The Case of the Cursed Corpse, Chapter the Fourth.
Many thanks to my awesome beta, Medcat.
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Dinner was a nice affair. The food, Shepherd's pie, was a favorite. It was rather good, but not as good as Mrs. Hudson's. The cherry pie at the end of the meal was very good, rivaling the good landlady's.
At the head of the table sat Mr. Porter. He was attired in a brown suit with a tan tie. He seemed to be about forty-ish, and clean-shaven. He had brown hair and brown eyes. He also had a keen sense of humour and was almost always smiling about something. He was about as tall as Watson, and he weighed a few pounds more than Holmes.
Seated at the other end of the table was Mrs. Porter. She was in the same outfit they had seen her in earlier. She was an outgoing person, who was a socially quite active. If there was anything going on, she would probably be found somewhere around.
On one side of the table sat the children. They were excited by the presence of company from a big city, as they considered London to be.
" How do we get to be weglars?" asked Victoria, looking up at Holmes.
"I beg your pardon?" asked Holmes, with a puzzled look on his face.
"Weglars. You know, weglars." The child looked up at him as if that explained everything.
Suddenly Watson started laughing. "I think that I know what the young Miss is asking. She wants to know how she would go about being an Irregular."
"You cannot be a Baker Street Irregular. You do not live on Baker Street." Seeing the young girl's crestfallen face, Holmes continued, "You can be an Irregular for this area. If I ever have a case around here and I need your help, I will let you know. But you need to ask your parents first," he quickly added.
Their father quickly nodded his assent.
The children would have asked more questions of Holmes and Watson, but their mother told them to go and get ready for bed. Miss Carpenter went with them.
As soon as the children had left, the talk turned to the case at hand. Holmes took this opportunity to begin asking questions.
"Mrs. Porter, what happened on the day Mr. Leboux was murdered?"
"Well," replied their hostess, " let's see. I was just clearing the table and I heard my sister screaming and crying outside. I ran outside to see what was going on. By that time ,a constable had come to her aid. While my sister took the constable to see her husband's body, I took Angelique and Jean-Pierre, her children, to my house. I did not think that they needed to see their father like that. We played for a while, and then we ate our dinner. After that, the children went to bed. It was about eight-thirty when they were all tucked in, and Michael, my husband, watched over them while I went over to my sister's to see her. I stayed with her until about 12.30, and then I came home."
" I see." said Holmes. "But why were you clearing the table? Is that not Miss Carpenter's job?"
"Yes, it is. Her mother, who lives with her, was sick that day, so she stayed with her. She came to work the next day."
"Ah" said Holmes. "Mister Porter, what time did you come home from work that day?"
"I work not too far from here, and a messenger came with a telegram saying that I was needed at home at once. That was about 5.00 or so. Of course I left as soon as I got the message, which would put me here at about 5.25. As I was coming up the walk, Mrs. Leboux' maid came running up to me. She was carrying the meat that she had fixed for dinner. She said that since her mistress could not finish it all, she had asked her to bring it to our house," explained their host.
" That was really a godsend,for I did not have to cook too much." said their hostess. "I had my hands full, and any help was welcome. Poor dear, I am surprised that she was clear-headed enough to think of it, but I am very glad that she did. The constables left after I arrived, so the poor girl was not alone in her grief. She had some tea with me, talked for a while, and then said that she was tired. I saw her upstairs, and she assured me that she would be all right from there. Then she said that I should get home, for it was late."
"It is too late to intrude upon Mrs. Leboux tonight, but I think that we shall call upon her tomorrow," said Holmes.
"Do you have hopes that you can see to the bottom of this horrid affair?" asked Mr. Porter.
"Truly, I do not know enough to tell you one way or the other. Were you two close to Mr. and Mrs. Leboux?" responded Holmes.
"Yes, we were close. They came over for dinner and cards at least twice a week. The children all got along together very well, and we enjoyed each other's company."
"Ah, yes. Well, I cannot think of anything else that I need to ask. Thank you both for your candor." So saying, Holmes rose from the table.
Holmes and Watson both retired to their room. Before the fire, there were two chairs. Holmes took one and Watson sat in the other. Around a yawn, Watson asked Holmes "Well, Holmes, what do you think we should do now?"
"Possess our souls in patience and await Miss Carpenter's arrival."