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“Yes. I imagine she hasn’t finalized the bragging portion of the interview quite yet, which has given the poor investigator little time to orchestrate the very reason he came.”
“And perhaps for that reason, he’ll suspect her all the more,” Charlotte said with a light giggle.
“Can you imagine? Your mother, a murderer?” her father said.
“You didn’t see her with the owner of the fabric shop. I think she really could have committed murder. I’ve never seen anything quite like it.”
“Perhaps she’s become more murderous in her older years,” her father remarked. “Perhaps I have, as well.”
“Ah. A husband and wife murder team. It’s been done before,” Charlotte said. “Although I don’t know what I’ll do in the wake of that confession. I suppose I’ll have to give up all of our possessions? The estate? Go into hiding somewhere?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. You’ll come to prison with us,” her father said. “We can’t do it without you.”
“That’s so kind to hear,” Charlotte said. “I always love to be included.”
That moment, the door to the study opened. Charlotte’s mother’s laughter bubbled out.
“That’s what I always thought as a child, as well,” her mother said. “So funny that we share the same memories of Brighton.”
When she appeared in the doorway, both Charlotte and her father arched their brows and tilted their heads accusatorially.
“What is it?” Lady Stanton demanded.
“Why must you flirt with the investigator of your nephew’s murder?” Lord Stanton asked.
Lady Stanton’s cheeks burned bright pink. “I wasn’t.”
“You were,” Lord Stanton affirmed.
“I don’t suppose a bit of friendliness would kill you,” Lady Stanton returned. “But it’s over now. Charlotte, it’s your turn. I hope you’ve learned enough from me to be friendly and kind to the gentleman. He’s travelled a long way and assuredly wishes for his day to come to a close. Let’s make it easy on him.”
As Charlotte walked towards her father’s study, her heart pounded in her throat ominously. She found it incredibly difficult to breathe. Her mind attempted to articulate the words she could possibly utter.I had hardly thought of Brooks before the mystic spoke his name. I consider myself an intelligent woman. I went to the mystic as a sort of favour for a friend. I hardly thought twice about what the mystic had said. The next thing I knew, Brooks was dead.
But what could he possibly do with this information?
Before Charlotte could fully grapple with the chaotic stirrings of her inner mind, she found herself in front of the investigator with the door closed tightly behind her. It was a funny thing to witness the investigator Charles Baxter seated in her father’s familiar chair—almost as though her father’s role had been taken over by an alien. Charles Baxter puffed on his pipe, much like her father often did, and he peered at her with those same twinkling eyes.
“Charlotte. Lovely to meet you,” he said.
“You as well.”
“Your mother is quite a spitfire, isn’t she?”
“I suppose one could say that,” Charlotte affirmed. “She’s certainly popular at parties.”
“I can imagine.” He shifted in the chair, then added, “Throughout my career, I’ve interviewed hundreds of people. Maybe thousands. It’s difficult for me to say. However, I must assure you, I haven’t met someone as eager to please as your mother. I had the sense that she might have offered me your first-born child if I had asked for it.”
“She likes to make people feel as though she cares for them much more than she does,” Charlotte admitted. “She finds it difficult to do that amongst her own family, of course—although she is frightened you’ve ruined the day for my poor father.”
Charles Baxter burst into laughter. The sound of it calmed Charlotte, at least for a moment. She reminded herself that she was easy to speak with, considerate and intelligent, and occasionally funny. She tried a smile, and Charles returned it.
“You and Brooks were rather close in age, weren’t you?” he said.
Ah, yes. Now, they’d arrived at the professional portion of the interview. Everything before had been build-up for the here-and-now.
“We were.”
“Which assuredly meant you saw him socially,” Charles continued.
