by Kerry Tombs
‘There are some clothes on the chair over here,’ said Crabb.
‘Almost certainly Hollinger’s. Neatly folded and no stains on them,’ said Ravenscroft, drawing the sheet over the bloody corpse before crossing over the room to examine the clothing. ‘And there are his expensive pocket watch and spectacles on the bedside cabinet. As they have not been taken, I think we can safely conclude that whoever killed Hollinger did not commit such a terrible deed to acquire his valuables. It looks as though our killer must have washed away any surplus blood off his own clothes, before he left the room — unless of course he was staying in the inn and knew that his own room was but a short distance away, either next door, or in close proximity along the same landing. Do we know which rooms our four other suspects occupy?’
‘I took the liberty of asking the man downstairs before I came up here. Ganniford occupies the next room on the left-hand side, then Jenkins, with Major Anstruther on the other side. Miss Eames apparently has a room on the lower floor.’
‘So it would have been easy for either Ganniford, Jenkins or Anstruther to have slipped out of this room unnoticed and quickly enter their own room. It would have been more difficult for Miss Eames.’
‘Surely you cannot suspect her of such a vicious act?’ asked Crabb. ‘She is too quiet and unassuming to be such a killer.’
‘Appearances can sometimes be deceptive. Some of the most terrible unholy killers in history have been women. If Hollinger was fast asleep, it would not have taken much for a woman to have brought down the knife on him, and the quick succession of the second and third blows would have made sure that he had no time to defend himself. I would say that it was probably the first blow that went close to the poor man’s heart.’
‘Hollinger would have known nothing,’ said a subdued Crabb, shaking his head.
‘Probably better that way, although who can say what agonies could sweep over one in the moment of death? We must also consider Ross.’
‘Ross?’
‘Yes, Ross. He could have returned here in the middle of last night, crept into the bedroom, killed Hollinger and then made sure of his escape in the darkness. Had he been wearing a cape or other kind of outer garment, he could have removed it before killing Hollinger, then used it to conceal his blood-spattered clothes. At the moment, however, that is all conjecture. We have no evidence against anyone,’ said Ravenscroft, turning away from the blood-soaked bed.
‘Ghastly business,’ added Crabb.
‘We are missing one thing in all this, Tom — where is Major Anstruther?’
‘I did not go to his room. I came here first.’
‘Then I think we should go there now, before we proceed any further.’
‘You don’t think that he has also been killed?’ asked Crabb, with a look of alarm.
‘I don’t know what to think, Tom,’ interrupted Ravenscroft. ‘Lock the door behind you as we leave. We do not want any of the others coming in here.’
The two men closed the door behind them and made their way to the room next door.
Ravenscroft tapped on the wood and, receiving no reply, attempted to force open the door. ‘Locked. Go and get someone to open it. I don’t want to make a disturbance by forcing the door.’
Crabb quickly disappeared from view, leaving his superior officer to contemplate the events of the past few minutes. Hollinger’s sudden death was the last thing he had expected, and Ravenscroft was now forced to accept that the doctor’s killing had changed the whole complexion of the case. He had expected to confront his five suspects with Ross’s account of the golden goblet. Now he was faced with another murder enquiry. Worse still, he was apprehensive as to what might be found the other side of the closed door.
‘Ah there you are. We need you to open this door for us,’ instructed Ravenscroft when Crabb returned with the innkeeper.
‘This is rather unusual, sir,’ protested the man.
‘This is police business. Kindly open the door for us.’
The man turned the key in the lock.
‘Thank you. You may go now. You can leave this to us,’ said Ravenscroft, his hand on the door handle, anxious not to open the door until the owner had departed.
The man gave them a worried look before making his way down the stairs.
‘Right. I’ll go in first,’ said Ravenscroft slowly opening the door. A hesitant, nervous Crabb followed him into the room. ‘Empty! No one here. Anstruther must have left and locked the door behind him.’
‘Look, sir, on the floor,’ said Crabb, pointing to some garments in the corner of the room.
Ravenscroft knelt down and picked up a shirt and pair of trousers. ‘See the bloodstains. The shirt in particular is well covered. Our murderer must have been wearing these when he killed Hollinger. See if you can find anything else that might have belonged to Anstruther.’
‘Nothing else here, sir,’ said Crabb, after searching round the room.
‘Exactly as I would have expected. It looks as though Anstruther killed Hollinger, after which he discarded his blood-soaked clothes, before changing into new apparel. He then appears to have then left, taking all his luggage with him.’
‘So it was Anstruther who killed Hollinger. He probably killed the man in the coffin as well.’
Ravenscroft said nothing as he walked round the room, examining the rest of its contents with interest. Crabb stood still wondering what course of action his superior officer would now embark upon.
‘There is nothing else here of interest,’ said Ravenscroft presently. ‘We need to know what time Hollinger and Anstruther retired last night, and whether anyone saw the major leaving. I’ll go and break the news of Hollinger’s death to our three remaining suspects, whilst you go to the mortuary and ask them to come and collect Hollinger’s body.’
* * *
‘Well, what’s happened?’ asked an agitated Ganniford, as Ravenscroft returned to the downstairs room.
‘I’m afraid I have some rather bad news concerning Dr Hollinger—’ began Ravenscroft.
‘Oh no!’ exclaimed Miss Eames, drawing her hand quickly to her face.
‘Here, take a seat, my dear lady,’ said Ganniford steering the lady in the direction of one of the armchairs.
‘I have to tell you all that we have just found Doctor Hollinger dead in his bedroom. He appears to have been cruelly stabbed.’
Miss Eames let out a cry, as Ganniford took hold of her arm and eased his charge into the chair.
‘Stabbbed to death you say?’ said a stunned Jenkins.
‘I’m afraid so.’
‘And Major Anstruther?’ asked the antiquary.
‘There is no sign of the major in his room. He appears to have left some time ago.’
‘You don’t think the major killed poor Dr Hollinger?’ asked a tearful Miss Eames.
‘There, there now, Miss Eames. Do not distress yourself, my dear lady,’ said Ganniford trying to sound as comforting as he could.
‘My constable has gone to fetch assistance. In the meantime, I must ask each of you when you last saw the doctor and the major.’
‘We all had dinner together last night, then afterwards we sat in the snug drinking,’ offered Jenkins, recovering his composure and speaking in his usual matter-of-fact voice, before removing his spectacles and cleaning them on his handkerchief.
‘And after that?’ asked Ravenscroft.
‘I retired at around ten,’ said a tearful Miss Eames.
‘I left shortly afterwards — about ten-thirty,’ offered Ganniford.
‘Mr Jenkins?’ asked Ravenscroft.
‘I retired just before eleven. I left the major and the doctor talking together down here.’
‘Do you happen to recall what the two gentlemen were talking about?’
‘Nothing in particular. I remember that the major was anxious to leave as soon as he could. Something about re-joining his regiment, I believe. He said he had wasted far too much time already. Doctor Hollinger was urging restrai
nt, 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.’