He read it and looked up. “Who is Lady Middlebury, and where do I find her?”
Dr. Lewis stopped with his glass halfway to his lips. “Lady Middlebury?”
“Do you know her, Grandfather?”
“Knew her, yes. But you’re too late. Her death notice appeared in the paper yesterday.”
The following morning, Tennant sat across the desk from the head of Windsor Borough’s police force. At first, Superintendent Eager was reluctant to act on Tennant’s theory.
“Lady Middlebury was an old woman,” Eager said. “The doctor’s verdict was probable heart failure.”
Tennant asked, “Did he perform a postmortem?”
“Well, no, given the lady’s advanced years and the state of her health.”
“Bear with me, Superintendent, while I lay out the links that connect three murders.” When Tennant finished, he said, “I was on the point of interviewing Lady Middlebury when I heard of her sudden death.”
Eager sighed. “Our mayor and his son found the body on Sunday. William Harris and his older boy were riding in Windsor Great Park when they found the lady slumped on a bench.”
“This is Thursday. Where is the body now?”
“On its way to Ireland for burial in a family crypt in Kildare. Yesterday, a service was held at St. George’s Chapel, attended by the queen.”
“When did the body leave Windsor?”
“This morning.” Eager checked his wall clock. “It’s on a train halfway to Bristol by now.”
“I’ll send a telegram to the superintendent there. Then I must speak to the county coroner about a postmortem.”
Eager rang a bell. “His office is in the Guildhall. A constable will escort you.”
“And I need to see the medical report.”
At seven that evening, Inspector Tennant rang the bell at number 17 Finsbury Circus. He had a doctor’s report tucked into his breast pocket.
Mrs. Ogilvie opened the door. “Dinner is in a quarter of an hour. I’ll lay another plate.”
“Thank you, but I ate at the station. Are the doctors in?”
“They’re in the library.” He followed her into the room.
Julia said, “We wondered if it were you.”
“I must see Sir Richard this evening, so I have a cab waiting.”
“You found something?” Dr. Lewis said.
“Yes.” At the end of his narrative, he said, “The magistrate ordered the body’s return to Windsor.” He reached into his breast pocket. “Will you give me your opinions on this report before I see the commissioner?”
The document wasn’t long, and Julia read it in two minutes. “The description of her eyes …” She passed the report to her grandfather. “What does this ‘eye infection’ sound like to you? In the last paragraph.”
He read and returned it to Julia. “Red spots in the whites and on the insides of the lids? Sounds very like ‘Tardieu’s spots’ to me.”
“I agree.”
Tennant said, “Tell me what it means.”
“It means murder, most likely,” Julia said. “I saw a case my first year out of medical school.”
