”

  Caro straightened. “I also saw a nod. Yes, I’m certain I saw a nod. It felt like the type of nod one would employ to confirm something.”

  “That’s more like it. What could they have been agreeing to?” Evie wondered.

  “Well, Mr. Prentiss is still here so we can’t assume it was a meeting place,” Tom said.

  “I wonder if they’d had a previous conversation.” Evie looked over her shoulder. Mr. Prentiss hadn’t moved. “Or they might be communicating through notes. I can imagine them exchanging messages outlining their plan, which Mr. Addington put into action by driving out to… wherever he went.” Now they would have to wait until Edmonds returned. Evie checked her watch. “We crossed paths with Edmonds an hour ago. Did you warn him not to take any unnecessary risks?”

  “Of course, milady. I would not send him off on a silly or a dangerous errand. He has instructions to keep his distance and report back.”

  Yes, but how far would Edmonds have to follow Mr. Addington? “Would Mr. Addington have taken that road if he is headed to London?” Evie asked.

  Tom drew in a long breath and pushed it out slowly. “Yes.”

  “Just how committed do you think Edmonds will be to following him? Heavens, what if he does go all the way to London?”

  “I trust Edmonds. He’ll have better sense than to do that, milady.” Caro bit her bottom lip. “At least, I hope he will. Yes, I’m sure he will.”

  Evie didn’t want to say it, but she feared Edmonds might take the task to heart. “I suppose Mr. Addington wouldn’t go very far. After all, his wife is still here. That is, I assume she is.”

  Caro nodded. “I only saw Mr. Addington leaving.”

  Evie finished her tea and decided now would be a good time to change out of her driving clothes. “I will see you both shortly. Hopefully, by then, there will be some good news.”

  Getting up she noticed a wave of people entering the hotel. The gentlemen headed toward the library, while the ladies made their way up the grand staircase at a leisurely pace.

  Evie decided to take the back stairs to avoid being delayed by their leisurely pace. A second later, she felt a presence behind her. Without thinking, she turned and nearly collided with Tom.

  “Are you following me?”

  “I might be.”

  “Honestly, this is a hotel. Look around you. There are people everywhere.”

  “I’ll just walk you to the stairs. Then, I’ll double back and ask to use the manager’s office. I’d like to call the tea room proprietress in Findon and ask if she happened to see a Duesenberg drive by.”

  “Oh, that’s a fabulous idea, Tom. Great thinking. At least we’ll know something.”

  They continued on their way toward the back of the hotel and the stairs. Reaching them, Evie turned and smiled. “This is where we part ways.”

  Tom peered up the stairs and nodded. “Be quick about it.”

  Sliding her hand along the balustrade, Evie hurried up the stairs. She reached the landing and looked down only to find Tom still standing at the foot of the stairs. “Would you like me to send smoke signals when I reach my room?”

  “Just holler and slam the door shut. I’ll hear you.”

  Rolling her yes, she scurried up the rest of the way. Thinking it wouldn’t hurt to play it safe, when she reached her floor, Evie slowed down and turned her attention to her surroundings.

  Once inside her room, she made sure to lock the door behind her.

  Without the benefit of Caro’s assistance, Evie selected a light green skirt and white blouse matched with a lightweight coat the same color and length as the skirt. She stood staring at her hat boxes for long minutes. Evie knew Caro maintained a strict order. She made it look simple enough. Peering inside one hat box, she found the offensive cherry straw hat she had decided would never again see the light of day.

  As she searched through the rest of the boxes looking for a suitable hat, she thought about their mode of transportation. Motor car travel had certainly freed them up, but there was a lot to be said for trains and their schedules.

  If Mr. Addington had traveled by train, they would have a timetable to work with, as well as a possible destination. They might even establish that destination by visiting the train station and relying on the station master to remember a few pertinent details. With the freedom afforded by motor cars came the freedom of choice. One road could lead to another and another…

  Dismissing her thoughts, Evie settled for a light orange cloche which more or less matched the light shade of green she wore. Adjusting the hat, she sat at the small desk opposite one of the windows.

  Equipped with pen and paper, Evie set to work on a list.

  “Mr. Prentiss visited Findon and approached May Fields.” Had coincidence brought them together in Worthing? Tapping the pen on the desk, she said, “Mr. Addington. How are you connected?”

  She made a note to contact her man of business only to cross it out. If Mr. Matthew Keys had discovered something new, he would have contacted Evie.

  Had she asked him to also look into Mr. Addington?

  Shaking her head, Evie wrote the name down again. She would telephone Mr. Matthew Keys to make sure…

  Half an hour later, a knock at the door startled her. Caro walked in, followed by Tom.

  “My apologies,” Evie said, “I lost track of time.”

  Caro went straight to one of the hat boxes, retrieved a hat and replaced the one Evie had chosen.

  A glance in the mirror made Evie smile. Yes, much better. Same shade of green but slightly lighter.

  “I telephoned Mrs. Johnstone,” Tom said. “She saw Edmonds drive by several times. Apparently, he is on his way back.”

  “Driving around?”

  “Yes, he actually stopped at the tea room and asked if anyone had seen a Rolls-Royce.”

  “He lost Mr. Addington?”

  Nodding, Tom said, “I suspect he lost him somewhere in Findon.”

  “At least we know he’s safe. I worried something might have happened to Edmonds.” Turning to Caro, she asked, “I take it Mr. Prentiss is no longer downstairs?”

  “Mr. Prentiss went up to his room. That’s why I abandoned my post.”

  “Oh, Caro. You don’t need to stay on his trail. I believe my man of business will dig up something soon.”

  “I hope so because I’m beginning to lose hope. Milady, I’m afraid you got me all excited about getting justice for May Fields.”

  “It will happen, Caro. Don’t you worry about it.” Evie brightened. “I think the three of us should have lunch together.”

  “If you don’t mind, I would rather stay behind and wait for Edmonds, milady. I’m sure he’ll have a tale and a half to tell when he returns.”

  Standing in front of the mirror, Evie inspected her reflection. “Caro, you said Mr. Prentiss returned to his room. Where was Mrs. Prentiss? Did you see her go down?”

  “Oh, I never thought to look for her.”

  “This is probably the first tim
e both men have been in public without their respective partners,” Evie observed.

  “Perhaps she has come to her senses and left him,” Tom suggested.

  Evie looked confused enough for Tom to remind her of her earlier theory about Mr. Prentiss marrying his wife for her fortune.

  “Money.” Evie sat on the edge of the chaise lounge. “We haven’t actually discussed it.”

  “Do we need to?” Tom asked.

  “We should consider it. Plenty of people are murdered for money.”

  Tom crossed his arms and rocked on his heels. “Do you think May Fields had money? And, if she did, how could Mr. Prentiss gain by her death?”

  Evie’s eyes widened. “What if that is the reason why Mr. Prentiss approached May Fields in the first place. He might have had news about an inheritance she had never expected. We’ve considered the idea of Mr. Prentiss working with someone else. What if another heir engaged him to get rid of May Fields so they could inherit?” Evie liked the idea so much, she wanted it to be true. However, she then remembered what Ruth Charles had said. Mr. Prentiss had actually offered May Fields a job. “Forget I said that.” Surging to her feet, she groaned. “Oh, this waiting for Edmonds has put me on edge. I wish he’d hurry up with some news.”

  The sound of a hard thump had everyone stilling.

  One by one, they looked up.

  Evie thought she heard a door open and close again. Standing as they were in silence, they all became aware of the slightest sounds from a floorboard creaking to someone talking.

  “Did it come from the room above?” Evie asked.

  “Hard to say.” Tom moved to the door and pressed his ear to it. After a moment, he opened the door a fraction. “I see a couple walking away from the room next door. Perhaps it was them.”

  How far did sound travel, Evie wondered. “Caro, where is your room?”

  “The next floor up at the end of the hallway. It’s a corner room.”

  When Evie didn’t say anything, Caro suggested going up and walking around her room.

  “Oh, that is a fabulous idea.”

  Tom and Evie waited in silence. Then they heard the sounds of firm footsteps and something hard hitting the floor.

  “I guess sound travels in this building,” Evie said.

  “Did you hear that?” Tom asked. He strode to the window and peered out. “It sounded like someone saying hello.”

  Evie joined him by the window and pointed toward the corner of the building. “Wave. That’s Caro on her balcony.” Swinging away from the window, Evie remembered the concierge had told Tom all the windows were left open during the day to air out the rooms.

  Had someone heard May Fields?

  “Oh,” Evie exclaimed. Stumbling back, she collided with the desk, swung away and collided with the chaise lounge.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I just remembered something… I think I heard May Fields.” Evie’s legs wobbled.

  She heard Tom rush toward her, felt his hands clasp her arms. Her ears buzzed and she swooned…

  Heavens…

  Chapter 16

  Caro entered Evie’s room saying, “I paced around my room, then I stomped about. Did you hear a thump? I dropped one of my cases on the floor.” Closing the door, she turned and exclaimed, “Milady!” Caro rushed toward Evie. “What happened?”

  Evie groaned and pressed her hand to her forehead. “Oh… Caro.”

  Tom crouched down beside Evie. “She sort of lost her balance.”

  “I think my mind froze. Or I suffered some sort of shock.” Evie turned to Caro. “Do you remember the day we arrived, you came in and woke me up?”

  “Yes, of course.”

  “I said something about being woken up.”

  “You did grumble a little.”

  “No, I didn’t complain about being woken up by you.” Evie brushed her hand across her brow. “Something else woke me up several times while I slept. I remember being in that sort of drowsy state between sleep and wakefulness.”

  “Oh, yes. You said you couldn’t recommend the hotel for its peace and quiet.”

  “That’s right. Excellent memory, Caro.”

  “Would you like a cup of tea?”

  “Oh, no. No more tea, please. I think I need coffee. Yes, a strong cup of coffee will make me feel better.”

  “I’ll take care of it,” Tom said.

  Evie straightened. Had she heard May Fields stumbling about in a drunken state? She groaned again.

  “What?” Caro took hold of her hand.

  “I think I might have heard the maid.” She slumped back. “What if I could have prevented her death?”

  “Milady, you mustn’t think like that.”

  “Yes, but… If I’d gone up to complain about the noise, I might have been able to stop her. If, indeed, she threw herself off the balcony. Or, if my other theory is correct, I might have stopped the person who killed her first and then, hours later, pushed her off.”

  “Or, you might have been killed too. There is no point in wondering what might have happened. You will only burden yourself with guilt.”

  “You are being far too sensible, Caro. Please allow me to wallow in a moment of guilt. Something else might come to me.” Evie clicked her fingers. “I remember the drive here left me thoroughly exhausted.”

  “Yes, I remember you declined to have anything for lunch and came straight up to your room. You wouldn’t even let me unpack for you.”

  Had she seen anything out of the ordinary along the way, something she might not have thought of as curious at the time? Someone else making their way up the stairs or someone rushing down the stairs?

  “I don’t know what came over me. When I heard you stomping around your room, my mind must have made the connection and then I swooned. I don’t swoon. I have never swooned.”

  “You have now. And… what does it all mean?” Caro asked.

  “I don’t know but this is going to keep me awake all night, I’m sure. The sounds I heard that first day were loud enough to wake me up… So, I have to assume they came from the room directly above mine. We know May Fields went back in there at precisely midday.”

  “You came to your room after that,” Caro said.

  “Yes! And I collapsed on the bed straightaway.”

  “I came to wake you up after two in the afternoon.”

  Evie closed her eyes for a moment and then said, “Assuming May Fields started drinking straightaway, she might have reached a state of inebriation within the hour.” Evie looked up at the ceiling. “I heard loud thumps. I’m sure of it. I’ve never had more than a couple of glasses of wine so I have no real idea what happens when you drink too much.”

  Caro’s cheeks brightened slightly.

  “Caro, is there something you wish to share?”

  “Well…” Caro grinned. “There was that one time at Christmas. My mother makes the best mulled wine and did I mention it was Christmas?”

  Evie nodded. “A couple of times. I take it you drank more than you are accustomed to drinking.”

  “Yes. My legs wobbled and when I tried to get up, I swayed. I might have stumbled but my brother caught me in time.”

  Evie smiled. “That’s what brothers are for. Are you suggesting May Fields might have been sitting down while drinking and then she rose to her feet and stumbled?”

  “Precisely. Yes.”

  “If we are to believe she had been upset by Mr. Prentiss… for whatever reason, I suppose we could assume she drank herself into a stupor in a short time.”

  Caro paced around the room. “I’m trying to picture her being upset and swilling that brandy in greedy, self-pitying gulps.”

  Evie hummed under her breath. “Oh, yes. I’m picturing it now. However, it contradicts my theory of May Fields being pushed off the balcony.”

  “Does it? Someone might have found her closer to five in a full state of inebriation and taken advantage of it.”

  “Oh, yes.” Evie clapped. “Yes. I
like that theory. She would not have been able to put up a struggle. Oh, how I wish I had been in my room. I would have heard it all.” Instead, she had been out and about having a jolly good time.

  “Please tell me you are not about to have another attack of guilt.”

  Could she have done something to prevent May Fields’ death? “Where is that coffee?” And why hadn’t Tom simply telephoned for it? Evie supposed he hadn’t been entirely comfortable seeing her so upset.

  The door opened and Tom strode in followed by a waiter carrying a tray.

  Smiling, Tom said, “I heard you bellow for coffee.”

  “Yes, well, we have already established the fact. Sound travels in this hotel.” She turned to Caro. “Do we have the same problem at Halton House?”

  “I don’t believe we do, milady.”

  “Perhaps the sea air has eroded the walls.” Evie thanked the waiter and busied herself pouring a cup of coffee.

  A knock at the door was interrupted when the waiter opened it to leave.

  “Ah, Edmonds,” Evie exclaimed. “Do come in.” She called out to the waiter, “Could we please have some tea and some sandwiches brought up?”

  “Milady, I’m sorry it took so long to return,” Edmonds said.

  “What news do you bring? We have been so eager to hear from you. At one point, we thought you might have driven all the way to London.”

  “Ah, yes. It nearly came to that. I had been keeping the Rolls-Royce in sight but then, as we neared the village of Findon, the Rolls slowed down so I had to match its speed. I must have taken my eyes off it for no longer than a second. In the next instant, the motor car had disappeared. I thought it might have gone along one of the side lanes. I tried one and then another. I must have driven around the village five times before I finally stopped and made inquiries at the tea room.”

  “Yes, we are aware of that.” Evie smiled at Tom.

  “As it turned out,” Edmonds continued, “the proprietress noticed me driving by but not the Rolls-Royce. That led me to believe it must have driven along another road right before arriving at the village. So, I went investigating.” Edmonds eyed the pot of coffee.