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

by Sonia Parin

  “Yes,” he whispered back. “What were you going to say?”

  “Oh… There are…” She heard someone else entering. Turning, she saw Mr. Prentiss making a beeline for a chair by the fireplace. There were two chairs near Mr. Addington, yet Mr. Prentiss chose to sit elsewhere.

  “Evie?”

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw someone else walking in.

  Mrs. Prentiss.

  She walked toward a bookcase and stopped to peruse the books.

  Evie kept her attention peeled on the woman and said in a soft murmur, “There are two men standing in the lobby. I think they’re policemen.”

  “What makes you think so?”

  “Well, they looked rather suspicious, in a good sort of way.”

  Tom set his newspaper down. “Would you like to take a stroll before dinner, which will of course require another change of clothes?”

  “I’ve never heard you complain about that.”

  “And I wasn’t complaining now. However, I’ve only now noticed just how many times you change your outfits.”

  “It’s not me… It’s expected.”

  “Yes, of course.”

  “So, what do you suppose brought the police here?”

  “They must be closing in on a suspect,” he suggested.

  “So soon? We’ve been here nearly a week and we’ve been going around in circles.”

  He smiled. “Isn’t that what amateurs usually do?”

  She settled back in her chair. “I think I’d like to stay here. I have a feeling something is about to happen.” She straightened her skirt and glanced up in time to see Mrs. Addington enter.

  “Strange. I didn’t hear her walk in,” Evie whispered.

  “That’s because she came in from the other door.” Tom gestured toward the end of a bookcase.

  Evie leaned slightly and saw a door. “I keep forgetting about that back door.” She watched Mrs. Addington settle beside her husband. Evie tried to get a good look at her face but Mrs. Addington sat at an angle. “It just occurred to me. We’re sitting in a library.”

  “Yes, but I’m afraid it doesn’t compare to your library. The books are aimed at light reading.”

  Crossing her legs, Evie continued to study Mrs. Addington. She remembered bumping into her a couple of days before. Something about her had struck her as odd.

  She clicked her fingers and tried to remember her first impressions of the woman.

  She thought she’d worn too much rouge on her cheeks and had laughed too loudly. Also, there had been something uncouth about her…

  Evie curled her fingers around Tom’s arm. “Tom.” She leaned in and whispered. “Have a good look at Mrs. Addington.”

  Chapter 25

  Evie nudged Tom with her elbow.

  “I’m looking. I’m looking”

  “Yes, but are you seeing what I’m seeing?”

  “I’ll need to decipher that first.”

  “Try to picture her without the hat and the rouge.”

  “Is there anything else you’d like me to take off her?”

  Evie gave him another nudge with her elbow. “Am I imagining it? Yes, of course, I’m imagining it. It can’t be true. Can you picture May Fields as Mrs. Addington?”

  “That photograph Mrs. Johnstone showed us… Well, I didn’t want to say it then and I’m reluctant to say it now.”

  “What?”

  “It looked grainy.”

  “Yes, but can you see the shape of the face? I think it’s the same as May Fields’ and I’ve probably noticed it now because Mrs. Addington is not laughing. Every time we’ve seen Mrs. Addington, she was laughing and that tends to distort the face. She’s looking down, but I’m sure her face is the same shape as May Fields’. Can you see it?”

  Her gaze strayed to the door leading to the back stairs. “You said the concierge saw Mr. Prentiss come into the library just before five. Do you think he might have used the back stairs to go up and throw the dead body off the balcony? I know I suggested it before, but now I think it might really be the only way he could have done it.”

  “Am I done looking?”

  “You’re still looking but you’re also thinking about the back stairs.”

  “Fine. Yes, I can juggle the two.”

  Evie watched Mr. and Mrs. Prentiss cross the room, their expressions as morose as ever.

  She checked her watch. It was too early to change for dinner. “Where do you suppose they’re going?”

  Tom chortled. “You just had to sneak another task in. Would you like to follow them? After I try to figure out if Mr. Prentiss used the back stairs and if the woman I’m looking at is really May Fields…” He straightened. “Hang on. I’m beginning to see the resemblance.”

  The sound of a commotion just outside the library had them both turning.

  “That sounds like Caro.” Evie surged to her feet. Two people walked into the library, or rather, they backed into the library.

  Mr. and Mrs. Prentiss.

  They were being herded back into the library by one of the two men Evie had seen standing by the hotel door.

  “What is going on here?” Evie murmured.

  A moment later, Caro and Edmonds appeared, the other man wearing a gray suit a step behind them.

  “Milady.” Caro rushed toward her. “You wouldn’t believe it. That man wouldn’t let us leave the hotel. Not even when I mentioned I worked for you. He dragged us in here. What is happening?”

  “I asked that just a second ago, Caro.” Evie gestured to the chairs beside Tom. “I guess you should both make yourselves comfortable.”

  Mr. and Mrs. Addington both surged to their feet and turned toward the door leading to the back stairs only to bump into another man in a gray suit.

  “If I didn’t know better, I’d think we are being sequestered.” Evie turned to Tom and found him still staring at Mrs. Addington. His eyes narrowed and then widened.

  Evie said. “Now you see the resemblance?”

  “Yes. She turned and you were right about her not laughing. Do you really think it’s May Fields?”

  Evie wondered what would happen if she called out her name. How would they react? Would Mr. Addington pull out a revolver?

  “Don’t,” Tom said almost as if he’d read her thoughts. “They might be armed.

  “But we have to do something about it.” Evie looked over her shoulder. The men in gray were standing by the door. “Caro. Did they identify themselves?”

  “Oh, yes. Didn’t I mention it? They showed us their police identification badges. Do you think we are now suspects?”

  Tom and Evie exchanged a look that spoke of surprise. “Us? But we’ve been assisting the police.”

  Caro grinned. “Thereby giving yourselves the perfect alibis.”

  Across the room, Mr. Addington appeared to be holding a heated conversation with the man who had prevented him and his wife from leaving the library.

  “I’d like to know what that’s all about.” The door to the library opened and a man walked in. “Detective Inspector O’Neill,” Evie exclaimed.

  He stopped to talk with the policeman in the gray suit then turned to face everyone in the library.

  Seeing Evie and Tom, he nodded and cleared his throat. “If I could please have your attention. Firstly, I would like to apologize for this rather unorthodox setting. I have asked that you all remain here because I needed to ask a few questions and wished to do so without any formalities.”

  Mr. Prentiss stepped forward. “Now, see here…”

  “You must be Mr. Prentiss,” the detective said, his voice amiable.

  Evie gasped and whispered, “I think the detective is going to solve the murder and we are here to witness it all.”

  “I should like to ask Mrs. Prentiss a question.”

  The woman gave a half-hearted nod.

  “On the day of the unfortunate incident when a maid fell over a balcony, what time did you return to the hotel?”

  M
rs. Prentiss answered with confidence. “Just before five o’clock. I believe the concierge can verify that.”

  The detective asked the others the same question. Everyone had returned to the hotel just before five o’clock.

  The detective then spent the next few minutes asking each guest to retrace their steps after five o’clock.

  “It was a ghastly business,” Mr. Addington said. “My wife was greatly upset by it all.”

  “Mr. Addington, is this your first time to Worthing?”

  “I fail to see what that has to do with anything.”

  “I am merely curious to know why you chose this place for your vacation.”

  “A friend recommended it.”

  The detective brushed his hand across his chin. “A final vacation by the seaside before you sail to America? I sometimes can’t help but feel envious.”

  Evie’s fingers tightened around Tom’s arm. “Did you hear that?” she whispered.

  Mr. Addington paled.

  “We have been making a few inquiries. It seems you have closed up your London house and transferred all your business interests. It looks to me like you were thinking of leaving and never returning.” He looked at Mrs. Addington. “How do you feel about that, Mrs. Addington?”

  The woman lifted her chin slightly. “I am very pleased with my husband’s plans.”

  “You recently inherited a vast fortune from your uncle. I believe he was your last living relative.”

  “Y-yes.”

  “My condolences.” The detective looked down at the ground for a moment. “You don’t mind leaving London and sailing away?”

  She nodded.

  “I suppose that means you have changed your mind about divorcing your husband.”

  Evie gasped and whispered, “That’s it. She wanted to divorce her husband so he arranged to kill her.”

  “Milady. I think that’s one of the scenarios you came up with.”

  “Oh, I don’t think so…”

  Instead of pursuing his line of questioning with Mrs. Addington, the detective turned to Mr. Prentiss. “You traveled to Findon earlier in the year for business.”

  “I had to deal with an estate matter.”

  “There you were surprised to encounter a young woman who looked strikingly familiar. When you returned to London, you went to see your friend, Mr. Addington and told him about May Fields’ striking resemblance to his wife, the wife who had recently inherited a vast fortune and now wanted to divorce him. The woman you had introduced him to after drawing up her uncle’s will.”

  Both men protested.

  Mrs. Prentiss swayed and fainted while Mrs. Addington forgot herself and slumped down on a chair, her face in her hands.

  Evie then realized they had been preoccupied with Mr. Prentiss’ comings and goings but had overlooked Mr. Addington.

  “Mr. Addington. On the day a young woman died here at the hotel, you and your wife made your way downstairs. It was just after midday. You took the back stairs and instead of going all the way to the lobby, you went to Mr. Prentiss’ room. A maid opened the door for you and your wife. You then proceeded to kill your wife and you smashed her face until it was unrecognizable. Then, you and the maid who had by then dressed as your wife, left the hotel and went out to lunch.”

  Mr. Addington stood speechless.

  Evie expected him to at least call for his lawyer, but he didn’t.

  “We know Mr. Prentiss made sure to have an alibi for his precise whereabouts, but you didn’t.”

  Mr. Addington’s fingers curled into the palms of his hands. Evie could see his teeth clenching and his eyes narrowing.

  “You returned to the hotel later that afternoon with the woman pretending to be your wife. You cleaned the scene of the crime and at just after five o’clock, you pushed your wife off the balcony. Then, you made your way downstairs where you mingled with the hotel guests.”

  Mr. Addington exploded. “Nonsense.”

  “Yes, I thought you might say that.” The detective turned and signaled to one of the police officers standing by the door. He opened the door and someone stepped inside.

  Evie couldn’t see the person’s face because the detective blocked her view but in the next instant, she heard the woman gasp.

  “May. My dear. You’re alive.”

  Epilogue

  “Right under our noses.” Evie shook her head. The answer had been so simple. Once they’d suspected May Fields of faking her death and taking over someone else’s identity, they should have remembered Mrs. Johnstone.

  The police had put everyone in handcuffs and taken them away, leaving Evie to discuss what they’d just witnessed with the others.

  “To think,” Caro said, “if you hadn’t been bored with your trip to the seaside, you would never have thought of suspecting anyone.”

  Evie grinned. “I’m sure it had something to do with the police not wanting to question us.”

  Tom laughed. “You really took exception to that.”

  The detective walked into the library. Shaking his head, he sat down.

  “Congratulations, detective,” Evie said.

  “Thank you, my lady. Now we have the hard task of putting together a solid case against them. Your man of business was extremely helpful, providing us with the pertinent information which tied everything up for us, including information about Mr. Addington making travel arrangements. It appears they were planning on making their escape within a few days and Ruth Charles was going to join them in America as a reward for her part in the conspiracy. Your man of business even found Mrs. Addington’s maid who told him about her wish to seek a divorce. I had been in the middle of trying to process all the information he’d sourced when I remembered you mentioning Mrs. Johnstone. If we were to prove your suspicions correct, we needed someone to identify May Fields.”

  “Has she said anything yet?” Evie asked.

  “She’s claiming her life had been threatened by Mr. Prentiss if she didn’t co-operate. Ruth Charles has been apprehended. She will need to answer charges of conspiring to murder. I believe they will all turn on each other but the harshest penalty will befall on Mr. Addington for striking the fatal blow.”

  “So, this was all about money and greed,” Evie murmured.

  “Yes.”

  “Oh, what about the guest who left before her scheduled departure? The one I thought May Fields might have killed.”

  “She has been located, safe and sound.” The detective smiled. “I rather enjoyed Caro’s theory.”

  “Yes, we all did,” Evie said. “I just don’t understand why they lingered at the hotel for so long. I realize they might have been trying to avoid suspicion, but an early departure would have been justified. I remember thinking if someone had died in my room, I would have requested another room. In hindsight, I believe I would have simply left early.”

  The detective nodded. “That was definitely a mistake on their part. Clearly, they were confident of getting away with murder.” The detective dug inside his coat pocket. “I have a photograph from the mortuary.” He took it out and slipped it back in. “There is no point in showing it. I doubt anyone could have recognized the victim from the photograph. The damage to the face was quite severe.”

  They all fell silent.

  A waiter came in carrying a tray of tea and coffee.

  “Will you join us, detective?”

  “Thank you, my lady.” He helped himself to a cup of tea. As he stirred in some sugar, he smiled. “I just informed Detective Inspector Hopper about the key role you played in finding the killer.”

  Tom laughed under his breath. “You robbed Lady Woodridge of the pleasure of seeing his reaction.”

  “My apologies. I wish I could have been more accommodating,” the detective said.

  “I’m not complaining, inspector. At least you allowed us to remain here while you wrapped up this case.”

  “Yes, that was rather unusual. I considered sending in a note requesting that you leave the l
ibrary.”

  “Oh, I’m so glad you didn’t.”

  “Will you be sharing your travel tales with the dowager?” the detective asked.

  “I would hardly know where to begin.”

  Tom smiled at Evie. “Do I need to refresh your memory? Let me see… You’d been quite bored with the idea of being at the seaside, something I’m sure the dowager would empathize with.”

  She laughed. “I was not. I merely needed some time to… find my sea legs.”

  The detective set his teacup down. “I take it you will remain here for the rest of the week.”

  “Yes, I have to walk on the beach barefoot and build a sand castle… Oh and collect some seashells. Yes, I feel I should take something tangible back with me. Proof that I have spent my time wisely… minding my own business…”

  I hope you’ve enjoyed reading Murder at the Seaside Hotel.

  Next in the series: Book 6 – Murder in the Third Act.

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  Author Notes - Facts and Historical references

  All care has been taken to remain historically correct. Normally, I include a list of words or phrases which had been in use well before the 1920s. This time, however, I am only including one.

  Top drawer: The drawer in question here is the highest drawer of a bedroom chest of drawers. This was where the gentry kept their most valuable items: jewelry, best clothes etc. The phrase ‘top-drawer’ was initially used to denote a person’s level of social standing, based on their family background. The earliest citation of the phrase comes from the English writer Horace Vachell, in the novel The Hill, a Romance of Friendship, 1905

  Other books by Sonia Parin

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