The Merryweather Jewel Thefts.

Chapter 5

I woke in the morning with a much clearer head. Having determined how each of the thefts had been committed, apart from the ruby bracelet, I dressed quickly in a pale pink dress, matching barette, and little white gloves, slipping the white shoes I had been wearing yesterday back on. They really were suprisingly comfortable.

I arrived at the bottom of the staircase to be faced with a flurry of people, servants running left, right, and centre, all chattering amongst themselves, and Barnes standing firmly in the centre, with Fisher next to him, almost getting swept away. I took a couple of steps back up the stairs and barked loudly over the hubbub.

"What is going on here?"

Silence fell like a tonnne of bricks, everyone turning to look at me. 

"Barnes?" I asked.

"Well, it's very simple, Miss Dalton" Barnes explained, his words hanging in the silence by a thread. "One of the butlers had disappeared."

"Disappeared?" I repeated, looking down sternly on them all.

"He wasn't in his room this morning" Barnes told me. "We searched everywhere, but he's nowhere to be found. Elderly chap. Name of Saunders."

"I say,what's going on here?" Mr and Mrs Hart came down the stairs behind me.

"Nothing to concern you, sir!" Barnes said smartly.

"No" Mr. Hart said thoughtfully. "I could have sworn you just said something about a man by the name of Saunders. He was our waiter, you know, on the night the ring was stolen. I remember, because he introduced himself to us twice. Elderly sort of bloke, wasn't  he?"

"This, er, really isn't your, er, buisness, Mr. Hart, sir" Fisher stammered.

"If he's made off wiith my wife's ring..." Hart began.

"Sir, do not stress yourself" I cut in. "This butler may have nothing to do with it."

"I bet he does!"  Hart shouted. "You'd better find him, soon, Chief Inspector!" And with that, they pushed past me, much to my disgust, and went into the lounge.

"We'd better find this Saunders, Fisher" Barnes muttered, and for some utterly unfathomable reason pictures of blind elephants sprang to my mind. It seemed Barnes and Fisher had taken a very different view on this disappearance to what I was thinking. The hall began to clear, Fisher and Barnes hurrying out of the front door.

"Well well, what was all that ruckus about?" Arthman came down the stairs behind me.

"Apparently one of the butlers has disappeared" I replied coolly.

"Would you like to take a walk, Miss Dalton?" he asked, offering me his arm, and, since I really had nothing to do that day, I took it. We strolled in silence down into the gardens, and while I may have seemed calm and civil  on the outside, there was a heated debate going on inside my head. Should I tell Arthman I knew he was lying to everyone? Or did I keep quiet?

We paused by a fountain. I could see a pile of gardeners tools lying in one of the flowerbeds, wherethey had been probably left by a gardener. I wouldn't be complletely defenceless if this went wrong.

I detatched myself from Arthman and took a couple of casual steps closer to the tools. I could see a decent sized spade that might be the best option for me. I turned.

"Who are you really, Mr. Arthman?" I asked.

I saw confusion, astonishment, and finally amusement cross Arthman's face, and the American stared right at me, shaking his head.

"I believe I owe you a round of applause, Miss Dalton" he sighed, clapping his hands slowly. "I have to admit, I didn't see you guessing so soon."

"So who are you?" I asked again.