Murder at the Mayfair Hotel (Cleopatra Fox Mysteries #1)- C.J. Archer Page 0,80
Lord Addlington’s address again as our copy was badly smudged and we like to send him a small gift for his birthday.”
The inspector grunted his approval. “Well done, Alfred. We’ll make a detective of you yet.”
“I doubt it. I didn’t know he’s not the real Mr. Hookly. Miss Fox is the better detective of the two of us. How do you think he managed to forge Lord Addlington’s letter?”
“Or steal that one from the dead Mr. Hookly?” I added.
“You can ask him after this is over.” The inspector rested his hand on the doorknob. “But not yet. I don’t want to rattle cages and frighten the killer into leaving before we learn who it is.”
Mr. Hobart clasped his brother’s shoulder. “Thank you for your discretion, Stephen. Sir Ronald will appreciate it.”
“I’m not doing it for him.”
“Then I appreciate it.”
The inspector’s gaze softened as he nodded at his brother. They were so alike in appearances, yet I was discovering how different they were in character. Mr. Hobart was definitely the kind-hearted, diplomatic one, whereas the detective inspector was crustier. Or perhaps he was simply that way with me because he was still annoyed with me over my role in his son’s dismissal.
The detective and his colleague left as discreetly as they’d arrived. Flossy and Aunt Lilian were still in the foyer, chatting to friends, and didn’t seem to notice. I followed Mr. Hobart to the front desk where he briefly discussed new arrivals with Peter.
When he saw me still standing nearby, he frowned. “Is there something I can do for you, Miss Fox?”
“I’d like to offer my services again. Let me assist you.”
He sighed. “I appreciate the offer. I do. And don’t take this the wrong way, but you don’t know enough about how the hotel works to be helpful to me and I don’t have the time to teach you, nor can I spare anyone else to teach you. Not today. Perhaps you should start getting ready for the ball.”
“It’s the middle of the day. Anyway, I’m not going.”
“And deprive the gentlemen of your good company? That is a shame.”
I huffed out a laugh. “Nicely done, Mr. Hobart.”
Flossy spotted me and signaled for me to join her and Aunt Lilian.
“I suppose I must,” I said with reluctance dripping from every syllable.
“You can help, as it happens,” Mr. Hobart said brightly. “You can talk to the guests on behalf of the family. Your aunt will tire soon and Miss Bainbridge tries hard but she lacks…how shall I put it?”
“Sophisticated conversation?”
“She’s very young.”
She was nineteen, which wasn’t all that young, but I didn’t correct him.
I did as he suggested and found myself invited to luncheon in Flossy’s room with two of the young women. She introduced them as her friends, and while their mother joined Aunt Lilian for a light luncheon in her own suite, we four retired to Flossy’s.
We ordered sandwiches through the speaking tube and chatted for the next hour. Flossy’s friends were nice, but they only wanted to talk about the ball, what they were going to wear, who was going to be there, and which gentlemen they wanted to dance with. They were sweet and entertaining but only to a point.
Instead of being rude and excusing myself, I tuned out of the conversation. My mind naturally wandered to the meeting I’d had with Detective Inspector Hobart in Mr. Hobart’s office. I’d thought my theory about Mr. Hookly was quite solid, and to learn that it was not was disconcerting. Thank goodness I hadn’t accused him last night. He might be guilty of impersonating the real Mr. Hookly, and stealing Lord Addlington’s letter in order to get away with not paying his creditors, but he was not a murderer.
One of the staff was, however. It was a troubling turn of events. I felt as though I’d made friends with some. They’d even helped me in the investigation. It couldn’t be them or they’d not have been so encouraging and helpful. There were a lot of other members of staff, however. Almost a hundred.
And I knew someone who could help narrow down the suspects. Someone who knew every single staff member well and who didn’t have to prepare the hotel for the biggest event of the year.
I made my excuses to Flossy and her friends, telling her I needed to go out for a while. “I’ll be back well before the ball,” I told her. “I want to help you with your preparations.”