A Groom wirh a View

me.“
    “When was this?“ Officer Smith asked.
    Shelley and Jane glanced at each other. “I didn’t look at my watch,“ Jane said, “but it must have been about ten-thirty.“
    “And there wasn’t a body on the steps then?“ the officer inquired.
    “Of course not!“ Jane said.
    “But there might have been another reason for somebody to be roaming around in here,“ Shelley said, urging Jane along. “The pictures. Remember?“
    “Oh, yes. When we came back out here with a flashlight, the pictures on that wall were missing—”
    They all turned to look where she was pointing. The pictures were all back in place.
    Without a word, Smith went back to the other end of the room and talked briefly with the ambulance attendants. They had been getting ready to put Mrs. Crossthwait on a stretcher, but now sat down on a couple of nearby chairs while Smith used a mobile phone.
    “Now we’ve done it,“ Jane said. “This guy is going to think somebody bumped her off and we’ll have police all over the place.“
    “ Police at the Wedding,“ Shelley said. “Isn’t that the title of a book?“
    “ Police at the Funeral. Allingham,“ Jane said, preoccupied. “Nobody had any reason to harm her. Except me, maybe. And I certainly wouldn’t have shoved her down the stairs. At least not before she finished the dresses.“
    “It’s out of our hands,“ Larkspur said. “Always better to be honest, you know. Even if it is a nuisance. I wonder if I can go now. I’ve got to get back to the city and get the flowers.“
    “I wouldn’t ask for a while yet,“ Shelley said.
    The police were very thorough. A photographer showed up and took pictures of Mrs. Crossthwait’s body, the stairs, the stair rails, and the upper landing from every possible angle. A severe-looking middle-aged woman turned up with a fingerprint kit and coated the banister with dust and took prints of everybody else. Nobody regarded this with favor and Iva threw a full-blown fit, but ended up having her fingerprints taken anyway. Another police officer arrived and began questioning everyone.
    The power had been restored, and Mr. Willis, doing a real loaves and fishes act, managed to prepare breakfast for everyone, guests and law officers as well.
    “What are all these dreadful people doing here?“ Iva complained. “You’d think it was a murder or something.“
    “I think they’re just being overenthusiastic about assuring themselves it wasn’t,“ Jane said as soothingly as she could manage.
    “Do you think they suspect ‘foul play,’ as they put it, Shelley?“ Jane asked later when they went outside for a breath of fresh air.
    “I don’t know. Maybe they’re just bored out here in the country and are hoping for something juicy to get their teeth into.“
    “There’s really no reason to think it wasn’t just an accidental fall, is there?“ Jane said, then thought for a moment. “Although you were right about her being extraordinarily cautious about going up the stairs. She took them with baby steps. Maybe she was sleepwalking.“
    “Or maybe you were right when you told Iva they were just making sure,“ Shelley said. “The fact is, there’s nothing we can do about what the police think. But the dresses have to be finished.“
    “The police wouldn’t let me in her room to see how far along she was with the sewing,“ Jane said. “They said I’d have to wait another hour at least. I’m going to call Mel. He was going to come up here tomorrow anyway. I’d feel better about all this if he were here.“
    “You mean you’d know more because he’s a detective and they’ll tell him things.“
    “Same thing,“ Jane said.
    “An elderly woman took a tumble down the stairs and you want me to come up there and butt in?“ Mel said a little later.
    Jane was almost whispering into the phone. “I’m not sure it was an accident, Mel, and the local people are acting like it’s the Crime of the Century.“
    “That sounds like a little bit of an exaggeration,“ Mel said.
    “Maybe a little. But Mel, I’ve invested four months of my life planning this damned wedding and—“
    “Okay. I’m off today anyhow. But I’m just going to introduce myself to the local people. That’s all. If they want to talk to me, fine. If not, I’m not going to interfere. How do you do this, Jane? It seems everywhere you go, there are dead bodies.“
    “It’s certainly not deliberate,“ she said huffily. Then, because she was asking him a