Page 6 of Murder at the Dinner Party
She leaned forward a little, causing the chair to creak, and locked her gaze with mine. “Because Mr. Hardy, the butler, started acting oddly after old friends of the Campbells came to dinner one evening. The couple acted oddly, too, upon seeing him, according to the footman who was also present in the dining room. He said they looked startled. Then, on the day of Mr. Hardy’s death, someone snuck into his room upstairs. He mentioned it to me, saying things had been moved. One thing in particular that he mentioned having been moved seems relevant now, in light of his death.”
“What was it?”
She unlocked the top drawer and removed a dark brown glass bottle of seltzer salts. She set it down with a thud on the desk between us. “I removed this before the killer could come back and destroy the evidence. I believe if you test the contents, you’ll find the poison that killed Mr. Hardy.”
CHAPTER2
Iremoved the cork stopper and sniffed the bottle’s contents. It smelled like ordinary bicarbonate of soda. “Why do you think the poison is in here?”
“Where else could it be? Mr. Hardy ate and drank the same as the rest of us and we’re all well. The seltzer was beside his bed. He suffered from headaches, and a dose of the powder was the only thing that gave him relief.”
I studied the bottle, but the label didn’t list the ingredients. “Where do you keep the household poisons?”
“We don’t have any. I refuse to have them in the house.”
“Not even for mice control?”
“We don’t get mice,” she said snippily. “I run a tight,cleanship, Miss Fox.”
I removed my notebook and pencil from my bag and flipped to a blank page. “Tell me about Mr. Hardy. How long had he worked here?”
“A month.”
“And before that?”
“I don’t know. He avoided answering questions about his past.”
“Lady Campbell didn’t tell you?”
“Why would she? It’s none of my business.”
“You mentioned Mr. Hardy’s character changed after friends of Sir Ian and Lady Campbell came to dinner one evening. Was it the same dinner as the one during which he died?”
“No, it was earlier. Lord and Lady Whitchurch live not far away, although they also have an estate in the country. I forget where. No children, just his elderly mother who lives at the estate.”
“What was their behavior like on the night they were served by Mr. Hardy?”
“I can’t say for certain as I wasn’t in the dining room. I did see them arriving and leaving, and all I can say is they seemed on good terms with the Campbells. It was all very cordial.”
“But you said the footman noticed them looking oddly at Mr. Hardy.”
“He did. You should speak to him before the Campbells return home. He’ll be busy when they arrive, having to do Mr. Hardy’s duties as well as his own now.”
“I’d like to speak to the other staff, too.”
“Of course.”
“How much time passed between the two dinner parties, the one at which Lord and Lady Whitchurch were present and the one where Mr. Hardy died?”
“Only a few days.”
“Tell me about the guests who were present at the fateful dinner.”
“I don’t think they’re suspects. Both couples had seen Mr. Hardy on earlier occasions, and there was no change in their behavior before or his after those meetings. They were all very shocked when he collapsed. One of the ladies wouldn’t stop screaming.”
She gave me their names, although her account convinced me they were unlikely to be involved in the butler’s demise.
Mrs. Turner led the way back along the corridor to the kitchen and adjoining staff room. She introduced me to the footman, maid, the cook, known simply as Mrs. Cook, and her assistant, a quiet girl of about fifteen who Mrs. Cook bluntly stated was simple and unable to answer any questions.
