“Beg pardon, ma’am, but the detective has kept this room locked and guarded until today when they found Miss Bright in here and decided they’d collected all the evidence possible. I’ve barely had any time at all to search.”

I’d know that brogue anywhere. I inched forward to confirm. It was indeed Archie Carlton, but who was he talking to? I caught sight of the other person’s back and recognized Rita May, of the hourglass figure and long dark hair.

“Well, I’m not paying you to do nothing,” Rita snapped. “Find it.”

Harry and I pressed back against the wall as she stormed away. Archie heaved a heavy sigh and returned to the library.

“What do you suppose that was all about?” I whispered.

“No idea, but whatever she’s paying him to look for, it’s in the library,” Harry replied. “Let’s see if we can find out.”

As soon as Rita disappeared around the corner, Harry led the way out of the alcove and through the open door. Archie was muttering to himself as he stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling bookcases that lined the walls. He was clearly looking for something as he pulled books down, thumbed through them and put them back. He crouched down to examine one of the lower shelves, leaning in to select a book.

“What are you looking for, Archie?” I asked.

He shot up, cracked his head on the bookshelf above him and clapped his hand to the wound.

“What’s the idea, eh? You scared me half to death and made me smack my head,” he grumbled.

“What is Rita May paying you to look for?” Harry asked.

Personally, I thought it was too soon to ask that question. I’d been planning to finesse Archie a little before we jumped right to it.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he balked.

“We overheard you talking, Archie,” I said. “What is it that Mrs. May is missing?”

“Em . . . an earring,” Archie said. He didn’t look at us when he spoke. Instead he was studying the ground at his feet. “She lost it during the . . . um . . .”

“Murder,” I said.

“Yeah . . . wait . . . no!” He glared at me. “Don’t try to put words in my mouth.”

I raised my hands in the air as if in surrender. “Sorry, it just seemed odd, given that her future son-in-law was found dead in this room that she thought she might have lost an earring in here as well.”

Archie looked uncomfortable. “Well, there was a lot of comings and goings after he was found, and she was in here consoling her daughter. It easily could have fallen off.”

“Uh-huh,” Harry said. “Does Detective Stewart know you’re helping her?”