GALLOWS COURT
Martin Edwards
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Gallows Court
LONDON, 1930
Sooty, sulphurous, and malign: no woman should be out on a night like this. A spate of violent deaths – the details too foul to print – has horrified the capital and the smog-bound streets are deserted. But Rachel Savernake – the enigmatic daughter of a notorious hanging judge – is no ordinary woman. To Scotland Yard’s embarrassment, she solved the Chorus Girl Murder, and now she’s on the trail of another killer.
Jacob Flint, a young newspaperman temporarily manning The Clarion’s crime desk, is looking for the scoop that will make his name. He’s certain there is more to the Miss Savernake’s amateur sleuthing than meets the eye. He’s not the only one. His predecessor on the crime desk was of a similar mind – not that Mr Betts is ever expected to regain consciousness after that unfortunate accident...
Flint’s pursuit of Rachel Savernake will draw him ever-deeper into a labyrinth of deception and corruption. Murder-by-murder, he’ll be swept ever-closer to its dark heart – to that ancient place of execution, where it all began and where it will finally end: Gallows Court.
Contents
Welcome Page
Gallows Court
Dedication
Juliet Brentano’s Journal
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Juliet Brentano’s Journal
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Juliet Brentano’s Journal
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Juliet Brentano’s Journal
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Juliet Brentano’s Journal
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Juliet Brentano’s Journal
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Juliet Brentano’s Journal
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Juliet Brentano’s Journal
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Juliet Brentano’s Journal
Chapter 29
Juliet Brentano’s Journal
Chapter 30
Juliet Brentano’s Journal, 7 February 1919
Chapter 31
Juliet Brentano’s Journal
Chapter 32
Juliet Brentano’s Journal
Chapter 33
Juliet Brentano’s Journal
Chapter 34
Acknowledgements
About Martin Edwards
An Invitation from the Publisher
Copyright
To Jonathan and Catherine
Juliet Brentano’s Journal
30 January 1919
My parents died yesterday.
Henrietta has just broken the news. Tears filled her eyes, and she put a hand on my arm. I didn’t speak, and I didn’t cry. The gale sweeping over the island from the Irish Sea howled for me.
Henrietta says Harold Brown sent Judge Savernake a telegram from London. My parents caught the Spanish flu, he said, like thousands before them. It was all over very quickly, and they passed away peacefully in each other’s arms.
It’s a fairy story. The emptiness in her voice told me she doesn’t believe a word of it.
Neither do I. My mother and father were murdered, I’m sure of it.
And Rachel Savernake is responsible.
1
‘Jacob Flint is watching the house again.’ The housekeeper’s voice rose. ‘Do you think he knows about…?’
‘How could he?’ Rachel Savernake said. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll deal with him.’
‘You can’t!’ the older woman protested. ‘You don’t have time.’
Rachel adjusted her cloche hat in front of the looking glass. A demure face returned her gaze. Nobody would guess her nerve-ends were tingling. Was this how the Judge felt, when he put on his black cap?
‘There’s time enough. The car isn’t due for five minutes.’
She slid on her evening gloves. Mrs Trueman handed her the bag, and opened the front door. A voice crooned from the drawing room. Martha was listening to the Dorsey Brothers on the new automatic gramophone. Rachel danced down the short flight of steps in her Pompadour heels, humming Cole Porter’s song, ‘Let’s Do It’.
Fog was slithering over the square, and cold January air nibbled her cheeks. She was glad of her sable coat. The lamp-lights tinged the dirty greyness with an eerie yellow hue. Long years spent on a small island had accustomed her to sea frets. She felt a strange affection for the winter mists drifting in from the water, rippling like gauze curtains, draping the damp landscape. A London particular was a different beast – sooty, sulphurous, and malign, as capable of choking you as a Limehouse ruffian. The greasy air made her eyes smart, and its acrid taste burned her throat. Yet the foul and muddy swirl troubled her no more than pitch darkness frightens a blind man. Tonight she felt invincible.
A figure detached itself from the shadows. Peering through the gloom, she made out a tall, skinny man in coat and trilby. A long woollen scarf, loosely tied, hung from his shoulders. His gait was energetic yet awkward. She guessed he’d been plucking up courage to ring the doorbell.
‘Miss Savernake! Sorry to bother you on a Sunday evening!’ He sounded young, eager, and utterly unapologetic. ‘My name is—’
‘I know who you are.’
‘But we haven’t been introduced.’ Unruly strands of fair hair sneaked from under the trilby, and a pompous clearing of the throat couldn’t disguise his gaucherie. At twenty-four, he had the fresh, scrubbed features of a schoolboy. ‘I happen to be—’
‘Jacob Flint, a reporter with the Clarion. You must know that I never speak to the press.’
‘I’ve done my homework.’ He glanced to left and right. ‘What I do know is that it’s unsafe for a lady to be out while a brutal killer prowls the London streets.’
‘Perhaps I’m not really a lady.’
His eyes fastened on the diamond clip in her hat. ‘You look every inch—’
‘Appearances can be deceptive.’
He leaned towards her. His skin smelled of coal-tar soap. ‘If you’re not really a lady, all the more reason for you to take care.’
‘It is unwise to threaten me, Mr Flint.’
He took a step back. ‘I’m desperate to talk to you. You recall the note I left with your housekeeper?’
Of course she did. She’d watched from the window as he delivered it. He’d fiddled nervously with his tie while waiting on the step. Surely he wasn’t stupid enough to believe she’d answer the door herself?
‘My car will arrive presently, and I don’t intend to conduct an interview anywhere, let alone on a pavement in the fog.’
‘You can trust me, Miss Savernake.’
‘Don’t be absurd. You’re a journalist.’
‘Honestly, we have something in common.’
‘What, exactly?’ She ticked points off on her gloved hand. ‘You learned your trade as a reporter in Yorkshire before arriving in London last autumn. You lodge in Amwell Street, and you worry that your landlady’s daughter seeks to trade her body for marriage. Ambition drove you to join the muckrakers on the Clarion rather than a respectable newspaper. The editor admires your persistence, but frets about your rashnes
s.’
He gulped. ‘How…?’
‘You have a morbid interest in crime, and regard Thomas Betts’ recent accident as both a misfortune and an opportunity. With the Clarion’s chief crime reporter on his death bed, you scent a chance to make your name.’ She took a breath. ‘Be careful what you wish for. If Wall Street can crumble, so can anything. How unfortunate if your promising career were cut short, like his.’
He flinched, as if she’d slapped his face. When he spoke, his voice was hoarse.
‘No wonder you solved the Chorus Girl Murder. You’re quite a detective; you put the boys in blue to shame.’
‘When you sent me a note, did you expect me to do nothing?’
‘I’m flattered that you took the trouble to investigate me.’ He ventured a grin, showing crooked teeth. ‘Or are you brilliant enough to deduce all that from the careless knotting of my scarf, and the fact my shoes need a shine?’
‘Find someone else to write about, Mr Flint.’
‘My editor would be shocked to hear us described as muckrakers.’ He’d recovered his composure as quickly as he’d lost it. ‘The Clarion gives the common folk a voice. It’s our latest slogan. Our readers need to know.’
‘Not about me.’
‘If you leave money out of it, you and I aren’t so very different.’ He grinned. ‘Both new to London, inquisitive, and stubborn as mules. I notice you don’t deny solving the Chorus Girl case. So what do you make of the latest sensation, this butchering of poor Mary-Jane Hayes in Covent Garden?’
He paused, but she didn’t fill the silence.
‘Mary-Jane Hayes’ remains were found in a sack, and her head was missing.’ He breathed out. ‘The details were too foul to print. She was a decent woman – that’s what keeps our readers awake at night. Not someone who got what she deserved.’
Rachel Savernake’s face resembled a porcelain mask. ‘Do women ever get what they deserve?’
‘This madman won’t stop at one. They never do. Before any more women are harmed, he must be brought to justice.’
She considered him. ‘So you believe in justice?’
The sleek contours of a Rolls-Royce Phantom loomed through the dirty yellow fog, and the young man skipped out of its path to avoid being crushed. It drew up by Rachel’s side.
‘Time to go, Mr Flint.’
A broad-shouldered man, six feet four if an inch, climbed out of the car. As he opened the rear door, Rachel handed him her bag. Jacob Flint gave the fellow a wary glance. He looked as if he’d be more at home in a heavyweight boxer’s dressing gown than in a chauffeur’s livery. His buttons gleamed like warning lights.
Jacob gave a little bow. ‘It never does to hide from the press, Miss Savernake. If I don’t tell your story, someone less scrupulous will do the job. Let me have a scoop, and you won’t regret it.’
Rachel seized hold of the loose ends of his scarf, and pulled the knot tight against his neck. Startled, he let out a gasp.
‘I never waste time on regrets, Mr Flint,’ she whispered.
Releasing the scarf, she took the bag from Trueman, and settled herself in the back of the Phantom. As the car glided away into the night, she was conscious of Jacob Flint rubbing his neck as he watched her disappear. Might he prove useful? To give him the story he craved would be risky, but she’d never been afraid to gamble. It was in her blood.
*
‘Did the boy make trouble?’ Trueman asked through the speaking tube.
‘No, if he knew anything, he’d have let it slip.’
On the back seat beside her lay a parcel wrapped in tissue paper to protect the burgundy velvet upholstery. She ripped away the tissue to reveal a service revolver. She’d taught herself enough about firearms to recognise a Webley .455 Mark VI. The chequered grips and nickel plating were distinctive, but she didn’t need to ask whether it was untraceable. Trueman thought of everything. Opening the alligator-skin bag, she slipped the gun inside.
As they drove towards Euston, she saw more uniformed policemen on the pavements than passers-by. Not a single woman had ventured out on foot. With the Covent Garden murderer on the loose, nobody would stroll around central London in the murk without good cause. The air was rank with fear.
The Doric Arch reared up out in front of them, a grotesque monument to a dead civilisation. She checked her watch. Ten minutes to six. Despite the fog, they had made good time.
‘Stop here.’
Jumping out of the car, heels clicking on the cobblestones, she hurried into the station. People were milling around in the bright blue light of the refreshment room. Rachel strode towards the luggage office. An elderly man who bore a startling resemblance to Stanley Baldwin was complaining loudly to nobody in particular, while waving his walking stick at the message in black capitals on a large piece of cardboard.
CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
She halted beneath a yellow film poster advertising Alfred Hitchcock’s Blackmail. All she had to do was wait, an elegant spider anticipating the arrival of a hapless fly.
Lawrence Pardoe came into view at precisely one minute before six. A small, portly man in a cashmere overcoat and bowler hat, he was carrying a cheap plywood case so gingerly it might have been crammed with Dresden china. His eyes kept darting around, as if he expected a thief to cosh him.
She watched him approach the luggage office. Only when he was two yards away did he notice the cardboard sign. The sight of it knocked the breath out of him. Putting the case on the floor, he pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and mopped his brow. A burly police constable materialised out of the crowd, and marched towards him. Rachel took a step forward, and saw the policeman mutter into Pardoe’s ear.
Pardoe contrived a bilious smile, seeming to insist that he was quite all right, officer, and no, thank you, he didn’t need any help. With a parting glance at the plywood case, the constable gave a cheerful nod, and turned away. Pardoe sagged in relief.
Would panic make him cut and run? He was a sick man: he might keel over from a heart attack.
But no. After a moment’s hesitation, he picked the case up again, and plodded towards the exit. This was her cue to retrace her steps, moving twice as fast.
Outside the station, the fog was thickening, but the Rolls-Royce’s outlines were unmistakeable. Trueman opened the rear door, and she climbed in. Peering through the window, she spotted Pardoe stumbling through the grey night, weighed down by his burden, searching for a maroon Phantom with black wings.
Without a word, Trueman strode forward. He seized hold of the plywood case, hoisted it into the motoring trunk, and motioned Pardoe inside the car.
The door had closed on Pardoe before he noticed her. Sweat smeared his forehead, and his breathing rasped. His complexion was the colour of an over-ripe plum. He was a man of fifty, unaccustomed to exercise; people had always fetched and carried for him. Rachel smiled sweetly, hoping he wouldn’t die before the time was right.
‘Good evening, Mr Pardoe.’
‘Good… good evening.’ He scanned her features, screwing up his eyes as if trying to decipher a cryptograph. ‘It’s not… Miss Savernake?’
‘You detect a family resemblance?’
‘Yes, yes. Faint, of course, but… remarkable man, your late father.’ He fished for a silk handkerchief, and wiped his damp forehead. ‘Judge Savernake was… a very great loss.’
‘You seem distressed.’
He coughed. ‘My apologies, Miss Savernake, but I have had… a rather trying time.’
His brow contracted. Was he trying to read her mind? A hopeless task. He couldn’t possibly guess his fate.
Trueman started the engine, and Rachel laid one hand upon her bag. The Phantom’s engine was so quiet that she could almost hear the clank and grind of Pardoe’s brain.
As they turned into Tottenham Court Road, he said, ‘Where are we going?’
‘To South Audley Street.’
‘Not my house?’ He was bewildered.
‘Your ho
use, yes. You did as you were told, I hope, and instructed your staff that their presence wasn’t required this evening?’
‘I received a message from a trusted friend, asking me to come to Euston Station and leave… something at the luggage office. I was told this car would collect me, and that I’d meet a young lady – I didn’t realise it would be you, Miss Savernake – who would take me to see my friend. He didn’t explain why he wanted me to clear everyone out of the house…’
‘Forgive me,’ Rachel said. ‘I sent the message.’
Terror flared in his eyes. ‘Impossible!’
‘Nothing is impossible,’ she said quietly. ‘You must believe that, if it’s the last thing you do.’
‘I don’t understand.’
She took the revolver from her bag, and pushed it against his ribs. ‘You don’t need to. Hush, now.’
*
A sour tang of wood polish hung in the air of Pardoe’s study. The room had a single door, but no window. The only light was cast by a candle in a gold stick; the ticking of a grandmother clock seemed unnaturally loud. Pardoe bent over his roll-top desk, hands trembling as if he suffered from palsy. On the desk were a pen, several blank sheets of foolscap, two envelopes, and a bottle of Indian ink.
Trueman sat in a leather wingback armchair. His right hand held a gun, his left a butcher’s knife with a gleaming blade. At his feet lay a Kodak Brownie camera. A brown bearskin rug was spread out on the floor. In the middle stood the plywood trunk Pardoe had carried inside at the point of Rachel’s gun.
Rachel delved into her handbag, and brought out a chess piece. A black pawn. Pardoe gave a low moan. She walked towards the desk, and placed the pawn next to the inkwell, before picking up a sheet of foolscap and an envelope, and putting them into her bag.
‘Why are you doing this?’ Pardoe blinked away a tear. ‘There’s a Milner safe next door. The combination…’
‘Why would I steal your valuables? I have more money than I know what to do with.’
‘Then… what do you want?’
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