Randolf said finally, ‘Do you still have this bowl of figgy pudding?’
‘I’m afraid not, Detective. My housekeeper, Mrs Harlow, threw it away.’
‘I see,’ he paused. ‘Well, we’ll need to speak with each of you individually.’
Miles cleared his throat. ‘Detective, do you believe there to be something suspicious about these deaths?’
Randolf’s expression remained neutral, but there was a glint in his eye. ‘We’re simply gathering information, Mr. Weiss. As I said, three deaths in such a short span of time is unusual.’
Jeannie’s shoulders tensed visibly, but she nodded. ‘Not everyone is here at the moment. You will have to come back another time. A time when our lawyer, Mr Peverill, is present. I will show you out.’
And that was that. Jeannie led the officers out of the room, both looking back at us, seeming reluctant to leave. We bade them goodbye, and Miles sank into an armchair, running a hand through his hair, his brow furrowed with worry. Thewarmth of the fire felt so at odds with the chill that had settled in my bones.
‘What do you think they’re after?’ I whispered, moving closer to him.
Miles shook his head, eyes fixed on the doorway where Jeannie had disappeared with the officers. ‘I don’t know, but I don’t like it. Three deaths… Christ, when they put it like that, it gets harder and harder to live in denial.’
‘You don’t suspect foul play, do you?’ The words felt ridiculous even as I said them, but the detectives’ presence had watered a seed of doubt that had already begun to grow.
He considered for a moment. ‘Grandmother was ancient, Father had a weak heart, and Tristan…’ He trailed off, swallowing hard. ‘Tristan’s death was a horrible accident. One that when I close my eyes at night, I still can’t help but see.’
I rested my hand upon his knee and squeezed. ‘I’m sorry, darling,’ I offered helplessly.
We walked hand in hand through to the foyer, where Jeannie stood waving off the officers as they headed to their unmarked police car. She told us that they had warned her that they would be back, and that none of us should go too far. Too late for that; Mimi and Ceecee had already managed to elope.
Jeannie was so taut with tension, I thought she might snap at any minute. She gave a final wave and a stiff smile, until she closed the door and practically fell back against it.
‘Mimi’s flying to New York probably as we speak. And Beebee told me that Ceecee’s gone back to university,’ she said, her face deathly pale.
‘Are you feeling okay?’ Miles asked, reaching out an arm to steady her.
She inhaled deeply, closing her eyes, and breathing out again slowly. When she opened her eyes, she managed to school her expression, standing straight again without Miles’s aid.
‘I’ve done a very silly thing,’ she said softly. ‘Very silly indeed. But I panicked. I just panicked and I didn’t know what to do.’
‘What did you do?’ Said Miles, his face changing.
‘I-I-I neglected to mention that… Oh God help me… I didn’t tell them that… Aunt Clem is dead, too.’
Miles and I stood there, frozen.
‘Aunt Clem– Clem? Our Aunt Clem?’ was all I managed to say.
‘Yes,’ Jeannie said, exasperated. ‘There’s only one Aunt Clem, Olivia.’
‘Oh my Christ!’ said Miles. ‘How? When?’
Jeannie gave a tiny shake of her head. ‘I don’t know when. Icame back from the village… The house was empty, except for Mrs Harlow, Callum, Martha and Beebee, who were all in their rooms. And– and I went to check on her, I thought she’d been in bed far too long. Fergus has been down at the village all afternoon. He said he was going to get her some supplies from the pharmacy– paracetamol, rehydration salts, that sort of thing. But… but he still hasn’t come back.’
Miles put his head in his hands. ‘For Christ’s sake, Mother. You lied to the police? Why?’
‘What do you mean, why? I’d just that second found her… I hadn’t even got my head around it before there was a ring at the doorbell. And they were asking me questions… asking me likeIwas under suspicion. What was I supposed to say, “Yes, officers, three deaths in a week, and if you’ve got a spare ten minutes, I’ll take you on a house tour to see the full set!”’
Miles stared at her, dumbfounded. ‘Yes! Well, obviously not in those words. I suppose you wouldn’t want them know the level of your insanity. But by hiding the fact, you’ve now committed a crime! If you’re aiming to make a guilty-as-sin impression, you’re definitely going the right way about it.’
‘Yes, well, Iamtrying to hide something. We can’t let this get out. This is nothing short of a bloody mess!’
‘Are you sure?’ I cut in. ‘Are you absolutely sure she’s dead?’
