‘I hope you will not think me too forward,’ he began, ‘if I say how becoming your appearance is and how much it pleases me.’ Then he held his breath.
Lucy simply smiled at him and said that no woman would ever reject a compliment, provided it was offered sincerely and without any ulterior motive.
‘Let me assure you that I am completely sincere,’ Foxe said in reply.
‘Then I thank you for your kind words,’ Lucy said.
How long this gentle flirtation might have continued Foxe would never know, for Lucy’s uncle interrupted them by commenting that his “little Lucy” had surprised them all by how much she had grown in elegance and attractiveness during her period away in France.
‘I reckon she may even outshine her elder sister before very long,’ he went on. ‘Maria is a lovely young woman but in a simpler and more homely way. Lucy here is becoming quite the fashionable lady.’
Foxe, suspecting Halloran was treading on treacherous ground, politely declined to make any comparison, saying only that he too had found a remarkable change in Miss Lucy on her return.
His caution was well chosen, for Lucy cleared her throat in the way reserved for calling attention, regarded them both coldly and said that, when they had finished discussing her like a prize racehorse, perhaps they could turn to the matter that Foxe had come to tell them about.
Even then, Halloran failed to take the hint.
‘Damned fine filly, eh, Foxe?’ He said loudly, obviously pleased by the reference to racehorses.
Seeing Lucy’s expression darken still further, Foxe hastened to try to head off the trouble which was brewing.
‘Let us take Miss Lucy’s advice and turn to the matter of what took place last night,’ he said calmly. ‘I am pleased that my plans worked out exactly as I had intended, though the outcome in the end was less than I had hoped.’
With that, he launched into a detailed description of all that had taken place, from the first signs of the approach of the thieves to the point where they were led away to the Bridewell.
‘A constable came first thing to tell me the basics,’ Halloran said at the end, ‘but I am grateful to be in possession of the details as well. When we have finished, I must go at once to speak with my fellow aldermen. I know they will be most anxious to know exactly what took place. But you said the outcome was less than you had hoped for. Why is that?’
‘Because we have advanced no further in solving the mystery of the mayor and Johnson,’ Foxe said. ‘I questioned the members of the gang last night and again this morning at the Bridewell. Indeed, I came here directly from speaking with them. They are adamant that they are guilty of no more than theft. They swear they saw no one at the warehouse at any time during their visits, save only the night watchman who was part of the gang anyway. Of Johnson and the mayor, they are as ignorant as everyone else.’
‘Do you believe them, Foxe? They’re criminals after all.’
‘Yes, I do,’ Foxe replied. ‘Those men are guilty of a grave crime, but none of them are really criminals. They simply saw an opportunity and took it, without regard to where it might lead them. Besides, they have no reason to lie, since no man can be hanged twice and they are well aware of the penalty they face for stealing such valuable goods.’
‘I see,’ Halloran said. ‘I imagine you are correct. You usually are. What do you think, Lucy?’
‘I agree totally with Mr Foxe,’ she told her uncle. ‘If Johnson or the mayor had suspected what was going on, they would surely have taken steps to seize the thieves, not confronted them as individuals.’
‘So, the aldermen’s satisfaction will be as muted as yours,’ Halloran said. ‘At least Mrs Belton will surely find pleasure in the outcome, since she has got some of her cloth back.’
‘Even her joy may be lessened when she realises she has also lost all her warehousemen,’ Foxe said.
‘Cheer up, Foxe,’ Halloran said. ‘You have brought off a triumph yet are acting as if it was a disaster. This is only a temporary setback. You’ll get there in the end, won’t he, Lucy?’
‘I have every confidence in Mr Foxe, Uncle, but you have overlooked the fact that he now has my assistance. Together, we will surely be invincible. Is that not so, sir?’
Her last words were addressed to Foxe and he found himself at a loss for how to reply. All he could manage was to say that he was sure it must indeed be so, if she said it. That earned him a puzzled look from Halloran and a smile of quiet satisfaction from Lucy.
‘I must go and speak with my fellows at the guildhall, Foxe, and tell them what you have told me. I’ll therefore leave you with Lucy so that you can discuss whatever it is that you wish to tell each other.’
And with those words, he left the room in some haste, calling for Perkins to bring him his hat and coat and see the carriage was waiting for him outside as soon as possible.
If Foxe had been unable to formulate a sensible response to Lucy’s comment about the pair of them being invincible, that was as nothing to the degree to which he found himself tongue-tied when left alone with her. Nor did she help him by beginning to speak first. His silence seemed to amuse her and he realised he was behaving like a schoolboy expected for the first time to talk sensibly to a pretty young woman he had been yearning after for many days.
In the end, the best he could manage was a comment on her presence.
‘Lucy ... Lucy ... ahem ... I believe you told me you were to be visiting friends today. I was surprised to find you here.’
‘And pleased too, I hope,’ Lucy said, with a wicked grin, ‘but perhaps not. Thank you for deflecting my uncle from comparing me to a horse. At least he did not say I reminded him of a prize pig in a butcher’s window. Which animal do I remind you of, Ash?’
‘A tigress,’ Foxe said, without thinking.
‘A tigress? That is hardly very flattering.’
‘On the contrary, it is entirely apt. Are not tigers amongst the most graceful and beautiful of animals? Lions, beside them, are lumpish and ungainly, whereas a tiger moves silently and with infinite grace after its prey. Do not tigresses also have a reputation for being the most caring and devoted of mothers? And are they not rightly feared when they show their teeth and extend their claws? Like you, a tigress is dangerous and beautiful at the same time.’
‘This time it is I who find myself lost for words, sir,’ Lucy said, blushing deeply. ‘I think you have just given me the strangest and most wonderful compliment I have ever had, and one that is so unusual that it cannot be other than sincerely meant. I do not know what to say and that is a fact.’
‘You need say nothing,’ Foxe replied. ‘I spoke only what is in my heart.’
‘Now, now, Ash! Enough of that! Let us to business again. I am here because the person I expected to visit sent a servant last night to say that she is somewhat unwell and request we postpone our meeting to another occasion. I did get to talk to another friend yesterday and I believe I picked up some useful information. I’ll tell you what it is, if you’ll only stop looking so miserable.’
‘It’s just that I’m so frustrated,’ Foxe said. ‘I try, and I try, but I keep being returned to the same point.’
‘Look, Ash. That’s nonsense. You’ve just pulled off a considerable triumph by working out what was going on at Belton’s and arresting a large number of thieves. You’ve also proved that Johnson’s death, and most likely the mayor’s disappearance, have nothing to do with that series of thefts. That at least narrows the range of areas that you still need to explore.’
‘I suppose you’re right,’ Foxe said reluctantly. ‘Anyway, you said that you discovered something useful when you talked to your friend yesterday.’
‘I think it’s useful anyway,’ Lucy said. ‘She talked a good deal about Mrs Belton, describing her as a strong-minded and capable woman, who had been active in many good works and a host of different societies and groups, especially musical ones. All that stopped suddenly when her husband was elected mayor. D
on’t you think that’s odd, especially since she refused to take any part in things like the parade on St George’s Day and the Mayor’s Ball that evening? It’s almost as if she expected her husband to do something foolish and wished to avoid any need to defend him, or cope with the pity people would direct towards her. From that point onwards, she seems to have become far more interested in finding some way to get involved in the business.’
‘It’s certainly odd,’ Foxe replied. ‘However, I may have an explanation. Has your uncle told you what I said to him yesterday?’
‘About the mayor talking to trees? He did and laughed a great deal.’
‘I went to Chapel Fields yesterday afternoon and spoke to one of the gardeners. He said Belton was well known there and had several times been seen to talk to a great elm tree. However, that’s a minor matter. What I meant was whether your uncle had mentioned the possibility—even probability—of Belton’s wife plotting with her father to have her husband declared insane, so she could take over the business.’
‘He did. I must say I felt the idea went a long way towards explaining why Mrs Belton seems so untroubled by her husband’s disappearance.’
‘The coincidence is a little odd, isn’t it?’
‘It’s far more than that!’ Lucy said. ‘Wake up, Ash! Think about it! Belton himself took little or no interest in his business for years. When he knows he will become mayor, he forgets about everything save trying to force change on the city. Not surprisingly, he finds himself blocked at every turn. As a result, he drops all that and throws himself into taking charge of his business again. Why? He still seems as reluctant as ever to cope with the mountain of administration which has built up. Instead, he starts trying to build up his business by risky sales, including some overseas. Naturally, since he had little business ability or common sense, it all goes wrong. When it does, he loses interest once more. His wife is busy with her own affairs until her husband is made mayor. At once, she withdraws from everything and starts to plot how she can take over the business, presumably to save it from her husband’s incompetence. When he suddenly shows interest in the firm again, she must have been angry and frustrated. What can she do? The last thing she wants is for him to place himself firmly in charge. That must have been when she and her father first thought about having Belton declared insane. It was the only way to achieve what they wanted.’
‘When you put it like that, Lucy, it all fits together. I wonder what started Belton on this wild path in the first place? For years he’d been quiet, then he suddenly starts to behave in the wildest manner.’
‘It’s up to you to find out, isn’t it? There’s another area to investigate. So far, we’ve been thinking almost entirely about what took place in the short period immediately before the mayor disappeared. What if the really important things, the ones that might account for his disappearance and maybe Johnson’s death, all date to around the time that he first became mayor? Can you find out about that time, do you think?’
‘Maybe the best thing to do would be for me to go and talk to Comiston,’ Foxe said. ‘Mrs Belton isn’t going to tell me and the only other person who could provide the answers was Johnson. Do you think he was killed to prevent him telling anyone what had been going on?’
‘Yet more for you to investigate. You see, you aren’t stuck at all, are you?’
‘Lucy, you’re a marvel! And here was I, worrying about whether there had been anything more than a business relationship between Johnson and Mrs Belton; whether Belton killed Johnson in anger because he found out that his wife was committing adultery with him.’
‘As I told you before, Ash, that’s just fantasy. Why should Belton suddenly be sufficiently enraged to commit murder when he seems to have more or less completely ignored his wife since they were first married? No, something happened around five or six months ago which caused both Belton and his wife to change their behaviour fundamentally. All you have to do is discover what it was.’
‘I’ll do my best,’ Foxe said humbly.
‘I remembered to ask my uncle about Alderman Harris,’ she continued. ‘He said the man was almost universally disliked, save by his own coterie of friends. Mr Harris thought himself incredibly witty, though most of his wit consisted of little but mockery and sarcasm. He especially enjoyed seeing his fellows discomfited by some cutting aside or mocking comment on their speeches. When he spoke himself, it was usually to disparage what others had said and praise his own superior ideas. People tried to catch him out and push him off balance but, although he did not have more than an average level of intelligence, according to my uncle he was very quick in his responses. The humiliation brought upon him by his part in the false ransom demand was widely welcomed.’
‘That’s not as much help as we had hoped, is it?’ Foxe said. ‘It still leaves the list of potential enemies who might have played that trick on him too wide.’
‘Not quite. Apparently, once Mr Belton became mayor, he was the person most often selected for Alderman Harris’ barbs. An easy target too, since Mr Belton was as slow to formulate a suitable response as Harris was quick. Alderman Harris, therefore, tormented the mayor unmercifully on several occasions.’
‘Did he? That’s exceptionally interesting.’
‘Do you think the mayor staged the whole mock ransom to take his revenge on Alderman Harris? Perhaps even his own disappearance too?’
‘Not his disappearance, I think. If that had been the case, he would have appeared again as soon as the farce of the ransom was completed in order to enjoy the spectacle of Harris humbled. I’m sure he would also have had a ready explanation, and a plausible one, for why he had gone in the first place. He might have staged the ransom demand though.’
‘Wouldn’t that mean he must have still been in Norwich and alive when that took place?’ Lucy said.
‘Like everything else about this mystery, Lucy, the answer always comes back to “maybe”. I’ve also been forced to think again about the theory of suicide. Belton seems, from all I’ve heard, to have been suffering a deep melancholy in the weeks before he went. He could have set up the trap for Harris and then killed himself, secure in the knowledge that his enemy would suffer, even if he wasn’t around to see it.’
‘How infuriating this case is!’ Lucy commented.
‘Exactly.’
15
It turned out to be a day for fresh revelations about the case of the missing mayor. Hurrying home after his meeting with Halloran and Lucy, Foxe decided to take a short detour into the shop to see whether Mrs Crombie had picked up any more useful pieces of gossip. There he found his cousin, Nicholas, deep in conversation with Mrs Crombie. Seeing Foxe come in through the door, they broke off their discussion at once and turned to face him.
‘Oh, Mr Foxe, I’m so glad you’re here,’ Mrs Crombie said. ‘I just heard a most interesting piece of gossip and, since it has to do with legal matters, I’ve been discussing it with Mr Nicholas, seeing as how he’s a lawyer and knows about these things.’
‘It’s certainly something you should know about, Cousin,’ Nicholas said. ‘I know you’re busy investigating events concerning the disappearance of our mayor and this could be relevant. Tell him what you heard, Mrs Crombie.’
‘About an hour or so ago, I had Alderman Langham’s maidservant come into the shop to collect some new books her mistress had ordered. She’s a real chatterbox and loves nothing better than to gossip, especially about things that have happened within her household. She told me that she had overheard her master and mistress saying that Mrs Belton intends to try to ask a judge to pass an order agreeing that she can go on managing her husband’s business for the foreseeable future on the grounds that she has evidence he is incapable of doing so by reason of insanity. Mrs Belton has spoken with her husband’s lawyer, but he has refused to disclose what is in her husband’s Will or who the executors are that he has appointed. He says it would be most improper since there is no evidence that Mr Belton is actually dead. Until
such evidence is found, or a period of seven years have passed, the Will must remain sealed and in his possession.’
‘Legally,’ Nicholas said, ‘I believe he is on firm ground. If Mr Belton were to return and find that his Will had been opened and read, he would certainly have every reason to be seriously annoyed.’
‘Could a judge make such an order?’ Foxe asked him.
‘I cannot tell you for certain,’ Nicholas replied, ‘since I have never encountered such a case before. However, since everything is in limbo at the present time, one might be persuaded to do so. It would at least give a proper legal basis for the business to be continued. Unless it is insolvent, there would hardly be a case for closing it down or selling it with the legal owner absent and unable to give his permission in either case. Somebody has to keep it going and Mrs Belton is probably the best candidate. I understand her father was a leading merchant and man of business in this city for many years.’
‘The lady is certainly wasting no time in taking full control,’ Foxe said. ‘I’ve just been hearing what a strong-minded woman she is. This seems to prove it.’
‘Might she have been planning to get rid of her husband all the time?’ Mrs Crombie asked. ‘From all that I have heard, he was a very poor manager of the firm and has allowed it to decline drastically in recent years.’
‘If she has,’ Foxe said, ‘she has succeeded in a remarkably efficient manner. What I don’t understand is how this might relate to his disappearance.’
All three of them stood and thought for several moments, but no one came up with an answer. At that point, Nicholas abruptly changed the subject.
‘I understand that you’ve been visiting Miss Lucy Halloran quite often of late,’ he said. ‘I can’t help wondering why this should be.’
‘She is helping me with my investigation,’ Foxe replied airily. ‘I asked her if she could talk with her friends and take notice of conversations between her aunt and the other ladies with whom she mixes, in the hope that she might pick up some pieces of information which would prove useful. I can hardly go knocking on these ladies’ doors demanding that they tell me all they know about Mr and Mrs Belton, can I? I asked Miss Lucy to help me and she agreed. That’s all there is to it.’
Foxe and the Path into Darkness Page 16