The Tewkesbury Tomb (8 page)

‘Nothing in particular. I remember that the major was anxious to leave as soon as he could. Something about rejoining his
regiment, I believe. He said he had wasted far too much time already. Doctor Hollinger was urging restraint, saying it would look bad if you returned, Inspector, and found that he had left so suddenly,’ said Jenkins, replacing his spectacles.

‘I see. How were the major and Dr Hollinger?’

‘I’m sorry, Inspector. I don’t quite understand.’

‘How did they seem? Were they arguing? Were sharp words exchanged between the two men?’

‘I don’t believe so. The major may have raised his voice once or twice, but nothing untoward. They were just sitting drinking amicably together when I left. Of course, they might have had words together afterwards, but if they did, it was unknown to me.’

‘Thank you, Mr Jenkins. I’m afraid I am going to insist that you all remain here while we make attempts to discover the whereabouts of the major,’ said Ravenscroft knowing that his words would be unpopular.

‘For goodness sake, you can see how distressed Miss Eames is. I think it would be better if we three left as soon as possible. You know where we reside, if you need to contact us again once you have caught Major Anstruther,’ said Ganniford, growing red in the face.

‘I think the inspector would prefer us to remain,’ interjected Jenkins, seeking to calm his friend.

‘We must do all we can, Nathaniel, to bring the murderer to account,’ added Miss Eames.

‘Thank you,’ said a relieved Ravenscroft.

‘Then there is this Ross fellow. You don’t have him either. Seems to me as though Ross and Anstruther were probably in it together,’ offered Ganniford.

‘Oh, why do you say that?’ asked Ravenscroft.

‘Well, it stands to sense. Ross disappeared once we were in the
abbey. Probably came back here last night to meet up with the major, so that they could kill Hollinger together.’

‘And why would they do that?’

‘I don’t know, do I? You are the detective,’ replied an annoyed Ganniford.

‘It would have nothing to do with a gold goblet, would it?’

A long silence followed as Ravenscroft noted the unease that his words had caused on his three suspects.

‘I see, Inspector, that you have had words with Mr Ross,’ said Jenkins eventually breaking the silence.

‘Indeed. I now know the real reason for your visit,’ continued Ravenscroft, anxious to follow up his advantage.

‘We did not believe a word of it, of course,’ said Jenkins. ‘It was clear to all of us that the man was some kind of fraudster.’

‘And yet, you all decided to come.’

‘Curiosity, my dear Inspector. We were all curious to see how things would proceed. Is that not so, Ganniford?’ asked Jenkins.

‘Yes. Yes, certainly. Knew the man was a crook. That was it,’ muttered an embarrassed Ganniford.

‘And you, Miss Eames? Did you believe that there was a golden goblet waiting to be discovered?’ asked Ravenscroft.

‘I concur with what Mr Jenkins has just said,’ replied the lady.

‘So none of you came here in anticipation of gaining riches?’

Another silence followed as Ravenscroft’s question remained unanswered.

‘If you will all excuse me, I must make further enquiries regarding Major Anstruther, and to see whether we can locate the said gentleman as soon as possible.’

‘Sit down if you will. We will not detain you long,’ said Ravenscroft.

‘Be glad when all this is over,’ muttered the landlord of the
Hop Pole looking visibly shaken as he accepted the seat.

‘I am sorry for all the inconvenience, but, as you know, one of your guests has been killed in a most brutal fashion, and we have a duty to make inquiries.’

‘Suppose so.’

‘Another of your guests has also gone missing. Major Anstruther is not in his room this morning. Were you aware that the gentleman had left?’

‘Paid his bill last night, he did,’ replied the man shrugging his shoulders.

‘I see,’ said Ravenscroft looking across at Crabb. ‘So the major said that he was leaving.’

‘That’s what I said.’

‘What time was that?’

‘About twelve.’

‘Did the major take any luggage with him?’ asked Crabb.

‘He had a brown holdall. That’s all.’

‘How did he seem?’ continued Ravenscroft, anxious to know more about his chief suspect’s hasty departure.

‘Don’t know what you mean.’

‘How did he seem to you? Did he seem anxious, or nervous in any way, as though he was in a hurry?’

‘He seemed calm enough.’

‘Did you notice anything unusual about his clothes? Was there any blood on them?’

‘No. There was nothing unusual. He was wearing a big overcoat over his clothes. Couldn’t see any blood. He just wanted to pay and leave. That’s all I can tell you.’

‘I see.’

‘There was something he said though.’

‘Go on,’ said Ravenscroft leaning forwards across the table.

‘He said he had to return to London as soon as possible.
Something about his regiment was about to go off to India, and he had to be there.’

‘And?’

‘I told him that he had probably missed the last train out of Tewkesbury for London, and he would best wait for the early morning one.’

‘What did he say to that?’

‘Said it was no matter. He would find another way to get there.’

‘That is interesting. Did he say how?’

‘No. He just paid and left.’

‘Thank you. You are certain it was around twelve when the major departed?’

‘I remember the clock striking in the corner. There was one other thing.’

‘Yes?’ encouraged Ravenscroft.

‘Well, when he left, he met someone outside. I saw them talking together.’

‘Did you happen to see who it was?’

‘The reverend.’

‘You mean The Reverend Jesterson?’

‘That’s right.’

‘What happened next?’

‘After they had exchanged a few words, they went off together down the road.’

‘You are absolutely sure it was The Reverend Jesterson you saw talking with the major? It must have been quite dark.’

‘It is quite well lit out there. I’m sure it was Jesterson.’

‘I see. Thank you, that is most informative. Oh, one more thing – when was the last time you saw Dr Hollinger?’

‘About half past eleven. I noticed that both he and the major had been talking together in the snug. The doctor went upstairs first.’

‘Leaving the major down here?’

‘Yes.’

‘What happened next?’

‘The major went up a few minutes later.’

‘Can you tell me how long elapsed between the major going upstairs and when he returned?’

‘About fifteen minutes I should say.’

‘You are sure on that point? Could it have been more or less than that?’

‘No, it was fifteen minutes. I’m sure of it.’

‘Thank you. You have been most helpful to us.’

‘When can I have my room back?’ asked the landlord, rising to his feet.

‘I do not see why you should not reclaim the room now. The body has been taken to the mortuary, along with the sheets and the rest of Hollinger’s effects.’

‘I’d best clean it up then. Folks won’t want to stay there once they knows what happened to the last gent that was in there,’ said the man gloomily, as he left the room.

‘Well, Tom, what do you make of that?’ asked Ravenscroft.

‘Seems like Anstruther had plenty of time to kill Hollinger,’ replied Crabb.

‘Yes, fifteen minutes would have been enough to slip into Hollinger’s room, kill the doctor, wash his hands in the basin there, then return to his own room, discard the bloodstained clothes, pack and dress.’

‘He was obviously anxious to get away as soon as possible.’

‘That would make sense. If you or I had killed someone, we would have wanted to have quit the scene as quickly as possible, and to have put as much distance between ourselves and the body. Two things puzzle me, however. According to the landlord, Hollinger had retired only a few minutes before the major went
upstairs. Would that have been long enough for him to have changed, got into his bed and fallen asleep before Anstruther entered the room?’

‘Perhaps he fell asleep straight away,’ suggested Crabb.

‘That may have been so – but Anstruther would not have known that. Surely if he entered the doctor’s room within a few minutes of his retiring, he would have run the risk of Hollinger still being awake. Surely it would have been more sensible to have waited for an hour or so?’

‘He could have come back later?’

‘Yes, there is that possibility. By leaving at twelve it would appear that he had already left the town by the time the murder was committed. I suppose he could have returned in the middle of the night, and slipped in and out unnoticed.’

‘What about Jesterson, sir?’ enquired Crabb.

‘Yes, that is most interesting. I wonder if it was a chance encounter, or whether the two men had arranged to meet.’

‘You think that Jesterson could be involved in Hollinger’s murder?’

‘At first sight it would seem unlikely. If Jesterson was involved, he surely would not have waited so conspicuously outside the Hop Pole for Anstruther to join him. No, I think our clergyman is of a too nervous disposition to be a party to this affair.’

‘He seemed to know all about the inscription on the outside of the tomb. He could have been working on the solution for years.’

‘You think his desire to unravel the code would have led him to participate in murder? I do not think so. He does not strike me as the type.’

‘You said there was something else puzzling you,’ asked a curious Crabb.

‘Yes. If Anstruther did kill Hollinger just before twelve, why
would he leave straight after? He must have known that the last train for London would have left earlier in the evening. Why not wait a few hours until nearly daylight, then he could have caught the first train out of the town.’

‘There was always the chance that someone could have discovered Hollinger’s body before then.’

‘Highly unlikely, I would say.’

‘What now?’

‘We must try and find out what happened to Anstruther when he left here. We know he spoke to Jesterson. What happened next? Did they go off together? We know that Anstruther could not have caught the late train, as that had departed earlier in the evening, so where else could they have gone?’

‘Perhaps he caught the early train out this morning?’ suggested Crabb.

‘We need to check at the station and see if the staff there saw anyone of his description. If he took the morning train to London, he could be anywhere by now and we may have little chance of apprehending him.’

‘We could send a telegram to his regimental headquarters, sir.’

‘We could, but I fear we may be wasting our time. If he is our killer, he would almost certainly know that would be the first place we would go looking for him. You may recall that your research showed that he probably wasn’t who he claimed to be.’

‘I noticed an old stables just up the road, sir. Maybe he went there and took one of the horses.’

‘Good thinking, Tom. That seems more likely. I can’t see the major waiting on a cold station platform all night. If that is the case, he won’t have gone far. We will put out a description and telegraph it through to local stations.’

‘Right, sir.’

‘But first we need to have words with the reverend. And when
we have done all that, I fancy we should return to Bredon’s Norton and see if our mysterious Mr Ross has returned yet. There are some more questions I would like to put to him. We cannot rule out the possibility that he might have returned to Tewkesbury last night and killed Hollinger,’ said Ravenscroft, pushing open the door of the snug and quickly making his way out onto the street.

A few minutes later, Ravenscroft and Crabb entered the abbey and made their way up the aisle to where a familiar figure could be seen near the altar.

‘Good morning, gentlemen,’ said Jesterson, looking up from his Prayer Book.

‘Good morning, Reverend,’ replied Ravenscroft. ‘I wonder if I might have a few moments of your time?’

‘Certainly, Inspector. I do hope that you have been able to catch the perpetrator of this terrible deed.’

‘You mean Dr Hollinger, sir?’

‘Doctor Hollinger? I’m sorry. I thought you were referring to the man in the tomb,’ replied the bewildered clergyman.

‘Of course, sir,’ smiled Ravenscroft. ‘I wonder if you could tell me what you were doing yesterday evening?’

‘I’m sorry, I don’t understand.’

‘If you could just answer the question, sir, I would be obliged.’

‘Well, Inspector, if you insist. I was at the abbey here until seven, then I went home as normal and spent the evening there.’

‘What time did you retire, sir?’

‘About half past twelve.’

‘You did not go out before then, Reverend?’ asked Crabb.

‘No, I don’t think so. Oh, yes! Yes, of course. I went out for a walk at around half past eleven.’

‘Rather a late hour to be out walking?’ asked Ravenscroft, his curiosity aroused.

‘I must confess that I don’t usually go out at such a late hour. I had retired to bed at around ten o’clock, but I could not sleep. I kept thinking of that poor man inside that tomb. Every time I opened my eyes I could see his face! What a dreadful, awful business! Who could have done such an unchristian thing?’

‘So you went out for a walk,’ said Ravenscroft.

‘Yes, I thought that if I went out for a walk it would help to clear my mind.’

‘What time did you return home?’

‘I don’t really remember. I must have been walking for at least an hour, I suppose,’ replied Jesterson, nervously.

‘Tell me, did you happen to meet anyone on your travels?’

‘I don’t believe so. There were not many people about in the town at that time of night, as I am sure you will understand.’

‘So you spoke to no one?’

‘No, I don’t think so.’

‘Outside the Hop Pole?’ suggested Ravenscoft.

‘The Hop Pole?’

‘The landlord of the Hop Pole remembers you speaking to Major Anstruther outside the Hop Pole just after twelve o’clock.’