Accordingly, he paid another call on her cottage. The servant who answered the door was reluctant to admit him.
‘Miss Evans is not expecting you, sir,’ she said.
‘I won’t trouble her for long,’ promised Colbeck.
‘Perhaps you could come back at another time.’
‘I need to speak with her now.’
‘It’s not really convenient.’
‘Then I’ll stand out here until it is.’
‘Miss Evans is rather busy at the moment.’
‘I’m never too busy to spare the Inspector a few minutes,’ said Carys, appearing in the hall with a welcoming smile. ‘Let him in, Maisie.’
‘Yes, Miss Evans,’ said the servant, dutifully.
She opened the door fully then stood back so that Colbeck could step into the hall. Carys led her visitor into the drawing room. He thought he detected the faintest hint of cigar smoke. It was from the same brand of cigar favoured by Edward Tallis so it was familiar to his nostrils. Offered a chair, he sat down beside the fireplace. Carys, he noted, was still wearing her silver brooch in the shape of a dragon.
‘I hope I’m not interrupting you, Miss Evans,’ he said.
‘Not at all,’ she replied, sitting opposite him.
‘I had the feeling that you had a guest.’
‘I did, Inspector.’ She picked up a book from a side table. ‘A very special guest, as it happens – Lady Charlotte Guest. I’ve been reading her translation of the
‘Have you read it in the original Welsh?’
‘Of course,’ she said, putting it aside again. ‘But let’s not pretend that you came to discuss my literary tastes. You have infinitely more charm than Superintendent Stockdale but you are here for precisely the same reason that brought him to my door. It appears – for some unknown reason – that I am under suspicion. Please don’t talk in circles like the superintendent. Ask me bluntly what you wish to know.’
‘Very well,’ he said, ‘how have you spent the day?’
‘I awoke early, went for my usual walk after breakfast then called on Lady Pryde to take coffee from a silver coffee pot that did not pretend to be anything else. Then I returned home and have been here ever since. Maisie will vouch for that.’
‘I’m sure that she will.’
‘Now you can ask me about the day of the murder.’
‘I’ve no intention of doing so,’ he said with a disarming smile. ‘If a lady does not wish to disclose whom she was visiting in the privacy of a hotel room, I respect her right to do so. No, Miss Evans, what I’d like to touch on is a visit you made to a silversmith in London.’
She became more guarded. ‘Go on, Inspector.’
‘You called at Mr Voke’s shop in Wood Street, I hear.’
‘Is there any law against that?’
‘None at all, Miss Evans,’ he said. ‘I just wondered if this was before or after you acquired that beautiful brooch you’re wearing.’
‘It was afterwards, Inspector. I was so impressed with it that I wanted to meet the silversmith who made it. Mr Voke introduced me to his assistant, Mr Kellow, a very pleasant young man.’
Colbeck thought of the corpse at the hotel. ‘I met Mr Kellow under more distressing circumstances.’
‘I was not in London specifically to visit to the shop,’ she explained. ‘I have friends with whom I stay occasionally. While I was with them, I took the opportunity to seek out Mr Voke.’
‘Did you commission anything else from him?’
‘I did, as a matter of fact – it was a silver bracelet.’
‘And who was instructed to make it?’
‘I asked for Mr Kellow to work on it.’
‘Were you pleased with the result?’
‘I was very pleased,’ she said, ‘but I had no further dealings with the firm. After my first visit, I was approached by Mr Voke’s son who was working at his father’s shop at the time. He told me that he could make me jewellery of the same high quality but at a lower price. When he showed me examples of his work, I could see that he was a good craftsman. So I commissioned a silver necklace from him.’
‘Are you telling me that you
‘Yes, Inspector, we had a business arrangement.’
‘Was the necklace satisfactory?’
‘It was a fine piece of work at a bargain price.’
‘Then you must have gone to his new place of employment in Hatton Garden to collect it from him.’
‘No,’ she replied. ‘Young Mr Voke delivered it by hand.’
Colbeck was alerted. ‘Stephen Voke actually came to Cardiff?’
‘This is not the end of the world, Inspector,’ she said with a teasing laugh. ‘As you discovered, we are only a train ride away from London. And I was very grateful to have the necklace brought to my door. I know that your visit to the town has been very disagreeable but young Mr Voke liked what he saw of Cardiff. He appreciated that it was a place with a future.’
‘I share that view. It’s patently set to grow and grow.’
‘He even talked about moving here one day because he was anxious to get away from London. He likes Wales.’
‘Have you commissioned anything else from him?’
‘Not in person, Inspector,’ she said, extending a hand, ‘but a friend of mine was kind enough to purchase this ring for me. None of our local silversmiths could have made anything like this.’
The ruby ring set in silver had the same delicate workmanship as her brooch even though the two items had been made by different craftsman. Both of them had been apprenticed to Leonard Voke and he had schooled them well in the trade. The ring was created by a son who was disowned and the brooch by the young man who had taken his place. In looking at the two pieces together, Colbeck felt that he was studying a motive for murder.
Jeremiah Stockdale was writing a report in his office when she called in to see him. Winifred Tomkins was an unexpected visitor and it had obviously taken an effort of will for her to be there. She looked weary, hurt and repentant. He held a chair for her to sit down then resumed his own seat. Since she had difficulty finding the right words, he tried to prompt her.
‘Is there anything that I can do, Mrs Tomkins?’
‘Yes, Superintendent, there is.’
‘Well?’
There was another long pause. Her tongue moistened her lips.
‘I’d like you to accept my apology,’ she said.
‘To be honest, I’m not sure that one is in order.’
‘I believe that it is.’
‘In that case,’ he said, ‘perhaps it’s I who should be apologising to you. We did our best to reclaim your stolen property and we failed.’
‘The failure was on my side,’ she confessed. ‘I was so eager to have my coffee pot back that I was blind to everything else. What could I – a weak and defenceless woman – hope to do against a ruthless criminal? It was madness. I can see that now. You must think me very silly.’
‘I think you acted with more bravery than sense, maybe, but I would never describe your actions as silly.’
‘I feel so foolish, Superintendent.’
‘The villains took advantage of your innocence, that’s all. You were an easy prey. It’s nothing to be ashamed of, Mrs Tomkins. A criminal will always look to exploit the unwary,’ he told her. ‘That was why you were ordered to have no more dealings with the police.’
‘I was too reckless.’
