Free Mrs. Jeffries Forges Ahead by Emily Brightwell

ears.
    “Of course I don’t, but I’m going to have to treat her as I do any other suspect and I don’t think I’m capable of behaving in such a manner. She’s very dear to me and I can’t bear the thought of questioning her as if she were a criminal.” He looked down at the floor.
    “You won’t have to, sir,” Barnes said dryly. “To begin with, you’re always respectful of everyone when you’re taking statements and asking questions. The only time you speak harshly to anyone is if they refuse to cooperate or they try to bully one of your men. Secondly, sir, unless we find evidence that Lady Cannonberry had a motive to want Arlette Banfield dead, all we’ll have to do is ask her the same questions we ask everyone else. If you let me handle all the interviews with her, that should avoid any hint of impropriety or favoritism.”
    Witherspoon looked up, his expression hopeful. “Do you think so, Constable? I should hate to hurt her in any way.”
    “Just let me take care of it, sir. Besides, I’m sure we’ll find that Lady Cannonberry was the one person at the Banfield table who didn’t want the poor woman dead.”
    “That’s an excellent solution, Constable.” Witherspoon smiled. “I should have thought of it myself, but, frankly, from the moment I saw her here and heard what had happened, I’ve not been able to think clearly.”
    “None of us are at our best at this time of night, sir.” Barnes yawned. “It’s now almost one a.m.”
    “Let’s call it a night, shall we? We can continue taking statements tomorrow morning. “Make sure there are two constables posted out front and we’ll ask the local lads to double their patrols in the area. I think I’ll have one more look at the crime scene before I leave.”
    Barnes nodded and hurried off to relay the instructions to the local constables. The inspector yawned and went back to the ballroom. He paused just inside the huge double doors.
    The cavernous room had an air of despair about it. The food from the buffet had been cleared away, but the servants hadn’t had time to clean the room properly. There were still tablecloths on the tables; crystal wineglasses, many of them still holding drink, were everywhere; and the white carnations in the centerpieces were wilting.
    The inspector went toward the table where Arlette Banfield had sat and tried to envision what it would have looked like before she drank the fatal potion. According to what he’d been told, Lewis Banfield had sat with his back to the butler’s pantry entrance and Arlette had sat directly across from him. He made a mental note to find out where everyone else had been sitting. Perhaps he’d ask Ruth to draw him a diagram.
    Witherspoon studied the room for a few more minutes, trying to get a sense of where everyone was and if they could see one another clearly or how they might have been moving about. But it was no use. Staring at the empty room didn’t help him one bit.

    Back at Upper Edmonton Gardens, the only person awake was Mrs. Jeffries. Wiggins and Smythe had come back and reported what little they’d found out, and, after they’d discussed it thoroughly, Smythe and Betsy had escorted Ruth to her house across the communal garden before going home themselves.
    Mrs. Jeffries sat at the kitchen table with a covered tray in front of her. She hoped the inspector would get here soon; even with the three cups of tea she’d drunk, she was getting very sleepy. But she was determined to have something for the others tomorrow morning. They’d be here for their breakfast meeting and by then, if she was very lucky, she’d have a bit more information.
    She heard the telltale jingle of a harness as a hansom rounded the corner and then the clip-clop of the horse’s hooves as it drew up in front of the house. She grabbed the tray and flew up the back steps and down the hall, stopping just long enough to deposit the tray in the drawing room. She reached the entryway just as the