Page 27 of Murder at the Mayfair Hotel

Victor patted a chair back and invited me to sit. “Want some tea while you think?” He indicated a teapot and cups on the table.

“Thank you,” I said.

Harmony poured tea into three cups and Victor handed one to me. “So, where shall you begin?” she asked.

I sipped slowly, gathering my thoughts, then lowered the cup to my lap. The door suddenly opened and Goliath entered. He paused when he saw me.

“Keep moving, you big bloody giraffe,” said someone behind him.

Goliath stepped aside to reveal Frank the doorman. He saw me and flushed.

“Sorry for my language, Miss Fox,” he muttered. “I didn’t see you there.”

I rose. “It’s all right. It’s my fault, I’m intruding. This is your space to relax for a few moments.”

“Please stay,” Harmony said. “Miss Fox is helping investigate the murder,” she informed the men.

“Then you’ve got to stay,” Goliath said. “They arrested Danny.”

“The police will find the killer,” Frank told him.

“The police will find whoever the most convenient suspect is,” Harmony said darkly. “They want this wrapped up quickly and quietly. I know all too well what the police are like, Frank.”

“Mr. Hobart won’t let his brother convict Danny. Have some faith, Harmony.”

She sniffed. “It doesn’t hurt to have another mind investigating. Miss Fox is clever. Have faith inher, Frank.”

If Mr. Armitage weren’t their immediate superior, I would have told them my suspicions about him and my doubts that his father would investigate thoroughly if he knew his son killed Mrs. Warrick. I wouldn’t tell anyone my suspicions until I was absolutely sure, however.

I sat again as Goliath poured himself a cup of tea.

Victor withdrew his knife from his belt. “Are the journalists gone? Want me to go out there and frighten them off?”

“Two constables are outside now,” Frank said. “That got rid of all but a few determined ones. Mr. Armitage said me and Goliath can take ten minutes in here while he helps defend the fort outside.”

“Looks like he and Mr. Hobart convinced those guests to stay too,” Goliath said.

“Probably by telling them the killer had been caught,” Harmony said with a glare at each man. “Mark my words, they’re going to blame Danny. I don’t want to see my friend hang for something he didn’t do. Do you?”

Frank shuffled his feet and shook his head.

Goliath puffed out his chest. “No, ma’am, I do not.”

Victor ran the blade edge along his finger. “So what do we do next, Miss Fox?”

They all stared at me. How had I become their great hope? I’d done nothing to deserve it except show an inquisitive nature. Harmony seemed to have decided that I could be trusted to find the truth, but I wasn’t sure what that decision was based upon.

It could simply be because I was a relative of the hotel owner. I could access places the staff could not, and talk to people who wouldn’t give Harmony the time of day.

“The police are at a disadvantage,” I told them. “They’re not allowed to question the guests, but I think the guests should be questioned. Some of them, at least. For one thing, someone might have seen Mrs. Warrick during the evening, or could have witnessed Danny speaking to her when he brought the hot chocolate.”

Harmony sat forward on the chair. “I did discover something that may be of use. It answers the question as to why the police are asking everyone where they were in the early evening and late afternoon. I found out that none of the waiters remembered seeing Mrs. Warrick in the dining room. Nor could Mr. Chapman find her name in his book. He notes down guest names and room numbers when they arrive,” she told me. “The cost of the meal is added to their final list of expenses to be paid when they check out.”

“No meal was delivered to her room, either,” Victor added. “I checked after I spoke to you this morning, Miss Fox.”

“Could she have dined out?” I asked.

“She didn’t leave the hotel,” Frank said.