Free Superfluous Women by Carola Dunn Page B

fell.”
    â€œOr as she hit the floor.”
    â€œCould be.”
    â€œIt’s hard to see what could have made her lose her balance, don’t you think?”
    â€œYou’re asking me to speculate, Inspector?”
    â€œNo!” Underwood paused, with a sheepish look. “Well, yes, I suppose I am. On second thoughts, it would be a bit silly not to take the opportunity to pick your brains. You’ve got much more experience in this sort of thing than I do.”
    â€œI’ve never come across anything quite like this before. I take it you’re convinced the death is a homicide?”
    â€œOh yes. It seemed obvious at first, because of the door being locked, then I realised she might for some reason have locked it behind her and put the key in her pocket, then stepped back from the door and took dizzy as she started down those steep, narrow stairs. She’d likely have fallen on her face, though. Besides, the doctor checked her pockets and there’s no keys at all.”
    â€œYou’re quicker than I was. I didn’t think of the pocket possibility until just now, when I was describing her clothes to you. It’s a bit odd that she was on her back, whichever direction she was going in.”
    â€œMy guess is, when she lost her balance she twisted to make a grab for the rail attached to the wall, and missed it.”
    â€œI missed it, too,” Alec said ruefully. “Missed seeing it, that is. My attention was all in the opposite direction and in trying not to breathe. Was the doctor able to say how long ago she died?”
    Underwood grimaced. “Very vague, given the unusual conditions: cool, dry, no flies. At a guess, two to four weeks. The local sergeant says the ladies moved in about a fortnight ago.”
    â€œAt the beginning of October.”
    â€œJust so. Lots of coming and going and general confusion that someone took advantage of. The victim was, you might say, a moving target.”
    â€œOuch!”
    â€œSorry, sir. Bad pun.”
    â€œAn excellent pun.”
    Underwood looked gratified. “I have a go at The Observer crossword every week. Puns are the least of Torquemada’s tricks. But wouldn’t you agree, about the coming and going?”
    â€œThe change of residents would account for the long delay before the finding of the corpse, but whether that was planned or was a lucky happenstance for the killer remains to be seen. No reports of local people missing?”
    â€œNone. The first thing we have to do, of course, is identify the victim.” He hesitated. “According to Sergeant Harris, rumour had it that the previous owner of Cherry Trees, Mrs. Gray, was going abroad. I can’t help wondering whether she ever arrived.”
    â€œSupposing it’s her body, then you’ll know she didn’t. I don’t know how long she lived here, but you should be able to find someone who’d recognise her.”
    â€œOnce she’s been cleaned up a bit, maybe. She’s a mess, though. I don’t like to ask a woman to do it. I suppose the ladies who bought the house would have met her?”
    â€œYou’ll have to ask them,” Alec said firmly.
    â€œAll right.” Underwood sounded quite cheerful. “Just finding out where the boundaries are. A couple more questions for you, sir. You couldn’t see the second shoe under the landing. Fair enough. Was there anything else down there that you noticed?”
    Alec frowned in thought. “A hat. An ordinary sort of cloche hat, as far as I could see, lying not far from her head.”
    â€œThat’s all?”
    â€œI’m pretty sure, though I had only a small torch and didn’t linger, remember.”
    â€œNo handbag, for instance?”
    â€œNot that I saw.”
    â€œGloves?”
    â€œShe certainly wasn’t wearing gloves.”
    â€œRings?”
    â€œHer hands were grossly swollen, and they lay palm up. Chances are I