‘I still don’t get why Ezra insisted upon borrowing from Ida,’ Salter said, scratching his head. ‘Once Wendall was out of the way, he had a much richer source to trawl.’
‘We shall never know for sure,’ Riley replied. ‘Perhaps Ezra didn’t intend to return Ida’s investment, if it was done on trust. He was supposedly embarking upon an honest life, but old habits die hard. He’d have faced a long wait for any funds from the fragrant Mrs Wendall, given that Verity was contesting the will. There again, perhaps he really did want to prove that he was a reformed character.’
‘Can’t see her going round to Ma Dawson’s for afternoon tea and a chat, somehow,’ Salter said chuckling.
‘No, nor me. Ezra would have found a way to keep them apart.’
‘What’s next, sir?’
Riley withdrew Verity’s letter from his inside pocket without responding and read it through. ‘Well,’ he said, passing it to Salter, ‘she doesn’t mince her words, I’ll say that much for her.’
‘Wild accusations indeed,’ Salter replied, elevating his bushy brows. ‘Spiteful and vindictive. She outright accuses Mrs Wendall of killing her brother, says she has proof and knows why she did it. She also hints that she will keep quiet in return for a monetary consideration.’ Salter tapped the letter against the fingers of one hand. ‘We can get her for threating behaviour and attempted blackmail at least, can’t we sir?’
‘I want more than that. I am almost sure that she arranged for Ezra to be killed, and possibly her brother too, but we need to prove it.’ Seldom had Riley locked horns with such a vengeful and determined adversary. ‘I fear for Mrs Wendall’s life,’ he muttered.
‘You think that if Verity doesn’t get what she’s asking for—and she’ll never stop asking—then Mrs Wendall will meet with an accident as well?’
‘The possibility crossed my mind. Go back to Mrs Wendall’s house in the morning, Jack, before you come up here. Arrange to meet Carter and Soames there and ask for the lady’s permission to go through her husband’s private papers. I’ll wager that Verity didn’t limit her vitriol to the ladies, and made demands upon her brother as well. I’d like to have more to go on before we bring her in here later tomorrow.’
‘If you’re right then she was playing a dangerous game. I’m surprised no one bumped her off.’ Salter rubbed his hands together. ‘Anyway, consider it done.’
‘Right, good. And in the meantime, another chat with James is overdue. And with Albert. Either one of them could have been in league with Verity. And while we’re there, we can speak with Ida and Gregg, too.’
‘I’ll get my hat,’ Salter said, springing to his feet.
When they arrived at Portman Square they told Gregg that they required to speak with Albert. That young man came to the morning room a short time later, seemingly unconcerned.
‘You wished to speak to me again, Lord Riley. How can I be of assistance?’
‘Why did you mislead us about your whereabouts on the night of Ezra’s murder?’ Riley asked, his brisk, accusatory tone taking the young man completely by surprise.
‘Mislead you?’ Albert flushed and shuffled his feet but didn’t immediately say anything else.
Salter jumped in, just as Riley knew that he would. ‘Don’t mess the chief inspector about, son, or it will be the worse for you. We know you left here by the back door that night when you told us you’d been in the entire time. So we’ll ask you again, why did you lie? And don’t dig yourself into an even deeper hole by lying some more. We didn’t come down in the last shower and we’ll know if you ain’t being truthful. We’ve got nice damp cells crammed with people like you to cool their heels in. They tend to make people come to their senses pretty damned quick, wouldn’t you agree, sir?’
‘I would indeed, Sergeant, but I have a feeling that Albert has seen the error of his ways and is about to tell us the truth.’
‘It’s your only chance, son,’ Salter said, scowling at him. ‘I don’t like people what lie to us. The only pleasure I get out of it is locking them up and letting them stew, so don’t give me any reason to have my fun.’
‘I lied because I wasn’t supposed to leave the house without Gregg’s express permission. It’s more than my position’s worth, especially when we’re shorthanded, as we were that evening. It was James’s afternoon and evening off and then Ezra wheedled time off from the mistress, leaving me to cover their duties.’ Albert screwed up his features, his irritation reignited by the recollection. ‘Ezra was always pulling stunts like that, and I’d had just about enough of it.’
‘You didn’t like Ezra?’ Riley asked.
‘Nope. He was a snide bugger, and far too full of himself. He was always rubbing James’s nose in his relationship with the mistress. That weren’t necessary. Anyone with eyes in their head could see that James was right cut up about the way the mistress no longer turned to him for…well, you know. Ezra was all she cared about and he was a lazy sod. Always finding reasons not to finish his duties, so James or me had to do them. Well, enough was enough. I’d arranged to play cards with some of my friends that night and if Ezra had been in the house, like he was supposed to have been, I’d have got away with sneaking out. Old Gregg likes his brandy and is always half-cut by ten o’clock. He wouldn’t notice if a brass band marched past his parlour. I just had to trust to luck that no one rang for me while I was out, but the master would only need his valet and the mistress would go straight up to her room when she got back, so she wouldn’t have
