Mrs. Jeffries Appeals the Verdict by Emily Brightwell (lightest ebook reader txt) 📕

me?”

“No, Betsy and I just snuck down early to make some

weddin’ plans.” Smythe got to his feet. “Mrs. Jeffries come

down because she’s figured it out, and I’ve got to go get

Wiggins.”

“I’ll put more water on to boil,” Betsy said.

Mrs. Goodge looked at the housekeeper. “Thank goodness you’ve figured it out. This case has been keeping me awake at nights.”

“I’m not precisely sure,” Mrs. Jeffries explained. “But

I’ve a feeling we’re on the right track, so to speak.” Blast,

what if she were wrong.

Samson, who’d walked over to his empty food bowl,

meowed loudly.

“Just a minute, precious,” the cook called over her

shoulder.

“I’ll explain everything as soon as we’re all assembled,”

Mrs. Jeffries said firmly.

By the time the cat was fed and the fresh tea brewed,

Wiggins and Smythe had come downstairs.

“Should I go get Lady Cannonberry?” the footman

asked.

“Not yet, but we will need her later,” Mrs. Jeffries

replied. “Now, I’m going to have to ask all of you to do some

very specific tasks today. Wiggins, I want you to get over to

the Muran household and find your friend Charlotte.”

“I don’t think she’ll be up this early,” he said.

“Don’t be daft, lad. By the time you have your tea and

get over there, she’ll be in the kitchen helping to get breakfast,” Mrs. Goodge said. “Not all households are like this one. Most places make the servants get up at the crack of

dawn.”

“Once you speak to Charlotte,” Mrs. Jeffries interjected,

“you must tell her the truth about us, about what we do, but

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then you must swear her to secrecy. What we need her to

do might be very important.”

“You want me to tell her about our snoopin’?” Wiggins

asked incredulously. “About our workin’ on the inspector’s

case?”

“Tell her you work for a private inquiry agent, and then

promise to help her find a new position,” Betsy suggested

quickly. “That’s what I always do and it generally works

fairly well.”

“That’s an excellent idea,” Mrs. Jeffries said to Betsy.

She turned back to Wiggins. “Tell Charlotte that once she’s

inside the Turner house, she’s to keep watch. If she sees either of the Turner women adding anything to the food that’s to be served at luncheon, she’s to come and get you. You’ll

need to be standing watch close by. Can you do that?”

Wiggins nodded. “What’ll I do if she tells me she’s seen

something?”

Mrs. Jeffries thought for a moment. “You’ll find the inspector and tell him what you know.”

They all began to protest at once, but she held up her

hand for silence. “Don’t worry, I’ve come up with a story

to mask our actions on this case. We’re in a position where

we may have to let him know we’ve been helping. But if

that happens, we’ll deal with the consequences as best we

can.”

“You think one of them is going to use poison?” Mrs.

Goodge asked.

“I think it’s very possible,” Mrs. Jeffries replied. She

looked at Smythe. “Can you find Russell Merriman?”

“I’ve no idea what he looks like,” he replied. “But if you

give me a description, I can suss ’im out. Do we even know

where he’s staying?”

“He’s staying at the Muran house,” Mrs. Goodge interjected. “Sorry, I forgot to mention that yesterday. He moved in a day or so ago.”

“Then findin’ ’im will be pretty easy. What do you want

me to do?”

Mrs. Jeffries Appeals the Verdict

191

“Keep an eye on him,” she replied. “If my theory is correct, someone is going to try to kill him today. The trouble is, I’m not exactly sure who it’s going to be, so we’ve got

our work cut out for us.”

“You don’t know who it is?” Mrs. Goodge pulled her

shawl tighter against the early morning chill.

“I’m fairly sure it’s one of three people,” Mrs. Jeffries

said. “Betsy, can you get to the Turner house and find

Selma Macclesfield?”

“I can,” Betsy said uncertainly. “Mrs. Jeffries, it’s not

like you to be so unsure of the identity of the killer. Are

you sure we’re not moving too quickly. We don’t want to

make a mistake.” She was voicing the doubts she could see

on the faces of the others.

Mrs. Jeffries looked around the table. “I know it

sounds as if I don’t know what I’m doing, but you’ve got

to trust me.”

“We do trust you,” Mrs. Goodge said. “But you’ve just

admitted the killer could be one of three people. We don’t

want to expose ourselves without need. If we go tearing

about and interferrin’ in the inspector’s case and the killer

isn’t caught, it’ll not go down very well.”

“I do understand that,” Mrs. Jeffries said quickly. “I

wouldn’t ask any of you to expose yourselves if I wasn’t

sure it was absolutely necessary.”

“But you don’t know exactly who the killer is?” Smythe

pressed.

“It’s one of three people,” she repeated, picking the pot

up and starting to pour. She could understand their concerns, but really, you’d think by now they’d have learned to trust her. She wasn’t sure if she was offended or not.

Mrs. Goodge cocked her head to one side and stared at

the housekeeper speculatively. “In the past you’ve always

been sure.”

“I’m certain the killer is going to strike today,” she said.

She handed Wiggins his tea. “But that’s all I’m sure of, and

that’s why I’m going to need everyone’s help.”

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Emily Brightwell

“You’ve not steered us wrong yet,” Wiggins declared as

he took his tea. “You know what’s what. I trust you, Mrs.

Jeffries.”

“As do I.” Betsy got to her feet. “What do you want me

to tell Selma Macclesfield?”

“I’ll go and start shadowin’ Russell Merriman,” Smythe

said.

Mrs. Goodge looked at the housekeeper. “What do you

need me to do?”

Mrs. Jeffries smiled gratefully at her staff and then gazed

at the cook. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to

spend your day being at the ready, so to speak.”

C H A P T E R 1 1

Q

“We’ve got to get to the Turner household today, sir,”

Constable Barnes said to Witherspoon. He’d spent the

last hour in the kitchen with Mrs. Jeffries, and he wasn’t

certain he understood what was going on, but he’d decided to trust her. The worst that could happen was that they’d end up asking all the principals in the case a few

more questions. Mrs. Jeffries had given him a list. Just in

case.

“We’ve a meeting with the chief inspector this morning

and I’d