Page 72 of Corpse in the Canal

Constance stirred some cream into her coffee. “You said you did not see Percy the Thursday he came home from London. Did you happen to see anyone else around your land that day?”

“I must have. The boy from the farm brings milk and butter and eggs. People pass in the distance going about their own business. Are you thinking of someone in particular?”

“Mrs. Harvey?” Solomon suggested.

Adelaide stared at him, then laughed. “Mrs. Harvey would give me a very wide berth. Why would you think she came here?”

“Someone saw her,” Constance said, “on what may have been your land. And at the moment, she is a little too frail to answer questions.”

A wry smile curved Adelaide’s lips, but she said nothing.

“Then you didn’t see her?” Solomon pursued.

“No, I did not.”

“What about a gentleman?” Constance asked.

“Which gentleman?”

“Any. Probably alone, whether close to the house or in the distance.”

“No,” Adelaide said firmly.

And Solomon’s heart sank, because he didn’t believe her. “Would you mind if I spoke to your servants and anyone who lives on your property? Someone might have seen something or someone that would help us.”

Adelaide didn’t hide her unease now. “Do you think he was shot here, then?”

“It is a possibility. But the more people we can speak to, the more we can learn.”

She gestured wide with her hand. “Then by all means, ask whomever you wish.”

At that moment Clarence came pelting around from the side of the house, a notebook flapping in one hand.

“Finished!” he yelled at the top of his voice. “Can I draw now? Mrs. Grey! Mr. Grey! Would you like to see my sea monster? David can draw fish that are as big as a house, only they’re not fish, though they live in the sea.”

“David is clever that way,” Solomon said gravely. “And yes, we would love to see your sea monster.”

Clarence grinned and submitted his notebook to his mother’s waiting hand.

“I’ll be back,” he said, and hared off again in what proved to be a complete circuit of the house, while the adults drank their coffee and Adelaide read through his work. By the time the boy returned, breathless, she was able to praise him and point out a couple careless mistakes.

Solomon liked that her son came first with her, before politeness with guests. She did not send him away nor scold him for disturbing the adults.

“One more run round the house,” she said, “then go and make the corrections and find your drawing to show Mr. and Mrs. Grey. We’ll be back in the house by then. It gets chilly, even in the sun at this time of year.”

Clarence bolted again, this time with his book, running off a child’s excess of energy. Solomon thought of his own child running them ragged, learning and growing…

He rose when Adelaide did, and he and Constance accompanied their hostess into the drawing room where she had received them before. Adelaide invited them to sit, then excused herself and left the room.

Solomon said reluctantly, “I think she did see someone that Thursday.”

“Percy?”

“If so, why won’t she say? She already told us he pestered her.”

“For the sake of her reputation?” Constance guessed. “Or…because she is protecting someone.”

“Who?” Solomon said at once. “She appears to be close to no one and cares for no one, but—” He broke off abruptly, staring at her.