Free Mrs. Jeffries Speaks Her Mind by Emily Brightwell

Barnes had realized that Witherspoon was getting help on all his cases. But being a sensible sort of man, instead of taking offense, he’d kept his eyes and ears open until he’d figured out that it was the inspector’s own household that was lending a hand. Gradually, once they’d learned to trust one another, he’d let Mrs. Jeffries know he understood what they were doing and that he approved.
    The truth of the matter was that he’d accomplished more in the service of justice in the last few years than ever before. That was important to the constable, very important, and it didn’t hurt that Inspector Witherspoon’s string of solved cases had made him a legend. He worked with the man, so everyone else on the force considered him a bit of a legend as well. That wasn’t why he did it, of course, but he’d not be human if he didn’t admit that his vanity enjoyed the whispers of admiration when he walked through a local police station or Scotland Yard.
    Mrs. Jeffries took her seat. In the early morning, the kitchen was quiet, save for the ticking of the clock and the faint noises from the street as Londoners woke up for the day. “You had quite a full day yesterday.”
    Barnes grinned. “That we did, Mrs. Jeffries. We’ve another odd murder on our hands. The victim was found lying in her back garden with a bullet in her forehead, but you already know all that, don’t you? Let me give you the details I found out from the servants. To begin with, they didn’t much like her.”
    “Did they dislike her enough to murder her?” Mrs. Jeffries asked. Barnes was no fool; his opinion of the household could go a long way in eliminating suspects.
    He shook his head. “It’s possible, but I don’t think it’s likely. She was hard on them, but she wasn’t cruel and I finally got the housemaid to admit that she did pay top wages. But what is interesting is that they blamed her for the death of the cook.”
    “The inspector mentioned there was a bit of resentment over the woman’s death,” Mrs. Jeffries murmured.
    “It was a bit more than resentment,” Barnes declared. “The gardener was so furious, he’d already started looking for a new position, and from what I saw of those grounds, he’ll get one, too. He’s a fine gardener. The scullery maid and the downstairs maid were also trying to find new posts.”
    “But the inspector told Mrs. Jeffries the cook died of natural causes,” Mrs. Goodge protested. “So why were they so angry? Did they suspect she’d killed the woman?”
    “No, that was never mentioned,” Barnes replied. “They were upset because Miss Kettering made it clear she thought the cook was malingering to get out of her duties. Apparently, the woman would become ill, take to her bed for a day or two, and then just as quickly recover. When she had this final bout of illness, Miss Kettering didn’t let them call the doctor until it was too late.”
    “So they blamed her,” Mrs. Jeffries mused. “But if they’re trying to find new positions, why would one of them kill her? Furthermore, they were all at a funeral in Kent when the murder was committed.”
    “As far as we know, that’s true.” Barnes took another swig from his mug. “But we’ve no real confirmation of the actual time of death, and if the servants were in a conspiracy to kill her, they could have done it before they left that day.”
    “But that would have been very risky for them,” Mrs. Jeffries pointed out. “The inspector said that Mrs. Fox saw the body when she glanced out her window at ten o’clock. If the servants were in a conspiracy and killed her, they’d have had to put the body out before they caught the train to Kent, and if they’d done that, they could have easily been spotted by Mrs. Fox.”
    “I agree, I don’t think they did it, either, but it’s always good to talk through the possibilities,” he replied. “Besides, after taking their statements yesterday, I got the impression that the staff