Mrs. Jeffries in the Nick of Time (29 page)

“Mrs. Eames says for us not to worry.” Agnes made a face. “She thinks we’ll all have our positions but she can’t say for certain. Mind you, I overheard her tellin’ the cook that if Mrs. Prescott inherited the house, she’d need us to stay.” They stepped off the curb and crossed the road. “But I’m not sure Mrs. Eames knows much more than the rest of us.”

“Maybe you’ll learn more once the will’s been read,” Betsy said.

“That’s supposed to be tomorrow.” Agnes giggled. “I know because when I was clearin’ up the drawing room after the reception, I overheard Mrs. Prescott havin’ words with Mr. Collier. She was goin’ on and on about how disrespectful it was that Mr. Francis’ solicitor wasn’t at the service. Mr. Collier called her a hypocrite and said the only reason she’d wanted the lawyer to come see the old man buried was so the will could be read as soon as the guests left the reception. Mrs. Prescott stomped off in a huff and then Miss Ross came over to Mr. Collier and told him they’d already made arrangements for the reading and he shouldn’t upset Mrs. Prescott, that she was suffering more than the rest of them over Mr. Humphreys’ death.”

They turned the corner and came to Linton Road. Betsy knew she’d not have much more time. She needed to know who had been where on the day of the murder.

“Mind you, it’ll be nice to be away from the house tonight,” Agnes continued.

Betsy stared at her in surprise. “Are you goin’ somewhere?”

“We are.” Agnes laughed. “Just after breakfast, Mrs. Eames told the staff we’re all to have the evening off. The family is so grateful for everyone’s hard work that they’re actually payin’ for us to go to a real restaurant and the music hall . . .” She broke off and bit her lip.

“What’s wrong?” Betsy asked.

“I wasn’t supposed to say anything.” Agnes looked worried. “Mrs. Eames said the family wanted our outing kept quiet. The neighbors might think it disrespectful to be going out to such places when there’s been a death in the household. You won’t tell anyone, will you?”

“Of course not,” Betsy lied.

“It’s ever so thrillin’.” Agnes giggled happily. “Imagine, we’re goin’ to a real restaurant. Mrs. Eames said we’re to wear our best clothes and we’re to be ready at five—that’s when the coach is comin’ to fetch us. Even cook was excited and bustlin’ about the kitchen makin’ sure everything was ready for the ladies’ evening meal. That’s why I got sent to do the shopping. Mrs. Eames said the ladies wanted a vegetable soup for supper.”

They were almost at the house and Betsy knew she’d failed. There wasn’t enough time for her to ask her questions.

“It’s a good thing that Mr. Joseph is going to have his meal with one of his friends. I don’t think he’d be happy with just some soup and a tray of sandwiches for dinner. But it’s nice that the ladies will have some time to themselves tonight. All the comings and goings since Mr. Humphreys died has been difficult for both of them. You know, always havin’ to smile and be polite to all his friends and neighbors. I heard Mrs. Prescott asking Miss Ross if she’d been sleepin’ well and Miss Ross said she hadn’t. Mrs. Prescott said she’d not been sleepin’, either.”

“It’s not surprising people have trouble resting when there’s been a death in the family,” Betsy murmured politely. “It’s hard on the nerves.” She felt like screaming in frustration.

“Maybe that’s why Mrs. Eames got the laudanum down from Mr. Francis’ medicine chest,” Agnes said thoughtfully. “Maybe she was gettin’ it for Mrs. Prescott or Miss Ross. I know she never uses the stuff.” They were at the house. “It was nice of you to walk me back. My usual day out is Wednesday afternoon.” Agnes smiled hopefully. “Do you think we can meet next week?”

 

Mrs. Jeffries hummed as she put a plate of buttered brown bread at each end of the kitchen table and stepped back to survey her handiwork. The tea was made, the table was set, and all was right with the world. She felt so much better about this case and now that she’d pointed the inspector in the right direction, it ought to sort itself out very quickly.

“You’re lookin’ very pleased with yourself.” Mrs. Goodge took her seat. “I think it’s right mean of you not to tell us who did it.”

“Now, Mrs. Goodge, don’t look at me like that. You know I’d tell you if I was sure. But I’m still not one hundred percent certain my theory is correct,” Mrs. Jeffries explained. “I should know more after our meeting. Provided, of course, that everyone was successful in their tasks today.”

The back door opened. They heard several voices speaking at once and then footsteps pounding up the hall. “Looks like we’ll be finding that out right quick,” the cook commented. “Sounds as if everyone’s back.”

Not quite everyone returned on time. Lady Cannonberry, usually the soul of promptness, didn’t appear, and after waiting for fifteen minutes Mrs. Jeffries reluctantly concluded she must have been unavoidably detained. “I do hate not waiting for Ruth, but we’ve no choice. We must get started, we’ve much to talk about this afternoon. Who would like to go first?”

“Madam had a bit of good fortune today.” Hatchet gave his employer a sour look. “She accomplished her task with ease.”

Mrs. Jeffries decided to ignore the glares passing between the two of them. She smiled at Luty. “What did you learn?”

“Go on, madam, tell them what you did,” Hatchet challenged.

“Oh don’t be such an old stick,” Luty snapped. “I ain’t the only one around here who’s reached into their purse to grease the wheels a bit. So I passed a bit of silver over the man’s hand. It got us what we needed to know.”

“You didn’t just pass a bit of silver, madam,” Hatchet yelled. “You promised that broker you’d give him your future business.”

“No, I said I’d come to him if I ever wanted to buy any shares in copper mines, but if you’ll stop and think a minute, I don’t buy mining stock these days. I don’t approve of how they treat the native workers. But that’s neither here nor there. We ain’t got all day so we’ll just have to argue about this later.” She turned to Mrs. Jeffries. “I had a word with Michael Collier’s broker. Collier’s in debt up to his neck, but two or three of his investments have started to go up in value and one of them is a goodly amount of money. Collier instructed the broker to cash him out when the stock reached a certain price. It hit it last week and the broker sold. Collier told him he was going to use the money to pay off his creditors.”

“Maybe he’ll pay his grocer now,” Betsy murmured.

“Thank you, Luty,” Mrs. Jeffries said.

“I’ll go next,” Smythe volunteered. “Mine won’t take long. I did my best to find out if the girls in the Humphreys family were given revolvers, but I didn’t have any luck. None of my sources knew that much about the family’s past.” He looked at Mrs. Jeffries. “Was it important?”

“I’m not sure,” she replied honestly. “Perhaps not, but it would have been useful to have the information. But I know you did your best, so don’t fret over it. Sometimes, no matter how much we try, we simply can’t find out certain facts.”

“Don’t worry.” Betsy patted his arm. “My day wasn’t much better than yours.”

“Neither was mine,” Wiggins added. “Johnny Cooper and I had just gone into the garden shed when Miss Ross comes flyin’ down the shortcut and he hares off back to weeding the flower beds. He asked me to leave, said he didn’t want to get into trouble for larkin’ about. I told him she’d been rushin’ so fast she’d not noticed me, but he’d have none of it so I had to go. But that lady was in a ’urry, all right. She were runnin’ down that path like the ’ounds of hell were chasin’ her. Johnny was right put out about it and kept mutterin’ that the family never used the shortcut between the houses, that it was for the servants. The family always walked down Linton Road.”

“So you didn’t get a look at the coal box?” Mrs. Jeffries asked. She tried not to be disappointed. After all, it was only a theory. If the idea she’d planted in the inspector’s mind this morning blossomed as she hoped it would, he’d figure it out and he’d be able to look not just at the box but at the coal bin as well.

“I got a quick look before Miss Ross come,” he said. “It looks like a wheelbarrow with a tiny wooden house over the bed. He didn’t have time to show me how the thing worked, but he told me about it. There’s a lever on each side of the wooden frame. Johnny told me that the one on the left opened the top so the coal could be poured straight in from the coal wagon, while the lever on the other side opened a door on the front so the coal could be chucked directly into a coal chute. Mr. Yancy Humphreys invented it so he could have his fuel put directly into his cellar. He even fitted out the cellar with an opening just a bit bigger than the front of the coal box so none of the coal would spill on the ground and be wasted. It’s a right clever gadget if you ask me,” he concluded.

Mrs. Jeffries tried to imagine it in her mind. “Considering you were so abruptly interrupted, you’ve done very well. I wonder why Miss Ross came rushing back to the house?”

Wiggins shrugged. “Johnny didn’t know. He thought maybe Miss Ross and Mrs. Humphreys might ’ave ’ad words, but then he seemed to dismiss the idea. Seems like them two ladies are friends and he knew Miss Ross had gone there for morning coffee. It was Mrs. Prescott that didn’t get on with Mrs. Humphreys.”

“That doesn’t mean they didn’t have words,” Mrs. Goodge pointed out. “A death in the family can bring out the worst in people, especially if there’s a bit of money in the offing.”

“That’s what Agnes hinted at.” Betsy nodded her head for emphasis. “She said that both Mrs. Prescott and Miss Ross were having trouble sleeping and that everyone’s nerves were a bit frayed.”

“You were able to make contact with her, excellent,” Mrs. Jeffries said approvingly.

“But I didn’t have a chance to ask her about anyone’s movements on the day of the murder,” Betsy grumbled. “So my trip to Acton was a waste of time. Agnes didn’t let me get a word in edgewise. All she talked about was how the Humphreys family was so grateful for everyone’s hard work, they were sending all the servants off to a restaurant and then to the music hall for the evening.”

“That’s very strange.” Mrs. Goodge frowned in confusion. “I’ve never heard of any household sending the staff to a music hall two days after there’s been a death in the family. It simply isn’t done.”

“Agnes told me the housekeeper said they were to keep quiet about it because it sounded disrespectful,” Betsy replied. “I thought it was a bit odd as well.”

Inside Mrs. Jeffries’ mind, the pieces of the puzzle fell into place and she knew with absolute certainty not only what had happened but what was going to happen next. It wasn’t a pretty sight, either. She shoved back from the table and leapt to her feet.

Alarmed, everyone stopped talking and stared at her.

Images, snatches of conversation and ideas, were careening through her brain so quickly that it took a moment before she realized the others were looking at her. “We’ve got to find the inspector,” she cried. “Does anyone know where he is?”

“I do.” Ruth’s soft voice took them by surprise and everyone turned to see her standing in the doorway. “I knocked on the back door,” she explained, “but no one answered so I let myself inside. I hope that’s alright.”

“But of course it is.” Mrs. Jeffries finally came back to the here and now. “But we’ve got to find the inspector and we’ve got to find him right away if we want to save an innocent life. Do you have any idea where he might be?”

Ruth moved toward the table. “He told me he was going to spend the day at the Acton Police Station. He said that after he interviewed Mrs. Yancy Humphreys again, he was going back there to go over all the interviews and make a timeline. He said his timelines had always helped him in the past. I think he was having very grave doubts as to his ability to solve this case.”

“But he will solve it,” Mrs. Jeffries vowed. “He’ll solve it tonight if we’re not too late. But we’ve got to come up with a reason to get him to Humphreys House right away. There’s no time to lose.” She looked at Smythe. “How fast can you get the carriage ready?”

“Bow and Arrow are the fastest horses in London.” He got up. “I can be there within the hour.”

“You’ve got to go get the inspector first.” Mrs. Jeffries began to pace. “And we must come up with an excuse for getting him to Acton that sounds logical.”

The silence was deafening as everyone tried to think of a reason without giving the game away. Mrs. Jeffries stalked back and forth across the kitchen floor with such energy that Fred got up, albeit with a slightly confused expression on his face, and kept pace with her steps. He was nothing if not loyal.

“Tell him that I said I’ve heard gossip that Imogene Ross is responsible for Estelle Collier Humphreys’ death and that she’s going to kill again tonight,” Ruth stated.

There was a brief, shocked silence and then everyone spoke at once.

“What?” Smythe and Wiggins both said at the same time.

“Excuse me, but did I hear you correctly?” Betsy rose to her feet.

“Nells bells, that’s a good one.” Luty laughed approvingly.

“Lady Cannonberry, are you sure about this?” Hatchet clucked his tongue.

“That would get the inspector to Humphreys House,” Mrs. Goodge agreed.

Only Mrs. Jeffries remained quiet. She stared at Ruth for a moment and then held up her hand for silence. “Are you certain you wish to do this? If I’m wrong and we use your name to get the inspector to Acton, it could do great harm to your friendship with him.”

“Nothing is going to harm my relationship with the inspector,” Ruth replied calmly. “And I’ve great faith in your abilities. Now stop worrying about me. You said we’ve no time to waste.”

Mrs. Jeffries hesitated for the briefest of seconds and then turned to Smythe who was already moving toward the coat tree. “Do as Ruth says,” she directed. “And take Wiggins with you.”

Wiggins leapt up and raced for his jacket and cap.

As the two men headed for the back door, Ruth called out, “If something does go wrong, I don’t want the household held responsible. Make certain you tell the inspector that you got this information directly from me. Tell him, I came running into the kitchen half hysterical and insisting that you take action immediately.”