Page 13 of The Murder of Thomas Cardwell
Ruth Cardwell offered, “Thomas wasn’t a difficult—argumentative—sort. He generally got on well with people.”
Penelope noted her careful phrasing, but couldn’t see any way to probe further, not without being insensitive in the extreme. She looked at Stokes and fractionally shook her head. She had nothing left to ask at that time.
She glanced at Barnaby and saw that he, too, was doubtful that they’d managed to extract all these three knew but accepted that they’d gone as far as they could that day.
Stokes duly shut his notebook and rose. As Penelope, Barnaby, and Jordan came to their feet and Bobby Cardwell belatedly got to his, Stokes turned to Ruth and Mrs. Cardwell. “Thank you. We know this is a dark time for the family and appreciate your forbearance. If you should think of anything—anything at all—that might have a bearing on Thomas’s death, please send word to me at Scotland Yard.”
Ruth inclined her head. “Thank you, Inspector.”
Penelope assured both ladies that they could find their way out, and as they left the drawing room, the little maid came sniffing and hurrying to open the door for them.
Penelope led the way out of the house.
She waited until the others had joined her and they’d walked to the corner of East Street before pausing and glancing back at the Cardwell residence. “I accept that those three truly are grieving Thomas’s untimely death, but I’m also convinced they’re not telling us all they know.”
“Or,” Barnaby added, “that they suspect.”
His hands in his pockets, Jordan was frowning. “I definitely got the impression that they were…hiding something.”
Stokes nodded. “Skirting around some subject. What subject is anyone’s guess.”
“It might even be several somethings,” Penelope stated. “A different secret for each of them.”
Stokes sighed. “Even if they are concealing something, there’s no saying that it will have any bearing whatsoever on this case.”
“Sadly, that’s true.” To Jordan, Barnaby added, “When it comes to murder, people hiding things is no help at all.”
“Yet when faced with a murder, nearly everyone does it.” Penelope shook her head.
“One point I think we can agree on,” Stokes said. “I believe we’re on solid ground in thinking that Bobby Cardwell had no idea there had been a gentleman in the office before him.”
Barnaby nodded. “That was the one certain piece of information we gleaned.”
They spent the walk back to Cardwell’s office discussing their next move.
“It’s really not helpful,” Penelope stated, “that the family know so little of Thomas’s work—how he interacted with clients, that sort of thing. Ruth might have known he had no meetings planned for today, but did clients ever turn up on his doorstep as our unknown man did? Was that a common occurrence?” She paused, then went on, “I also find it odd that, given Thomas lived in the same house as Ruth and shared something of his timetable with her—and she thought to deliver his forgotten ledgers this morning—that he hadn’t mentioned to her, at least, anything about stumbling across the nefarious activities that pushed him to seek advice from Roscoe.”
Penelope glanced at Jordan. “We know that Roscoe’s a gentle soul, but for most people, taking such a step would be a major decision.”
Jordan briefly smiled. “Just as well. I don’t want to be inundated with pleas for help. However…I have to agree that Thomas not telling Ruth seems strange.”
“I suspect they’re much of an age,” Penelope said. “If anything, I think she might be older, and she’s the sensible sort that a cautious man like Thomas would likely confide in.”
“Yet,” Barnaby said, “I truly don’t think she knew of the letter.”
“I agree,” Jordan said. “She had no idea the letter existed until I showed it to her.”
Stokes sighed. “You’re forgetting something. Thomas was the man of that household—the oldest male. He stumbled on what,to him, were nefarious activities. Of course he wasn’t going to tell his older sister.”
“Ah.” Jordan nodded. “You’re right. He would have wanted to shield her from anything potentially dangerous.”
Penelope harrumphed. “Yes, well. There was his first mistake. If he had told her, we’d be much further on in the matter of catching his killer.”
None of the men ventured a response.
They turned onto Broad Street and were within sight of Cardwell’s office when Stokes stated, “I believe our next port of call should be the linen supplier’s. That’s the simplest explanation for why Thomas chose to contact Roscoe—because in Thomas’s eyes, Roscoe is already involved via his contract with that business.”
Jordan pulled a face that stated he thought investigating the linen supplier would be a waste of time.
