Chapter 5
Uncle Ronald looked as well as I’d ever seen him.
Although a few more gray hairs had consumed the red-gold ones since I’d moved into the hotel last December, and the line between his brows had grown deeper, he seemed less exhausted nowadays.
It must be due to my aunt’s improving health.
After changing doctors some weeks ago, her dependence on the cocaine in the tonic she’d taken for so long was waning, and that led to a marked improvement in her well-being.
It hadn’t been an easy process, but she was determined to follow the plan the new doctor set out for her, and now she was beginning to reap the rewards.
We could all see the change in her. More importantly, so could she.
That had directly led to an elevation in Uncle Ronald’s moods, too.
Having not known him prior to her addiction, I’d not been aware until now how much Aunt Lilian’s condition had affected him.
It was gratifying to see them both looking better, and an enormous relief, too.
Despite the grim reason for needing to talk to him now, I couldn’t help smiling. “You look well, Uncle.”
“As do you, Cleopatra.” He signaled for Floyd and me to sit on the chairs opposite him at the desk.
He resumed scanning the ledger in front of him, running his finger down a column of numbers.
Without looking up, he said, “I take it Floyd has mentioned the guest to you, and you have something to say about it.”
“He has, but that isn’t why we’re here. I’m afraid I have some troubling news that involves one of the members of staff.”
His finger came to a stop and he looked up. “Has one of them treated you poorly?”
“It’s not that. I’ve been assisting Harry Armitage with an investigation this afternoon after Goliath came to him asking for his help.”
“The tall porter? What’s he done?”
“Nothing. That’s the point. He was paying a call on someone linked to this hotel, but that fellow was dead at his desk.”
“Dead!”
“Murdered,” I added.
Floyd rubbed his forehead. “Why do you always get tangled up in these things, Cleo?” He lowered his hand suddenly. “If Goliath went to Armitage, why are you involved?”
“Never mind that. The problem is, the landlady is accusing Goliath of the murder. She saw him in the vicinity, you see, and screamed. He panicked and fled, which only makes him appear more guilty. He went directly to Harry’s office and so far, no one knows he works here, not even the police.”
“Good,” Uncle Ronald said. “Try to keep it that way.”
“We will, but it’s in Goliath’s best interests that the murder be solved quickly.”
Uncle Ronald stroked his moustache as he settled his bulk back in the chair. “Yes, it is, before the press get wind of his identity.”
I didn’t tell him it might be too late for that. D.I. Latimer had been keen to involve the press and have Goliath’s description distributed as soon as possible.
“We don’t want anything to jeopardize the dinner Floyd is organizing,” Uncle Ronald went on.
“The attendees are a skittish lot. If journalists come here sniffing around about Goliath, the dinner guests will scatter as quickly as a flock of birds after a gunshot. As long as they don’t learn of his link to the hotel, the journalists won’t bother us. ”
“Ah. Not necessarily. You see, the victim is Louis Arkwright’s biographer.”
Uncle Ronald groaned. “Then they’ll come anyway.”
“It’ll take them some time to discover Arkwright has moved in here,” Floyd pointed out. “We can give the staff strict instructions not to mention it.”
Uncle Ronald nodded. “We’ll threaten anyone who leaks it with instant dismissal.”
“That’s a little drastic,” I said.
Floyd and Uncle Ronald ignored me. “I’ll gather the senior staff immediately,” Floyd said.
“Speak to them individually.” Uncle Ronald stabbed a stubby finger on the desk. “Be firm. Give no quarter.”
“I won’t.”
“Good man.”
Floyd sat up a little straighter, bolstered by his father’s praise. He received it so rarely that I didn’t intrude, despite my reservations about the heavy-handed threat. Hopefully it wouldn’t be necessary to follow through and dismiss any loose-lipped staff members.
My uncle turned to me. “I want you to continue working with Armitage on this, Cleopatra.”
“Is that wise?” Floyd asked. “Spending so much time together will encourage him to…you know.”
“Cleopatra has proven herself to be very good at solving these sorts of issues, and Armitage’s connections with the police and his support will speed things up. I will allow them to co-investigate this time.”
“I am right here,” I told them both. “And I’d like to remind you that I will associate with whomever I wish.
Now, I have a request, Uncle,” I added before he could protest my disobedience.
“One of the suspects was out all morning, apparently paying visits to his clients. He works for an insurance company. Those calls need to be verified, but it would be time-consuming, and my time, and Harry’s, is best spent elsewhere.
Since this directly affects the hotel, I thought a trusted member of the staff could work through the list tomorrow. ”
“Who did you have in mind?” Uncle Ronald asked.
“Peter Leyland. Taking the assistant manager away for a few hours isn’t ideal, but I think he’d be the best choice, given the need for secrecy and urgency.”
Uncle Ronald nodded. “Floyd will make himself available in the foyer in Leyland’s stead.”
Floyd pulled a face. “Can’t someone else do it?”
“It’s either that or you verify the insurance calls yourself.”
“Very well,” Floyd muttered. “Anything else you want us to do, Cleo?”
“I just wanted to let you both know that I need to speak to Mr. Arkwright about his deceased biographer. There’s a possibility the murder is linked to him.”
“Ah,” Uncle Ronald said with a knowing nod. “You mean it could be because of Blackheart’s treasure.”
Floyd didn’t seem surprised at the suggestion. “I wondered if that might be the motive. Here’s my theory—the killer thought Arkwright mentioned the location of the missing treasure to his biographer, and went to shake it out of him, but accidentally killed him.”
“It wasn’t an accidental death,” I said.
Floyd was undeterred. Indeed, he seemed quite enthusiastic. “Perhaps the killer extracted the location of the treasure from the biographer then killed him to make sure he never told anyone else.”
“That is a possibility,” I said, rising. “I’ll pay Mr. Arkwright a visit now, before it grows too late. What room is he in?”
“Four-two-one,” Uncle Ronald said somewhat automatically.
His memory was prodigious when it came to important hotel guests.
But it seemed his mind wasn’t entirely focused on the room number.
“If the motive for the murder is to learn the treasure’s location, why not question Arkwright? Why target his biographer?”
“Perhaps they’ve tried to crack Arkwright before,” Floyd pointed out. “Perhaps the only reason Arkwright is still alive is because he didn’t crack. What do you think, Cleo?”
I was halfway to the door, but my cousin only just noticed I was no longer sitting beside him. He turned in the chair as I stopped. “I think I have work to do,” I said. “I’ll see you both at dinner.”
I smiled to myself as I left my uncle’s office. It seemed the mystery surrounding the pirate’s treasure intrigued them just as much as it had intrigued Goliath and many others.
* * *
A friendly nurse by the name of Sister Meersham let me into Louis Arkwright’s suite then retreated to the sitting room while I spoke with him in the bedchamber.
He sat up in bed, reading a detective novel, a plate of half-eaten food and glass of red wine on the table beside the bed.
He lowered the book and peered at me over the rim of his spectacles as I introduced myself.
His dark eyes were alert, albeit sunken, and his hands were steady.
His skin was pale, except for dark liver spots on his bald head, and his gray beard was neatly trimmed.
There was no doubt he was elderly, but he didn’t seem to be on his deathbed.
“My name is Miss Fox,” I said, taking the seat he indicated beside the bed. “I’m a private detective.”
His brows arched. “The niece of Sir Ronald Bainbridge is a private detective? How curious.” He smiled gently at my surprise. “I see you wanted to keep your connection to the hotel owner a secret.”
“Not necessarily. I didn’t think you would have heard of me.”
“Of course I’ve heard of the pretty and clever Cleopatra Fox.”
I felt a blush rising up my cheeks, which made Mr. Arkwright chuckle.
“I should confess that I simply asked who my neighbors would be when I moved in. It seems your family occupies some of the suites on this floor.”
“You do your research, Mr. Arkwright. Have you met all of the Bainbridges?”
“Sir Ronald welcomed me personally and informed me his wife is currently recovering from an illness so cannot call on me at the present time. I haven’t met your cousins, but I hope they’ll visit at some point.
I find the younger generation are quite keen to meet me once they learn that I wrote Blackheart’s biography. ”
“Perhaps you could visit them,” I said, watching him carefully. “If you’re not bedridden.”
“I’m not, thank goodness, although getting about is a slow process these days.
I am glad that my health doesn’t keep me confined to this infernal bed, as comfortable as it is.
” He sank into the pillows, looking rather pleased with himself.
“Well, then, Miss Fox, are you going to ask me outright or are you going to be a little more subtle? I warn you, the former will get a faster and more direct response.”