With Samuel close on her heels, Cecily marched down the alleyway next to the butcher’s shop and paused in front of a shabby entrance. Twisting the handle with her gloved hand, she pushed the door open and stepped inside the dark hallway.
A cat meowed and slunk past her, escaping into the daylight beyond. Behind her, Samuel growled deep in his throat. “What’s that awful smell?”
Cecily wrinkled her nose. “I imagine it’s animal waste.”
“Ugh.”
Her sentiments precisely. Nothing smelled quite as bad as a butcher’s shop at the height of the Christmas rush. Holding her breath, she climbed the stairs to the flat above.
She had barely reached the landing when she heard a shrill scream from inside the flat. Without wasting another moment, she raised her fist and pounded on the door. “Gloria? Open this door, please. It’s Mrs. Baxter.”
For a long moment she could hear no sound from within. Once more she pummeled the door and this time was rewarded by a muffled whimper. With a warning look at Samuel, she called out, “Open this door at once or we’ll break it down.”
A voice answered her, so full of menace she hardly recognized it as belonging to Sidney Barrett. “Get out of here, before someone gets hurt.”
Cecily tightened her lips. She beckoned to Samuel once more and he came forward, his eyes wide with concern. “Don’t you think we should ring for the constable first?”
“P.C. Northcott is in London,” she muttered. “We don’t have time to wait for a constable from Wellercombe. Besides, Mr. Parker should be on his way, and not too far behind. We just need to play for time until he gets here.”
Samuel’s eyes widened even more. “Parker? What’s he got to do with anything?”
“He’s a private investigator.” Cecily shook her head. “We don’t have time for explanations now, Samuel. We have to get inside that room.”
Samuel eyed the door. He wasn’t exactly a robust young man. In fact, he was rather on the skinny side, but Cecily had seen him in action plenty of times before, and knew he was stronger than he looked. Wrestling with horses all day strengthened his muscles. She wasn’t so sure about his resolve.
“Just throw your shoulder against it,” she said, giving him an encouraging push toward the door. “It looks frail enough. It should give under your weight.”
Sid must have heard her, as he yelled out, “You try coming in here and I’ll make you sorry you ever laid eyes on me.”
Gloria started to call out, too, but her words were cut off as if a hand had been shoved over her mouth.
Samuel sent one last pleading glance at Cecily.
“Now, Samuel.” She patted his shoulder. “I’ll be right behind you.”
Looking even more worried at that assurance, Samuel pulled in a deep breath.
Cecily crossed her fingers and closed her eyes, praying that Archie Parker would get there soon.
A loud thud opened her eyes. Samuel stood in front of the closed door, rubbing his shoulder. “Looks like it’s stronger than we thought.”
Once more Sid yelled. “I’m warning you!”
Samuel frowned. “That twerp is beginning to get on my nerves.” Lifting his foot, he drove his boot into the door, then threw his full weight against it. With an ear-shattering, splintering crash the door flew open and Samuel disappeared.
Before Cecily could draw breath she heard a thud and a grunt from inside the room, and then Gloria screamed. Cecily tore into the room and pulled up short to avoid tripping over Samuel’s crumpled body on the floor. Sid stood over him, a heavy frying pan held in his hand, while Gloria cowered in a corner.
With a cry of dismay, Cecily dropped to her knees. Samuel’s eyes were closed, and he lay motionless, except for the slight rise and fall of his chest. Thank the Lord he was still breathing.
She looked up at Sid, who still held the frying pan aloft as if he would strike again. Anger gave her courage and she glared at him. “Is that how you killed Ian Rossiter?”
His mouth curled into a sneer, though she could see the fear in his eyes. “I don’t let anyone get in the way of what I want. Rossiter made a bad mistake when he stole from me.”
“I can see that.” Carefully, Cecily got to her feet and took a step toward Gloria.
Sid raised the frying pan. “Don’t move! I’d hate to have to hit a lady.”
Glancing over at the shivering woman in the corner, Cecily murmured, “You don’t seem to have any trouble abusing Mrs. Johnson.”
“She knows where her husband hid the jewels.” Sid’s fierce scowl distorted his face. “It’s her own fault if she won’t tell me where they are.”
Gloria switched her terrified gaze to Cecily. “I keep telling him. I don’t know nothing about any jewels. I never saw them. Ian never said anything to me about them. I swear on the Bible.”
“Perhaps he didn’t steal them from you after all,” Cecily said, keeping an eye on Sid as she shifted one foot closer to Gloria.
Sid was staring at Gloria and didn’t notice her transfer her weight and shift again. “She’s a bloody liar. She knows where they are, she just won’t tell me.” He raised the pan higher. “Don’t think you can keep them all for yourself, you rotten bitch.”
Hearing a slight sound, Cecily glanced down at Samuel. He hadn’t moved, but she thought she saw his eyelids flicker. Then she heard the sound again, and quickly coughed to cover it.
“Is it really worth inflicting all this pain for just a few jewels?” She edged over a little farther, so that Sid turned to face her, his back to the door. “I mean, how much can they be worth?”
Sid’s grin was evil. “Wouldn’t you like to know. They’re worth a fortune, that’s what. There’s forty carats of diamonds in the set, all perfectly matched. The biggest haul we ever pulled off. Ian was my fence. He’d done a good job for me before, so I trusted the bugger to get rid of the diamonds for me. The bloody sod took off with them.”
Cecily faked a look of sympathy. “That must have been upsetting. How did you know where to find him?”
A shadow moved outside in the hallway. Gloria whimpered and Cecily shot her a warning look. Sid was reliving his fury now and too angry to pay attention to her.
“He told me he used to work at the Pennyfoot and married the chief housemaid there. When I found out he’d left town I guessed he’d go running back to her.” He glanced at Gloria. “He never told me about that one. If he had I would’ve had the jewels back by now.”
Cecily shifted backward an inch or two. “So you applied for the job at the club to wait for Ian to make an appearance?”
“Yeah. I knew it wouldn’t be long and sure enough, he showed up that night. I was going to follow him home, but when he went inside the club on his own, I met him in the lobby.” He glared at Cecily. “What difference does it make, anyway? I’m not going to stand around here talking all day. Tell her to give me back the jewels. Then I’ll get out of here and leave you all alone.”
“I told you, I don’t know nothing about them.” Gloria burst into loud sobbing, and Sid rolled his eyes.
Raising the pan again, he took a step toward Cecily. “Tell me where they are or she gets it.”
Gloria cried harder.
“You’ve already killed one man,” Cecily said, backing away. “Isn’t that enough for a few diamonds?”
“I didn’t mean to kill him. I hit him too hard, that’s all.” Sid’s expression grew desperate. “I was angry. I trusted that bugger and he betrayed me. Nobody does that to Sid Barrett. Nobody.”
A movement in the doorway snatched Cecily’s attention. She saw Archie Parker take a step forward and Sid begin to turn. Before either one of them could react, a whirlwind of fury in the shape of her chief housemaid hurtled past the detective, straight at Sid.
Gertie’s hand was raised above her head and clutched in her fingers was a candlestick. With a howl of rage she brought it down on Sid’s head. His look of shock was almost comical, then his eyes rolled up in his head and he crumpled to the floor.
“That,” Gertie said, her voice high-pitched and shrill, “is for killing Ian, you rotten sod.”
“Good God, woman.” Archie bent over the fallen jewel thief. “You could have killed him.”
Gertie wasn’t listening. She’d caught sight of Samuel lying on the floor, his eyes open and a dazed look on his face. “Crikey, Samuel.” She dropped to the floor beside him. “What the bloody hell are you doing down there?”
“Resting.” Samuel gave her a weak grin. “You’ve got a wicked right arm, there, Gertie. Ever thought of joining a cricket team?”
“Go on with you.” She took hold of his hand and pulled him up to a sitting position. “I see you brought your whip with you. Why didn’t you use it?”
“Didn’t have time.”
“Well, he gave you a pretty good crack on the head. You’ve got a bloody bump the size of an egg.”
Samuel explored his head with his fingers and winced. “I didn’t see that coming.”
Archie picked up the cast iron frying pan from the floor. “This did almost as much damage as the candlestick.”
Gertie looked at Sid, who had started to groan. “Well, at least I didn’t kill him with it. More’s the pity.”
Cecily, who had moved over to Gloria the minute Sid hit the floor, had an arm around the trembling woman. “Did he hurt you?” she asked, her voice just a little shaky.
Gloria rubbed her arm. “A few bruises here and there but I’ll be all right. Not like poor old Ian.” She glared at Sid, who still lay on his back. “I can’t believe that bugger killed him.”
“And tried to put the blame on me,” Gertie added, looking as if she’d hit him again at the slightest provocation.
“I hope that isn’t the same candlestick that he used on Rossiter,” Archie said, pulling a pair of handcuffs from his pocket. He bent over and snapped one end on Sid’s wrist, then snapped the other end on his own arm.
“Nah. I grabbed this one off the hallstand on the way out.” Gertie helped Samuel to his feet. He looked a little pale and not too steady on his feet, but he managed a wobbly smile. “Think of everything, don’t you, luv.”
“I do me best.” Gertie looked anxiously at Cecily. “Mr. Parker insisted I come along with him, m’m. He didn’t know where the shop was and I had to tell him everything that was going on. I know Mrs. Chubb is going to be after me for leaving like that, but I didn’t have time to explain and-”
“It’s all right, Gertie.” Cecily dug in her pocket for her handkerchief and handed it to Gloria, who was still sniffling. “I’ll explain to Mrs. Chubb.”
“Thank you, m’m.” Gertie tilted her head at Archie. “Did you know this bloke is a detective, like Sherlock Holmes?”
“Yes, I did actually.” Cecily smiled at him. “Thank you for getting here so fast.”
“My pleasure, m’m.” He hauled Sid, who looked as if he would rather still be lying on the floor, to his feet. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’ll take this scoundrel into Wellercombe for charging. All right if I take the trap? The rest of you can go back in the carriage, right?”
“Oh, please.” Cecily waved her arm at the door. “I don’t want to see that man’s face again if I can help it.”
“Yes, well, you might have to say your piece at the trial.” Archie shoved the sullen-faced Sid toward the door. “I wouldn’t want him to slip through our fingers now that we got him for murder.”
“It’s not murder if I didn’t mean to kill him,” Sid protested.
“Well, we’ll see what the judge has to say about that.” The two of them disappeared down the stairs, with Sid arguing all the way down that he couldn’t be charged with murder.
Cecily hurried over to Samuel, who still seemed a little dazed. “Are you all right? Should we take you to see Dr. Prestwick?”
Samuel shook his head, then winced. “No, m’m. I’ll be fine. I just want to get everyone back home, that’s all.”
“I feel responsible, Samuel.” Cecily felt a little queasy at the sight of the bump on his head. “I ordered you to bust open the door. I really didn’t expect that dreadful man to hit you.”
“It’s all right, m’m. It was worth it to see him taken away in cuffs.”
“Yes, I have to agree, I felt relieved about that. Now we’d best hurry back to the Pennyfoot. We are dreadfully late for the midday meal, and I have a few things to take care of before getting ready for the carol singing this evening.”
Gertie made a little sound and Cecily turned to her. “Were you going to say something, Gertie?”
“No, m’m.” Gertie’s face looked a little strained, and no wonder, after everything that had happened. “I was just thinking about the carol singing, that’s all.”
“Ah, yes. I’m looking forward to it.” Cecily glanced at Gloria, who seemed to be recovering nicely. “I hope you will join us this evening.”
The young woman smiled. “I’d like that very much.”
“Good, then that’s settled.” Cecily headed for the door. “Come, let us leave this place.”
“Just one moment, m’m?”
Cecily paused, and looked back at Gloria. “Yes?”
“I have to get something first.” She moved over to the fireplace and lifted up the coal scuttle. After setting it aside, she pried up four of the tiles from the hearth, then reached inside.
Cecily wasn’t terribly surprised when Gloria held up a black velvet box.
Gertie, however, uttered a loud gasp. “The jewels! You swore on the Bible you didn’t have them!”
Gloria sniffed. “I wasn’t holding one at the time, though, was I.”
“That don’t make no difference.” Gertie looked at Cecily for help.
Cecily gave her a slight shake of her head. “What matters is that the jewels are safe. We must see that they get back to the rightful owners.”
“Do we have to?” Gloria clutched the box to her chest. “I was hoping to keep them. After all, I lost my husband because of these.”
Gertie snorted. “Where do you go where you can wear a blinking fortune in jewelry?”
“I wasn’t going to wear them.” Gloria smiled. “I was going to sell them. What I’d get for these would set me up for life.”
“What you’d get for those,” Cecily said dryly, “would be a few years in prison. That’s stolen property, young lady, and highly recognizable. It has to be returned.”
“Can I get a peek at them first?” Gertie held out her hand for the box. “I never saw real jewelry close up.”
Gloria looked as if she would refuse, but Cecily took the box from her unwilling hands and opened it.
Light from the gas lamp on the wall set the jewels ablaze. Even Cecily gasped at the sparkle of brilliant color dancing in her hands. “These are magnificent,” she said, her voice hushed with awe.
“Bloody hell.” Gertie leaned in for a closer look. “I could fancy meself with those around my neck.”
“I hate to intrude on the all the admiration,” Samuel said faintly from across the room. “But I have one monster of a headache, and if you want me to drive you home I think we’d better go now.”
“Oh, poor Samuel.” Instantly contrite, Cecily snapped the lid of the jewelry box shut. “Come, let us get back to the Pennyfoot where the poor dear boy can rest. We want everyone to enjoy the carol singing this evening.”
She smiled at Gertie, concerned to see the sour look on her housemaid’s face. It was obvious Gertie was upset about something. She would have to ask her about it later, but for now her first priority was to get Samuel back to the club and off his feet. Right now he looked as if he was having trouble staying upright.
Holding the precious jewels tightly in her grasp, she led the way downstairs and out into the fresh air.
By the time they arrived back at the Pennyfoot, Samuel was looking very much the worse for wear. Cecily ordered him to his room, with a promise to look in on him later. She then followed Gertie to the kitchen, where Michel was crashing saucepans around in a high fit of temper.
Mrs. Chubb’s face turned red at the sight of Gertie, but before she could open her mouth, Cecily hastily intervened.
“You must excuse Gertie,” she said, as the housemaid scuttled over to the sink to give the maids a hand. “She had to come to my rescue and was extremely brave in attacking a rather nasty villain. I’m sure she’ll tell you all about it later, but right now I have urgent business elsewhere.”
Mrs. Chubb’s face wore a look of astonishment. “Very well, m’m. By the way, Mr. Baxter was in here looking for you. He seemed upset about something.”
“Oh, heavens.” Leaving Mrs. Chubb to stare after her, Cecily flew through the door and down the hallway.
Arriving at her suite a few minutes later, out of breath and apprehensive, she paused to compose herself before entering.
Baxter was in his usual chair, his face hidden behind a newspaper. Without bothering to lower it he said quietly, “So there you are.”
“I’m sorry, darling.” She hurried over to him, anxious to make amends. “I’m afraid time got away from me.”
“You know you missed the midday meal.”
Suddenly realizing she was starving, she uttered a sigh. “So I did. I’ll have Mrs. Chubb send up something a little later when things calm down in the kitchen.”
The newspaper rattled as he lowered it. “Where were you?”
“It’s a long story, my love.” She pulled off her scarf and hat and threw them on the sofa. Raising the jewel box, she added, “I found the jewels.”
He frowned. “What jewels?”
“Oh, didn’t I mention them to you?” Taking a seat, she began to tell him everything that had happened.
His face grew longer and more alarmed as she got to the part about breaking into the flat. Expecting a lecture from him, she was surprised when she finished her account of the afternoon’s activities without any comment from him at all.
His silence made her more nervous then any amount of shouting would have. She peered at him, fearing the worst. Had she finally overstepped the boundaries? Had he given up on her entirely, and no longer cared what happened to her?
She waited for what seemed an eternity, then whispered, “Are you very angry with me? I had to go after Sid, don’t you see? He’d killed Ian, and I was afraid he’d kill Gloria, too.”
Baxter sighed and passed a hand across his forehead. “I don’t think you realize how I feel when you disappear and I have no idea where you’ve gone. Given your penchant for attracting danger, I can only sit in fear for your safety, with no real assurance that I will ever see you again.”
“I’m sorry, I-”
She broke off with a gasp as he surged to his feet and pulled her into his arms. “What would I do without you, my dearest? I ask myself that every time you engage in these precarious escapades. When will you ever give up such treacherous ventures? When you finally meet your match and lose the game? Is that my destiny? To lose you to a clever and fiendish criminal?”
“No, my love, I pray not.” She clung to him, full of remorse. “I do not expose myself to such dangers without considering the risks, or making certain I have some protection. Samuel was with me this afternoon, and Mr. Parker not far behind.”
Baxter sighed and let her go. “Very well, I shall simply have to grow old before my time with the worry of it all.”
She smiled. “You will always be young to me, my love. Now finish reading your newspaper while I put these jewels in a safe place. Then I’ll order something to eat and we’ll have a nice rest. I’m looking forward to singing carols with you tonight, and I want to look my best. At least now I’ll be able to enjoy the evening knowing that Lady Roslyn and Mrs. Chubb have recovered their jewelry and once more justice has been served.”
“At a cost to my good looks,” Baxter muttered, getting in the last word as usual.
Gertie stood near the window of the library, with one eye on the street. Guests and staff alike had been invited to the ceremony, and the room was packed, with every chair taken and many people standing around the Christmas tree.
Madeline stood next to her husband, her bare toes peeking out from under the hem of her flowing cotton frock. Defying expectations that her attire would become more appropriate once she was the doctor’s wife, Madeline continued to dress as she pleased, still raising eyebrows everywhere she went with her bohemian style of fashion. Gertie admired that. No one told Madeline Pengrath Prestwick what to do.
She glanced across the room to where Phoebe Carter-Holmes Fortescue stood hissing at her husband. The colonel’s bushy white eyebrows shot up and down, and he kept tugging on his mustache, but otherwise appeared unaffected by his fussy little wife’s reprimands. Gertie shook her head. Poor bugger. Nothing he ever did would please that woman.
Sighing, she glanced out the huge bay window again, hoping to see Dan’s motorcar pull up outside.
The lamps were lit all along the Esplanade. The shops had closed, and nothing moved on the street. It all looked so peaceful outside, and she felt a sudden longing to be out there, hoping the cold wind from the ocean would blow away her melancholy.
She missed Dan. Her heart ached at the thought of being without him again. This time probably for good. The twins would miss him dreadfully, but in time they’d forget him. She didn’t think she ever would.
All around her, voices were raised in a ragged but joyful rendition of “The Holly and the Ivy.” Someone moved to her side, and she looked into the smiling face of Clive.
“You’re not singing,” he said, bringing his head closer to hers in order to be heard above the chorus.
She shook her head. “Can’t sing, can I. What about you?”
He shrugged. “Not around anyone who can hear me.”
She managed a grin. “We’re in the same boat, then, aren’t we.”
He was smiling, too, but his eyes were serious when he looked at her. “Nice place to be, in the same boat as you.”
Her smile faltered, uncertain how to take that. She was about to answer when another voice grabbed her attention.
“Hello, Gertie.”
Turning, she felt a rush of relief and pleasure. “Dan! You came!”
His smile was all she needed. Warmth seemed to flood the room, and the lamps appeared to grow brighter. Flames leapt higher in the fireplace and the voices now seemed to sing in perfect harmony. Dan was there right in front of her, and it was finally Christmas.
She barely noticed Clive as he murmured a good night and melted away. Putting her hand in Dan’s she said softly, “I’ve been waiting for you.”
For answer he raised her hand to his lips. “Happy Christmas, love.”
And it was.