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“You should try Mrs. Poole’s.”
“The hotel’s restaurant is a little out of my budget right now.”
I winced. “Sorry. That was unfeeling of me.”
“Not at all. It’s something to aim for. When the agency is successful, I plan on eating there until Sir Ronald admits he made a mistake dismissing me.”
“You’ll be dining there every week, in that case. Uncle Ronald believes he’s always right. And, to be fair, he doesn’t want your agency to fail.”
“True. He’s not vindictive, just stubborn.”
I thought we’d part ways at the front of the hotel, with me going inside while he continued to the mews, but he stopped at the front entrance to speak to Frank.
“Do you know if Victor’s working today?”
Frank folded his arms over his chest and thrust his chin forward. He was still reluctant to give Harry any quarter. He would always believe Uncle Ronald did the right thing in dismissing him. “Why do you need to know?”
“I need his expertise.”
“Why?”
“Frank,” I snapped. “It’s for the investigation. If you don’t help Harry, it means you’re being a hindrance. Do you really want to be the reason the murderer isn’t caught?”
Frank lowered his arms to his sides. “I suppose not,” he muttered. “Victor’s shift finishes at eleven.”
Harry thanked him and moved off. Instead of going inside, I hurried after him. “What do you need Victor for?”
“It’s best if you don’t know.”
“That will work with others, but not me. We’re partners, Harry, as well as friends. I want to know if I need to worry about you.”
He quickened his pace before slowing again. “Very well. I’m going to take a look at Mrs. Rigg-Lyon’s diary. We need to know for certain if she is having a liaison with a man before we confront her about it.”
“What a good idea! If we can find letters from him, even better.”
He stopped and rounded on me. “Not ‘we’, Cleo. You’re not coming.”
“There’s no reason I shouldn’t come.”
“You have a ball tonight.”
There was that. “It’s not far from Mrs. Rigg-Lyon’s house. I could sneak away for a few minutes. No one will notice.”
“You underestimate how popular you are as a dance partner. They’ll notice.”
“You have no idea how popular I am.”
He smirked. “I’m an investigator. Of course I know.”
I rolled my eyes. “This is my investigation, too. I should be there.”
“You only want to come because it’s more interesting than a ball.”
“Well, yes.”
“Go to the ball. Dance and do whatever it is people do at balls when they’re not dancing. Enjoy yourself. I’ll let you know tomorrow what we discovered.”
It turned out that he didn’t wait for the morning. He required my assistance, after all.
