Chapter Seventeen
‘Well done, inspector.’ Thompson leaned back in his chair and gave a satisfied smile. ‘A good day’s work all round.’
‘Ray Clement is still ranting away,’ Riley replied. ‘He hasn’t actually admitted to killing the girl and doesn’t accept that he did anything wrong. He’s mentally unstable, so I suspect they’ll lock him in the asylum for the rest of his days rather than hang him. Celeste was the evil one. She planned everything meticulously and almost had me fooled.’
‘You wouldn’t have known of her existence if she hadn’t contacted you. After all, her marriage to Michael Clement was a secret. I wonder why she chanced exposing her connection.’
‘She thought she could manipulate me in the same manner that she’s been manipulating men her entire adult life. She also knew that I would discover, sooner or later, that she benefited from Adelaide’s will. Better to cast herself in the role of caring friend before we could find out the truth. I think she also believed that I would allow her to guide the direction of the investigation.’
‘Which was a major mistake.’
Riley shrugged. ‘She will most assuredly hang, even though she didn’t commit the crime in person. She manipulated two people, driven by greed and ambition.’
‘And Mirabelle? What are we to charge her with?’
‘I would suggest nothing. She was taken in by Celeste too and I am convinced she didn’t know that Ray had murder in mind. Besides, if we deprive her of her liberty, who knows what secrets she might decide to make public.’
Thompson’s brows shot up. ‘Danforth’s predilections, you mean?’
‘Precisely so. The Detective Department is struggling to establish a reputation for honesty and integrity. News of a senior officer frequenting a specialist brothel will set us back and we might never recover from the scandal. There are many who would pounce upon the opportunity to ensure we don’t, and the only people who will benefit from our demise are criminals. And so, my recommendation is that we release Mirabelle without charge in return for her secrecy. She is no danger to anyone else.’
‘You are a good man, Rochester. I’m lucky to have you.’ Thompson leaned forward in his seat, and his next question was almost rhetorical. ‘Now, what am I to do about Danforth?’
Riley and his superintendent discussed the matter for a considerable amount of time.
‘Well, Rochester, I will consider your opinion,’ Thompson said. ‘It’s probably the right one, and let you know what I decide. In the meantime, you’d best get off. It’s been a long day and tomorrow will be an even longer one.’
‘If you have no objection, sir, I’d like to leave the paperwork to Salter tomorrow. I need a day to attend to some private business.’
‘Of course.’ Thompson flapped a dismissive hand. ‘Away with you, man. You’ve more than earned the right.’
Riley returned to his office and congratulated his officers on a job well done. He then gave Salter his instructions.
‘I shall not be here tomorrow but I’m sure I can leave the rest of the interviews in your capable hands.’
‘Off to see your brother, I assume.’
Riley smiled. ‘Perceptive, as ever.’
‘Sounds to me like he had a lucky escape.’ Salter frowned. ‘But why did Celeste turn your brother down if he wanted to set her up in style as his mistress? Being seen on the arm of a marquess has to beat being the wife of a middle-classed wine merchant, I’d have thought.’
‘Ah, but she wouldn’t have been seen, that’s the point. These things have to be done discreetly. Henry would have provided her with a decent place to live, probably somewhere in the country convenient for him, and she would have had to sit there twiddling her thumbs until he deigned to visit her.’
Salter sniffed, unimpressed. ‘Celeste prefers the bright lights and being the centre of attention.’
‘Precisely. Besides, she’s both ambitious and clever. She knew that Henry would tire of her eventually and by the time that he did she would be too old to attract anyone else of his consequence, so it would have been downhill for her from that point onwards. So she decided to marry a man whose ambition matched her own. A man who could raise her up. One she could control and who would lend her respectability.’
‘Michael Clement is devastated. I feel quite sorry for him. He was taken in by Celeste, too.’ Salter sighed. ‘This will be the ruination of him. His business won’t prosper now, and anyway he’s probably lost the appetite for it.’
‘Nor will Huxton prosper, not now that we’ve charged the uncle with evasion of duty.’ Riley shrugged. ‘I can’t regret that. No matter what Adelaide became, I’m convinced that the uncle is responsible for setting her on that path. After all, we now know he has the scar on his upper thigh that Adelaide told Celeste about. There’s no way she could have known about it if he hadn’t exposed himself in her presence.’
Salter scowled as a thought occurred to him. ‘If what Mirabelle said about Ray is true and that he secretly hankered after all the girls at Mrs Sinclair’s place, why didn’t he take Adelaide’s virginity when he had the chance?’
Riley shrugged. ‘He probably wasn’t capable, which would account for his anger at their profession in general. He saw his mother being mistreated by men at a young age, and that probably affected him profoundly.’
Salter looked surprised. ‘It rendered him impotent.’
‘I would imagine so. We must assume that he tried to punish Adelaide in the way he’d seen his mother being punished by brutal men. When he failed it made him so angry that he blamed Adelaide for his own inadequacies and killed her.’
‘How could Celeste know that he would?’
‘She understood men in general and made it her business to understand Ray in particular through her conversations about him with Michael. She would have read between the lines and probably identified his inabilities, the cause of his anger and aggression, and exploited it to her own advantage.’
‘So that she could use him to carry out her dirty work.’
‘Precisely.’
‘What happens to Adelaide’s money now? Obviously, Celeste can’t profit from her crime.’
‘I understand it goes to a charitable institution that helps fallen women.’
Salter nodded. ‘Glad to hear it. What of that carnation we found beneath Adelaide’s bed? Presumably it was placed there to put us off the scent.’
‘Yes, I asked Mirabelle about that earlier and she told me she put it there at Celeste’s suggestion when she sneaked Ray into the room. She didn’t ask why but we can safely suppose that it was intended as an ironic symbol as well as a way to point us in the wrong direction.’
‘What do you want me to do about Mirabelle?’
‘Let her cool her heels in a cell tonight and you can release her in the morning, provided she keeps her mouth shut. She knows that she must and I’m convinced that she will. She’s had one hell of a fright and learned her lesson.’
‘Just to save Danforth’s hide?’ Salter wrinkled his nose. ‘He don’t deserve it.’
‘No, Jack, but the department does. I care about its reputation more than I do Chief Inspector Danforth’s.’
‘When we first went to that brothel, Mirabelle was totally unconcerned about Adelaide’s death, even though she knew the man she let in must have killed her. How could she have put on such a show?’
‘She had to. She knew we would hear from the other girls that she and Adelaide were sworn enemies.’
‘I still don’t see why she went scurrying over to Celeste’s house, effectively giving them both away.’
‘It was because I mentioned the diaries—’
‘And dropped Celeste’s name casually into the conversation.’ Salter chuckled. ‘You crafty devil!’
Riley inclined his head. ‘Guilty as charged.’
‘But you didn’t suspect Celeste and Mirabelle of being in cahoots at that point, did you?’
‘Truth to tell, Jack, I was floundering in the dark, so I did what I always do when I hit a wall and threw a few names into the mix just to see what reaction they got. And when I saw Mirabelle pale, I suspected that I’d struck a nerve.’
‘Then you had Peterson watch Celeste’s house.’
‘Only because I thought she might try to evade justice, if she was the guilty party. I can’t take any credit for second sight in this particular case.’
‘I would if I was you.’ Salter chuckled. ‘Don’t disillusion the troops.’
Riley stood, yawned and reached for his hat. ‘Well, I’m for a decent meal and an early night. Goodnight, Jack. I’ll see you the day after tomorrow.’
‘Goodnight, sir. And congratulations. This hasn’t been an easy case but we got there.’
‘More by luck than judgement,’ Riley replied with a rueful smile. ‘It didn’t occur to me that three of our suspects might be in cahoots, but it damned well should have.’
Salter shook his head. ‘I can’t see why.’
Riley made his way home and allowed Stout to fuss over him. He enjoyed a leisurely bath, a substantial meal and a good bottle of claret. He shrugged as he examined the label, wondering who had imported the French vintage into England and whether they had troubled themselves to pay the duty on it.
He slept soundly and took an early train to Chichester the following morning. Henry seemed surprised and a little wary at his unexpected arrival. Happily Celia was making calls and so the brothers were able to ensconce themselves in Henry’s library whilst Riley explained developments.
‘Ye gods, she a murderess, you say?’ Henry dropped his head into his hands and shook it from side to side. ‘How could I have been such a damned fool?’
‘She was very accomplished at what she did, if that’s any consolation,’ Riley replied, thinking his revelation would be an efficient way to cure Henry’s obsession with the wench. ‘She had me fooled. I should have seen through her long before I did and questioned her motives.’
‘Will word get out…about her and me, I mean?’ Another shake of the head. ‘Lud, this is a disaster.’
‘That’s why I came to see you, to give you warning. She will try just about anything to save her skin, but it will do her no good. I very much doubt if your name will find its way into the newspapers but if it does you will just have to weather the storm.’
‘Celia won’t like it.’
‘Of course she won’t.’ Riley leaned back in his chair and sighed, thinking Celia seldom liked or approved of anything. ‘But the salacious nature of the entire story will be the main focus of journalistic enterprise, you may depend upon at least that much.’
‘Well, it’s good of you to warn me, Riley.’ Henry sighed, looking suddenly every one of his forty-five years. ‘Stay for luncheon and spend some time with your nephew. Celia will want to see you, too.’
Riley agreed, failing to completely hide his shock when he saw just how ill Henry’s son and heir actually was. A reminder, if any reminder was necessary, of the responsibilities that rested on his own shoulders.
It was late afternoon by the time he returned to London. Instead of going home, he made his way to Chelsea and Amelia’s abode.
‘Ah, Riley,’ she said, looking up from the book she was reading and smiling when he was announced. ‘I was hoping you would call,’ she added, putting the book aside. ‘I see from the newspapers that you got your man—and woman, it seems—and I’m bursting to know all the particulars.’
Riley laughed, kissed her hand and took the seat beside her. He accepted her offer of refreshment and Norris was despatched to fetch him a glass of whisky. Seated in Amelia’s elegant drawing room, a glass of excellent single malt in hand, he felt the travails of the past few days falling from his shoulders, and knew for a certainty that there was nowhere else he wanted to be. No one else’s company he would prefer. And so he told her everything that had occurred, answered all her questions, and repeatedly berated himself for not arriving at the truth earlier.
‘The facts were staring me in the face but there were so many different threads to follow that I allowed myself to become distracted.’
‘You are too hard on yourself. You uncovered a conspiracy to murder orchestrated by an ambitious and resentful woman, as well as catching Adelaide’s uncle in the process of smuggling.’
He shrugged. ‘Hardly the crime of the century, the smuggling, that is. Depriving the treasury of its legitimate income is generally looked upon as a legitimate sporting activity, but in this case it will be the death knell for Huxton’s business.’ He threw back his head and closed his eyes. ‘The uncle will serve a gaol sentence, just to be made an example of, and there’s no one else in the family capable of taking up the reins.’
‘Since he destroyed his niece’s life, I cannot feel any sympathy for him.’
Riley smiled at her. ‘No more can I. Anyway, I have been to Chichester today to warn Henry that there might be a little embarrassment over the coming weeks. Celeste will do anything to try and avoid an appointment with the hangman, including throwing about the names of previous lovers, if only to spite me.’
‘Oh dear.’
‘Quite. He will have to warn Celia, of course, and I don’t envy him that task.’
‘How were things at Rochester Hall?’
‘How was Jasper, is what, I presume, you are asking me?’
‘Is he as sickly as you were led to believe or is it all part of a family ploy to force you into matrimony?’
‘I was shocked by just how frail he seems. It’s a while since I was last in his company. He has no energy and the best doctors in the country are at a loss to know what’s wrong with him.’ Riley shook his head. ‘It’s a shame.’
‘And it leaves you in a quandary. You presumably have the opportunity of promotion—’
‘No, I have suggested to my superintendent that Danforth resumes his position.’
Amelia flexed a brow. ‘How very understanding of you.’
‘I am thinking of the greater good of the Detective Department. Our detractors wouldn’t hesitate to use Danforth’s lack of judgement as a reason to condemn us all. Besides, I prefer to conduct the investigations myself. The prospect of sitting behind a desk all day issuing orders does not appeal.’
‘I can well imagine.’ A soft smile played about her lips. ‘You always were a man of action.’
‘Well, one good thing emerged from this sorry mess. Henry is so grateful to me for limiting Celeste’s damage that he agreed without quibbling for Cabbage to remain in London for the season.’
‘That is good news. And saves you from the tedious responsibility of seeking a wife, I suppose.’
‘Well, that rather depends.’ He fixed her with a probing look. ‘The time has come, I think and, in truth, I am now keen to embrace the institution.’
‘Oh.’ A flash of alarm passed through her eyes. ‘Who has affected this sudden change in attitude? Anyone I am acquainted with?’
Riley smiled at her and took her hand. ‘As though you need to ask.’
‘But I do,’ she replied breathlessly. ‘You are so secretive that I hardly—’
‘My difficulty is that you are so adamantly determined not to marry for a second time. Will you tell me why?’
‘Me!’ Amelia’s cheeks flushed, her eyes clouded over and at first Riley thought she wouldn’t answer him. Then she started to talk in a low, melodious voice, her expression distracted. ‘I loved my husband when we first married and thought my feelings were reciprocated.’ She let out a slow breath. ‘I was wrong about that.’ She treated Riley to a jaundiced look. ‘Adelaide is not the only one who remained a virgin.’
Riley’s mouth fell open. ‘Your marriage…it was not consummated?’
Amelia couldn’t look at him and simply shook her head. ‘Matthew simply couldn’t, no matter what we tried. He became angry, frustrated, took that frustration out on me—’
‘He hit you? Blamed you?’ Riley ground his jaw, filled with a fulminating rage he found it hard to contain.
Amelia shrugged. What would you have me say?’
Riley shook his head. ‘You offered to be my mistress, even though you have never—’
‘You made your position clear with regard to matrimony. And I have become increasingly curious over the years…’ She turned away from him. ‘It seemed like the perfect solution.’
‘How would you have explained yourself when I discovered…well, the truth?’
Amelia shrugged. ‘I hadn’t thought that far ahead.’
‘I can see now why you nodded your understanding when I spoke of Ray Clement.’ Riley ran the hand not holding Amelia’s through his hair. ‘It brought back unpleasant memories. I am so very sorry.’
‘You were not to know.’
‘Cosgrave became angry and blamed you when he was unable to perform.’ She nodded. ‘Did he prefer men?’
‘No, not as far as I am aware.’
‘And you have been left feeling that you are to blame. That you were somehow responsible for his inability.’
She rippled her elegant shoulders. ‘It seems like the logical conclusion to reach. Anyway, I am unwilling to take the same risk again.’
‘Unwilling or determined not to?’ Riley held his breath as he awaited her response.
‘I thought I was determined not to, but—’ She widened her eyes and met his gaze. ‘What is it that you want of me, Riley?’
‘Marry me, Amelia,’ he replied passionately.
The End
If you are interested to learn more about Jake Morton’s influence over the young Riley please look out for the fifth volume in my Victorian Vigilantes series, Social Graces.