Decked with Folly (25 page)

A quick glance at the clock told her it was time to go back to her room and relieve Daisy. The twins would hopefully be asleep, so she could just go to bed and drift off herself. Though somehow she knew that with Dan on her mind, as well as all the trouble with thieves and worrying about Clive being a murderer, it would take a long time for her to go to sleep.

Perhaps tomorrow, she thought, as she trudged down the hallway. Perhaps tomorrow they’d find out that Ian was the thief and not Mabel, that someone else and not Clive killed Ian, and that Dan would come to the carol singing like he’d promised and they could make up. That was what she hoped for most of all.

CHAPTER 20

“I told you that Mabel was up to no good.” Gertie pointed to the clock on the kitchen mantelpiece. “I had a feeling when I got up this morning that something was going to go wrong. It’s seven o’clock and she’s still not here.”

Mrs. Chubb sighed. “That’s all we need. The busiest days of the Christmas season and we’re short a maid. Well, you and Pansy will just have to work a bit harder, that’s all.” She wiped her hands on her apron. “I’ll go and tell madam that Mabel’s not here.”

“Well, now you can’t ask her what she was doing in Lady Roslyn’s room.” Gertie slapped a handful of polished forks onto the tray in front of her. “So we still don’t know for sure if she took the jewels or not.”

“You just can’t trust anyone these days, and that’s a fact. You’d better get upstairs and help Pansy with the serving.” Still grumbling to herself, Mrs. Chubb swung open the door and left.

Standing with Pansy at the dumbwaiter a few minutes later, Gertie waited for the load of dishes to arrive, her mind more on the coming evening than on the food waiting to be served. The day stretched before her like an endless ocean, hours to go before she had any hope of seeing Dan. He’d promised to come to the carol singing, and after that, she was supposed to help him distribute the toys to the orphanage.

She had no way of knowing if he would turn up, or if he would want her to help him with the toys. In fact, she didn’t even know if she would see him again, after the way he left her last night.

A sharp nudge in her side made her jump. Pansy was staring at her, her head to one side.

“What?” Gertie swiped a strand of hair out of her eyes. “Did I grow another nose or something?”

Pansy grinned. “I was just wondering what you were thinking. That Sid Barrett walked right past you and you never even blinked an eye.”

“Don’t talk to me about Sid Barrett.” Gertie leaned into the waiter and peered down the shaft. At the bottom someone was loading dishes, and she pulled back. “He’s a shifty one. Up to no good, if you ask me.”

“Go on.” Pansy laughed. “He’s all right. I’ve been thinking about going out with him. He was really nice to me this morning and asked me to go out with him, so I just might do that.”

Gertie gave her a dark look. “If I were you, Pansy Wat son, I’d stay far away from him. There’s something nasty about him, you mark my words.”

Pansy shrugged. “You’re just jealous, that’s all.”

Gertie’s derisive laugh echoed down the hallway. “Jealous? Of that smarmy snake? I wouldn’t trust him farther than my little finger. He’s always snooping around, listening to what everyone is saying. Remember when he was listening to us in the dining room? We didn’t even know he was there.”

Pansy frowned. “Yeah, I do remember. You know, I always thought that was really strange.”

Gertie looked at her. “What was strange?”

“Well, you know, how Sid knew Ian’s last name. When we were standing there talking about Ian dying and everything, we never said his last name. But then Sid came in and called him Ian Rossiter, like he already knew him.”

Gertie stared at her a moment longer. Just then a loud rattle stole her attention and she turned to see the dishes sitting in the dumbwaiter. “Well, we’d better get a move on and get this food served up before it gets cold.”

She grabbed a tray and headed for the dining room. She didn’t want to think about Ian or Sid Barrett. She didn’t even want to think about Dan, because when she did she got an awful ache in her stomach just thinking about what she’d do if he didn’t turn up for the carol singing.

 

 

 

Cecily had risen early that morning, eager to get the day started. The first order of business was to talk to Gloria, and the best way to catch the woman was to wait for her in the hallway outside the dining room.

Baxter was a little put out when Cecily informed him she would meet him at the breakfast table, instead of going down together as they usually did, but when she explained why, he reluctantly agreed.

She was halfway down the stairs when she met Mrs. Chubb panting and puffing on her way up them. The housekeeper looked agitated, and Cecily felt a pang of apprehension, sensing more trouble.

“It’s Mabel,” Mrs. Chubb said, gasping for breath. “She didn’t come in this morning. What’s more, we think she’s the jewel thief.”

Cecily grasped the handrail a little tighter. “Mabel? That’s ridiculous.”

“Well . . .” Mrs. Chubb paused, her hand on her chest while she fought to steady her breathing. “Gertie saw Mabel up on the landing. She was coming out of Lady Roslyn’s room. She told Gertie I sent her up there to change the pillows, but I never did. So what was she doing in there, that’s what I’d like to know? She had to be the one that took the jewels. She must have known we were on to her and that’s why she didn’t come in this morning.”

“Oh, dear.” Cecily glanced down the stairs, relieved to see they were quite alone. “I’m sorry, Altheda. Manage as best you can without her and in the meantime I’ll do my best to find her and bring her back here.”

“Yes, m’m.” The housekeeper clicked her tongue. “She seemed such a quiet little thing. Who would have thought she was a thief.” She turned and clambered back down the stairs, while Cecily followed more slowly.

She had to agree, Mabel certainly didn’t fit her idea of a jewel thief. She was a sad little thing, not too bright and certainly not very industrious. Not at all the kind of person one would think of as a criminal. Cecily shook her head. How could she have been so gullible? She should have better judgement when hiring her staff.

Stationed outside the dining room at the first clang of the breakfast bell, Cecily tried to shake off her melancholy as she greeted each guest as they arrived.

Gloria was one of the last to appear, and she didn’t look at all happy, which was not really surprising considering she had just lost her husband.

Cecily stepped in front of her as she reached the door and gently took her arm. “I won’t keep you more than a minute or two,” she murmured, as she led the surprised woman away from the dining room. “I would like to have a word with you in my office.”

Gloria offered no resistence, but meekly allowed herself to be ushered into Cecily’s office and onto a chair.

“Now,” Cecily said, as she sat down opposite her, “I want to talk to you about the last time you saw your husband.”

Gloria’s expression grew wary. “What about it? I told you all I know.”

“I don’t think you have.” Cecily leaned forward, fastening her gaze on the other woman’s face. “You told me you went to bed after Ian left the house that night, and that you never saw him again.”

Gloria started fidgeting on her chair, but didn’t answer.

Cecily tried again. “According to Bernard McPherson, the owner of the George and Dragon, you went to the public house to find your husband, isn’t that so?”

Gloria stared down at her feet and mumbled, “Yes.”

“Why didn’t you tell me that?”

“I dunno.”

Cecily sighed. “One more thing, how did you know Ian was fighting and received a black eye if you didn’t see him again?”

Gloria jutted her lower lip. “Someone told me.”

“I don’t think so, Gloria. I think you saw Ian later that night, after the fight.”

Gloria shrugged, but remained silent.

Cecily softened her tone. “I want to help you, but you need to tell me everything. What really happened that night?”

Tears squeezed out of Gloria’s eyes and drifted down her cheeks. “It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t been so horrible to him he might have come home with me and then he would still be alive.”

“Why don’t you tell me what happened?”

Gloria lifted her chin, misery dulling her eyes. “When they told me Robert had left the pub, I guessed he’d come here. He wanted to see his children and Gertie wouldn’t let him. So when I heard that he’d been fighting I knew he was in a really bad mood and that he’d probably try to bully Gertie into letting him see the twins.”

“Well, you were right about that.” Cecily leaned back on her chair. “Ian did come here to see Gertie.”

A fierce light glowed in Gloria’s eyes for a moment. “I know. I came here to find him. I came in the back way and I heard him arguing with Gertie. Then I saw her lock him in the coal shed. I waited until she was gone then I went to let him out. She’d taken the key with her, so I had to open a window and Ian climbed out.”

“Ah, so it was you who helped him get out.”

Gloria nodded. “He was spitting mad. So was I. I told him I knew he was trying to get back with Gertie, even though deep down I knew he only wanted his children. We had a terrible argument, and I kept asking him to come home with me, but he wouldn’t. He said he was going to see the twins and nobody was going to stop him.”

She shuddered, and fell silent.

“And that was the last time you saw him?”

After a moment Gloria spoke again, her voice thick with pain. “He stormed off toward the door, and I went the other way, to go home, without him. I never saw him again.”

Cecily waited a moment or two for her to regain her composure. “Why didn’t you tell me all this in the very beginning?”

“I thought I might get blamed for killing him.” Gloria rubbed her upper arms, as if she were cold. “We were arguing, really loudly. I didn’t know if someone might have heard us, and everyone would think I was the one that hit him.”

“I see.” Cecily clasped her hands in front of her. “Did you see anyone else in the yard that night?”

“No, m’m. Only Gertie and Ian.”

“Is there anything else you can tell me? Something you might have forgotten? Something that Ian said that might help us figure out who killed him?”

Gloria lifted her shoulders and let them drop. “Nothing. I wish I did know something, but I don’t.”

“Very well.” Cecily got to her feet. “Thank you, Gloria, for telling me the truth.”

“Yes, m’m. I should have done it before, I know, but I was scared I’d be blamed.”

“That’s all right. It’s understandable, under the circumstances.” Cecily moved to the door and opened it. “But I hope you know that if you are in trouble, or need to talk to someone, you can always come to me. I’m very good at keeping confidences.”

A thin smile washed across the other woman’s face. “Thank you, m’m. You’re very kind. I’ll remember that in future.”

Cecily gave her a few minutes to reach the dining room before following her. Going over their conversation, and what she knew so far, she could now piece together the events of that night.

Ian had come to the kitchen door demanding to see the twins. Gertie had refused. Clive had arrived on the scene and removed Ian, who had then gone down the pub. Dan had come to see Gertie a little later, learned of the quarrel, and gone down the pub to have it out with Ian.

After they’d fought, Ian had returned to the Pennyfoot, followed by Gloria. Ian had met Gertie by the coal shed and she’d locked him in. Gloria had then let him out, quarreled with him, and gone home without him. Gertie had given Clive the key, but by the time Clive got to the coal shed, Ian had gone.

Where? Who had really been the last one to see Ian alive? Ian must have met up with someone else after Gloria had left. Was it Dan, come back to finish the fight? Had Clive lied about Ian being gone when he got back to the coal shed? Or was Gloria not telling the truth when she said she’d left Ian alive and well?

Cecily sighed. Her head ached with the questions, theories, and possible scenarios. All these people involved with that night, all of them with a motive. This had to be the most puzzling murder she’d ever come across.

“Mrs. B.!”

Snatched out of her thoughts, Cecily came to an abrupt halt. Archie Parker stood before her, his nose quivering. “Yes, Mr. Parker. Is there something I can do for you?”

“I’d like a quick word with you, if I may?” Archie looked over his shoulder. “I won’t keep you a minute.”

Cecily looked longingly at the dining room door, so close and yet so far. By now Baxter would be seated and impatiently waiting for her. “Very well, Mr. Parker, but it will have to be just a minute or two. I have an urgent appointment.”

“Yes, yes. I swear I won’t take long.” He looked down the empty corridor and beckoned to her. “Perhaps if we move down here no one will hear us.”

Immediately on guard, Cecily reluctantly followed him down the hallway.

Archie paused in front of the broom closet, and gave her a toothy smile. “I was just wondering . . . ah . . . how many extra people did you hire for the Christmas season?”

Cecily straightened her back. “What concern is that of yours, may I ask?”

“I’m not at liberty to say.” Archie’s face once again took on that strange transformation. “Just answer the question, please.”

Taken aback, Cecily glared at him. “I must say, I do not appreciate your tone, Mr. Parker. In fact, if anyone should be asking questions, I should be the one asking you.”

Archie drew himself up and squared his shoulders. His entire personality seemed to change from a nervous little weakling to a decisive and somewhat intimidating superior. “Ask ahead, Mrs. B. I’ll be happy to answer.”

Nervous now, she fought to keep her voice calm and unemotional. “What exactly is your interest in my staff?”