‘His death?’
‘I assumed he’d die in the Houses of Parliament, or in some committee or other, even in one of those prisons he frequented, but they’re reporting that he was found in bed with another woman. Was it Helen?’
‘Helen Langdon. Yes, it was. What can you tell me about her, about your husband?’
‘My husband was a saint. It must have been her.’
‘Can we come back to your husband,’ Isaac said. Holden’s wife was taking it badly, but he wasn’t sure if it was because of her husband’s murder or his adultery.
‘What do you want me to tell you? He can’t have been with that woman willingly.’
‘Unfortunately, there’s no question that he was.’
‘Is this necessary? My mother is under a great deal of strain,’ John Holden said.
‘If Mrs Holden is up to it, we should continue,’ Isaac said.
Violet Holden patted her son on the arm. ‘I’ll be fine,’ she said.
‘Your husband was at a hotel in Bayswater. Do you know of any reason why he would choose there?’
‘To be with Helen?’
‘Yes.’
‘We had advised our father about employing her, but he wouldn’t listen,’ John Holden said.
‘Why?’
‘Our father was a great believer in the rehabilitation of criminals after they had served their sentences. Helen had spent time in prison.’
Isaac turned to Wendy. ‘Bridget missed that,’ he said quietly, ensuring that no one else heard.
‘Her name in prison was Helen Mackay.’
‘The Helen Mackay!’
‘She changed her name on leaving prison at my father’s suggestion.’
‘And your father was part of the rehabilitation process?’
‘She was released due to him.’
‘Have you met her?’ Wendy asked.
‘On several occasions. She was pleasant and respectful, devoted to James,’ Violet said. ‘And now my husband’s association with her has got him killed.’
‘Until you mentioned her name, we had assumed the reason for their deaths was your husband,’ Isaac said.
‘Who would have wanted to kill my husband?’
‘He must have made powerful enemies. His attempts at censorship must have raised the hackles of a few.’
‘My husband wasn’t an idealistic bigot. He was a man who had a strong conviction of what was right and wrong.’
‘And he’s strayed,’ Isaac said.
‘My husband was a complex man. There were times when his moral crusade became too much for him. Times when he needed to let off steam.’
‘This is not the first time?’
‘It’s the first time with a woman. Sometimes he wanted to come home, put his feet up, have a drink of something strong.’
‘Mother, I don’t think you should be saying this,’ her son said.
‘Why not? They’re police officers, and they need to know certain facts. And what does it matter? Your father, my husband, has been caught in bed with another woman, and not only that, with Helen Mackay. How do you think your father’s legacy is going to stand up when it’s revealed that he’s been caught in flagrante delicto with a woman who bashed her elderly husband to death with a hammer?’
‘Her defence argued it was self-defence, mitigating circumstances,’ Isaac said.
‘Did anyone believe her when she said she had married for love?’ Violet Holden said.
‘Did you?’ Isaac said.
‘Nobody did. Her husband was wealthy, old, and likely to die at any time, and there in the court was a woman in her twenties with a dubious past. The popular press had condemned her the moment she entered the court.’
‘The judge believed her. That’s why she only received seven years.’
‘Out in four. My husband believed in her as well, and then she slept with him, destroying his reputation.’
‘Mrs Holden, you don’t believe that your husband was coerced, do you?’
‘My husband was the same as any other man. Underneath that exterior there was a man of flesh and blood. A man who liked the occasional drink, the occasional woman, the occasional sin.’
‘Was this the first time?’
‘With Helen, yes.’
‘With others?’
‘I never knew, although I suspected he did from time to time.’
‘Mother, you’re maligning my father.’
‘Don’t pretend, John. You knew what he was like, the same as you.’
Chapter 2
‘Moral crusader, serial philanderer, is that what we’ve got here?’ Larry Hill said. The team were back in Homicide at Challis Street Police Station. Thankfully, Detective Superintendent Seth Caddick was not in the building; he was at his favourite place, Scotland Yard, pressing the flesh of whoever he could find, especially Commissioner Alwyn Davies.
Isaac Cook, once seen as an example of the modern police force, knew his star was not shining brightly with the commissioner. When it had been Commissioner Shaw in charge of the London Metropolitan Police, and Richard Goddard his chief superintendent, Isaac’s moves on the promotion ladder seemed fine, but he and Goddard had languished under Davies, and Isaac was still a DCI and Goddard had been sidelined into Public Relations.
The problem with Alwyn Davies, according to Isaac and Goddard, was that the man was an incompetent who surrounded himself with other incompetents. There were others, Detective Superintendent Seth Caddick included, who believed that Davies was a man who recognised true ability. It was an impossible situation, Isaac knew, and he had put up with Caddick for almost half a year, and he intended to see the demise of the man’s career. The only problem was that as the Homicide team succeeded, so did Caddick, and the man was not slow in pointing it out.
The one skill that Caddick had, apart from irritating Isaac, was that he was an accomplished public speaker. At the wrap-up press conference after someone had been charged with murder, Caddick was able to give the impression that he had single-handedly solved the crime, with Isaac and his team mere functionaries following instructions.
Richard
