The Murderers Gift

The First Interogation

    "Detective Anderson? Mrs. Conning is here for questioning," the butler said through the door.
    "Bring her in," June said, folding her hands on the table.
    The door opened, and there stood a short woman with a little nose and a little mouth. She wore a light blue dress with sleeves that were ruffled at the top and so much jewelry that she was practically glowing. She had a friendly smile on her face as she sat on the chair opposite to the detective, her jewelry clinking against each other. Mrs. Conning held out her hand to June and said, "Hello. You must be the detective everyone was talking about! I'm Mrs. Conning, but please call me Alice."
    " Detective Anderson," June said, shaking the woman's hand. Awfully chatty. No wonder she knew that I was here.
    "Now, ask away," Mrs. Conning said.
    "I'm not sure if you know this already, but-"
    "Oh I've heard! It's simply awful that Lady Scotting has been murdered. You know, we both go way back. I married her son, but he divorced me. For a very stupid reason, I'll have you know. All I wanted was another pair of diamond earrings, and he said he had had enough. Ah, I still miss him sometimes-"
    "Mrs. Conning, I'm sorry, but may I ask my questions now?" the detective asked, already getting tired of her talking.
    "Of course! Pardon me. Everyone always says I talk to much, and I tell them that I just have many things to say-"
    "Yes, yes, I know. First question, what were you doing from nine to ten pm tonight?" Detective June spoke in a firm voice.
    "Hm. Well, I arrived at the party at eight, and I talked to my husband about everyone at the party. There was this butler walking around, welcoming everyone. This very nice lady also commented on him when I talked to her. He looked rather old-"
    "What did you do after you talked to your husband?" the Detective said, pushing back a strand from her black hair that had come loose. It was getting in her face as she tried to jot down what Mrs. Conning was saying, which was obviously a lot.
    "Right. After I talked to my husband for about an hour, I went around to talk with the other guests for another hour. Most of them are very nice people you know. I'm sure you'll love talking to them later."
    "Mhm. Anyways, was there anything suspicious you saw?"
    "Well, not really. If there was, I didn't pay much attention to it. There was just a lot going on- oh wait! There was this one person, I think his name was Henry? He did sneak off to someplace after I tried to talk to him. Rude he was. Walked right through the doors where we came in."
    "Interesting. One last question, do you recognize this?" June placed the box in front of Mrs. Conning. She opened the box, and her eyes gleamed.
    "My, this is a very beautiful ring," she breathed. Her hand started to reach for it, but the detective coughed, and she moved her hand away. "No, I don't recognize it."
    " That's fine. Thank you, Mrs. Conning, for your time. The butler will escort you back to the ballroom."
    "It's no trouble at all! Goodbye!"
    The Butler walked out of the room with Mrs. Conning. The Detective sighed and asked him to bring in the next suspect when he came back.