'I'll see him.' Pitt pushed his hands hard down in his pockets. He left Drummond and walked over to the mortuary carriage and the group of half a dozen men gathered round it. One was obviously the driver; he still had half his attention on the horse, although the reins were hooked to the stay. A man in early middle age, haggard, hands shaking, hair streaked across his brow, was presumably Loughley. He had been sitting on the curbside, and he stood up as Pitt approached, waiting, but he did not speak. He was very clearly suffering from shock, but there was no hysteria in him, no arrogance, no panic that Pitt could see. If he had followed Sheridan and murdered him, he had a mastery of himself to the finest detail, a brain as cold as the water of the Thames beneath them.
'Good evening, Mr. Loughley,' Pitt said quietly. 'What time did you last see Mr. Sheridan alive?'
Loughley swallowed, finding his voice with difficulty. 'It must have been a little after half past ten, I think. I left the House at twenty minutes past, and spoke to one or two people. I-I 'm not sure for how long, but I said only a few words to each of them. I saw Sheridan and said good night to him; then after he had gone Colonel Devon said something to me about business. Then I remembered I wanted to speak to Sheridan; he'd only been gone a few minutes, so I went after him, and-and you know what I found.'
'Is Colonel Devon a Member of Parliament?'
'Yes-dear God! You don't think-! You can check with him. He'll remember what was said; it was about tonight's debate.'
'Did you see anyone else on the bridge, either ahead of you or behind, Mr. Loughley?'
'No. No I didn't. That's the extraordinary thing: I don't 191
remember seeing anyone else! And yet it must have been only-' He took a deep, shaky breath. 'Only minutes after. . .'
There was a slight commotion at the north end of the bridge, a loud cry from some of the people being held back by the police. A woman started to scream and was led away. There were brisk footsteps, and a dark figure emerged and came towards them, overcoat flapping. As he passed under the light Pitt recognized Garnet Royce.
'Good evening, sir,' Pitt said clearly.
Royce came up to him, glanced at Loughley, and greeted him by name, then looked back at Pitt and at Drummond, who had rejoined him.
'This is getting very serious, man!' he said grimly. 'Have you any idea how close people are to losing control? We seem to be on the very brink of anarchy. Perfectly sane and steady people are panicking, talking about conspiracies to overthrow the throne, uprisings of workers, strikes, even revolution! I know that's absurd.' He shook his head very slightly, dismissing their hysteria rather than the ideas. 'It is probably an isolated lunatic-but we've got to apprehend him! This must stop! For God's sake, gentlemen, let us bend every resource we have and put an end to this horror! It is our responsibility. The weaker and less fortunate rely on us to defend them from the depradations of the lunatic underworld, and from political anarchists who would destroy the very fabric of the Empire. In God's name, it is our duty!' He was deeply earnest; there was a fire of sincerity in his eyes neither Pitt nor Drummond could doubt. 'If there is anything I can do, anything whatsoever, tell me! I have friends, colleagues, influence. What do you need?' He looked urgently from one to the other of them and back again. 'Name it!'
' 'If I knew what would help, Sir Garnet, I would assuredly ask,' Drummond replied wearily. 'But we have no idea of the motive.'
'Surely we cannot hope to understand the reasons of a madman?' Royce argued. 'You're not suggesting this is personal, are you? That there is some enemy common to all three men?'' His face reflected his incredulity, and there was even a harsh gleam of humor in the brilliant eyes.
'Perhaps not common to all three,' Pitt said, watching the expression of surprise, then understanding and horror that crossed Royce's features. 'Perhaps the enemy only of one.'
'Then not a madman, but a fiend,' Royce said very quietly, his voice shaking. 'How could anyone but a lunatic do such a thing to two strangers, in cold blood, to hide one intended death?'
'We don't know,' Drummond replied quietly. 'It is merely a possibility. But we are looking into every anarchist or revolutionary group we know of, and we do know of most of them. Every police informer we have has been asked.''
'A reward!' Royce said suddenly. 'I am sure I could get together with other businessmen and raise a sufficient reward, so that it would be well worth the while of anyone who knew anything to come forward. I'll
