Chapter Thirteen
For once it wasn’t raining, and the chill wind seemed to have lost much of its bite. Riley and Salter arrived at the Defence Secretary’s offices, where clerks seated on high stools beavered away industriously, the scratching of their nibs and the occasional cough the only sounds breaking the silence. The chief clerk approached them and asked their business. When they’d identified themselves and asked to speak with Eldridge they were shown into a small room and politely asked to wait whilst the young aide was summoned. If the clerk wondered what they wanted with him, he was too well trained to ask.
After no more than two minutes, a tall man with a shock of red hair and clear hazel eyes joined them.
‘You gentlemen are from Scotland Yard,’ Eldridge said amiably, ‘and no doubt wish to speak with me about the death of my friend, Rod Woodrow. A terrible tragedy,’ he added, taking the seat across from Riley and arranging his rangy body in an elegant sprawl, ‘but I did try to warn him that he sometimes went too far.’
‘You were friends?’ Riley asked.
‘You look surprised, Inspector. Rod did have friends, you know.’
‘Thus far we have only been able to find mourners amongst the ranks of the fairer sex.’
‘A whole bevy of them, I shouldn’t wonder.’ Eldridge chuckled. ‘He did have a way about him when it came to the ladies. That is what I tried to warm him about. Tolerant husbands do not have limitless patience; not if they’re in danger of being made fools of. Rod treated it all as a game, of course, but he was so convincing that the ladies read more into his attentions than was wise, and were not always as discreet as they should have been. That sort of thing can bring the wrong sort of attention upon a family’s honour, don’t you know.’
Riley knew all too well.
‘How long had the two of you been friends?’ Salter asked, notebook at the ready.
‘Since our first day at preparatory school. I was small for my age at the time, if you can believe that. Didn’t start sprouting until I turned twelve, which made me a prime target for the bullies—that and the colour of my hair of course, which was a good deal brighter when I was a lad. Rod used his fists to protect me, claiming that he couldn’t abide bullies, and…well, that was that. I took a liking to him and we remained friends from that point on. Believe it or not, Rod had a caring side to his personality and always supported the underdog. No disrespect intended, but that’s why he sometimes bestowed his limitless charm upon the less attractive, largely neglected wives.’
Riley could think of another reason why such creatures engaged his attention but was not yet prepared to share his thoughts in that regard with Eldridge. He still looked upon him as a suspect, albeit an unlikely one on the face of it.
‘You think he brought his murder upon himself?’ Riley asked.
‘Don’t you, Lord Riley?’ Eldridge seemed open and relaxed, as evidenced by the fact that he had now casually draped one ankle over his opposite thigh. ‘You’re one of us. You know how men react when it looks as though they can’t control their wives.’
‘Any particular man in mind?’ Salter asked.
‘Afraid not, Sergeant. The field is too wide for me to be able to narrow it down. Ladies of all ages adored him. Ask my mother if you doubt it. Speaking of whom, she’s hosting a small reception early tomorrow evening in his memory. I’ll wager half the females in London will be there, wailing and gnashing their teeth. Their husbands will most likely tag along, if only to toast his demise.’
‘I was not aware that Lady Eldridge had such a function in mind,’ Riley remarked.
‘I tried to tell her it wasn’t in the best possible taste, but she seldom listens to my advice.’ He stretched his arms above his head and yawned. ‘Anyway, for what it’s worth, Rod was charming, attentive to the ladies, didn’t take life seriously and was the best possible fun. I shall miss him.’
‘Even though you were vying for the affections of the same lady?’ Riley asked.
‘Lady Laura?’ Eldridge scratched his chin. ‘That did get a bit sticky for a while, I’ll grant you, but Rod didn’t plan to pursue his interest in her, despite being offered every encouragement. It had reached the point where she was even prepared to defy her father, which would have taken courage. I think he just pretended to go along with Laura’s plans in order to shake old Durand up a bit. It’s just the sort of thing that he excelled at. He can be a bit of a stuffed shirt, Durand that is, when it comes to his daughter’s wellbeing. Well, and most other things, for that matter.’
‘Are you absolutely sure about that?’ Riley asked, sharing a perplexed look with Salter. ‘About Rod giving up on Lady Laura, I mean.’
‘Certain,’ he said, without hesitation. ‘But if he did decide to tie the knot and Laura turned out to be the lucky lady, I would have been the first to wish him joy.’
‘Even though you are in love with the lady yourself?’ Salter asked.
Eldridge blinked. ‘Who said anything about love? Oh, Laura’s a good enough sort but it would be bad form to stand in the way if her affections were engaged elsewhere. I wouldn’t want a wife who spent her time pining after my best friend. Besides, it was her father who encouraged me to pursue her.’ He spread his hands. ‘I know how that must sound to you but needs must. I have political ambitions of my own and Durand is in a position to help me in that regard. He wields a great deal of influence in the political arena.’ Eldridge saw the look that passed between Riley and Salter and let out a low whistle. ‘You really do think that I murdered my friend over Laura.’ He shook his head and then laughed. ‘You couldn’t be more wrong. The only thing I’m capable of killing is my minister’s politically suicidal ideas—of which, believe me, he has a vast number.’
Riley produced Lady Laura’s last letter to Rod from his coat pocket and handed it to Eldridge, who read it quickly.
‘He wasn’t going through with it,’ Eldridge reiterated, appearing completely honest and unconcerned as he handed the letter back to Riley. ‘We discussed it in his rooms just a couple of nights before he died. Rod confided in me that he had fallen in love. I laughed myself silly, I don’t mind telling you. Never thought the day would dawn, but there you have it. Seems the lady in question was not quite top drawer, if you follow my meaning, but Rod wasn’t deterred by that. Like I said before, he had great sympathy for the underdog. He said he was tired of all the social rigmarole, who had the best connections, who was worth pursuing, who had been invited where and by whom, and so forth. Well, you know how it is, Lord Riley.’ Riley nodded but said nothing for fear of interrupting Eldridge’s flow. ‘Rod said he’d found something good and pure and worthwhile that restored his jaded spirit.’
‘How did he intend to support himself and this penniless female?’ Salter asked.
‘Ah, yes, that…Look, I don’t like to speak ill of the dead and all that but I’m afraid Rod was a bit of a scoundrel. Durand had offered him five thousand guineas to leave Laura alone. He intended to get him to double that amount.’ Eldridge chuckled. ‘I know I shouldn’t approve, but you have to admire the man. He didn’t give a damn what anyone thought of him, and all the ladies adored him for that very reason. Didn’t do an honest day’s work in his life, but then quite a few of our lot choose to be idle so one can’t criticise him for that.’
‘Do you know the name of his intended?’ Riley asked.
‘No, sorry. I didn’t ask and he didn’t volunteer it. But I know he seriously meant to marry her. Asked me to stand as his groomsman, as a matter of fact, but wanted me to keep quiet about it. Said he didn’t want our set to intrude upon his perfect union, especially as the lady wouldn’t be comfortable mixing with them.’
Riley knew there was another reason for the secrecy but remained silent on the point.
‘Perhaps he was concerned that the husbands he cuckolded would take out their revenge on his wife,’ Salter said blandly.
Eldridge chuckled. ‘I hope none of them would be that bad-mannered, Sergeant, but I’m afraid I can’t offer you any guarantees in that regard.’
Riley tried another question. ‘How did he support himself once he moved out of Woodrow House?’
‘No idea.’ Eldridge shrugged. ‘It’s not the sort of question a gentleman would ask, but he certainly never tapped me, or anyone else to the best of my knowledge, for loans. I assumed his father provided him with an allowance. He certainly never seemed short of blunt and showed up at the most fashionable venues, almost always in the company of a different lady.’
‘Would it surprise you to learn that he indulged in a spot of blackmail?’ Riley asked.
Both of Eldridge’s eyebrows disappeared beneath his hairline. ‘First I’ve heard of it, but then if it’s true he’d hardly shout about it.’ He frowned. ‘Are you absolutely sure?’
‘Perfectly so. And his victims, all women as far as we’ve been able to ascertain, paid up willingly.’
Eldridge threw back his head and roared with laughter. ‘He charged them for services rendered, like a common whore?’
‘Something of that nature, but I would prefer it if you kept that to yourself.’
‘You can depend upon my discretion.’ Eldridge stood. ‘But now, if there’s nothing more I can do to help, I’d best get back out there before my minster does or says something that will come back to bite him. He really isn’t safe to be let out on his own, you know.’
‘Just one more question. Do you know if Rod made a will?’
‘As a matter of fact I do. He used the same solicitors as me.’ Eldridge reeled off a name and address, which Salter noted in his book.
Riley thanked him and they took their leave.
‘Well, that was a turn up for the books,’ Salter said, looking bewildered. ‘Did you believe him, sir?’
‘Yes, Jack, I did. I think he’s the first person we’ve spoken to in this whole sorry business, apart from Alice, who has told us the complete and absolute truth.’
‘You genuinely think that he didn’t mind his friend dallying with the affections of the woman that he himself had in his sights?’ Salter looked dubious. ‘To say nothing of fleecing her father. The man whose patronage Eldridge needed. He must have felt torn, at least about Durand being manipulated.’
‘I got the impression that he needs Durand’s patronage but doesn’t like the man much, so I don’t suppose it would have overly concerned him. Ten thousand guineas is a small fortune but Eldridge knows that Durand would barely feel the loss.’
‘Alright for some,’ Salter grumbled.
‘Eldridge is not in love with Laura Durand, Jack, any more than Rod was. There’s no hiding that sort of passion, or the anger and jealousy he would have held against his friend for toying with her affections. I rather think he looked up to Rod and found his antics amusing.’
‘Amusing?’ Salter’s features ran a gamut of emotions—from consideration to disbelief, settling finally upon disapproval. ‘He had a funny set of morals, did Woodrow. He thought nothing of fleecing his fellow toffs but was fiercely protective of Alice and wanted revenge for the way her mother was treated. You think he really did intend to marry her and the final transaction he spoke to her about was the ten thousand he intended to extract from Durand?’
‘So it would appear. I also happen to agree with Eldridge that Rod Woodrow was fiercely protective of the weak and put upon. Alice and Eldridge himself are just two examples. I can tell you that if you’re weak when you enter the English public school system then you’re marked for a life of misery. Boys can be brutal and unkind. Yet Rod, at the age of seven, protected a boy he didn’t know from bullies. That ought to tell us something significant about his principals.’
‘Aye. He was a complex character, right enough. Anyway, what now, guv?’ Salter asked, when they arrived back at base.
‘Now, we take a moment to mull over what we know and try to decide what direction our investigation should take from here.’ Riley shed his coat and hat and took the chair behind his desk. Salter sat across from him, pencil poised. ‘Right, what do we know about our respective suspects, Jack? Let’s take William Woodrow first.’
‘He disliked his brother and disapproved of his lifestyle. We know that Rod tried to blackmail his brother Francis when he propositioned Alice, but he refused to pay. So William stumped up in order to buy his silence and protect his burgeoning career as a politician from scandal that would stop it in its tracks before it even took off. That must have embittered him towards a brother he already disliked. William was also aware of his propensity for dalliances with married women, which wouldn’t have sat comfortably with him, ’cause that too would harm his chances of being elected to Parliament if it came to light. His opponents wouldn’t hesitate to use Rod’s behaviour as an excuse to label Woodrow’s entire family as promiscuous. What’s more,’ Salter added, warming to his theme, ‘I suspect that Rod laughed at his strait-laced brother and flaunted his exploits in front of him, just to annoy him. Add to that the fact that the black sheep was their father’s favourite and could do no wrong in his eyes and…well, that lot adds up to one hell of a motive for murder.’
‘I couldn’t agree with you more, Jack, but unfortunately we’ve been unable to place William anywhere near his brother’s rooms at the time of the crime.’
‘He’d have let him in if he was there though, guv, and would likely have had a drink with him.’
Riley nodded. ‘He very probably would. Anyway, let’s leave him to one side for now and think about Durand.’
‘As a father, I have some sympathy with his situation. A young, impressionable and wealthy daughter infatuated with a womaniser and a rake.’ Salter sniffed. ‘Lord Durand must have been beside himself. Well, we know he was because he admits that he tried to buy him off. It didn’t work but he strikes me as the type who is used to having the final word and he wouldn’t have let matters rest there. We also know that he did go to Half Moon Street that night and that he intended to confront Rod. He would have been admitted too, but we can’t prove that he actually was.’
‘I concur, so we have two prime suspects, both without alibis. I personally don’t think that Duncan Eldridge harmed his friend, so he goes to the bottom of the list.’ Riley closed his eyes, covered his mouth with his hand and yawned.
‘Late night, sir,’ Salter asked with a wry grin, ‘or was it an early one that didn’t involve a lot of sleeping?’
‘Don’t be impertinent,’ Riley replied without rancour. ‘Right, back to the suspects. Unless anyone else crawls out of the woodwork, we’re left with your favourites, the Kemptons.’
‘Such a charming couple,’ Salter said sarcastically. ‘Where to start with those two? Mrs K was infatuated with Rod, the father of her child and the man she wanted to marry. She told you that her father forbade the match and she was unwilling to go against his wishes.’ Salter rubbed his chin. ‘Personally, having met the woman, I don’t believe that. She’s strong willed and selfish. I suspect it’s more likely that her father threatened to disinherit her if she married Rod. Either that or Rod, who really didn’t want to marry her anyway, pretended that he couldn’t come between them, which probably only endeared him to her the more because he was being so thoughtful.’ Salter snorted. ‘Women are so easily taken in. Anyway, she carried on seeing him, probably planning to somehow do away with her husband so that they could be together without the risk of losing her daughter to Kempton’s care. Then something happened to tip her over the edge.’ He glanced up at Riley. ‘But what?’
‘Either she discovered that she wasn’t Rod’s one and only or she found out about Alice. Either way, I can easily see her making use of her husband to exact the ultimate revenge. As we’ve speculated before, she’s the type of woman who would rather see the man she loves dead than share him.’
‘And Kempton would have done it without a second thought. He’d get rid of his rival and his wife would give him the funds to put his business back on a sound footing. Two birds with one stone.’
‘But Woodrow wouldn’t have admitted him.’ Salter paused. ‘What I still fail to understand is why Mrs Kempton told us about the blackmail in the first place. We might not have found out about it otherwise.’
‘She’d written very graphic letters to him, Jack, and couldn’t be sure that he’d destroyed them.’
Salter gave a droll smile. ‘She didn’t trust him that much then?’
‘She didn’t know if we would find them, so she decided to get in first and admit to financing his lifestyle.’
‘So we have four suspects.’ Salter rubbed his chin. ‘All well and good, sir, but how the hell do we draw the actual killer out?’
‘How indeed?’ Riley fell into momentary contemplation. Amelia’s suggestion that he use Alice as bait to lure the guilty party into indiscretion filled his mind. He abhorred the idea of placing an innocent woman directly in the line of fire but if he did not the killer might never be brought to justice. Like Eldridge, he didn’t approve of Rod’s lifestyle but felt a grudging admiration for his divided loyalties. Besides, if they didn’t catch the culprit he would have no alternative but to read Celia’s letters, which meant they would no longer remain confidential. Danforth would learn about them, providing him with the perfect opportunity to discredit Riley. If that happened, the consequences for his family didn’t bear thinking about. Riley would be forced to choose between his career or destroying his family, which was really no choice at all. Family loyalty was simply too deeply entrenched. ‘Lady Eldridge’s reception,’ he said musingly, going on to tell Salter what he had in mind.
‘Do you think it will work?’ his sergeant asked dubiously when Riley ran out of words.
‘Do you have any better ideas, Sergeant?’ Riley asked, more acerbically than had been his intention.
‘It could be dangerous for the lass.’
‘It will be, and the lady is perfectly entitled to decline if she wishes, but I rather think that she will not so wish.’
‘Can’t we use someone else?’
‘We don’t have anyone else. It’s not as if we have female police officers, or women from any walk of life trained to defend themselves against desperate murderers. Besides, it’s possible that the killer would recognise Alice and therefore know that the substitute was not her.’
‘Hmm, I see what you mean. Well, if you’re gonna do it, sir, I strongly advise you to cover your arse by clearing it with the brass first. That way, if it goes pear-shaped, Danforth won’t be able to pin the blame on you.’
‘Oh, I dare say he’ll find a way,’ Riley said, feigning a casualness that he didn’t feel as he hauled himself to his feet. ‘I’d best see if the superintendent is in a receptive frame of mind. Wish me luck.’
‘I reckon you’ll need it, sir.’
Riley cursed when he was told that the superintendent was not expected at the Yard until later in the day. Riley’s proposition couldn’t wait that long if he was to consult with Alice and put the groundwork in place before Wednesday afternoon—the day after tomorrow. Besides, he reasoned as he squared his shoulders and headed for Danforth’s office, by rights he ought to report to Danforth and allow him to get clearance from Thompson. It would not improve his already rocky relationship with the chief inspector if he went above his head. He tapped on Danforth’s door and was made to wait a whole minute before being invited to enter. Danforth so enjoyed his petty games of one-upmanship.
‘What is it, Rochester?’ he asked, looking up from the papers scattered across his desk.
Riley had not been invited to sit, but did so anyway, having no intention of standing in front of the man’s desk like a recalcitrant schoolboy.
‘I have come to update you on the Woodrow case, sir,’ he said calmly, crossing his legs and casually arranging the fall of his trousers to his satisfaction.
‘Caught the culprit, have you?’
When Riley shook his head, Danforth looked smug rather than disappointed. Ignoring his reaction, Riley went on to explain what they had learned thus far. Danforth leaned back in a chair that creaked in protest beneath his bulk and made a show of considering the facts.
‘Seems to me you’ve hit a bit of an impasse,’ he said. ‘Can’t be easy for you, delving into the lives of your peers. Perhaps I should let another inspector take over.’
‘That is, of course, your privilege.’
Failing to elicit the reaction he had doubtless hoped for, Danforth tried a different tack. ‘You haven’t had any of the women who were being blackmailed in here,’ he said. ‘Why not?’
‘Because I do not consider that any of them committed the crime, and would prefer not to embarrass them by airing their secrets in public.’
‘This ain’t about embarrassing anyone, Rochester. A man’s been murdered. Not a terribly nice man, by the sounds of things, but still. One of the women might have had a husband or relative do the deed for her.’
‘Woodrow would not have admitted a stranger to his rooms at that time of night.’
Danforth grunted. ‘Even so, the women should be interviewed. Someone knows something they ain’t telling you because you’re being too soft with your own.’
‘I exercise discretion in my work, and try not to embarrass anyone from any walk of life,’ Riley replied, fixing Danforth with a significant look. His superior had the grace to mumble something and look away first.
‘I assume you’ve come to me, not to report your lack of progress, but for some other reason.’
Riley explained what he wanted to do.
‘Ah, so you’re willing enough to risk the wellbeing of a milliner.’
Riley stood. ‘I had hoped for your backing, sir, but since it will clearly not be forthcoming, I see little point in continuing with this conversation. I paid you the courtesy of coming to you first but can see now that I must wait until the superintendent arrives and seek his permission directly.’
‘Sit down, Rochester.’ Danforth’s flabby face flushed with annoyance. ‘I didn’t say it ain’t a good idea. I just don’t like to think of the lass taking all the risks.’ He sighed. ‘Go ahead and talk to her. If she’s willing then you can put the plan into action. But heaven help you if she gets hurt in any way.’
‘Thank you,’ Riley said calmly, leaving Danforth’s room and closing the door quietly behind him. He would talk to Alice, but if she agreed he would also make sure that Danforth had told the superintendent he’d approved the scheme. Riley couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling that it just might slip Danforth’s mind.