Page 66 of The Murder of Thomas Cardwell
“That’s true enough,” Barnaby said, “but in terms of confirming Moubray’s alibi, despite his obliviousness, others will have seen him out walking.” He caught Penelope’s eyes. “I’m going to set the lads onto finding people who saw Sir Ulysses on his morning ramble about Regent’s Square. Given the area, even at that time, someone will have been out and about and aware of him. He’s large and, with his striking mane and carriage, rather hard to miss.”
Penelope stated, “If he was walking around Regent’s Square and not anywhere east of Frederick Street, heading toward Broad Street, I believe we can cross him off our list.”
“But not,” Stokes insisted, “until we have confirmation of his alibi.” He nodded at Barnaby. “Get going and find some of your lads and put them on the case. The sooner we can prove that Sir Ulysses is not our man, the sooner we can concentrate solely on Keeble.”
After a short discussion, they decided to go straight on to Myddleton Square and interview Keeble before Barnaby set off to find his lads and set them searching.
They gathered on the pavement before the Keeble residence, and Penelope turned to Stokes. “Keeble has a footman acting as butler, and at this hour, the chances are that, like Sir Ulysses, Keeble will be in his study and will choose to see us there. Might I suggest that you and Barnaby have the footman take you to see Keeble while Jordan and I”—she included Jordan with a glance—“go to the kitchen and question the staff?”
Stokes regarded her with interest. “You think the staff know something useful.”
“I think they’ll tell us where Keeble was on Tuesday morning without any roundaboutation,” Penelope stated. “And if we want a corroborated alibi for the man, then his staff are likely our best source.”
“I agree,” Barnaby said. “So we’ll tackle Keeble while you interview his staff.” He grinned at Stokes. “Seems a sensible division of labor.”
Stokes grunted in agreement and led the way through the gate to Keeble’s front door.
As Penelope had predicted, the door was opened by the footman she and Barnaby had encountered before. The footman remembered them and, after Stokes had introduced himself, admitted their party to the house. He left them in the drawing room while he informed his master of their presence. Penelope sat on the sofa, but the men remained standing as Stokes and Jordan looked around curiously. Then the footman returned, intending to show them to the study where Keeble awaited them.
Penelope smiled at the footman. “You may take the inspector and Mr. Adair through to Mr. Keeble, then please join me and Mr. Draper in the kitchen. We have a few questions for the staff before joining the gathering in the study.”
Her confident delivery—that of a hostess well-accustomed to managing staff—had the footman falling in with her directives without hesitation. He paused only to show her the way to the kitchen before leading Stokes and Barnaby to Keeble.
Penelope waited until the door to the study shut, then walked quickly down the corridor to the kitchen.
Amused and curious, Jordan followed at her heels.
They walked through the archway that gave onto the kitchen to discover a maid, a tweeny, and an older woman who was clearly the cook standing about a central deal table. The three were engaged in preparing the evening meal, but froze at the sight of the unexpected intruders.
Penelope smiled understandingly. “My husband and I called yesterday as part of an ongoing police investigation. We simply have a few questions we believe you can assist us with. This won’t take much of your time.”
Jordan stepped aside as the footman returned, eager curiosity in his face. He nodded respectfully to Penelope. “Ma’am. You said you have questions for us?”
“Just a few simple ones.” She glanced at the cook, maid, and tweeny. “Is this the entire staff?”
“Yes, ma’am.” The cook wiped her hands on her apron. “Now Mr. Josh has gone to live with his friends, there’s only the master to see to, so we manage well enough.”
“I see. Well, that should make this easy.” Penelope glanced at the footman. “Inspector Stokes, who together with my husband is currently speaking with your master, and myself and Mr. Draper here are trying to establish where Mr. Keeble was last Tuesday morning, during the hour between seven-thirty and eight-thirty.”
With a reassuring smile, Penelope went on, “You see, asking Mr. Keeble for his movements is one thing, but of course, what he says cannot be taken as proof. For that, we need the testimony of others, which is why we’ve come to speak with you. So”—she looked around brightly—“what are your recollections of what your master did last Tuesday morning?”
The cook frowned, then hesitantly offered, “Well, I serve breakfast at a quarter of seven. He likes it early—always has.”
Penelope nodded encouragingly. “So at seven or so, he was seated at the breakfast table?”
Both maid and footman nodded.
“Very well,” Penelope said. “At what time did he rise from the table?”
The footman’s face cleared, and he turned to the maid and cook. “Tuesday last—that was the morning he went out early.” He looked at Penelope. “Quite took me by surprise, but he sent me to fetch his hat and coat and left at barely seven-thirty.” Suddenly looking conscious, the footman added, “I’m sure of the time because it was so odd for him to go out at that hour that I checked the clock in the hall.”
“Excellent,” Penelope said.
“So he doesn’t usually go out in the morning?” Jordan asked.
“Not until after eleven, normally,” the cook stated.
“I can’t think of when he last left the house before ten,” the maid added.
