No Clue at the Inn (Pennyfoot Hotel Mystery Book 13) by Kate Kingsbury

to me?"
    Emily leaned forward, her eyes glittering, her voice a low, fierce whisper. "I do believe, Mrs. Baxter, that the answer to it all lies somewhere right here, at the Pennyfoot Country Club. Someone either staying here or working here knows something, I'll stake my life on it. I want to know the truth. If someone did kill my husband, I want to know who it is and I want him punished. No one should be free to take a life without paying for it. I can't rest easy until I know the truth and see that justice is done."
    "You do know that if your suspicions prove to be correct, then people will eventually be aware that your husband was being unfaithful to you."
    Emily raised her small pointed chin. "If it's the truth, then I'll tell the children myself. I can't stay here anyway without Barry. I'll be taking the children back to London for Christmas, and we won't be coming back. We'll be living with my parents. I just can't leave until I know what really happened to him. I asked Mr. Sandringham to help me, but he was too busy getting ready for his trip. He told me to talk to you. He said you were very good at that sort of thing."
    Cecily leaned back in her chair. So that was why Edward had told Baxter he thought there was something odd about Wrotham's death. Dear Edward. Had he mentionedthe fact that Barry's widow suspected foul play, Baxter would have adamantly refused to put a foot in Badgers End.
    "I really can't promise anything," she said, reaching for her currant bun. "But I'll certainly look into it, if you like. Is there anything else you can tell me? Did your husband ever mention another woman by name? Or even a man's name you didn't recognize?"
    "No, nothing. It was just a feeling I had, really. I know that's not much help, but believe me, Mrs. Baxter, when your husband is straying, somehow you can tell. Just little things. Like the way he avoided looking me in the eyes when he left for work."
    She uttered a shuddering sigh. "He used to talk about his job all the time at first, then he got so he didn't want to talk about it at all. He was always in a hurry to get out of the house. Sometimes he didn't even bother to kiss me goodbye. He never used to be like that." She looked down at her hands, twisting the handkerchief around her fingers. "As I said, just little things."
    "Well, I'll do my best to find out what I can." Cecily rose to her feet, and Emily followed suit, tucking her damp handkerchief back into her sleeve.
    "I am much obliged, Mrs. Baxter. I know I can trust you to be discreet."
    "Of course." Cecily tugged on the bell rope to summon a maid. "Though I have to warn you again, the truth will most likely come out in the end."
    "If it
is
the truth. Then so be it."
    Moira arrived a few minutes later to help the widow on with her coat, then escorted her out the door. After they'd left, Cecily wandered to the window to cast a wary eye on the darkening sky.
    The clouds looked heavy and gray, and dried leaves drifted and swirled across the manicured lawn. It would seem that Baxter had been right in his prediction, for even as she watched, scattered snowflakes began to dance in the wind.
    Mrs. Chubb and Gertie would be arriving soon. She could only hope that their stay would be uneventful. Much as she had missed the excitement of chasing after criminals, she had to admit, nothing would spoil Christmas more than the ugliness of murder once more invading the walls of the Pennyfoot.

CHAPTER
    5
    Gertie and her family arrived that afternoon in a flurry of excited greetings, hugs, and tears. The snow had begun falling quite heavily, coating the Esplanade and the roof of the Pennyfoot like a soft white coverlet.
    Holding a hand of each twin, Cecily lead the party inside the warm foyer of the Pennyfoot, marveling at how big the children had grown. Their excitement at the sight of the Christmas tree was so infectious Cecily rashly promised them they could help Madeline decorate it.
    "You'll be bloody sorry you did that, m'm,"