Charlotte Wynthorpe and the Case of the Disappearing Diamonds

11. Aren't You Suspicious?

The battered door of Oakham Enquires was standing wide open when Charlotte arrived for her appointment. Peeking in, she saw a young man in a white shirt and grey waistcoat with his sleeves rolled up, writing in a ledger. The window of the small office was opened all the way, allowing a breeze to blow through which carried with it all the noise and grit from the busy street outside.

"Knock, knock," Charlotte said, stepping over the threshold. The young man looked up and smiled.

"Hello. Looking for Oakham Enquires?" he said, a charming smile broadening his face.

"I am. Charlotte Wynthorpe. I have an appointment with Mr Oakham."

The young man pulled a smaller, open ledger towards himself and ran his finger over the paper. "Ah, yes, Wynthorpe, Miss. 10 am. Please have a seat. I shall just inform Mr Oakham of your arrival." He gestured towards the two chairs that had been positioned in front of the desk the last time Charlotte had visited, but were now pushed up against the wall. Then the man rose and walked with an awkward gait towards the door to Oakham's personal office. He knocked twice and then put his head in. 

"Miss Wynthorpe. 10 am appointment, sir."

There was a mumbled response and the young man closed the door before hobbling back to his chair. "Mr Oakham will be with you in a few moments." He picked up his pen and made movements to go back to writing.

Charlotte was about to ask after Mr Morris when the detective pulled open his door and gestured for Charlotte to come in. He waited until she was inside, then shut the door.

"I see you now have front office help, Mr Oakham. How very convenient." 

"A one-armed employment agent showed up out of the blue last week. Seemed to know exactly what I needed and talked my ear off until I said I'd try out one of his cripples for a week. And then he showed up the next day," Oakham gestured towards the closed door. "Was here even before I was. I suppose you noticed the walk. He's missing half his leg."

"I did. He seems rather competent," Charlotte said, a decidedly firm tone in her voice. One of Olivia's men had found employ and she wanted to do as much as possible for him to keep it. Although, she wasn't sure she would go so far as to congratulate him on his new employer. "I imagine you'll be wanting to keep him. Now that he's here and of obvious use."

"Don't have time to find anybody myself, do I? Which that damned employment agent also seemed to know. Anyway, your case." 

Oakham reached for a file and opened it.

"Right," he said after a few moments skimming the paper inside. "'Penelope' is Penelope Arsdale. A diamond brooch belonging to her deceased grandmother was stolen during a private party in her home in Belgravia about three months ago. She filed a report with the Metropolitan Police but the case was only briefly investigated. A servant in her employ disappeared at around the same time and the investigators on the case believe that's who pocketed the brooch. The whereabouts of the servant are currently unknown. Nothing about it appeared in the newspapers and the Arsdales seem to have forgotten about the incident entirely. There have been no follow up inquires."

"A disappearing servant?"

"The kitchen boy, apparently," Oakham said, after consulting his notes.

The kitchen boy? Hadn't Inspector Bump ruled out the kitchen boy? He had insufficient access to the wine cellar to have prepared the poisoned wine, or to have helped whoever did. 

Charlotte made a mental note to reread the salient passage before continuing on with her reading of The Corpse in the Kitchen. She was only at chapter fifteen, but Bump was already making lightning progress.