Death by Silver by Melissa Scott Page B

Julian said. He made it a statement, and after a moment, she nodded.
    “Well, not quarrelsome, exactly. Cross, I’d say. Always angry about something.”
    That reminded him far too much of Victor, and he glanced at his memorandum book again, as though he had the details of the case written there. “The police said a parlormaid found the body. Was that you?”
    What color she had drained slowly from her face, leaving it the color of skimmed milk. “Yes, sir.”
    “If you can tell me just once more,” Julian said, “I promise you I won’t ask you again.”
    She took a deep breath. “I went in to sweep and air the room, like I always do. And I was startled because the lamp was still lit. And then I saw him. He was lying on the carpet, just like someone had dropped him. His head was all bloody – it hit him right on the back of his head, and it was stove in like a broken basket, and that candlestick was lying there, and there was more blood on it and all on the carpet, too –” She stopped, swallowing hard.
    “Just this once,” Julian said. “Then you’re done. Was the window open?”
    She shook her head.
    “Had he been smoking?”
    She looked up, frowning slightly. “I don’t know.”
    “Was there a smell of tobacco?”
    “No.” She drew the word out, doubtfully, then frowned more deeply. “No, there wasn’t, sir, and he hadn’t been smoking, either, because his cigar was still on the tray. He’d cut it, but he hadn’t lit it.”
    Julian nodded. “That’s helpful. Did he usually have a nightcap?”
    “Yes, sir, and he’d poured one, but he hadn’t drunk it. The glass was on the desk.”
    From the sound of it, then, Nevett had been struck by the candlestick as soon as he sat down at his desk, which made the burglary look even more peculiar. “One more thing. The police said the back gate was open that morning. That’s this gate, here in the garden?”
    Sarah looked at her shoes again. “Yes, sir. But it was locked that night, I’m sure of it.”
    “I daresay,” Julian murmured, though he didn’t believe her. Whether she was lying out of reflex or to protect someone was a matter for later. “When did they put up the bar?”
    “That very afternoon,” Sarah answered. “Miller and Mrs Rule both said they wouldn’t sleep another night in the house if they thought someone could come and go as they pleased. Mrs Nevett wasn’t pleased to have them to think about, but Mr Ellis managed it for her.”
    “That was kind of him,” Julian said.
    “He’s not a bad man.” Sarah squared her shoulders. “And you should know, sir, I was hired from his mission.”
    He’d known it already, of course, but he nodded. “Thank you for telling me.”

    Mrs Nevett was holding court in the upstairs parlor and declined to descend, requesting that Mr Mathey come up to her instead; Victor looked a bit sheepish when he came back down to tell Ned so, as if he’d asked her to come down and been refused. For a moment, Ned almost felt sympathetic.
    “It’s no trouble,” he said. He followed Victor out into the hall. “Is Mr Nevett’s study on this floor?”
    “Just there, behind the stairs,” Victor said, pointing out the room behind the parlor. “Across the hall is the dining room.”
    “Nothing was taken from the dining room?”
    “No. There wasn’t much kept in there, though.”
    Ned supposed there was a butler’s pantry downstairs for cutlery and serving pieces, but Julian would find out about that. He was relieved to have Julian’s help on the case, however reluctant it might be.
    “If you want to see the study…”
    “Yes, I’d better.” Ned stood back as Victor unlocked the room.
    “We’ve had it shut up since the police were here.” Victor pocketed the simple skeleton key again. Ned expected everyone in the house had access to a copy; for that matter, Julian could have picked the lock within seconds using a pen nib, although not everyone had Julian’s particular complement of dubious