Chapter 10

The rest of the morning was mostly uneventful. Miss Marple watched the comings and goings of the various guests but learnt little more about the crime.

When the midday meal arrived, she was surprised not to see Jess and the others; however, she noticed the hotel clerk heading up the stairs with a well-laden tray and guessed it was for their company.

Without them to interact with, Miss Marple decided to continue her inquiries elsewhere. Convinced that Jess and her friends were unrelated to the murder narrowed the list of suspects significantly, so she chose to dine with the elderly couple she'd seen in the corridor last night. Their story, whilst fairly similar to her own, did manage to shine some light on one particular fact. It seemed the husband had been awake and just putting on his dressing gown for a late-night trip to the loo when he'd heard the gunshot. Already dressed, he'd therefore made it out to the corridor much sooner than Miss Marple, only to find Mr. Horbury "suspiciously" already at Mr. Brent's door.

"But remember, dear," the elder woman gently reminded her husband, "the man was fully clad in his street clothes-no doubt he'd simply been in the corridor when the shot was fired."

It was clear from the woman's tone that her husband was prone to exaggeration and suspicion, but regardless, Miss Marple made a mental note to innocently inquire as to what Mr. Horbury had been doing at the time of the gunshot when next she spoke with him.

After their pleasant meal together, the couple excused themselves, determined to take a short afternoon drive together despite the dreary weather. Miss Marple, too, thought a change of scenery might be warranted and thus took a seat upon a settee in the centre of the lobby before resuming her twin occupations of knitting and sleuthing. She hadn't gotten far in the former task when the front door opened and S.I. Harper arrived to assist her with the latter.

"How is the investigation going?" she asked cheerfully as he took a seat next to her upon a comfy chair.

The inspector, however, shook his head, his forehead crinkling not with consternation but with confusion. "It's not," he admitted.

"Come, come, Inspector," Miss Marple soothed. "It can't be as bad as all that. Surely you've gathered some new information today."

"Not about our two suspects, I'm afraid. I spent my entire morning attempting to gain some insight into them and have absolutely nothing to show for it. It's as if they both simply materialised from out of the blue-I can find no records of their existence anywhere."

"Not even the War Office?" Miss Marple recalled Jess mentioning that the two men had been in the army together.

Harper, however, shook his head. "I even rang my contact in Dublin to run a check, but he also could find no trace of either Mr. Anderson or his friend." The inspector sighed, concluding, "They must have given false names."

But Miss Marple couldn't believe it. After all, she'd heard their associates consistently using those same names, even when they thought their conversations were not being overheard. Although they were all clearly hiding something, their true names didn't seem to be a part of that deception.

But then why couldn't their identities be confirmed, Miss Marple wondered. It made no sense.

However, before she could communicate these thoughts, S.I. Harper went on: "Yet somehow, despite all that, something in my gut tells me they're not responsible for the murder."

Miss Marple smiled-it was nice to know she was not alone in her instincts. "Yes, I'm glad you've come to that same conclusion."

Her friend raised a curious eyebrow, evidently interested in what had made her reach it.

"From what I've been able to deduce," she explained, "the two men arrived here last night with five companions."

"Five?" The inspector seemed surprised.

Miss Marple nodded. "The two young ladies, whom you've already met; Mr. Lester, the unpleasant gentleman from the crime scene who now claims to be Miss Parker's uncle; and a young couple, the Temples."

Harper looked impressed, obviously unaware until now that they were all connected. "So what are they all doing here?" he asked. "And why did they conveniently arrive the night of the murder?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." Mr. Lester's extortion conversation flickered through her mind and she added, "They're definitely up to something. Plenty of lies being told by all, clearly trying to obscure why they're here. But I'm convinced it's naught to do with the murder."

"Regardless, I should probably interrogate them." At Miss Marple's inquiring gaze, he clarified, "Though not officially, of course. But it is quite a coincidence, them arriving when they did. And if YOU'RE certain there's something going on with them, then I'm determined to get to..."

He trailed off, his attention suddenly drawn to the stairs, and Miss Marple knew instantly, even before turning to look, who must be approaching. It was, in fact, the two young ladies they had just been speaking of, now clad in more sensible attire.

Well, Lady Merchant's was more sensible-a smart tweed suit jacket and matching straight skirt-but Jess, although now wearing a simple blue daytime dress and no hat, was clad in ridiculously fancy high heels, obviously meant for an evening on the town and not everyday wear. In contrast, her hair was now pulled into two pigtails, tied up with blue ribbons, making her look even younger and, if possible, even more innocent than previously.

Her new look, however, seemed to be having the same old effect on the Inspector, and Miss Marple realised that, despite what he'd just said, any interrogation of these witnesses must be done by her if it were to be done at all.

There was no need to call them over, for the moment the younger girl caught sight of Miss Marple and S.I. Harper, she beamed and headed straight for them, her friend following at a more staid pace.

"Inspector Harper, it's so good to see you again," Jess gushed as she hurried over. "Thank you so much for letting us see our friends this morning. It's nice to know they are in such good hands whilst they're... I mean, if they're going to be in custody, it's a relief that..."

"How much longer do you intend to hold them?" Emily asked coolly as she joined them.

Harper forced himself to tear his eyes away from Jess to respond to the lady. "Well...uh... we must... there are things we..."

Miss Marple decided to take pity on the poor man and quickly intervened. "Inspector Harper and I were just about to have tea-we would love for you to join us."

"Oh, that would be lovely," Jess said, eagerly settling herself upon the window seat near the Inspector. "I'm just dying to hear all about how the investigation is going."

"Investigation?" he repeated blankly, as if it were a foreign word he was unfamiliar with.

Miss Marple knew she should come to his rescue once again, but she was busy glancing about the lobby looking for the hotel clerk so her invitation to tea could be justified. It was a bit early for a proper tea, but hopefully they could at least get a pot for the moment. But the hotel clerk wasn't to be found, and Miss Marple was conflicted-should she stay and assist the Inspector or go in search of their tea?

Lady Merchant must have quickly sized up the situation for she turned and strode determinedly towards the front desk, calling out, "We require tea," as if she were used to ordering servants about. Coming from anyone else, it might've seemed rude or disrespectful, but her elegant manner-not to mention her striking beauty-must've tempered the demand in Mr. Campbell's eyes for Miss Marple heard him eagerly respond, "Yes, Miss-I'll have it out to you straightaway."

With that bit of business taken care of, Miss Marple responded to Jess' earlier question. "I'm afraid it would be improper for the Inspector to talk about an on-going investigation."

Harper gave a short sigh of relief at her comment, but Jess blushed and quickly apologised.

"Oh, of course! I should've realised! I mean, I'd hate for you to get in trouble or anything. Forget I even asked." The girl seemed truly distraught at the idea of causing trouble for the inspector, which made Miss Marple smile-perhaps the girl was truly as sweet and innocent as she appeared.

Whereas her friend, whilst pleasant, seemed to have a one-track mind. As the lady rejoined them, taking a seat next to her friend upon the window seat, she asked pointedly, "Might you at least give us an indication of how long you intend to detain our companions?"

Luckily Harper was recused from having to answer by the sudden appearance of Mr. Campbell with a heavily laden tea tray. He set it down upon the coffee table betwixt them, apologising for not yet having any comestibles prepared and inquiring whether they required anything more at present. By the time he hurried off, Miss Marple could tell, by Harper's moony expression, that the lady's question had long since been forgotten, though no doubt Emily would bring it up again. So as to delay the question further, Miss Marple quickly commented in a casual tone, "So what has kept you two occupied all day in this horrid weather?"

Jess' eyes twinkled with merriment as she replied, "Would you believe, we've been conducting our own murder investigation."

"Jess," Emily hissed under her breath, but the young girl turned to her friend, insisting, "Surely it can't hurt to tell the Inspector." The lady opened her mouth to protest again, but Jess quickly continued, "Think about it, Em. The sooner the Inspector learns who the real murderer is, the sooner he'll let Matt and Becker out."

Naturally, this immediately curbed any protestations the lady might've had, and Miss Marple couldn't help but smile-it seemed Jess was far shrewder than she appeared on the surface.

Of course, all this was news to Harper, who repeated, surprised, "You're conducting your own murder investigation?"

Jess turned back to him, an excited grin upon her pretty face. "Are we ever! And I'm convinced that Brian..." She suddenly paused, glancing about nervously to make sure the man she was speaking of wasn't anywhere about before leaning in towards the inspector and continuing in a near whisper, "The hotel clerk, Brian Campbell-I'm certain he's the real murderer."

Harper's eyebrows raised in surprise, making it clear that the clerk wasn't even on the inspector's short list at the moment.

Realising Jess probably needed some prompting to continue, Miss Marple asked, "Mr. Campbell? But he seems so nice."

Jess let out a sardonic laugh, as if she were far more worldly wise than the little old lady she was talking to. "Many people can SEEM nice," she stated knowingly, "but that doesn't mean they can't become cold-blooded killers if provoked."

Such a serious statement coming from this young girl in pigtails might've seemed laughable under other circumstances, but Miss Marple reminded herself that a man was dead and the girl's friends were incarcerated for the murder-such things were likely to make one grow up rather quickly.

And the Inspector was certainly taking her seriously as he asked, "But what makes you think Mr. Campbell is the killer?"

"Well," Jess began before launching into a detailed account of all she'd learnt about the hotel clerk. S.I. Harper seemed to listen with rapt attention, although Miss Marple couldn't tell whether his interest lay more in the tale itself or merely the teller.

"And remember," the girl finally concluded, "as desk clerk, he'd have full access to all the rooms."

This detail caught Miss Marple's attention. She hadn't given much thought to the implications of the locked door, but Jess made a valid point.

The Inspector, however, seemed focused on a different detail. "From the information we've gathered," he pointed out, "the partner seemed to be more in charge of the company finances than the victim, so you would think Mr. Campbell would have held more of a grudge against Mr. Brent."

"Well, the victim was killed in Mr. Brent's room," Miss Marple pointed out.

This clearly was news to Jess, and the fact had obviously been forgotten by Harper, for they both started with surprise.

"Mr. Brent's room!" Jess exclaimed before smiling thoughtfully. "Why, that certainly explains a lot, doesn't it?"

"It does?" the Inspector asked.

"Of course," Jess said. "The victim was obviously not the INTENDED victim! The clerk must've meant to kill Mr. Brent who, as you said, was in charge of the finances." In her excitement at this investigative breakthrough, Jess eagerly grabbed the inspector's hand as she continued, "But Mr. Evans was in the room instead and was killed by mistake! Now it all fits together! Oh, it's brilliant, don't you think?"

Only it was clear that Harper was only thinking of how nice Jess' hand felt in his. Miss Marple would've tried to make some reply to Jess' insights, encouraging the girl in her suppositions, but she was too involved in thinking them through herself. The girl made a valid point, one Miss Marple had not yet considered - what if Sidney hadn't been the person meant to be killed? Oftentimes the victim was simply not meant to be, thus confusing the investigation by clouding the motives, and that could definitely be the case here. After all, now that she thought about it, she recalled the witnesses in the corridor seeming almost more surprised to see Mr. Brent arrive, alive and well, than to find Mr. Evans' dead body. Had the hotel clerk still been there when Mr. Brent arrived? Miss Marple couldn't remember, but perhaps Harper could give her a chance to review the witness interviews to see if this theory fit with the facts.

Lady Merchant, however, did not seem to think it did. "But what about...?" she asked, finishing her thought not with words but with a pointed look, one her friend seemed to understand for she instantly frowned.

"True. But we know they're at least connected," Jess pointed out, making Miss Marple curious as to who, or what, "they" was now being discussed. Miss Marple attempted to share a look with Harper, to see if he might know, but he was clearly not following the conversation because Jess still had an absent hold of his hand.

"But that sort of connection," Emily began. "That would not explain..." And again she finished her sentence with only a pointed look.

However, Jess was no longer second guessing herself. "I'm sure it can be explained, once we do more investigating. Maybe there was more than just a business relationship. Maybe-"

Her sentence cut off as the front door flew open with a loud bang. The assembled turned to see Connor hurrying in, awkwardly balancing an armload of items whilst trying to manoeuvre the doorknob. Harper jumped to his feet and shut the door behind the young man as he stumbled in, dropping his odds and ends upon the coffee table next to the tea tray.

"Connor, what is all this?" Jess asked as she picked up what looked to be an electrical plug.

"It's a detector," he announced. "Or it will be, once I get it all fitted up."

"That's brilliant!" Jess said. "How long will it take you to-?"

Lady Merchant cleared her throat. "I do not believe this is an appropriate topic of conversation for the lobby," she said pointedly, her eyes flickering towards Miss Marple and the Inspector.

Connor shrugged. "Don't see how me saying how long it'll take is a state secret."

"Well then?" Jess prompted eagerly, "How long will it take you?"

He shrugged once again. "No idea, actually."

Emily sighed, rolling her eyes, but Miss Marple barely noticed, as she was busy noticing something else.

"Is that, perhaps, a police callbox on your necktie?" she asked, extremely intrigued. Seeing his bright blue necktie close-up for the first time, she now realised that the pattern adorning it was not simply a random geometric pattern of white squares but was, in fact, the familiar object.

Connor grinned, looking down at it. "Yeah, ain't it the best? Abby bought it for me last Christmas-got it off some doctor who-"

"I believe Abby purchased you a new one," Lady Merchant stopped him, disappointing Miss Marple, who was now even more curious about the object, for why would a doctor need a necktie imprinted with a police callbox?

"Oh yes, and she got you some new shirts as well," Jess jumped in. "And a hat!"

"A hat?" Connor grinned. "Super cool!" He started towards the stairs, calling back, "She in our room?"

"I believe so," Lady Merchant said, and he hurried out of earshot before she could add, "Should you not take your...?" She finished in a sigh, turning back to look at the mess he'd left behind.

Jess stood and began gathering up the items from the coffee table, saying, "I'll take these up to him."

"Here," Harper said, jumping to his feet. "Let me help you."

"Oh, that'd be lovely," Jess said, grinning sweetly at him as he eagerly grabbed more than his share of the electronic detritus. Miss Marple could only hope that the inspector was planning to gain more insight as to what object was to be built with the pieces, but she knew his interest lay only in spending more time with Jess.

"This way," Jess said, leading the way towards the stairs as he eagerly followed like a lovesick puppy dog.

Leaving behind only Miss Marple, Lady Merchant, and the still untouched pot of tea.

...

to be continued