“I believe you told Miss Carter that Mr. Drake has gone to visit friends in Brighton.”
“That’s right.” The housekeeper smelled of cabbage and bread dough, but the hallway smelled of polish.
“Could you give me their name and direction, so I can verify his safe arrival?”
“Why would I do that?”
Wonderful. She was as obstinate as Miss Carter. “So I may put Miss Carter’s fears to rest.”
“Her? An impossible task.”
“You find Miss Carter to be excitable?”
“Aye, and a busybody, too. Mr. Drake didn’t mind living next door to her, but I can tell you, she’s a difficult sort of neighbor.”
I’d had quite enough of hearing about Miss Carter. “Did you do Mr. Drake’s packing for him?”
“No, he took care of that the very evening he received a message from his friend. After he returned from dinner with some lord.”
“Did you see the message from this friend?”
“No. He must have taken it with him.”
“Why would he do that?” I gave her such a look of concern she must have forgotten I’d never met Nicholas Drake.
“I don’t know. And there was such a mess.” She glanced up the stairs. “There were plenty of things out of place, but I’m certain that was just from Mr. Drake packing in a hurry for his trip. He’s like most gentlemen. He expects you to pick up after him.” She made a move to open the front door to show me out.
“And the pool of blood in the front hall? Is that part of the normal packing process for most gentlemen?”
She stopped, her shoulders slumped. “Miss Carter told you about that?”
I pointed at a dark stain on the floorboards. “What if the disorder was caused by his abductors?”
She shook her head. “It couldn’t have been. Mr. Drake must be all right.”
I tried another line of inquiry. “When did Mr. Drake tell you he was traveling to Brighton?”
“The same morning Miss Carter came over in a state, saying Mr. Drake had been abducted. She had a nightmare, silly woman.”
If she saw him that morning, the blood in the hall wasn’t Drake’s, and Edith Carter had lied. I was furious at the dishonesty of my client, and my fury came out in my tone. “You saw him that morning?”
Mrs. Cummings shuffled back in surprise. “No. He left me a note. He often did when he’d be gone before I arrived.”
“Only Mr. Drake was in the house that night?”
“Any night.”
“Are you the only one who looks after Mr. Drake?”
“Any help I need, he’s given me permission to hire from the neighborhood.” She put her hands on her hips and gave a sharp nod.
“If Mr. Drake were in any danger, is there any family or friends that he would go to?”
“He’s alone in the world as far as family goes. He has two friends, Mr. Harry and Mr. Tom, he’s worked with on occasion.”
“What are their last names?”
“Mr. Drake only used their Christian names. I’ve never heard last names.”
“What line of work are they in?”
“I don’t rightly know. From what I overheard, they did some of this and that.”
They didn’t sound like a law-abiding trio. “There was no sign of a disturbance at any of the outside doors?”
“Not that I saw.”
I put sympathy in my voice. “He must have fallen on hard times if he lives here and dines with lords.”
“It’s only right he eat with lords, since he’s descended from French royalty.” The housekeeper nodded to herself at the rightness of it. “Then, when he returned home, he had a message from a sick friend and off he went to Brighton.”
“Please tell me this friend’s name and address.”
“He told me the name of his friend and he told me Brighton. More than that I didn’t need to know. And I don’t see where it’s any business of yours.”
“There’s blood in the front hall, the house was left a mess, and no one’s heard from Mr. Drake in days. Someone needs to make sure Mr. Drake is in good health.”
The puzzled look on her face told me she now doubted Drake had left under his own steam. I pressed my advantage. “What is his friend’s name?”
“All right. Just don’t tell her next door. He went to visit Mr. Dombey.”
“Paul Dombey?”
“Yes. You know him?” The housekeeper looked relieved.
“Oh, yes.” Dickens was popular with my customers. In Dombey and Son, Paul Dombey, the son, goes to Brighton. Was Drake forced to lie to his housekeeper? Or had he written that note before his intruders arrived?