The Curse of the House of Foskett by M.R.C. Kasasian

Author:M.R.C. Kasasian [Kasasian, M.R.C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781781853283
Publisher: Head of Zeus
Published: 2014-06-05T07:00:00+00:00

40

French Blood and Commodore Bracelet

I did not see Sidney Grice – though I thought I heard him cry out once – until he joined me for dinner. He had his patch on and a smoking jacket, which struck me as a peculiar choice for a man who abhorred tobacco.

‘Molly was worried about you,’ I told him, ‘locking yourself away.’

‘It is the only way I can get any peace.’

‘But you did not eat.’

‘It has long been a habit of mine to fast intermittently. It cleanses the liver and hence the mind.’

‘But you are eating tonight?’

My guardian rubbed his hands together. ‘Indeed I am. I told Cook, when you wandered off, that you were bored with our usual fare and she was as taken aback as I was. Nevertheless, she has manufactured a special treat in honour of your return.’

‘How exciting,’ I said uncertainly and added, ‘I did not think you knew I had gone.’

He slipped his napkin out of its ring, an ornately carved cross-section of femur from the first man he had brought to the gallows. ‘Did you seriously think that I do not know who is or is not in my own home, or that the servants could connive to send a telegram without my knowledge?’

‘Not really,’ I said. ‘Have there been any developments whilst I was away?’

‘Very few.’ He unfolded his napkin. ‘But I have not been entirely idle. After you left I paid three visits, first, to Horatio Green’s shop where I made sixty-two observations, three of which may be significant. The shelves were quite high, presumably to stop bottles being accidentally knocked off them; second, the poison book lists strychnine as having been sold the day before he so inconsiderately died, though the name of the person he sold it to is clearly fictitious.’

‘How can you be sure of that?’

Mr G shook the napkin vigorously. ‘People creating names tend to be a little too creative for their own good. They often give themselves knighthoods or even peerages. This person was a little less ambitious and settled for a commission in the Royal Navy. There are no acting or retired Commodore Bracelets on the naval list.’

‘And third?’ I inquired.

‘Mr Green did not stock prussic acid, making it unlikely that he accidentally gave it to himself. Other than that, it has been very quiet.’ He laid the napkin on his lap. ‘Perhaps it is you and not I who attracts disaster.’

‘Quite possibly.’ I certainly brought it on you, my darling Edward. ‘Where did you go for your second visit?’

‘To St Jerome’s Rectory.’ He corrected the alignment of his cutlery. ‘And there I interviewed Reverend Jackaman’s old housekeeper – a delightful lady who makes a splendid cup of tea. She told me the rectory was evacuated an hour before we arrived because of a gas leak from the road works.’

Molly came puffing up the stairs, her face still smudged, opened the dumb waiter and brought out two covered plates.

‘Can I stay and watch?’ She plonked mine in front of me.

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