‘Perhaps she searched the stables for Gulliver, too.’
‘Why?’ asked Tabitha. ‘If she’d gone up to the house asking for him, anyone there would have told her Gulliver was staying with Molly. The most direct route to her cottage is from the front doors.’
‘But why would that make you think Lucia was hiding in the house?’ asked Tamar.
‘When Edith, Molly and I were searching for the third clue near the old schoolrooms, I thought I heard someone moving around and I caught a waft of Poison perfume. When I looked, there was nobody there. There’s a suite called the Widow’s rooms on that corridor, where, strangely, Gulliver has insisted Lucia stay now she’s back. There’s also an old servants’ staircase that leads from that wing of the house to the rooms behind the kitchen which opens onto the path that leads to the stables.’
‘Voice of reason here, Miss Marple,’ said Tamar. ‘How did she manage to sneak in without anyone seeing? Where’s her car? And why?’
‘Her car is easy, she could hide it in the village or on one of the lanes and, remember, the security cameras went down for twenty-four hours due to a technical hitch,’ said Tabitha. ‘It was a few days before Gulliver arrived home.’
‘Are you saying she could have arrived at Cerensthorpe before Gull?’
‘Possibly, when he was sobbing on my doorstep he kept moaning that she’d gone and he didn’t know where she was. He assumed she was in Tuscany with her new man.’
‘But why?’
‘She’s looking for something.’
‘The Chaucer?’
‘Perhaps, but, remember, she and her family are art dealers,’ said Tabitha. ‘I wonder if she’s discovered another item which neither Gull nor Edith realise is valuable and Lucia’s trying to steal it.’
‘Tabs, this is crazy,’ said Tamar and Tabitha could hear the shock in her sister’s voice.
‘I know,’ said Tabitha, ‘and these are not things I’d say without good reason, but there is definitely something off about Lucia and her unexpected arrival. She and Gull are at loggerheads and neither of them seem to be making any effort at a reconciliation.’
‘Marriages rarely make sense to anyone else looking in,’ said Tamar. ‘This might be the way they solve their problems: weeks of arguing, sulking and sleeping in separate rooms, then a passionate reunion.’
Tabitha felt queasy at the thought, but she did concede her sister could be correct.
‘Have you had any joy with the new clue?’ Tamar asked.
‘No, why?’ replied Tabitha.
‘I think you should solve it and see where it leads,’ said Tamar. ‘If Lucia is after the Chaucer, she’ll be interested; if not, she’ll ignore you, but she might use the flurry of excitement of the treasure hunt to locate another item. By the way, how’s Edith?’
‘Up and down, a few good days, then a relapse.’
‘This might sound paranoid, but does Lucia have any involvement in the kitchen?’
‘I don’t think so,’ said Tabitha. ‘Why?’
‘Edith’s symptoms remind me of a woman I treated in my early days as a GP,’ said Tamar. ‘Although the woman had mains water, there were occasions when she would use water from the old well in her garden. Whenever she did, she fell ill. It was a long while before she admitted using the well and when we had it tested, there was arsenic in the water. Her symptoms were the same as Edith’s. There’s no reason why arsenic would be in a modern kitchen, so it can’t be from accidental contamination.’
‘Are you saying you think Lucia is poisoning Edith?’ asked Tabitha aghast.
‘I wouldn’t have said anything before, but if you’re suspicious of her, then yes. I have wondered for a while if there was more to Edith’s illness. After all, it began a few days after Lucia’s arrival.’
Outside, Tabitha could hear footsteps approaching. From the heavy tread, she thought it must be Gulliver.
‘Tay, I have to go,’ she said. ‘I can hear someone coming.’
‘Lucia?’ asked her sister in concern.
‘No, probably Gulliver?—’
‘Talk to him, Tabs,’ urged Tamar. ‘Or talk to Molly, but let someone know of your suspicions.’
