Four
‘Do you think I’ll need to wait much longer?’ Eleanor had to raise her voice to be heard above the rain now pelting against the windows.
The nervous young policeman who had escorted her to the library shrugged apologetically.
‘Couldn’t say, m’lady.’
‘Is Inspector Seldon staying here or returning to Oxford?’
‘Chief Inspector, m’lady. And I couldn’t say.’
‘Will Lance— Lord Fenwick-Langham be permitted visitors this evening?’
‘I couldn’t say, m’lady.’
Hopeless! What was keeping the inspector? They had first met only a few days after Eleanor had arrived at Little Buckford to inherit her uncle’s estate. She had reported seeing a murder, but as the body had disappeared, the inspector had refused to investigate further. By the time the case was solved, however, the gruff inspector had become a firm ally.
Eleanor groaned. She wanted it to be over. For Lancelot to be released and for him to be back at Langham Manor. Even for the colonel to be alive and his usual unpleasant self. Her stomach rumbled. Champagne and dead bodies weren’t the happiest of bedfellows. The smell of musty leather-bound books and over-polished wood wasn’t helping either.
Voices came from outside the door. ‘Make sure no one leaves.’
A muttered response eluded Eleanor’s ears.
‘Just do it, man!’ DCI Seldon called over his shoulder as he entered the room. He offered Eleanor a thin smile as he stepped across to the table where she waited, drumming her fingers. He nodded at the uniformed officer who nodded back and left the room. Pulling out a chair, he sat, folding his long legs awkwardly.
‘Lady Swift.’
‘Inspector.’
He took a deep breath. ‘I am sorry to detain you. I wish we were meeting under different circumstances.’
‘So do I. I hope this awful misunderstanding can be cleared up quickly.’
‘Misunderstanding?’
‘Don’t play coy, Inspector, please. You can’t possibly think Lancelot stole Lady Langham’s jewels. She’s his mother, for goodness’ sake. Why would he steal her jewels?’
He held up his hand and consulted his notebook. ‘The accused was discovered standing by the open safe which, on inspection by myself, was found to be empty.’ He looked up at her.
‘That’s as may be, but we can’t be sure the jewels were even in the safe. The real thief could easily—’
The inspector held up his hand again and read from his notes. ‘I verified the presence of the necklace in question at precisely seven forty-five.’ He flipped the front of the notebook back and forth with his thumb. ‘And given that the safe wasn’t blown and the short timescale between my verifying the presence of the jewels and my men entering when they heard voices, whoever stole those jewels, in my professional opinion, knew the code.’
As she had no answer, she switched tack. ‘And it’s inconceivable that… that he killed the colonel. The poor man was a close friend of Lancelot’s family. What possible reason would he have? Be realistic, Lancelot’s a clown, not a killer. He hasn’t the wherewithal, or the malice, to do something so terrible.’ Eleanor’s face flushed. ‘And why were your men there? Why were they, or you, even at the ball? If I didn’t know better, I’d say this reeks of a police set-up!’
DCI Seldon stiffened. ‘I am acutely aware of how you feel about authority in general, Lady Swift, especially the police, but—’
She cut him off. ‘Hardly surprising, given that they were covering up a murder and wholesale corruption last time I dealt with them.’
‘Indeed.’ The inspector ran his hand over the back of his neck. ‘But this isn’t the same department. These are my men. This is my investigation and I am in charge, Lady Swift. I hardly need to remind you that this is a murder investigation not a grudge match with authority.’
She had the good grace to look embarrassed. Last time she had met the inspector, she’d practically accused him of being involved in a police cover-up. ‘Quite so. I am sorry, Inspector, I wasn’t suggesting you were… I mean, I am still very grateful for your help in catching the killer from the quarry. But perhaps not showing it very well,’ she ended, with another flush to her cheeks.
He nodded. ‘I understand, it has been quite a night for you.’ He spun his pen. ‘By the way, no need to be grateful for that… all part of the job, you know. Although, well, it was a genuine pleasure to do so.’
He held her gaze for a moment and then returned to his notes. For the first time since the terrible events of that evening, she felt herself relax a little.
DCI Seldon coughed. ‘Where were we? Yes, we’ve established no underhand police activities were conducted this evening.’ He glanced at Eleanor. ‘And that the facts of the case are that the accused was found hunched over the deceased, Colonel Puddifoot-Barton, holding a silver candlestick.’
Eleanor felt the tension flood back through her body. ‘Has it been proven that the candlestick was indeed the murder weapon, Inspector?’
‘Not yet. The lab chaps have to analyse it but there was a substantial amount of blood and some matted hair on the top and along the side. I’m quite certain it will match that of the deceased.’
Eleanor desperately tried to think of anything else that might throw doubt on Lancelot’s guilt. ‘Okay, but the colonel could already have been dead, couldn’t he?’
‘When the deceased was examined, his wristwatch was found to be broken. The glass had been smashed. Fragments were found on the edge of the fireplace. I therefore deduce the colonel was hit on the back of the head by a heavy object, I presume, at the moment, the candlestick. He then fell forward, his watch hitting the edge of the fireplace. The impact broke the glass and mechanism. The time recorded on the watch was eight twenty-three. My men entered the room at exactly eight twenty-five. So there’s no way anyone entered the room between the time of the colonel’s death and my men arriving. Except…’
She groaned and covered her face with her hands. ‘Except me.’
DCI Seldon turned back to his infernal notebook. She wanted to grab it from his hand and toss it in the fire.
‘What has Lancelot said? Surely he can explain everything.’
‘Young Lord Fenwick-Langham refuses to do anything except repeat his original statement.’ He turned over a couple of pages in the notebook. ‘To quote: “I came into the room and saw the colonel lying on the floor. I knelt down to see if I could help and noticed the candlestick by his side. I heard a noise and thought the killer was returning, so I picked the candlestick up to defend myself. Then I heard the door open and Lady Swift came in, followed by you lot.”’ The inspector looked up. ‘He means the police. And he swears he didn’t know the candlestick had been used to murder the colonel.’
‘But what did he say about why he was upstairs?’
‘He has not given a clear explanation. He merely said that it is his house and why shouldn’t he be anywhere that he damn well pleased?’ DCI Seldon tapped his pen on the notebook. ‘Excuse the language.’
‘Not at all. I’m surprised his language wasn’t more colourful, given the gravity of his situation.’ She rubbed her eyes. ‘The stupid fool. Does he think this is a game?’