Murder at Traitors' Gate by Irina Shapiro

Author:Irina Shapiro [Shapiro, Irina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-06-24T00:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-ONE

As soon as Constable Haze left, Mrs. Bede burst in, looking distinctly wild-eyed. “I want ’er out of ’ere, Inspector. All me lodgers will leave if they find out she were murdered on the premises. It’s dangerous enough for a woman out on ’er own, but to be murdered in yer own bed, why that’s enough to chill yer blood, that is.”

“I will have the body removed as quickly and as quietly as I can, Mrs. Bede,” Sebastian promised. “In the meantime, I need to ask you a few questions. Why don’t we speak in the other room,” he suggested when he saw Mrs. Bede’s gaze darting toward Lydia’s supine form.

Mrs. Bede nodded and followed Sebastian into Lydia’s sitting room, where she sank into a chair. Sebastian took the only other chair, pulled out his notebook, and faced the frightened woman. “Who owns the building, Mrs. Bede?”

“Mr. Ellington.”

“Does Mr. Ellington come here often?”

Mrs. Bede shook her head. “Been a few months now since I seen ’im.”

“So how does he collect the rents?” Sebastian asked.

“’E sends ’is son. The boy’s thirteen,” Mrs. Bede added.

“When was the last time the rents were collected?”

“December first.”

“So neither Ellington has been here since?”

“No. I ’xpect the boy will come in the new year.”

“Do the Ellingtons keep a key to the front door and the tenant rooms?”

“Mr. Ellington ’as a key to the front door, but the lodgers’ keys are kept ’ere,” Mrs. Bede replied.

“Do the Ellingtons use their own key to enter the building?”

“No, never. Silas, that’s their boy, ’e always knocks.”

Sebastian made note of this, then continued. “How many lodgers do you have, Mrs. Bede?”

“Six, including Miss Morton, that were. I don’t rightly know what I’ll tell the others,” she lamented, shaking her head. “Can ’ardly tell ’em she up and left.”

“The others will have to be told,” Sebastian said.

“Why?” Mrs. Bede wailed.

“Because I need to speak to them.”

“Must ye, Inspector? They’ll be too frightened to shut their eyes at night.”

“I’m sorry, but I must. They may have seen or heard something.”

“Like what?” Mrs. Bede asked.

“Whoever killed Lydia Morton might have come in through the door,” Sebastian said.

“No. They couldn’t ’ave!” Mrs. Bede cried. “The door’s kept locked, and I’m the only one as answers it when someone comes calling.” It took her a moment to catch on, but then she exclaimed, “No. It couldn’t be one of me lodgers. They’re not capable of doing such violence.”

“May I have the names of your lodgers, Mrs. Bede?”

The landlady nodded but wouldn’t meet Sebastian’s eye. Her hands were shaking in her lap, and she looked like she was going to be ill. And who wouldn’t be terrified? A young woman had been murdered while she slept, her tongue severed and left floating in a glass. Sebastian wished he could reassure Mrs. Bede that she was safe and that the killing had nothing to do with her or her boarding house, but he couldn’t. Not until he knew more.

It was possible that the killer had come in through the window and had targeted Lydia Morton because of her association with Jacob Harrow.

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