Chapter 14 – Eleanor’s Statement

Eleanor and Haley were in the library. He had pulled up a chair so he could sit beside her as she looked at the photographs he laid on the desk in front of her, one by one.

They were almost halfway through the stack before she dropped her hand to touch one of the photos.

“Him. That’s Penn.”

In real life, his hair was anything from blond to brown depending on the light and angle. His eyes were equally indecisive, mixing green and brown in equal measure. The monochrome photo could show none of this, but the shape of his nose, his jaw, and his eyebrows were all the same.

“That’s the man in your bedroom and the man you met at the warehouse last night?” Haley asked.

“Yes.”

“The same face both times?”

Eleanor picked up the photo and drew it closer. “Yes.”

“That is the man we know as Ryce Penn. Congratulations. You’ve had the honor of seeing his real face.” Haley went to pick up the photos she’d left on the desk.

“He’s very handsome, isn’t he?”

Haley dropped the photos and had to fumble to pick them up. “Is he?”

“Yes.”

The inspector glanced at her. She was looking at the picture with narrowed eyes, as if debating its merits, and her affirmation had been dispassionate—almost clinical. He found that vaguely reassuring.

She went on, “He was also charming and well-spoken.” There was a short silence, then she shook her head and passed Haley the photo. “Never mind.”

Haley received the picture and put it with the others. “What is it?”

“It’s nothing.”

“Miss Serrs, what will it take to get you to tell me what you’re thinking? Do I have to ask you a thousand questions? Shall we start with did you smell anything?”

Eleanor’s stomach lurched, but when she raised her eyes, she saw the telltale tension in his cheek. He was joking.

She relaxed. “In my experience most men rely on superficial things to try to gain a woman’s favor. I wondered—if Mr. Penn is as egotistical as you say, he might have assumed he had a decent chance of winning me over.”

“But you rejected the idea?”

“I recognized my own desperation. A part of me still wants to believe that it was Penn who sent those invitations. It would make it less personal.”

As the inspector put the photos away in their envelope, he tried to think of something he could say to reassure her. Before he thought of anything, she spoke again.

“Mr. Haley, I never apologized for not telling you about the flour. I’m sorry. I hope you’ll forgive me.”

He took his time putting the envelope back in his jacket pocket. “As a police officer, I can’t condone what you did. But I understand why you did it, and I don’t blame you.” He stood up from his chair and picked up the papers that included her written statement and his notes. As he folded them, he said, “I hope that, someday, you’ll feel inclined to share with me a little more freely.”

“Of course.”

“All your thoughts. Not only the ones I badger you for.”

Eleanor said in a teasing voice, “I can’t imagine that’d be worth your time.”

But there was no humor in Haley’s response: “The moment Penn broke into the house, I was convinced he was the culprit from beginning to end. Most of us were. But not you. What you learned saved me a lot of time and trouble. It’s important for a detective to keep an open mind, and I’ve found the most reliable way to do that is by making use of the minds of others.” He hesitated. “Not that—not that I’m encouraging you to go out and do anything like that ever again. Please.”

Eleanor smiled. There was too much desperate honesty in that please.

He went on, “I think it takes a year off my life every time I have to rush into a room to see if you’re all right, and I’m down by two as it is.”

Eleanor stood up. “All right, Mr. Haley. I’ll try not to do it again.”

“You’ll try?”

Haley smiled when he heard Eleanor’s laugh. Of course she turned her head away, but when she looked back at him, he was still watching her.

“How did your father take it?” he asked.

Eleanor’s smile faded. “I think he’s given me up.”

“Given you up?”

“Like a bad investment.”

“Did he…”

Eleanor sighed. “He had quite a few things to say to me. I’m surprised you didn’t know. Even across town, you should have been able to hear it. Then he left the room, mid-rant. I didn’t know there was an upper limit to how much he could yell, but I seem to have found it.”

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

She had tried to sound lighthearted, but her face betrayed her.

She went on, “It’s probably a good thing you came here to get my statement. I think I’ll have to stay in for a few days.”

“Is it the duke?”

“No. My aunt. I think I scared her badly.”

“I’m sorry, Miss Serrs.”

“Thank you for your sympathy.”

As she led him out of the library, he asked, “Did you tell them what you learned?”

“I told my aunt and my cousin. I didn’t get a chance to tell my father.”

“He doesn’t believe it anyhow,” a voice said from behind them.

It was Edward. He sauntered toward them with his easy gait.

“Mother tried to talk to Uncle Erravold after you went to sleep,” the baron said. “He claims it’s another one of Penn’s tricks.”

Haley waited until Comtess caught up with them. “And what about you, my lord?”

Edward put his hands in his pockets and shrugged. “I have to admit, I’m not sure what to make of it. But I think the joke has gone on long enough.”

“Amen,” Eleanor said.

“Eleanor,” Edward swung toward her, “Mother wanted me to track you down and tell you she’s waiting for you.”

Eleanor turned to the clock in the hall and muttered, “Blast!” She turned back to Haley. “Please excuse me. That took longer than I thought it would.”

“It’s all right, Lady Serrs. I know my way.”

“The book!” Eleanor darted away.

“She’s got the book!” Edward called after her.

Eleanor changed directions and went for the back stairs.