Page 39 of Lies in Little Sutherland
Constable Daniels nodded for me to go on, and I did.“The Earl and Countess of Marsden are visiting, with their son and daughter and a maid.The daughter is engaged to marry Crispin.They’ve all been here before, and I’m sure you must have seen them.They aren’t the sort of people one would overlook.”
Daniels nodded.
“Then there’s His Grace’s brother, Lord Herbert Astley, and his wife, Lady Roslyn.But they left during the time Christopher and I were in the village.I’m sure they’re back at Beckwith Place by now.It’s only about an hour’s drive from here.”
“Did you see them?”Daniels interrupted the smooth flow of my delivery.
I blinked at him for a moment while I recalibrated.“Before they left, do you mean?Yes, they were at breakfast.We said goodbye.”
And it had only been meant to be for a few hours anyway.We had been headed to Beckwith from here after luncheon.
“In the village,” Constable Daniels clarified.“Or in the lane coming or going?”
Oh.I shook my head.“I’m afraid we didn’t.They must have passed through Little Sutherland while we were inside the infirmary.”
Daniels nodded.“Go on, please.”
“There’s not a lot more to say,” I said.“Christopher and Francis are outside in the motorcar waiting for me.I’m sure you’ve met them both before.They’ve been visiting Sutherland Hall for decades.”
Daniels nodded.
“The only other guest is the Honorable Constance Peckham.She’s the niece of the Marsdens, and Laetitia and Geoffrey’s cousin, as well as Francis’s fiancée and an old friend of mine from school.”
“And then there’s you.”
I nodded.“Yes, of course.”I go where Christopher goes.Unless Christopher goes to a drag ball.Then I’m not allowed to come.But otherwise, we go together.
Daniels glanced down at the list of names he had scribbled.“You mentioned a maid?”
I had, in fact, mentioned a lot of maids.However— “Lady Marsden brought her maid along.Her name is Shreve.She’s the one who told us about Morrison.”
“What about Morrison?”
“That she had seen Morrison in Lower Slaughter,” I said.“That’s why we motored up there.”
“And found Morrison dead.”
“That’s correct.”
“And the reason you wanted to speak to Doctor Meadows this morning, was to ask him about Morrison.”
I nodded.
“Was he able to give you any of the answers you wanted?”
“I’m afraid not,” I said.“He said he hadn’t seen Morrison in more than twenty years, and he had no idea who might have wanted to kill her.”
Silence reigned for a moment, and then I added, “Would you mind telling me what happened to Doctor Meadows?”
He looked at me, with that expression that said, as clearly as words, that I must be stupid for missing the fact that the doctor was dead.I added, while doing my best to control my impatience, “Specifically.Did someone shoot him?Strangle him?Hit him over the head with the proverbial blunt object?”
“That,” Constable Daniels said.
“In the infirmary, or…?”
“In the surgery,” Constable Daniels said.
Then someone might truly have been in there while Doctor had conversed with Christopher and me in the front room.“Did you find the murder weapon?”
