Araminta stepped farther inside. Upon the costly Aubusson rug, there were discarded items of clothing tossed everywhere. The bed had yet to be made, but she knew Trinity would soon come round and take care of that.
Meow! Sasha dashed underneath the bed, and Arun followed, their brown tails twitching where they stuck out from the bedclothes.
“Now what in the world…”
Arun stuck his head out, his sapphire eyes sparkling with excitement.
“I see. You want me to look under there.”
Araminta’s knees popped as she knelt. She raised the bedspread and peered under the bed. It was dark and messy and smelled like dirty socks.
Sasha was crouched in front of a set of goblets, tail twitching. Araminta pulled one out and gasped. It was a tall goblet. The gold gleamed in the sunlight from the window, and the multicolored gems around the rim sparkled. “Are these the goblets from the dining room?”
Why would Reggie have them in his room? Unless…
She’d been working under the assumption that the poison had been in the food, and she couldn’t figure out how the killer had managed it. The food was only handled by Mary, plated and covered, then brought up to the dining room. Usually Trinity served it, but last night it was Harold. The whole scenario made it difficult to work, though, since she couldn’t figure out how the killer would have been able to ensure that the poison was delivered only to Archie.
But the wine… that had been chilling in the dining room the whole time.
An image of Harold with the goblets on the tray bubbled up. Harold had served the wine last night. Harold had held the tray, but had Reggie handled the goblets? But then, Trinity was supposed to serve the family originally. Araminta had wondered if Trinity faked the phone call somehow to provide an alibi for herself, but what if it was actually Harold who faked the call because he wanted access to the goblets? It couldn’t have been Harold. He was such a dear, and why would he want to kill Archie?
Also puzzling was the question that if the goblets were used by Trinity or Harold to perpetrate murder, why would the set be under Reginald’s bed? Had Harold or Trinity poisoned Archie then tried to pawn the deed off on Reggie?
Thinking Reggie might well have the murder weapon stashed in his room, she reached back underneath the bed and pulled out the rest of the set then frowned. There were only five goblets. Where was the sixth?
“Araminta?” Daisy called from the upstairs foyer. “Araminta, darling, could I trouble you to help me with something? I have to go out to the funeral parlor to approve a few things, but I cannot manage on my own to do up this silly little clasp.”
For a moment, Araminta said nothing. How was she to explain being in Reginald’s room? The cats! Her fur babies often got up to a bit of mischief, since they were allowed to roam the house at will, but rarely did they go into other members of the family’s rooms.
“There you go now, darlings. Out with you. Shoo!” she said loudly, making a big show of pushing them out into the hall and closing the door. She turned to see Daisy standing in the hall and gestured toward the cats. “They’re so mischievous… always getting into rooms they shouldn’t.”
Daisy didn’t seem to notice or care that they’d been in Reginald’s private quarters.
She merely smiled then presented her back to Araminta so that she could help her with the diamond-and-pearl necklace she was holding close to her bosom. “Archie usually handles these trivial little things for me, but…” Her voice caught.
Araminta knew how difficult it was for her to say that Archie was dead.
“Don’t give it another thought, Daisy. I’m here and happy to help.”
“Thank you.” Daisy sighed. “There’s so much to do, and I do appreciate your support. Stephanie is coming today, then tomorrow we’ll read the will and all go to the funeral parlor together afterward. Archie’s wishes were to be cremated with a very small family service right after then a memorial at a later date. He always said he wanted to give me some time to grieve before I had to face the onslaught of Moorecliff relatives. He was always so thoughtful.”
“That sounds lovely.”
Araminta fixed the clasp, and Daisy turned to face her. “I was hoping you would come to the lawyers with us. As much as I hoped Archie’s children and I could be one big happy family, I don’t think they like me very much, and I could use your support.”
Araminta felt a stab of pity. “Of course I’ll be there.”
Chapter Eight
After helping Daisy prepare herself for an early visit to the funeral parlor, Araminta waited until the staff were busy with their duties in other parts of the manor before she hurried to the antique china cabinet in the dining room, where the dinner glasses were usually kept.
Araminta had to admit she felt a certain unease entering the room where Archie had died. Sure, everything had been put back as it usually was—the chairs straightened and the tablecloth cleaned and put back perfectly—but it still made her heart beat faster just to go in there. Of course, the rapid heartbeat might have been because she didn’t want the killer to find her sneaking around and guess that she was investigating on her own.
Arun and Sasha must have had the same idea, because they trotted on ahead of her and sat patiently at her feet while she made her way to the china cabinet in the corner of the room.
Behind the cut-glass doors was the set they’d used the night of Archie’s death. Like the goblets in Reggie’s room, these were large and gold with gems around the rim. Perhaps it was a set for twelve. The goblets were very old, and the family had a much larger gathering around the dinner table in days gone by.
It might make sense to keep the others in a different cabinet. They had several sets of goblets, glassware, and plates kept in various spots. But it certainly did not make sense to keep them under Reggie’s bed.
At her feet, Arun let out a loud meow. Sasha pawed at her feet.
“Shush, now. We don’t want anyone to hear us.” Araminta watched the cats strut around, their tails held high. They were trying to tell her something.
She pressed her lips together and looked at the glasses. But wait. One of them was not an exact match. It was similar, but the gems were oval instead of circular and a tad larger. Was it the missing goblet from the set Reggie had? How odd. Trinity claimed to pride herself in her attention to detail. Why did she never notice? And when did the mismatch happen?
Araminta made a mental note to speak to Trinity again after her chat with Reggie. It was starting to look like Trinity had something to hide. Was she in collusion with someone? Harold?
But if the phone call was a ruse, why had Trinity told her to verify it with Reggie? Was Reggie in on it too? Was that why he had the goblets in his room?
Looking around the opulent dining room, Araminta searched the open shelves and glass-fronted cabinets but didn’t find another set of similar goblets. Were these the exact ones used at dinner?
Trinity had said all the dishes from dinner had been washed and put away after the meal, but who had put them away? Perhaps Trinity had been too upset over the death to notice they didn’t match.
Things just weren’t adding up, and once again, she had more questions than answers. She definitely needed to have a chat with Trinity.