Page 87 of Lies in Little Sutherland
She disappeared into her room.I did the same.
ChapterNineteen
I gavemy room a quick once-over as I gathered my supplies.Nothing seemed out of place or out of order, but with just a few seconds to look around, it was difficult to be certain.I promised myself I would do a more thorough search before I went to bed, before grabbing up my things and heading back into the hallway.
To my surprise, Laetitia was waiting, as well.“I might as well come along,” she said airily, as if someone had invited her.“We all need to use the lavatory, and this way no one is alone.”
“The more, the merrier,” I agreed.I didn’t particularly want her here, of course, but it did make sense for us all to go as a group, and this way I wouldn’t have to worry about Geoffrey getting over his strange restraint and sidling up to me while I was waiting for Constance.
The latter ducked inside the loo with her sponge bag while Laetitia and I stationed ourselves outside.On either side of the door, with at least three feet separating us.
“You don’t really believe that we’re in danger, do you?”were the first words out of her mouth.
“I can’t imagine thatyouare,” I answered.“You don’t know anything about what’s going on, do you?”
She shook her head.“Do you?”
“I know who had motive and opportunity,” I said.
She straightened.“Who?”
“I’m not telling you.Then you’d be in danger, too.”
That wasn’t the reason, of course.But as expected, it stopped her from asking any further questions.Instead, she sank her teeth into her lower lip and stared at me.
“Just out of curiosity,” I asked, “did you happen to hear a motorcar leaving Sutherland Hall the night Morrison died?”
“I was in my room,” Laetitia said.“In the west wing.”After a moment she added, sounding annoyed, “Crispin was tired.”
The implication being that had he not been, they would have spent the night together.
“So he mentioned,” I said, and I don’t think I sounded particularly one way or the other about it, although she gave me a narrow look.I added, “I don’t suppose you’d have any idea why anyone would want to make sure that he slept through the night that night, would you?”
There was a beat.“Did someone do that?”
“It seems as if someone might have done,” I said.“He slept unusually soundly, he said.Almost as if someone wanted to make certain of it.”
There was another moment of silence before Laetitia said, “Perhaps you should inquire of your cousin.”
My back stiffened.“What is that supposed to mean?Which cousin?”
“Crispin and your cousin Kit went up together,” Laetitia inquired, “didn’t they?”
It was less a question than a slightly malicious reminder, and I’m happy to say that I kept my temper when I told her, “So they did.But Christopher had no reason to dope Crispin.And if you intended it as a dig at Francis, he doesn’t take Veronal anymore.”
Laetitia looked politely skeptical, and I scowled.“Neither of them would have had any reason to put Crispin to sleep, because neither of them had a motive for killing Morrison.Why would either of them—either ofus—want her dead?We’ve never even seen her!”
Unlike Laetitia, who had grown up a quarter mile down the lane from Morrison.Not that that was likely to have had anything to do with the maid’s murder, but it was still a fact.
“Why would anyone?”Laetitia asked.It sounded rhetorical, but the expression in her eyes said otherwise.
I opened my mouth to answer, but before I could get the first word out, the lavatory door opened, and Constance stepped out, smelling of cold cream and mint.“Next,” she said brightly.
I shut my mouth again, chagrined.Laetitia eyed me for a moment, perhaps hoping that I would go on, but when I didn’t, she ducked inside the lavatory before I could even inquire as to whether she wanted to go first.Constance arched her brows.“Something wrong?”
“Nothing more than the usual,” I said.“I almost told her who I suspect of killing Morrison, and why.”
If Constance hadn’t opened the door, I would have blurted out the whole thing, and without knowing whether Laetitia knew about it or not.
