Deadly Treasures

by Vivian Conroy

  Jake said, ‘Even so that man Page, the expert on local history, doesn’t seem to think this treasure is genuine. It sounded like he thinks it is a fairy tale and we are insane to even invest a little time in it.’

  ‘Still, he was very protective of his material, and almost aggressive when he said everybody is after the treasure. He might believe he is the only one who has a right to it as he has looked into it for a long time. The innkeeper even suggested just now that Page might have carved the threat in the tool shed wall.’

  Jake pursed his lips. ‘That is just speculation on the innkeeper’s part. He wanted to convince us he hadn’t done it.’

  ‘Maybe,’ Alkmene agreed, ‘but Page happened to be at the inn the morning when news of the dead body on the site came in. He went to the site at once to see the dead body. Allegedly because he wanted to know who it was, but…there might be more to it than plain curiosity or the excitement of a big event in a small town where nothing ever happens. I think our Mr Page has much more of an interest in the dig and possibly even the treasure than he cares to show to us. He is clever and careful. He also believed someone has been into his building without him knowing about it. Using a spare key to go through books or paperwork.’

  ‘But what did this person expect to find there? Duncan was hardly the first to look for the treasure. The innkeeper just said that half the land had been overturned in attempts to find it.’

  Jake raked through his hair. ‘I still think it was very convenient for Duncan that the bracelet went missing. He can maintain he is not on a wild goose chase while he doesn’t have to show any evidence for his assertion as it is no longer there.’

  Alkmene waved a hand. ‘Whatever happened to the bracelet, we now know that Goodman got information about the dig from Miles. Information about procedures as the innkeeper put it. That could mean someone wanted to know about Duncan’s behaviour during the day, or maybe the places where he kept his equipment? His finds even?’

  Jake nodded. ‘That makes sense if Goodman was here either for Price or in his own interests.’

  ‘Exactly. But who provided Goodman with information after Miles had said he wouldn’t come out any more?’

  Jake shrugged. ‘Any other worker who might have wanted some fast money.’

  ‘Or Kramer. Page did use curious words about Kramer. That he would be back here soon because he wasn’t done here yet.’ Alkmene grimaced. ‘It sounded somewhat sinister.’ She glanced at Jake again. ‘Do you think Kramer is the murdering type?’

  ‘Any man can become angry or feel cornered and reach for a hammer that is conveniently around.’

  ‘Oh, but wait.’ Alkmene put her hand on his arm. ‘If the victim did not die in the spot where he was found, then the hammer might not have been the murder weapon. The killer might have gotten blood on it and put it beside the body to make it look like it was used. To incriminate Duncan.’

  ‘But if the hammer wasn’t the murder weapon, then what was?’

  Alkmene pursed her lips. ‘Depends on where the murder really took place. What was around to use in that particular spot? If we have to assume it was out in the fields somehow, maybe closer to the remaining tower of the Black Castle, it might have been a rock. Do you know if they had a close and careful look at the head wound during the autopsy?’

  ‘No idea, but I can look into it.’ Jake pulled the tattered notepad from his pocket that he had also used with Page and took down some notes. ‘I want to call my editor anyway, so I could call some contacts as well. The moved body is an interesting twist.’

  Alkmene frowned before she continued, ‘We already know that a number of people were at The Catch on the night the bracelet vanished from Duncan’s pocket. Miles was there, obviously, as he was accused of the theft. But Old Paul’s daughter was also serving. And Peartree was playing billiards with Duncan. All of them might have had access to Duncan’s jacket at some time. I wonder if Page was also in The Catch that night?’

  Jake stared at her. ‘You suspect Leonard Page of stealing it?’

  Alkmene smiled. ‘You just stated there might never have been any bracelet. But in case there was, I’m wondering who would benefit from it disappearing. Peartree obviously as he wanted to win the wager about the gold. Old Paul’s daughter if she was afraid that this single find would create a rush to her father’s land and decrease the likelihood her family would ever get it back. But how about Page? He’s a man set in his ways, who is living a past that has long gone. The way he spends his days – protective of old traditions, of this town the way it used to be – maybe he resented Duncan for having found part of a treasure that had eluded everybody else for so long. He might see us Londoners as outsiders who don’t deserve a place in local history.’

  Jake nodded. ‘A fair assessment. Hey, isn’t that our friend Peartree?’

  He pointed ahead to where a man stood talking to a farmer with a cart. Peartree raised his hand at the farmer in farewell, the cart started to move as the horse began to walk again, and Peartree turned into the street, coming straight at them. He seemed to hesitate a moment when he spotted them, as if he wanted to turn away, but there was no side road. Pulling back his shoulders, and putting a smile on his face, he came for them. ‘Hello. Sightseeing, are you?’

  ‘Not really,’ Jake said. ‘That night when Duncan lost the bracelet at the inn, did you happen to be there?’

  Peartree blinked at him. ‘Excuse me? Oh, that night. Yes, I was playing billiards with him. I won.’

  He admitted it with an ease that belied any duplicity on his part.

  Jake asked, ‘Who else was there?’

  Peartree’s face scrunched up. ‘A lot of the villagers. I don’t know their names. That girl who is fawning at Duncan was there and a good-looking woman who seems to be a local widow. She brought us our beer.’ He grinned as if he remembered an incident he found amusing.

  Alkmene wanted to probe him, but Jake immediately said, ‘Was Leonard Page there, the former clerk?’

  ‘The local history buff.’ Peartree grimaced. ‘Oh yes, you can never avoid him and his long-winded stories. He came over and watched us play for a while. Quite distracting to hear someone prattle on about ruins and stuff while you are focusing on your next shot. Odd little man. I always wonder if he is having back troubles. He stood leaned on a chair for a while, you know.’

  ‘The chair on which Duncan’s jacket hung?’ Alkmene pounced at once.

  Peartree pursed his lips. ‘Possibly. Yes, I seem to remember thinking he was creasing it by putting his full weight on it. But Duncan was too busy assessing his next shot to take any notice of it.’

  Alkmene thought it was rather convenient Peartree remembered all of these details.

  But Jake continued, ‘When the bracelet went missing, was anybody questioned by the local police?’

  Peartree laughed softly. ‘Are you kidding? They didn’t believe there had ever been any bracelet. One of their constables was actually at the inn that night. He claims no theft could have taken place under his nose.’

  Alkmene perked up. ‘Was he watching the game too?’

  Peartree frowned. ‘I think he was for a while. He was with two hunting companions. He seems to have two great hounds who have won prizes hunting…partridge? Or was it duck? Well, anyway, he is proud of it and was boasting about it.’

  Peartree shook his head. ‘Vain type, you know. Thinks no thief would have attempted to pick a pocket under his nose. But the truth is, he was at a table playing cards half the night, so what on earth could he have seen?’

  Alkmene stared at the pavement. So Aldridge had been there too, with hunting companions. The list became longer and longer. ‘Was Kramer there that night? Duncan’s driver?’

  Peartree shrugged. ‘I don’t remember. Might have. He looks different out of uniform somehow. I never trusted him from the first moment I laid eyes on him. He sort of avoids looking you straight in the eye, you know. Has an ulterior motive or some
thing. Once I looked out of the window when dusk came and I could have sworn I saw him skulking about the cottage. In the back where all the big bushes are.’

  ‘There was upturned earth there,’ Alkmene mused. ‘Somebody might have stood there and watched the cottage.’

  She looked at Peartree. ‘But was that somebody watching Duncan…or you?’

  Peartree flushed. ‘Me? Why me? I was only a guest here.’

  ‘You left London quite suddenly to come here and stay with Duncan.’

  ‘Is it a crime to come stay with a friend?’

  Jake said, ‘No, but it could take a criminal turn when the friend is supposed to come up with nothing and suddenly finds a gold bracelet that might have been part of a famed old treasure. You didn’t want Duncan to find anything, or you’d lose your wager.’

  ‘Furthermore,’ Alkmene added, ‘You’d lose your chance to avenge yourself on his family for denying you the right to court Delphine.’

  Peartree’s face was a deep purple now. He hissed between his teeth, ‘You sound like a gossip column. I never wanted to court…’ He couldn’t get the name out.

  Alkmene decided to increase the pressure. ‘Maybe you think her wedding to the marquess will be cancelled if a scandal arises over the murder charge?’

  ‘Yes, and maybe…’ Peartree’s eyes blazed with anger ‘…I even believed that I could offer to change my testimony to acquit Duncan and the family would love me so much that they would accept me for a son-in-law. Do you think there is any jury in this country who will listen to such stories? The facts are clear. Duncan fought with Goodman the night before Goodman died. I overheard them fighting, I overheard Duncan threatening to hit him over the head, and I will maintain that whatever happens next. If dear Delphine sees her brother swing, it’s Duncan’s own fault. Not mine.’

  Peartree pushed past them, deliberately slamming his shoulder into Jake’s.

  Jake rubbed it as he watched the man stride off. ‘Has a temper, don’t you think? Definitely the type who could grab at an impromptu weapon and bash someone’s head in.’

  ‘Maybe Goodman was here in Cornwall on his invitation? Maybe the two of them were in league to sabotage the excavations. After all, they had the same objective. Goodman wanted the dig to come up empty so Duncan would lose all credibility with Price, and Goodman could have his old position back as Price’s right-hand man. On his part Peartree wanted the dig to fail so he could have the money from the wager and make Duncan look a fool among all his friends and family. Maybe they also contrived between them to have the bracelet vanish.’

  Alkmene stared ahead in deep concentration. ‘Then they got into an argument about the next move. They had different outcomes in mind. Peartree on his part wanted the dig to end in total failure, while Goodman wanted to show off the find and take credit for it with his patron. So maybe they argued, and Peartree killed Goodman. Then he started talking all over town about Duncan having fought with Goodman hours before he died, so the police would start looking at Duncan alone. Peartree emphasized to me, over and over, that nobody here knew Goodman and nobody had a reason to want him dead. But maybe he did know him, before, and they both came here to play some sort of game to discredit Duncan.’

  Jake exhaled. ‘That’s possible, but we have no proof. We can’t place Peartree on the dig that night, with Goodman. We don’t have his muddy boots…’

  ‘But we did see muddy boots in his room!’ Alkmene grabbed at Jake’s arm. ‘He caught us looking in his room. There were muddy boots there, remember?’

  Jake nodded. ‘Yes, but everybody who traverses country roads must have muddy boots. The mud doesn’t tell us when the person concerned was there.’

  Alkmene sighed. ‘I suppose you are right. A dead end again then. I suppose we would be better off if we could establish a tie between Goodman and Peartree before they even came here. Would there have been correspondence between them? Either among Goodman’s things here, or in his house in London?’

  ‘I have no idea but as soon as Scotland Yard starts poking around, they will think about something like that and go to Goodman’s London home.’ Jake took a deep breath. ‘You’d better rehearse your story too.’

  ‘My story? What do you mean?’

  ‘Scotland Yard will want a statement from you. Why you are here, what you know about Duncan, the murdered man, the dig. You’d better be careful what you tell them or they might draw a wrong conclusion and arrest an innocent local.’

  Their walk had taken them in a semicircle and they turned a corner to find themselves back in the village square. Jake nodded at a dark car parked in front of the inn. ‘New arrivals.’

  His ominous tone on top of his warning about her statement made Alkmene’s neck prickle. ‘Could be just people who want to breathe country air for a day or two,’ she said defensively.

  Jake nodded. ‘Could be. But whether it is now or later, the Yard is coming in, and you’d better be prepared to give them a good story. Now I’m off to make the calls about Goodman’s head wound.’ He smiled briskly and headed to the post office.

  Alkmene gave his back a dirty look. She liked Jake’s way to put a little pressure on people when it could deliver useful information for the investigation, not when he turned his threats on her. Scotland Yard. They were different kinds of officers than the local police she had been involved with so far. Somehow it felt like a higher law that put awe into her. Like they had the power to read her mind.

  Slightly unnerved, she entered The Catch. At the reception desk a tall man was standing with a younger man by his side. They both turned when Alkmene came up to them. ‘That’s her,’ the innkeeper said in a squeaky voice that suggested he’d undergone thorough intimidation.

  Her heart beating fast, Alkmene flashed a wide smile. ‘Good afternoon.’

  The tall man nodded briefly. ‘Lady Alkmene Callender? Inspector Coones, Scotland Yard. I understand you were driven out here by a driver named Heinrich Kramer?’

  The question took Alkmene by surprise. Why was Scotland Yard pouncing on Kramer of all people? Carefully she said, ‘I wouldn’t know his first name. Everybody just calls him Kramer.’

  The inspector nodded again. ‘What did Kramer tell you en route about his purpose for being here?’

  Alkmene hitched a brow. ‘His purpose? He was supposed to drive me out here. That is what he does as chauffeur. He is in the employ of the Woolsbury family. He follows their orders. He can’t simply choose what he wants to do.’

  Jake would probably consider this a prim little statement, but it was factually true.

  The inspector’s mouth tilted up just a bit. ‘That might be what the Woolsbury family believes, Lady Alkmene. But we have every reason to assume Mr Kramer was here with an ulterior motive. Did he ask you any suspicious questions and make any odd statements?’

  ‘Kramer? With him you’d think every word costs a pound. He said very little.’

  ‘And since your arrival, have you noticed anything odd? Out of the ordinary?’

  Of course Jake and she had seen Kramer on the moors near an abandoned farmstead with what had looked like a child whom he gave money to. But Alkmene was not about to mention that now. This grim-looking duo might go out hunting for the child, and the villagers would be angry that one of their own, a little boy at that, was persecuted.

  ‘Not really,’ she said, trusting the detail would not be crucial to the murder case.

  The inspector nodded. ‘I want a formal statement from you to that point.’

  Alkmene winced. Lying to the police in a simple question and answer session like this was one thing, leaving information out in a formal statement was something different altogether. If that got out later, she might be culpable or something. She was not even sure.

  Would Jake know? He might have smirked at her a little for her upcoming confrontation with the Yard, but he had to help her sail these perilous waters without doing permanent damage.

  She ask
ed, ‘Is there really a need for a formal statement, Inspector? My father is not keen on public exposure. I assume you understand my position.’

  ‘Perfectly, Lady Alkmene. But we’re talking about a murder case here.’

  Alkmene tilted her head. ‘Are you considering Kramer a viable suspect?’

  The inspector smiled at her. ‘At this moment he is in a cell in London awaiting further questioning. We believe that by tying up a few loose ends in person, out here in Blackcastle, we can complete the case against him and charge him with the murder of Reiner Goodman.’

  Chapter Seventeen

  Alkmene blinked at him. That someone got arrested for the murder and it was not Duncan should be good news. But somehow this resolution didn’t make complete sense to her. ‘You have arrested Kramer for the murder? On what grounds?’

  ‘I’m not at liberty to divulge that.’

  Alkmene thought quickly. Kramer had been up to something out here, that was for sure, but had he killed Goodman? ‘He needs a lawyer.’

  Coones grimaced. ‘Lady Eleanor assured me one would be coming to the station very soon.’

  The young man with the inspector said something at last, ‘We arrested him right under her nose, you know. She was not pleased. She seemed to think her chauffeur should be above the law. But we do not care for titles or reputations in our pursuit of justice.’

  Alkmene winced at the latter words. That meant she’d have to give her statement. If only she knew why Kramer had met up with the child. If she would be doing any harm by revealing the fact to these Scotland Yard bloodhounds.

  The inspector turned away from her to ask the innkeeper where he could find a Mr Leonard Page.

  Alkmene slunk away to the stairs, trotting up quickly to hide in her room. That the inspector asked for the little clerk was surprising.