Later, in the secret passageway, I had to bring Mrs. White up to date on what had happened to her during her interrogation of Professor Plum.
"I had his cock in my mouth?" Mrs. White asked, surprised and delighted.
"Yes," I said testily. "The whole damn thing."
"That's great," she said. "I always dream about sucking cock."
"Me too," I mumbled.
"I just wish I could remember it."
"Well," I said grumpily, "I'll remember it for you."
"Thanks," she said. "You don't think Professor Plum is responsible for the murder?"
"No," I said. "If Mr. Boddy was sending him videotapes of you masturbating and Ms. Scarlet getting pronged up the ass, he wouldn't do anything that would stop the flow of free pornography." She looked unconvinced. "Trust me," I told her. "Pornography is very expensive these days."
"So what's next?" Mrs. White asked.
"I want you to continue interviewing suspects," I told her. "And here's a tipβ¦asking questions is easier when your mouth is free of obstructions."
"I'll try to keep that in mind," she assured me testily.
"Lead the way," I told her.
I followed as she led me up some creaky stairs. I could hear faint voices ahead of us.
"That sounds like Colonel Mustard," I whispered, recognizing the deep, husky voice.
"We're approaching the conservatory," Mrs. White whispered back.
She knelt down by a narrow, waist-high shaft that branched off the main passageway. "If we crawl down here, we'll be able to see him from an air duct that overlooks the greenhouse."
I examined the crawlspace. "Can we both fit in there?" I asked.
"It'll be a tight fit," she admitted, "but we can do it."
I shrugged, and we both wriggled our way in.
We finally came to a grate with a view of Mr. Boddy's impressive indoor garden. Colonel Mustard and Mrs. Peacock were still actively looking for Mr. Boddy's missing corpse. I tried not to let the smell of Ms. White's perfume go to my head while I strained to hear what they were saying.
"I don't have much faith in that detective," Colonel Mustard told Mrs. Peacock.
"Neither do I," she agreed, lifting the foliage of a big leafy plant to see if there was a body under it. "Apparently all you need are big boobs to get a detective license these days."
Mrs. White looked at me with sympathy. I dismissed her pity with a wave of my hand. "I hear it all the time," I whispered.
"Now this is interesting," Colonel Mustard said, pausing at a plant that caught his eye.
"What's that?" Mrs. Peacock asked, abandoning her search with a sigh.
"This is a variety of bush the peasant girls in New Guinea use to concoct a love potion," Colonel Mustard said. "They grind the leaves into a paste and add it to a potential husband's drink."
"Really?" Mrs. Peacock asked, studying the plant. "Does it work?"
"I don't know," Colonel Mustard said. "Never tried it, myself."