Chapter Eleven #2
She half-smiled in return. “And Mrs. Hillman. She adored Jack Clarke, and she has no need of money.”
“We’ll take Mrs. Hillman off the list.” He paused. “Four people whom we know of were aware that Clarke had a vast sum of money with him. He announced it over dinner at that inn before he got here.”
“Yes. Mrs. Whitlock, Miss Thompson, Miss Goodwin, and Mr. Davis were all there that night.”
“One of them might have decided to kill him at their first opportunity.” He glanced at her. “Do you know if any of them are in dire need of cash?”
Selena narrowed her eyes. “Miss Thompson mentioned a desire to open a flower shop. But it sounded more like a distant dream than an obsession. And she’s so nice. I can’t imagine her killing anyone.”
“What about Mrs. Whitlock? She seemed very keen to get her hands on some expensive estate jewelry.”
“She did! As for Miss Goodwin and Mr. Davis—I don’t know them well enough yet.”
“What about the servants?” he mused. “Is it possible that one of them knew about the money?”
Selena drew a sharp breath. “We discussed Mr. Clarke’s claim about the money while we were trimming the tree. The footmen were there.”
“Yes, but I’ve just realized—the timing doesn’t work. That was after Mr. Clarke was already dead.”
“True, true.”
“What time was it again that you found Clarke on the staircase landing?”
“Just after six.”
“What was Mr. Clarke doing up at that hour?”
“He told everyone the night before that he liked to rise early and have breakfast at six o’clock.”
“Which made it convenient for our killer. They knew exactly when and where to confront him.” Dr. Scott glanced at her abruptly. “Did you tell anyone else about Mr. Clarke’s last words?”
“No.”
“Good. Keep it that way.”
“How do they know we’re looking?” Selena wondered.
“They must have overheard us talking.”
Selena reviewed the last two days in her mind. “Oh! Last night, after I burned my arm, when you walked me back to my room …”
“We paused in the hallway outside the morning room and discussed it.”
“Maybe the sound we heard wasn’t a log falling in the fireplace. Maybe someone was hiding behind the morning room curtains.” Selena inhaled a worried breath. “We didn’t say anything about the …” She mouthed the word dragon. “Did we?”
“I don’t think so.”
“What about this morning, in the chapel?”
“I don’t think we mentioned why we were looking there.” He sighed. “Going forward, we’ll have to be very careful about what we say and do. We don’t want to give away that we have a clue to where the money might be hidden.”
Selena nodded in agreement. “Whoever sent those notes will have to search every inch of this house to try to find that money. Whereas you and I can—hopefully—narrow the field.” She opened a drawer in her desk, withdrew a piece of paper, and picked up her pen from its stand.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m going to write up a list of what we know so far. It’s a thing I do. It lays out all the information in one place and helps me think.” Dipping her pen in the inkwell, Selena began to write, narrating as she went and taking input from Dr. Scott along the way.
WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR
Dec. 22:
1. Mrs. Whitlock, Miss Thompson, Miss Goodwin, and Mr. Davis witnessed Jack Clarke announce at the White Hart Inn in Warwick that he had ￡5200 in cash with him that he had raised to build a hospital.
Dec. 23:
2. Mr. Clarke arrived at Darkmoor Park and paid back Mrs. Hillman ￡200 that he owed her.
3. Mr. Clarke was seen by Beryl, the housemaid, exiting the east schoolroom and carrying his overcoat.
4. Mr. Clarke may have gone outside.
5. Wells saw Mr. Clarke leave the library and head to the chapel.
6. Mr. Clarke admitted to all that he rose early and wished to have breakfast at 6 A.M.
Dec. 24:
7. Shortly after 6 A.M., Mr. Clarke was found lying on the half-landing of the main stairs, bleeding from a head wound.
8. Mr. Clarke’s last words were: “I hid it. Under the dragon. Four rows! In the …”
9. A letter found in Mr. Clarke’s room with a cheque for ￡150 from Mrs. Evelyn Stout confirmed that he had raised money for the London General Hospital Building Fund.
Dec. 25:
10. In the chapel, we searched under the stained-glass window of St. George and the Dragon. We found no hiding place to conceal the cash.
11. We received notes that read, Stop looking or you’ll be next to die.
Selena set down her pen and slid the page across the desk to Dr. Scott, who read it through.
“That sums it up,” he affirmed.
“Now what, Doctor?” she asked, repeating the question she had posed not all that long ago, when they’d been inside the linen closet—a memory that set her nerves atingle all over again. Focus, Selena, focus.
“We have three mysteries to solve.” Dr. Scott ticked them off on his fingertips.
“One: where did Mr. Clarke hide the money? Two: who killed him? Three: who sent the threatening notes? Admittedly, we’re working on conjecture for the first two things—but I feel confident that we’re on the right track. ”
“So do I.” Selena could feel it in her bones.
“Until you speak with Mrs. Hillman about the location of certain … mythological creatures,” Dr. Scott said quietly, “I suggest we concentrate on items two and three.”
“Yes. Let’s make subtle inquiries to find out who, if anyone, needs a large influx of cash.”
“And meanwhile, we should figure out who wrote those notes.”
An idea occurred to her. “I think I know just how to do that.”
“How?”
“A parlor game.”
His brows arched. “How would a parlor game help us?”
Selena darted him a veiled glance. “Allow me to surprise you, Doctor.”