Dead in the Water (Olivia Grant Mysteries Book 1) by Phyllis A. Humphrey

although your, er, statements are being checked as a matter of form." He rose and headed for the door.
    Alice left her chair and followed him. "And what about the office papers that your men have boxed up and taken away?"
    "They'll be returned to you tomorrow."
    "And Mrs. Mason?" she asked.
    "The body will be released soon as well. Someone will telephone you about the details." He turned to me. "Thank you for the tea."
    Alice nodded, and they left the room.
    I stayed behind, listening to their footsteps in the hall and then the front door opening and closing, wondering why the inspector had said our alibis were being checked. If they were so certain Noreen drowned accidentally, why would they need to check alibis? Or did they realize by now that almost everyone in the house had a motive to kill her?
    Alice returned and picked up the tea tray, and I followed her into the kitchen.
    Rinsing cups at the sink, Alice surprised me by saying, "You don't think it was an accident, do you?" Like she'd been reading my mind.
    "Not really. It's just that falling that way and drowning as a result seems so improbable, even if she were drunk. I mean, she'd gotten through life to that point without killing or maiming herself."
    I stopped. My constant thoughts about murder began to bother me. This was not a mystery novel, nor one of Brad's cases back in San Francisco, where murders happened more frequently. These were my relatives, and to believe in murder meant one of them might have committed it. Although I'd been away a long time, I had already begun to bond with them, and I ought to be ashamed even to consider such a thing. I felt my face flush.
    I took a deep breath. I would stop thinking about murder. If the police were prepared to call Noreen's death an accident, who was I to disagree? After all, they were the experts. In addition, even if they were wrong, the world would not come to an end if I returned home without ever knowing the truth about what happened. Yet I wanted to know. I also didn't want to go home yet. I'd planned on a two-week vacation. I needed it.
    "On the other hand," I said, "perhaps having a brother in the police department at home makes me more suspicious. Probably the detective has it right." Yet I didn't believe a word I said.
    "I'm glad it's settled then." Alice wiped her hands on a dishtowel, as if she were wiping away the entire event from our lives like so much dirty dishwater.
    Easy for her. Despite trying to dismiss the event from my mind, I couldn't shake the feeling that the inspector had told us Noreen died accidentally in order to lull us into a false sense of security. He would be doing more than checking our alibis. He would be watching us, waiting to see if we made a mistake and revealed the truth. Then he'd pounce.
    Alice's voice interrupted my thoughts. "Elizabeth wants to take you into the city tomorrow to do some sightseeing. I'm sure you're anxious to see Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, and the Tower of London."
    Perhaps I did before, when I packed for the trip, and even on the flight coming over. Now, however, with a strange mystery staring me in the face? As they say in British films, "not bloody likely." I wanted to stick around the mansion and snoop.

CHAPTER SEVEN
     
    True to her word, the next morning Elizabeth roused me from bed and hurried me off to the city. Despite the early hour at which she insisted we start, I relished the opportunity to be alone with her so I could ply her with questions. I seldom minded my own business if I could snoop into someone else's.
    "I'm curious," I began, "about what Aunt Beryl said the other day, that Edward left everything to Noreen, and if she sold the Hall they'd have nowhere to go. Did the property belong to him exclusively?"
    "No, and it's not entailed." As my father had once explained I knew "entailed" meant required to pass to the next male heir.
    "Technically," Elizabeth said, "it belonged to Edward, but Grandfather had made provision for everyone who