Death by the Book (11 page)

“I’ve never seen it before. Drew, do you recognize it?”

“Could you have taken it with you by mistake from your ship when you came over, or perhaps one of the places you stayed before you came to Farthering?”

“I’d have noticed long before now if that were the case. Besides, I bought this purse here. Well, not in Farthering St. John, but in Winchester. It was after Carrie and Muriel and I came to stay.”

Drew studied the key. “Could be from the Queen Bess, I suppose. When was the last time you were there?”

“When we had lunch, you and Freddie and I.”

“Could you have accidentally picked it up? Off the table or something?”

“I don’t think so. I suppose it’s possible, though.”

“Oh, well. Don’t let it trouble you, darling. I’ll take it back after I go see Rog. Or maybe we’ll walk down there later on and return it. How’d that be?”

She smiled and then sobered at the piercing look coming from her aunt.

“Really, Aunt Ruth, I don’t know how that got in my bag. You’re making some kind of scandal out of nothing. It’s just a key. I don’t even know what it unlocks.”

“Mischief, if you ask me. That’s what it unlocks.”

Drew slipped the key into his coat pocket. “Well, we’ll send it right back to where it belongs, mischief and all, and no harm done.”

“Humph.”

And for the rest of the meal, Aunt Ruth said no more.

The trip to the jail in Winchester proved singularly unproductive. Drew wasn’t allowed to see Roger Morris, who was “in interrogation,” and he had no choice but to leave the cigarettes for him. He was also not allowed to talk to Chief Inspector Birdsong. Though the desk sergeant did not say, Drew suspected Birdsong was also “in interrogation.”

He was back home before eleven, and he and Madeline walked down to Farthering St. John just in time for lunch. Drew couldn’t help smiling when he saw Mr. Llewellyn’s shiny red two-wheeler leaning against the wall at the side of the inn.

“Looks as if we’ll be safe for the time being. He’s likely in there having a pint with his shepherd’s pie.”

Madeline shook her head. “He’s a nice old man, even if he can never remember my name. He’s told me all sorts of inter
esting things he remembers hearing about our civil war from when he was a little boy.”

“You should ask him what he remembers about
our
civil war.”

She laughed. “When was that? Two hundred years before ours?”

“More or less, but I don’t know how much he’ll remember. He may have still been in his cradle then.” Drew winked and then shook an index finger at her. “Just you remember to keep out of his way when he’s on his bicycle. Now, let’s go see to this key business, and then maybe we can find Bunny and ask him about Roger and Clarice.”

“Why don’t you just call Bunny on the telephone?”

“Well, I could, darling, but then I wouldn’t get to see his new motor car. It’s a Lagonda.”

She rolled her eyes. “You boys and your motor cars.”

They went into the Queen Bess and straight to the front desk where a frazzled Mrs. Burrell greeted him with a reasonable amount of cordiality.

“Have you and the young lady come to lunch again?”

“No, actually.” Drew took the questionable key from his pocket and showed it to her. “I think this may belong to you. Has one of yours gone missing?”

The woman drew her heavy brows together as she studied it. “It’s certainly one of ours, but no, I didn’t know we were missing of it. Of course, with Sarah and Maggie both out sick and me left to do their work and my own, I might not take notice if the kitchen went missing.”

Drew leaned on the desk conspiratorially. “I wonder who’s in room four right now.”

“None of your honeyed words this time, Mr. Drew. Don’t think I’ve forgotten the mischief you made in my inn the last time I let you talk me into something.”

He put a touch of roguishness into his smile. “Now, admit it. There was no harm done in the least. In fact, I imagine there will be a lot of people wanting to come here, not in spite of that little scandal but because of it. How many of them have the chance to stay where a famous cinema star has stayed?”

“That’s as may be, Mr. Drew, but I have a duty to my guests to keep their business private. So if you’ll kindly return hotel property, I’ll be getting back to my work.”

Sighing, Drew surrendered the key into her outstretched hand.

“Thank you. Now, if there’s nothing more—”

“I wonder if that’s my cousin in room four.” Madeline appealed to her with a smile. “I can’t think of how else I might have picked up this key without noticing it.”

“Cousin, miss?”

“Yes, Mr. Frederick Bell. The gentleman we had lunch with here a couple of days ago.”

“The American gentleman. Oh, yes. I should have known he would know you, being American and all, but I didn’t know you were cousins.”

Drew gave Madeline a suspicious look, but the expression of innocence on her face did not change.

“Well, we’re not really cousins, you know. Not technically. But we say ‘cousin,’ even though it’s not so close a family relationship.”

The older woman displayed a reluctant grin. “Well, I know how that is, dearie. My mother had an aunt her same age, couldn’t abide when Mum called her Aunt Tilda. Always made her say cousin, too.” She jangled the key playfully. “And no harm done with this. I’ll see Mr. Bell has it back, though how he’s gotten in and out since he lost it, I’ll have him explain.”

“Is he in at the moment?” Drew asked.

“Mr. Bell? Haven’t I got enough to keep me hopping here without minding the whereabouts of all my guests day and night?” Just then the telephone rang, and she threw up her hands. “It just doesn’t stop, I tell you.”

Drew took Madeline’s arm. “Come along, darling. If we’re going to track down your Mr. Bell, I suppose we’ll have to—”

“You two looking for me?”

They turned to see Bell standing not two feet behind them, grinning as usual.

“Oh, hullo, Bell.” Drew shook the man’s hand. “In point of fact, we were.”

“Really? What for?”

“Have you been missing your room key?”

“Why, yes. Yes, I have. Did you find it?”

“Madeline came across it this morning. We’ve just turned it in.”

“Well, that’s a relief. I looked all over for the stupid thing. Where’d you find it?”

Madeline’s cheeks turned a little pink, but she smiled. “In my handbag, as a matter of fact. Do you know how it could have gotten in there?”

Bell glanced at Drew. “That’s kind of awkward, isn’t it?”

“Rather.” There was no humor in Drew’s expression. “But the question remains. Do you know how it got there?”

He shrugged, shaking his head. “You’ve got me.”

“When was the last time you had it?”

“Last time I know for sure was when I left the room yesterday morning to go buy some things here in the village. I went to the drugstore and the post office, a couple of other places. I don’t remember. I bought a few things here and there and then came back. That was when I had the message that I was invited to your party last night. After that broke up, I went up to London with
your friend Bunny and his gang, got in at a reasonably prodigal hour this morning, and darned if I couldn’t find my key.”

“Why didn’t you tell Mrs. Burrell you’d lost it?”

“Heck, I didn’t want to get on her bad side. I was afraid I’d have to tell her if I was going to get into my room, but then I saw one of those passkeys hung up behind the desk. I didn’t think it’d hurt anything if I borrowed it until I found my own.”

“And you didn’t put yours into Miss Parker’s purse?”

“No. Why would I?”

“An invitation perhaps?”

Bell’s affable expression turned decidedly cool. “In my country, we consider those kinds of remarks an insult to a lady.”

“I’m glad to hear it.”

Drew fixed him with a hard glare, but blast it if the American didn’t give him as good in return. Madeline finally came between them.

“Grow up, both of you. Maybe I picked it up by accident somewhere when Aunt Ruth and I were in the village yesterday. All that matters now is that it’s back where it belongs, right?”

Drew still stared at Bell, his jaw clenched. Bell narrowed his eyes.

Madeline shook Drew’s arm. “Right?”

“Oh, yes, right. Right.”

She smiled sweetly and turned to Bell. “And I can’t imagine you’d be so ungentlemanly as to make that kind of assumption about me, Freddie.”

“I hold you in the utmost respect, Miss Parker.” He made a slight bow. “I apologize for any embarrassment I may unwittingly have caused.”

She smiled again and took his arm, too. “Now that’s settled, where are you both taking me for lunch?”

“My treat this time,” Bell said. “I insist.”

“Now, hold on here a moment, Madeline.” Drew extricated himself from her grasp. “I have another question or two before you make us swear brothers and all.”

She laughed. “Well, ask them then. I’m hungry.”

Drew glared at Bell once more. “If you
misplaced
your key somewhere in one of the shops, how did you get back into your room to dress for the party?”

The American’s ubiquitous grin reappeared. “I never lock up during the day. I didn’t bring anything on the trip worth stealing except what I’ve got on me.”

“So you couldn’t say if you did or did not have the key at that time? Or if you lost it later? At the party, for example?”

“Afraid not.”

Madeline took Drew’s arm again. “You’re making an awful fuss over nothing, aren’t you?”

He gave her a reluctant nod. “Perhaps I am. All right then, I believe Mr. Bell was about to treat us to some sort of ostentatious feast, wasn’t he?”

“You just see if I don’t.”

Bell led them into the dining room, and just as they were about to sit down, someone called from the far corner of the room.

“Young Farthering!”

Drew grinned, gave Madeline a sly wink, then turned to the older gentleman raising a pint to them.

“Good afternoon.” Drew escorted Madeline to him, Bell in tow. “How are you, Mr. Llewellyn? You remember Miss Parker?”

“Oh, certainly, certainly.” Llewellyn stood, shaking Drew’s hand and then bowing over Madeline’s. “Charming to see you again, ma’am.”

“It’s good to see you too, Mr. Llewellyn. Have you and Mr. Bell met?”

Bell gave the gentleman’s hand a hearty shake. “We have.”

“Did you find your guidebook, young fellow?” Llewellyn asked Bell.

“A suitcase full, sir, but none as thorough as these two.” He grinned at Drew and Madeline. “And none as good with current events.”

Llewellyn laughed and gestured to his otherwise empty table. “You’ll all join me, I hope. Miss Parker?”

“Oh, no, Mr. Llewellyn. We wouldn’t dream of disturbing your lunch.” Drew could see his plate of bangers and mash was more than half gone. “You wouldn’t want to be bothered with our nonsense.”

Llewellyn grinned and pulled out a chair for Madeline. “Your nonsense wouldn’t happen to be about these recent, um, incidents, would it?” He glanced at Madeline, but when he looked again at Drew there was a conspiratorial glint in his rheumy eyes. Madeline was already sitting by then, so the two young men sat at the table with her. “Any break in the case, Farthering?” Llewellyn asked.

Drew frowned. “Not really, sir. No.”

“Pity about the Deschner girl, eh?” Llewellyn shook his head. “Shocking stuff.”

Drew nodded, remembering the poor girl sitting there, still and cold, in that zebra-striped chair. “Certainly that.”

“Still, a girl like that was bound to have a wrong end. Nearly unavoidable.” Llewellyn leaned forward a bit. “Fast, you know. I heard they’re holding Roger Morris for it.”

“For now.”

Llewellyn made a sour face. “Extremely unlikely. Not at all the type, young Morris. I knew his father. Bit of a weed when he was a boy, but right enough.”

“Little enough to go on for the son, isn’t it?” Drew observed.

Llewellyn shrugged. “Might be, I suppose. You’ll see, though. Study this sort of thing, and you’ll see. There’s always method in the madness, mark you that.”

“And have you studied ‘this sort of thing’?” Bell asked with his usual smile. “I’d’ve thought, out here away from the city, you’d have very little to work with. Until recently, I mean.”

“True enough, young man, true enough. Sometimes the quarry is close to hand. Sometimes it is to be chased after. And sometimes it is to be driven from the brush by oneself.” His bushy white brows lifted. “Ah, there’s Mrs. Burrell to take your orders.”