Murder at the Mayfair Hotel (Cleopatra Fox Mysteries #1)- C.J. Archer Page 0,89

with a sitting room, and since Mrs. Sellen was getting ready for the ball inside, her husband agreed to talk to me in the corridor, but only after I introduced myself and explained that I was assisting hotel management and Scotland Yard to find the murderer. Mr. Sellen said he was happy to help as he was worried the murderer had not yet been caught. He and Mrs. Sellen had decided to stay on for the ball because Sir Ronald spoke to them personally and offered them a free night’s accommodation.

“It was definitely seven,” Mr. Sellen said in answer to my question. “I checked the clock as I got out of bed.” I was pleased to see he wasn’t an old man, nor did he wear glasses. He should have been able to see the clock face as well as Edith’s expression.

“You told the police that you saw the maid with the cup of tea for Mrs. Warrick as you collected your newspaper,” I said, recalling what Edith herself had told me. “Is that true?”

“Yes. She was standing right there.” He nodded at the door numbered three-two-four. The room had remained unoccupied ever since the police removed Mrs. Warrick’s body. “She saw me, nodded, and turned away.”

“Did she seem nervous to you?”

“In what way?”

“Did her gaze meet or avoid yours? Did her hands shake or did she seem pale?”

“Nothing that can’t be attributed to shyness.”

That sounded like Edith. As much as I wanted to solve this crime, I didn’t want to find out that Edith was involved. She had certainly played a role in the murder, but I dearly wanted it to be an unwilling part.

“Did you see anyone else in the corridor?” I asked.

He shook his head. “It was too early for most, I suspect. I’m not usually up at seven, but a noise awoke me that morning.”

“What kind of noise?”

“A bang, like something knocking the door or wall.” He indicated the closed door behind him. “It must have been loud to wake me. I sleep like the d—” He cleared his throat. “I sleep heavily. My wife does too. The knocking woke her as well.”

“So it wasn’t a scraping sound? Or voices?”

“It was definitely a knock or bump. Is that important?”

“It might be,” I said, thinking it through.

It was odd for there to be a bump at that time. Edith hadn’t mentioned it. She’d been alone, carrying a cup of tea. She didn’t carry anything that could make a knocking sound if dropped, and there was no reason she’d walk into the wall along a straight corridor. The knock was out of place.

Unless it was done on purpose.

The only reason to make the sound was to encourage Mr. Sellen to come out of his room to investigate, and thereby be a witness to Edith delivering a cup of tea at seven AM, a full hour or more after Mrs. Warrick had been poisoned.

Oh lord. Edith had made the sound that woke Mr. Sellen. She had knowingly been involved in the murder after all.

I thanked Mr. Sellen and raced off, my mind reeling. It was sickening to think that I’d been completely wrong about Edith. I thought back to all the times I’d spoken to her. I didn’t think the mousy act was entirely false. She couldn’t have duped all of the staff so thoroughly. But she’d lied numerous times, and tried to learn what I knew about the police investigation at every turn.

I cursed myself for discussing theories in front of her. Had she passed them on to Hookly?

I paused at the stairs, not sure whether to go up to the fifth floor and find Mr. Armitage or down to the foyer and once again ask Peter to call the police. In the end, I did neither. I stopped the maid coming towards me carrying a dress.

“Do you know where Edith is?” I asked.

“No, Miss. She hasn’t been seen for hours. Mrs. Kettering is furious.”

“What about Harmony? Have you seen her?”

“She’s with Miss Bainbridge in her rooms.”

I thanked her and raced up the stairs. Harmony answered Flossy’s door when I knocked.

“I knew you’d change your mind at the last moment,” she said, smiling. “That’s why I waited here.”

I blinked at her. “I don’t understand.”

“I knew if you changed your mind, you’d come straight to your cousin’s room and ask about a dress. I thought if I waited for you here, I wouldn’t miss you. Everything’s all ready. I’ll get the dress while you tell Miss Bainbridge. She’ll be