Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16

" M ay we go inside?" Inspector Teague asked.

Tilda frowned at him. "I suppose, though I wish you hadn't called on me at home. My grandmother doesn't need to be troubled by Scotland Yard." Though her grandmother was aware of Tilda's investigation, she did not know things were escalating.

Ravenhurst told the driver of the hack to go then returned to Tilda's side. "Shall we go in?" He gave her a slight nod, as if he understood her concern.

Tilda led them to the door and into the entrance hall. Mrs. Acorn came rushing in. "Oh, Tilda. And Inspector Teague." Her lips pressed together, and her gaze was flat. She also seemed bothered by Teague's presence. Her expression eased into a smile when she addressed the earl. "Good evening, Lord Ravenhurst."

Ravenhurst returned her smile. "Good evening, Mrs. Acorn."

Tilda removed her hat and gloves and handed them to the housekeeper then hung her cloak on its peg. "We'll be in the sitting room for a few minutes." She turned to Ravenhurst. "Will you take Teague in? I'll be along directly."

"Of course." The earl gestured for the inspector to precede him into the sitting room.

Turning to Mrs. Acorn, Tilda whispered, "Was Grandmama upset by the inspector's call?"

"She was…concerned," Mrs. Acorn replied.

"Please tell her I will explain everything as soon as they leave. And ask her to remain in the parlor—I assume that's where she is?" At Mrs. Acorn's nod, Tilda continued, "I shan't be long."

"There is something else." Mrs. Acorn withdrew a sealed piece of parchment from the pocket of her apron. "A constable from the City of London brought this by earlier. I didn't tell your grandmother."

Pursing her lips, Tilda broke the seal and scanned the paper. It was a summons to the inquest for Mr. Paul Fitch at the Bell on Fish Street Hill tomorrow morning at ten o'clock. Tilda was to be interviewed as a witness. Presumably, the same summons had been delivered to Ravenhurst.

"Thank you, Mrs. Acorn." Tilda tucked the summons into her pocket.

Mrs. Acorn glanced toward the sitting room. "The inspector was most eager to see you. I do think he was hoping your grandmother would invite him to stay and wait for you."

"He's a decent sort. He may have information that will help my investigation." Pivoting on her heel, Tilda strode into the sitting room. The gentlemen were still standing, though both had removed and now held their hats.

Tilda didn't sit either. She wanted Teague to leave quickly so she could soothe her grandmother and assure her all was well. "Inspector, please get right to the point of your call."

"As you wish." Teague cleared his throat. "I understand the two of you found a man dead last night. A man called Fitch and whom you, Lord Ravenhurst, identified as the man who attacked you in January." He pinned the earl with a dark stare.

"Yes, to all of that," Ravenhurst replied evenly.

"How did you find him?" Teague prodded.

Ravenhurst looked toward Tilda. It was difficult to tell what he might be thinking. "We are not going to discuss our investigative methods with you at this juncture. Especially since this matter is being investigated by the City of London Police, which is separate from the Metropolitan Police."

Teague frowned. "That may be, but since you identified Fitch as the man who attacked you, it is also a matter for A Division. I would like to help." He looked to Ravenhurst. "You're certain Fitch was the man who attacked you?"

"Absolutely."

"Have you any idea who would kill him?"

Ravenhurst glanced at Tilda. His gaze seemed to silently ask whether he should answer. She decided to do it for him. "Not as of yet," she said, drawing Teague's focus. "However, we are working on it. We do, however, believe Fitch killed Sir Henry."

Teague's expression sharpened, and his brows pitched into a V. "Do you have evidence that Sir Henry was murdered? There will need to be an inquest."

"How do you do that without a body?" Ravenhurst asked. "Or do you plan to exhume him? That might be necessary since there is some dispute over his cause of death. We are certain he had a wound, and we will soon confirm that he did not suffer from a heart ailment."

"There are no plans to exhume Sir Henry's body," Teague said. "But that could change if I presented new evidence."

"Does this mean you believe that Sir Henry was murdered?" Tilda asked the inspector.

"It does not." Teague looked to Ravenhurst. "But I am troubled by Padgett's refusal to share information about your and Crawford's attacks. I have had no luck speaking with him or even seeing the confidential reports for myself. Since I have exhausted my efforts, perhaps you'd like to speak with the superintendent. He'll be in tomorrow, if you'd like me to set an interview for you in the afternoon."

"That would be helpful," Tilda said, wondering at the inspector's motive. "Why have you taken such a strong interest?" She recalled Ravenhurst telling her that Teague's curiosity was piqued.

The inspector gave her a determined look. "I want to make sure we have not closed cases prematurely. Accurately solving crimes is top of my priorities."

"So, you're helping us because you want to," Tilda asked with great skepticism. "And you are not assigned to do so, nor should you be, at least not whilst you are working."

"That's correct. This is my personal time."

Tilda folded her arms across her chest. "What do you expect us to pay you?"

Teague looked aghast, his eyes rounding briefly. "Nothing." He wrinkled his nose in distaste. "I don't approve of that, though there's not much I can do about it."

"Commendable of you," Ravenhurst said. "We do not require help at this time, but that may soon change. When it does, we'll inform you with alacrity."

Teague put his hat back on his head. "I hope you will. Justice must be served."

Tilda thrilled at the inspector's ethical commitment. "I completely agree. You say you've exhausted your efforts with Padgett and the confidential reports. Is there anything else you can do to obtain information about Ravenhurst's attack and Crawford's murder?"

"There were constables involved in both cases, though I'm not sure who they are. I will find out and question them," he said firmly. "Since you mentioned bribery, you should know that Padgett is not above taking money for… assistance ."

"That makes sense," Ravenhurst said with distaste. "Why else would my and Crawford's cases be closed so quickly and without thorough investigation?"

"Men like Padgett infuriate me," Teague said. "But there is nothing I can do. The superintendent is aware of these corrupt practices but believes they do not impair the work we do. I disagree."

"Perhaps he'll change his mind if we can show him that Padgett has prevented justice from being done."

"Particularly for an earl," Teague remarked with a curled lip. "Superintendent Newsome cares very much how members of the House of Lords regard the Metropolitan Police."

"Because Scotland Yard relies on us for support," Ravenhurst said. "I may have to use that to my advantage, though I've wondered if that's any better than bribery."

"If your influence will effect change, I'm in favor of it," Teague said before making his way to the entrance hall. "I'll arrange for your interview with Newsome and send word of the time. Good evening, and Miss Wren, please apologize to your grandmother for my imposition."

Once the inspector was gone, Ravenhurst turned to Tilda. "I'm so sorry this came to your doorstep," Ravenhurst said with great care.

"Teague is not the only police official who came here today." She pulled the summons from her pocket and handed it to Ravenhurst to read. "I assume one will have been delivered to your house as well."

"I suppose we'll be busy most of tomorrow." He returned the summons to her, and she slipped it back into her pocket.

"We must postpone our call on Mr. Hardacre yet again," Tilda noted with considerable disappointment.

Ravenhurst gave her a sympathetic look. "Perhaps the inquest will go quickly. It won't take the jury long to declare Fitch's death a murder."

"They won't have a guilty party, however. I can't think there is any way the killer will be present."

"I tend to agree," Ravenhurst said grimly. "It will be an interesting event, to be certain. I'll pick you up shortly after nine. You go and speak with your grandmother now. I'm sorry for any upset she may have suffered."

"Thank you for coming in to speak with Teague," Tilda said.

"Of course. I'll see you in the morning." Ravenhurst left, and Tilda bolted the door.

Turning, she shook her shoulders out and prepared herself for the conversation with her grandmother. Tilda walked into the parlor, and her grandmother immediately looked toward her.

"Come and sit, my dear," Grandmama said with a smile.

Tilda took the chair near her grandmother's. "I'm sorry you were disturbed by Inspector Teague."

"I'm sure you'll tell me what he wished to speak with you about. I know you were just talking with him—and Lord Ravenhurst—in the sitting room." Grandmama looked at her expectantly.

"You know that Lord Ravenhurst hired me to investigate his attack. The investigation has…expanded. We now know that the man who stabbed Lord Ravenhurst killed others." Tilda took her grandmother's hand. "Including Sir Henry. He did not die of a heart ailment."

Grandmama lifted her free hand to her mouth, but it did not stifle her gasp. "This is absolutely dreadful. Does Millicent know?"

"I spoke with her about it today. Ravenhurst and I still have much investigative work to do."

"Is the earl assisting you in this?"

"He is," Tilda replied. "He's most invested in finding out why he was attacked—and understandably so."

"I'm just so shocked to hear about Sir Henry. First, my investment goes missing, and now we learn he was murdered." She blinked at Tilda. "Are those things related?"

Tilda didn't want to discuss the possible embezzlement after revealing Sir Henry's murder. "Were you aware that Sir Henry had a penchant for gaming?"

"Oh, yes. He and your grandfather never said no to whist." A nostalgic smile lit Grandmama's face. "They loved playing in tournaments."

"And did they wager? Sir Henry died with several IOUs."

Grandmama's features creased. "Sir Henry did occasionally wager more than he ought, but your grandfather kept him in check. I hadn't thought about the fact that without him, Sir Henry may not have had anyone giving him wise counsel." The color drained from Grandmama's face. "You think he gambled away my investment?"

"It's possible," she said softly, squeezing her grandmother's hand. "But we don't know for sure yet."

Anger lit her grandmother's eyes. "It was foolish of me to allow him to manage my money."

"You didn't really have a choice. He was our only male relative." Tilda loathed how women had such little control over their lives. "However, now we must ensure the management falls to me. With whatever funds we have."

Grandmama nodded. "You will do splendidly. And you will solve Sir Henry's murder. I'm exceedingly glad you are on the case. Your father would be so proud of you."

Tilda swallowed. She did not trust herself to speak just then.

After a moment, she said, "Tomorrow, Lord Ravenhurst and I must attend an inquest and provide testimony. The man who stabbed him and Sir Henry has been killed, and Lord Ravenhurst and I found the body." Tilda had no choice but to tell her the truth, as the details of the inquest may very well be printed in the newspaper, which her grandmother would see.

Grandmama's eyes rounded and she put her hand to her chest. "You didn't witness his death, did you?"

"No, and I promise you we were very careful."

"You really are an investigator," her grandmother said with a measure of awe.

Mrs. Acorn came in. "Dinner is ready."

Tilda's grandmother pushed herself up and looked at Tilda. "I had Mrs. Acorn hold it while you were speaking with the gentlemen." She walked into the staircase hall, but before Tilda could follow her, Mrs. Acorn handed her another envelope.

"This was delivered shortly after you left this afternoon," the housekeeper said. "I didn't want to bother you with it when the earl and inspector were here, nor did I want to give it to you with the more official-looking document."

"Thank you, Mrs. Acorn. I'll be in to dinner directly." Tilda didn't recognize the hand that had scrawled her name on the envelope. Opening it, she removed the letter—and a pound note.

The brief message was from Inspector Lowther. He said he couldn't accept her money as he was not able to help her. He concluded by writing:

You must leave the matter of Ravenhurst's attack alone. Even your father would have turned his focus elsewhere. Please take very good care.

Tilda frowned at the letter. If Lowther had been here in person, she would have argued with him. Her father would not have walked away from this investigation. There were too many unanswered questions. Too many things that did not make sense.

And why was Lowther warning her off? Her stomach suddenly felt hollow. He wasn't corrupt too, was he? Well, beyond accepting bribes.

That was corruption.

Tilda had to accept that she didn't know who she could trust at Scotland Yard, not without her father's guidance. Teague seemed honorable, but could she really know for certain?

She didn't have time to investigate the members of A Division, not when she was already consumed by her other investigation.

One thing did seem certain. If an inspector was telling her to stop her investigation, she was likely on the right path to discovering the truth. Tilda replaced the letter and the pound note into the envelope and tucked it into her pocket.

She would find Sir Henry's killer and she would see him brought to justice. Just as her father would have done.