Page 12 of Dead Beside the Thames
“Thank you.” Stokes unfolded the sheet and briefly scanned it, then tucked it into his pocket.
Claudia had been looking from Penelope to Barnaby. “So Sedbury was definitely murdered?”
“It seems he was,” Penelope replied. “But how did you learn of his death?”
Claudia was fast losing her starchiness and looked increasingly puzzled and more than a little worried. “The police commissioner called at my aunt’s house—Selborough House, which is where I’m staying—to confirm that Papa is at Rattenby Grange, and he—the commissioner—told us that Sedbury’s bodyhad been pulled from the Thames.” She looked at Barnaby, then at Stokes. “He didn’t say Sedbury was murdered.”
“The cause of death was unclear at that time,” Stokes said. “But I regret to inform you that subsequent evidence is quite conclusive. Sedbury was murdered, and his body was dumped into the river.” Stokes glanced at the desk beside him, at the disarranged stack through which Claudia had clearly been searching. “But you suspected that, didn’t you?”
Claudia’s frown deepened, and her lips compressed, but she made no reply.
Penelope said, “You’re Sedbury’s half sister, I believe.”
Claudia returned her attention to Penelope. “Yes. The current marchioness—Papa’s second wife—is my mother.”
“And,” Penelope blithely went on, intent on holding Claudia’s attention while Stokes and Barnaby looked through the papers in the desk and examined the items scattered through the room, “I understand you have several younger brothers.”
Grudgingly, Claudia volunteered, “Sedbury was the only child of Papa’s first marriage. I’m Papa’s second oldest child, and then come my brothers, Jonathon and Bryan, and our sister, Margot, and the youngest is Conrad.”
“How old was Sedbury?” Penelope asked.
“Gordon—Sedbury—was thirty-six.” Guessing Penelope’s next question, Claudia went on, “I’m twenty-eight, and Jonathon is twenty-six. Bryan is twenty-two, Margot eighteen, and Conrad has just turned fifteen.”
Penelope smiled encouragingly. “Thank you. Now, am I correct in thinking that Jonathon and Bryan are currently residing in town?”
Claudia grimaced. “Yes.” Reluctantly, she added, “They both have lodgings—Jonathon in Jermyn Street and Bryan shares lodgings in Bury Street with three of his friends.” Lips tight, she glanced at Stokes and Barnaby, who were both busily searching.“And before you ask, I haven’t as yet seen Jonathon or Bryan today. I doubt they know that Sedbury’s dead.”
Barnaby glanced at Claudia. “You didn’t send word?”
Claudia shook her head. “Selborough—my aunt’s husband, Lord Selborough—said that we should wait to hear more details before troubling people with incomplete information.” She gestured at the desk. “I came here to see?—”
When she pressed her lips tight and didn’t continue, Penelope, with wide-eyed innocence, supplied, “If there was anything incriminating lying about?”
Claudia eyed Penelope with suppressed irritation, then huffed and folded her arms. “If you must know, I had no idea what I might find. I wasn’t looking for anything specific—anything I knew to search for—but we’ve lived in fear for the past decade that Sedbury would one day land the entire family in some almighty scandal. And him getting murdered would be merely the start of it. That’s why I came.” She looked at Stokes, who was steadily working through Sedbury’s correspondence, and pointedly stated, “To remove anything the police do not need to see.”
Stokes cast Claudia a sidelong glance, then went back to his search.
Barnaby, who had been systematically going through the drawers of tables, coolly replied, “Admirable though such a sentiment might be when viewed through the prism of familial devotion, I assure you the police are not interested in anything that doesn’t pertain to your half brother’s murder.”
Clutching her elbows, Claudia muttered, “That’s likely to prove scandal enough.”
Stokes set down a handful of letters and, with a frown, turned to Claudia. “I assume Sedbury had staff?”
Claudia nodded. “A gentleman’s gentleman—Duggan. He let me in. I’ve called before with my aunt or brothers, so heknows who I am.” She hesitated, then went on, “Duggan told me Sedbury hadn’t returned here since Saturday evening, but Duggan didn’t seem perturbed by that. He said he didn’t know when Sedbury would be back—he clearly didn’t know Sedbury was dead—but he needed to fetch supplies from the market. I said I’d wait, and Duggan left. That was about five minutes before you arrived.”
Penelope, Stokes, and Barnaby shared a glance, then Barnaby looked at Claudia. “So Duggan didn’t know Sedbury had died.”
“No,” Claudia stated. “I’m sure he didn’t, and I saw no reason to tell him.” After a second, she added, “I know nothing about Sedbury’s relationship with Duggan, so I didn’t know how he might react.”
Penelope interpreted that as meaning that Claudia hadn’t known if Duggan might get in the way of her search. Penelope was itching to read the note that was now in Stokes’s pocket. “It’s unlikely, therefore,” she concluded, “that Duggan was in any way involved in Sedbury’s murder.”
Deciding that she’d learned everything Claudia was likely to tell her—at least for now—and that it was time to join in the search, Penelope stepped past the other woman and walked to the door beside the fireplace and closest to the outer wall. The knob turned freely, and she set the door wide and walked through.
“Oh!” She halted just over the threshold, her eyes widening as she took in the contents of the small room—really more an antechamber to the parlor. A window in the outer wall admitted enough light to make out the whips arrayed around the room. There must have been thirty or so whips displayed in glass cases and on pegs attached to all four walls. Other than the whips, the room held only one armchair that was set beneath the window,facing into the room. “Ah-ha!” Penelope walked farther into the chamber. “I take it this is Sedbury’s whip collection.”
Claudia had followed her and stood in the doorway. “Collecting whips was his hobby. He was obsessed with owning certain whips. I have no idea why or if they’re of any value.”
“There are no empty spots.” Penelope glanced at Claudia. “So it seems none are missing.”
