‘How long before they can get to us?’ said Melanie.
‘They don’t know,’ said Walter. He suddenly sounded very tired. ‘My son is dead, and no one’s doing anything.’
‘Excuse me, sir,’ said Jeeves. ‘I was listening to the radio, down in the kitchen with Cook. According to the latest weather reports, the storm will be getting worse before it gets better. It is expected to last all the way through the evening and into the night, and possibly well into tomorrow morning.’
‘We’re cut off!’ said Melanie, her voice rising sharply. ‘We’re on our own!’
‘Hell with this,’ said Khan. ‘I’m not staying here! I’m leaving! Right now …’
‘Damn right,’ said Roger. ‘I’ll take my chances on the roads.’
Diana looked to Sylvia, who nodded quickly. ‘We’ll be safer on the roads than trapped here in this house with a murderer.’
They were all moving towards the front door when Jeeves moved forward, to block their way. His solid presence was enough to bring them all to a sudden halt.
‘Get out of the way, man!’ said Khan. ‘We’re leaving, and no one’s going to stop us!’
‘I’m afraid you can’t leave,’ said Jeeves. And there was something in the way he said it that gave them all pause. I studied Jeeves thoughtfully. He was becoming more interesting by the moment.
Surprisingly, Roger was the first to challenge the butler. ‘Who the hell do you think you are?’ he said angrily. ‘Who are you to tell us what we can and can’t do?’
‘Oh, don’t be such a drip, Roger,’ said Penny.
‘You stay out of this, Penny,’ said Roger, reddening despite himself.
‘It is not my place to give you orders, sir,’ said Jeeves, in his most calm and reasonable tone. ‘It is, rather, a matter of unfortunate circumstances. Your cars have all been parked outside the house for some time now, in sub-zero temperatures. Being buried under a thick layer of snow may have helped to insulate them … but even if you could get your engines to start, the drive is completely blocked with snow. The outside roads will undoubtedly be even worse. Local radio was quite firm on the subject; no one should venture out in the storm, or try to travel anywhere, until the weather improves.’
I could see the resolution going out of Khan and Roger’s faces as they thought about it. Sylvia still looked ready to have a go, but Diana was holding on to her companion’s arm with both hands and shaking her head.
‘Jeeves is right,’ I said. ‘I had to struggle to get up the drive, and that was hours ago.’
‘Then we’ll walk,’ said Khan, drawing himself up to his full height. Doing his best to convince himself. ‘As long as we dress up right, and step it out …’
‘Don’t be a damned fool, Alex,’ said Walter. His voice was just a growl, openly contemptuous. ‘It’s more than four miles to the nearest village. Across fields with no landmarks. You can’t follow the roads, because they’ll have disappeared under the snow. You’d freeze to death.’
‘You see?’ said Melanie, wringing her hands together. ‘I was right! We’re trapped here. With a killer hiding among us!’
She turned to Walter, expecting him to comfort her, but he was just staring at nothing, struggling with his thoughts. He’d been through too many shocks in a short period, and I could see the concentration fading in and out in his face.
‘Why would anyone want to kill my son?’ he said, querulously.
One by one, everyone turned to look at me. All I could do was shrug and shake my head. There was nothing I could say that would help.
‘Did James have … enemies?’ said Khan.
‘Everyone has enemies,’ I said. ‘Question is, did he have enemies here?’
‘What are you saying?’ said Khan.
‘You can’t really believe one of us wanted the man dead!’ said Roger.
‘Why not?’ I said.
I looked around. People were clinging to each other, comforting one another as best they could. Melanie clung determinedly on to Walter, who was pulling himself back together through sheer force of will because he was damned if he would let his son down. Diana and Sylvia huddled together like frightened children, drawing strength from each other. Roger had a protective arm across Penny’s shoulders, holding her close, glaring around as though he’d fight anyone who dared threaten her. She let him, because he needed to do it. Khan stood alone, scowling thoughtfully. He didn’t seem too bothered by the Colonel’s sudden death; but then, he wouldn’t. He’d worked for Black Heir. And finally there was Jeeves, standing alone, calm and poised as always, looking around at the others in the same way I was. Looking for a killer’s eyes in a familiar face. He caught me staring at him and just nodded, briefly. There was a sober, professional air to the man in a hallway where hysteria was hanging dangerously close on the air, just looking for a way in.
‘What are we going to do?’ said Melanie, in a voice quite a bit higher than it needed to be.
‘We have a murderer among us,’ Penny said steadily. ‘And we have no choice but to find him ourselves. It’s the only way to be safe. We have to find him before he can kill again, maybe kill all of us, to cover his tracks. We can do this! It’s not like he can go anywhere; he’s as trapped in this house as the rest of us!’
I smiled at her admiringly. Good to see someone keeping their head. Everyone else was just waiting for somebody to take the lead. It was clear none of them liked the idea that someone they knew was a murderer.
I looked at Walter. ‘Help is a long way off. How secure are we here?’
Walter nodded briskly, coming back to himself now he had a chance to take charge. ‘Yes! Of course … Well; we’re safe enough from the storm in here. The outer walls are good thick stone; built to keep out the cold. As long as we keep the fires going, we should be snug as a bug in a rug. The pipes are all lagged … and we have our own generator, for electricity! And of course we have a hell of a lot of food and drink laid in, for Christmas. Enough to keep us going for days. And we have weapons!’
He looked meaningfully to Jeeves, who nodded and stood up a little straighter. And just like that, he didn’t look like a butler any more. He held himself differently, in the experienced military manner I’d seen before. His servility was gone, like the act it always was, replaced by a cold-eyed professionalism.
‘Ladies and gentlemen; I am not a butler. I was hired by Mister Belcourt to act as one for this weekend, while also serving as his personal bodyguard. My job is to keep people alive, and I’m very good at it. And like all bodyguards, I am armed.’
He brought out his hidden gun and showed it to everyone. He held the Smith amp; Wesson.45 with an easy, practised familiarity. Everyone looked at the gun, and then looked at Jeeves. They didn’t seem too sure as to whether the man with the gun made them feel safer, or not. And then they all looked at each other, as though trying to decide who else might be pretending to be something they weren’t. Most of them looked at me with open suspicion.
‘Why did you hire a bodyguard, Walter?’ said Melanie. She sounded honestly puzzled. ‘You never said anything to me about needing a bodyguard!’
‘I didn’t want you to worry, dear,’ said Walter, patting her hand absently. ‘It was just for the holidays. All businessmen have enemies; you know that.’
‘But why now, Daddy?’ said Penny.
Walter didn’t answer her directly, but his eyes did seem to linger on Khan for a moment. ‘There are more weapons in the house, for those who feel the need,’ Walter said loudly. ‘Old family weapons. Look around you! Swords and axes and pikes. Easy enough to get down, and still in good enough shape to scare any villain into keeping his distance! Eh?’
We all looked at the old weapons on their wall plaques, but no one made any move to take one. It seemed no one felt the need … just yet.
‘So!’ said Walter. ‘We’re perfectly safe in here from the storm, and we’re not helpless! We can look after ourselves.’
‘It also means our hidden killer has access to an endless supply of killing tools,’ I said.