Murder in the House: A Dora and Rex Mystery (Dora and Rex 1920s Mysteries Book 8) by Lynn Morrison

Author:Lynn Morrison [Morrison, Lynn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Marketing Chair Press
Published: 2024-09-29T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

A False Alarm

Outside on the street, Ellen Liddell made a fair attempt at holding the social event together, but Dora could see it was a losing battle. With upwards of fifty guests, the people pouring into the street clogged both the pavement and the road. Car horns and angry shouts urged people to move out of the way. Mrs Liddell’s calls for calm and patience hardly made a dint against the noise.

A large group of young people decamped to the pub three doors down, while the party elders decided which of their private clubs to visit. Dora stopped one particular man before he got too far—the volunteer checking names off the guest list at the entrance.

He was easy enough to spot as he had the clipboard tucked under his arm. Dora bade Inga and Harris to wait for her and she dashed after him. “Mr Nelson, the clipboard. Mrs Liddell asked me to retrieve it.”

Mr Nelson passed it over willingly and dashed off to catch up with his friend. Dora pulled the paper free from the clip and handed it to Harris. “Tuck this into your pocket. If that was a false alarm, and it certainly appears that way, we’ll want to determine who pulled it.”

Indeed, when Rex, Clark, and Prudence finally exited the building, Prudence made a beeline for the pair. “We found something,” she whispered.

“Something beyond the blaring siren?” Dora asked.

“Yes—a commie flyer left as a calling card. Do you know what has happened to the guest list?”

Harris patted the pocket of his jacket. “It is safely stored away. We’ll help Mrs Liddell finish tidying and then meet the rest of you at home.”

Two hours later, the whole group reconvened over a tray of sandwiches and steaming cups of tea. Harris pulled the list from his pocket and smoothed the lines free from the folded paper. “We have the list, but how will we know who is the odd man—or woman—out?”

Clark matched his motions, pulling a list of his own out. “McAlister was kind enough to escort me to the party office where he provided the list of local members. The list includes their date of joining, matriculating university or college, and current occupation. That should be enough to allow us to make a start at crossing names from the list, particularly if we exclude all the longer-term members.”

By the time the sandwich plate was empty, they had three possible outliers and one definite oddity.

“Anita Thornberry is not a party member?” Prudence asked as she grabbed the party roster to check for herself.

Dora waved her off the task. “Don’t be so surprised. My father is a leading Tory and I’m not on their list.”

“You are on everyone’s list, but for a very different reason. One would have to be a complete fool to equate you with Anita Thornberry,” Prudence fired back.

Dora fluffed her curls, not in the least taken aback. “True, but my point still stands. Children do not always follow in their parents’ footsteps. You said yourself that Mr Thornberry encouraged his daughter to come along.

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