Читать книгу Murder At the Cubbyhole - Alice Zogg - Страница 13

Peter swallowed the last bite of salmon and said, “You’re an excellent cook when you put your mind to it!”

“Meaning my mind is mostly elsewhere?” his spouse replied with a smirk.

Minutes later they lingered over coffee and she said, “I called Andi to keep her posted on the interviews I’ve held so far. Her last final is Wednesday morning and then she’s free to help me with the investigation.”

Peter asked, “So how’s it going?”

“I’ve got some interesting information from the people I’ve seen, but it’s way too early to form an opinion.”

“Tell me about the folks you’ve talked to.”

So she did just that, starting with Amber Pierce and ending with Madame Dubois.

Peter paid keen attention and when she came to a halt in her narrative, he asked, “What is Amber like?”

“If you mean to look at, she has a horse face with a lean body.”

“A horse face?”

“Sure, there are two basic types of human faces; baby faces and horse faces.”

“I learn something new every day! But what I really wanted to know is what kind of a young woman did she strike you as?”

“I got the impression that Amber was not sensitive, but honest. For example, she had no problem telling me of her gripes with Megan. In fact, she was vexed that her roommate had the nerve to die, leaving her with the entire rent check due.”

Peter said, “She seems emotionless.”

“Or extremely clever.”

He gave her a puzzled look but then caught on. “Oh, I see. She might have been using reverse psychology on you.” Then he asked, “What did you think of the Kingsleys?”

“On the surface the old couple was rather sweet. I believe they purchased the Cubbyhole for the love of the performing arts. They’re struggling to keep the place running, though.”

“I thought you said that the play is doing well.”

“From Sin to Virtue seems to be a success, but how long can that last?”

“You’re right, that won’t help them in the long run. What did you mean by ‘On the surface the couple was sweet’? Are you suggesting that they’re a fake?”

“Not really, they just acted a bit strange, but it was probably all in my imagination. For all I know they could have had a fight just before meeting with me and tried to hide their emotions.”

Then he remarked, “The owner of Le Monde Fashion sounds interesting. What’s her name again?”

“Madame Dubois.”

“Does she want people to believe her fashions come straight from Paris when in fact they’re made in China?”

“I had a close look at a few of her garments, and I’d say made in Italy would be a better guess.”

“So she’s on the level?”

“I made sure that she’s not an imposter.”

“How so?”

“Let’s just say that her French is better than mine.”

Regula got up and, clearing the coffee cups away, said, “What did you think of the bit of news I picked up from Amber’s neighbor in the laundry room?”

“You mean about Megan making the sign of the cross?”

“That’s right.”

“In my opinion that’s only natural. The young woman was Irish, so it makes sense that she crossed herself and thanked God when she realized that she was safe after being frightened to death.”

“Correct, but you’re missing the point. Like you say, she was frightened to death. So far, every person I’ve interviewed told me that Megan did not act differently and was not worried or afraid, but what that young man saw her do is proof to me that she had reason to be scared.”