Murder at the Fashion House by Sonia Parin

Author:Sonia Parin [Parin, Sonia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-04-24T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

“Will you be adding our conversation with Adele Lawson to your letter?” Tom asked even before they reached the stairs.

“It might be worth mentioning how sound travels through the chimney.” Evie stopped and looked up. “I wonder if we should speak with Louisa Barclay?” She didn’t wait for a response from Tom. “No. This letter needs to go right now. Except, I still haven’t decided how we should deliver it.” She stopped and smiled. “Oh, I know.” Brightening, Evie slipped her arm through Tom’s and led him down the stairs. “Time to pay Mrs. Lotte Mannering a visit.”

They found Edmonds leaning against the motor car. When he saw them, he promptly held the door open for them. Giving him the address to Lotte Mannering’s office, Evie settled back and smiled. Why hadn’t she thought of it before?

“Toodles is not going to like this,” Tom warned. “When you promised you’d visit Lotte Mannering, I think she assumed she would be going along.”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Or, rather, we should do our best to avoid it altogether. She mustn’t find out. Besides, it’s going to be a quick visit to organize the delivery of this letter and then we’ll return to the house and organize ourselves for dinner.”

“I hope you realize we don’t have any books with us.”

“Books?”

“Our alibi for slipping out without letting them know,” Tom reminded her.

“We’ll figure something out or we could say we looked but didn’t find anything appropriate. After all, Seth already has so many books. At some point, it was bound to become difficult to find anything that would interest him.”

“You seem to have it all covered now. I take it the cocktails have worked themselves out of your system.”

“Not quite. When it comes to offering my grandmother explanations, I’ve always been able to think on my feet. It’s a survival skill. And, strictly speaking, everything I’ve said is based on truth. Seth will have to hurry up and start expanding his interests.”

Edmonds stopped in front of a building that stood out because of its ordinariness. It didn’t have any columns, ornaments or balconies. Even the brass door knocker had a simple design. Not that they needed it since the front door stood ajar.

“We shouldn’t be too long, Edmonds.” Turning to look out of the window, Evie nudged Tom. “Oh, look. There’s a bookstore next door. Fate is on our side.” At least, Evie thought, something seemed to be working in their favor. With everyone so obviously lying through their teeth, she pitied the detective. How on earth would he ever find the culprit?

There were several business names listed at the door. Lotte Mannering had an office on the first floor.

They walked in and were greeted by an elderly lady with graying hair. She stood in front of a large desk humming under her breath as she sifted through a stack of files.

“Good afternoon.” Tom removed his hat. “We would like to speak with Mrs. Lotte Mannering, please.”

The woman set the file aside and pushed back her glasses.

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