Locked rooms - Laurie R. King [82]
“I ask because the city shakes and burns with regularity. I remember the 1865 quake vividly.”
“No, this was the recent one. Her parents have since died, but she wishes to know more details about the weeks following the fire. They had a house here in Pacific Heights, and I believe lived in a tent for some time.”
“As did a number of us, in Lafayette Park.”
“Ah. You were here, then?”
“I was. And Hymes, and Mimi, and the rest. We had a staff of, let me see, seven at the time. It was normally nine, but the footman and an upstairs maid had just eloped.”
“Did you by any chance spend some time in the park yourself?”
“Certainly. Best time of my life, those three weeks, an absolute lark. Other than the bathing facilities, but then, an old lady doesn't need to be too fussy about her toilette. No, Hymes found a tent somewhere, the Army I think, and Mimi and three of the others moved in with me. Hymes stayed in the house, at first to fight any fire that might blow in, and later to discourage any looters. I told him not to be silly, that it didn't do any of us any good if he saved the house only to have it fall down on his head, but he wouldn't listen, nor would the other men. They buried the silver, in case of robbers—silly boys, they lost one of the spoons for the longest time, unearthing an entire flower bed before they came across it in the branches of a rose-bush—and took turns watching over the house and over me at the park. They enjoyed the adventure, too—we even had concerts while we were there, around a grand piano one of the families had pushed through the streets from the other side of Van Ness. Yes, everyone was quite restless for a while after we moved back inside.”
“So, you lived in the park for about three weeks?”
“Twenty-three days, I believe it was.”
“The people I'm interested in were named Russell. Charles was an American, would have been in his early thirties, tall, blond hair. His wife—”
“His wife's name was Judith. English girl, Jewish I think. And weren't there children?”
“Two.”
“A little girl, and a baby. Can't remember if the baby was a boy or a girl.”
“A boy, in fact. And it's the daughter who is now asking me to make the enquiries.”
“What sort of enquiries?”
“Details about her parents. As I said, they died, in a motor accident some years later. In particular, she would like to know about the period in which the family was living in a tent.”
He picked up his tea to cover the intensity of his interest, sipping the smoky brew from the paper-thin teacup, larger brother of the child-sized model on the saucer beside her. But he need not have worried; she was sitting, head bent, brows furrowed in concentration. After a moment she said, “Mr Holmes, would you be so good as to bring the sherry and two glasses from that cupboard over there?”
The sherry was dry and smelt of the Spanish sun, and under its influence, memory stirred. The tiny hand reached out for a silver bell and rang it. The door came open so quickly, it was evident that Mimi had been standing just outside it.
“Yes, Mum?”
“Dear, I need you to bring me the photograph album of the fire. You remember where it is?”
“Yes, Mum.” The door shut, and silence fell, the old woman occupied with her inner images. In minutes the maid returned with a large morocco-bound album, laying a white cloth on the table before she set the book before her mistress. She adjusted the book slightly and stood back. “Would there be anything else, Mum?”
“No, thank you, Mimi.”
“Beg pardon, Mum, but Cook asks if you'll be wanting dinner delayed?”
The question was nicely phrased, Holmes thought. It served to ask Miss Adderley if she was going to need another place laid without setting the question out in the open, while at the same time reminding Holmes that it was getting on to evening and he'd promised not to tire the elderly woman.
He was the one who answered. “You needn't delay on my behalf,” he said. “I have an appointment before too long, and won't be staying. If we haven't finished our business by that time, perhaps I might impose on you for a second visit?