Murder on Charles Street - Leighann Dobbs Page 0,50
discover yesterday was the fact that Lord Westing’s daughter now lives outside of London. Her place in the house has been usurped by his successor—an ambitious man, I’m told.”
Harriet canted her head to one side, as if considering this. “Is that what you learned? Lord Westing’s footman didn’t consider his new lord capable of murder. He said his succession to the title came as quite the surprise.”
At that, Pru frowned. “Why would it? If Lord Westing had only a daughter, surely it would be well known that the estate and title would be entailed him.”
Why hadn’t Katherine thought of that? She bit her tongue, the pain in her mouth barely noticeable compared to the rhythmic throb of her ankle. “I suppose that there is more to investigate, though I won’t be able to do it myself.”
McTavish flashed her a grin. “Och now, don’t worry your wee bonny head. We’ll handle this for ye.”
Frankly, Katherine didn’t know if he was soothing her or patronizing her.
Lord Annandale coughed into his fist, drawing everyone’s attention. “I brought McTavish to the gaming house, and we found a bit about Dr. Gammon’s son. He’s a well-liked, charismatic man who everyone seems to remember. And he owes a bit of blunt, but nothing so drastic to warrant killing his father.”
Pru tapped her chin, pensive.
Katherine sighed. “Dr. Gammon doesn’t have a lot of wealth. The house, yes, but not much outside of it, or he would keep a full staff rather than hiring a housekeeper to work only a few days a week. Still, I suppose the debt is a mite suspicious, particularly with the way Mr. Gammon has been acting.”
Pru accepted her teacup and took a dainty sip before she added, “If money isn’t the motivator, then I suspect it must be revenge.”
Katherine reminded her, “Lord Westing’s daughter now lives outside of London. She didn’t have the opportunity.”
“That we know of,” Pru countered. “I admit it is far-fetched that she would come into London for only one night. The roads in and out of London are treacherous this time of year in the daylight; they’re near impassable in the dark. If she was in London, she must have stayed somewhere until morning, but it wasn’t at Lord Westing’s house. I admit I’ve asked some friends who count her among their friends, and they insist she’s been out of town since Christmas.”
“She cannot be at fault, then.” Katherine ought to feel more satisfied upon ruling out a suspect, but she only felt miserable.
Pru hesitated. “Perhaps… but if she had money, could she have hired someone to do the deed for her?”
The group fell silent as they considered the suggestion. Wayland, however, bent and paid a lavish amount of attention to Emma. She growled low as he toyed with her ribbon, tugging it to and fro as she gripped the other end.
Lord Annandale broke the near-silence. “What do ye think of the new Lord Westing? Could he have orchestrated this?”
Katherine exchanged a glance with Harriet. Cautiously, she admitted, “We haven’t been able to learn anything save for what the servants told us yesterday. Perhaps we’ll learn more upon further investigation.”
Everyone turned their attention to Wayland. For a moment, he was so engrossed in playing with the dog that he didn’t notice the shift in focus. When Lord Annandale cleared his throat, Wayland looked up, frowning.
Katherine asked pointedly, “And you?”
He glanced at Emma as though looking for an answer.
Katherine reminded him, “Didn’t you say yesterday that you were off to find information about Dr. Sumner?”
“Ah, that.” He straightened, leaving Emma to chew on the discarded tuft of ribbon. As he adjusted his cuffs, he answered, “I’m afraid I could not find Dr. Sumner to question him.”
That wasn’t the answer Katherine had been expecting. “I beg your pardon? Why were you searching for clues at Dr. Gammon’s house if you hadn’t completed your assigned task?”
Wayland’s mouth thinned. He met her gaze, his expression as bland as his voice. “I did my due diligence. If Dr. Sumner is in London, none of my contacts know of it. I will continue to look, of course, but at the moment, I had no other recourse unless I intended to spend the evening at home, brooding.”
Although Katherine had often questioned his intentions, Wayland wasn’t the brooding type.
Pru cut in, turning the tide of the conversation and the tension gathering in the room. “Do you think Dr. Sumner fled town after killing his colleague?”
Softly, Lord Annandale answered, “Could be, lass. But if we’re entertaining the