Page 66 of Marriage and Murder
The instant the door shut behind the girls, Stokes leaned back and ran his gaze over the faces about the table, all turned expectantly his way. He faintly grimaced. “All right. Let’s rejig our thinking. It might be said that my earlier concern over our pursuit of H distracting us from a murderer nearer to hand has been borne out, except that we needed to learn whatMonty found when he arrived at the cottage to understand what happened.”
Barnaby inclined his head. “Without Monty’s testimony, which in this instance I believe we can credit, we could not know, much less prove, who murdered Viola.”
Penelope sighed. “I think we all know who the murderer is. The Penroses had a much more powerful motive to remove Viola than anyone was aware of, and while, physical capability aside, Arthur Penrose is vouched for by Jim Swinson, Ida Penrose is not.”
“She has no alibi for the time of the murder,” Barnaby said. “However, she does have an unimpeachable alibi for the time the murderer set on the clock before they broke it.”
“What’s more,” Penelope said, “I believe Ida’s afternoon tea with Iris Perkins and Gladys Hooper was a pre-arranged event. Therefore, Ida knew she would have that unbreakable alibi for three-thirty-three.”
“And,” Barnaby added, “she’s tall enough, and she bakes constantly and makes bread, so she has strong countrywoman’s hands.”
Stokes sighed. “Be that as it may, when it comes to our new prime suspect, we have nowhere near enough information to construct a solid, unchallengeable time line for the murder.”
Henry nodded. “Speaking as a magistrate, you don’t have sufficient information to charge Ida Penrose. She might be the only person known to fit the criteria you now have for Viola’s murderer, but that’s not proof she committed the crime.”
Stokes and Mallard were nodding.
“That means we need to go back and collect the necessary information.” Penelope looked at Stokes. “Due to the distraction of H, we’ve yet to interview several potentially key witnesses.”
When Stokes raised his brows at her, inviting her to continue, she went on, “There are three acknowledged gossipsin the village—Mrs. Foswell, Ida Perkins, and Gladys Hooper. Their titles won’t have been bestowed without cause. Ergo, it’s likely all three know more than we’re aware of, given we haven’t interviewed two of them at all, and we spoke only briefly with Mrs. Foswell.”
Penelope looked around the table. “I suggest that my first task tomorrow should be to interview all three ladies and see what they can tell us. I’ve learned it’s best not to ask specific questions. I’ll get more from them by asking general questions about anything they saw or know that might relate to Viola’s murder, then listening to everything they say.” She paused, then added, “Aside from anything else, I’m curious to learn what Iris and Gladys observed during their afternoon tea with Ida.”
Mallard observed, “Very cool, that—murdering your neighbor, then having your other neighbors around for tea and cakes.”
Stokes grunted in agreement, then nodded to Penelope. “You take the gossips. Who or what else have we missed?”
Mallard looked at Stokes. “What about the reverend seeing Pincer in the lane? More like tidying up loose ends, but if the reverend can give you a time, that’ll confirm Pincer’s story, and it’s important we can say that’s solid. That everything Pincer’s told us is the truth.”
Stokes inclined his head. “Good point.” He pulled out his notebook, flicked to a new page, and started making a list. “What else?”
Barnaby said, “There’s the flour down the front of Viola’s bodice.” He smiled at Penelope. “I know what you’re thinking, but we need to ask Mrs. Gilroy what she left Viola for her luncheon that day. Did that flour come from something Viola had just consumed? Or did it come from the murderer?”
Madeline, Henry, and Mallard were confused by this exchange. Seeing that, Penelope explained, “Ida mentionedbaking scones that day. That involves flour, and we—Barnaby and I—have often noticed that our cook and her helpers get flour in their cuffs, so even if they’ve washed their hands, the flour still dusts things they touch.”
Madeline nodded. “I’ve noticed the same thing.”
Absorbed in his list, Stokes huffed. “We also have no idea what became of those solicitor’s letters.” He glanced at the others. “We might assume they’re ash by now, but there’s always a chance one of the gossips knows something of them.”
“Especially,” Madeline put in, “if Henry’s recollection is correct and when Viola noticed Humphrey watering her hedge, she had the letter for Henry in her hand.”
Penelope nodded. “I’ll ask.”
“Something else we need to focus on,” Barnaby said, “is finding witnesses to Viola’s movements in the hour between Mrs. Gilroy leaving her at the cottage at noon and the murder. We now know Viola was at the church, in the graveyard, hiding the jewelry, shortly after twelve o’clock. That’s been confirmed by Billy Gilroy and Reverend Foswell, so we can count that as fact. But where did Viola go after that? Did any of the villagers speak with her?”
“If she was dead before one-thirty,” Mallard mused, “when Pincer found her body in the cottage, her movements between, say, twelve-thirty and one-thirty are critical.”
Stokes, who had been studying his list, nodded. “We need to fill in the gap, so tomorrow, here’s what we’re going to do.” He looked at Penelope. “You interview the gossips.”
Penelope promptly looked at Madeline. “It might help if Madeline accompanies me.” To Madeline, Penelope said, “The villagers know you, and more importantly, you’re Viola’s sister. If you’re with me, they’ll be disposed to being helpful.”
“And,” Madeline said, “very likely, they’ll be more accurate, too. You can count on me.”
Stokes looked at Barnaby. “While the ladies are conducting their interviews, I suggest you and I see whether Reverend Foswell remembers encountering Pincer in the lane, and then we should check with Jim Swinson. He and Ida witnessed the altercation between Henry and Viola, and if Henry is correct and Viola had the solicitor’s letter for him in her hand, Jim might have seen that, too, and might have seen what Viola did with the letter after Henry rode away.”
Barnaby nodded. “Good thinking. If Jim saw something, Ida might have, too.”
“Exactly.” Stokes considered his list, then looked at Madeline. “With your permission, after conducting our interviews, we’ll reconvene at Lavender Cottage, put together all we’ve learned, and see if we have enough facts in hand to make an arrest.”
