That first step came an hour later, when P.C. Northcott arrived on the scene. “The doctor h’examined the body,” he told Cecily, when she took him into her office to discuss the matter. “The girl was strangled. No doubt about that. Her neck was black and blue. I could actually see the thumb prints on her throat.”
Cecily shuddered. “Has her mother been informed?”
“The doctor is with her now. I thought it best he be the one to break the bad news. Just in case she went into shock or something.” The constable rocked back on his heels, hands behind his back.
He always did that when he was embarrassed, and Cecily guessed he had asked Kevin Prestwick to tell Mrs. Tidwell her daughter had been murdered because he was too spineless to do it himself.
“Do you have any idea who might have done this?” She was still reluctant to share her suspicions just yet. Perhaps, with Madeline’s help, she wouldn’t have to leave it up to him to solve the murders, after all.
Northcott puffed out his chest and stuck his thumbs in the breast pockets of his uniform. “Yes, m’m, I do. I have all that worked out.”
She stared at him, unable to believe what she had just heard. “You do? Who-?” She broke off as someone rapped on the door.
A second later Baxter stuck his head in the gap and glared at P.C. Northcott. “I thought I told you to alert me when you arrived.”
“Didn’t see you around, did I.” The constable turned his back on him, infuriating Baxter even more.
Cecily winced. There had always been bad blood between her husband and the constable, due to Northcott having stolen away Baxter’s sweetheart when they were quite young. The feud had simmered for years, and although neither man ever spoke of it, the air bristled with hostility anytime the two of them were together.
“The constable was just about to tell me who killed our maid,” Cecily said, as Baxter charged across the room like a wounded elephant.
“How terribly decent of him,” Baxter muttered.
Northcott sniffed. “I wasn’t going to tell you anything, Mrs. B. After all, this is police business. Seeing as how you asked, however, I s’pose it wouldn’t hurt to inform you of the events of two nights ago, h’as I see it.”
“Spit it out, then.” Baxter folded his arms and looked menacing. “We’re both waiting with bated breath.”
He got a dark glare from Northcott, who then turned to Cecily. “It were like this. It came to my notice that the deceased were fond of each other. Or, at least, the young footman was sweet on the maid, but she had eyes for another. Namely, your stable manager, Samuel.”
Cecily exchanged a startled look with Baxter. “Samuel? Are you certain?” She was remembering Samuel’s distress when he told her about finding the body. At the time she’d thought he was simply in shock at seeing such a grisly scene, but now she wondered if he had a deeper reason to be so upset.
“Oh, yes, m’m. One of your other maids saw them together. She told me all about it. It was quite plain, she says, that the deceased female-”
“Her name, sir, was Ellie Tidwell,” Baxter said, rudely butting in. “Please have the decency to use her proper name. She may be dead, but she still deserves some respect.”
The constable didn’t even glance in his direction as he continued, “-was sweet on the young man. Any’ow, this is what I think happened. Your footman saw them together, and in a fit of jealous rage, strangled the maid. You’d be surprised how many young men decide that if they can’t have the object of their affection, then no one else will have ’em, either.”
“Really. How terribly selfish of them.” Cecily sent Baxter a shake of her head as he opened his mouth to interrupt again. “Do go on, Sam.”
“Yes, well, then once he realized what he’d done, he was full of remorse, weren’t he. So he rushed up to the roof and threw himself orf.”
“Threw himself off,” Cecily repeated solemnly.
“Yes, m’m. That’s what I said. He threw himself orf. Head first. Like he was diving into the sea.” He stroked his chin. “Of course, if he had dived into the sea, instead of the cement path of the rose garden, he might well have survived. Not that he wanted to survive, of course, otherwise he wouldn’t have thrown himself orf the-”
“For God’s sake, man, get to the blasted point!”
Northcott drew himself up as tall as he could manage and glared at Baxter. “I thought I had.”
“In that case, there’s just one thing I’d like to know.”
Baxter’s expression made Cecily nervous. She tried to catch his eye but he avoided looking at her. “Did he happen to throw the gargoyle down first and then deliberately fall on top of it, by any chance?”
Northcott lifted a finger in the air. “Ah, I was coming to that.”
“Oh, jolly good. I was afraid we’d be left to puzzle that one out for ourselves.”
Cecily loudly cleared her throat. “Please, Sam, go on.”
“Yes, well, it’s quite obvious to someone what is an expert at deductions, isn’t it. He changed his mind at the last minute, didn’t he. That’s what happened.” He nodded at Cecily, his bottom lip jutting out. “Not the first time I’ve seen that happen, neither.”
“He changed his mind,” Baxter said. “How utterly inconvenient.”
“Yes, well, he must have grabbed ahold of the gargoyle to stop himself from falling. Of course, it wasn’t tied down enough to hold his weight, was it, so down it came with him. Poof! He’s dead, isn’t he. Cracked his head open, poor blighter. Though I suppose some would say it’s poetic justice. Having taken the life of that young girl and all.”
Cecily sent a wary glance at her husband. His face had turned scarlet and she could see he was gathering breath to explode. “That’s extremely astute of you, Sam,” she said hurriedly. “I suppose this means you will be closing the case in your report?”
“Quite, Mrs. B. After all, we don’t want to have any unpleasantness over the Christmas season, now do we? I shall give a full report to the inspector right after the New Year, and I’m quite sure he will agree with my deductions.”
Baxter rolled his eyes but mercifully kept quiet. Cecily let out her breath. She was certain now that she did not want Sam Northcott bothering her guests with his endless questions and ridiculous assumptions. Far better that he believe the scenario he had given them and leave them in peace.
Meanwhile she had a week or so to find the killer before the inspector became involved. That was something she would try to avoid at all costs.
Inspector Cranshaw had long ago formed the opinion that the Pennyfoot was a den of iniquity and should be shut down forever. Anytime he had reason to investigate a crime on or near the premises, it raised the possibility of him getting his wish.
So far Cecily had managed to stay one step ahead of him at all times. She would be the first to admit, however, that sooner or later, he would find the excuse he was looking for to be rid of the Pennyfoot and everyone connected with it. She was equally determined to prevent that happening anytime soon.
“Well, if that be all, I’ll be orf.” P.C. Northcott reached for his helmet and shoved it on his head. “I’m sorry this here unfortunate incident has put a dampener on your festivities, Mrs. B., but in spite of everything, I do wish you a very happy Christmas.”
“Thank you, Sam. And I wish the same to you and your family.”
Northcott touched his helmet with his fingers and inclined his head. “I… ah… don’t suppose Mrs. Chubb has a mince pie or two to spare?”
“I’m sure she will be able to find something for you.” Cecily ignored her husband’s grunt of disgust. “Just stop by the kitchen and tell her I sent you.”
“Much obliged, Mrs. B., I’m sure.” Without looking at Baxter he passed him by, muttering, “Good day, sir.”
“It will be,” Baxter said, as the door closed behind the constable, “now that he’s gone.”
“Hush,” Cecily warned, raising her finger to her lips. “We can’t afford to annoy him. We don’t want him bringing Cranshaw down on our heads.”
Baxter frowned. “I should say that Inspector Cranshaw is exactly what we need. That confounded fool, Northcott, would say anything to avoid having to do his duty and investigate a murder during his Christmas holidays. He must be really irked that he had to stay in Badgers End this year. Usually when something like this happens, he’s away visiting relatives. Dashed convenient for him if you ask me.”
“Yes, dear. We don’t, however, need the inspector breathing down our necks, either. Not while we are attempting to entertain our guests.”
Baxter tilted his chin down and frowned at her. “May I remind you that two of our servants have died by someone’s hand in quick succession. Obviously some madman. There could be more deaths. We must notify the inspector as soon as possible. If he can’t come himself he can at least send someone more capable than that clown, Northcott.”
Cecily drew a deep breath. “Can we at least wait until the New Year? By then Sam will have given his report to Cranshaw and he can make his own decisions.”
“Don’t you mean that by then you might just have solved the murders and apprehended the killer?”
She gave him a small smile. “There’s always that possibility, I suppose.”
Baxter drew himself up and shook his head. “Absolutely not!”
Cecily tightened her mouth. “You are not, by any chance, forbidding me to look into this, are you?”
Some of the fire went out of his eyes. “I know how futile that is, my dear. I would, however, ask you to reconsider, knowing my feelings on the subject.”
“As you do mine. I am every bit as aware as you are that we could have a killer in our midst who just might strike again. All the more important for me to get busy and find out who is behind these murders.”
“Isn’t that why we have policemen?”
“You know very well that our only constable in Badgers End is Northcott. If we go to the constabulary in Wellercombe, Inspector Cranshaw will be only too happy to make our lives miserable. You also know how devastating that could be for our guests, not to mention the very real possibility that the inspector will finally lose patience and use the opportunity to shut us down.”
Baxter sighed. “I wonder why I inevitably end up losing this argument.”
Cecily smiled to soften her words. “I often wonder why you even give me an argument, knowing the outcome.”
“One always lives in hope that good sense will prevail.” He moved to the door. “I trust that we have the same arrangement as always? That you do not put yourself in harm’s way without telling me where you are going and with whom? Preferably me.”
“Of course.” She held up her hand to prevent him leaving. “Wait! You were about to confide in me earlier, about what has been keeping you in such a morose mood. This business of poor Ellie put it completely out of my mind until now. What was it you wished to tell me?”
He opened his mouth to answer her, then closed it again with a shake of his head.
Dismayed, she moved toward him. “Are you in some kind of trouble?”
“No.” Again he sighed. “Well, I suppose so. Not me, personally, but the business. It hasn’t been doing well. I’m thinking of closing it down.”
“Oh, Bax, I’m so sorry. I know how much you enjoyed working for yourself.”
“Not really.” His smile barely made it past his lips. “It has become quite a bore traveling to and from the city on the train. I have so little time to spend with you. When I do close the office and have time to spare, in the summer and at Christmastime, that is when you are most busy. It’s all getting a little tiresome.”
Worried now, she reached for his hand. “Bax, I know how important your work is for you. Can’t you continue your business from here? You could have my office, while I could move my things-”
“No!” He shook his head and clasped her hand to his chest. “Cecily, my precious, this isn’t the time to discuss it. I do have some suggestions, but they can wait until we have this appalling business of murder cleared up and our guests are safely on their way back home. Then we can sit down and talk about our future.”
She felt a cold pang of fear and clutched his hand more tightly. “Our future?”
“Well, of course.” He kissed her fingers and let her go. “My future is inevitably fused with yours, is it not? Now, I have some work to do. I trust we shall be able to enjoy a quiet meal this evening in our suite?”
Full of misgivings, she nodded. “Yes, but perhaps we should-”
“No buts.” He opened the door and walked out into the hallway. “Until this evening, my love.”
Before she could answer him, he was gone.
She closed the door and returned to her chair. Sighing, she rested her chin in her hands. Something told her that she was not going to like Baxter’s suggestions for their future. Right now, however, she could not allow herself to stew over it.
Knowing him as well as she did, he would tell her in his own good time and not before, so she would be simply wasting her breath trying to dig it out of him. She would simply have to wait until he was ready.
Meanwhile, she had enough on her mind to deal with, and the sooner she got to work on her investigation the better. Reaching for the telephone, she lifted the receiver to her ear. The operator answered her a few seconds later and she asked to be put through to Dr. Prestwick’s office.
Moments later his efficient voice answered her. “Cecily! How nice to hear from you. I’d be flattered that you rang me were I not certain that you are calling to ask about the murder of your maid.”
She smiled. “How did you guess?”
“As soon as I realized that she was one of your employees, I expected to hear from you.”
“Well, my reason for ringing you is twofold. It’s true, I would like to know your thoughts on Ellie’s murder.”
“Not much to tell you, I’m afraid. She was strangled. Her body was covered in coal dust, suggesting she had either been killed in your coal shed, or thrown there afterward. Probably until the killer had an opportunity to move the body.”
“Oh, my.” Cecily briefly closed her eyes. “Can you tell me when she died?”
Prestwick hesitated, as she’d expected.
“Kevin, I know you’re not supposed to tell me anything, but Ellie and Charlie were members of my staff, and you know what that means to me. I’d like to help, if I could, and knowing when Ellie and Charlie died would help a great deal.”
She heard the doctor’s sigh. “Very well, Cecily. If it were anyone but you…”
“Yes, I know, and I’m deeply grateful, Kevin. I promise I won’t mention to anyone what you tell me.”
“All right, then. The best I can estimate, Ellie’s death occurred somewhere between seven and ten o’clock two nights ago. Charlie died maybe an hour or so later.” He paused, then added, “I assume you know what is in Northcott’s report?”
“Yes, he believes Charlie killed Ellie then threw himself from the roof. Is that what you think?”
“I try not to second-guess the constable,” he said, with just a hint of rebuke. “All I can tell you is how and roughly when they died.”
“I understand, Kevin. Thank you.”
“I can tell you this,” he went on, surprising her. “It would seem that she had been wearing a necklace of some sort, which is now missing.”
Cecily caught her breath. “A necklace? Could it have broken while she was being strangled?”
“I don’t think so. There’s a deep slit in her neck above the bruises. I’d be more inclined to think the necklace was deliberately torn off her.”
It wasn’t much, Cecily thought. Still, it was something. A necklace, deliberately torn from Ellie’s neck. Why? And if so, where was it now?
“I have just one small favor to ask of you,” she said, as Kevin Prestwick prepared to hang up. “I’m having some crumpets delivered from Dolly’s tea shop tomorrow morning, and I was wondering if Madeline would like to join me for a spot of tea around eleven. With Angelina, of course. Would you pass on my invitation?”
“I’d be happy to do so. Madeline mentioned that she wanted to do a spot of shopping. I’m sure she’d be delighted to stop by. I know how much she loves Dolly’s crumpets.”
He bid her good day and hung up. Cecily was about to replace the receiver on its hook when she heard a cough on the line. “Is that you, operator?” she demanded, incensed by the intrusion. “May I remind you that eavesdropping is breaking the rules and could very well cost you your employment.”
The line clicked, and then hummed. Frowning, Cecily replaced the receiver. It had never occurred to her before that someone could be listening in to her conversations. As far as she knew, this was the first time this had happened. Perhaps the telephone exchange had hired a new operator.
Now the news could be all over town that two of her employees had been murdered and that she was investigating the crimes. Not only would that alert the killer, it could put her life in danger, as well as cause a great deal of trouble for Kevin.
From now on, she decided, she would have to conduct her private conversations in person. Apparently there were a good many disadvantages to this modern technology. Thoroughly disgruntled, she went in search of Samuel.
She found him in the courtyard, throwing a stick for a large, lanky dog who looked as if a good bath would do wonders for her appearance.
“I need you to do something for me,” she said, as Samuel greeted her. “I need you to search the coal shed and the backyard to see if you can find a necklace.”
Samuel looked at her in surprise. “You lost a necklace in the coal shed, m’m? What does it look like?”
“I don’t know what it looks like, Samuel. It isn’t mine.” She paused, then added quietly, “It belonged to Ellie. It was missing when the doctor examined her and I just wondered if perhaps it got lost in the scuffle.”
Samuel’s expression changed, and he looked down at the ground. “Oh, I see. I’ll take a look, m’m. I’ll let you know if I find anything.”
“Samuel?”
He looked up, but now she could see nothing in his face to tell her what he was feeling.
“Were you and Ellie… involved romantically?”
Samuel’s cheeks glowed red and he shuffled his feet as once more he dropped his gaze. “Course not, m’m. We were just friends, that’s all. I liked her, but not in that way, if you get my meaning.”
Feeling relieved, though she wasn’t quite sure why, Cecily said cheerfully, “Of course I understand, Samuel. Forget I asked. I would appreciate it if you would tell me if you find the necklace.”
“Yes, m’m. Right away.” He turned and whistled to the dog, who came loping over to him with her furry tail wagging.
“This is your new pet, I assume.” Cecily offered the back of her hand to the dog and received a wet lick across her fingers.
“Yes, m’m. This is Tess. She’s a good dog. If it hadn’t been for her we might never have found Ellie.” He patted the dog’s head, and a pair of adoring eyes stared back at him. “I hope Pansy is feeling better. She just about fainted when I told her. I wouldn’t let her see the body.” He looked at Cecily then and once more his eyes were moist. “I’d like to get my hands on whoever did that to Ellie.”
Cecily patted his shoulder. “We’ll find him, Samuel, never you fear. And when we do, we will see that justice is served.”
“Yes, m’m.”
“Meanwhile, Samuel, keep a sharp lookout, will you? Not only for yourself, but for everyone downstairs.”
Alarm slashed across his face. “You don’t think he’s after someone else, do you?”
“I don’t know what to think. I certainly hope not, but I don’t think we can rule out the possibility.” She tried to sound confident when she added, “Just be on your guard, though, all right?”
“You bet I will, m’m.” Samuel patted the dog again. “So will Tess, won’t you, girl.”
Cecily rather doubted that the friendly dog would be much defense against a ruthless killer, but if it made Samuel feel better to think so, then she certainly wouldn’t argue.
On her way back to the building she spotted Clive digging up potatoes in the vegetable plot and hurried over there to have a word with him.
He straightened when he saw her, and wiped a sleeve across his forehead. “Nasty business, this, m’m.”
“It is, indeed.” Cecily peered up at him. “I suppose Samuel told you he found Ellie?”
“Yes, m’m. He was shaken up, all right. It must have been a shock for him.”
“I’m sure it was.” She hesitated, then added, “Clive, I’m sure you’re aware that we could have a dangerous criminal still lurking around the Pennyfoot. With two of our staff dead, I’m worried there could be more. I’ve asked Samuel to be on guard, and I’d appreciate it if you would keep an eye open for anything unusual or suspicious.”
“I already made up my mind on that, m’m.”
“Good. That makes me feel a little easier. Thank you, Clive.”
She left him, somewhat reassured. Clive was big enough and strong enough to wrestle a bear, and she had no doubt he would take care of anyone who threatened to harm one of her staff. She had done all she could do to protect everyone. Now it was time to start looking for answers. All she could hope was to find them before someone else got hurt.