She smiled. “I know it’s hard to get up when you haven’t slept much. Believe me, I do. But you really need to hear the gossip I have to tell you. It will wake you up.”
I sighed and sat up. “You know there’s no better way to get my attention than the promise of juicy gossip. So what have you heard?”
She picked up the breakfast tray and positioned it across my lap then sat near my legs and helped herself to a cold slice of toast. “Goliath told me that his friend at the Savoy Hotel said he’d overheard a guest gossiping about seeing Lady Rumford at the theater.”
“That’s a rather tangled grapevine. Should we trust the information?”
“The woman claimed to be a friend to Lady Rumford. You would think she’d know what her own friend looked like. It’s worth following up, which is why I told Goliath to tell his friend to find out more.”
“Excellent idea. That leaves me free to follow up other clues.”
“Such as?”
I sighed as I peeled the shell off a boiled egg. “I don’t know yet. Perhaps inspiration will strike by the time I finish breakfast.”
Inspiration did indeed strike, and I left the hotel feeling buoyed. This investigation might prove complicated, with so many suspects compared to the last one, but it was better to have too many than none at all. That’s what I told myself, anyway.
The events of the previous night also occupied my thoughts. Indeed, they were getting in the way of the murder investigation. There was only one way to stop that—pass the information onto someone else. It was fortunate that the person I planned to see could help me with that as well as give advice on what to do about the sightings of Lady Rumford who, according to her husband, should not be in London.
I poked my head into the Roma Café and smiled at Luigi and his two regular customers.
“He’s not here,” Luigi told me.
I headed up the stairs next door and knocked on Mr. Armitage’s office door. He beckoned me in, looking somewhat disappointed to see me and not a potential customer.
“How is business coming along?” I asked cheerfully as I took a seat.
“I’m run off my feet.”
A newspaper was spread out in front of him buthis desk was otherwise neat. His jacket hung alongside his coat and hat on the stand by the door, which meant he wasn’t expecting anyone. “Quite,” I said, trying not to let him see that I knew he was lying.
He folded the newspaper and set it to one side. “Do you require my services to accompany you to The Nag’s Head again?”
“No, thank you. I’ve already spoken to Mr. Adams twice since we last met.” I spread out my arms. “As you can see, I came to no harm.”
He leaned back, elbow resting on the chair arm, and stroked his top lip with his finger. “You’ve made progress. Well done. I knew you would.”
“I haven’t solved it yet, but I do need your help.”
“I ought to start charging you.”
“Or you could just agree to make me your partner and we can halve the fee.”
He laughed. “You don’t give up, do you?”
“It’s an annoying habit, so I’ve been told.” I opened my purse. “Since you won’t agree to become my partner, yet, I’m happy to pay you for your time.”
He shook his head when I tried to hand him some money. “Put it away, Miss Fox. That was a joke. I don’t want payment for accompanying you when you speak to dubious characters. What kind of man do you take me for?”
“One who thinks I’m attacking his pride.” I dropped the money back into my purse. “I don’t want you to accompany me anywhere, this time. I want your opinion.”
My retort about his pride had stung him into silence and I wished I could take it back. Sometimes I needed to check myself before saying whatever came into my head.
“I’m sorry,” I mumbled. “But I really do want your opinion on something. Two things, actually. As someone who worked in a luxury hotel for many years, I think you can offer a unique and valuable perspective.”
“Apology accepted. There’s no need to lay it on too thickly.”
I gave him a withering glare. “I wasn’t.” I adjusted my position in the chair, suddenly feeling uncomfortable as he stared back at me. “It’s about Lady Rumford. Two separatepeople have now mentioned seeing her, one at the opera, the other at the theater. But she isn’t staying at any of the premier hotels. Lord Rumford doesn’t have a London residence, so she must be staying somewhere.”
