Murder in an English Glade by Jessica Ellicott

Author:Jessica Ellicott [Ellicott, Jessica]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington Books
Published: 2021-08-02T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 21

Edwina considered her options. She could scurry about the estate in search of Beryl in order to apprise her of their new circumstances as regarded Constance’s wishes. Or, she could head directly to the makeshift office Hubert had assigned to Constable Gibbs as a temporary headquarters. Its location reflected his lack of pleasure in a police presence at Maitland Park, Edwina thought as she made her decision. Beryl would surely applaud her for taking decisive action, especially if it meant continuing their stay at Maitland Park and avoiding a return to the scowling oversight of the formidable Beddoes.

And, not least of which, Edwina was quite certain she would make far better progress with Constable Gibbs in a one-on-one scenario. There was something about Beryl’s attitude towards the social niceties in Britain that made such delicate negotiations oftentimes more difficult. And, she had to admit, if she were Constable Gibbs, her ability to set aside her own pride would be greater if she had an audience of one rather than two. Especially if the two were a team.

Thinking of things that way, Edwina had to give Constable Gibbs credit for all of the work she did completely on her own. Policing the village of tiny Walmsley Parva would likely not present the same quantity of challenges as a similarly sized district in say, London or even Manchester. But then, police officers in those locales surely would not have been asked to do so single-handedly.

Constable Gibbs had much to be commended for even though she often seemed to go out of her way to be abrasive and unpleasant, especially towards Edwina and Beryl ever since they opened their private enquiry agency. Edwina really had thought they were improving their relationship with the constable some weeks earlier when a matter involving the national census had cropped up. She had felt a bit offended when the constable so firmly shut the door to the investigation into Louis Langdon Beck’s murder in her face.

Perhaps Beryl was not the only one who would derive some satisfaction from being in a position to insist upon their inclusion in tracking down the murderer. As the buttery was a short distance along the corridor from the kitchen, Edwina had little time to plan her approach with the constable. She paused outside the buttery door and knocked on it firmly, but not too firmly. She wished to be heard, but not to be seen as demanding.

When she heard the constable’s voice from within beckoning her to enter, she turned the knob and stepped inside. The sight that greeted her was pitiable. Doris Gibbs looked as though she had not had a moment’s rest since Louis Langdon Beck’s body had been discovered. Never in the time Edwina had known her had Constable Gibbs ever appeared to be anything but well turned out and somewhat intimidating.

The woman before her could only be described as frazzled. Edwina’s heart gave a squeeze as she noticed a dollop of something that looked suspiciously like mud clinging tenaciously to the lapel of Constable Gibbs’s uniform jacket.

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