Nottingham smiled graciously. ‘Just taking an interest. From the sound of you it’s not anywhere around Leeds.’
‘Doncaster,’ Hughes conceded.
‘How many of you are there?’
‘Eight. Four girls and the rest of us.’
‘One of your lasses was hurt recently,’ the deputy said.
‘Someone cut her, aye.’
‘That’s a crime. Why didn’t you report it?’
Hughes shrugged.
‘So you’re running four whores, Mr Hughes?’
‘Am I?’
‘You are.’ The Constable’s voice turned hard. ‘Your girl wouldn’t have been out and there wouldn’t have been a fight last night if you weren’t.’
‘Old man Worthy paying you, is he?’ Hughes sneered.
‘Only the city pays me, Mr Hughes. You’d do very well to remember that.’
Hughes looked doubtful, uncertain whether to believe what he was hearing.
‘And if I have some girls?’
‘It’s against the law,’ Nottingham began, ‘but men are always going to pay for girls. As long as there’s no trouble we pay it no mind.’
‘I didn’t start any trouble.’
‘But you kept it going last night,’ Sedgwick told him. ‘We don’t play fear or favour here.’
‘It stops, Mr Hughes,’ the Constable ordered. ‘And I’ll be telling Amos Worthy the same.’
‘The old bugger’s past it, anyway,’ Hughes said, ‘letting himself be taken in by a servant girl.’
Nottingham said nothing, allowing the silence in the room to build.
‘You know the rules now.’
‘And if I don’t obey them?’
‘Then you’ll pay the consequences,’ the Constable said simply, ‘and by Christ, you’ll wish you’d listened. Good day, Mr Hughes.’ He turned on his heel and left, followed by the deputy.
Outside, the pair walked in silence for a while.
‘You think he’ll listen?’ Sedgwick asked finally.
Nottingham shook his head. ‘No. He thinks with his pizzle and his fists, that one. He’s not going to listen to reason. Have some of the men keep an eye on him. He’s going to be trouble.’
‘What about Worthy?’
‘I’ll talk to him again. Keep looking for Nan.’
‘If we find her first Worthy’s going to look weak.’
‘That’s for him to deal with. He got one of them, and I’ll be damned if he gets the pair.’
They walked into the empty jail and Sedgwick looked around.
‘Did Rob come back this morning?’
‘He did. I sent him back to Jackson’s rooms to see if there’s anything more he can find. He’s probably still there. He did turn up some interesting stuff about Lady Gibton. Seems she really does have a touch of insanity. That backs up what her husband said to me.’ He paused. ‘I don’t know who killed Sarah Godlove, but every bit of this seems to stink of money and power,’ he said with distaste.
‘You’ll find that anywhere,’ the deputy commented.
‘Very likely,’ Nottingham agreed. ‘But it’s dirty stuff, wherever it happens. And it’s not in Leeds. I’d never heard of any of these people before this happened.’
‘Godlove didn’t seem too bad.’
‘Maybe not,’ he answered. ‘But I’m going to have to look at him again. The more this goes on, the more things seem to point towards him. If he knew about his wife and Will Jackson he certainly had a reason to kill her, in his own mind at least.’
‘I thought you’d decided he was innocent.’
The Constable sighed in frustration. ‘I know, that’s what I thought. It’s what I still feel. But the more I look at it, I just don’t know where else to turn.’ He ran a hand through his hair. ‘We shouldn’t have to take all this on. It’s not as if Leeds doesn’t have crime without looking outside the city.’
‘I wish we could arrest that bugger Worthy.’
‘So do I,’ Nottingham agreed, his eyes flickering towards the morgue. ‘If we did he’d be out in an hour, though. There’s no evidence. And even if we had something, his friends among the aldermen would have him gone soon enough.’
‘Nothing we can do?’
‘No,’ the Constable said vehemently. ‘Sod all.’
‘I had a thought about Jackson.’ He reached into his pocket and found the paper, squinting to make out his sleepy scrawl. ‘What if his business partner knew he was going to sell out his share of the business?’
Nottingham stopped moving the papers on his desk and looked at the deputy with curiosity.
‘What do you mean?’
‘Well, Tunstall wouldn’t be happy if he found out, would he? He’d be getting a new partner, no say in the matter.’
‘Go on.’
‘It could be reason enough to commit murder.’
‘The only problem is that Jackson killed himself.’
‘But what if he didn’t?’
The Constable thought, then answered slowly.
‘I just don’t see it, John. Either way Tunstall would end up with a new partner. And the note indicates Jackson was a suicide. It was in his own writing. Do you think Tunstall’s that clever?’
‘Aye, maybe you’re right,’ Sedgwick conceded sadly. ‘It came to me while I was sleeping.’
‘Never ignore your hunches,’ Nottingham advised. ‘They’ll be right often enough.’
‘Just not in this case.’
‘No, John. Sorry.’ He smiled. ‘So what are we going to do about Nan? If Worthy really was telling me the truth then she’s still out there.’
‘After what happened to her brother, or whatever he was, she’ll have run as far from here as she can.’
‘I hope so. But if she hasn’t, we still need to find her. If we don’t, Worthy’s men will and we’ll be looking at another corpse.’
‘All the inns and alehouses must be sick of us asking about her by now.’
‘At least they’ll notice her if she walks in,’ Nottingham said. ‘Get the men out on a sweep of them again. And the places where she might sell what she’s stolen. She still needs to eat and drink.’
‘Yes, boss.’ He stood and prepared to leave.
‘How’s Lizzie?’
‘Strong as an ox.’
The Constable smiled. ‘Then let’s pray she remains free of any trouble.’
‘Aye, true enough.’ Sedgwick held up a pair of crossed fingers. He was smiling but inside he was wishing fervently that all would go well. To lose her would break him and devastate James. The boy had only just become used to a loving mother. He could learn to share her with someone else, but not to be without her entirely.
He’d never had to do so much riding when looking into a crime before. It wasn’t something he relished. Still, it could have been worse. The weather was set fair, the sun pleasant and not too hot, a faint breeze like whispers beyond hearing. If he really had to ride to out Godlove’s estate, this was a day for doing it.
The horse took the hill at a slow, easy pace that suited the Constable. He didn’t know what he could ask Godlove that he hadn’t already asked, or if there was anything that might trip him up. But at least by talking to the man he was doing something, trying to press matters forward.
As he rode along the long drive he could see workers out in the field, but no activity in the yard. At the stable a boy took his mount but told him that the master had left early for an appointment in Bradford.
So much for this journey, Nottingham thought wryly, and went to the kitchen in search of something to drink
