03 - Murder at Sedgwick Court (27 page)

‘I think
I said it
looked
like the one Miss Montacute was wearing,’ corrected
Rose. ‘I couldn’t swear that it was the same one. Just as I cannot swear now
that this necklace is the same one you showed to me earlier.’

‘But at
the very least, it is remarkably similar to the one Miss Montacute was wearing,
is it not? I have also been told that it bears some resemblance to the necklace
which forms part of the Montacute Diamonds.’

‘It’s not
that necklace, Inspector, if that’s what you’re inferring.’ Jemima said,
shifting awkwardly in her seat. ‘The necklace in the Montacute Diamonds
collection is made up of much larger yellow diamonds than these, and they are
surrounded by many small, white diamonds, which you will see these aren’t.’

‘I do
remember Emmeline mentioning the surrounding of white diamonds,’ Rose said
helpfully. ‘She also said that the Montacute Diamonds were kept at the bank. I
don’t think this necklace could possibly be from that collection, Inspector.’

‘Unless
it had been taken from the bank. I assume it is taken out to wear on special
occasions?’

‘Yes, of course,’
said Jemima. ‘But this is hardly a special occasion, Inspector. The necklace is
not what you think it is.’

‘Maybe
not. But the diamonds in this necklace are still remarkable, Miss Wentmore. I
think they’d be worth stealing, don’t you? They’d raise a pretty penny, I’m
sure.’

‘Actually
they wouldn’t. I’m afraid you’re rather making a fuss about nothing, Inspector,’
Jemima said rather wearily. ‘I agree the necklace looks very grand. I would go
so far as to say that it could even be mistaken for the one from the Montacute
Diamonds collection by someone who had not seen the original. But you see this
necklace is
–
’

‘A fake.
A paste replica, if you will. Is that what you were about to say, Miss Wentmore?’
asked Inspector Bramwell, leaning forward to study her closely. ‘Because,
you’re quite right. You see we already know the diamonds in this necklace
aren’t real. We had an expert look at it as soon as it was found. And he told
us just that. A very good fake, but a paste copy nevertheless.’  

‘If you
already knew it was a paste copy,’ began Jemima, sounding annoyed, ‘then
–
’

‘Just
because this necklace is a paste replica, Miss Wentmore, it does not follow
that the one Miss Montacute was wearing the night before last was a fake.’
 

‘I’m not
sure that I understand what you’re saying, Inspector.’ Jemima had gone very
pale.

‘Oh, I
think you do, Miss Wentmore. I think you know very well what I’m saying.’ The inspector
sat back in his chair and studied her. ‘Shall I tell you what I believe? Miss
Montacute wore the genuine necklace the night before last. If you remember it
was examined closely by everyone present by means of looking through a
jeweller’s loupe. We happen to be of the opinion that at least one person there,
the owner of the jeweller’s lens, is an expert in diamonds. I am of course
referring to Count Fernand, who has confirmed to us that the diamonds in
Emmeline’s necklace were genuine. He said they were quite fabulous to use his own
words.’

‘Then he
was mistaken,’ cried Jemima. ‘Only the paste necklace was brought to Sedgwick
Court.’

‘If that was
the case, why was Miss Montacute so keen to take part in a game that would
reveal that her diamonds were fake?’

‘Perhaps,’
suggested Rose, joining in the conversation, ‘she viewed it as a bit of a game.
Miss Wentmore has just told us that the necklace was a very good paste replica.
Perhaps Miss Montacute wanted to see if anyone would notice that the diamonds weren’t
real.’

‘You
really will not keep quiet, will you, Miss Simpson?’ Inspector Bramwell sighed
and frowned at the same time, his small, watery eyes almost disappearing into
the deep folds of his face. ‘But to answer your point. If Miss Montacute really
thought of it as a game, seeing if she could pass off fake diamonds as the
genuine article, then would she not have laughed and made a bit of a show of it
at the end? Would she not have told everyone how amusing it all was that they
had been so easily taken in? But she didn’t, did she? She said nothing. She was
as keen as anyone to look at the diamonds under the jeweller’s lens. And that
tells me that Miss Montacute at least believed the necklace to be genuine.’

For a few
moments no one said anything at all.

Jemima then
explained: ‘Emmeline thought that we’d brought the genuine necklace with us.
But I was anxious as to its safety. The real necklace is very valuable, Inspector.
I didn’t think that Mr Montacute would want us to go travelling with it. So at
the last moment I substituted the paste necklace for the real one. I didn’t
tell Emmeline because I knew she would make a fuss about it. If truth be told, I
thought it highly unlikely that she’d notice.’

‘That’s
all very well, Miss Wentmore. It even sounds plausible if it were not for the
jewellery box.’

‘I have
told you, Inspector, that it has nothing to do with me. I did not tamper with
that box. I had no need to. I have the key.’

‘The
fingerprints on the jewellery box had been wiped off, as one might expect.’

‘There
you are, Inspector.’ Jemima looked relieved. ‘As I said, what has it all to do
with me?’

‘All the
fingerprints except for one or two, Miss Wentmore. And they are yours. Can you
explain to me please how that can be if you were not the last person to handle
this box?’

Rose
glanced at Jemima. The revelation that the inspector had proof that she was the
last person to have handled the tampered jewellery box had caused the girl’s
face to become ashen. She was playing with the material of her skirt, rolling
it between her fingers as if the action would afford her more time. All the
while she worried with her skirt, she was staring at the desk top in front of her,
as if the answer to her dilemma was written on its polished surface.

Finally
Jemima took a deep breath and said in a quiet voice devoid of emotion: ‘Very
well, Inspector. I was the last person to touch that box.’ She let out a sigh
that was almost pitiful. ‘If you must know, I found it in my room this morning
when I was dressing. Someone must have put it there. I saw at once that the
lock had been forced, but that the necklace was still inside. I wanted to speak
to Emmeline about it this morning before breakfast, but there was no answer
when I knocked on her door. After breakfast, when we discovered she was missing,
I decided to say nothing about the box until she had been found. When we
discovered that she had been … murdered …’

‘Go on
please, miss.’

‘Well,
naturally all thoughts of the box went completely from my mind. It was only
later when I was in my room and saw the box again that I realised what someone
was trying to do. They were trying to implicate me in Emmeline’s death. I was
scared and at my wits end. At the first opportunity, I got rid of the box.’

‘That
sounds to me a highly improbable story, Miss Wentmore, if you don’t mind my
saying,’ said the inspector at length. ‘Shall I tell you what I believe? I
think, far from being fond of Miss Montacute, you resented her. She had wealth,
beauty and a doting father. She could have everything she wanted. You, on the
other hand, had very little in comparison. You were a poor relation who was
treated like little more than a servant, expected to wait on a woman to whom
you were related.’

‘No!
You’ve got it all wrong, Inspector.’

‘To make
matters worse, the woman in question was vain and selfish, and I suspect a
little stupid. Whereas you, Miss Wentmore, I will hazard a guess are of more
than average intelligence. It must all have seemed very unfair to you. But for
an accident of birth, you would have been the wealthy young lady, and Miss
Montacute the servant. As if that were not enough, you were constantly
surrounded by the things that you coveted in life, which would never be yours.’

‘No!’

‘It is true
that every now and then you might be permitted to have a taste of, and indulge
in, what was beyond your reach, but only at the whim of another. You must have
been worried all the time that Miss Montacute would become bored of you as her
companion, or would marry and your services no longer be required. And then
where would you have been? You were in a very precarious position, Miss
Wentmore.’

‘It
wasn’t like that at all, Inspector,’ protested Jemima.

‘I
haven’t finished yet, Miss Wentmore. You can have your say at the end. Now,
where was I? Ah, yes. Let me put this theory to you. You persuade Miss
Montacute to go travelling with you abroad. It provides you with an ideal
opportunity to steal her diamond necklace. Before you set off on your travels
you substitute the paste necklace for the genuine one. You put the real
necklace somewhere safe with a view to pawning it at a later date when you have
left the employment of the Montacutes. Your intention meanwhile is to arrange
for the paste necklace to be lost or stolen while you are on the Continent. For
some unknown reason you do not go through with your plan while abroad, and instead
decide to carry it out while you are here at Sedgwick Court.’

‘No!’
cried Jemima. ‘I would never have done such a thing.’     

The inspector
ignored the interruption and carried on with his tale as if Jemima had not
spoken.

‘However,
there is an added complication, and that is that you fall in love with the
penniless Mr Felix Thistlewaite. In a few days’ time he is due to go to work in
a solicitors firm in London, while you will be returning to the Highlands of
Scotland. It is hard to imagine how you could be further apart geographically. The
young man is already having doubts as to whether your relationship can survive.
You need to act quickly before he becomes immersed in his life in London and
forgets you. No doubt you have hidden the genuine necklace somewhere in
Scotland and so it is out of your reach here at Sedgwick. You need to get money
now which will enable you to move to London if you are to retain Mr
Thistlewaite’s affections. We have witnesses to your conversation with the
young man discussing the supposedly hypothetical question of what would happen if
you were to acquire a great deal of money.’     

 ‘Have
you?’ Jemima looked surprised.

‘Indeed,
Miss Wentmore. In fact, two witnesses. I must say, I am relieved that you do
not try to deny that such a conversation took place.’

‘Why
would I?’ Jemima passed a hand through her hair. ‘But it is not what you think.
None of it is what you think.’

‘Then why
not tell us what it is?’

‘I
can’t.’

‘You are
not helping yourself, Miss Wentmore,’ the inspector said, looking grim.

‘What you
are suggesting is horrid. That I somehow managed to entice Emmeline to go into
the maze at dead of night to murder her? Why would I? She was my friend. And if
I had decided to do something so wicked, wouldn’t it have been far easier to
have gone to her room and killed her while she was sleeping? My room was next
to hers, you know.’

‘I do
know that, Miss Wentmore. Let us just suppose you did not originally plan to
kill Miss Montacute. But you happened instead to hear her leave her room and
were quite naturally inquisitive. It would have been very early this morning
and not dead of night as you suggest. Undoubtedly you would have been curious
to see what she was about. You decide to follow her to see what she is up to.
You trail her to the maze and follow her inside, keeping a fair distance
between you, so that you are not spotted. You witness her confrontation with
Miss Brewster
–
’

‘Miss
Brewster?’ cried Jemima. ‘You mean it was Vera who she was going to meet in the
maze? That doesn’t make any sense at all. She would never have gone to meet
her
.’

‘It is a
long story, Miss Wentmore, and one that I do not intend to go into at this
time. Let us go back to our story, shall we? We know from Miss Brewster’s own
lips that she did meet your friend. For our purposes here, suffice to say that
you witness Miss Montacute’s confrontation with Miss Brewster and the latter’s subsequent
departure. Miss Montacute is now all alone. And that is when I think the idea
occurs to you to kill her. As you have already informed us, you are aware that
Miss Montacute has made you a handsome bequest in her will. What better
opportunity could you have to do away with her and realise your inheritance?
With any luck Miss Brewster or even Dr Harrison will be blamed for the crime.
And you will be free to marry Felix Thistlewaite and live a life of relative
luxury. What do you say to that, Miss Wentmore?’

Inspector
Bramwell sat back in his chair and looked at Jemima, cocking a cynical eye at
the young woman in front of him.

‘It simply
didn’t happen,’ said Jemima.   

‘And what
about the candlestick?’ asked Rose. ‘Why should Miss Wentmore take such a thing
with her into the maze?’

‘You and
that damned candlestick, Miss Simpson!’ For a moment the inspector looked as if
he might lose his temper and burst with exasperation. ‘For all we know Miss
Wentmore may have thought about killing Miss Montacute before she set off for
the maze and so took the candlestick with her.’

‘I
didn’t,’ said Jemima. ‘I’d never been to the maze until I went there this
morning with the others. You must believe me. I didn’t do it. I would never
have done such a thing. I didn’t kill Emmeline.’

Jemima’s
voice had risen dangerously and become quite shrill. To Rose she seemed to
hesitate on the very edge of falling to pieces completely, her aloof and
reserved manner about to be utterly destroyed. But on the very brink, she
appeared at the very last minute to gather all her energies and pull herself
back. 

The inspector
snorted. ‘Well, you would say that, wouldn’t you, miss? But as it happens, it
is just one of a number of possible theories that we are investigating. You’ll
be interested to know that we have another theory concerning you.’

‘Oh?’ Jemima
looked apprehensive.

‘We were
wondering whether you were the real Jemima Wentmore or a clever impostor. Just
as we’ve been wondering whether Count Fernand is a real count.’

If the inspector
had slapped her, the effect could not have been more devastating. For one
moment Jemima looked as if she might be about to slide off her chair on to the
ground. Instead she chose to sink back heavily into her seat, grabbing on to
the sides as if to stop herself from falling. She looked to those present as if
she wished to disappear into the very fabric of the chair.

Both Inspector
Bramwell and Rose looked at Jemima with renewed interest.

‘What
makes you say that? About me, I mean?’ Jemima said at last.

‘Tell me,
Miss Wentmore,’ said the inspector ignoring her question. ‘Are you by any
chance a jewel thief?’

‘What?’ cried
Jemima. For a moment the woman looked completely bewildered. She took a deep
breath and they could see her fighting frantically to regain her composure. ‘Why
would you think me a thief?’

‘Not, why
do we doubt you are who you say you are?’

‘Well,
that is just ridiculous. I wasn’t going to dignify that with an answer. But of
course I’m Jemima Wentmore. Who do you think I am if I’m not her, Inspector?’

‘I’ve
just told you. A jewel thief.’

‘I refuse
to listen to any more of this nonsense,’ said Jemima, rising from her seat.
‘You are being absurd.’

‘Am I?
Sit down if you please, Miss Wentmore. As I said it is only one line of inquiry
that we are investigating.’

‘You can
ask me any question you like about Jemima Wentmore, Inspector,’ Jemima said,
sitting down and looking indignant. ‘I think you’ll find I’ll be able to answer
it to your complete satisfaction.’

‘I’m sure
you will. You strike me as a very resourceful young woman who would take all
necessary steps to ensure that you learned and played your part well. But as it
happens, it won’t be necessary for me to ask you any questions, Miss Wentmore.
You see we will know one way or the other in the next day or so if you are who
you claim to be.’

‘Oh?’

‘Yes,
indeed. Mr Montacute is returning from his travels. As soon as his ship docks,
his secretary will be bringing him here.’

‘To
Sedgwick?’

Rose
wondered whether it was panic they could hear in Jemima’s voice. Certainly all
remaining colour had drained from her face, and she was fixing Inspector Bramwell
with such a stare that even he was fidgeting in his seat, unused to such
unblinking scrutiny.

‘Yes, to
Sedgwick. I think even you will admit that he of all people will know if you
are really Jemima Wentmore.’

‘But … I …
I don’t understand. He was not expected back for another week or two.’

‘Then either
you have been misinformed, or he has changed his plans.’

‘Does … does
he know about … Emmeline?’

‘Stapleton
has gone to meet his ship. The secretary will break the news to him then.’

‘Must he?
Can’t you wait until he arrives at Sedgwick to tell him? I should very much
like to break the news to him myself. I don’t think you understand how
devastated he will be.’     

‘And you
think the news is better coming from you than from his secretary? Why’s that,
Miss Wentmore?’

‘Because
he will want to ask me all sorts of questions about Emmeline. How she was
feeling, was she happy, that sort of thing. I want to put his mind at rest. I
want to tell him that she did not suffer, that
–
’

‘You
cannot possibly know that, Miss Wentmore, unless you were there when she was
killed,’ said the inspector, speaking very quietly.

Jemima
flinched but said nothing.

‘I should
tell you that I find your explanation for wanting to see Mr Montacute highly
wanting. It seems to me, Miss Wentmore, that you are playing some sort of a
game.’

‘I assure
you that I am not.’ Jemima said.

‘Ah, but
I think you are. If you are not the real Miss Wentmore you would naturally want
to delay Mr Montacute being informed of his daughter’s death. Perhaps you are
afraid that when his secretary tells him he will say something to the effect
that it is quite impossible as he has just left her alive and well in New
York.’ The inspector held up his hand as Jemima made to protest. ‘On the other
hand, if you are who you claim to be, perhaps you think Mr Montacute is less
likely to blame you for the tragedy if you are able to break the news to him
yourself, in your own way. Perhaps it has even occurred to you that in time you
may be able to replace his daughter in his affections. You are a relative of Mr
Montacute’s after all.’