Page 88 of Murder at the Dinner Party
He pointed a finger at me. “You should have left well enough alone. Look at the damage you’ve caused!”
Harry pushed Sir Ian’s finger away and squared up to him. “You’ve caused a lot of damage yourself. I hope you’ll do the honorable thing and take care of your responsibilities.”
Sir Ian merely sniffed and followed his wife up the stairs.
“He tried totake careof it,” Mrs. Turner spat. “He bought her the oil of pennyroyal.”
“I didn’t use it,” Betty whispered through her tears. “I couldn’t do it.”
Mrs. Turner patted Betty’s shoulder. “Go and dry your eyes, girl, then get back to work. We’ll have a chat later and decide what to do next.”
Mrs. Turner, Harry and I watched her go, while Mrs. Cook returned to the kitchen.
“I’m sorry I didn’t realize earlier that Davey was guilty,” I said.
Mrs. Turner sighed. “You weren’t to know.”
“He mentioned he hadn’t been in Mr. Hardy’s office on the day he died, but of course he had. He’d delivered the poisoned cup of tea. He actually had no reason to lie and pretend he wasn’t there, as it was perfectly natural to take in tea to the butler, but in the heat of the moment and feeling the pressure, he’d accidentally lied when it was quite unnecessary.”
“Never mind. You worked it out in the end.”
“You thought it was Betty, didn’t you? You thought she killed Mr. Hardy, then became upset afterward. That’s why you wanted me to stop investigating. You didn’t want me to catch her.”
She nodded. “I thought that was the reason for all her tears, and I didn’t want her to hang for it. She’s a kind, sweet thing.” She huffed in frustration. “I should have trusted my instincts and known she couldn’t poison anyone, even if she had good reason. When I finally confronted her not long ago, she told me who the father was. Well, you could have knocked me down with a feather, you could! It never occurred to me it would be Sir Ian. Like you, I thought it was Davey.” Her gaze wandered to the staircase Sir Ian had just taken. “I told Lady Campbell immediately. She thinks Betty’s lying and told me to mind my own business. That was the last straw for me. I’m going to give my notice just as soon as I find a new position. I can’t stay on here working for people like that.”
“And Betty?”
She sighed again. “I don’t know. I’ll go with her later to tell her mother. Betty’s terrified of what she’ll say, but what mother wouldn’t want to help her daughter at such a time?”
“Mrs. Hatch does love her daughter,” I said. “But this will test their relationship. Betty will need your support. If she does have the child and finds she needs work, tell her to ask Mrs. Short at the hotel for a position.”
She shook her head. “My sister doesn’t like loose girls.”
“If anyone can convince her that Betty isn’t loose, merely the victim of an employer who took advantage, you can.”
She walked with Harry and me to the front door. “You think you know the people you work with, but this just goes to show that some folk keep things close to their chest.”
“Don’t blame yourself for not seeing Davey for the thief he is,” Harry said. “He was an excellent liar.”
“I was talking about Mr. Hardy. I liked him. I felt sorry for him that he had no one in his life, no family or friends. But he was a blackmailer, which probably explains why they’d all cut him out of their lives.” She gave yet another sigh, this one weighty, as if she was weary to her bones. “I’ll pay you your fee, as agreed, Miss Fox. I don’t have it on me, but I’ll give it to my sister to give to you.” She huffed a humorless laugh. “Glad I didn’t keep it here, now, what with Davey being a thief and all.” She opened the door and peered up at the stairs. “Do you think we have to worry about him coming back?”
Harry shook his head. “He’ll be long gone by now. Scotland Yard will give a description of him to the newspapers, so hopefully no one else will employ him, but I doubt they’ll catch him. The criminal world takes care of its own.”
Harry and I walked together only as far as his office. He was quiet much of the way, but that could have been because I did all the talking. I went over every detail of the case, all of which he already knew. It was a waste of breath, but it was a good deterrent. The last time we’d ended an investigation together, he’d kissed me.
I couldn’t allow that to happen again. Endings of investigations were proving to be a somewhat heady and irrational time for us.
Instead of going to his office, I made sure to say farewell while we were still on a public thoroughfare. Broadwick Street was too quiet, too intimate, whereas the throng of pedestrians and vehicles near Piccadilly Circus ensured he would not kiss me again.
“Well, that’s that then,” I said, inching away from him. “Bye, Harry, and thank you.” I waved and hurried off.
I resisted the urge to turn around and see if he was still standing there, watching me. It wasn’t easy, but it helped that I saw the omnibus that would take me to Scotland Yard about to pull over. I ran to catch it. Once safely on board, I expelled a measured breath. I felt like I’d been holding it ever since leaving the Campbells’ house.
* * *
I spentsome time with D.S. Forrester. He insisted I repeat everything for his superior, who then insisted I help their sketch artist draw a likeness of Davey. They would make copies and send it out to as many stations around the city as possible. They didn’t sound hopeful of catching him. At least they listened to me and took me seriously. I suspected I had D.S. Forrester to thank for that. He assured his superiors that I’d helped solve murders before, and that I was a friend of D.I. Hobart’s. Harry’s father still had a great deal of respect from his former peers.
I arrived back at the hotel before afternoon tea. After a brief exchange with Frank, then Goliath, I took the stairs to the fourth floor. I poked my head into Flossy’s suite and told her I’d join her for afternoon tea in the sitting room as soon as I changed, then I headed to my own suite.
