Truly Devious (Truly Devious #1) - Maureen Johnson Page 0,73
it was raining, so we spent a good part of the day in the drawing room with Leo. He is working on a new painting.
SA: Anything else?
FR: We played with Alice for a bit. I took a long bath.
SA: And in the evening?
FR: I stayed up late talking to Iris and Leo. Maybe a bit too late. I didn’t feel well in the morning.
SA: In the morning, Mrs. Ellingham called for you to ask you to come on her car ride, is that right?
FR: Yes. She came to my room at ten. I was still in bed. I had a terrible headache. I said . . .
[Silence.]
SA: Yes?
FR: I’m sorry.
SA: Take your time.
FR: I said I didn’t feel well and she should go. If I’d gone . . .
SA: So you didn’t go on the ride because you had a headache.
FR: I wish I’d gone. I wish I’d gone.
SA: What time did you get out of bed?
FR: The maid brought me something to eat around noon. I had her draw me a bath. I spent the rest of the day in my room, reading.
SA: You went to Mrs. Ellingham’s dressing room that evening. Why?
FR: I heard something going on. I wanted to look out the window. Iris’s window faces the front garden.
SA: So do several other windows.
FR: Well, I know her room has a clear view. I just went in to look. I was upset.
SA: Isn’t it unusual to go into Mrs. Ellingham’s personal dressing room when she’s not there?
FR: I go to Iris’s dressing room regularly.
SA: Even when she’s not there?
FR: Yes. I am free to use her things.
SA: Did Mrs. Ellingham let others have such open access to her personal space?
FR: I have no idea.
SA: She sometimes didn’t allow her personal maid into her dressing room.
FR: I’m not a maid.
SA: She typically locked the door, did she not?
FR: I have a key. Do you have a light for a cigarette?
SA: Sure.
[Pause.]
SA: So you let yourself into Mrs. Ellingham’s private dressing room with your own key? How long have you had a key?
FR: Oh, I don’t know. Some time.
SA: It seems odd to me that you would take the time to go into a locked room to look out of a window.
FR: It may seem odd to you . . . but that’s what happened.
SA: How long were you in the room?
FR: I don’t know. I lost track of time.
SA: If you could guess.
FR: I don’t know . . . fifteen minutes?
SA: And then someone came and got you. The maid, Ruth. She says she looked for you and found you at eight fifty. She called for you but you did not reply.
FR: I didn’t hear her.
SA: She was out in the hall.
FR: I was very distracted.
SA: Mrs. Ellingham keeps some very valuable things in that room.
FR: Most of her things are valuable. Everything in this house is valuable. It’s not all locked up.
SA: That’s a fair point, Miss Robinson. But there are some things of unusual value in that room. Isn’t that why it is normally locked?
FR: Of course.
SA: You’re not as wealthy as Mrs. Ellingham, are you, Miss Robinson?
FR: Few people are.
SA: You’re not a wealthy woman, are you? That’s what I’m asking.
FR: I resent this. My closest friend is . . .
SA: We’re doing this because your closest friend is missing. There’s no shame in not being rich, Miss Robinson. I’m simply saying you are from different backgrounds.
FR: She would give me anything. Anything. Iris is the most generous person. Look at this school! They built a school that children could go to for free! They invite them into this house!
SA: They are very generous. But let’s keep to the subject. What route did you use to get to Mrs. Ellingham’s room?
FR: What route?
SA: You didn’t come down the main stairs.
FR: No, I took the side stairs.
SA: The servant stairs?
FR: Yes.
SA: Why not the more direct method, down the main stairs?
FR: I don’t know.
SA: And you didn’t hear anyone calling you?
FR: No.
SA: If anything, Miss Robinson, I would think you’d be more attuned to someone calling your name at that moment. You spent all of that time looking out the window?
FR: I was in a state.
SA: But you heard the maid knocking.
FR: Yes.
SA: She said it was several moments before you answered the door.
FR: I was in a state. I’d just heard my best friend was missing. It’s just what I did. I don’t know why.