Beyond the Sunset (41 page)

‘Do you know why they took him?’

‘No. But I came for you as soon as I could. Gordon here helped me get away.’

Once again Pandora ran through the streets without her hat or jacket. She couldn’t imagine why the police had taken Zachary, but she could definitely guess who was behind it.

Whatever Mr Featherworth said, she was going to sack Harry Prebble – but not till she’d sorted out Zachary’s problem. He’d never do anything against the law, she was quite certain of that.

She couldn’t bear to think of him locked up, treated like a criminal.

As Daniel and his friend walked into the shop, one of the shopmen came towards them. ‘Can I help you?’

‘We need to see Marshall Worth. It’s urgent.’

‘He’s busy.’

The door to the packing room opened and Harry’s cousin came out, proving he’d been listening. ‘Worth is working. I’m keeping an eye on things for Harry, who’s had to go out. He won’t want Marshall chatting to his friends in work time, though.’

‘I told you, it’s urgent.’

‘Marshall can see you after he finishes work.’

Out of the corner of his eye, Daniel saw the shop lad smirking in the doorway to the room at the back, and was suddenly certain that something was going on here as well as at the police station.

He moved quickly forward, shoving Harry’s cousin before him with a flat hand to the chest.

‘What do you think you’re—’

The shop lad rushed forward to help but Daniel’s companion held him back, while the other two struggled. A woman customer let out a little shriek and rushed outside.

‘Help us!’ called the cousin.

The two shopmen hesitated. One backed away but the other said suddenly, ‘They’ve locked Marshall in the cellar.’

‘I’ll see you’re fired when Harry comes back!’ the cousin yelled.

Daniel found it easy to twist his arm behind his back, because like most Prebbles, he wasn’t a big man. ‘Where’s the cellar?’

‘None of your business.’

The door leading from the shop into the packing room opened and he tensed, wondering if someone else had come to help Prebble. But it was the shopman who’d spoken out, the one who’d just been told he was fired.

‘I’ll show you where the cellar is.’ He went across to a rack of keys, reached out then his hand stilled in mid-air. ‘The key’s not here.’

Daniel gave his captive a shake. ‘Where is it?’

The smaller man just glared at him.

‘Feel in his pockets while I hold him still.’

The shopman did so and in spite of the man’s struggles, he managed to extract the key. He hurried along the narrow packing room and unlocked the cellar door.

Daniel said to his companion. ‘You help keep an eye on these sods!’ and started down the cellar steps, calling, ‘Marshall lad, are you there?’

‘Aye. What took you so long?’

Footsteps clattered towards him and Marshall ran up the steps two at a time. He saw the captive and stopped at the top, grinning.

‘You’ll be sorry,’ Harry’s cousin said. ‘And you’ll be too late to help Carr, anyway. He’ll have been committed for trial now by the magistrate and they can’t just let him out after that. He’s been stealing from the shop and Harry’s gone to give evidence.’

‘I’d better let Mr Dawson know,’ Marshall said. ‘He’ll soon sort it out. Keep them two Prebbles here, lads. I’ve a few bones to pick with them when I get back.’

He too ran off down the street.

Pandora arrived at the police station, followed by Dot, puffing badly now, and the man who’d helped Dot. She burst in and rushed across to the desk. ‘Where’s Zachary?’

The policeman stared at her. ‘I beg your pardon, miss?’

‘Two policemen took Zachary Carr away. I need to see him. I can prove he’s innocent.’

‘They took him straight to the magistrate’s house. Mr Thwaite is holding a hearing because it’s an open and shut case.’

‘Oh, no, it isn’t!’ She darted out of the police station and along the street, thankful Mr Thwaite lived close by.

When she knocked on the side door of his house, a maid opened it.

‘I need to see Mr Thwaite. It’s really urgent. I can prove the man they brought here is innocent.
Please.
’

‘All right. His study is through here.’ She knocked on the door. ‘Another witness, sir. She says it’s urgent.’

Pandora found herself in a large room at the rear of the house. The magistrate, a plump, red-faced gentleman noted for his bad temper, was sitting behind a huge desk while Zachary was standing in front of it.

‘I can prove Zachary’s innocent,’ she said.

Harry, who was sitting at the side of the room, bobbed to his feet. ‘This woman’s his mistress, your worship! A woman of her sort will only tell lies.’

Zachary jerked round at this insult and the policeman took hold of his arm.

The magistrate scowled at her and Pandora was suddenly conscious of her windblown appearance.

‘I’m sorry to be so untidy, sir, but I ran all the way. And I’m not Zachary’s mistress.’ She wasn’t given time to add that she was his wife, as Mr Thwaite pointed to a bench at the back.

‘Sit down and only speak when spoken to,’ the clerk whispered.

From across the room, Harry continued to glare at her, then turned back to the magistrate, opening his mouth to speak. But he too was gestured to keep silent.

Zachary looked across at Pandora, embarrassed at the predicament he was in.

The charge was read again and he was asked whether he was guilty or not guilty. He straightened up and answered in a clear voice, ‘Not guilty, your worship.’

The clerk began to read out a summary of the evidence.

Part way through, the magistrate interrupted to ask, ‘Do you deny that you climbed the gate into the yard behind the shop, Carr?’

‘No, sir.’

‘Why did you do that?’

He looked at Pandora, hesitating, and she stood up. ‘He was coming to visit me, sir.’

The magistrate turned to stare at her. ‘For what purpose?’

‘We needed to talk.’

‘A clandestine meeting, then. This won’t reflect well on
your
evidence, young woman.’

She opened her mouth to protest, but the clerk made a shushing noise.

Harry smirked again.

The magistrate waved one hand. ‘Continue with the evidence.’

If she didn’t get a chance to say what had really happened, what her relationship to Zachary really was, how could she save him from being unjustly convicted? Should she shout it out? No, that might offend Mr Thwaite. Better wait and see if an opportunity presented itself to do it without upsetting him.

Marshall ran as fast as he could to Mr Featherworth’s rooms. There he panted out a demand to see Mr Featherworth and Mr Dawson at once.

‘They’re with a client and can’t be disturbed,’ the junior clerk sitting in the front office said.

‘It’s urgent. They’ll
want
to be disturbed.’

‘I can’t take it upon myself to do that.’

Marshall had had enough of delays, so strode along the corridor.

The clerk followed, bleating, ‘Sir, you must come outside. You can’t interr—.’

Annoyed, Marshall flung open the door of Mr Featherworth’s room, muttering, ‘Thank goodness’ when he found the two men he was looking for. ‘I’m very sorry to interrupt you, sirs, but something extremely urgent has come up and unless we can stop them, they’re going to jail Mr Carr.’

That got their attention.

Ralph Dawson stood up at once. ‘I’ll go and hear what he has to say then come back if we need you, Mr Featherworth.’ He turned to the client. ‘I do apologise for this interruption, sir.’

In the corridor Marshall explained rapidly what had happened.

Ralph gaped at him for a moment, then went back to Mr Featherworth. ‘We need you to come at once to the magistrate’s house and stop Mr Thwaite committing Zachary for trial unjustly. You know how difficult it will be to sort things out quickly if they actually commit him for trial.’

Mr Featherworth stood up at once.

‘I’ll run ahead,’ Ralph said, knowing his employer wasn’t the sort of man to move quickly.

He arrived at the house and got the maid to show him into the magistrate’s room. Just inside the door he stopped to bow his head and wait to be recognised, acting as if this was a court, because he knew Thwaite was a stickler for doing things properly.

‘Well, what is it, Dawson?’

‘Urgent new evidence, sir.’

‘What evidence? Seems like an open and shut case to me.’

‘Your honour, my employer, Mr Featherworth is following as fast as he can, but has asked me to run ahead and let you know he’s coming, because it will save a lot of trouble in the long run if things are settled at this stage, as well as preventing an injustice.’

‘Seems clear enough the fellow’s guilty to me,’ Mr Thwaite grumbled. ‘Oh, very well. If Featherworth thinks he knows something, I’ll wait till he gets here.’

Mr Featherworth arrived a couple of minutes later, face scarlet, panting audibly. He too waited by the door for permission to join them, then moved towards the front.

‘Tell me what this new evidence is,’ Thwaite said. ‘I’ve already had the prisoner’s mistress saying he didn’t do it,’ he pointed to Pandora, ‘but she’s hardly a reliable witness, now is she?’

Mr Featherworth stared at him in shock. ‘Your worship, this young lady is not the prisoner’s mistress but his wife.’

There was dead silence in the room, then Prebble exclaimed, ‘You sneaky devil!’

‘Silence!’ roared the clerk.

Harry swung round, as if to leave.

‘Stay where you are!’
the magistrate bellowed. ‘Where do you think you’re going, fellow? You’re the one who brought this case to our attention and you’ll stay till I give you permission to leave.’

‘They’ll all stick together and tell lies. What’s the use?’ But Mr Thwaite looked so angry, Harry sat down again.

Speaking quietly now, Mr Featherworth said, ‘As the husband of the owner of the shop, it isn’t possible for Mr Carr to rob himself, nor would he need to break in.’

‘You’re sure they’re married?’ Mr Thwaite asked suspiciously.

‘Certain, your honour. I’ve known for a while and have seen their marriage lines.’

‘Then why are they not living together?’

‘We were trying to find out who had been stealing from the shop, thefts which began while Mr Carr was still in Australia, I might add.’

The magistrate stared at Prebble. ‘This is highly suspicious and if any evidence turns up to show
you
have been involved in planting false evidence, then I shall be pleased to have
you
up before me.’

Mr Featherworth turned to Pandora. ‘Tell Mr Thwaite what happened last night.’

‘Zachary wanted to see me without anyone knowing, but we couldn’t open the side gate because we didn’t have a key, so he climbed over. He stayed for an hour or so, then left. I was with him the whole time, saw him climb back over the gate. I’d have heard if anyone else had climbed over, because the gate rattles loudly, so if anyone broke into the shop, they must have had a key to the back gate.’

She had spoken with her usual clarity and returned Mr Thwaite’s stare with her chin up.

Mr Dawson cleared his throat and got a nod to speak. ‘I can vouch for the fact that Mrs Carr hasn’t a key to the side gate, your worship. I quite overlooked that when she moved in because no one uses that gate much. The shop people open the rear gate for deliveries.’

Mr Thwaite nodded slowly. ‘I see. Case dismissed, then. Come and join me for luncheon, Featherworth. I want to hear more about what’s going on with these young people. Our clerks can see to the details.’

Everyone stood up as the magistrate left the room and, with an apologetic smile at Pandora and Zachary, Mr Featherworth followed his old friend into the main house.

When the door had closed behind them, Ralph looked round. Prebble was missing. How had he managed to leave the court without anyone noticing?

As Pandora moved towards him, Zachary clasped her hands. ‘I can’t believe Harry got so far with this.’

‘He didn’t succeed, that’s the main thing. And we’ll have to tell people we’re married now.’ She beamed at the thought.

His face was still dark with anger. ‘I’m not letting Harry get away with this. I’m going to follow him and punch him in the face.’

Ralph joined them, saying, ‘You’ll do no such thing, Zachary, much as he deserves it. And besides, we have various formalities to go through with the magistrate’s clerk before you can go anywhere.’

When that was done, Zachary had calmed down. Ralph smiled at them, envying them their closeness. ‘About time people knew you were married.’

‘That’s what I think,’ Pandora said softly, still keeping hold of her husband’s hand.

22

R
alph escorted the young couple outside. ‘We’d better go to the shop first and find out what’s happened there. I sent Marshall back to keep an eye on things but I doubt Prebble will have returned there.’

Pandora linked her arm in Zachary’s as they walked along, smiling at him.

He slowed down to stare at her solemnly. ‘You’re absolutely sure?’

She shook his arm, pretending to be angry. ‘How many times do I have to tell you? Yes, I’m sure I want to stay married to you. I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.’

His beaming smile made him seem almost handsome, lighting up his bony face as it always did. ‘You’ll need to tell me you love me every day of our lives if you want me to go on believing that. And I’ll promise to do the same to you.’

They stopped walking for a moment or two to look at one another, clasping hands, lost to the world. Then Mr Dawson, cleared his throat, gave them a warm smile and they all started moving again.

At the shop, they found Marshall serving a customer while the two shopmen were in the back room hovering over Daniel, who had a big bump on his forehead and was very pale.

‘Prebble turned up. Took me by surprise.’ He scowled. ‘I didn’t see him come in and the sod hit me over the head from behind.’

‘He went into the office and came out with something stuffed down his jacket,’ one of the shopmen said.

‘You should have stopped him,’ Zachary said. ‘There were two of you.’