Foxe and the Path into Darkness

by William Savage

  22

  Foxe was far from idle while he waited to hear whether Mrs Matthews would agree to do as he had asked. He had to warn Tabby that he would be using her to pass him an important message from Ann Weston. He also wanted to borrow Bart when he made the arrest. Bart could come with him when he went inside. Hopefully, they’d catch Belton asleep, but if they didn’t and Belton tried to make a fight of it, he wouldn’t get through against the two of them. Perhaps he’d take Henry as well.

  In the end, he decided he’d tell Henry to take Bart and himself to Pottergate in the carriage. Henry could then leave the carriage and horse somewhere far enough away not to draw attention, with a few of the street children to take care of it, and come to the house with Foxe and Bart. If he wanted, he could bring some sort of weapon to help keep him safe. Bart needed no weapon. His fists were near-lethal weapons on their own!

  The visit to Tabby’s accomplished, it was time to go to Colegate and tell Halloran and Lucy what he’d discovered and what his plans were. Foxe devoutly wished he’d come in the carriage this morning. All he seemed to do at the moment was criss-cross Norwich. It wouldn’t be so bad if the place had been built on flat land, but the castle needed to be on a mound and the city had moved itself from the earlier settlement, on land by the river at Tombland, up the hill by the castle and created a new centre there. Foxe’s house was just beyond the new marketplace while Halloran’s mansion was past the castle and across the river, as was Tabby’s house further to the west. Still, at least those last two places were not so far apart.

  Fortunately, he found both Halloran and Lucy at home, so the three of them retreated into the library for Foxe to explain what he had discovered since he was last able to talk with them.

  Lucy was her usual silent, attentive self during Foxe’s narrative but her uncle couldn’t restrain himself from muttering curses and threats all the way through. At the end, he could no longer contain his anger and amazement.

  ‘I knew Belton was a fool and a braggart,’ he said, ‘but I never dreamed he could be a thief and a murderer as well. Are you completely sure of all that you have told us, Foxe?’

  ‘Yes,’ Foxe replied. ‘Completely certain. Nothing else makes sense. Belton had been criticised and despised for most of his life. He imagined becoming mayor was going to allow him to break free from that dispiriting state and show the world what he could do. Unfortunately, he was lazy and good only at coming up with impractical ideas. He could never show the determination and effort to carry anything through to completion. Being mayor turned out to be very different from how he had imagined it. All his plans came to nothing and people despised him yet more than before. I think being cheated over the supposed Riga contract was the last straw. Once word of that got out, he’d be a laughing stock. It was more than he could bear, I think. He’d always run away from problems and this was going to be no different. It must have been around then that he decided to leave Norwich for good and free himself from his past life entirely.’

  ‘His plan was to take all the money he could from his own business and steal his wife’s jewels to fund this mad escapade, was it?’ Halloran asked. ‘Do you think he meant to kill Johnson?’

  ‘Only he can tell us that,’ Foxe said. ‘I know Johnson had discovered some of what he was up to. Being an honest and deeply moral man, he probably felt it would be his duty to see Belton’s actions exposed.’

  ‘Do you think he might kill again?’ Halloran said.

  ‘If he feels trapped, yes. The moment he knows someone has come to arrest him he’ll realise there can be no escape anymore. I’d like to persuade him to give himself up quietly, but he may decide otherwise. Even if he surrenders, he’ll still go to the gallows.’

  ‘A mayor of Norwich who’s a murderer and a thief,’ Halloran said sadly. ‘What a shameful light it will cast on our city! Yesterday, there was a discussion amongst the aldermen on the possibility of legally removing Belton from the office of mayor, on the grounds that he had deserted his duties. That will be unnecessary now.’

  All this time, Lucy had stayed silent. With her uncle lost in gloomy thoughts of the impact of Belton’s crimes on the city’s reputation, Foxe at last had the opportunity to ask her for her thoughts.

  ‘You were right, Mr Foxe,’ Lucy said, her voice heavy with disappointment. ‘Belton didn’t commit suicide and wasn’t murdered by anyone. The only mistake you made, as did I, was to assume he would leave the city the moment he discovered Johnson was dead. It’s now clear he didn’t want to leave all his money behind when he left. You were right all along and I was wrong. I clung to the idea of suicide when I should have seen that the problem of there being no body was almost insurmountable. It’s plain to me now why you have such a reputation for solving mysteries of this type. To believe I could help you was nothing but foolishness on my part.’

  ‘It was nothing of the sort, Lu ... Miss Lucy,’ Foxe replied at once. ‘You did help me. You helped me enormously. Indeed, I’m not sure I’d have come near to finding the truth had you not been there to supply vital details and encourage me forward. For a start, I would never have been able to find Susannah Matthews and Ann Weston without you pointing me in the right direction. Don’t be so hard on yourself. I could go to interview people in person, while you had to rely on what I could tell you later.’

  ‘Did I truly help you?’ Lucy asked.

  ‘You did,’ Foxe said warmly. ‘I never intend to be without your help again, if I can avoid it.’

  ‘Tell us what you are going to do next,’ the young woman said, her spirits beginning to regain something of their natural optimism.

  Foxe told them that he was waiting first to see if Susannah Matthews could be convinced by her former maid to give her assistance.

  ‘As I said a few moments ago, I’d like to do my best to take Belton with the minimum of fuss. He’s hidden himself in the house of a completely innocent person. If a whole group of men go rushing in there and he decides to go down fighting to the end, who knows how much damage may be done. My plan is to surround the house with constables, provided you’ll arrange for them to be available, Halloran, but go in myself with the fewest possible people. I’ll ask Henry, my coachman, to come with a rope to bind Belton and Bart to come as well. Bart’s worth half a dozen men on his own and he knows how to move silently. I’ll also carry a whistle to summon help. If Belton won’t surrender, I can call the constables to come in and overpower him.’

  Halloran thought that this was an excellent plan, but Lucy looked worried.

  ‘You won’t get hurt, will you?’ she asked Foxe. ‘You said he’s a dangerous man if he feels cornered.’

  ‘I’ll have enough people with me to stop him doing any great harm, Miss Lucy,’ Foxe replied. ‘Be assured that I am not intending to suffer any hurt at all, if I can avoid it.’

  Lucy didn’t appear to be greatly comforted by these words but, since neither she nor her uncle could produce a better strategy, it was agreed that Halloran would have the necessary constables ready whenever Foxe needed them.

  ‘One final suggestion, Halloran, if I may,’ Foxe said. ‘You’ll need to tell your colleagues on the alderman’s bench what we’ve discovered, and I imagine key members of the common council as well. You might, however, wish to ask them to say as little as possible to anyone else, at least until Belton comes to trial. His case is bound to be a sensation but there’s no point in stirring up gossip well in advance.’

  ‘An excellent suggestion Foxe. I’ll do as you say. Now, do you wish to speak with my niece in private?’

  ‘If I may,’ Foxe replied. Halloran therefore left them alone.

  For a few moments, the two sat in silence before Lucy finally asked what more there was to be said that had not already been covered.

  ‘I’ve been trying to think of something,’ Foxe said, ‘other than topics which are banned between us. When I’m here with you, I never want to leave. It’s as simple as that. I don’t know what you’ve done to me, Mis
s Lucy Halloran, but I’ve never been this way before. I could swear you’ve put a spell on me.’

  ‘Are you accusing me of being a witch?’ Lucy asked, laughing. ‘I assure you I’m a very ordinary woman with no special powers of any kind. My aunt keeps asking me what is happening between us and I tell her there is nothing. Are you going to turn me into a liar? Let us leave this conversation to a future time, Ash. You have much to do and I have much to think about. You have already proved me wrong in so many ways that I feel quite muddled about everything at present. Please give me a little time to point myself in the right direction.’

  ‘Of course, Lucy,’ Foxe said gently, ‘if that is what you want. But please do not take too long. I don’t think I can bear to live in this uncertainty for many more days or I will burst.’

  23

  Foxe’s wait to hear from Ann Weston proved to be a short one. Soon after he returned from his usual morning walk and visit to the coffeehouse the next day, Molly hurried in to tell him that Bart had just come to the back door bearing a letter from his mistress. She’d pressed him to come inside and deliver it himself, but he said Mistress Tabby had told him to deliver the letter as quickly as he could and then hurry back since she had other tasks for which she needed him. Foxe took the letter and opened it immediately.

  My Dear Ashmole,

  Ann Weston came to me this morning with a message for you. Sending Bart with a letter seemed the quickest means of reaching you.

  My, can that woman talk! The actual message is quite brief but extracting it from the torrent of words she poured out in her excitement was quite a challenge. Stripped to its essentials it is that it took her longer than she had hoped to be able to speak to Susannah Matthews on her own but, when she did, she met with a warm welcome. Mrs Matthews is thoroughly sick of her unwanted guest and regrets taking him in in the first place. He sits around all day, orders her about like a servant and eats heartily without ever offering to pay her for the extra food she has to buy. She’s also suspicious that he’s what Ann called “one of those twisted men what likes other men in place of women”. Their evidence for this is simply that he has never attempted to lay a finger on Mrs Matthews, who Ann says is a very handsome young woman, and also demanded his own bedroom. Worse, he took the best bedroom on the first floor, which was where Mrs Matthews was sleeping, and made her move to another room on the second floor.

  The upshot of all of this is that Mrs Matthews is eager to help you in any way she can. She is especially incensed that “Smith” represented himself as a gentleman when all the time he was nothing but a common thief.

  There is but one problem. Mrs Matthews has only two keys to the front door and Smith has one of them, though he never goes out. She says that, if you tell her the day and time you will come, she will wait by the door and let you in herself. She is confident she can creep down the stairs without waking Smith. Ann also said she hopes you will not ask to come before dawn. Hers is a property built quite a few years ago and has many steps up and down, which it would be easy to stumble over in the dark.

  There it is, Ash, stripped of many thousands of useless words. If you send me a note with your instructions, I have told Ann to return later today to hear what is required. It seems Mrs Matthews now accepts that the charge of theft against her former servant was completely false and is eager to resume their previously friendly relations.

  Your most loving friend,

  Tabitha Studwell.

  AS SOON AS he read this, Foxe determined he would try to arrest Belton early the next morning. He would try to arrive the moment it was light enough to comply with Susannah Matthews’s warning against trying to negotiate their way inside her premises in the dark. He had little faith in her ability to act normally for very long. Any oddness in her behaviour would naturally put Belton on alert in a moment. It might also expose her to danger, if he believed she had betrayed him. After some thought, Foxe settled on six in the morning. He and Henry would collect Bart at five-thirty and drive to a spot far enough away from Mrs Matthews’s shop so as not to draw attention. They would then leave the carriage there, in the care of a suitable group of street children and go the rest of the way on foot. He would tell Halloran to have the constables waiting for them when they arrived. The Grey Goose public house would be a suitable meeting point.

  Once they met, he’d instruct the constables to follow him to Mrs Matthews’s shop. When they arrived half of the constables would stay at the front of the house, eventually entering through the unlocked front door and waiting at the foot of the stairs; half should proceed to the rear and wait there. All would be told in no uncertain terms to make no noise. Foxe, with Bart and Henry, needed a ten-minute start to enter the place to try to persuade Belton to give himself up.

  That decided, Foxe undertook the long series of actions needed to bring his plans to fruition. He wrote letters to Mistress Tabby and Halloran and sent Henry out to deliver them. Florence was sent to find Betty Furniss so that Foxe could give her the necessary instructions as well. Foxe had reprimanded the kitchen maid in extremely robust terms, after hearing that she had been trying to keep the girl away. That was a mistake she would never make again.

  THE LONG STREET called Pottergate ran roughly parallel to the river, but some little way back from the river’s edge. A good part of it was occupied by substantial houses of the type favoured by modestly wealthy merchants but, between these, there were also a number of shops, mostly of the type likeliest to appeal to their middle-class neighbours. It wasn’t the best street in the city but it was a long way from being the worst.

  Henry stopped the carriage some seventy or eighty yards short of Mrs Matthews’s shop. To Foxe’s mind, this was still a little too close, but it would have to do. At least there were one or two other wagons and handcarts being trundled up and down the street. The noise of the carriage’s wheels should not be enough to cause immediate suspicion.

  Foxe and Bart climbed out of the carriage and waited for Henry to join them. Foxe noticed with some amusement that Betty herself had come to stand by Sunshine, the horse, while three or four other well-grown lads stood around the carriage to dissuade any attempt at robbery.

  As they approached Susannah Matthews’s shop, Foxe could see that it was similar to most of those which were its neighbours on either side. A brick-built, or at least brick faced, property from perhaps seventy or eighty years before, with the shop-front occupying almost all the ground-floor frontage, save for a separate front door to the right. That would allow anyone who lived above the shop to pass inside without going through the actual shop premises. The only other distinguishing element in its appearance was that it had three fine sash windows across its breadth where most of the other shops had only two. A substantial place then, probably built for a prosperous shopkeeper in the reign of King William and Queen Mary, soon after James II had been overthrown and fled to France.

  By the time Foxe arrived outside the shop, he was feeling decidedly nervous. It was already approaching full daylight. He could only hope that Belton was not the kind of person who awoke with the dawn. He had wanted to take him while he was still groggy from sleep, if possible, not awake, alert and potentially ready to defend himself. Still, Mrs Matthews knew the inside of her property and he had best be guided by her.

  He tapped quietly on the door, as instructed, and it was opened at once by Mrs Matthews, wearing a large shawl wrapped over a flannel nightdress. She was indeed a comely young woman, Foxe decided, but he could see at once why she offered no appeal to Belton. Her figure was far too generous. She could even be described as somewhat chubby. Many men would find this delightful but Belton would probably think it distinctly unpleasant.

  Once again, she whispered a warning to take great care going along the corridor and up the stairs to the first floor That was where “Robert Smith’s” room was to be found. As soon as they reached the first landing, they would see a door on their immediate left. He was sleeping in there.

  Foxe led the
way forward, with Bart right behind him and Henry, complete with a coil of rope, bringing up the rear. Within moments, Foxe could see that Mrs Matthews’s warning about the ease of stumbling was fully justified. As they passed a door to the left, which must lead into the shop, they encountered the first step up, followed almost immediately by two more to reach the spot where the stairs came down from the left. These they climbed as quietly as they could, wincing at every creak and groan in the old woodwork. First, they reached a sort of half-landing where the stairs twisted round to point in the opposite direction from the one in which they had started. There a smaller flight of steps joined them at a right angle. Where these two sets of stairs met, they produced a deeper step in the main stairs that would have been all too easy to stumble over in the dark. Finally, as they continued to creep upwards, mercifully now directly to the landing they were seeking, Foxe could see the doorway on the left which must open into the room where Belton would be found.

  He did not enter at once. He wished to have everyone behind him, not still climbing the last few stairs. When he did open the door and step inside, he saw in an instant that his earlier fears had been fully justified. Belton was standing beside a dressing table opposite the door where they entered, his back to the window and the shutters drawn back. He was dressed in breeches, hose and a shirt. Perhaps that was even how he laid himself down to sleep; partly clothed in case he needed to make a run for freedom at any time. He also held a cocked pistol in his right hand, pointing it directly at Foxe.

  In the split second before the man pulled the trigger, Foxe stepped sharply to his left to clear the way for Bart, who was right behind him. That step saved his life. When Belton pulled the trigger and the report of the charge filled the room with smoke and deafening sound, the pistol-ball missed Foxe’s chest, passing instead between his flank and his right arm and leaving deep gashes in both. The force of being hit at such close range at once threw Foxe backwards against the wall, where he hit his head painfully, while the shock caused his knees to give way. He slid down the wall to end in a seated position at the bottom, leaving a long streak of blood as he did so. Loss of blood was rapidly making him lose consciousness so his view of the last moments of Belton’s hopeless defiance was always muddled and bleary in his mind afterwards.