Mrs. Jeffries Delivers the Goods Read online

  WHAT WOULD SCOTLAND YARD DO WITHOUT DEAR MRS. JEFFRIES?

  The Inspector and Mrs. Jeffries: When a doctor is found dead in his own office, Mrs. Jeffries must scour the premises to find the prescription for murder.

  Mrs. Jeffries Dusts for Clues: One case is solved and another is opened when the inspector finds a missing brooch—pinned to a dead woman’s gown.

  The Ghost and Mrs. Jeffries: When the murder of Mrs. Hodges is foreseen at a spooky séance, Mrs. Jeffries must look into the past for clues.

  Mrs. Jeffries Takes Stock: A businessman has been murdered—and the smart money’s on Mrs. Jeffries to catch the killer.

  Mrs. Jeffries on the Ball: A festive Jubilee celebration turns into a fatal affair—and Mrs. Jeffries must find the guilty party.

  Mrs. Jeffries on the Trail: Mrs. Jeffries must sniff out a flower peddler’s killer.

  Mrs. Jeffries Plays the Cook: Mrs. Jeffries finds herself doing double duty: cooking for the inspector’s household and trying to cook a killer’s goose.

  Mrs. Jeffries and the Missing Alibi: When Inspector Witherspoon is the main suspect in a murder, only Mrs. Jeffries can save him.

  Mrs. Jeffries Stands Corrected: When a local publican is murdered and Inspector Witherspoon botches the investigation, trouble starts to brew for Mrs. Jeffries.

  Mrs. Jeffries Takes the Stage: After a theater critic is murdered, Mrs. Jeffries uncovers the victim’s secret shocking past.

  Mrs. Jeffries Questions the Answer: To find the disagreeable Hannah Cameron’s killer, Mrs. Jeffries must tread lightly—or it could be a matter of life and death.

  Mrs. Jeffries Reveals Her Art: A missing model and a killer have Mrs. Jeffries working double time before someone else becomes the next subject.

  Mrs. Jeffries Takes the Cake: A dead body, two dessert plates, and a gun. Mrs. Jeffries will have to do some serious snooping around to dish up more clues.

  Mrs. Jeffries Rocks the Boat: A murdered woman had recently traveled by boat from Australia. Now Mrs. Jeffries must solve the case—and it’s sink or swim.

  Mrs. Jeffries Weeds the Plot: Three attempts have been made on Annabeth Gentry’s life. Is it because her bloodhound dug up the body of a murdered thief?

  Mrs. Jeffries Pinches the Post: Mrs. Jeffries and her staff must root through the sins of a ruthless man’s past to catch his killer.

  Mrs. Jeffries Pleads Her Case: The inspector is determined to prove a suicide was murder, and with Mrs. Jeffries on his side, he may well succeed.

  Mrs. Jeffries Sweeps the Chimney: A vicar has been found murdered and Inspector Witherspoon’s only prayer is to seek the divinations of Mrs. Jeffries.

  Mrs. Jeffries Stalks the Hunter: When love turns deadly, who better to get to the heart of the matter than Inspector Witherspoon’s indomitable companion, Mrs. Jeffries?

  Mrs. Jeffries and the Silent Knight: The yuletide murder of an elderly man is complicated by several suspects—none of whom were in the Christmas spirit.

  Mrs. Jeffries Appeals the Verdict: Mrs. Jeffries and her belowstairs cohorts have their work cut out for them if they want to save an innocent man from the gallows.

  Mrs. Jeffries and the Best Laid Plans: Everyone banker Lawrence Boyd met became his enemy. It will take Mrs. Jeffries’ shrewd eye to find who killed him.

  Mrs. Jeffries and the Feast of St. Stephen: ’Tis the season for sleuthing when a wealthy man is murdered and Mrs. Jeffries must solve the case in time for Christmas.

  Mrs. Jeffries Holds the Trump: A medical magnate is found floating down the river. Now Mrs. Jeffries will have to dive into the mystery.

  Mrs. Jeffries in the Nick of Time: Mrs. Jeffries lends her downstairs common sense to this upstairs murder mystery.

  Mrs. Jeffries and the Yuletide Weddings: Wedding bells will make this season all the more jolly. Until one humbug sings a carol of murder.

  Mrs. Jeffries Speaks Her Mind: Everyone doubts an eccentric old woman who suspects she’s going to be murdered—until the prediction comes true.

  Mrs. Jeffries Forges Ahead: A free-spirited bride is poisoned, and it’s up to Mrs. Jeffries to discover who wanted to make the modern young woman into a postmortem.

  Mrs. Jeffries and the Mistletoe Mix-Up: There’s murder going on under the mistletoe as Mrs. Jeffries and Inspector Witherspoon hurry to solve the case.

  Mrs. Jeffries Defends Her Own: When an unwelcome visitor from her past needs help, Mrs. Jeffries steps into the fray to stop a terrible miscarriage of justice.

  Mrs. Jeffries Turns the Tide: When Mrs. Jeffries doubts a suspect’s guilt, she must turn the tide of the investigation to save an innocent man.

  Mrs. Jeffries and the Merry Gentlemen: When a successful stockbroker is murdered just days before Christmas, Mrs. Jeffries won’t rest until justice is served for the holidays.

  Mrs. Jeffries and the One Who Got Away: When a woman is found strangled clutching an old newspaper clipping, only Mrs. Jeffries can get to the bottom of the story.

  Mrs. Jeffries Wins the Prize: Inspector Witherspoon and Mrs. Jeffries weed out a killer after a body is found in a gentlewoman’s conservatory.

  Mrs. Jeffries Rights a Wrong: Mrs. Jeffries and Inspector Witherspoon must determine who had the motive to put a duplicitous businessman in the red.

  Mrs. Jeffries and the Three Wise Women: As Christmas approaches, Luty, Ruth, and Mrs. Goodge turn up the heat on a murderer to stop the crime from becoming a cold case.

  Berkley Prime Crime titles by Emily Brightwell

  THE INSPECTOR AND MRS. JEFFRIES

  MRS. JEFFRIES DUSTS FOR CLUES

  THE GHOST AND MRS. JEFFRIES

  MRS. JEFFRIES TAKES STOCK

  MRS. JEFFRIES ON THE BALL

  MRS. JEFFRIES ON THE TRAIL

  MRS. JEFFRIES PLAYS THE COOK

  MRS. JEFFRIES AND THE MISSING ALIBI

  MRS. JEFFRIES STANDS CORRECTED

  MRS. JEFFRIES TAKES THE STAGE

  MRS. JEFFRIES QUESTIONS THE ANSWER

  MRS. JEFFRIES REVEALS HER ART

  MRS. JEFFRIES TAKES THE CAKE

  MRS. JEFFRIES ROCKS THE BOAT

  MRS. JEFFRIES WEEDS THE PLOT

  MRS. JEFFRIES PINCHES THE POST

  MRS. JEFFRIES PLEADS HER CASE

  MRS. JEFFRIES SWEEPS THE CHIMNEY

  MRS. JEFFRIES STALKS THE HUNTER

  MRS. JEFFRIES AND THE SILENT KNIGHT

  MRS. JEFFRIES APPEALS THE VERDICT

  MRS. JEFFRIES AND THE BEST LAID PLANS

  MRS. JEFFRIES AND THE FEAST OF ST. STEPHEN

  MRS. JEFFRIES HOLDS THE TRUMP

  MRS. JEFFRIES IN THE NICK OF TIME

  MRS. JEFFRIES AND THE YULETIDE WEDDINGS

  MRS. JEFFRIES SPEAKS HER MIND

  MRS. JEFFRIES FORGES AHEAD

  MRS. JEFFRIES AND THE MISTLETOE MIX-UP

  MRS. JEFFRIES DEFENDS HER OWN

  MRS. JEFFRIES TURNS THE TIDE

  MRS. JEFFRIES AND THE MERRY GENTLEMEN

  MRS. JEFFRIES AND THE ONE WHO GOT AWAY

  MRS. JEFFRIES WINS THE PRIZE

  MRS. JEFFRIES RIGHTS A WRONG

  MRS. JEFFRIES AND THE THREE WISE WOMEN

  MRS. JEFFRIES DELIVERS THE GOODS

  Anthologies

  MRS. JEFFRIES LEARNS THE TRADE

  MRS. JEFFRIES TAKES A SECOND LOOK

  MRS. JEFFRIES TAKES TEA AT THREE

  MRS. JEFFRIES SALLIES FORTH

  MRS. JEFFRIES PLEADS THE FIFTH

  MRS. JEFFRIES SERVES AT SIX


  BERKLEY PRIME CRIME

  Published by Berkley

  An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC

  1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10019

  Copyright © 2019 by Cheryl A. Arguile

  Penguin Random House supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin Random House to continue to publish books for every reader.

  BERKLEY and the BERKLEY & B colophon are registered trademarks and BERKLEY PRIME CRIME is a trademark of Penguin Random House LLC.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Brightwell, Emily, author.

  Title: Mrs. Jeffries delivers the goods / Emily Brightwell.

  Description: First edition. | New York, NY : Berkley Prime Crime, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2019.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2018043300 | ISBN 9780451492227 (paperback) | ISBN 9780451492234 (ebook)

  Subjects: | BISAC: FICTION / Mystery & Detective / Historical. | FICTION / Mystery & Detective / Women Sleuths. | GSAFD: Mystery fiction.

  Classification: LCC PS3552.R46443 M6485 2019 | DDC 813/.54—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018043300

  First Edition: March 2019

  Cover art by M. Fredrickson

  Cover design by Steve Meditz

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Version_1

  In memory of my sister,

  Linda Ruth Lanham Domholt.

  Much loved and much missed.

  CONTENTS

  What Would Scotland Yard Do Without Dear Mrs. Jeffries?

  Also by Emily Brightwell

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  About the Author

  CHAPTER 1

  Despite his gout acting up, Stephen Bremmer was looking forward to tonight’s festivities. He had big plans for all of them. It was going to be wonderful, absolutely wonderful. That stupid cow was going to pay for her veiled insults, but before that, he’d have the pleasure of skewering James Pierce and his tarted-up little soiree, the Lighterman’s Ball indeed! He snorted as his hansom cab stopped opposite the hotel.

  He stepped out, paid the driver, and surveyed his surroundings. Across the busy street, he could see the electric lights of the hotel over the top of an omnibus. Hansoms and carriages discharging passengers wearing traveling clothes and evening dress lined both sides of the street. The omnibus moved on and Bremmer started to cross but he stopped, almost tripping as he spotted a face he’d not seen for eight years.

  He narrowed his eyes as he focused on the slim figure but he’d not been mistaken. It was definitely she. The years had been more than kind; she was even more beautiful than he’d remembered. He smiled, enjoying the fact that he could watch her without her knowing. Judging by the sparkling diamond hair pins and the elegant red velvet cloak she wore, she’d obviously done well. She stood back from the entrance and waited as a large mob of people in varying states of evening dress poured into the hotel. Then she entered. Bremmer wasn’t about to miss this show, so he hurried across the road and into the hotel lobby.

  He followed the crowd into what was the hotel dining room and then eased off to one side so he could see what might happen if she ran into any of their old acquaintances. He saw her hand her cloak to a maid and then she weaved her way through the throng of people, where he lost sight of her. He surveyed the huge room, hoping that the ones who’d be most upset by Elise Newcomb’s sudden reappearance would catch a glimpse of her. But he didn’t see any of them. Oh well, he told himself, the night was still young and he knew something wonderfully scandalous was going to happen. He’d make sure of it.

  He started to the front of the ballroom, his gaze critical and looking for something amiss or out of place. But the hotel had done a proper job. The tables, draped in white linen and topped with pots of greenery, had been pushed toward the walls, creating a dance floor in the center. Along the length of the room stood a buffet table already covered with silverware, plates, serviettes, platters, and metal tray frames. Beneath patterned gold and green wallpaper, the rich, dark wood had been polished to a high gloss, and overhead, a line of crystal chandeliers sparkled with light.

  A quartet of musicians dressed in black evening clothes stood tuning their instruments on a raised platform that had been installed at the far end of the room. Two large, oval tables with enormous green and white floral centerpieces were across the aisle from the musicians. He saw her then. She was standing at the table, partially hidden by a centerpiece. He frowned and increased his pace, hoping to see what she was doing, but a waiter loaded down with half a dozen heavy overcoats and shawls stumbled in front of him and he jerked back to keep from being run over. “Watch where you’re going,” he yelled.

  Bremmer pushed past three old women dressed from head to toe in black. “You don’t know nuffink about it, ’e’s way too old to be carryin’ on like that,” one of the ladies snapped. He winced at her accent. Ye gods, these people mangled the English language worse than the colonials. Thank goodness, he was at one of the top tables and too far away to smell them. He craned his neck and saw that she’d disappeared. He scanned the crowded room and caught a glimpse of her as she moved past the buffet toward the front of the hotel. Damn, he hoped she wasn’t going to leave. That wouldn’t be any fun. He’d wanted to have a bit of sport with her, let her know that he remembered the old days. But once again, she’d merged into the crowd.

  He reached the spot she’d vacated and bent close to read the place cards. What had she been looking for? Surely she hadn’t thought she’d be sitting here? He scanned the names and saw that hers was missing. That didn’t surprise him, but he was annoyed to see who was sitting next to him. He didn’t want to sit between Louise Mannion and his wife; neither of those two was much fun. Well, he’d see about that. He reached for his place card.

  “Excuse me, Mr. Tibbet?” a whiny, nasal female voice said.

  He turned and a tall, thin woman in a chambermaid’s uniform pointed at him. “Eh, you there, Mr. Tibbet. You’d best get yerself into the office. Mr. Stargill is havin’ a fit ’cause you was supposed to be ’ere at half five to check the electrics.”

  Surprised, he stared at her. “Were you addressing me?”

  “You’re the only one here, aren’t ya? You’re Mr. Tibbet, I saw you last week when you was ’ere. Now, get on with you. Mr. Stargill is already in a bad mood and this lot ’ere”—she jerked her chin toward the dining room—“is makin’ ’im right nervous. The Wrexleys are goin’ to ’ave a fit if this do doesn’t go right. Ever since that incident last year, business ’asn’t been very good.”

  “Goodness, Stephen, I wasn’t aware you were an expert on electricals.” Louise Mannion’s blue silk dress rustled as she stepped closer. She was a blue-eyed blonde with a slim figure, porcelain skin, and perfect features. “But I’m not surprised. You seem very well informed on a number of subjects.” She cocked her head to one side and gave him a dazzling smile.

&nbs
p; “You mean you’re not Mr. Tibbet?” The chambermaid squinted, stepped close, and examined his face. “Oh, sorry, my mistake. You’ve a bit more flesh on you than he does.” She turned and hurried off toward the kitchen.

  “Just a moment, now . . . ,” Bremmer called after her. “How dare you accost me? What is this world coming to when a serving woman can speak to her betters in such a manner? What sort of establishment is this? I’m wearing formal evening clothes, couldn’t she see that? Such behavior is totally unacceptable. I shall speak to the manager and get her sacked.”

  “Get who sacked?” James Pierce, a tall, well-muscled man with curly light brown hair and hazel eyes gave Louise a quick smile.

  “No one, James,” Louise intervened quickly. “A staff member here mistook Stephen for the fellow in charge of the lighting and he was having a little joke about her. Come on, James, let’s take our seats. The toast is due in ten minutes.” Laughing, she grabbed his hand and pulled him around the table to their places. “Oh good, Mr. Parr’s here on time.” She smiled brightly at the middle-aged man who’d taken his seat at the far end of the table. “Let’s hope the others are as prompt.” She glanced at Bremmer as James pulled out her chair. “Didn’t Anne come with you?”

  “I came in a hansom, she used the carriage tonight. She promised she’d be here on time. James did make a point today of telling us how important this evening is to Pierce and Son.” He yanked out his chair. “There she is.”

  Bremmer sat down next to Louise and surveyed the crowded room. He almost laughed aloud when he saw her standing just inside the entry. He cast a quick look at Louise. She was talking to Pierce, but he was paying no attention to her. His attention was fixed on Elise Newcomb.

  Louise poked his arm. “James, I asked you a question. Have you heard a word I’ve said?”

  “I’m sorry,” he muttered as he suddenly pushed back his chair. He banged the table so hard as he leapt up that the centerpiece swayed.

  Bremmer snickered as James Pierce charged toward the front of the room, dodging around clusters of young women chatting in the aisle, ignoring the waves and well-wishes of his staff and friends until he’d reached his goal. Pierce, a huge smile on his handsome, arrogant face, grabbed Elise Newcomb’s hands in his and pulled her close. Bremmer looked at Louise. But to her credit, the only sign of agitation he could see on her perfect features was a slight narrowing of her eyes. That wouldn’t do at all. “Well, well, well, looks like James’ first love has decided to return,” he said, hoping to goad her into saying something embarrassing.