Page 45 of Murder on the Brighton Express
“It would be my first guess, particularly as the call came from London.”
I glanced back toward the Rutherford Hotel’s doorman. “Hotel staff make good witnesses. They can go almost anywhere, and no one pays them any attention.”
“Their low wages also make them susceptible to bribery,” Harry added with a wry grin.
“I think we should go to the Grand Brighton Hotel next and speak to the staff who were on duty when Ruth left me a message to meet her. Their shift had ended by the time I received it, and the change of staff meant no one remembered her, but hopefully we’ll find one of them today.”
“Good idea. We’ll go after we speak to the pharmacist’s assistant.”
The pharmacy’s silence cabinet was located beside a display of Dr. Gunston’s Hair Oil stacked on a table off to the side. A sign on the shop window advertised the booth’s availability for members of the public to use to make telephone calls in private, for a modest cost. We found the hotel doorman’s friend reading a detective novel in the staff room.
Harry described the two suspects to him, but the youth shook his head. He seemed disappointed that he couldn’t help. On a whim, I asked him about Beecroft, but again, he shook his head.
“He’s the actor who stayed at Rutherford House, isn’t he?” the youth asked.
“He is.”
“Someone did make a call from our booth, and they mentioned him—Clement Beecroft—to the person on the other end.”
“Was it a woman with spectacles, freckles, and carrying a brown bag?”
The youth nodded eagerly, and offered up as much information as he could recall. We didn’t even have to bribe him. I suspected the well-thumbed Sherlock Holmes mystery had something to do with his enthusiasm. “I heard the woman say she’d stumbled on a big story, and that the person on the other end had to print it. She said that more than once: ‘Youhaveto print it.’ The woman became frustrated, and I reckon the person on the other end didn’t like her tone. The call was ended mid-sentence.”
“When was this?” I asked.
The assistant thought back. “It was around midday last Wednesday. I remember because my mother makes eel pies on Tuesdays and always packs leftovers for Dad and me to have on Wednesdays for lunch. They’re delicious cold.”
Wednesday was the same day Beecroft received his second call, and the day I first saw Ruth watching the Pridhursts, then met her later.
It was the day before she died.
“Is there anything else you can tell us about the woman who made that call here?” Harry asked.
The youth shrugged. “She tucked a notebook back into her bag after she came out of the silence cabinet. Is that important?”
Neither of us answered him.
Outside, I led the way to the Grand Brighton Hotel on Kings Road. A cool breeze drifted off the sea, ruffling my skirts, and making the midday sun more bearable. My thoughts were fixed on what we’d learned about our victim and main suspect, but Harry’s were not.
“Perfect day for it,” he declared.
“For sleuthing?”
“For swimming.”
I followed his gaze to the sea. Sunlight glinted off the water as it gently lapped against the sand. Several women’s bathing machines were out, and children paddled in the shallows or made sandcastles. Men swam out from the beach but were too far from the women and children to be seen clearly. The segregation of the sexes protected the modesty of everyone. It was a peaceful summer scene compared to the busy piers with their colorful and noisy entertainments.
“A shame you didn’t bring your bathing costume,” I said. “The hotel is this way.”
“Let’s have something to eat first.”
We purchased fish and chips from a small wooden hut on the beachfront promenade and sat on the beach to eat it. I removed my lace gloves to keep them clean, while Harry opened up the paper wrapping to make it easier to share. It wasn’t long before we had to fend off hungry seagulls. One even dared come between us and snatch a chip off the paper.
“I’m naming that one Cleopatra,” Harry said.
“Why?”
“Because it’s clever and brave. It waited until the end when we’re both full and feeling lazy, then made its move.”
