The Price of Murder

cooking course.

“There are two or three who could take Molly’s place,” said Lady Fielding, “if it ever came to that.”

“Thank God it has not,” said Sir John. Then, lest that be taken amiss by Clarissa he complimented her on the stew, and of course all the table joined in, praising the meal as though it were some culinary masterpiece. Clarissa smiled graciously and acknowledged our thanks with a nod. However, once the meal was done, and we had the kitchen to ourselves, she did not hesitate to say what she truly believed. I recall that she had been sitting quietly at the table whilst I rubbed and scrubbed at the pot in which she had cooked our stew. All of a sudden she did speak. It was more than a remark; it was, rather, a pronouncement, a declaration.

“False praise is worse than no praise at all,” said she.

“What do you mean by that?” I asked her.

“Just what I say! I was quite disappointed in you, Jeremy-the way you added your voice to the rest, lauding that mediocre meal when you knew as well as I just how good it was not.” She had me there, all right.

“Well,” I replied, “I would admit that it was not up to your very best, but after all, Clarissa-”

With a wave of her hand she silenced me. “Oh, never mind,” said she. “This has not been a good day for me, but you’re certainly not the cause of it.”

“Then. . who is?”

“I am, of course. I’ve no one to blame but myself. How could I have spoken up to Sir John and challenged him in his very own courtroom? What right had I? What sort of clerk was I to do such a thing?”

“Oh, you mean that matter to do with the woman who’s buying up all of Covent Garden.”

“But of course I didn’t know that, did I? Yet even so, I should not have spoken out as I did. Why must I always. . always. . be me?”

My heart went out to her. Sitting there at the kitchen table she had wound herself round her chair in such a way that she seemed smaller than she truly was. She hung her head, avoiding my gaze. Still, I suspected that there were tears in her eyes once more. Women are such emotional creatures, are they not?

I was about to say something to her-something of a comforting nature, I suppose, though I cannot now imagine what it might have been. That was when Sir John’s voice rang out from the floor above, summoning me to him.

“Just finishing up here,” I called back to him. “I’ll be with you in a moment, sir.”

That seemed to satisfy him, for I heard nothing more. Having scrubbed the pot well, I put it aside and made ready to go.

“I’ll finish up for you,” said she to me, rising from her chair and dabbing at her eyes.

“Well, all right,” said I. “Shall I tell Sir John how. . how you feel about all this?”

She looked, of a sudden, quite horror-stricken at my suggestion. “Oh no,” said she, “say nothing of the kind. Whatever he wishes to say should be said-to me. Please, Jeremy, don’t play the peacemaker, not this time.”

“All right,” said I. And, having said that, I saw there was nothing else to say. With a nod, I turned and hastened up the stairs.

He was, as I expected, sitting in the darkened room he called his study. And, also as I expected, he urged me to light the candles on his desk if I’d a wish for more light. Naturally, I declined. I do not think those candles had been lit for a year or more. As soon as I had settled in the visitor’s chair, he put a question to me.

“Where were we?”

“Sir?”

“As I recall, you had just told me that Deuteronomy Plummer had dropped off the pistol in its case a bit earlier than expected. And that was when Mr. Brede came in, confirming Kathleen Quigley’s story. . or part of it,” said Sir John with a proper harrumph.

“Indeed, Sir John,” I agreed.

“Then there were a number of other interruptions, followed by dinner, followed by me asking you where we were.”

“Ah, of course. Well, there was a note to me in the case.”

“A good place to start. What did he say in the note?”

“I can fetch it for you and read it, if you like.”

“Quite unnecessary. Please, just summarize.”

“He simply said that he was returning the pistol early, as he had no further use for it. Then did he repeat that he was fair certain that his sister would make an appearance at Newmarket. Indeed so certain was he that he had taken the liberty of booking a room for me at an inn in the town-had rather an odd name, so it did.”

“The Good Queen Bess, was it?”

“How did you know, sir?”

“Ah well, I’ve been to Newmarket a time or two, and I’ve stayed there.”

“Is it the only place in town?”

“Far from it. Nevertheless, it’s the only place for the racing crowd. You’ll no doubt enjoy your stay.”

“Then I’m going?”

“Oh yes. Had you not supposed that you would?”

“When do we leave?” I asked rather excitedly. Indeed, I was rather excited by the prospect of such a trip.

“Not ‘we,’” said he. “You’ll go alone-or not quite so, for a constable must accompany you, should you have the opportunity to make an arrest. It seems to me that we are working not so much on two separate cases but upon a single one, as will eventually be revealed when we are a bit further along with each of them. The way to solve this single big case, it seems to me, is to work hard to push both the two smaller ones along. Therefore, I shall remain in London and work upon the disappearance of Elizabeth Hooker, and you, it seems, would best pursue the mother of little Maggie Plummer up in Newmarket.”

“Supposing I find Alice Plummer,” said I to him, “on what charge is she to be arrested?”

“Ah, now Jeremy, you really are starting to think as a lawyer.” He speculated: “What charge indeed? Certainly not murder. We cannot even say with certainty that the child was murdered-and, in any case, she was not when under her mother’s supervision. My feeling is that she can only be arrested and held on a charge of slavery-specifically child-selling. The important thing is to get her back here so she may be questioned. But of course all this supposes that you and your constable can get round the matter of jurisdiction. You’ll do that as best you can, working in concert with the constable. Whom will you take with you?”

“Constable Patley,” said I, “for he is the only one of the Runners who knows Alice Plummer by sight. As for the rest of it, Patley may not know much law, but he is resourceful.”

“Then he is your man. You two will leave soon as Mr. Marsden returns.”

Thinking the matter settled, I rose from my chair, only to be told most emphatically to sit down once again. I obeyed.

He waited a moment, then leaned forward and lowered his voice. “What do you think of this Hooker girl?”

“How do you mean, sir?”

“Well, you must concede, surely, that two distinctly different versions of the girl have emerged.”

I responded hesitantly: “I would say. . that much. . is evident. Clarissa’s Elizabeth is much different from Kathleen Quigley’s.”

“Yes, quite. And Mistress Quigley has already passed the first test with Constable Brede.”

“As I did say earlier in the coach, I am inclined to accept Mistress Quigley’s version of events and of Elizabeth’s character. She would have little to gain by lying.”

“True,” said Sir John, “but Clarissa knew the girl longer and, presumably, better. And she said that the girl is naught but a bore-no ambitions, no dreams.” He held back a moment, but then came forth with it: “Tell me, Jeremy, what do you think of Clarissa as a judge of character?”

I took a moment to glance behind me and make sure that the door to the hall was shut tight: it was. Nevertheless, I lowered my voice to address Sir John.

“I think highly of her ability to judge people,” said I. “There have been a few times, I suppose, when she was off the mark, but in general I would say that she is far better than most at that sort of thing.”