His Father's Ghost (Mina Scarletti Mystery Book 5)

by Linda Stratmann

  ‘I am so very glad that you are improving,’ he said. ‘I had better explain the reason for my visit. I have learned very recently that my wife has consulted you on two occasions — in fact she has taxed you with assisting her on private matters relating to our family. I cannot tell you how disturbed I was to discover this. First of all, her actions were taken without my authority or knowledge. I hardly need to explain to you my feelings on this. Also, of equal if not greater importance, I am very concerned for you, in case by her thoughtlessness, she has inadvertently caused a relapse.’

  ‘There is one thing I wish to make clear,’ said Mina. ‘When Mrs Vardy sought to consult me, she was at the time quite unaware that I was unwell. There was no way she could have known, and if she had, I am sure she would not have written to me. As soon as I had recovered sufficiently to deal with my correspondence, I wrote to her suggesting a meeting. Whether or not she had consulted you, I did not enquire. It was not my place to do so. I can reassure you that there has been no detriment to my health, but even if there had been, the blame would have been all mine.’

  ‘Well, be that as it may,’ said Mr Vardy, unappeased, ‘I have deemed it inadvisable for you to be troubled by matters that do not in any way concern you or your family, especially while you are still convalescent. If you were to suffer any harm by so doing, I would never forgive myself, and I am sure that Charlotte would be most distressed.’

  Mr Vardy did not wear a wedding ring, but he had a gentleman’s gold signet ring on the little finger of his left hand. It had an antique look, like something his father or grandfather might have worn. As he spoke, he held the ring between the thumb and forefinger of his right hand, and gave it a little twist, first one way, then the other.

  As Mina saw Mr Vardy squeeze and twist the little ring, she suddenly became strongly aware of the packets of papers brought by Mrs Vardy on her recent visit which were locked away in her writing desk on the other side of the room where it faced the window. It took a considerable effort of will not to glance in that direction. He could not have known that she had the papers, or he would surely have demanded their return, and she did not want to provide him with any indication of their whereabouts.

  ‘Thank you for your concern,’ she said. ‘I am already under a strict promise not to attempt anything too adventurous, and I know that my doctor would wholeheartedly approve of your warning.’ There seemed to be nothing more to say, but Mina could not resist making an enquiry. ‘Speaking of which, and please excuse this enquiry which is made with the best of intentions, I hope and trust that the health of your stepson is improving.’

  Mr Vardy bridled a little at the question but retained his composure. ‘He is in good hands. Franklin is a sensitive boy with a vivid imagination, which became overheated I believe by reading about the more turbulent episodes of English history which his school had seen fit to teach him. We are finding another school for him which will suit him better.’ Another twist of the signet ring, left and then right. ‘You need have no anxiety for him.’

  ‘I am happy to hear it. If Mrs Vardy should wish to call on me again, if only to take tea and talk of uncontroversial matters suitable for ladies, I would be very glad to receive her. Does she take an interest in butterflies and the cultivation of flowers? I have been reading a great deal on those subjects of late.’

  ‘She will not call again,’ he said, with a little bite of determination at the end of the sentence. ‘Conversation over the tea table might start as wholly innocent and suitable for someone like yourself who needs to conserve her strength, but I fear that Charlotte’s anxiety might lead her to stray into areas that would be inadvisable. I have ordered her to pay no more visits to you. Please be assured, Miss Scarletti,’ he added warmly, ‘I only have your welfare in mind. All of Brighton knows that you are an ornament to the town. Your devoted studies, your passion for the truth, your appearances in court which cause the guilty to tremble with apprehension, you have benefitted so many by your efforts, that we would be desolate to lose you, and lose you we will, long before your time if you persist in activities which can only bring harm to yourself.’ He gave the ring another twist. ‘I speak as a friend.’

  Once Rose had shown Mr Vardy out, she returned unbidden. ‘Is he not to be allowed in again?’ she asked. ‘Only, he said he was a friend but —’

  ‘We shall see,’ said Mina. She had picked up the directory, but now she set it aside, lost in thought.

  She had never yet seen a true ghost, although she knew from report that they were things of air and light. But there were ghosts of another kind, the past haunting the living who existed in a state of fear. What ghosts did Mr Vardy have? What was he afraid of?

  ‘I would like to take a little nap, now,’ said Mina. ‘Please can you ensure that I am not disturbed. And if you could bring my chair around, nearer to my desk, so I can see out of the window, I would find that so very soothing.’

  Rose gave an approving nod, did as she was asked, and made her comfortable. Alone, Mina was able to reach the drawer of the desk from which she extracted the bundle of Mrs Vardy’s papers and read them once more.

  Report of Jacob Handley, private investigator, Inspector of Police, Sussex, (retired).

  In July 1864 I was engaged by Mr Gordon Saltmire to make enquiries concerning the disappearance of his brother in law Mr Jasper Holt wine-merchant of Brighton, on 18th of that month. On that date, Mr Holt had sailed from Brighton as a passenger on a small yacht in the company of the owner of the yacht, Mr William Sutherland. When the yacht returned to shore Mr Holt was not aboard and Mr Sutherland stated that Mr Holt had fallen from the vessel and drowned. He has not been seen or heard from since then.

  I commenced my enquiries by interviewing both Mr Saltmire and his sister, Mrs Charlotte Holt. Mr Saltmire stated that that he had no information concerning the fate of his brother-in-law. Mrs Holt likewise had very little of any importance to divulge, mainly because of her husband’s secretive nature concerning his business arrangements, and her own preference not to venture beyond the bounds of a woman’s natural sphere.

  I next interviewed Mr Holt’s accountant, Mr Westbury, his bank manager Mr Cobbe, and Mr Benton the principal assistant at the wine shop, and become thoroughly acquainted with the missing man’s precarious financial position. Here, I felt certain, lay the origins of the tragedy. I was therefore left in little doubt that when Jasper Holt stepped aboard Mr Sutherland’s yacht he did not intend to return to his family, or at least, not immediately. As to what had transpired thereafter, I had only Mr Sutherland’s word, and while his account was not beyond the bounds of possibility, there are a number of other explanations, none of them showing Mr Sutherland in a favourable light, which I was obliged to consider.

  My initial enquiries concerning William Sutherland revealed that he was about thirty years of age, single, but engaged to be married, and a partner in a stockbroker’s firm. The yacht had been purchased some three years previously, financed by a legacy from his grandfather. My interview with Mr Sutherland was brief and to the point. The man did not waver from the original statement he had made to the police and had nothing more to say. Shortly afterwards he returned to his business in London saying that he did not wish to be interviewed again. I continued, however, to request a second interview, in case Mr Sutherland should decide to change or add to his story. All such requests were curtly refused. My persistence arose from my many years of experience in the police force, and wide acquaintance with all classes of criminals. That experience told me that Mr Sutherland has yet to tell all the truth, and that a series of further interviews in which I make a close examination of his story will bear fruit.

  At this stage in my enquiries I intend to redouble my efforts to interview Mr Sutherland.

  Second report of Jacob Handley, August 1864

  Since making my last report I have uncovered further information about Mr Sutherland which increased my disquiet. An informant has revealed that Sutherland was once associated wi
th the Maritime Queen Insurance business, although in what capacity he was involved has never been proved. To be named in connection with two cases of financial fraud in two years looks highly suspicious, and it was not therefore surprising that he had been unhelpful.

  I did not reveal my suspicions but continued to request a further interview, which was refused. A month after the disappearance of Mr Holt, however, a letter to Mr Sutherland’s London business address was returned by the post office, undelivered. I made a personal visit, which revealed that it was being leased by another unconnected firm. I located and contacted members of Mr Sutherland’s family, but none were was prepared to assist my enquiries.

  Mr Sutherland had acted as secretary to the Brighton Yacht Club, and I proceeded to interview the members. None of them had ever met Mr Holt or could cast any light on the mystery. All had a high regard for Mr Sutherland, but told me that he had not attended any club meetings since being questioned by the police about Holt’s disappearance and shortly afterwards he had handed in his resignation. The yacht had been put up for sale.

  I traced the yacht, formerly called Ocean Breeze. It had been repainted and renamed Ocean Quest. I was permitted to examine it and did so minutely but found no traces of any crime or accident. The new owner told me that he had not discovered anything suspicious.

  In the weeks that followed Mr Holt’s disappearance many newspapers reported sightings of the missing man. Mrs Holt and Mr Saltmire also received numerous letters on the subject and I am grateful to them for preserving these and letting me see them.

  All the letters had been written by people who stated that they had never met Jasper Holt, and simply said that someone answering his description had arrived in their neighbourhood behaving in a suspicious manner. Since the description of Mr Holt published in the newspapers could have applied to thousands of men, I did not set much store by these sightings, but I investigated them all the same. They came to nothing. Mrs Holt particularly begged me to look into the letters sent by spirit mediums, as she felt that the truth would be uncovered by those means, and I obliged her, though not with any confidence that they would provide an answer. These letters proved to be far too vague in content to provide useful material for investigation. Some claimed that Holt was alive and was living far away under another name. Neither the name nor the place, the two essentials for the statement to have any evidential value, were given. Most mediums, however, were certain that Holt was dead and that his body would be discovered in water. Since Brighton is a coastal town and Holt had last been seen stepping on a boat, it did not require the intervention of a spirit to make this a good guess.

  I was left with only one definite clue. If Mr Sutherland was to be believed, and here there was some evidence that he was being truthful in one respect, Mr Holt had disappeared in a location to the west of Brighton. I therefore consulted a number of experienced yachtsmen, who provided useful guidance. Given the time of departure which was witnessed by a large number of persons, and the time that Mr Sutherland brought the yacht back, which was also witnessed, there was an identifiable area in which the event must had occurred. Allowing for the time taken by the journey, any delays due to the unsettled sea, the loss of Mr Holt and attempts to recover the body, I concluded that the yacht had sailed no further than Shoreham, the destination mentioned by Holt. I therefore intend to make further enquiries in the coastal villages west of Brighton and a number of locations inland.

  Third report of Jacob Handley, August 1864

  I have now completed extensive enquiries in the coastal villages, interviewing the inhabitants, especially fishermen and yacht owners. I distributed handbills with a portrait of Mr Holt, an engraving from the most recent photograph. I was able to eliminate from consideration any bodies that had been found on shore, and discoveries of male clothing. I also established that no-one in that part of the country had any family, business, or social connection with Mr Holt. I made particular enquiries concerning any strangers who had arrived recently matching Holt’s description. There were a number of men of approximately the right age and appearance, but all were known to families living in the area.

  I was left with the conclusion that Mr Jasper Holt had not come ashore on the day he disappeared, and his body, perhaps weighted down by clothing and anything he had been carrying upon his person, had sunk below the waves never to be seen again. That only leaves one question. Was the death of Mr Holt a suicide, accident or murder? Only one man knows the answer, Mr William Sutherland, and it seems that he has taken very great care to disappear.

  Extract from the unpublished memoirs of Jacob Handley, private investigator, and Inspector of the Sussex police (retired).

  Whatever people like to say about me, and people have said a great many things in my time, not all of them polite, I have never been accused of giving up on a case. I have already included in these papers the reports I made to Mr Gordon Saltmire in 1864, when I was engaged to discover the whereabouts of his brother-in-law, Mr Jasper Holt. Now, nearly eight years later, although I am no longer employed by the family, who have now accepted that the man is dead, and have a certificate to prove it, I cannot relinquish my curiosity. Someone, somewhere, I am sure, knows the truth of the matter. I am not a susceptible man, and rarely given to idle reveries and imaginings, but even so, there are times when I imagine, just for one happy moment, that I have solved the case and restored either the whole living man or a casket of his bones to the Holt family, only to awake to the disappointment of a dream.

  This is no criticism of any of the suffering family, but I simply note that many of my cases tend to arise from facts which those closest to someone who has absconded or laid violent hands upon themselves, only discover to their shock and distress when it is far too late for the situation to be mended

  I was and remain convinced to this day that the solution to the mystery lies with Mr Sutherland. That gentleman is of a class that believes he is more intelligent than a seasoned officer of the police. He might well be when it came to desk work, but he has yet to experience my methods of enquiry. If he ever does, he will reveal the truth. Over the years I have from time to time looked for notices of Mr Sutherland’s marriage or death but found nothing.

  Every day that Richard worked for Mr Beckler produced a fresh host of complaints, to which Mina listened with great patience. It appeared that the photography business had simply not been as much fun as her brother had expected, in fact the whole thing was pronounced to be ‘a beastly disappointment’. Richard had assumed that what with Beckler being his friend, not to mention sweet on Mina, his days in the shop would entail only a few light duties, enlivened by amusing conversations with pretty ladies.

  ‘I am being worked like a junior clerk!’ he wailed after his third day of relentless toil. ‘That dreary list of unsold photographs is thankfully almost done. Such a tedious waste of my time and talents, it’s enough to make a man weep. I haven’t been allowed to touch the camera or any of the chemicals. Instead I have been made to carry furnishings and some of the more robust and therefore infernally heavy equipment. And I know that if only I was given the chance to try photography the results would be marvellous.’

  ‘Perhaps when you have more business experience?’ suggested Mina, soothingly.

  ‘Oh, he has promised me lessons one day, but when will that ever be? Do you know what he wants me to do tomorrow? I am to clean the glass plates. There is a box of old plates left over from Simpson’s time, and while the glass is still good, the images are not, so I have to scrub them so he can use them again. I did think to suggest he employs a servant to do it, but then I thought, that in a way, I am that servant. It’s a deuce of a downfall!’ Richard buried his head in his hands and groaned. ‘And while I am slaving at his command, what has Beckler been doing? He has been taking pictures of elderly ladies together with a large vase of flowers which to my mind would have been greatly improved if the ladies had been sitting behind the vase and not beside it.’ Richard sighed. ‘If only he wa
s more adventurous. Why doesn’t he take pictures of pretty French girls; a lot of gentlemen like that kind of thing. Oh, there’s nothing wrong in it,’ he added quickly. ‘It’s like art, you see paintings in the galleries all the time.’

  Mina had noticed pictures of that description offered for sale in weekly newspapers. They were listed together with advertisements for cures for nervous debility and private diseases, neither of which she had ever had any wish to know more about. She had no idea if the girls were actually French and suspected that to the single gentlemen believed to be the purchasers of these pictures this description had an alternative meaning at which she could easily guess.

  ‘But when I suggested it to Beckler he gave me such a ghastly look that I had to tell him it was just a joke.’ Richard’s expression was one of palpable disappointment.

  ‘So your employer is determined to run a respectable business, in order to attract distinguished and wealthy clients, and create tasteful portraits,’ said Mina, unable to conceal a smile.

  She was obliged to admit to herself that Richard’s disillusionment with the photography business was something of a relief. His expectations of a leisurely and lucrative career had been dashed, and it could not be long before he slid into his usual habits of neglect and be dismissed. She could only hope that he since he was personable and good natured, he would find some sinecure somewhere that would keep him out of mischief.

  ‘You are much prettier than any of his lady customers, you know, even if you don’t think so yourself. Beckler thinks so.’

  Mina remained silent.