Churchyard and Hawke (8 page)

‘Oh . . . and who won?’

‘Lady Hogg of course!’ Flora smiled, ‘After all, it is her ball - hers and Lord Hogg’s . . . but that is not the only difference. Take this magnifying glass and compare the dates. The forger used a slightly different type-face for numbers, the eight and the nine are both different to those on the original.’

With the aid of the magnifying glass the differences were readily discernible but it would otherwise have required a very keen eye to spot them.

‘May I keep the genuine ticket to point out the difference to Superintendent Hawke?’

‘Of course, but what is all this about? Why should anyone want to forge a ticket just to get into a ball?’

A sudden thought came to her and she asked, ‘Does this have anything to do with the footman who worked here using a false name?’

Tom hesitated for only a moment. There was a need for secrecy and Amos had tried to keep news from the organisers of the ball of what was possibly being planned by the Hoxton criminals, but secrecy could be carried too far.

‘I’m not at all sure I should be saying anything to you at this stage but you’re entitled to an explanation. If I tell you, will you keep it to yourself?’

Now it was Flora’s turn to make a decision and she said, ‘I can only give you such a promise if you tell me something that doesn’t directly affect Laneglos or Lord and Lady Hogg. After all, they are my employers and my first loyalty must be to them.’

‘I fully understand that,’ Tom conceded, ‘and if what we are trying to do is successful then nothing untoward will happen to disrupt the ball and no one need know what has gone on. I promise that if we are in any doubt you will be informed immediately . . . Will you accept that?’

After only a moment’s hesitation Flora nodded. Suggesting she should first sit down, Tom gave her the outline of what was believed to have been planned by the Hoxton criminals and told her of the arrest of Dolly and Shannon. He added that actual details were decidedly sketchy at the moment but now they could prove the tickets in their possession were forgeries, he hoped they might be able to learn more.

He had tried hard not to alarm her but when he ended his explanation Flora was visibly shaken. She asked, ‘How many of these criminals are there - and what do you think they will try to do?’

‘We are not absolutely certain of the exact numbers at the moment. As I have said, we already have two of them in the cells in Bodmin and are keeping watch on all trains and roads into Cornwall. What we are hoping to do is identify them as they arrive, put them in police cells until after the ball, then send them back to London.’

‘But there are so many people coming and going all the time . . . how will you recognize them?’

‘Three members of the Cornwall constabulary - including me - know many of the villains believed to be involved and we have the names of most of the others. We are hoping that any we miss will be scared off when they learn that we are aware of what has been planned and are arresting those involved. Just in case we miss any of them we might possibly put constables on the door at Laneglos to check all tickets now we know we can recognize the forgeries . . . but that would result in a certain amount of unpleasantness and we’ll avoid it if at all possible. If it does prove necessary then Lord and Lady Hogg will certainly be told what is happening, but I’d rather you said nothing to them before then.’

Flora had recovered her composure now and Tom added, ‘You’ve been a great help, Miss Wicks. I promise I’ll let you know if there is the slightest possibility of anything happening to disrupt the ball at Laneglos but now I had better get back to Bodmin and give Superintendent Hawke the good news about the tickets. Hopefully, when the two people we have in custody realize we’ve discovered they are forgeries they’ll tell us all we want to know.’

‘Thank you for letting me into your confidence, Constable. I will say nothing to my employers . . . for now, but I expect you to inform me immediately should the situation change.’

After Tom had given his promise, Flora walked with him to the main entrance door to the house. She fell silent along the way but when he said goodbye and turned to go she suddenly asked, ‘Is there any possibility these criminals could arrive in Cornwall by boat?’

Taken by surprise by the question, Tom said, ‘It’s not impossible, but highly unlikely. I don’t think there’s a regular service between London and any of the Cornish ports.’

‘Perhaps not a passenger service . . . but boats arrive regularly in Looe, coming from London carrying salt and other goods and returning to London with a cargo of fish.’

She had mentioned a Cornish port which was only about twelve miles south of Laneglos. Tom knew nothing of the port but there was something in her voice that made him ask, ‘Is there any particular reason why you’ve asked the question?’

‘Yes. We have fish delivered fresh from Looe once a week. I meet the fish merchant and check what he’s brought us before paying him. He’s a great one for spreading gossip and when he called earlier this morning he was telling me that a boat came in last night with a number of Londoners on board - and it sounds as though they are a rough lot. After their boat arrived they went out in the town drinking and got into a fight with some fishermen at one of the inns, causing a great deal of damage. Afterwards one of them returned to the inn where the fight took place, apologized to the landlord and paid him for the damage caused, saying they wanted no trouble. He said they would be in Looe until the weekend but promised there would be no more fighting. The fish merchant said he couldn’t think what they had come down here for in the first place. They were certainly not seamen or fishermen and were a very mixed bunch. Oh yes, he also said there was a woman on board . . . .’

CHAPTER 11

When Tom returned to the Bodmin Police headquarters and passed on details of what the Looe fishmonger had told the Laneglos housekeeper, Amos was alarmed. ‘I never considered the possibility of them coming to Cornwall by sea, although I should have, especially when we picked up Dolly and Shannon at the station - and only those two. I ought to have tied it in with what you told me about her fear of travelling by sea. It explains a lot . . . but not everything. We still don’t know exactly what has been planned. If we search this boat and the men on board we’ll probably find more forged tickets but we’re going to need more than that to justify a conspiracy charge.’

‘Were you able to find out anything from Dolly?’ Tom put the question to Amos.

‘Nothing, although I think I scared her at the thought of being put away in Newgate again, possibly for the remainder of her life. Now we have something of a more immediate nature with which to frighten her, we’ll go down to speak to her again before we plan what to do about this boatload of Londoners and we can’t afford to waste any more time - it’s the ball tomorrow night!’

The police station cells were dark and gloomy, with nothing to occupy the occupants and Dolly was lying fully clothed on the uncomfortable plank bench which doubled as a bed, but she was not asleep and sat up, startled, when the cell door opened and Amos and Tom entered.

When she recognized them she sank back again, saying, ‘Oh, it’s you. Don’t you have homes to go to?’

‘We like to keep our customers informed of what’s going on, Dolly,’ Amos said cheerfully, ‘It’s good news too and with any luck you could be out of here very soon.’

Dolly sat up once more and looked from Amos to Tom and back again, her expression one of disbelief, ‘You mean it . . . ? You’re not going to charge me with anything . . . I’ll be free to go back to London?’

‘It’s not quite as simple as that,’ Amos said, ‘We thought we’d re-unite you with friends and family first, they’re on a boat down at Looe. I haven’t got cell space for everyone but I’d like you to be together so I can keep an eye on you, so I thought we might send you down there to join them. Once you’re all together we’ll have the boat taken out and anchored a mile or so offshore with a coastguard cutter nearby to keep an eye on you. You’ll only be there until the county ball is over - it will be no more than three or four days at the most. Then, if nothing untoward has happened you’ll all be able to sail back to London together.’

As Amos had been talking the colour had gradually drained from Dolly’s face and now she said, ‘Oh no . . . ! You’re not getting me on any boat - and you can’t make me, neither.’

‘You’ll be all right, Doll,’ Tom said, easily, ‘I believe there’s another woman on board to keep you company and you’ll be among friends and relations. I don’t think the weather is going to be any too good, but I understand the boat’s quite seaworthy . . . it must be, it’s just made the trip from London.’

‘If I’d wanted their company I’d have come to Cornwall on the boat with the rest of ‘em,’ Dolly retorted, ‘but you know how I feel about going on the sea, Tom, everyone in Hoxton knows. If it hadn’t been for that I’d have gone over to Europe years ago with the toff who was looking after me and be leading a very different life to the one I’ve got now. No . . . I’ll stay here and take my chances with whatever’s going to happen.’

Secretly delighted that she had confirmed that the boat now at Looe had brought the Hoxton criminals to Cornwall, Amos nevertheless feigned indifference, ‘I’m sorry, Dolly, but you’re going to have to put up with whatever I decide for you. I’ve got so many men out trying to find out exactly what it is that’s about to happen that I can’t spare an extra man on duty each shift just to take care of you.’

‘But it’s not just me, you have Shannon to look after too!’

It was the first time that Dolly had used ‘Sir Richard Donahue’s’ real name, but Amos made no comment on this, either. Instead, he said, ‘He will be appearing before a magistrate later. We found a number of share certificates in his baggage and I’ve no doubt they’re forged, so he’ll be charged with forgery and deception, then moved to Bodmin gaol. No, Dolly, you’ve given me no reason why I should treat you differently to any other prisoner. Putting you on the boat with the others will make things easier for me. I’ll make arrangements for your baggage to be taken there with you.’

Dolly directed a silent plea to Tom, but he remained impassive. For many moments she looked from one to the other, hoping in vain for some sign that their resolve might weaken. Then her shoulders slumped, her face crumpled and, conceding defeat, she said, bitterly, ‘I should know better than to expect a copper to show any finer feelings towards me, you’re all bastards. All right, what is it you want from me?’

Once Dolly Brooks had made up her mind to co-operate with Amos, she held nothing back. She was taken upstairs to the Superintendent’s office and by the time she was returned to her cell more than an hour later she had told Amos and Tom the names of all those she knew to be involved in the plot to profit criminally by the Cornwall grand summer ball, together with her part in the proceedings - and the sheer scale and audacity of the plot was breathtaking.

At the ball there would be two confidence tricksters, purporting to be from a well-known City stockbroker, armed with the share certificates and Exchequer bonds forged by Shannon. With apparent reluctance they would let it be known they had come to Cornwall to finalise a lucrative deal with a well-known peer of the realm who could not be named. Unfortunately, the peer was on a Continental tour and although he had arranged to be in Cornwall in time to attend the ball and pay for the shares, for reasons unknown he had failed to put in an appearance and they were unable to clinch the deal with him.

As it happened there was a senior and financially shrewd Cornish peer currently holidaying on the Continent, one who was well-known - and envied - by many of those who would be attending the ball.

In view of the absent peer’s business acumen the stockbrokers’ men had no doubts the shares and bonds would return a substantial profit for a potential buyer. This view would be confirmed, with suitable professional reluctance by "Sir Richard Donahue", a very senior official from the Treasury who just happened to be at the ball.

As a result it was expected that cheques, bankers’ drafts and promissory notes would be exchanged for the false bonds and share certificates and the former cashed as soon as banks opened for business on the Monday following the ball.

Meanwhile the two London women would be working their charms on various men, helping themselves to purses and other valuables while singling out the women displaying the most expensive jewellery. Should any of these leave the ball early, word would be passed to waiting villains outside and their coaches waylaid when some distance from the great house.

The final act at Laneglos would be played out when the ball came to an end. In the general melee of departing guests it would be the turn of the London pickpockets. Some of the world’s greatest exponents in the world of their nefarious art, they would expertly relieve female guests of their jewels before disappearing into the night with the richest pickings they had ever lifted.

But even this was not all. The true reason for the assembly of such diverse criminals became clear when Dolly revealed that, while all this was going on some of the Hoxton villains who specialised in burglary would be raiding at least six mansions owned by those attending the ball. She was unable to tell Amos and Tom which homes were to be targeted because she had not been included in the planning of this particular activity. However, she understood this too was intended to provide the perpetrators with more booty than they had ever stolen before.

It was this particular aspect of the London criminals’ assault on Cornwall that gave Amos the gravest concern. Talking to Tom in the superintendent’s office when Dolly had been returned to her cell, he said, ‘I don’t know how we can possibly counter this one, Tom. There will be somewhere between two hundred and fifty and three hundred guests at the ball, coming from perhaps as many as a hundred homes scattered all across Cornwall. With the constables we are going to need at Laneglos to ensure nothing goes wrong there we won’t be left with enough men to visit even half those houses - and it’s the Hoxton men who’ll be involved in the housebreaking. Knowing them as we do, it would be dangerous to send less than half-a-dozen constables to any house that’s being burgled. Our only hope is that we succeed in catching them on board the boat at Looe and are able to keep them there until Sunday, at least.’