Corporate Crap and Other Dubious Wisdom

Yay!! Congratulations 3T at Stumbling Through Life With Grace!!  You hung in and were the closest to guessing the solution to the Locked Room, PartII :)

Please save this graphic to your site and display it proudly… you certainly earned it on this long one!!

P.S. I’ll have your new graphic on my Blogroll shortly today as well.

“We don’t know that she is a part of this, Ms. Ryan, but we do need to follow every bit of information we can until we find the person responsible for this,” Robert gently suggested.  “Can you tell us if there was a time, while Rebecca McConnahay was here that night, that you were not with her?”

“Why no, at least I don’t think so. She arrived before Mr. Doyle looking like a drowned rat from the storm, poor woman.  We sat here in this room chatting for a while… Wait, I did leave the room, but only for a short time, to brew some tea.” She looked pleadingly at Robert.  Her eyes asking for confirmation.  Then her eyes changed, seemed to narrow, “Cook had already banked the coals on the stove, and cook and I spent some time in the kitchen getting the water hot enough.  I should have just let her to it, but I was a little vexed at her, and we had a few words.  When I returned with the tea, Rebecca was pacing here and seemed a little angry.  As it was she didn’t stay long after that, but the storm had stopped by then.  She must have been more upset with me than I thought, because she even forgot her umbrella.  I meant to return it to her, but I have been quite busy these last few days.”

Denning and Robert seemed to rise together, a look passing between them. “Ms. Ryan,” he began, as the two walked towards the door and the umbrella stand, “can you point out Ms. McConnahay’s umbrella for us, please?”

“Why yes, of course.  It’s the rather large,  drab looking brown one, with the unusual handle.  The only one to stay in the stand the other day, when you tripped over it, “ with a slight smile at Robert.  “I wondered why she had used this one instead of the new one I bought her.”

Denning carefully removed the indicated umbrella and began examining it.  Nodding, he noticed the grip on the handle made more to fit the hand than most were.  Although the umbrella itself seemed fairly common, it seemed somewhat sturdier, and heaver than one would expect, for its size.  Upon closer inspection, he noticed a small catch where the umbrella met the handle.  Pushing on the catch slightly brought a small clicking sound, and the handle separated from the umbrella, sliding out of it.  Denning stood holding the top of the umbrella in one hand—in the other he now held a rather dangerous looking sword!  Rapier thin, and sharply tapered towards the tip, it was the sort of weapon men had carried for years secreted within their canes or walking sticks.  At the tip was a small reddish discoloration.

“Robert lad, I’m thinking it’s a killer we’ve fund er these eld eyes are wrong!”

“I think your eyes do not deceive you, Denning.  I am positive that our Coroner would also say so as well.” Then, as if suddenly struck, “my God Denning, what a fool I’ve been!”  As both Meg and Denning looked at him strangely, puzzled, he continued.  “When I looked before through Shafter’s records, it said he had a wife, but no further mention of her could be found.  Scotty and I each searched the area where he lived, yet no one knew the woman!”

Realization seemed to dawn on Meg, “you were looking for Mrs. Shafter—she must have changed her name.”

“Aye boy, I’d bet me best trousers on’t!” exclaimed Denning.

(more Crap…)