‘Sam did that to you?’ Riley asked sympathetically.
Ruth nodded. ‘He’s handy with his fists, that one.’
‘Very brave of him,’ Salter muttered. ‘Hitting a helpless woman.’
‘He says I get on his nerves,’ she replied, shrugging but keeping her voice low since the old lady was dozing in her chair.
‘I’m sorry to hear it,’ Riley said, aware that he couldn’t interfere in the personal affairs of husband and wife, much as he would like to give Sam a dose of his own medicine. ‘You told him about the offer of employment that John made to you?’
She shook her head. ‘That’s what he told me to say if you came asking, but I’ve had enough of him bossing me about and I ain’t going to lie for him no more.’ She paused. ‘He already knew.’ She pointed to her damaged face. ‘What do you think this was for?’
‘How long had he known?’
‘Dunno, and I don’t know why he didn’t do this to me soon as he found out. He would of said I was to blame for encouraging John. Watched us like a hawk he did, whenever John and I were in the same room. He were convinced that we was carrying on behind his back.’ She threw back her head and growled. ‘Fat chance! I get more than enough of that sort of attention from one Dawson. I ain’t got no reason to encourage another one.’
‘Perhaps he thought you would take up the offer if it was out in the open,’ Riley suggested. ‘But that danger is now past.’
‘John did offer to take me away from Sam,’ Ruth said, a tear trickling down her face. ‘He saw me with bruises more than enough times and told me I deserved better. He said he could find somewhere safe for me and the little ones to live, but I knew that Sam would hunt me down and I’d never know a moment’s peace.’ She let out a long sigh. ‘I married the man with my eyes wide open and now I have to live with the consequences, if you call this living.’
‘Doesn’t Mrs Dawson berate her son for hurting you?’ Riley asked.
Ruth gave a half-smile that implied Riley didn’t live in the real world, which in fairness, he did not. ‘Her boys walk on water. If I’ve got bruises, it’s me own fault according to her. She reckons a man has the right to discipline his family as he sees fit.’
Riley nodded, aware that her situation wasn’t so very uncommon. ‘Do you think your husband is capable of killing his own brother?’ he asked.
She lifted one shoulder and winced. Clearly the bruising was not restricted to her face. ‘I wouldn’t put anything past him when he’s riled. He says he ain’t got the money to spend in taverns, but he still drinks himself blind at regular intervals. The kids and I know to steer well clear of him when he comes home drunk and spoiling for a fight. He claimed to hate the way John made a living but he was jealous of his popularity and the fact that he always seemed to have money. And before you ask me, I’m pretty sure he was at home on the night John died but he’d been drinking so I bunked in with the kids and can’t be absolutely sure about anything.’
‘By God, I hope it was ’im who did it,’ Salter said as they walked away. ‘That poor woman deserves better.’
‘She does indeed, Jack,’ Riley replied, grinding his jaw.
‘Where to now, sir?’
‘Have a word with the sergeant at the local station on your way home tonight and see what you can find out about the thefts from that building site.’
‘Right you are, but why?’
‘Curiosity.’
Salter took a moment to think about it. ‘If he did kick up a stink—the manager that is—then something must have been done. But if any of the locals are on the take…well, the thieves won’t be inconvenienced by the long arm of the law.’
‘Precisely. And who do you suppose has enough resentment of his brother’s success stored up to want to improve his lot through nefarious means?’
A slow smile creased Salter’s face. ‘You think Sam might be involved?’
‘The possibility crossed my mind. And if we can catch him at it, there’s every chance that he’ll see the inside of a gaol cell for a very long time. Long enough for that young woman to make a fresh start.’
‘You’re getting soft in your old age, guv,’ Salter chuckled. ‘I like it!’
‘Yes well, perhaps it’s just wishful thinking on my part. Anyway, let’s go and check on the others and see if they’ve had any luck tracking down our mystery lady.’
The two of them left the poorer side of Clapham with some relief and made their way towards the common. The air felt cleaner, despite the carriages that clogged the thoroughfare and the noise of competing costermongers shouting their wares.
‘It seems to me,’ Riley said, as they walked along, ‘that all three of Ida’s children can be put to the bottom of our suspect list, if not eliminated entirely. Sarah and her husband’s whereabouts have been verified, as have Patrick’s. Gideon’s movements are also accounted for, but Verity’s name remains firmly on our list.’
‘We also have Sam and Bishop with compelling reasons to kill Ezra and no proper alibis,’ Salter added. ‘Bishop wanted to protect his daughter. Sam was equally protective of his wife but also jealous of his brother’s favoured status within his family and the easy manner in which he acquired both wealth and popularity. He wanted to rise above his working class roots while Sam was stuck labouring on a building site in all weathers. Lady Randall’s butler is highly suspect too, in my opinion.’
‘Mine too, Jack. James’s account of his activities is questionable and we still have our mystery
