Read Online Mrs. Jeffries Takes the Cake by Emily Brightwell - Free Book Online Page A

the place was brighter, but not much else.
    The furniture, such as it was, consisted of two huge desks overflowing with papers and cluttered with boxes, bags and baskets along the top. The floor was gray linoleum. A straight-backed chair sat before each desk. Along the wall was a row of cabinets, their tops cluttered as well with all manner of things. Above the cabinets was a chalkboard covered with rows of names and dates.
    “Are those references to ships?” Witherspoon asked curiously as he pointed to the chalkboard.
    “Yes, and their estimated departure dates. We are a shipping company.” He waved them toward him. “I suppose I’m the person you need to see, but I’m not Roland Ashbury’s clerk.”
    “I’m sorry,” Witherspoon said sincerely. “No offense was intended. I’m Inspector Witherspoon and this is Constable Barnes. We were told that Mr. Ashbury had a clerk and that it was this clerk he stopped to see yesterday—” He broke off as he realized he wasn’t making a great deal of sense.
    “What’s your name, sir?” Barnes asked quickly.
    “Henry Alladyce.” He sat down on one of the chairs. He was dressed neatly in a crisp white shirt, black tie and yellow waistcoat. His outer coat, the same pearl-gray color as his trousers, was hung neatly on the coat tree by the door. “I’m the only one here. As I said, I’m not a clerk; I own half of this company.”
    Witherspoon hesitated for a moment. He did so hate telling people bad news, but there was nothing he could do to soften the blow. “I’m afraid I’ve some bad news Mr. Alladyce—” he began.
    “Yes, yes, I know,” Alladyce interrupted impatiently. “Old Roland’s got himself murdered. It was in this morning’s papers. Well, it’s too bad, I suppose, but let’s be frank, Inspector. Roland was quite old and not particularly well liked. I shouldn’t think he’ll be missed.”
    “Apparently not,” the inspector murmured. “Er, Mr. Alladyce, when was the last time you saw Mr. Ashbury?”
    Alladyce leaned back in the chair, steepled his fingers together and stared up at the ceiling. “Let me see, I suppose it must have been over a fortnight ago. Yes, that’s right. It was the day before Roland went off to the Ascot house with his daughter and her husband.”
    “You didn’t see Mr. Ashbury yesterday?” Barnesasked. “He didn’t call here in the afternoon?”
    “No,” Alladyce replied. “As I said, I haven’t seen him since before he left for Ascot.”
    “Were you here all afternoon?” Witherspoon asked.
    Henry spread his hands. “Where else would I be? I’m the only one here and I’ve a business to run.”
    “You don’t have a clerk, sir?” Barnes asked.
    “Roland claimed we didn’t need one.” Henry pursed his lips. “But of course we did, and do.”
    “Did you see anyone yesterday afternoon, sir?” Barnes pressed. “Anyone who can verify you were here all day?”
    Henry’s expression didn’t change. “No, I didn’t. I spent the afternoon going over the accounts. I didn’t leave until almost seven last night. I saw no one and no one saw me.”
    “You’re sure Mr. Ashbury didn’t come here?” Witherspoon asked.
    “Quite sure,” Alladyce replied. “If he were coming here, he’d have sent a message or a telegram. He did neither.”
    The inspector nodded. “Did Mr. Ashbury have any enemies?”
    “No more than any other businessman.” Alladyce shrugged casually. “You mustn’t judge the firm by the appearance of our office.” He waved his hand around the room. “This is quite a successful venture, sir. It’s a bit untidy just at the moment, but that’s only because Roland was ridiculously cheap and absolutely refused to spend a penny on proper furniture and fittings.”
    “So you’re saying that Mr. Ashbury had made enemies in the course of running his business?” Barnes clarified.
    “Not exactly.” Alladyce sighed. “What I meant was that it was entirely possible that Roland had made