Sleuths on the Rocks: A 1920s Historical Cozy Mystery (Lucinda and Thea Investigate Book 3) by Sonia Parin

Author:Sonia Parin [Parin, Sonia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-10-30T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 9

A short while later…

Once again, the sound of a motor car stopping outside their house startled them. Thea stiffened and shot a quick glance toward the window, her eyes wide, her breath coming in sharp gasps.

Higgins answered the knock at the door. Lucinda tried to hear the murmured conversation but couldn’t decipher anything that was said.

When Higgins walked in, he found both Thea and Lucinda looking up, both tense with expectation.

“Charlie Clemens just delivered a note, madam. He said it’s a response to the note you asked him to deliver. He was just hailed by a customer, so he had to dash off.”

“Thank you, Higgins.” Lucinda took the piece of paper and closed her eyes for a moment. Silently, she hoped her ruse had worked.

“Would you like some coffee?” Higgins asked.

“Yes, please.” Shifting in her seat, Lucinda read the note. Relieved, she smiled.

“Good news?” Thea asked.

Higgins cleared the table and was about to walk away. Instead, he stopped and stilled.

“Yes.” Looking up at Higgins, Lucinda said, “Higgins, last night, her ladyship and I retired at ten thirty.”

Understanding the message, Higgins nodded. “Yes, I then made the rounds of the house and made sure all the windows and doors were locked.” He again nodded and left the room.

“What was that about?” Thea asked.

“Our alibi, m’dear. There’s no point in creating confusion by saying I went to bed, and you remained in the library until sometime before eleven. That’s far too vague.”

“Lucinda! What’s in the note?”

“I sent Marina Charles a message asking her to tell us what time Mrs. Stratford telephoned her.”

“What?”

“Did you already forget? Marina Charles was shocked to hear the news about Mrs. Stratford’s death, and she told us she’d spoken with her the night before on the telephone. She didn’t specify the time and when Charlie Clemens said he was driving a fare to Upper Brooke Street, I took the opportunity to prod her for information.”

“And she told you?”

“Yes. Mrs. Stratford telephoned her just before eleven. Five minutes before eleven, to be precise.”

“Why is this relevant? I’m sure I retired closer to eleven.”

“Think about it, Thea. Someone pretended to be you by appearing to emerge from this house and head over to Mrs. Stratford’s house. Do you believe that happened while the lights in the library were on?”

Thea shook her head.

Lucinda continued, “I’m eliminating doubt. If the police ask, we’ll have a consistent answer.”

“We’re going to lie?”

“Did you retire soon after I went up?”

“Yes.”

“In that case, we are all on the same page.” They’d returned from Brown’s just before ten thirty and Mrs. Stratford had left the hotel well before then. In fact, she’d left as soon as they’d arrived at Brown’s. That had been two hours earlier.

Had she headed directly to her house?

How had she occupied herself during that time and the moment she’d decided to telephone Marina Charles?

Lucinda wondered if Mrs. Stratford had telephoned anyone else. The police would certainly know about it. If they did, that might be the reason why they were taking so long in coming to speak with them.

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