Page 29 of The Curse of Ill-Gotten Gains
The door opened, and Rosalind and Richard came in. As Richard shut the door, Rosalind came forward and offered a folded note to Penelope. “I think this makes all clear.”
Penelope took the note, unfolded it, scanned it, then stated, “The entire note is in Monty Underhill’s hand. The instructions he gives are ‘to place the pearl necklace you wore to Lady Hampton’s ball in the hollow in the apple tree in the first row of the orchard, five trees from the entrance arch, before nine o’clock on Monday morning.’” She looked at Stokes. “I believe that’s fairly conclusive.”
Then she looked assessingly at Regina. “But to settle the matter beyond question.” She handed the note to Stokes and, rising, waved Regina to her feet. “How tall are you compared to me?”
They stood back-to-back, and it was clear to all that Regina was the same height as Penelope.
“Certainly no taller.” Stokes made a note.
Stepping away, Penelope smiled at Regina. “The significance of height is that the evidence shows that whoever bashed Monty Underhill over the head had to be taller than me. Or you. So you could not have killed Monty Underhill, and of that, there is no doubt.”
Regina’s face brightened. “Oh, thank you! That’ssucha relief—to know that I can’t possibly be a suspect.”
Stokes was flicking back and forth through his notes. “When you were in the orchard, did you notice an iron stake lying in the grass?”
Regina shook her head. “Was that what he was hit with?”
“We believe so.” Stokes glanced at Rosalind. “If you could just clarify, Miss Hemmings, did you see anyone while you were following your sister to the orchard?”
Rosalind shook her head. “I hurried down the terrace steps, but Regina was a good way ahead of me.” She flicked a smiling glance at Regina. “I was quite cross with her because I knew she was deliberately avoiding me. I followed her into the wood, and she circled around a bit before heading out again. I was farther back by then, but I reached the edge of the trees in time to see her whisk around the corner of the orchard wall, I assumed through the archway into the orchard.” Somewhat ruefully, she glanced at Penelope. “I’m sure you can guess what I was thinking.”
Her lips quirking, Penelope arched a brow. “That Regina was engaging in some clandestine meeting with some utterly unsuitable man?”
Rosalind lightly grimaced. “Something like that.”
Regina faintly huffed, but she was smiling at her older sister as she reached out and squeezed Rosalind’s hand. “I’m just so glad you did come after me, and I’m sorry I left you to deal with it all.”
Rosalind squeezed Regina’s hand and smiled back. “That’s what older sisters are for.”
Stokes had been studying his notes. He shut his notebook, looked at Regina, Rosalind, and Richard, and inclined his head. “You did the right thing in coming to us with your information. As matters transpired, we already knew Regina was one of Underhill’s victims and that she is by no means the only one. He left a book with a list of those he preyed upon and the dates and descriptions of their payments. That evidence makes it clear he’d been practicing his extortions for years.” Stokes paused, meeting their frankly surprised and not-a-little-shocked gazes. “We’re trusting you with that information, but please, keep it to yourselves.” He focused on Rosalind and Regina. “Don’t tell your mother.” He shifted his gaze to Richard. “And definitely do not tell your aunts.”
Soberly, Richard nodded. “Consider my lips sealed.”
Stokes glanced at Penelope.
She smiled at Regina, Rosalind, and Richard. “Although we’d already learned about the blackmail, your information has considerably improved our understanding of Mr. Underhill’s activities.”
Barnaby inclined his head to the three. “Because of your information, the investigation will proceed at a much faster pace.” He briefly glanced at Stokes, then went on, “However, we should warn you that there is every possibility that Underhill’s murderer is one of the guests residing under this roof. That being so, the less he or she knows about what we know, the better for all concerned.”
“Because of that,” Penelope said, “we would counsel you to make every effort to behave as if you know absolutely nothing about the murder. That won’t necessarily be easy, but no matter what leading questions anyone poses, please act as if youhave no idea whatsoever of any of the information we’ve just discussed.”
Richard had grown increasingly serious. He nodded to Penelope, Barnaby, and Stokes. “We’ll follow that advice.”
After a final round of thanks all around, Richard solicitously ushered the sisters from the room.
The instant the door clicked shut, Penelope turned to Stokes and Barnaby. “Well! That truly has clarified matters considerably.”
Stokes nodded. “We’ve a clearer idea of what was happening around the time Underhill was murdered, and our understanding of how he conducted his blackmailing scheme has improved significantly.”
“True,” Barnaby said, “but what are the odds that the other guests who are Monty’s victims also have no idea who their blackmailer was?”
Stokes grimaced. “Sadly, I fear those odds are stacked against us. He was obviously very careful to conceal his identity from his victims.”
Penelope nodded. “Even with a victim as relatively helpless as Regina Hemmings.”
“Thinking further,” Barnaby went on, “if none of his victims knew their blackmailer’s identity, was Monty’s blackmailing the cause of his death? Or was the motive something else entirely?”
They pondered the point, then Penelope suggested, “Let’s start our interviews—finally!—and see whether we stumble on any hint of another motive.”
