Death of a Lady (The Inspector Felix Mysteries Book 1)

by R. A. Bentley

  'Yes, she would. I think we'd best set the others to look for her, or at least discover how and when she left Welmford. She was dropped at the Railway Hotel at about five or so, which ought to give them something to go on. And we'd best have a word with Mrs Pardey. They must surely have had some sort of address originally, if only in case she was taken ill or died.' He turned at a knock on the door. 'Yes, come in.'

  The butler entered, bearing a silver salver. 'Pardon me, Inspector, but I have a note for you from Lady George. She sends her compliments and believes the contents may be of interest.'

  'Thank you, Pearson. Is a reply required?'

  'No, sir. Will there be anything else, sir?'

  'Yes, there is, as a matter of fact. You told me that you don't know who had the bedrooms on the attic floor, at the time of the wedding. Can you think of anyone who might?'

  The butler hesitated. 'You might try Fripp, sir. She was here then.'

  'Thank you, I will. And we'd like to see Lady Genny's rooms. Will we need a key?'

  'If you're seeing Fripp, sir, she'll let you in; she has the cleaning of the family's rooms. Failing that, Sam will take you up.'

  'Thank you. Also, I understand from Mr Partridge that Lady Genny rode to hounds. Can you tell me if anyone else in the family did, at that time?'

  'Yes indeed, sir. They all did.'

  'Including the Duchess?'

  'Certainly, sir. Her Grace is a fine horsewoman. The Tapstock, the local hunt, would sometimes meet here. It was a marvellous sight.'

  'But that no longer happens?'

  'I regret, no, sir. It was disbanded during the war. There's talk of restarting it.'

  'Thank you, Pearson. You've been most helpful. Oh, and our compliments to Cook. Tell her she done us proud.'

  'Frightfully correct, isn't he, with his little tray?' chuckled Rattigan. 'You're thinking of the secret lover, presumably?'

  'Yes, although he'd have been a brave man to try anything with Mummy around. I can just imagine her, bearing down on some unfortunate suitor like an outraged valkyrie. "Can you trace your ancestry back to William the Conquerer, young man? If not, kindly desist from courting my daughter!" It's a damned nuisance she's being so obstructive; that's just the sort of thing she could have helped us with.' He paused to open Lady George's letter. 'Ah! Interesting. Listen to this, Teddy. "Dear Mr Felix. Regarding the last half-hour of the bride-bothering. I have made some enquiries and have found a lady who will be delighted to help you. Her name is Miss Dorothy Shaddock and she can be found at this address." – which is in Welmford, that's handy – "She tells me she is at home most afternoons from two o'clock. Unfortunately, she does not have a telephone." Hmm, and a postscript. "Please accept my apologies in a advance." I wonder what she means by that?'

  'Sounds a bit ominous. Go today?'

  'Yes, we'd better had. We can get the lads started on Ginny Brown, then pay her a visit.'

  Chapter 8

  Steep concrete steps, a dank passageway and a disobliging row of dustbins led to Miss Dorothy Shaddock's basement flat. Obstinate of countenance and extravagantly endowed before and behind, she wore a purple hat, a green, hand-knitted cardigan, and the sort of shapeless, calf-length dress that in combination with white ankle-socks bespoke a tacit acceptance of spinsterhood. She also brought with her a redolence that Felix could not quite place.

  'Come in, come in,' she chivvied. 'Been expecting you. No, I don't want you in there, that's the bedroom. To your left if you please. Settle down you lot and behave.'

  It was a small, hot room, barely able to accommodate a substantial sofa, two armchairs, a gate-leg table and a Welsh dresser. The smell there was much worse, and the cause plain to see, for every horizontal surface was garnished with cats. They were even perched perilously among the crockery on the dresser. They turned to stare wide-eyed at the interlopers, who with fascinated horror stared back.

  'Down you get now, and make some room for the gentlemen,' said Miss Shaddock, turfing a half-dozen off the armchairs. 'You too, Phoebe, where's your manners? No, you don't jump back up. Would you like a cup of tea? No, it's no trouble or I shouldn't have asked. I'm going to close this door behind me if you don't mind.

  'I make it seventeen,' said Felix, having assured himself she'd gone. 'Do you think she's lining them up for a fur coat?'

  'It's seventeen too many as far as I'm concerned,' shuddered Rattigan. 'I don't care for them.'

  'Well you mustn't let them see you're frightened, Teddy,' He leaned over to scratch a furry chin. 'Pussy wouldn't eat nice policeman would he?'

  'Very funny. Do you suppose she'd mind if we smoked? It'd mask the pong a bit.'

  'Best not; we might exhaust the room of its remaining oxygen. I had no idea they smelled so much, en masse as it were. Mother's doesn't, that I've noticed.'

  'I think that might have something to do with it,' said Rattigan, pointing to a well-used sand-tray. 'They don't seem to be very careful about their habits. Oh no you don't! You're not coming up here.'

  'You see? You've been accepted. Watch out, she's coming back.'

  'Here's your tea,' said Miss Shaddock, thrusting a tray at them. 'Sugar? Or are you sweet enough already? That's what they say, isn't it? I'm afraid you'll have to share a spoon. Don't spill it. Now then, which of you is going to ask the questions?'

  'I will, if I may,' said Felix, 'and the Sergeant will take notes. May I ask how you came to be invited to the wedding? Are you a friend of the family, or a relation?

  'Neither. My cousin Stephanie is Alderman Ball's eldest. He was the Mayor then, so was invited. He took Stephanie and she got me in. I love a wedding. And funerals. And now you're going to ask me about the bride-bothering. That's why you're here, isn't it? Well!' She dropped heavily into the remaining armchair, glanced suspiciously at Felix, and tugged her skirts tightly over her knees. 'No-one asked me to dance, you see – which is probably just as well, as I've two left feet – so when they picked the botherers I decided to tag along with Stephanie. I thought it might be rather jolly, but they didn't even try to do it properly and just ran up and down those endless corridors, making the most appalling racket, when of course what they ought to have done was to look into every room in a systematic sort of way. Phoebe dear, the poor man doesn't want you! She'll do anything for a lap, that one. Just push her off. Anyway I couldn't bear it. If a thing's worth doing, it's worth doing properly is my motto. So I started looking in the rooms the others left out. But then I found they'd gone on without me and I didn't know which they'd done and which they hadn't and I didn't know where they were to ask them, though I could hear them right enough. And then I found her! I found the Bride.'

  Felix raised an eyebrow at Rattigan. 'And where was that?'

  'In a bedroom. It was mostly bedrooms, like an hotel. Whatever do they need so many for? Phoebe, you little devil! Did she scratch you? You'd better go and wash it. I've got some iodine somewhere, I think.'

  'It's quite all right, miss,' said Rattigan, sucking a finger. 'She only caught the nail.'

  'Let's have a look. Oh bother — that's the doorbell. Kitchen's through there. Go and run it under the tap.'

  Rising as one, the two men leapt for a needy-looking aspidistra and emptied their teacups into it.

  'I sometimes think it's why these things were invented,' said Felix with relief.

  'It was only the milkman,' said Miss Shaddock, returning. 'What are you two doing?'

  'I thought it might be my chaps,' said Felix, peering up at the pavement. 'They're meeting us here.Would you mind if we get on? You had just found Lady Genevieve. Alive, presumably?'

  Miss Shaddock sat down again. 'Oh, yes, very much alive. I thought I heard something – I have very good hearing – so I peered in, and there she was, just standing looking at me. I must say, she was much prettier close up. Then she clapped her hands over her mouth, like this, and started to come towards me, so I slammed the door on her and held the knob and shouted that she was captured and that I claimed my pri
ze. But then the next door along opened and she came out of it and ran off.'

  'Connecting rooms, eh?'

  'Yes, obviously. I expect it's why she chose that one to hide in, because you can't tell from the outside. Anyway, who should come along then but the Groom!'

  'Lord Rempstock, do you mean?'

  'Yes, of course Lord Rempstock. He was the Groom, wasn't he? He asked if I was a botherer, so I said I was, and then he asked if I'd seen his wife. I almost told him, and then I thought, no, because if he were to find her, that would have been the end the game, wouldn't it? So I sent him off in the opposite direction. I thought he seemed a bit grumpy, considering he'd just got married, and I did wonder if perhaps he was regretting it. They do, don't they, men? Anyway, by then it was nearly half past ten, so I thought I might as well do the last few minutes and just wandered about until I turned down a little side passage and there she was again.'

  'Lady Genny?'

  'Yes, of course Lady Genny. That's whom we're talking about, isn't it? And I thought, I've got you now, my girl, because it was a dead end. And she stopped and looked at me and I thought she was about to speak, but then she suddenly turned and went through a green baize door. I almost followed, but I then I thought it must be a servants' door and we'd been told below-stairs was out of bounds.'

  'Yes, it was,' agreed Felix. 'Why do you suppose she thought better of speaking to you?'

  'Well, I don't know, but I think she saw someone coming behind me. And bearing in mind that it was really quite dark there, I fancy she looked frightened, which is perhaps why she ducked through the door. But when I turned, there was no-one to be seen. I'm pretty sure there had been, though, because I heard the floorboards creak.'

  'How could you tell if she looked frightened, if it was so dark?'

  'Because her mouth was open, like this.' Miss Shaddock demonstrated. 'It couldn't really be anything else, could it?'

  'It could have been surprise.'

  'No, it was fright. I know fright when I see it.'

  'Could it have been Lord Rempstock again?'

  'I don't know who it was because they were behind me. I told you that. Anyway, I haven't finished yet, because before I turned back, I looked through the door.'

  'The green baize door?'

  'Yes, of course!'

  'I thought you said you didn't follow her?'

  'I didn't. I just wanted to see what was in there. I'm terribly inquisitive, you see, and I absolutely had to know. Anyway, I looked, and it was just stairs, which was a bit disappointing, and going up them was a footman.'

  'How do you know he was a footman?'

  'He was wearing knee-breeches. They did in those days.'

  'It wasn't too dark to see that, then?'

  'No, because he was carrying a lamp.'

  'Excuse me, sir,' said Rattigan, looking up from his notes. 'May I ask Miss Shaddock, was the footman limping?'

  Miss Shaddock turned to him with sudden interest. 'Yes, he was! Is that an important clue? I'm glad one of you is intelligent. I noticed the limp distinctly as he crossed the landing. There was a landing at the top and he crossed it and disappeared.'

  'The Sergeant is cleverer than you know,' said Felix dryly. 'What did you do then?'

  'I thought I'd best go and look for Stephanie, but as I turned back, a man came and asked me if I was looking for someone, and it was Lord Andrew! Such a good-looking young man, much handsomer than his brother. I told him I was a botherer and he said it was nearly eleven o'clock so I shouldn't bother bothering anymore – which I thought was rather clever – and that I should go back to the ballroom, and he was kind enough to escort me all the way down to the hall!' Her eyes acquired a dreamy look. 'I shall always remember being walked down those marble stairs by a real lord, like in a novel!'

  'Something to treasure then, Miss Shaddock,' said Felix. 'I was actually going to ask you which room he came out of.'

  Miss Shaddock shrugged. 'I've no idea; he was just in the corridor. Anyway, the hall was quite filled with people getting ready to go, including the Balls, so I said thank you very much for having me and came home.'

  'And did you notice where Lord Andrew went, after he left you?'

  'No, I don't believe I did. I was too busy getting told off by Stephanie because they'd been looking for me.'

  'Presumably you told the police all this, at the time?'

  'Well, no, I didn't. But when I saw the papers, I decided to write to the Duchess about it. I often wonder if she got the letter because she never replied. People don't, I find.'

  'So, if you don't mind me asking, how did Lady Welmford find you?'

  'No, I don't mind. Why should I mind? Stephanie told her friend Elizabeth about me and she told Her Ladyship and Her Ladyship came to see me this morning. She's so pretty, isn't she? I offered her tea but she said she wasn't feeling very well and whatever it was she had, she didn't want to give it to me. Wasn't that thoughtful? Is she all right?'

  'I don't know, Miss Shaddock. You've seen her more recently than I have. But I'll tell her you asked after her.'

  Packed again into the Austin, they dropped down into the town centre, crossing the still-angry Welm.

  'Thanks very much, Lady George,' grumbled Rattigan, brushing ineffectually at his coat-sleeves. 'We should get danger money for a job like that.'

  'Well she did apologise in advance,' grinned Felix. 'And at last we're getting somewhere.'

  'She could just as easily have warned us. Look at me, covered in blasted fur. And what about my finger? Lockjaw next, I shouldn't wonder.'

  'No sign of it yet, anyway,' said Nash unkindly. 'Was Lady Genny heading for the attic, do you suppose, sir?'

  'Likely to be up rather than down, I should imagine,' said Felix. 'It's where she was found, after all.'

  'Then it must have been to meet someone,' said Yardley, eager to promote his theory. 'No point otherwise.'

  'She'd left it a bit late for doing that,' said Rattigan. 'She was supposed to go back to her husband by eleven. And what about the mysterious follower — he of the creaking floorboards? She could just as easily have been running away from him.'

  'But why to the attic? She would have known he might follow her.'

  'It needn't have been the attic,' said Felix thoughtfully. 'There were servants living on that floor, don't forget. In fact, it occurs to me that her maid might have been one of them. If Lady Genny didn't know she'd cleared out, she might have hoped to find her there.'

  'Yes, that's a possibility,' said Nash. 'Looks for sanctuary but finds her gone. Murderer pounces.'

  'Would she do that, though?' frowned Rattigan. 'Sounds a bit infra dig, Her Ladyship going up to the servants' attic.'

  'She might if she was frightened enough,' said Nash.

  'How safe a witness is that woman?' asked Yardley. 'She sounds a bit dotty.'

  Rattigan nodded vehemently. 'Dotty Dorothy — that's about right!'

  'She's just lonely, I think,' said Felix. 'Too gauche to make human friends so she adopts cats. Her powers of recall seem excellent, though, and we should be able to check some of it — the encounter with Lord Hoddersham, for example; which, if true, he chose not to tell us about. How did you chaps get on? Any leads?'

  Yardley glanced at Nash. 'In a word, sir, no. We've been to everywhere we can find that does rooms, including several that did and no longer do. Thirteen places, all told, mostly bed and breakfast. Most can't remember that far back, or else the place has changed hands. And of the ones that still have their visitors' books there was no-one staying that night answering to Miss Brown, although, of course, she might have used a false name. There were a few others, staying over after the wedding, but they were all couples, apart from a lone Frenchman at the Railway Hotel. Two or three people knew her from her photograph, or said they did, and one fellow, a retired haberdasher, knew her as a customer, but they only ever saw her while shopping and the like.'

  'We've also done all the carriers, past and present — the Welm
ford ones anyway,' said Nash. 'Although one or two died in the war.'

  'Or simply died,' said Yardley glumly. 'These historical cases are a bit depressing, aren't they? You can almost feel the Grim Reaper breathing down your neck.'

  'We reckon she must have been picked up by someone with a private vehicle,' said Nash. 'Maybe from out of town.'

  'Which is what Cobb thought, although even that tells us something,' said Felix, pulling up outside their inn. 'Look, there's not much point in you two coming back to Godwinstowe today. There's a train at five. Spend a night in the bosom of your families, and tomorrow go to the Yard. Plenty to do there. If I need you, I'll telephone.'

  'I don't know whose bosom John'll be spending his night in,' growled Rattigan, gratefully pushing his seat back, 'but it won't be his family's, I'll be bound.'

  'Jealous?'

  'I doubt if our tastes coincide. What's next — reconstruct Dotty Dot's story?'

  'Yes I think so, while it's fresh. You know, it's amazing how much better this car goes with just two aboard — positively frisky.'

  Chapter 9

  Entering the third floor of Godwinstowe House via the backstairs they made their way the thirty or so feet to the main corridor.

  Hands in pockets, Rattigan looked thoughtfully about him. 'So after spying on Pearson, en route for the attic, she retraces her steps and meets Lord Andrew coming towards her, probably about here. Heading for the backstairs, do you suppose?'

  'He might have been, but here's a lady who can perhaps help us,' said Felix. 'Hello, Miss Fripp, how are you today?'

  'Miss Fripp put down her bucket and mop and eased her back. She looked, he thought, bone weary. 'I'm all right thank you, sir. Are you lost?'

  'Not exactly. We know where we are, though all around is terra incognita. Mr Pearson said you'd let us into Lady Genny's rooms. Are we anywhere near?'

  Miss Fripp took a bunch of keys off her waistband. 'They're almost behind you, sir. I don't know what sort of state they'll be in, mind.' Entering the darkened sitting room she crossed to the window and parted the drapes. 'Needs a bit of a dust,' she said apologetically. 'Mrs Pardey said not to bother too much with it, but I did go round it once in a while, in case Her Ladyship should come back unexpected.' She sighed sadly. 'I suppose they'll clear it now.'