Mrs. Jeffries Defends Her Own by Emily Brightwell

generation, he’d gone to the New World years earlier to seek his fortune. He’d found it and Luty while prospecting in the mountains of Colorado. After living for a number of years in San Francisco and New York, he’d finally brought her back to his country and a beautiful home in Knightsbridge. Luty had been a witness in one of the inspector’s earliest cases. Sharp-eyed and smart, she’d figured out what the household was up to when they were snooping about. Several months after the successful resolution of the case, she came to them seeking help with a problem of her own. After that, both she and her butler, who had a bit of mystery in his own past, had insisted on helping on all the inspector’s cases. She and Hatchet argued frequently but were devoted to one another. But when they were “on the hunt,” they were highly competitive with each other.
    “Sit down and have some tea,” Mrs. Jeffries said. “Now that we’re all here, I can share the details of what we’re going to have to do on this case. This one is different.”
    “That sounds ominous,” Ruth, Lady Cannonberry,said. She was a slender, attractive blonde widow of late middle years. She and Inspector Witherspoon were “special friends.” She’d been married to a peer of the realm, but as the daughter of a country vicar, she’d taken Christ’s words to “love thy neighbor as thyself” quite seriously. She marched for the rights of woman, fed the hungry, visited the sick, and gave aid and comfort to the oppressed. In other words, compared to other women of her class, she was a radical. However, her affection for Gerald Witherspoon was such that she did avoid engaging in activities that might embarrass him. As someone who believed that all souls were equal in the sight of the Almighty, she insisted the household address her by her Christian name. But she was sensitive to the fact that none of them felt comfortable doing this in front of Inspector Witherspoon and that was fine with her. “What is so very different about this one?”
    Mrs. Jeffries wasn’t sure how to begin. “Well, to begin with, Inspector Witherspoon doesn’t have this case. It’s being handled by Inspector Nivens—” She broke off as there was a collective groan. “I know, I know, that isn’t good news, but it is nonetheless the fact of the matter.”
    “Has hell froze over?” Luty demanded. “Why are we gettin’ involved in one of
his
cases? Did he ask us for help?”
    “No, my sister-in-law did,” Mrs. Jeffries replied. She knew why they were upset, and she didn’t much blame them. Nivens was an odious toad, and none of them could stand the fellow. For years he’d tried to prove that Witherspoon’s household helped with all his cases. That, of course, was absolutely true, but they went to greatlengths to ensure their dear inspector was kept completely in the dark about their activities on his behalf.
    “Sister-in-law,” Ruth repeated. “You have family in London?”
    “Let me explain,” she replied hastily. “Fiona is my late husband’s sister and she does indeed live here, but she’s not been a part of my life for so many years that I literally forgot the woman. When she arrived here today, I was stunned. But she came to me because she needs help. She’s afraid she’s going to be arrested for murder.”
    “If she ain’t been part of your life for years, how did she know to come here and ask you for help?” Luty stared at her skeptically.
    “She came to me because of what she overheard Inspector Nivens saying,” Mrs. Jeffries replied. “Fiona heard Nivens complaining to a constable about Inspector Witherspoon, and my name was mentioned specifically. All of you know that Nivens tells anyone who stands still for thirty seconds that he thinks our inspector has help with his cases. But he’s done that for years and no one pays any attention to his ranting. But this time, Fiona happened to be standing close by, and when she heard what he said,