Churchyard and Hawke (22 page)

‘But . . . killing his own mother! It’s unbelievable.’

‘Perhaps, but it is certainly not unheard of and as a result of Alfie Banks and his friends having had a wasted journey to Cornwall, the Honourable Charles has made some very dangerous enemies, he will be desperate to get money in order to pay them off.’

There was silence in the bedroom for a very long time before Talwyn asked, ‘Even if all this is true, Amos, could you prove it in court?’

‘Not at the moment. If young Jimmy Banks had lived we might have been able to prove Delville’s involvement in the burglary - and that could have given us some helpful information about Enid’s murder. But Jimmy is dead and Alfie Banks has probably fled the country, so I will need to look elsewhere for answers - and I think I’ll begin by following Tom’s suggestion and have Doctor Sullivan take a look at Lady Hogg.’

Having Andrew Sullivan examine Lady Hogg proved simpler than Amos had anticipated. He called at the surgeon’s home on his way to the Bodmin police headquarters and, although it was early in the day, he found him putting medicines and instruments into a leather bag.

When Amos told Doctor Sullivan of his reason for calling at such an early hour, the surgeon said, ‘You are not the only one to be concerned about Lady Hogg’s condition, Superintendent. I had supper with Doctor Hollis yesterday evening and we were discussing her case. When he described the symptoms I asked him whether he had considered the possibility of arsenic poisoning. He dismissed the idea out of hand immediately but later in the evening he came back to it, recalling a case where a number of miners were poisoned as a result of arsenic finding its way into the drinking water on a moorland tin mine. He agreed the symptoms were similar. As I have up-to-date knowledge of both diagnosis and treatment for such a condition, he has asked me to accompany him today on a visit to Laneglos. I am packing my bag right now with medication that will be useful if it is arsenic poisoning . . . but that brings me to an obvious question, Superintendent. What is the police interest in the case and, if it turns out to be arsenic poisoning, do you have a particular suspect in mind?’

‘No one I am in a position to name as such,’ Amos replied, circumspectly, ‘but you might be able to help if you can learn how it is being administered - if in fact it is arsenic poisoning. ‘

‘It all sounds quite intriguing.’ Closing his bag and preparing to leave the house, Doctor Sullivan said, ‘I have to carry out a post mortem in Lostwithiel after seeing Lady Hogg, but will you be in your office all day?’

‘As far as I know.’

‘Then I will call in and see you sometime later today and give you my diagnosis.’

CHAPTER 30

When Amos arrived at the Bodmin police headquarters he found his late arrival had caused some consternation. A relieved station sergeant explained, ‘A woman arrived on the overnight train from London and came here asking after her son. She’d been told he had been arrested here, in Cornwall, and had come here to see him. She got quite angry when I wouldn’t tell her anything, but I managed to quieten her down and put her in the interview room until you were able to speak to her.’

Slightly annoyed, Amos said, ‘We have no one in the police cells at the moment, you should have sent her to Bodmin jail, they probably have him there.’

‘I was going to, sir . . . until she mentioned the name of her son. I thought you’d want to speak to her before anyone else did. She’s the mother of Jimmy Banks.’

The news took Amos by surprise, but he said, ‘You did the right thing, sergeant. I’ll go and speak to her now. In the meantime, find Sergeant Churchyard, or Sergeant Halloran - better still, both of them. Send them to the interview room right away . . . and have some tea sent there, I think we are all going to need it.’

Entering the interview room Amos saw a tired, lank-haired woman wearing cheap clothing. He guessed she was probably in her mid-thirties, although she had the weary expression of a woman whose hard life had aged her beyond her years. He had seen many such women in the East End of London during his police service there.

When she raised her glance to him, he said, ‘Hello, Mrs Banks! I am sorry you’ve been kept waiting. I am Superintendent Hawke. I understand you have travelled overnight from London? It’s a long journey and I’ve asked for some tea to be brought for you . . . but have you eaten since leaving London?’

Looking at him scornfully, the woman said, ‘Don’t try the old "I’m your friend, you ‘elp me and I’ll ‘elp you" malarky with me, I’ve ‘ad dealings with far too many coppers to be sucked in by that. All I’m ‘ere for is to find out where my Jimmy is and what it is ‘e’s supposed to have done.’

‘What makes you think he’s done anything, Mrs Banks and who told you he was here?’

‘Like I told you, I’m not answering any of your questions.

At that moment the door opened and the powerful figure of Harvey Halloran filled the doorway. Seeing the woman he said, ‘Hello, Mary.’ Then, a pained expression taking over his face, he added, ‘I’m sorry to see you here.’

‘Harvey Halloran!’ She pronounced it ‘arvey ‘alloran ‘What the ‘ell you doing so far away from ‘oxton . . . and wearing a rozzer’s uniform?’

‘I came here because Mr Hawke is here, Mary. He was my captain when I was in the Royal Marines.’

Mary glanced at Amos once more but there was no scorn in her look this time and he seized the opportunity to speak to her again. Grave faced, he said, ‘I especially asked Harvey to join us, Mrs Banks, because I have bad news for you . . . very bad news, I’m afraid.’

As he spoke Mary Banks’s expression changed to one of consternation, ‘Is it about Jimmy? What’s he done . . . and where is he?’

Amos looked at Harvey and it was the big sergeant who replied bluntly to her question. ‘I’m afraid Jimmy is dead, Mary.’

A strangled scream escaped from Mary and, looking from Harvey, she said, ‘No. . .! It can’t be true, you’re trying to trick me for some reason. Alfie said Jimmy had been arrested, that’s all. . . .’

Amos’s interest quickened immediately. Her words meant that Mary must have seen Alfie since the robbery. He was about to ask her where and when she had spoken to the wanted man, but he checked himself in time. Instead, he said, ‘Alfie was lying to you, Mary . . . and for a very good reason. He and Jimmy burgled a large manor house near here and got away with the proceeds in a wagonette they stole from the stables. When they were some distance from the house they had an accident and it seems Jimmy was hurt . . . he broke a collarbone. Instead of staying with Jimmy and looking after him, Alfie took the pony and rode off, leaving Jimmy hurt and alone in a wood. He was there all that day and into the night and we believe he got hopelessly lost in the rain and fell into a river that flowed down off the moor. He was battered against rocks and was found the following day by some children. A doctor was eventually called but there was nothing he could do for him.’

While he was talking Tom Churchyard had entered the interview room quietly and stood just inside the doorway. Now, speaking for the first time, he said, ‘That’s right, Mary. Superintendent Hawke and me were with Jimmy when he died.’

Fighting back her tears, Mary Banks looked from Tom to Harvey and in a strained voice said, ‘You wouldn’t lie to me . . . not you, Harvey? This isn’t a cruel trick to get me to tell you something you want to know?’

Harvey shook his head, sorrowfully, ‘No one is lying to you, Mary, I wish I could say we were. We know Jimmy was involved with Alfie in the burglary, but he didn’t deserve to die for it. Certainly not in the way he did, alone and hurt and lost in surroundings that would have been terrifying for a Hoxton boy. Alfie shouldn’t have done that . . . not to a young lad who was a blood relative.’

Fighting hard to keep control of herself, Mary said, ‘Did he . . . did Jimmy say anything before he died? ‘

This time it was Amos who replied, ‘It was as much as he could do to say anything, but just before he died he managed to whisper to me that I was to tell Enid he was sorry. Enid was a scullery-maid in the house where Jimmy worked for a while, the house that he and Alfie burgled.’

Almost in control of herself now, Mary said, ‘Jimmy told me about Enid. I think ‘e liked ‘er a lot. I’d like to meet ‘er while I’m ‘ere. I’d like to see Jimmy too.’

The three policemen exchanged glances and once again it was Amos who spoke, ‘Enid is dead too, Mary. She was murdered on the night of the robbery . . . we believe by Alfie.’

The expression of mistrust returned to Mary’s face once more and she said, ‘Why would Alfie want to kill a young scullery-maid? Jimmy said she was a bit simple, but was one of the kindest people you could wish to meet.’

‘That’s a question we were hoping Jimmy would be able to help us with,’ Amos said, ‘It could have been because she’d seen something she wasn’t supposed to see - and we know someone from inside the big house helped Jimmy and Alfie with the burglary. In fact, whoever it is probably planned the whole thing. If Enid found out about it they might have felt it necessary to silence her.’

Mary shook her head vigorously, ‘Jimmy wouldn’t have ‘ad anything to do with that, ‘e might ‘ave got in trouble with the law once or twice, but ‘e wouldn’t ‘ave ‘armed no girl - ‘e wouldn’t ‘arm anyone, Jimmy wasn’t like that.’

‘That’s what I told Superintendent Hawke,’ Harvey agreed ‘but the same couldn’t be said for Alfie. He’s a bad one, Mary, for all that he’s your brother-in-law.’

‘Don’t I know it? I told Jimmy so more than once, but he wouldn’t listen to me. Alfie was an uncle, ‘is dad’s brother, and Jimmy looked up to him . . . but can I see Jimmy now?’

Once again it was left to Amos to reply to her, ‘I’m sorry, Mary, Jimmy has already been buried. He was given a proper funeral a couple of days ago and is in the Bodmin graveyard. I’ll let Harvey take you there when you’ve finished your tea and had something to eat. You’ve had a long journey and it’s ended very unhappily for you.’

Walking towards the church with Harvey, Mary Banks asked, ‘Was that superintendent telling the truth about what happened to my Jimmy, or was ‘e just trying to get me to say something against Alfie?’

‘He told you as much as we know about what happened, Mary. Amos Hawke is a straightforward bloke. I’ve known him for many years. He was my captain when we served in the Marines together in the Crimean war and he got me this job in the police here. We both feel sorry for Jimmy. He did wrong and he’d have been punished for it had he lived, but he didn’t deserve to be left to die, the way he was.’

After a thoughtful silence, Mary said, ‘Tell me exactly what ‘appened, there’s a few things I need to get sorted out in me ‘ead.’

Harvey told Mary Banks everything, from the forged reference which had gained Jimmy employment at Laneglos, the abortive plan to cause mayhem at the Cornwall summer ball and the subsequent arrest of all the Hoxton gang with the exception of Jimmy and Alfie. He concluded by telling her of the burglary at Laneglos, the finding of the wrecked wagonette and the hidden stolen property and the finding of Jimmy by the local children.

‘What makes you think Jimmy was badly ‘urt when Alfie rode off and left ‘im? Couldn’t ‘is injuries ‘ave been caused by falling in the river?’

‘According to the doctor who carried out the . . . who examined him after he’d died, he’d had the broken collarbone long before he got the other injuries. It would have caused him a lot of pain and probably made him delirious. It might even have been the reason why he fell into the river, especially as it must have happened sometime in the night.’

Mary Banks tried hard to control her emotions as she conjured up a picture of her son wandering alone in the woods in the darkness, suffering from a broken collarbone, but her face contorted as a tear escaped from her tightly closed eyelids. It was followed by another and a third.

Seeing them, Harvey said, ‘Im sorry, Mary . . . but you wanted to know the truth about what happened.’

Mary nodded vigorously and speaking between clenched teeth, she said, ‘I’m glad you told me, ‘arvey, it means I’ve been right to detest Alfie so much for so long. It was ‘im who was the cause of my old man - Jimmy’s dad - being transported all those years ago - and now ‘e’s taken Jimmy from me and probably robbed another mother of ‘er daughter, ‘e should have been given the drop years ago.’

‘Alfie might meet the hangman yet, especially now we know he’s in London again. We thought he must have left the country.’

‘He probably ‘as by now,’ Mary spoke unaware of the effect her words would have on Harvey. ‘Alfie was saying "goodbye" to ‘is ma yesterday, just before I left London. Then ‘e went off to catch a ship to Australia.’

‘What was the name of the ship, Mary, do you know?’

‘Alfie did say but all I can remember is that it’s James . . . something or another. It’s a Scottish name.’

‘Where is it sailing from . . . and when?’

Mary shrugged, ‘It’ll be from one of the London docks, but I don’t know when it was due to leave.’

They had arrived at the Bodmin graveyard now. Hurriedly showing Mary the mound of newly dug earth beneath which lay the body of her son, Harvey said he would leave her alone for a few minutes before returning for her.

Leaving the graveyard, he ran all the way to the police headquarters to tell Amos what Mary had revealed.

CHAPTER 31

An urgent telegraph from Amos to Scotland Yard received a prompt reply with the news that a sailing ship named James Macintyre had sailed from London on the night tide carrying emigrants bound for Adelaide in South Australia.

It would appear that Mary Banks’s information had come too late to enable Amos to arrest the man he believed held the key to the two most serious crimes to have taken place in Cornwall since the formation of the county’s constabulary - and Amos was furious!

Pacing the floor of his office he was castigating the Metropolitan Police to an equally frustrated Tom Churchyard.

‘I sent details of Alfie Banks to Scotland Yard and stressed that he was wanted urgently here in Cornwall for questioning about murder and burglary. Why did no one pick him up when he returned to Hoxton? Surely the Division would have got news of his return? You would have known had you still been in London, especially after all the information we have given them about what has been going on here.’