Chapter 7

After Didyme's slap, Alice stood taken aback. Nobody had done something so rude t her, ever. Somehow she regain her wits and asked Didyme why? while massaging her cheek.

"You were quite hysterical, my dear. now you must be quiet and relaxed, you suffered a blow with your father's death. Let me take you to the kitchen , a cup of tea will help you."

Didyme took her arm to lead her out of the room, when the front door opened and Dr. Jasper Whitlock finally appeared.

"Good morning Inspector Swan. Where's the body?"

Everybody was looking at him, noticing the dark circles under his eyes and the way his shoulders shrunk. Except Alice, she looked at him with renewed hope.

"Jasper, I'm so glad you're back!"

And she ran t him, with her arms open, ready to embrace him. Only that he didn't want to be embraced.

"Good morning Miss Cullen. If you excuse me, I've been told there was an emergency and I'm required to check the body of a dead man."

"Over here Dr. Whitlock; perhaps you have to give Miss Alice a sedative first. She was quite shocked with the news." Aro intervened, anticipating Alice's reaction to Jasper's cold greeting.

"Sure." He took a bottle from his bag, and asked for a glass of water. Edward ran to get it, because he didn't knew what to do to avoid th tense situation. He gave the glass to Jasper who put a few drops in it and gave it to Alice.

"I suggest you lay and rest for a while." Then he looked to Charlie . "Now, if you show me where's the body."

Charlie took him to the study, while the rest of the presents stood quietly.

Aro asked Didyme "What are yu doing here? I thought you were helping Renee?"

"Pshh! You know her. I was trying to show the cook how to clean that big pan they use for eggs, but Renee said I was distracting her."

Aro knew about Renee's temper under pressure, but he also knew Didyme can became quite annoying when bored. After this little exchange, and because Alice retired to her bedroom, everybody relaxed.

Aro asked Seth and Jacob to look for fingerprints on the french doors from the outside, and to check for any suspicious footprints in the back. Edward coughed and said

"Mr. Volturi, I don't think those footprints will be helpful."

"Why not?" Jacob asked, with an exasperated tone.

"Well, there's a shortcut to reach the Higginbotham's principal entrance that goes through this yard, and it passes exactly in front of the study. Lot's of yesterday's guests walked through it. And if you remember there's a bench just besides the french doors, some people seated for a while, like Miss Emily and Mrs. Mallory. When I came back, "he made a pause "they were seated chatting."

"So are you saying that at least the guest that left last night may had passed over this road?" Seth asked, while making calculations in his head. Half the town was there last night!

"The only guest that stayed the night were the Duchess and her son."

Seth almost fainted.

"Let's not hasten our conclusions. Go and look for fingerprints, the people may had passed but they had no reason to open those doors."

Jacob nodded eagerly. Finally a chance to prove his abilities. He respected Charlie Swan, but he was a man without ambition. This time Mr. Volturi was here, and they had a real investigative case! Not that nonsense about petty local drunken fights or expired licenses. He brought his bag with his loved equipment to analyze fingerprints. He was ready to take this opportunity and shine with glory.

Aro took Tanya's arm delicately and led her to the room which he would use to conduct interrogations.

"Come Mrs. Cullen. I think it will be better to start with you, while Dr. Whitlock is busy with your husband."

Charlie was already in the room. Tanya seated in a plush armchair and refused a cigarette from Aro.

"Mrs. Cullen, can you tell us what happened last night?"

Her explanation matched Esme's. Aro took this time to really see her. She was a very beautiful woman in her thirties, despite her eyes which seemed so tired. And she didn't cry, not a single tear. He didn't know how to take it, as a sign of her strength or a sign of...

"Mrs. Cullen how do you feel? Your husband was murdered last night."

She sighed. "And you think I'm a heartless cold woman. Well, I'll save you time and be brutally honest. I feel sorry for him, bu I'm not shocked or surprised."

"What do you mean?"

"inspector Swan, my husband was a despicable man. He had a lot of enemies." Then she looked at Aro. "Our marriage was over for so long, I've asked him for the divorce, but he refused to give it to me."

"Do you see how this make you look?"

"Probably like your principal suspect, and I know Alice's comments add to your suspicions. Let me explain you something, he was a monster to all of us; no one in this house was happy, not even him. I asked for years to divorce him, and he finally agreed. His lawyer, Mr. McCarthy told me so. I suppose he found someone else, otherwise he wouldn't have let me go."

"You suppose?"

"We were very distant and avoided each other."

"Why did you sleep in Miss Platt's bedroom? You have a very beautiful one, where Miss Platt would have been more comfortable."

"Did yu see my bedroom? It has a communicating door to Carlisle's room."

Aro and Charlie were confused. It was very common to have that door, they were married for Christ sake!

"Let me rephrase it. Carlisle wasn't welcome to my room. Lest when he was mad after one of Alice's tantrums. His temper got worst. And even if I closed the door, he could open it with his key. So if I wanted to avoid him, I spent the night with Esme"

Both men still were confused, she was the housekeeper!

"With time, Esme, Miss Platt and I became close friends. It's good to have someone to talk and who won't judge you."

"So did you invent your migraine to stay with Miss Platt?"

"Oh no! I really had migraine. The only reason I assisted to the party was my friendship with Lady Higginbotham. The migraine worsened with Alice's scene. I took a cachet and fell asleep, only to wake up to your constable knocking to my door."

Charlie was quiet for a second, well her story seemed plausible.

"And before going to the party?"

"I was in my room getting ready, sewing a flower that fell from my dress. I tried to be quick, because Carlisle wanted to arrive early, he mention he waned t talk with someone, but didn't say whom. Then we waited for Alice, but she was taking too long so we left without her."

"You can't stand your husband but you left together?"

"Only for appearances."

"Well Mrs. Cullen that's all for now. Do you know the terms of your husband will?"

"No, not really. I suppose he left us everything to me and Alice, but you can ask Mr. McCarthy."

"Thanks Mrs. Cullen." And she left.

Charlie asked Aro "Why didn't you ask her about the letter opener?"

"I want to keep it secret for a while. I'm more interested in why nobody asked the way Carlisle died. She never asked if he was shot, stabbed or poisoned. I'm not sure we were the firsts in his study."