A Hanging at Lotus Hall

by Corrina Lawson

  “Uncle Nick! Did you find out why he’s dead? Is Uncle Gregor helping with that?” the girl demanded.

  The duke’s face clouded. “What are you doing here? This isn’t the business of a child.”

  Anne put her hands on her hips. “I found him. That makes him my responsibility.”

  Nick had lied. “You found him?” Joan demanded.

  His niece glared at Nick.

  “Uh, not exactly,” he mumbled.

  The duke rounded on his brother. “What the hell is going on with you, Nick? What have you done to my daughter?”

  “He’s done nothing!” Anne tugged at her father’s sleeve. “Leave him alone, Papa!”

  Rage entered the duke’s face, his mouth twisted in a nasty grimace.

  Joan’s father would have backhanded her in such a mood. And had, many times. She grabbed Lady Anne’s hand, pulled her back, and stepped between the girl and her father.

  “If I may, Your Grace, if you’ll let her stay a moment, I have questions to ask,” Joan said. “If she found the…the poor soul…she may have information we need.”

  “You are as ruthless and inconsiderate as my brother to ask that of a little girl,” the duke said.

  A girl he might have been about to strike, only seconds ago.

  “I’m ten, not a child,” his daughter answered. “Well, almost. Besides, I found him.” She sobered. “Papa, how can such things happen? And in our own house too!”

  Silence from the men.

  Joan knelt down so she and Anne were face to face.

  “Sadly, such things can happen in the world, but when it’s in your own house, it hits harder.” She brushed golden curls out of the girl’s red-rimmed eyes. “I’m sorry that you have to go through this.”

  She nodded, jaw clenched tight, just like her father.

  “But when something bad happens to me, it always helps me feel better if I can help. Is that why you came back to the library, Lady Anne?”

  “Yes.”

  “Anne…you did right earlier to seek my help. You need do no more,” Nick said. “This is for adults.”

  “But I want to do more. I want to answer Miss Krieger’s questions.” She concentrated on Joan. “Where’s Uncle Gregor?”

  “Examining the other room,” Joan said, drawing the girl’s attention again. Her leg began to cramp from being down on one knee. She ignored it. “How did you come to be awake and wandering around in the middle of the night?”

  “She’s always been an active child.” The duke closed in on them, hovering. “But surely answering questions about something like this is too much for her.”

  “Children can be surprisingly resilient, Your Grace,” Mr. Moriarty said. “If she already saw what she saw, the damage is done. Better to let her see it through, as Miss Krieger said, and do something to help. It will aid in driving away the terror. At least, that’s been true in my long experience with my students at the Isca School.”

  Moriarty knelt in front of Anne, as Joan had. “Children can be capable of unexpected things.” He laced a strand of Anne’s hair around her ear and, with a flourish, a coin appeared in his fingers. “See, your daughter creates half-pennies with her mind, Your Grace.”

  Anne put her hand over her mouth and giggled. “That’s a trick, Mr. Moriarty.”

  “Are you so sure?” He offered her the penny. She snatched it up before he could refuse and curled her hands around it. “Magic can’t create pennies from nothing, Mr. Moriarty.” She smiled. “But, thank you.”

  Moriarty rose. “You’re welcome. Your turn, Miss Krieger.”

  A neat trick indeed, restoring some much needed humor to the strained atmosphere in the room. Moriarty knew his business with children. He’d also ensured Anne would tell what she knew in front of him.

  “Make the questions quick,” the duke said.

  “Of course, Your Grace.” Joan nodded. “How did you come to be awake tonight and in this library, Lady Anne?”

  “Phyllis tucked me into bed at dark but I’m never tired.” She put her hands on her hips. “Most of the time, I read, but sometimes I can’t stay in bed. So I slipped out the back steps, the ones my grandma uses.”

  The duke grunted, either a comment on his daughter sneaking out of bed or about Grandma doing the same, Joan wasn’t sure which and didn’t have time now to wonder why “Grandma” used the back steps. Something to ask Vai, and soon.

  “Did you come to the library straightaway?” Joan asked.

  “No.” She shook her head, setting her blonde curls bouncing. “I snuck down to the underwater ballroom. I like it there. It’s peaceful and there’s always something to see in the pond moving about.”

  What a playground Lotus Hall must seem to this child. “And what happened next?”

  “I remembered my Uncle Nicholas likes this library, especially since he’s usually with Reg late, playing cards. Sometimes they let me play. I like that.”

  The duke nearly growled at his brother, about the card playing or encouraging his daughter to stay up late or—remembering Gregor’s remarks about how the duke felt about Nick—for allowing Anne to spend time in such company.

  “How do you navigate such a place as Lotus Hall in the dark of night?” Joan asked.

  Anne shrugged. “Usually, a candle but tonight I used my mage light!” She cupped her hands and a glow appeared.

  “That’s fantastic. You learn quickly.” Joan chose her words carefully. “Was your uncle in the library when you entered?”

  “No, no one was in this room, so I crept into the next room because he likes to curl up on the couch there. I cracked open the door and that’s when…that’s when I saw the man…” She put her hand over her eyes. “It scared me.”

  “It scared me too just now. Let’s move beyond that.” Joan clasped the child’s hand. It was cold. “Tell me what you did next.”

  “I bolted upstairs and ran into Uncle Nick in the hallway! He told me he’d take care of it. He told me to go back to bed. He said I must be imagining things or seeing it wrong but I wasn’t, was I? That’s why you’re all here. Mr. Cooper was dead.” She glared at her uncle.

  “I was hoping to spare the child all of this, Jared, by keeping her role out of it,” Nick said. “But she saw what she saw.”

  “And you neglected to mention her role,” Moriarty said.

  “She doesn’t need to answer questions from the police,” Nick said. “Surely, you can see that? She’s only a child, innocent.”

  Moriarty gave a reluctant nod.

  The duke walked over and ruffled his daughter’s hair. She hugged him, only coming to his waist.

  “The rest is as I said,” Nick added.

  Joan believed him, at least for now. But the fact remained Lady Anne had seen the body and then, shortly after, Nick, alone, in the hallway.

  “Anything else you feel I should know, Lady Anne?” Joan asked.

  She let go of her father. “No, not that I remember.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m tired of waiting! I want to know what happened. No one tells me anything.”

  “That’s because it’s not your business,” the duke said.

  “Until my brother is born, I’m the heiress, aren’t I? That makes what happens in this house my responsibility. That’s what you’ve always said, Papa. Take responsibility for the family.”

  “And now you can’t rest until you know what happened to Mr. Cooper?” Joan asked.

  Anne stared at the floor. “I tried to sleep but I saw him…it…in the window…when I closed my eyes.”

  Joan set her hand on the girl’s shoulder. She was afraid and wanted to be in the same room as her father and Uncle Nick. Interesting that she hadn’t run to Victoria or Vai or even Phyllis. But perhaps she’d been afraid to disturb her mother. A perceptive child like her must be aware of how worried her parents were about this pregnancy.

  “I’m so sorry you saw that. But you did the right thing. As for someone telling you what’s going on—well, we do
n’t know yet. That’s why your uncle Gregor and I are here. This is what our job is. When we know something for certain, I will tell you. All right?”

  “I want to help,” Anne said again.

  “There is one thing you can do.”

  She nodded, solemnly accepting the job. “Oh, yes, please.”

  “Go upstairs to your rooms and write down all your movements last night, everything you did and everything you saw in the time before you found Mr. Cooper, and then write about the time after you saw him. It’s your movements and memories that might provide clues.”

  “But I just told you,” Anne said.

  “Sometimes when we write events down, we remember more details.”

  “What could she have seen?” asked the duke.

  Joan rose. “Given how dark it was, it’s more likely she heard something rather than saw it. She’s obviously used to having free run of Lotus Hall, even at night. Anything she noticed out of the ordinary could be important. It’s also important if Lord Nicholas could remember exactly the time he found her in the hallway.” Joan looked down at Anne. “Could you do that for us, write down what you remember? It would be a great help.”

  She nodded. “I’ll do it.”

  “Do it now, while the memory is fresh,” Joan advised.

  “Excellent suggestion.” The duke sighed and scooped up his daughter. “I’m taking you upstairs myself to make sure you stay out of trouble. And you need breakfast, then rest, after you’re done playing detective.”

  She wrapped her arms around her father’s neck. “Will you help me write it down, Papa? I’m getting a headache.”

  “Because you’re overtired.” The duke glanced back at the three of them. “Either I will help you write it down or Miss Dale will.” He nodded at his brother. “I’ll be right back.”

  They walked out of the room, the father holding the child tight. Joan’s throat caught. She’d missed that kind of intimacy with her father. Neither of her parents had been demonstrative, and then her father had become abusive.

  Anne was a lucky little girl.

  “She’s been taught how to use a mage light already?” Mr. Moriarty asked into the silence that followed their departure. “That is a rare talent in one so young and so female.”

  “Only recently, I think, because this is the first I’m hearing about it,” Nick said.

  Only just today, Joan thought.

  Mr. Moriarty nodded. “His Grace has the right to have his daughter taught by whomever he wishes. I’m glad he found a gifted teacher for a gifted child.”

  “Miss Dale is that,” Nick agreed.

  Moriarty looked at Joan as he said “teacher.” Of course he did. She was another one of those gifted mages despite being so female.

  “I know I dismissed the possibility when speaking to Lady Anne but, Lord Nicholas, is it possible she could have seen the murderer?” Joan asked. The girl might be the key to all this.

  “She certainly saw no one she recognized, or she would have mentioned it when she flew into my arms in the hallway.” Nick sighed. “And before you ask, I saw no one either.”

  “The murderer may well have come and gone by then,” Joan said. “I will say right now, I don’t understand what this is about. Do you know anyone who would want to do your friend harm, Mr. Moriarty?”

  “Because of his work in the Metaphysical Society, you mean? Samuel has been adamant that everyone should have access to learn about their mage gift,” he said. “Even women, as you know. But I’m unaware of any specific threats on his life.”

  “You think someone broke into Lotus Hall to do him in?” Nick asked.

  Melodramatic way to put it. “I have no idea what to think, but a house so vast, with many entrances, must have vulnerabilities,” Joan answered. “I would imagine servants’ quarters are less secure than the ones used by family and guests.”

  “Is a break-in more likely than it being someone already inside the residence?” Moriarty asked.

  “As Gregor says, it’s a capital mistake to theorize without data. I do remember Gregor said Lotus Hall has a staff of approximately one hundred, many of whom are in residence or who might have keys.”

  “That’s a horrible thought,” Nick said. “I want to believe that it was someone who broke into the house but…” He shook his head.

  She could not disabuse him of the notion, given how the teapot used in the attack tracked to Lotus Hall.

  Someone here, perhaps someone still here, was a killer.

  Joan could feel the fatigue creeping in, so she took a chair, hoping that Nick and Moriarty would once again do the same. As expected, out of politeness, they arranged themselves in a semi-circle on the furniture around the chair she’d chosen. A gas lamp flickered in the far corner, casting shadows over the shelves of books.

  “On reflection, you’re right to ask whether the murderer could still be in the house, Miss Krieger,” Nick said. “That ante-library here is my preferred place for solitude. If someone knew that, they might have put poor Cooper there deliberately, where I would be sure to find him.” He grimaced. “I’d like to say it was an intruder or perhaps a former guest who knows I like that spot but, right now, I’m feeling as if we all have a target on our backs.”

  As did she. “I cannot blame you. And I agree, it’s someone who is familiar with Lotus Hall. I couldn’t navigate to this library on my own, even with directions. How thoroughly do you vet your staff?”

  “As thoroughly as possible, of course,” Nick answered. “Our butler, Mr. Niles, the head housekeeper, and Jared interview all staff before they’re hired, right down to the cleaners and scullery maids.”

  “Can you tell me how many servants have access to this area on a regular basis?”

  “Too many to narrow down our suspects.” The duke slipped back into the room and sat next to his brother. “There’s the household staff, including the cleaning staff that begins work at first light. My brother leaves books open and sometimes glasses lying about. They’d know this was his preferred spot and, if they know, then other staff will have heard of it too. As for the rest, there’s also my valet and the duchess’s maid, who have quarters near us, and my daughter’s governess, Miss Dale.”

  “Anyone else?” Lining up all these people to question them wasn’t feasible. It would take days and, by then, their memories would have become mixed, especially from talking it over with others. But Miss Dale was at the top of Joan’s interview list, given her connection to Cooper. She might well know of someone who wanted to harm him.

  Or she might have harmed him herself. It wouldn’t be the first time one lover had murdered another.

  Their best hope was physical evidence.

  “Could a former guest or a former employee enter Lotus Hall from outside without being seen?” Joan asked.

  “We lock up at night,” the duke said. “I won’t say it’s impossible to break into our home but it would be most difficult.”

  “It’s your cravat on poor Samuel’s body. That indicates familiarity, if not family,” Moriarty drawled.

  The duke rose and began pacing back and forth in front of the windows once more, almost stomping. Some habits ran in the family.

  “We need Gregor to untangle this.” Nick sighed. “I hope he’s as good as he thinks he is.”

  “He better be,” the duke said. “This is a serious stain on our house. To think I failed to protect a guest.”

  “I would point out that Lord Gregor is not a completely objective investigator,” Moriarty replied. “Perhaps we should call the authorities right now.” He set his jaw. “Mr. Cooper deserves justice.”

  “The authorities are a step to consider. But I need to hear from Gregor first,” the duke said. “What’s he doing that’s taking him so damned long?”

  “He is being thorough,” Joan said.

  The duke rounded on her. “Soon, I will have to announce this…death…to my staff. They’ll be already aware of some upset in the household.” His eyes narrowed. “An
d you expect me to engage in idle chat with you about such matters when I need answers?”

  “I expect that talking about what happened and what the victim deemed important is a way to sort through information that may lead to his killer.” Joan should’ve been intimidated, but his anger was so much like Gregor’s disdain during their infrequent arguments that the duke’s frustrations rolled off her.

  “Think on this.” Nick rose. “Whoever it was, if this was murder, if the guilty party can reach inside the bosom of Lotus Hall and do this, and to a talented mage too, then no one is safe.”

  The duke’s face drained of all color. Even Moriarty paled.

  “You will have to make certain no one goes anywhere alone, Your Grace,” she said.

  “Indeed,” he whispered.

  “God, this seems an impossible task.” Nick slumped in his chair. “Servants. Former guests who know the hall. Talented thieves. Mages. Can you and Gregor narrow down our pool of potential killers?”

  Gregor flung open the doors to the ante-library. “We have a problem, brothers, Mr. Moriarty. Not only is this room not the scene of the murder, our dead man was killed by a mage.”

  Chapter 10

  Gregor so loved his grand entrances. As he intended, the attention of the men immediately shifted to him. Joan watched them watch him.

  The duke clenched his fists once more, his face flushed now with anger. Nick came to attention. Moriarty sighed and his shoulders slumped.

  In a logical sense, they were all suspects. They were all awake in the middle of the night. They’d given reasonable explanations, but it remained to be seen if those explanations would hold true.

  “Explain yourself,” the duke commanded.

  “I will have to show you,” Gregor said. “It will not be an easy sight.”

  “Even so, I wish to know what you’ve uncovered, Lord Gregor,” Moriarty said.

  “I thought you might,” Gregor said.

  Something snappish in there. Yet another impression to file with the others.

  They filed into the smaller chamber with her at the back of the group. The body now lay on the carpet in front of the window, almost in state. The victim’s neck was imprinted with the outline of the chain links but there were no other immediate signs of violence on the body.