Leighton’s reaction first.
The earl didn’t appear to be offended. He let out his breath in a long sigh before he said, “What can I do to remove myself from that list in your head, Mr. Gregory? To get you closer to the real killer?”
“You are anxious for this to be closed,” Owen said.
“Obviously.” Leighton pushed to his feet. “My brother was many things. Many more terrible things than I even knew. But he did not deserve to be poisoned. He didn’t deserve to be murdered. I want justice, Mr. Gregory. I want to be able to mourn my brother without questioning. And yes, I want to be able to rebuild everything he so foolishly destroyed without the specter of this resurfacing down the road.”
“Can you tell me where you were the night he was killed? Nine nights ago?”
“Has it been nine days?” Leighton breathed. “It seems longer. And it seems like it was yesterday. The message that I received that day that told me my brother had been murdered shines greatest in my mind, but let me see if I can recreate my day otherwise. I met with my man of affairs around two. We spoke for two hours.”
“A long meeting. About anything specific?”
“No. We always meet on the first Wednesday of each month to go over the state of things. It was a regular meeting. I’ll give you his particulars so you may speak to him.” Leighton rubbed his thighs as if he were uncomfortable. “Afterward I bathed and dressed for my evening. At seven I took supper with a…a lady friend at her apartments. I was there until ten. I returned home by ten-thirty, and the message about Ras arrived a few moments later.”
“So a mistress,” Owen said gently.
Leighton ran a hand through his hair. “Not exactly. Not officially, at any rate. Just a woman I sometimes meet with to pass the time. It isn’t serious on either of our parts. She is an actress.”
“And what is her name, my lord?” Owen asked.
Leighton tilted his head. “It is necessary?”
“While I appreciate you wishing to keep her out of this situation, the fact is that you were with the lady during the very time I believe Mr. Montgomery was killed.” He leaned forward. “So I must speak to her. I will be discreet, of course.”
“Bollocks,” Leighton muttered under his breath. “Very well. Her stage name is Violet Vickery. She lives on Glenhill Lane.”
Owen wrote it down. He would, of course, speak to the lady, but he had a sense that Leighton was telling the truth. There had been nothing artful or practiced about Leighton’s recalling of the day or evening. And his hesitance about his alibi seemed to genuinely come from a desire not to reveal something delicate, both for himself and the sake of the lady.
“I will speak to her tomorrow,” he said. “Until then, I hope you won’t see her, just so I may have her uncoached and unpracticed response.”
Leighton laughed, but it was bitter. “There is no need to worry about that. When my brother’s death became public, she wrote to me to break things off. She didn’t want to be associated with such goings on, even before she knew there was a murder.”
“I am sorry if you are pained, but it will make my duty a bit easier,” Owen said. “I wanted to ask you another question, though.”
“Anything to help,” Leighton said, but he looked very tired. Not that Owen could blame him.
“Who do you think killed your brother? Who do you see as the list of suspects?”
Leighton shook his head slowly and then met Owen’s eyes. “That, my friend, will take longer than a moment to detail. And I think it will also require that drink I declined earlier.”
Owen smiled as he got up and poured them each a sherry. When he handed one over to Leighton, the earl took a long sip before he said, “I’ve not been able to stop thinking about potential suspects, though I’d not shared my thoughts because I wasn’t certain if you wanted to feel these things out yourself.”
“It does help to do so,” Owen admitted. “But I also like to get the insider view of a situation.”
“Then I am not your man.” Leighton sighed. “Our estrangement put me firmly on the other side of the glass. But I suppose one would be a fool not to think that the wives are all suspects in his killing. Especially Abigail and…and Phillipa.”
Owen marked Leighton’s hesitance to say Phillipa’s name.