Churchyard and Hawke (27 page)

Realising that Amos would not know this news, Tom asked! ‘Was going to London a sudden decision by the Honourable Charles?’

‘Probably, there was certainly another big argument yesterday between him and Lord Hogg. No doubt that had something to do with it.’

‘Do you know what the argument was about this time?’

‘I do, but I seem to be doing what I tell the servants they must never do . . . gossip about their employers.’

‘You know we are investigating a murder and a burglary, Flora. Any scrap of information we can get about what goes on at Laneglos helps us build up a picture of life here - and one day something is going to fit in with what we already know and enable us to arrest whoever is responsible for one, or both crimes.’

‘I am aware of that, Tom, and I wish I could tell you something about the Honourable Charles that would mean he would never be seen at Laneglos again, life here would be much easier. Unfortunately, although what he has done is quite despicable, he has not broken the law - but Lord Hogg has told him he will never be a welcome guest here again, so I suppose that is something.’

‘What has he done?’ Tom prompted.

‘He persuaded Lady Hogg to part with some of her jewellery in order that he can sell it to pay off some of his many debts. We all know she has been so ill that she probably doesn’t fully realize what she’s done, but she has confirmed she did give them to him. The trouble was caused because a number of the pieces are considered by Lord Hogg to be family heirlooms - including the tiara worn by all Hogg viscountesses at their weddings since the title first came into the family. Lord Hogg was furious and I think the two step-brothers came very close to blows. Anyway, Charles has gone now and if he ever comes back it will be to the dower-house that Lady Hogg is moving to, and not to Laneglos.’

‘How is Lady Hogg?’ Tom asked, aware of the reason for the visit of the chief constable and Amos to the house, something of which Flora would not be aware.

‘She seemed to be much brighter this morning - it might have something to do with the very efficient nurse who has been brought in to take care of her while she is ill. She has already stamped her authority on the servants and made it clear to them - and to me - that she is in sole charge of the sick room and what she says goes. If there is something she needs then there is to be no argument, it must be provided.’

‘Perhaps that’s another reason why the Honourable Charles decided to leave Laneglos.’ Tom was only half-joking about it, ‘They would probably have clashed head-on - and it sounds as though she might have won.’

Shortly afterwards, the two were walking from the house towards the Chief Constable’s carriage. There was silence between them for a few moments before Flora asked, ‘What we were talking about a little earlier. About you and me. Did you mean . . . what I thought you meant when you spoke of the future?’

‘Yes, Flora . . . about a future together.’

‘I’m glad, Tom . . . there is still a lot we need to know about each other before we can take any decisions, but I am glad we are both thinking along the same lines. Will I see you on Sunday?’

‘I hope so . . . especially now we have had this little talk together.’

Looking up at him happily, she said, ‘Good, now I have something pleasant to look forward to . . . and thank you for making this turn out to be a nice day after all.’

At that moment Tom looked up and saw Amos and the chief constable looking at them and their moment was lost . . . at least, for that day.

CHAPTER 37

When the autopsy on the late Lord Hogg was carried out two days later, Doctor Sullivan found proof that the peer had died of arsenic poisoning. Not only had he apparently been poisoned over a period which Sullivan felt was days rather than weeks, but on the final day of his life he must have been given a massive dose which was sufficient to cause a rapid death.

The chief constable called Amos to his office for a meeting to discuss the case and their future course of action. It was agreed that Lady Hogg had been the victim of arsenic poisoning too because, since the family doctor had brought in a nurse to remain with her night and day and supervise her food and the visitors she received, the widowed peeress had shown a marked improvement in her health.

Amos also agreed with Gilbert that the overwhelming evidence pointed to only one suspect . . . the Honourable Charles Delville. He had motive, access to both Lord and Lady Hogg and was known to have been involved in the burglary of Laneglos by Alfie and Jimmy Banks.

Nevertheless, Amos felt they should apply for a warrant only on a burglary and conspiracy to burgle charge, arguing that they had a much stronger case against him for this, while there were still a number of weaknesses in the murder and attempted murder investigations that a clever defence barrister would seize upon.

‘What about the evidence of the valet?’ queried the chief constable, ‘He told Churchyard he had seen arsenic-based rat poison in Delville’s London home, surely that strengthens the evidence against him?’

Robson Chalmers had come to the Bodmin police station before catching a train to London with Delville’s personal belongings and had given a great deal of damning evidence against his employer, including seeing rat poison in the basement of his London home - and of finding mud on his shoes when he cleaned them on the morning after the robbery indicating that he had been out somewhere between the time the valet went to bed and when he commenced his duties in the morning.

‘Not necessarily.’ Amos said, ‘Chalmers is very, very bitter about the way Delville has behaved towards him and a good barrister would make a great deal of that. If Delville has got rid of the rat poison it is his word against that of an aggrieved servant that there was any arsenic in his possession in the first place. If, when he is arrested, we search his house and find the poison we can re-assess the evidence against him. If we feel there is sufficient to convict him of the murder of Lord Hogg and the attempted murder of Lady Hogg we can go ahead and charge him, but that would still leave the murder of Enid Merryn outstanding . . . and I don’t like unsolved crimes.’

‘Very well, Amos, we will take it one step at a time. Obtain a warrant for Delville’s arrest on the burglary charge and arranged for you and Churchyard to go to London. I will telegraph Scotland Yard and have you met on your arrival, taken before a justice there to swear out a warrant and given all the assistance you require to arrest Delville and bring him back to Cornwall.’

Amos and Tom travelled to London early on the following Monday morning.

The previous day Tom had met with Flora and on a long walk together along the banks of the River Fowey they continued the conversation they had held on Tom’s last visit to Laneglos.

Here, in a quiet, secluded spot where willows overhung the gently flowing river Flora was able to point out the brilliant colours of a kingfisher on a hunting foray flying upstream, its brilliant hues mirrored in the unruffled water.

It was here too that a previously undiscovered passion entered their relationship and they were aware it marked the beginning of a new and exciting chapter in their lives. Perhaps for the first time, they both realized they had discovered something special that would last and grow with the years ahead. It was a happy day and they parted with an unspoken understanding that they faced a future together.

However, their work meant they would not see as much of each other as they wished and, today, in London, Tom knew that he and Amos had a difficult task on their hands.

The two Cornish policemen were met at Paddington railway station by a uniformed Metropolitan Police inspector named Anthony Winter, whom Amos had known as a sergeant during his own early service in the Metropolitan Police.

On their ride to the Bow Street magistrates court, where the inspector would obtain a warrant for the arrest of the Honourable Charles Delville, Amos gave him the background to the case against the peer’s son.

The warrant was obtained with a minimum of fuss and accompanied by two uniformed constables from the adjoining police station they took a police carriage to the house occupied by Delville, in nearby Holborn.

The door of the elegant terraced house was opened to them by a young maid-of-all-work who appeared terrified at the sight of five men, three of them in the uniform of policemen asking for her master and it took her some time to find her voice and indicate that Delville was in a room at the back of the house.

Ordered to take them to the room, the frightened maid led them to a door at the end of the passageway which led from the front door. She knocked timidly on the door, but Inspector Winter brushed past her and, turning the brass door knob, opened the door and entered the room with the others close at his heels.

Delville was seated at a writing desk in the room and spread out on the surface in front of him were a number of pieces of jewellery, prominent among them being a sparkling tiara that Tom took to be the one the present Lord Hogg considered a family heirloom.

Taken by surprise at their uninvited entry, Delville sprang to his feet, ‘What the . . . ?’

Wasting no time on a full explanation, Inspector Winter, said, ‘Charles Delville, I have here a warrant for your arrest issued by a magistrate in Cornwall and endorsed by the stipendiary magistrate at Bow Street. I am hereby arresting you as directed by that endorsement and handing you into the custody of Superintendent Hawke of the Cornwall constabulary, who will return you to that county to face charges that have been made against you there. He will tell you all about those charges on the way back to Cornwall.’

Pointing to the jewellery scattered over the face of the desk, he said, ‘Before he takes you away I would like to know something about all this . . . where has it come from?’

‘I think I can tell you about that,’ Tom said, ‘Believe it or not, he came by it legally - although I think his step-brother, Lord Hogg, might disagree. They are Hogg family heirlooms given to Delville by his mother to help pay off his many debts. Lord Hogg feels very strongly that they should remain in the family.’

‘I think we had better take them back to Cornwall with us.’ Amos said, ‘We certainly can’t leave them here. Perhaps you would like to make a list of them and keep it, Inspector Winter. I’ll have another made out when we hand it in at the police station in Cornwall with Delville’s personal property. That way he will be unable to claim that anything has gone missing. Now if you would tell your constables to take him off and lodge him in the Bow Street cells for a couple of hours, Sergeant Churchyard and I will carry out a search of the house then get something to eat before taking Delville back to Cornwall on the night train.’

‘You will all find yourselves in very deep trouble over this.’ Delville blustered, ‘My family has very powerful friends both here in London and in Cornwall, they will not allow your treatment of me to go unpunished.’

‘I think anyone of note, wherever they may be, will not want to be involved with you in any way once the details of the charges against you are made known.’ Amos retorted, ‘But we will talk more about them once we are on the train. Have him taken away please, inspector.’

When Delville had been removed from the house, Amos, Tom and Inspector Winter began their search of the house. In a cupboard in a basement room that was obviously being used as a storeroom, Tom found what they were looking for, an apothecary’s jar containing a white powder which the label proclaimed in large capital letters to be ‘ARSENIC’.

‘Here we are!’ he exclaimed, ‘Exactly where Chalmers said it was kept. Let’s see if Delville can explain this away.’

CHAPTER 38

At Paddington railway station, Delville was driven on to the platform in a police van and then, handcuffed to Tom, bundled on board the night train bound for Cornwall and into a compartment which had been reserved for them. Here, Amos pulled down the blinds to hide them from the view of the other passengers and as they settled down for the ten-hours journey Delville said, ‘Will you remove these handcuffs now?’ It was not so much a request as a command.

‘No.’ Amos replied, ‘You will remain handcuffed to Sergeant Churchyard for half the night while I relax, then be handcuffed to me for the remainder of the journey.’

When Delville began to protest, Tom said, ‘I suggest you make the most of it, the seats on the train are a whole lot more, comfortable than anything you’ll find in the police cells, or Bodmin Jail.’

‘This whole thing is absolutely ridiculous.’ Delville protested, ‘Exactly what am I supposed to have done?’

‘There is no "supposed" about it.’ Amos replied, ‘We know; you planned and took part in the burglary at Laneglos, you conspired with others to burgle a number of other houses on the night of the ball, and you also conspired with convicted criminals to carry out a series of other crimes on the night of the ball at Laneglos.’

‘You are going to have to prove all these crimes you allege I have committed.’ Delville pointed out scornfully.

‘We will.’ Amos said matter-of-factly, ‘Now, I suggest you try to get some sleep - as I am. You, in particular, are going to have a very busy day tomorrow.’

Amos managed to snatch no more than a few brief dozes for the first half of the night and midnight was still a half-hour away when he exchanged places with Tom and ordered him to try to gain an hour or two’s sleep.

The Honourable Charles made no attempt to even close his eyes. He sat next to Amos, their handcuff-linked hands close together on the seat between them, his chin resting on his chest, apparently deep in morose thought.

They had been travelling in this fashion for almost an hour before Delville broke the silence. In the slurred voice of a man who has not spoken for some time, he said, ‘All these crimes I am supposed to have committed . . . where did you pick up your information . . . or perhaps I would be more accurate in referring to it as misinformation?’

‘From a great many sources.’ Amos replied, ‘Some of them quite surprising. There is supposed to be honour among thieves, but it doesn’t apply when they have time to think things out and realize what lies ahead for them if they can’t shift some of the blame for their misdoings onto someone else. Mind you, not all those who have been willing to tell me what they know of you are criminals. Some are very decent people who have been unfortunate enough to come under your influence.’