Chapter 12
The lights came back on and there was a mix of relief and horror as the body was bathed once again in bright light.
Guests aside, everyone got to work properly.
Dr. Geoff agreed with Alex's diagnosis pending further tests, Alex put a strong preservation charm on the body to prevent decay, and Chudleigh made endless phone calls.
Everyone except Alex, Julian, Geoff, Chudleigh, and the now-widowed Tsukiko Nonami-Finklewick were cleared out of the drawing room and herded back to the main parlour, where the furniture had been restored and women could swear or swoon as their personality dictated.
Servants brought in sheets and the body was wound up and sealed with another spell from Alex, one that would alert him if anyone tried to mess with it.
"I can't believe there's a murder, and no one can get out here to deal with it," said Alex with a huff. "This isn't even my job anymore!"
"It's still sometimes your job," said Julian, sending him an amused poke despite the circumstances.
They were ignoring what seemed to be a polite argument about how to store the body between Chudleigh, Tsukiko, and Chudleigh's butler. With the entire house open for the party, it was difficult to find space that wasn't occupied, but was also respectful.
"It's not supposed to be my job this weekend," Alex protested weakly. "I'm supposed to be avoiding the boring people at this party, not wrapping one up in a winding-sheet to preserve them for forensics."
They wanted to preserve the whole drawing room, but it just wasn't feasible with so many guests needing to be shuttled around.
Julian sighed and kissed him. "Let's make a list of everyone that was in here before we both forget," he suggested.
"You're far too sensible about this," said Alex grumpily.
But he let Julian go get them paper and pens, and they began to list out everyone they could remember.
Then they went to poor Smithson, who was looking rather traumatised from behind the bar, and got him to list out everyone he remembered, which got two extra people that Julian and Alex had overlooked between them.
"I know it wasn't you," said Alex, though he couldn't say why he was so certain. After all, Smithson would've had after-hours access to the snake as well as opportunity, but in the end he couldn't think of any reason the man would randomly murder one of his employer's guests.
"I hope them detectives believe you, once they get here," said Smithson, grammar slipping in his distress. "I ain't had any jobs as good as this one, and I don't want to go to jail or get fired neither."
Alex nodded. "Had you ever met Nonami-Finklewick before this?" he asked.
Smithson shook his head. "Nah, he wasn't one of the regulars. I feel for his wife, though, with how he flirted."
"He did not cheat," said Tsukiko, coming up to them with mascara streaked but dignity restored. Her clothing was still impeccable, not a hair out of place, only the handkerchief in her hand and tear-streaks on her cheeks to show for her grief. "His eyes roamed, but my Ronald was faithful."
"Even if he was a cheater," said Alex philosophically, "you were in the other room, so we know that wasn't the motive."
She laughed, sharp and bitter. "They'll look at me, anyway. The wife is always a suspect."
Julian patted her arm very gently. "I wish I could say you were wrong, but they will. They won't find anything, though, will they?"
He made it sound rhetorical, but Alex had been asking the question internally the whole time.
Tsukiko shook her head. "They will not. I did not love all of Ronald's ways, but we were a good match, for this sort of marriage. It will be hard to take over the reins of household and business without him."
"You won't have to do any of it right away," assured Julian. "You'll be allowed a period of mourning, like any widow."
"I will, yes," said Tsukiko with relief. Her face went all sad and she said, "They have put him in the musicians' unused rooms, for now, so that I may visit if I feel the need."
"Don't try to undo the wrapping," warned Alex. "There's a spell that'll bring me running if you do."
She nodded. "They warned me. I don't know that I will need to visit him, honestly. His voice is with me in my memories, and his smile, neither of which his corpse can provide."
There wasn't much else to say to that, so they left her to get a cup of tea from Smithson and went over to Chudleigh.
Two servants had taken the body away, and Alex could feel the spells lessening in his attention as it moved into the upper part of the wing, at the back where the less-desirable guest rooms were.
"No one can get to us until tomorrow at the earliest," said Chudleigh, "and we can't leave, either. No roads going in or out are passable."
"We'll do what we can to solve it," promised Alex, patting his shoulder. "I'm sorry you've had to deal with this."
He couldn't imagine having to put on such a party in the first place, let alone having a guest murdered. There was a lot to sympathise with for Chudleigh and his staff, and Alex was now used to being nice to people about things like this. Julian had trained him where Lapointe had failed.
"Bloody hell, I have to figure out how to keep these people from going stir crazy," said Chudleigh with great feeling, as Dr. Geoff came up to console him.
"We'll figure it out together. We can always still have dancing, just, you know. Respectful or something," said Geoff, clearly just doing his best.
Alex did not envy either of them.
"We should probably talk to everyone who was here before their memories get clouded over," said Alex reluctantly. "They'll be muddling each other up right now, I expect."
"You never do that part," said Julian, surprised.
Alex shrugged. "If not me then who? Besides, you'll be there to play good agent, even if neither one of us is actually an agent."
"I'll put you in the den," said Chudleigh. "But you should start with Smithson before I bring anyone else in, right?"
"Right," agreed Julian. "He'll have a different perspective on what happened since he was behind the group."
"Smithson, set these two up in the den and let them interview you," said Chudleigh shortly, clearly stressed. "You're dismissed for the night once they're done with you. Try to get some rest, if you can."
"Yes, sir," said Smithson, sounding relieved rather than upset. "If you'll come with me?"
"Can we have a pot of tea?" asked Alex, snagging the two plates of snacks now gone cold that they'd been brought at some point.
"Of course, sirs," said Smithson, leading them into the den and going to the bar in that room, which was more self-serve than the drawing room, but still had a nook for a servant to stand in and mix drinks or make tea.
Alex and Julian spent the time the tea brewed stuffing their faces so that they'd at least be presentable for the next set of interviews.
Smithson seemed amused but not bothered by it, so Alex swallowed his mouthful and asked, "All right, so what happened from your point of view? " before going right back to eating.
Smithson's mouth quirked, but then he settled on the chair across from them and really thought about it.
"That one lady asked for tea, which caused a rush of 'em wanting it.
Lady Halliwell, I think?" he began, moving on when Julian nodded.
"So I made a big pot, and then the Lord as was flirting with all of them wanted a refill on his brandy, which was easy enough.
I ferried cups over a few at a time, the trays back here ain't, aren't, that big, and handed the man his drink last, as is only proper. "
"How did you hand it to him?" asked Julian.
"Oh, he turned around and reached out so I didn't hafta come around all the ladies for it, and that's how he ended up bumping the one lady, who stumbled into the other, and I'm not real clear on who ran into who but he managed to save it and get it down on the table without anyone spilling.
Um, I dunno if he sipped then, but he must've, because next thing I knew he was dying. "
"Did you see anyone particularly close to him?" asked Alex.
Smithson shook his head. "He had a lady on either side of him, and a few standing around looking entertained, but I don't remember which was who really, except that the one that started the rush was behind the couch to one side, so she was easy to deliver to."
"So she wasn't really sitting or fawning, just kind of hovering?" Alex sipped his tea and sighed at the warmth of it.
"I guess? I mean she was mostly focused on her tea, to be honest. The rest were all flirting, though, the way ladies do." Smithson paused to think, then he shrugged. "To be honest, I was paying attention to the drinks and getting everyone's tea right, not the ladies."
Julian nodded. "My attention was on Alex, not you or them."
"Same," said Alex, "I was talking to Julian, not watching the victim make an arse of himself."
"What was everyone drinking?" asked Julian.
"Oh, well, you and your man here wanted cider, as did a few of the others.
Lady Halliwell likes hers black with a bit of lemon.
Most of the rest wanted one sugar, but the one on his left also got a splash of milk.
Nonami-Finklewick likes a certain brandy that Lord Chudleigh got in just for the party, we have a bottle at every bar.
" Smithson stopped to think and said, "That Gallowglass had the mulled wine, not a lot of takers on that this time around. "
"I bet McGuinness would've liked some," said Julian fondly. "Does Chudleigh like it?"
"Oh, yeah, his lordship loves mulled wine and cider both." Smithson was slowly relaxing as their demands were reasonable, hands still fidgeting with each other but no longer in fists. "His doctor friend, too."
"Does the staff like Dr. Geoff?" asked Julian, clearly just nosy now.
Smithson smiled. "Oh, yes, he's a kind one. He helped out Miss Alice when she scraped her knee up something fierce, and didn't even try to charge or anything."
"I've found him to be a good man and a good friend," said Julian warmly.
"We knew him before Lucas did," said Alex. "It's good to see your friends being happy, tragedy aside."
"Oi, yeah, he ain't too happy he couldn't help with that," said Smithson. "He tried his best, yeah?"
"He did," assured Alex. "Iridescent Western Vipers are magical creatures, and their venom is nearly always fatal even with a small dose."
"Alex looked it up earlier," said Julian. "Once he drank a sufficient amount, there was nothing anyone could have done."
"And it would only take a drop to pass his lips, maybe not even that," said Alex sadly. "That stuff is really lethal, even skin contact can make you sick."
"I'm glad it wasn't in the glass or on my hands, then," said Smithson, looking at his hands like he was expecting them to show that he'd managed to touch it somehow.
"No, I think someone dropped it in when everyone was jostling around," said Alex. "I'm just wondering who took time out of their preparations for tea or dinner to go milk that snake. The venom is also extremely rare, so it would have to have been today."
"I can ask around the girls, see who was in rooms they weren't supposed to be. A few of those posh gits went snooping, wanting to see the private quarters they weren't invited to view." Smithson put his finger to the side of his nose and nodded.
"You do that, and send anyone with a tale to tell to see us," said Alex. "We won't get them in trouble, but it's important."
"I know. A man's dead, don't get more important than that." Smithson slapped his thighs and stood. "If you don't need anything else?"
"We're good," said Alex. "Just make sure they're going to bring us someone else, so we don't sit here wondering."
Smithson grinned like he wanted to laugh at the idea, but was too polite. "I'll make sure someone brings you your next victim."
"Thanks," said Alex belatedly, just as the door was kicking shut.
They dove back on their remaining food, figuring they'd need the energy for interviewing a bunch of upset nobles.