‘What did you do then, Dr Harrison?’
‘I went up to bed.’
‘You didn’t try and communicate with Miss Montacute to tell her that you had broken off your engagement to Miss Brewster?’
‘Of course not, Inspector, it was terribly late.’
‘But not too late to break off your engagement to Miss Brewster?’
‘I’ve already told you my reasons for speaking with Miss Brewster when I did,’ Theo said coldly.
‘When did you speak with Miss Montacute?’
‘I didn’t, Inspector. I had decided to speak with her straight after breakfast this morning. I was going to tell her I had broken off my engagement to Miss Brewster.’ Theo took a deep breath as if he were trying to stifle a sob. ‘If you must know, I was going to ask Miss Montacute to marry me.’
‘Were you indeed?’
‘Yes, I was.’ Theo began to sob. ‘She’ll never know now, will she? She will never know that I had broken off my engagement to Vera and was going to ask her to marry me. She’ll never know …’
‘Forgive me, Dr Harrison. But are you quite sure that you didn’t arrange to meet with Miss Montacute before breakfast? In the maze for instance?’
‘Certainly not! Why should I have arranged to meet Emmeline in there of all places? There are far better places to meet for a romantic assignation if that’s what you’re getting at. The grounds are full of follies for goodness sake.’
‘And yet Miss Montacute was found dead in the maze,’ the inspector said, quietly. ‘Shall I tell you what I think? I think someone did arrange to meet Miss Montacute in the maze. I think that’s why she was there. And do you know what else I think, doctor?’
‘No.’
Theo spoke the word hardly above a whisper and seemed to hold his breath.
‘I think that person was you.’
‘What utter nonsense!’
Theo had risen so violently from his seat that his chair threatened to topple over. ‘How dare you suggest such a thing? I loved Miss Montacute, Inspector. I loved her. If you’re suggesting I had any hand in her murder, why I’ll – ’
‘Sit down, Dr Harrison. Before you get on to your high horse, there’s something I’d like to show you.’
‘Oh?’
Theo sat down again, taken aback by the inspector’s manner, but equally interested in what he was about to say.
Inspector Bramwell proceeded to pick up an envelope from the desk, the same one Charlie, the footman, had brought into him earlier. He withdrew from it a torn off scrap of paper, and passed it to the doctor.
‘Perhaps you’d like to read this out to us, if you will, Dr Harrison.’
Theo held the scrap of paper between his hands. It had obviously been much folded, the consequence of which was to make the words written on it difficult to read. To make matters worse, the ink had been smudged in places, as if the writer had been in a great hurry and had not had the foresight to use a blotter, or alternatively had been too impatient to wait for the ink to quite dry.
Theo held up the paper to his eyes and read each word one at a time, in a disjointed fashion.
‘“Meet me in the middle of the maze at a quarter to six tomorrow morning … I enclose a copy of the plan with this note ... Go out by way of the French windows in the study. They are bolted but not locked … Don’t be late … I have something of the utmost importance to tell you.”’
‘Would you be so good as to read out the initials at the bottom of that note?’
‘“T … E … H.” Oh my God! No!’
‘They are your initials are they not, Doctor?’
‘Yes … No … Yes. You know full well they are. But I didn’t write this note. I tell you I didn’t write it!’
‘And yet they are your initials, are they not, Doctor? I don’t think anyone else in this house has the same initials.’
‘Where did you find it?’ demanded Theo.
‘Folded up inside Miss Montacute’s glove. She evidently tucked it inside her glove before she set off for the maze. There was no sign of the plan though.’
‘I didn’t write that note I tell you.’ Theo’s face contorted suddenly with a look of pain. ‘I didn’t write it, but Emmeline would have thought I had, wouldn’t she? That’s why she went there, isn’t it? She thought she was going to meet me!’ He held his head in his hands. ‘Oh my God, oh my God …’
‘Look at the note again, Dr Harrison. If you didn’t write it, do you know who did? Do you recognise the handwriting?’
Theo held the note up to his eyes again. This time the policeman saw him give an involuntary start.
‘No … no, I don’t, Inspector.’
‘Are you quite certain? You reacted just now as if you had.’
‘I don’t recognise it.’ The doctor fixed the policeman with a cold stare. ‘I think I’ve answered enough of your questions, don’t you? I should like to go now, if you please.’
Chapter Twenty-four
‘Well, what do you think, sir?’ Sergeant Lane asked, as soon as Theo had left the room slamming the door shut behind him. ‘Do you think he recognised the handwriting?’
‘Oh, he recognised it all right!’ snorted the inspector. ‘Because it was his own!’
‘You don’t think it possible that he recognised it as someone else’s? ‘
‘No, I don’t, Sergeant. I think the man’s been lying to us from the moment he sat down in that chair there. Look how he tried to deny that he’d had a relationship with the deceased. Only admitted it when we said the others had told us about it.’
‘You could be right, sir.’
‘Like as not he’s pretending to us that he’s recognised the handwriting as being someone else’s to try and throw us off the scent,’ said Inspector Bramwell, rising from his creaking chair to stretch his legs. ‘It must have come as an awful shock to him to discover that we’d found that note. He didn’t expect us to. Probably thought the girl had had the good sense to throw it on to the fire before she set off for the maze. I’ve no doubt it gave him quite a turn having it handed to him like that.’
‘You don’t like the fellow very much, do you, sir?’ enquired Sergeant Lane rather boldly.
‘No I don’t. Men like that think a lot of themselves. He’s rather a handsome fellow, I grant you. But he’s a big fish in a small pond and he has ambitions to be a big fish in a large pond. From what we’ve been told, he treated Miss Brewster very shabbily, very shabbily indeed.’
‘He’s something of a coward too, isn’t he, sir? Fancy just leaving poor Miss Brewster in the library without making sure she was all right.’
‘Aye, he’s a selfish fellow all right,’ agreed the inspector. ‘Only thinks of himself I should imagine. And, did you see how he was all up and down like a yo-yo? One moment he could barely bring himself to speak, and the next he was jumping up from his chair threatening to knock it over and shout the place down.’
‘He seems to me to have gone all to pieces over Miss Montacute’s death though, sir,’ Sergeant Lane said. ‘Must have thought a lot of her. Do you think he’d be so upset if he had killed her?’
‘It strikes me that he is just the sort of a fellow who’d work himself up into a temper and hit a woman, and then regret it afterwards. Do you know what I think happened, Sergeant?’
‘What, sir?’
‘I think it’s just as he says, up to a point. He breaks off his engagement with Miss Brewster in just the manner he says, and then goes upstairs. He wants to go and tell Miss Montacute what he’s done, but it’s late and he can’t do so without the possibility of ruining her reputation. But he doesn’t want to have to wait until breakfast. So he scribbles that note to her and pushes it under her door. He probably taps on her door at the same time to make sure she sees it.’
‘But I don’t understand why he should want to kill her, sir.’
‘Don’t you, Sergeant? I think he lost his temper. Just as he did in here, jumping up and down. I think they met up in the maz
e as planned – ’
‘But why the maze, sir,’ interrupted Sergeant Lane. ‘Why not meet up in one of the follies as the doctor himself pointed out?’
‘Because of that romantic story Lord Belvedere and Lady Lavinia told about that unfortunate maid who got herself lost in the maze waiting for her young man to appear. Dr Harrison had probably heard that story a number of times before, and we’ve been told that Emmeline Montacute was quite taken with the idea of the maze game. There was little fear that they’d get lost. He had provided Miss Montacute with a plan of the maze and the doctor himself by his own admission knew his way through it.’
‘So what do you think happened?’
‘I think our doctor told Miss Montacute that he’d broken off his engagement with Miss Brewster and, being the impetuous sort of fellow he appears to be, probably went down on one knee and proposed marriage. He as good as told us that’s what he was going to do this morning.’
‘Yes, he did. But what happened?’
‘I think she took fright, and turned down his proposal. Or possibly she did something much worse from his point of view …’
‘What could have been worse than that from his perspective?’
‘Remember I said he was a proud fellow who thought a lot of himself? I think she may have laughed at him. I imagine she told him she considered their relationship little more than a dalliance, a mild flirtation if you will, entered into for her own amusement. She probably reminded him who she was. An heiress and a beautiful one at that, with her choice of far more eligible suitors than a country doctor.’
‘And you think he flew into a fit of temper because of it and killed her?’ asked Sergeant Lane, sounding rather sceptical.
‘I certainly think it a possibility. And I think he’s regretted it ever since.’
‘You may be right of course, sir. But there’s something that’s worrying me.’
‘And what’s that, Sergeant?’
‘How does the candlestick fit into your story?’
‘A very good point, Lane,’ sighed the inspector, going back to his chair and sitting down. ‘That damned candlestick. How the devil does it fit in? For the life of me I can’t imagine why anyone should take such an object with them into the maze.’
‘Theo!’
Vera was upon the doctor as soon as he came into the drawing room.
‘Vera, not now. Leave me alone, damn you!’
Theo took hold of the woman by the arm and pushed her out of his way with such force that she knocked into an occasional table, which toppled and fell over bringing its contents of a lead crystal vase and a silver-framed photograph down with it. Miraculously the glass in both ornaments did not shatter. But it had been enough of a spectacle to cause all those present to look on with a morbid fascination.
‘Harrison!’
Cedric grasped the man roughly by the arm and frogmarched him to the other end of the room. Rose meanwhile went over to Vera who, although shaken, appeared unhurt.
‘You must let him be, Vera. Can’t you see how upset he is? You’re only making matters worse.’
‘I just want to help him. To let him know that I’m here for him.’
‘Why? Don’t you realise, Vera? He doesn’t want you to be there for him.’
Vera shrank back from her as if she had been hit. Her bottom lip trembled and she looked pale and drawn.
‘When I say he doesn’t want you to be there for him, I mean now. I daresay he’ll need you later,’ Rose said more kindly. ‘But please, Vera, see sense. You must give him time.’
It was all Rose could do to keep herself from telling the woman exactly what she thought. In her own opinion Theo had behaved very badly towards Vera and the woman could do much better for herself than settle for a man who had treated her so shabbily. Theo did not deserve Vera’s loyalty or devotion. It incensed her that he should know that Vera was eager to take him back and pretend that what had happened between him and Emmeline was no more than a figment of her own vivid imagination. It was on the tip of her tongue to say something to this effect. But looking at Vera now, nodding feebly and looking as if she were about to fall apart, Rose knew it would do no good. Vera would never listen to reason where Theo was concerned.
‘I only wanted to speak to him. He was in with the policemen for such a long time, wasn’t he? He was in there for much longer than Felix or the count. Why do you think that was, Rose? Do you think they suspect him? Do you think they think he murdered Emmeline?’
‘I don’t know, Vera. We’ll just have to wait and see. But it won’t do any good worrying about it.’
‘Do you think they’ll want to interview me next?’
Vera sounded frightened. She clutched Rose’s hand and held it so tightly that it hurt.
‘I’m scared, Rose. I’m ever so scared. I don’t want to be interviewed. I don’t want them to ask me questions about Theo and Emmeline. I won’t be able to bear it. I tell you I won’t be able to bear it!’
‘Ssh, Vera,’ Rose said hurriedly, conscious that the woman’s voice had risen and that the constable stationed in the corner of the room was eyeing them somewhat suspiciously. ‘Don’t make a scene. Not now. There’s nothing to worry about. It’s just routine. The police are interviewing all of us.’
‘Will you come in with me, Rose? Please. I don’t want to go in there alone. And you know all about being interviewed and murder investigations, don’t you?’ She pulled at Rose’s sleeve so that the girl was obliged to bend her head down so Vera could whisper in her ear. ‘I’ve done something very wicked, Rose. Frightfully wicked. And I’m frightened to tell them about it. Will you come in there with me when they interview me? I want to tell them everything. But I need you to come in with me, otherwise I’ll never have the courage to do so. Will you? Say you will?’
‘If they allow me to, yes, of course,’ Rose said, wondering what Vera had to tell them and whether it would further her own investigations.
‘Thank you.’ Vera stood up tall, with her shoulders back. She stared fixedly at the door, a grave and determined look upon her face. ‘I feel much braver now. Now that I know you’ll be coming with me. I want to tell them all about it. It will be such a relief.’
Rose followed Vera’s gaze to the door and it seemed to her that together they had willed the door to open. For at that very moment they saw the door handle move, followed by Sergeant Lane entering the room. He scoured those present, his eye settling on Vera, standing there clutching Rose’s hand.
‘The inspector would like to speak to you next, Miss Brewster. If you’d care to come this way please, miss.’
‘I want Miss Simpson to come in with me, Sergeant,’ Vera said in a surprisingly firm voice.
‘Well, I don’t know, miss, whether the inspector will …’
The policeman’s sentence faltered, for Vera had already walked purposefully over to the door and disappeared into the hall beyond, Rose following in her wake, much as Jemima had done in Emmeline’s.
‘Ah, Miss Brewster, do come in,’ said Inspector Bramwell, smiling reassuringly at Vera. He caught sight of Rose and the smile vanished from his lips. ‘Ah, Miss Simpson. I didn’t see you there. What can I do for you?’
‘I asked Miss Simpson to come in with me, Inspector,’ answered Vera before Rose was obliged to say anything. ‘She has experience of these things, you know.’
‘Yes … I do know.’
‘Well, I need her here so that I can answer your questions. If I’m here by myself … well … I don’t think I will have the necessary courage to answer your questions properly.’
‘Courage?’ A puzzled look crossed the inspector’s face. ‘Really, Miss Brewster, you don’t need to have courage to answer my questions. I daresay you may find my questions rather intrusive. But I hope you won’t find me frightening,’ he chuckled. ‘Unless of course you have something to hide.’
‘That’s just it, Inspector. I have. I’d much rather not tell you about it, but I know that I must. Otherwise yo
u’ll think Theo had a hand in Emmeline’s murder, and he didn’t. I promise you he didn’t. He’d never hurt anyone. Why, he’s a doctor. He saves lives and makes people better. He’d never kill anyone. He couldn’t.’
The image of Theo knocking Vera into the table came into Rose’s mind unbidden. She remembered too the rough way the doctor had spoken to the woman. He had been trying not to lose his temper, but he had failed to keep it in check. It seemed to her that Theo Harrison was very much the type of man who might hurt someone.
‘What makes you believe that we think Dr Harrison murdered Miss Montacute, Miss Brewster?’
The inspector’s face now looked rather grave. Rose thought he also looked apprehensive, almost as if he were afraid of what Vera was going to say next.
‘He was in here for such a long time,’ explained Vera. ‘And he looked absolutely awful when he came back into the drawing room, didn’t he, Rose?’
‘Some people find being interviewed more difficult than others,’ said the policeman. ‘It’s when they try to keep things back or not tell us the whole truth. It does them no good, no good at all.’
‘Did Dr Harrison do that?’ Vera asked anxiously.
‘Now, miss, we’re not here to talk about Dr Harrison. We’re here to talk about you. Don’t worry your head about the doctor.’
‘But I love him,’ Vera said.
Both her voice and choice of words sounded rather pathetic, and the others stood there awkwardly, not quite knowing how to respond. It was the inspector who recovered first.
‘Right, sit down there, if you will please, Miss Brewster.’
‘And Miss Simpson, where – ’
‘It’s all right, miss. Miss Simpson can stay as long as she doesn’t interrupt. Sergeant, place that chair next to Miss Brewster’s, will you.’ The inspector turned to fix Rose with a not altogether friendly stare. ‘Now, Miss Simpson, I’m allowing you to stay here on account of Miss Brewster seeming to need you here. But I must warn you not – ’
‘It’s all right, Inspector,’ Rose said, quickly. ‘I’ve done this before.’
03 - Murder at Sedgwick Court Page 23