animosity toward Hinchley to warrant starting there. If it turns out that the killer isn’t one of them, I’ll look elsewhere.”
“You obviously heard quite a bit today,” she said pleasantly.
“Oh, I did,” he said enthusiastically. He told her everything he’d learned, all about Bosworth’s theory, the visit to the Hinchley house and how he’d gotten a good look at Hinchley’s bath. “It was a jolly large tub,” he concluded as he glanced at the clock. He got up. “I’d best be off, then. It’s getting late.”
“Surely the play isn’t over this early,” she said, getting to her feet and starting to clear the remains of his dinner.
“It’s not. But I’m going to pop round to the Yard to do some background checking,” he said, stifling a yawn. “By the time I’ve finished, it will be time to meet Constable Barnes. Don’t wait up for me, Mrs. Jeffries. It’ll be very late when I return.”
Mrs. Jeffries and Betsy got the supper things cleaned up in record time. By the time the last plate was being put in the cupboard, the others had arrived.
Mrs. Jeffries took her usual seat at the head of the table. “Inspector Witherspoon’s gone out,” she began, “but we managed to have a nice chat before he went off. He had a number of things to report.”
“Lucky for us, I had the rest of that beef joint left over from last night’s dinner,” Mrs. Goodge muttered. “Otherwise,we’d have had some explaining to do. Tied up all day with my sources, I didn’t have time to cook a proper meal.”
“Did ya find out anything?” Wiggins asked the cook.
“Found out plenty,” she replied. “Not that it’s fit for decent ears.”
“Would you like to start, then?” Mrs. Jeffries said.
Mrs. Goodge shook her head. “Let’s hear what you got out of the inspector first. After our last muck-up, I don’t want to get sidetracked.”
“She’s right,” Betsy said quickly. “This time we’ve got to keep right on top of what the inspector’s doing.”
Faintly alarmed, Mrs. Jeffries frowned. “Do all of you feel that way?”
“Yup,” Luty said firmly.
“’Fraid so,” Smythe agreed. “Don’t want to waste my time chasin’ my tail instead of the killer.”
“Perhaps it would be in the best interests of justice if we did pay proper attention to Inspector Witherspoon’s investigation,” Hatchet said. “We certainly don’t want a repeat of our last performance.”
Mrs. Jeffries couldn’t believe her ears. Had they all completely lost confidence in themselves? “Nonsense,” she said stoutly. “We’ve solved a number of cases and just because we didn’t solve the last one is no reason to change our methods. I’m surprised at all of you. Have you completely forgotten how many successes we’ve had in the past? I’m not saying we ought to ignore the inspector’s investigation; we don’t do that in any case. However, I won’t have all of you sitting here on your hands too frightened to tell what you’ve learned because you’re afraid you might be wrong. Is that clear?”
She spoke with the authority of a general addressing his troops. For a moment, no one said anything.
Luty broke the silence. She laughed. “Turnin’ my own words back on me—that’s a good one, Hepzibah. You’re right. We’re all actin’ like a bunch of greenhorns too scared to get back on a horse that’s thrown us. Well, we’re danged good at what we do and I’m glad you reminded me of it. Seein’ as everyone else is still skittish, why don’t I go first? I learned a bit today. To begin with, Ogden Hinchley’s got plenty of money. Family money, all inherited.”
“Who gets it now that ’e’s dead?” Smythe asked.
“I don’t know yet. Thistlebottom only handles his money, not his will. But I’ve got another source…”
She was interrupted by a loud, derisive snort from her butler. “Source. Why, that man’s a senile old solicitor,” Hatchet muttered. “You can’t rely on a
“You obviously heard quite a bit today,” she said pleasantly.
“Oh, I did,” he said enthusiastically. He told her everything he’d learned, all about Bosworth’s theory, the visit to the Hinchley house and how he’d gotten a good look at Hinchley’s bath. “It was a jolly large tub,” he concluded as he glanced at the clock. He got up. “I’d best be off, then. It’s getting late.”
“Surely the play isn’t over this early,” she said, getting to her feet and starting to clear the remains of his dinner.
“It’s not. But I’m going to pop round to the Yard to do some background checking,” he said, stifling a yawn. “By the time I’ve finished, it will be time to meet Constable Barnes. Don’t wait up for me, Mrs. Jeffries. It’ll be very late when I return.”
Mrs. Jeffries and Betsy got the supper things cleaned up in record time. By the time the last plate was being put in the cupboard, the others had arrived.
Mrs. Jeffries took her usual seat at the head of the table. “Inspector Witherspoon’s gone out,” she began, “but we managed to have a nice chat before he went off. He had a number of things to report.”
“Lucky for us, I had the rest of that beef joint left over from last night’s dinner,” Mrs. Goodge muttered. “Otherwise,we’d have had some explaining to do. Tied up all day with my sources, I didn’t have time to cook a proper meal.”
“Did ya find out anything?” Wiggins asked the cook.
“Found out plenty,” she replied. “Not that it’s fit for decent ears.”
“Would you like to start, then?” Mrs. Jeffries said.
Mrs. Goodge shook her head. “Let’s hear what you got out of the inspector first. After our last muck-up, I don’t want to get sidetracked.”
“She’s right,” Betsy said quickly. “This time we’ve got to keep right on top of what the inspector’s doing.”
Faintly alarmed, Mrs. Jeffries frowned. “Do all of you feel that way?”
“Yup,” Luty said firmly.
“’Fraid so,” Smythe agreed. “Don’t want to waste my time chasin’ my tail instead of the killer.”
“Perhaps it would be in the best interests of justice if we did pay proper attention to Inspector Witherspoon’s investigation,” Hatchet said. “We certainly don’t want a repeat of our last performance.”
Mrs. Jeffries couldn’t believe her ears. Had they all completely lost confidence in themselves? “Nonsense,” she said stoutly. “We’ve solved a number of cases and just because we didn’t solve the last one is no reason to change our methods. I’m surprised at all of you. Have you completely forgotten how many successes we’ve had in the past? I’m not saying we ought to ignore the inspector’s investigation; we don’t do that in any case. However, I won’t have all of you sitting here on your hands too frightened to tell what you’ve learned because you’re afraid you might be wrong. Is that clear?”
She spoke with the authority of a general addressing his troops. For a moment, no one said anything.
Luty broke the silence. She laughed. “Turnin’ my own words back on me—that’s a good one, Hepzibah. You’re right. We’re all actin’ like a bunch of greenhorns too scared to get back on a horse that’s thrown us. Well, we’re danged good at what we do and I’m glad you reminded me of it. Seein’ as everyone else is still skittish, why don’t I go first? I learned a bit today. To begin with, Ogden Hinchley’s got plenty of money. Family money, all inherited.”
“Who gets it now that ’e’s dead?” Smythe asked.
“I don’t know yet. Thistlebottom only handles his money, not his will. But I’ve got another source…”
She was interrupted by a loud, derisive snort from her butler. “Source. Why, that man’s a senile old solicitor,” Hatchet muttered. “You can’t rely on a
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