CHAPTER 15 #2
“Anything else?”
“Firelighter cubes. Gloves. Exterior lantern fuel.”
Romy stopped.
“Firelighters?”
“Yes.”
Not proof.
Worse.
“Were firelighter residues found in the plate-warmer?”
“No result yet.”
Celeste had charcoal.
Knowledge of the ventilation gap.
Private access.
A career-level motive.
She had begged Sebastian to delay.
He refused.
She entered the room at 6:44 and left angry around 6:47.
Then Marcus appeared at 6:52 with the vessel and felt later used in the killing.
That last fact remained awkward.
“If Celeste set it up at 6:44, the plate-warmer wasn’t there yet.”
“Correct.”
“So she could pack the vent but not use the warmer unless she returned.”
“Or used another vessel and it was later replaced.”
“No evidence of that.”
“Correct.”
“Or Marcus delivered the warmer earlier.”
“Photographs say no. It is still in the dining room at 6:42.”
“Then her 6:44 access does not fit the full setup.”
“Not by itself.”
Leo said, “Could she have known Marcus was bringing it?”
Marcus had said Celeste earlier asked whether the plate-warmer might work in the Blue Study.
“She had discussed moving it with Marcus,” Romy said.
“Yes.”
“So she could have expected it.”
“Possible.”
“Could she return through the service corridor after he left it?”
“Possible.”
“Evidence?”
“Not yet.”
The theory was becoming convenient again.
Celeste asks for the warmer.
Celeste has charcoal.
Celeste wants the vent closed.
Celeste has motive.
Celeste lies.
That did not make it wrong.
Sometimes the obvious suspect was obvious because the evidence pointed there.
Romy liked sophisticated lies. She liked puzzles. Maybe she liked the idea that the deepest secret must be worth killing for.
A murder did not owe her elegance.
By one, Celeste had arrived with her solicitor.
Romy was excluded from the homicide interview.
No technical role.
No conservation question.
Ellis was uncompromising.
She and Leo went to The Fig & Thistle.
Nina took one look at Romy.
“You look disappointed.”
“I have been excluded from a police interview.”
“That sounds healthy.”
“It is irritating.”
“Same thing sometimes.”
Leo ordered steak pie.
Romy ordered soup.
Nina brought both plus chips neither had requested.
Leo said, “Celeste looks bad.”
Nina sat opposite.
“How bad?”
Romy summarized only what was safe to discuss.
The completed article.
The begged-for delay.
The charcoal purchase date.
Celeste’s access.
Harriet’s memory.
Nina listened.
“So she did it.”
“That is irresponsible.”
“You just gave me the prosecution trailer.”
“There is no prosecution.”
“Yet.”
“The method timing still has gaps.”
“Could she come back?”
“Yes.”
“Could somebody help her?”
“Yes.”
“Could Marcus be involved?”
“Yes.”
“Could the charcoal be unrelated?”
“Yes.”
Nina looked at Leo.
“Does she always answer like this?”
“Yes.”
“It gets tiring.”
“Very.”
Romy ignored them.
“What if I’m forcing the panel to matter because I prefer it?”
“Then stop,” Nina said.
“Sebastian’s provenance investigation was real.”
“Yes.”
“Marcus lied by omission about the panel history.”
“Yes.”
“Sebastian expected Fenn at 6:55.”
“Yes.”
“But Celeste had a motive anyone could understand without thirty years of ownership records.”
Nina stole a chip from Leo.
“Do you think simple motives are less real?”
“No.”
“Less interesting?”
Romy did not answer.
Nina smiled.
“There it is.”
“I am not solving murder for entertainment.”
“I know. But brains like yours enjoy complexity.”
Leo said, “Could both stories matter? Maybe one gives motive and the other gives opportunity.”
Nina pointed at him.
“Keep him.”
“I was planning to.”
The reset ended when Ellis called.
“Where are you?”
“The pub.”
“Of course. Come back.”
“Technical question?”
“Possibly.”
Enough.
At Asterleigh, Celeste remained with her solicitor.
Ellis met Romy in the corridor.
“What did she say about the charcoal?”
“She admits buying it Thursday. Says she forgot when.”
“Convenient.”
“She says the Wednesday shoot was cancelled but she bought the supplies because she planned to reschedule privately after the preview.”
“With firelighters.”
“Yes.”
“And the briquettes she claimed she removed?”
“She now says she may have confused that with a different bag at home.”
Romy closed her eyes.
“That is terrible.”
“Yes.”
“What about 6:44?”
“She confirms it.”
“Harriet seeing her angry?”
“She says an assistant told her Sebastian had been asking journalists whether Celeste’s room was ‘hers this time.’”
“That sounds like him.”
“It does. Not verified yet.”
“The lamp?”
“Recovered from her hotel room. No charcoal residue. No felt.”
“Plate-warmer?”
“She confirms asking Marcus earlier whether it might suit the Blue Study, but says she changed her mind before preview.”
“Did she tell him?”
“She says she thought she did. Marcus says she did not.”
Every fact had a twin version.
“She touched the panel?”
“Denies it.”
“Spacer? Grille?”
“Denies both.”
“Did she know charcoal in the warmer could produce carbon monoxide?”
“She says no. She admits attending one Fenn Found event years ago where charcoal equipment was used.”
“That is bad.”
“Yes.”
“Still not enough.”
“No.”
Ellis leaned against the wall.
“For what it is worth, I think your concern is correct.”
“Which concern?”
“That you may be overvaluing the provenance story because it is more intellectually satisfying.”
Romy stared.
“I did not tell you that.”
“You have the face.”
Everyone had discovered her faces.
Intolerable.
“Celeste is obvious because the current evidence makes her obvious,” Ellis continued.
“Marcus is still worse on physical objects.”
“Yes.”
“Celeste is worse on motive.”
“Yes.”