determined to handle such things yourself.”
She laid a hand on her stomach. “I haven’t eaten since early this morning. I’m afraid I’m feeling a little light in the head.”
“Good Lord, why on earth didn’t you say so.” He got to his feet, and was halfway to the door before he spoke again. “I’ll have the kitchen send up a tray, and then ring the constabulary. You stay there and rest, and when I come back, we’ll discuss your part in all this.”
She pulled a face at the closing door. She adored her husband, and wouldn’t change him for anyone else in the word, but there were times when he could be an insufferable nuisance with his concerns over her safety.
He should know by now that no matter how much he worried, she was honor bound to hunt down a person who had taken the life of someone close to her. Her heart ached for the two young people taken so early in their lives.
No matter how brief their acquaintance, Ellie and Charlie had been members of her staff, the next best thing to family, and she would not rest until their killer, or killers, had been brought to justice.
The thing that really frightened her was that two of her staff had been struck down in close succession. It was imperative she find out the motive behind the deaths, since the possibility existed of an insane murderer intent on wiping out the entire Pennyfoot staff. As far as she could see, that was the only link between the two victims.
Such a disaster seemed impossible, yet she had seen enough in her years at the Pennyfoot to know that anything and everything was possible, no matter how bizarre.
She must summon Madeline again, she decided. If anyone could help her gain insight into the reason behind the murders, it was her friend and her remarkable powers.
She started to rise, just as a loud rap on her door announced a visitor. Hurrying to the door, she threw it open, to reveal Pansy standing there, eyes red rimmed and face paper white, holding a tray in hands that shook so violently, tea slopped out of the teapot’s spout.
Taking the tray from the frightened girl, Cecily said gently, “Come inside for a moment, Pansy, and sit down.”
“Yes, m’m.”
Her voice had been hardly more than a faint whisper, and she scurried past as if the devil himself was after her. She waited for Cecily to lay the tray down and take a seat before perching on the very edge of her chair.
“You were friendly with Ellie, weren’t you?” Cecily gave the girl an encouraging smile. “Did she ever talk about someone she was seeing?”
Pansy’s bottom lip quivered. “She didn’t talk much to me, m’m. We didn’t get along that well.”
Surprised, Cecily nodded. “I see. When was the last time you saw her?”
Pansy blinked, her brows drawn together. “It must have been two days ago. I went out to fill the coal scuttles and I saw her out in the yard talking to Stan, the coal man.” Her frown deepened. “Or I should say more like arguing.”
Cecily leaned back in her chair. Ellie hadn’t worked for her that long, and apart from the first interview, she hadn’t had much occasion to talk to the girl. Her impression, however, was that the new maid was a shy little thing, hard-working and unassuming, polite and eager to please.
Yet what she had heard about her lately had been quite different. Ellie, it seemed, had been involved in arguments with more than one person, and was at odds with Pansy, who got along with everyone. It would seem she had indeed misjudged the girl. The point was, what had all the arguments been about?
It seemed unlikely she’d ever find out. Neither Mr. Docker nor Mr. Whittle were likely to tell her. Especially if one of them was guilty of murder.
Cecily sighed. “Thank you, Pansy. You may go. I’ll bring the tray down to the kitchen myself later. You will be busy getting the dining room ready for the evening meal.”
Pansy curtsied, then fled through the door.
Cecily contemplated her roast pork sandwich, torn with indecision. How she hated to simply give up at such an early stage, yet there was so little evidence to help her. One thing seemed clear. According to Madeline’s vision, Charlie’s death was not an accident. Ellie’s certainly wasn’t. Someone had wanted them both dead, and until the reason for that became clear, there didn’t seem to be any path to follow.
Ellie seemed to have had some kind of disagreement with both Mick Docker and Stan Whittle. Mr. Docker had apparently lied about his argument with her, if Samuel was right about what he’d heard.
As for Mr. Whittle, he’d also been heard arguing with her. Not only that, he was a coal man and Ellie’s shoe had been found in the coal shed. Also, Samuel was saying he thought Ellie’s body was covered in coal dust.
On the other hand, just because Ellie had possibly been killed in the coal shed, that didn’t necessarily condemn Stan Whittle. Anyone could have killed her and left her in there.
Nevertheless, Mr. Whittle could be considered a suspect, and she should start there. Christmas, however, was just a few short days away. She had little time to go chasing after everyone asking them questions, not to mention the obvious peril in doing so.
Then there was Baxter’s disapproval to take into account. Perhaps she should simply hand this one over to Sam Northcott, and hope that he would make a real effort to find whoever had done these dreadful deeds.
It was all extremely upsetting, to say the least. She would feel better, she decided, once she had talked to Madeline. Until then, she would just have to take one step at a time.
CHAPTER 10
That first step came an hour later, when P.C. Northcott arrived on the scene. “The doctor h’examined the body,” he told Cecily, when she took him into her office to discuss the matter. “The girl was strangled. No doubt about that. Her neck was black and blue. I could actually see the thumb prints on her throat.”
Cecily shuddered. “Has her mother been informed?”
“The doctor is with her now. I thought it best he be the one to break the bad news. Just in case she went into shock or something.” The constable rocked back on his heels, hands behind his back.
He always did that when he was embarrassed, and Cecily guessed he had asked Kevin Prestwick to tell Mrs. Tidwell her daughter had been murdered because he was too spineless to do it himself.
“Do you have any idea who might have done this?” She was still reluctant to share her suspicions just yet. Perhaps, with Madeline’s help, she wouldn’t have to leave it up to him to solve the murders, after all.
Northcott puffed out his chest and stuck his thumbs in the breast pockets of his uniform. “Yes, m’m, I do. I have all that worked out.”
She stared at him, unable to believe what she had just heard. “You do? Who-?” She broke off as someone rapped on the door.
A second later Baxter stuck his head in the gap and glared at P.C. Northcott. “I thought I told you to alert me when you arrived.”
“Didn’t see you around, did I.” The constable turned his back on him, infuriating Baxter even more.
Cecily winced. There had always been bad blood between her husband and the constable, due to Northcott having stolen away Baxter’s sweetheart when they were quite young. The feud had simmered for years, and although neither man ever spoke of it, the air bristled with hostility anytime the two of them were together.
“The constable was just about to tell me who killed our maid,” Cecily said, as Baxter charged across the room like a wounded elephant.
“How terribly decent of him,” Baxter muttered.
Northcott sniffed. “I wasn’t going to tell you anything, Mrs. B. After all, this is police business. Seeing as how you asked, however, I s’pose it wouldn’t hurt to inform you of the events of two nights ago, h’as I see it.”
“Spit it out, then.” Baxter folded his arms and looked menacing. “We’re both waiting with bated breath.”
He got a dark glare from Northcott, who then turned to Cecily. “It were like this. It came to my notice that the deceased were fond of each other. Or, at least, the young footman was sweet on the maid, but she had eyes for another. Namely, your stable manager, Samuel.”
Cecily exchanged a startled look with Baxter. “Samuel? Are you certain?” She was remembering Samuel’s distress when he told her about finding the body. At the time she’d thought he was simply in shock at seeing such a
