Read Online A Jane Austen Encounter by Donna Fletcher Crow - Free Book Online Page B

I definitely took nothing from this office.”
    “What is your address in Bath, sir?”
    Richard gave the street number. “It’s a B and B near Queen Square.”
    “Would you care to show me, sir?”
    “What? You want to search our room?” Richard half rose to his feet.
    “We need to eliminate you from our enquiry, sir.” PC Weston might be young, but his eyes were very steady and his voice insistent.
    Richard shrugged. “Why not?” He led the way to the door.
    “Richard, what is it?” Elizabeth met him on the landing.
    “Elizabeth, this is Police Constable Weston. He wants to see our B and B room.”
    Elizabeth blinked. “Goodness.”
    It was a short distance to the small guest house at the back of the square. Mrs. Shurze, their hostess, was just coming in, pulling a shopping trolley as they approached the door. “Hello there. I hope you’ve had a nice morning.”
    Elizabeth said that they had.
    “You couldn’t have had better weather for your visit.” She eyed the uniformed officer with them. “Is everything all right?”
    “I’m sure it will be, ma’am. Dr. Spenser is helping us with some information. Nothing for you to worry about.”
    She looked less worried, but still not completely at ease. She started to move on when Weston asked, “You’ve been out all morning, have you?”
    She indicated her shopping. “Waitrose in Northgate Street. It’s a good walk.”
    Weston helped her lift the cart up the steps. “Don’t let us detain you, ma’am.”
    She went on with only a brief look back over her shoulder.
    Richard led up the stairs to their first-floor room and unlocked the door. Elizabeth stepped in first, then drew back. “Oh, my, we didn’t leave the room like this.”
    A less-careful traveler might not have noticed, but Elizabeth was nearly fanatical in her travel organization. When they left the room this morning, the top was down on her black rollerboard suitcase, the drawer in her bedside stand was closed, and the wardrobe shut tightly. She especially recalled the wardrobe door because it could only be latched by turning a small key which Mrs. Shurze left inserted in the lock for that purpose, and it had taken Elizabeth more than one attempt to get it right.
    Elizabeth dashed around the bed and yanked open the drawer in the bedside stand, then heaved a sigh of relief. Her journal was there. Not that it contained anything of great importance, but it was so personal. She wouldn’t want to lose it.
    “Perhaps the maid?” Weston suggested.
    “Yes, someone was in to make the bed. But they shouldn’t have disturbed our other things.” Elizabeth turned to go get their hostess, then startled because Mrs. Shurze was right behind her.
    “Is something wrong?” she asked.
    PC Weston asked about the maid.
    “Afsheen,” Mrs. Shurze replied. “She’s a good girl. She comes in every morning to do the washing up after breakfast, then cleans the rooms. Been with me three years. I never had a complaint about her.”
    “Where could we contact her?”
    “Now see here, I don’t want you upsetting her. She’s a good worker.”
    “I’m sure she is, ma’am, but she might have seen something. Someone lurking on the pavement, for example. Or heard something while she was doing another room.”
    Mrs. Shurze gave the information. When Elizabeth and Richard finished checking their belongings, it seemed that nothing had been taken.
    Elizabeth closed the door behind the departing officer with a shiver. “Richard, what is going on?”
    When he didn’t reply, she kicked off her shoes and sank onto the bed. What had they got themselves into? Their dream holiday was going all wrong: Claire hit over the head, the letter with its exciting possibilities stolen, Richard accused of stealing . . .
    Her first reaction was to pull the duvet over her head and block it all out. That was quickly followed by a desire to do something wildly frivolous and forget all about it. Why not? They were on vacation. They