The Children of Silence (42 page)

‘But you cannot expect me to go to a police station,’ Harriett objected. ‘There would be crowds of noisy people there. I could muffle my ears of course, but how might I then hold a conversation?’

‘No, I understand that and would never ask you to do such a thing, which is why I have asked both the Inspector and my uncle to come here today.’

‘Today?’

‘I know I have taken a liberty by inviting guests to your home, and I beg your forgiveness, but I thought you would not wish your sister to remain in custody for a moment longer than is necessary.’

‘Not a single moment,’ Harriett agreed. ‘What a surprising and energetic young woman you are; I can see why the newspapers praise you so.’

Soon afterwards Cornelius and the Inspector arrived as arranged, Sharrock looking grim and Cornelius weary but resolute.

When they were all assembled in the little parlour Frances addressed the Inspector. ‘I have asked you to come here today to listen to the very earnest entreaties of Mrs Harriett Antrobus on behalf of her poor sister. You will, I am sure, admit that she knows her own sister better than anyone and can give you a full understanding of her character. When you have heard what she has to say you will see that it is quite impossible for Miss Pearce to have acted in the manner of which she has been accused.’

Cornelius nodded emphatically. ‘Well said, my dear. Inspector, I beg you to listen and take good note of what both my niece and Harriett have to tell you.’

‘We also feel very strongly that the police have been hasty and presumptuous, and ignored other far more obvious avenues of enquiry,’ added Frances, glancing at Harriett, who nodded emphatically.

‘Oh we have, have we?’ growled Sharrock. ‘Well let Mrs Antrobus speak for herself.’

Harriett turned her bright, luminous eyes to the policeman. ‘I am so grateful that you have taken the trouble to listen to me. My poor sister is a gentle selfless creature, who has laboured all her life in the interests of others but has never committed an act that would harm another. She would be quite incapable of doing so.’

Sharrock remained unconvinced. ‘People have surprised me before with what they are capable of; they’ve surprised their nearest and dearest too.’

‘But your actions are so blinkered!’ exclaimed Cornelius, loud enough to make Harriett wince. ‘First you arrest a respectable doctor and then a virtuous lady! Who will be next? The Lord Mayor of London?’

‘Indeed,’ continued Harriett. ‘Why cannot you look for some common street thief – every day the newspapers tell of desperate creatures who commit the most terrible crimes for next to nothing. Mr Eckley was surely lured into the Mews and murdered by a robber for the sake of his watch.’

Sharrock shook his head. ‘Street robbers act on the moment, they see something and they snatch it or they follow their mark to a quiet place. They don’t make an appointment by letter. We know that Eckley received a letter that day and took it with him to meet his murderer. We found a fragment of it in his hand.’

‘But you don’t know what the letter said,’ reasoned Harriett. ‘It might have had nothing to do with the case.’

‘Then why would the killer take it away? It makes no sense. People don’t steal letters. No, the killer took it because it made the appointment and was incriminating. Eckley must have been told to bring it to the meeting. The watch was only taken to make it look like a robbery.’

‘Harriett,’ interrupted Frances, softly, ‘how did you know that Mr Eckley’s watch had been stolen?’

Harriett looked startled, but recovered. ‘The Inspector has just said so.’

‘Yes, but you mentioned it before he did.’

‘Did I? Then you must have told me about it.’

‘I did not.’

‘In that case I must have read it in the newspapers, in the account of the inquest.’

Frances shook her head. ‘I was at the inquest. It was never mentioned.’

Harriett turned to Cornelius. ‘Then you must have told me, I am sure that someone did.’

‘I didn’t even know that his watch had been taken,’ protested Cornelius.

Sharrock gave Harriett a penetrating stare. ‘Very few people indeed know of it apart from the police.’

‘Then I must have been mistaken,’ said Harriett, lightly. ‘Perhaps I was confusing it with something else.’

‘Oh but you seemed very certain of yourself just now,’ Sharrock persisted. ‘You’ve been caught out, Mrs Antrobus. Just as we hoped you would be. All credit to Miss Doughty for spotting your little mistake yesterday and also for realising that it would be better evidence if spoken before a police witness. You see, to my mind there are only two ways that you could have known that Mr Eckley’s watch had been stolen. Either you were there yourself and took it or you were told about it by the person who did. It’s one of the two. Now which is it to be?’

Harriett looked about her, suddenly afraid, but there was no sympathy to be had from Frances.

Cornelius was astounded at the sudden turn in the conversation. ‘Have you taken leave of your senses?’ he exclaimed and then looked at Frances appealingly. ‘Say something!’

‘I’m sorry uncle, but I agree with the Inspector. I am waiting to hear what Harriett says.’

There were a few moments of quietness, broken only by the sound of Harriett trying to stifle her tears. ‘I’m so sorry,’ she told them, ‘I admit that I have been telling untruths, but it was for the best of reasons, to save my poor sister. Can that be wrong? Does she not deserve to be happy? Perhaps I was selfish, wanting her always to be by my side. But she has done a terrible thing and I suppose she must suffer for it now. Charlotte wanted to stop Mr Eckley’s enquiries because she knew,’ Harriett took a deep shuddering breath, ‘she knew that Mr Martin would abandon her when he found out that she was the mother of Isaac Goodwin.’

‘What?’ cried out Cornelius, aghast, and Harriett flinched at the stab of sound. He looked contrite and allowed her to recover before she went on.

‘That day, when I woke with one of my headaches, Charlotte must have known that I would be retiring to bed before my usual time. We went out for an early walk in Hyde Park to get some air. The streets are at their quietest then, and when we passed the pillar letter box by the church she posted a letter. She tried to distract me by drawing my attention to the flower beds but I saw what she did, and when I asked about it she said it was a note to Mr Martin. That night I retired to my room at six o’clock and did not rise again until six the next day. I did not see Charlotte in all that time, but next morning she was so upset that she confessed what she had done. She told me she had put the knife in the flower urn, she said it was covered in blood and she dare not put in her pocket or she would stain her clothes.’

Cornelius hid his face in his hands and groaned.

‘And she took the watch so the motive of the crime would appear to be robbery?’ asked Sharrock.

‘Yes.’

‘What did she do with it?’

Harriett fidgeted and her eyes flickered nervously about the room. ‘She knew she could not sell or pawn it. She threw it away.’

Frances had been watching the eyes of the trapped woman. She rose and went to the writing desk and tried to open the drawer, but it was locked. ‘Please let me have the key to this drawer.’

‘I don’t have it. Perhaps Charlotte has it.’

Frances turned about and came to face her. ‘I’m afraid I don’t believe you. In fact I don’t believe most of what you have been saying to me for the last month. I am going to have to search you.’

Harriett recoiled. ‘Please, no,’ she whispered.

‘I think you would prefer it to the Inspector searching you, which I am sure he is prepared to do.’ Sharrock looked alarmed at the suggestion but said nothing. ‘Or to avoid any searches, kindly give me the key.’

‘Harriett, I beg you,’ said Cornelius, ‘we must have this resolved. For the sake of decency give Frances the key to the desk. If you cannot then I will force the lock myself.’

Harriett hesitated and, without meeting the gaze of anyone in the room, took a key from her pocket and handed it to Frances. Cornelius smiled in relief, took Harriett’s hand and patted it gently. ‘Don’t worry; all will be well, I am sure of it. There has been a terrible mistake. Frances will find the answer, she always does.’

‘You are such a good kind man,’ murmured Mrs Antrobus, gazing up into his face, her eyes bright with tears, and Cornelius, like so many men before him, was unable to do anything but melt in sympathy.

As Frances unlocked and opened the drawer the Inspector hurried to her side and peered in. ‘Aha!’ he said, loudly enough to make Mrs Antrobus wince.

Cornelius cupped his hands protectively over Harriett’s ears. ‘Please – this lady has suffered enough.’

Frances stood back, and Sharrock delved into the drawer, removed a silver watch with a broken chain and held it up. ‘That should match the portion of chain found on the body, and if I am not mistaken, we have an engraving here – J.E.’

‘Charlotte gave it to me, she told me to hide it,’ whispered Harriett.

‘Was that before or after she threw it away?’ retorted Sharrock sarcastically. ‘Mrs Antrobus, I am arresting you for the murder of Jonathan Eckley —’

‘No,’ Harriett wept. ‘Please don’t put me in a cell, I couldn’t bear it.’

Cornelius stared at her in horror. He let go of her hand, rose and looked at the watch. ‘There can be no doubt?’

‘None,’ Sharrock assured him. ‘This is the murdered man’s watch. If Miss Pearce didn’t kill him then Mrs Antrobus did, and my money is on this lady here. Why don’t you call a cab, sir, and we can take her to the station?’

‘Please – no,’ begged Harriett.

‘Inspector – Uncle – might I suggest something?’ Frances interrupted. ‘I think in this very particular and unusual case it would be better if Mrs Antrobus was not taken to the police station but placed in some other secure custody, somewhere that would not be torture to her. A sanatorium, somewhere quiet. You could employ suitable women to guard her.’

‘I don’t have armies of women at my beck and call to guard special prisoners,’ argued Sharrock, ‘neither do the police have limitless monies for fancy sanatoriums.’

‘I am sure some arrangement could be made. Would you consider it? Uncle, can you help?’

Cornelius hesitated and then gave in. ‘Very well, for Charlotte’s sake, I will see what I can do.’

‘I don’t know, it’s very irregular,’ Sharrock grumbled.

‘Please,’ Harriett begged again, ‘please don’t take me to that awful place.’

Sharrock looked dubious.

‘Perhaps,’ Frances went on, ‘the police would be willing to make a special case if, in return, Mrs Antrobus was to make a full confession of her crimes – all of them?’

‘All of them?’ bellowed Sharrock. ‘How many are there?’

Harriett, with her hands over her ears, moaned ‘Yes, yes, I will confess, only please everyone be quiet.’

‘Let us all calm down and sit quietly,’ agreed Frances.

The company was seated but no one in the room rested easy. Cornelius dragged his hands distractedly through his hair. ‘What other crimes?’

‘The murder of Charles Henderson and the murder of her husband.’

Harriett wiped her eyes. ‘Please fetch me some water. I will do as you say.’

‘I don’t understand this at all,’ sighed Sharrock, ‘but I am sure Miss Doughty will explain, as she usually does.’

When Mrs Antrobus was given a refreshing drink, and the Inspector and Cornelius were quiet and attentive, Frances began.

‘This is what I think happened. The two misses Pearce, Harriett and Charlotte, were the daughters of the Antrobus brothers’ senior assistant, and when Mr Edwin became fascinated by the younger sister it was very good fortune for her. But his brother, Mr Lionel, was unhappy about the match. It would be some years before Edwin Antrobus could make a sufficient fortune to marry, and Miss Harriett must have feared that his brother would find some way of preventing it. Mr Edwin was, however, the principal heir of his uncle, Charles Henderson, who had willed him this house and its furnishings and some investments. With such a handsome legacy the couple would be able to marry at once. But Mr Henderson was only thirty-seven and, apart from his headaches, in good health.

‘On the night of Mr Henderson’s death he had gone to get a key to his study to show the company his collection of snuffboxes. Mrs Pearce was feeling unwell, and Harriett took her mother into the parlour to look after her, but having settled her mother there, I think she hurried up to the study where she flattered Mr Henderson into showing her the pistol and how it was loaded. She must have been shown the study on an earlier visit and knew the gun was kept there. I expect she asked to hold the gun, promising to be careful. Then she shot him. She had only time to run into the nearest room, the bathroom probably, to hide, which was why the study door was found open. Edwin Antrobus rushed up the stairs and found his uncle’s corpse. Harriet stayed in the bathroom until he had gone down to tell the others what had happened, and while he was so engaged she managed to creep downstairs to rejoin her mother in the parlour, who was sufficiently unwell that she was easily persuaded that her daughter had never left her side. I do wonder if Mr Henderson’s Aunt Lily, who had gone to look for the key and was in the hallway at the time her nephew was killed, knew more than she was able to say. Perhaps she saw the murderer creeping downstairs. But the shock was so great that she was a broken woman and died soon afterwards.’ Frances glanced at Harriet, who was icily calm. ‘How did Aunt Lily die?’

‘Peacefully, in her sleep,’ said Mrs Antrobus, without a flicker of expression. ‘She was very old.’

‘I see. But there was one unforeseen result of the murder, was there not? A gun fired in a small space like a room is very loud indeed. Your ears were never the same afterwards. Mrs Fisher told me that your husband used to sing when his uncle played the piano and had a voice like a songbird, but he never sang again after his uncle’s death. She must have thought it was because he did not have the heart to do so, but maybe there was another reason, maybe it was because his voice hurt your ears. The condition became worse over the years until it was impossible for you to live a normal life, but to avoid suspicion you were able to blame it on the firework display.’