12- Mrs. Jeffries Reveals Her Art by Emily Brightwell Page A

make an excellent witness, sir,” Witherspoonassured him. “Now, I suggest we all sit down. Constable, will you be so kind as to take notes?”

    “That’ll not be so ’ard,” Wiggins said cheerfully. “We can keep a lookout for Miss Lanier’s friend while we’re sussin’ out who killed this Underhill bloke.”
    “Seems to me if the two things are connected,” Betsy added thoughtfully, “we shouldn’t have any problems getting information about Irene Simmons while we’re digging for clues on the murder.”
    “Should be dead easy,” Smythe agreed.
    “Could be the girl’s run off with some artist,” Luty put in. “Could be she ain’t missin’ at all.”
    Mrs. Jeffries was afraid she wasn’t making her point. “It could be that the two events aren’t at all linked,” she said firmly, “and it might be quite difficult to do both investigations at once. I must remind you, we did agree to help Nanette find her friend.”
    A heavy, guilty quiet descended on the kitchen. Everyone tried to pretend they didn’t really understand what Mrs. Jeffries was trying to tell them. Finally, Smythe cleared his throat. “What are ya tryin’ to tell us?”
    “I’m simply trying to point out that we have a prior obligation.”
    “You want us to find out who snatched Miss Simmons before we can start trackin’ Underhill’s killer?” Wiggins asked incredulously.
    “I didn’t say that,” Mrs. Jeffries objected. “But it may be necessary for us to divide our resources. Some of us might need to work on the Underhill matter and some of us might need to investigate Miss Simmons’s disappearance. There’s no reason we can’t do both at the same time. There are”—she swept her arm out in an arc, a gesturethat encompassed the entire group—“rather a lot of us. We can easily handle both tasks.”
    Again, no one said anything. The silence spoke volumes about what they were thinking. The mystery surrounding Irene Simmons’s disappearance was definitely second fiddle to a possible murder case. Everyone wanted to investigate the murder. But no one wanted to be the first to admit it.
    Hatchet broke the impasse. “I’ll be quite happy to lend my efforts to locating the girl,” he volunteered. “After all, Underhill is already dead. This young woman may still be alive.”
    “I’ll help find Irene too,” Betsy added. Her conscience had gotten the best of her as well. “I mean, I like investigatin’ murder and all, but Hatchet’s right. Irene Simmons might be alive and needing help.”
    Satisfied, Mrs. Jeffries smiled. She’d been fairly sure they’d do what was right. If need be, she’d been quite prepared to take on the task of locating Irene Simmons herself. “Excellent. I, of course, shall be assisting in both matters. Now, let’s see what we can come up with for tomorrow. Betsy, why don’t you use your resources to find out if anyone in the Grant household knew the girl.”
    “All right,” Betsy replied brightly. While she was at it, she’d suss out a few things about this murder too. “I’ll have a go at the local shopkeepers tomorrow as well. Perhaps one of them saw Irene.”
    “There ain’t no shops on Beltrane Gardens,” Wiggins told her, trying to be helpful.
    Betsy shot him a frown. “Well, someone might have seen her walking on Holland Park Road. There’s shops along there. Just because Nanette claims the girl never came out of the Grant house, that doesn’t make it a fact.Someone might have seen her and we won’t know for certain unless we ask.”
    “You’re right, Betsy,” Mrs. Jeffries interjected. “As we’ve learned from our past cases, we mustn’t take everything we’re told at face value. Nanette Lanier could easily be mistaken about the real facts surrounding Irene’s disappearance.” She knew good and well that Betsy wasn’t one to let a chance pass her by. The maid would do her utmost to find the missing girl, but while she was at it, Mrs. Jeffries knew she’d