‘Why was that?’
‘Well, I’d always thought of Northallerton as a very safe place so I was alarmed to hear that it had its share of thieves, drunkards and other undesirables. In the countryside, one feels very secure but the town is definitely not a place to be late at night.’
‘It’s the same wherever you go, Mrs Reader. Crime is universal.’
‘Colonel Tarleton taught us that. Some of the people who came before him were dreadful thugs. They made the most blood-curdling threats against him but he just shrugged them off. After all those years of facing real danger in battle, he always told us, he wasn’t going to be scared by local villains.’
‘Can you recall any of the names of those villains?’
‘I’m afraid not, Sergeant.’
‘Did anyone try to carry out the threats?’
‘Not to my knowledge.’
‘Let me ask you something else,’ he said, changing his tack. ‘Were you aware that the colonel was in the habit of going to Doncaster at one time?’
‘No,’ she said. ‘I knew that he spent occasional days away but Miriam – Mrs Tarleton – never told me that he went to Doncaster. What could have taken him there, I wonder?’
‘That’s what we’re trying to find out.’
‘Then you’ll have to look elsewhere.’
‘What about Mrs Tarleton – did she do much travelling?’
‘She visited a cousin in Edinburgh now and then. As a rule, she stayed the night there. I’m told that it’s a beautiful city.’
‘I wouldn’t know,’ said Leeming. ‘I’m a Londoner, born and bred. I’m only happy when I’m there. If I go too far north, I start to get giddy. One last question,’ he added, noting the sadness in her face and not wishing to prolong his stay. ‘It seems as if the colonel and his wife had some financial problems. They had to make economies.’
‘That’s true. Apart from reducing the number of servants, they even had to sell off some land.’
‘Do you happen to know why, Mrs Reader?’
‘I don’t,’ she said, crisply.
‘Presumably, your husband would know.’
‘My husband is the soul of discretion, Sergeant. That’s what makes him such a reliable banker. He never discloses details of any client’s accounts to me or to anyone else.’
‘I know. He refused to go into details for us. I just thought that Mrs Tarleton might have given you a hint.’
‘All that she told me was that they had to make a few changes.’
‘They were quite big changes, by the sound of it.’
‘They happened so gradually, one hardly noticed.’
Behind her politeness, Leeming could sense a deep sorrow. To lose two close friends in such a short period of time had rocked her. It made him feel like an interloper, barging in when she really wanted to be left alone. As he rose to his feet and made to leave, something popped into his mind.
‘Did the colonel and Mrs Tarleton ever go on holiday?’
‘Only infrequently,’ she replied.
‘Was there any reason for that, Mrs Reader?’
‘They were contented where they were. What they did do was to visit Eve and the grandchildren in Sussex. At other times, Eve and her family would visit them.’
‘What about young Mr Tarleton?’
‘Oh, they saw very little of him,’ said Agnes with a slight edge. ‘He more or less cut himself off from them. His mother told me that she didn’t even know where he was living.’
‘His sister must have known.’
‘I don’t think so, Sergeant.’
‘Then how did he become aware that his mother was missing?’
‘I’m not sure that he did at first. He certainly didn’t turn up to assist in the search. Eve and her husband came but not Adam. I assumed that he had no idea what was going on.’
‘Yet he came when the colonel committed suicide.’
‘That caused more of a stir,’ she explained. ‘When someone goes astray here, it will be reported in the local newspapers. But when a man of the colonel’s standing takes his own life in the most ghastly manner, even the London press will take notice. That’s how Adam must have picked up the news. He made contact with his sister and they came together.’ She got up from her chair. ‘It’s the only possible way that it could have happened. Don’t you agree?’
‘No, Mrs Reader,’ said Leeming, pensively. ‘I don’t.’
Adam Tarleton liked to make heads turn. As he galloped through the village, his horse’s hooves clacked on the hard surface and people stared in annoyance at his recklessness in riding so fast along the narrow street. When he reached the rectory, he reined the animal in and dismounted. After tethering it to a post, he rang the bell. It tinkled somewhere deep inside the house. A pretty maidservant eventually opened the door. A recent addition to the domestic staff, she didn’t recognise him.
‘Can I help you, sir?’ she asked.
‘Yes,’ he said, brushing her uncaringly aside. ‘You can get out of my way so that I can see the rector.’
‘You can’t disturb him, sir,’ she wailed. ‘He’s in his study.’
‘Then that’s where I’ll talk to him.’
Striding down the passageway, he came to a door and banged on it before flinging it open. Frederick Skelton was horrified at the interruption. He jumped up from the chair behind his desk.
‘What’s the meaning of this?’ he demanded.
‘I have something to discuss with you.’
‘You can’t just charge in here like this, Adam.’
‘I’m sorry, sir,’ said the maidservant, appearing at the door and anticipating a rebuke. ‘I couldn’t stop him.’
‘That’s all right, Ruth. This is my godson, Mr Tarleton.’
‘Oh, I see.’
‘You can leave us alone.’
‘Very well, sir,’ she said, bobbing once before leaving.
‘I’ve come to talk about the funerals,’ said Tarleton.
‘This is not a convenient moment.’
‘It’s convenient enough for me.’
‘You should have made an appointment like anyone else,’ said Skelton, peevishly. ‘I’m busy writing to the Dean of York Minster.’
‘I don’t care if you’re writing to the Archangel Gabriel.’
Skelton flushed. ‘That’s a blasphemous remark!’
Tarleton was resolute. ‘I’m not moving from here until we’ve had this out,’ he warned, standing in the open doorway, arms akimbo. ‘As our godfather, you’re supposed to offer spiritual guidance. Instead of that, you’ve reduced my sister to despair by your intransigence and you’ve lost all respect from me.’
‘I never knew that you were capable of respect,’ said Skelton, acidly. ‘As for Eve, I merely wanted to acquaint her with my decision.’
‘And where did you choose to do it? Of all places, it was at the inquest. Her nerves were frayed enough without you upsetting her even more. Have you no tact at all?’
‘I have both tact and sensitivity – two laudable qualities, I feel I must point out, entirely lacking in you. I could add several others to the list, Adam.’
‘You can insult me all you like. I expect it of sanctimonious old fools like you.’ Skelton was outraged. ‘What I will not let you do is to insult our stepfather in this way. He will be buried at the church where he worshipped for so many years.’
‘Not as long as I have breath in my body,’ said Skelton, adopting the posture of an avenging angel. ‘As for
