by K E O'Connor
“And he could also have nothing to do with any of this.” Helen glared at me. “You shouldn’t always assume the worst in people.”
“I don’t!”
Flipper whined, and paced around the table. He hated it when I argued with anyone.
“Why don’t you stick with the suspects you’ve already got? If none of them turn up trumps, then you can start trying to mess things up with me and Henry,” said Helen.
I swirled my fork around my plate, stabbing aimlessly at the pasta. “I guess I can focus on Lady Camilla, Ranulph, and Billy. It might be one of them.”
“There you go, three plausible suspects to focus on,” said Helen. “So you can stop picking on my Henry.”
“He’s not even yours yet,” I said.
“But he might be,” said Helen. “And then things will get awkward when you go accusing him of killing Katie and Johnny. It means you might not be able to be my bridesmaid.”
“Now you really are being stupid.”
“There you go again, with the airhead insinuations.” Helen jumped to her feet and threw her knife down. “You’re only grumpy because Zach’s not around to cheer you up.”
“This has nothing to do with Zach,” I said. “Besides, he’s not that far away. I only saw him a day or two ago.”
“Still, you get all miserable when he’s missing from your life,” said Helen. “Why don’t you go and visit him on your day off? You might be less obsessed with my relationship if you focus on your own.”
“I’m not obsessed with your imaginary relationship!” I snapped.
Helen glowered at me. “I’ve lost my appetite.” She turned on her heel and stomped out of the kitchen.
“Helen, wait!” But I was too late, she had already gone.
Flipper rested his head on my knee and licked tomato sauce from my fingers. “I didn’t handle that well, did I?”
Flipper placed a paw over his nose and gazed at me with his large blue eyes.
“Okay, not you as well. I messed up.” I fed him a piece of pasta, my own appetite also gone.
Maybe I was making a mistake when it came to Henry. There were plenty of other suspects to look into. But I didn’t want Helen getting hurt if she fell for him and he was involved. He did seem like a nice guy, but Helen was so quick to jump into things without thinking about everything first. I wanted to make sure that when Helen found the right guy, there was no reason for them not to be together for life. Especially if that reason had anything to do with murder.
I ate a few bites of pasta, but it tasted like cardboard to me, so I cleared the plates and found a huge tub of chocolate ice cream in the freezer. That would make things better.
Chapter 10
The next morning, Helen’s absence in the kitchen made my stomach sink. I hoped she wasn’t avoiding me after our argument.
I stood by the kettle, a chocolate ice-cream headache lingering behind my eyes, as Flipper watched me with a look of admonishment on his face.
“You don’t have to look at me like that. I know I need to make up with Helen. And I said things I shouldn’t have, last night.”
Flipper tipped his head to one side as he continued to watch me.
“Yes, I do feel bad about that.” We rarely fought, and to argue over a man was silly. Henry was nice, and if Helen trusted him, then I would as well. I had to find a way to say sorry for taking my frustration with Lady Camilla out on her. I could make dinner for a change, but that would be more like a punishment, given how terrible I was at cooking.
I made myself a quick cup of tea and gave Flipper his breakfast. One thing I would do was not pursue Henry as a suspect in Katie and Johnny’s deaths. Right now, I was more interested in Katie’s immediate family.
Since the ghosts had chased away Billy, I didn’t believe his brash words about Katie dating him. She had more sense than that, so didn’t consider him top of my list of suspects. That left me with Lady Camilla and Ranulph.
I drank my tea, ate a piece of toast, and hurried to the study to get to work with Lady Camilla.
When I entered the room it was empty, and Lady Camilla was not sitting in her usual regal, stiff pose behind her desk. I found a note with instructions instead.
I sighed as I saw the pile of dusty files she had left me to sort through. I never understood why people hoarded old paperwork. So far, the files I’d pulled apart had things in them dating back over fifty years. Most of the people who’d written the correspondence would be dead. They wouldn’t be expecting to hear from Lady Camilla after all this time.
I shook my head as I sat down in the seat and opened the first file.
Two hours later, I heard a gentle tap on the study door. The door opened to reveal Manfred. “I wondered if you might like some tea?”
“Oh, yes, that would be lovely.” This was a nice surprise. Lady Camilla never offered me a cup of tea when Manfred bought her one.
“Well, with her Ladyship out of the house, I figured you might appreciate it.” Manfred carried in a tray with a pretty floral teapot on it, and a single bone china cup in a saucer. There was also a small plate of chocolate cookies. My mood began to improve.
“It’s just what I need.” I flipped the file in front of me shut, and smiled at Manfred.
“I do think Lady Camilla is a little mean never letting you have a cup of tea when I bring her one.” Manfred placed the tray down and took a step back. “But she doesn’t like staff mingling with the rest of the household. She believes if staff and employers become too familiar, it leads to trouble.”
I looked at the fragile cup and saucer. “Are you sure this will be okay? I don’t want to be accused of contaminating her best china.”
“Don’t worry, you’re drinking out of the reserve teacups.” Manfred gave me a small smile. “She never sees this one. This can be our little secret.” He backed away to the door.
“Do you want to join me?” I asked, gesturing to an empty seat. “Other than Flipper, I’ve been on my own all morning.”
“Oh, I don’t want to disturb you from your work.” Manfred half turned towards the door, but I could see he was tempted, his eyes on the chocolate cookies.
“It will be nice to have company,” I said. “And I can’t drink a whole pot of tea on my own.” I could, but Manfred didn’t need to know that.
“Well, perhaps I can take my five-minute break now.” Manfred opened the door. “Be back in a moment.”
I swirled the tea in the teapot, letting it brew, as I waited for Manfred to return. Despite our run in when I was in the woods with Flipper, I’d not spoken more than a few dozen words to Manfred. He kept to himself and was never around when I ate dinner with Helen. But he could have useful information about the family, including what happened to Katie.
Manfred returned with a large white mug in his hand, emblazoned on the side were the words: Butlers do it best in the buff.
I pointed at the mug. “Guessing that’s not a present from Lady Camilla?”
He grinned at me as he placed the mug down and poured out the tea. “My son’s joke. He thinks it’s so funny I have to wear what he calls a penguin suit, to work every day. He got me this mug on my fiftieth birthday.”
I poured the tea as Manfred took a seat, and then joined him on the other side of the desk.
“How you settling in?” asked Manfred, as he offered me the plate of cookies, before taking two for himself. “Hope Lady Camilla hasn’t scared you off.”
“I have had one or two doubts,” I said. “As I mentioned in the woods yesterday, some of her rules are a bit odd.”
“Yes, and she is a stickler for them,” said Manfred. “But, as I said, keep your head down and don’t answer back, and she’ll get used to you. When she does, she mellows.”
“How long have you worked for the family?”
“Coming up to ten years,” said Manfred. “I apprenticed under the former butler, so I learned all about Lady Camilla’s interesting regulations early on. I was offered the position
when it became available. And it suits me. It’s a lovely place to live, and when Lady Camilla gets to know you, she has her gentler side.”
“I look forward to seeing that,” I said. “How about the rest of the family? You must know them well too.”
“I know Sir Ranulph well.” Manfred glanced over his shoulder before continuing. “Don’t say anything, but Lady Camilla is rather disappointed in him. He spends his evenings out drinking and then his days in bed. And when he is up, he’s chasing around the countryside shooting anything that moves, all in the name of sport, or speeding down country lanes in one of the many cars the family owns. Lady Camilla is hoping he’ll find some suitable role to take on, and quash this childish behavior, but she’s not willing to give him any responsibility when it comes to this estate.”
I took a bite of my cookie. “From what I’ve seen of Ranulph, he doesn’t deserve any responsibility.”
“I hope he hasn’t done anything too obnoxious to you.” Manfred took a sip of his tea.
“Guns, lewd propositions and fast cars have been involved.” I raised my hand as a look of shock passed across Manfred’s face. “But, don’t worry, he hasn’t scared me away.”
“Hopefully he will mature, he’s still a young man.”
“And what about Katie?” I stared intently at Manfred to see how he reacted to hearing that name.
His mug froze halfway to his mouth. “You know about Katie?”
“Lady Camilla told me about her,” I said. “And Ranulph as well. In fact, he offered to give me her car.”
Manfred frowned. “That’s not his to give away. I hope you declined the offer.”
“Of course I did,” I said. “I wasn’t willing to play nice with Ranulph to get a car.”
Manfred’s frown deepened. “That young man has a lot of growing up to do.”
I nodded. “Did you know Katie as well as Ranulph?”
Manfred drank his tea, his hand shaking as the mug lowered. “I did. She was a sweet young lady.”
“And do you know what happened to her?”
“She disappeared.”
“Did she move away?”
“No, but she wasn’t happy here.”
“She decided to leave, then?” I finished my cookie, my gaze still intent on Manfred as he shifted in his seat.
“No one knows,” said Manfred. “Lady Camilla was insistent Katie marry into another traditional family. And Katie tried her best. She dated the men her mother put before her, hoping she would find somebody suitable. But she never did, although she let them down gently, never wanting to hurt anyone’s feelings. But she was looking for love, you see, and that was something Lady Camilla couldn’t understand.”
“Sounds like Katie confided in you.”
Manfred’s bottom lip trembled. “She didn’t have anybody else to talk to. Her father died when she was a teenager, and she had no other father figure in her life. I don’t like to assume I was that, but she would often come to the servants’ kitchen and talk to me. And when she did, Katie was adamant she wanted to break the traditional ways of this family and drag it into the twenty-first century. And, although I was cautious about some of her ideas, I did agree with many of them. She had a vision for this estate, a way of transforming it. It was something Lady Camilla would not have approved of.”
“Did Katie meet somebody she wanted to be with?” I asked.
Manfred raised his eyebrows. “For somebody who has never met Katie, you know a lot about her.”
“Call it intuition,” I said. “If she’s as nice as you say she is, she deserved to be happy.”
Manfred smiled. “You’re right, she did. And she did find somebody. Katie trained to be a lawyer, and the law firm she was working in was where she met Johnny. She tried to hide it at first, but she fell for him hard. They dated in secret, although I did get to meet him a couple of times. He was a decent young man, respectful, and adored Katie.”
“Did they run away together?”
“They vanished together,” said Manfred as he tugged at his bottom lip. “Next thing I heard, they were both dead. Well, at least that’s what Lady Camilla believes. Katie and Johnny disappeared. But there is no record of where they are or what they’re doing if they are still alive. Which leads me to one sad conclusion.”
“They died.” I sighed. “Do you know how they died?”
“No one talks about it,” said Manfred. “I wondered about finding a copy of Katie’s death certificate, put my mind at rest, but I don’t like to interfere in family business. And as fond as I was of Katie, she wasn’t my family. Ranulph hinted at the possibility of alcohol being involved, but Katie wasn’t a drinker. She would have a glass of champagne at a social occasion, but always said it gave her a terrible headache.”
The air around me chilled, and Flipper lifted his head from his paw and stared at me.
Manfred shivered, and clutched his mug to his chest. “You’d think winter had suddenly arrived. Here we are, in late summer, and the house is freezing. Would you like me to light a fire for you?” He pointed to the ornate fireplace dominating one wall.
“No, I’m fine.” I tried to keep my gaze on him, despite the fact Katie had just appeared by his side. “So, you were saying about Katie, something to do with alcohol?”
“I can’t believe her death was due to drinking too much. And, I think until she’s actually found, no one will know what happened to her. I can’t believe she’s truly gone.”
“Sounds like you cared for her.” I watched as Katie placed a hand on Manfred’s shoulder and smiled down at him. It seemed the feeling was mutual.
“She was such a lovely girl. I have two sons, but always wanted a daughter of my own. I thought of Katie as the daughter I never had. She was so kind and thoughtful. She remembered people’s birthdays, even us servants. And then she found love, and she blossomed. She came into herself when she found Johnny. I do hope they are doing well, and we are wrong to assume she is dead. Even if Katie and Johnny have decided to cut ties with this family, I wish them well. But I would like to see her again.”
“Have you got any reason to believe Katie and Johnny are no longer alive?” I asked.
Manfred rubbed his chin. “The lack of letters and cards. Katie was excellent at keeping in touch. She studied law at Cambridge University and was there for four years, but she always wrote. Sometimes she’d send me funny little postcards she picked up in tourist gift stores in the city. She was always trying to get me to smile. She said I was too serious. Although, this job does call for being rather serious.”
“When was the last time you received a letter from Katie?”
“Oh, must be at least three years ago,” said Manfred. “She had a weekend away with some friends and sent me a postcard of the seaside. I used to look forward to the mail every morning, expecting to find something from her after she vanished. Even today, after all this time, I still hope there will be a little message from her. Something, anything, to let me know things are okay with her and she’s happy.”
“And what about her boyfriend, Johnny?” I looked over at Katie and saw how sad she appeared.
“A nice young man, well-spoken and gentle. Lady Camilla banned him from the house after his second visit. She saw him as a threat to her plans to marry Katie off to some ancient, landed member of the royal family. She had to get rid of any competition quickly. But she was too late when it came to Johnny. They were already in love and nothing would put Katie off. No matter how many times Lady Camilla threatened to disinherit her.”
“You heard her say that to Katie?”
“I get to hear a lot of things Lady Camilla says. I sometimes think she forgets I’m in the room. I can be discreet when I need to be.” Manfred winked at me. “But Lady Camilla argued with Katie constantly.”
“You don’t think she’d do anything to harm Katie? If she wanted her to marry into a wealthy family, but Katie rebelled against her choice of man, maybe Lady Camilla saw it as too much of a humiliation to l
et her be with anybody else.”
“Goodness, what a thought.” Manfred placed his mug on the tray and fiddled with a button on his white shirt. “Lady Camilla has traditional values, but I don’t see her being malicious towards her own family. Certainly not malicious even to kill.”
“Maybe her desire to keep traditions going overcame her love for her daughter,” I said.
Manfred shook his head. “She can be sharp, but she’d never hurt Katie.”
“But you think someone did?” I leaned forward in my seat.
Manfred glanced at the ceiling and then returned to fiddling with his shirt button. “I may have been involved with her getting into trouble.”
My eyes widened. “What did you do?”
“I helped Katie and her young man meet up on occasion.”
I let out the breath I’d been holding. I found myself warming to Manfred. Behind his penguin suit and slicked back hair, there was a kind man.
“How did you help her?”
“They would go on date nights, and I would cover for Katie, say I had arranged for her to visit a friend,” said Manfred. “I don’t think Lady Camilla suspected anything. But if Katie’s involvement with Johnny led to something bad happening to her, I’ll never forgive myself. I should have chased him away as I was ordered to do. Katie might still be here if I had done so.”
“You couldn’t have known things would go wrong,” I said. “And it sounds like it was serious between Katie and Johnny.”
“There was talk of marriage,” said Manfred, giving me a sad smile. “It’s why so many people believe they eloped. Lady Camilla would never have permitted them to marry.”
My gaze rested on the partially concealed photograph of Katie still blocked by a stack of papers. I wished I could tell Manfred the truth. It didn’t seem fair giving him false hope to cling to that she was still alive. But there was no way of telling him that her ghost was currently resting a hand on his shoulder.
Manfred cleared his throat and wiped a hand across his eyes. “Well, I must get back to work, and so must you. Even though Lady Camilla is not in residence, she still expects me to do my duty.”
