Chapter Fourteen
‘Good morning, Jack,’ Riley said cheerfully.
‘And good morning to you, sir. Do I take it from your cheerful demeanour that there has been progress with the case?
‘Not precisely. At least not yet. Take a seat and I’ll explain.’ He waited for Salter to settle himself on the opposite side of his desk and then posed a question. ‘How did we finally get to the truth in the Ashton case?’
‘Through the discovery of the girl’s diaries,’ Salter replied without hesitation. ‘But to the best of my knowledge Adelaide didn’t keep one.’
Riley laughed. ‘You and I know that, but our suspects don’t.’ Salter’s grin widened as Riley laid out his plans. ‘Actually,’ he admitted, ‘the idea came from Olivia Morton. She and the earl send you their best wishes, by the way.’
‘Good of them to remember me,’ Salter replied. ‘And I can see merit in the suggestion. But the thing is, how do we let word of these diaries slip, casual-like?’
‘Each suspect will have to be lured in a different way. That’s why I’ve just sent Carter and Soames off to Ware to give Huxton a progress report. That report will touch upon the discovery of private papers hidden in Adelaide’s room that have only just come to light and which we are hopeful will lend us a few clues as to her murderer’s identity.’
‘She can hardly have known she was about to be murdered,’ Salter pointed out.
‘No, but she would have been aware if someone was threatening her.’
‘Hmm.’ Salter didn’t sound convinced.
‘If you can think of a better way to scare the murderer into indiscretion, let’s hear it.’
‘No, you’re right.’ Salter nodded, warming to the idea. ‘We’ve got sod all else to go on.’
‘The aunt will, of course, be there to hear of this startling discovery and you can wager that word will reach the uncle, assuming he isn’t at home, before the end of the day.’
Salter grinned. ‘And Clement? How will you alert him?’
‘Stout did a good job of befriending him and getting him talking yesterday, once he’d poured a few tankards of ale into him, that is.’ It was Riley’s turn to smile. ‘I told Stout to use his initiative and he didn’t disappoint. He brought the conversation round to his “cousin” who’s a detective here at the Yard and implied that his family deplored his career choice. Fortunately Clement is not overburdened with intelligence and didn’t seem suspicious about Stout’s sudden appearance, or the nature of their discourse.’
‘And, let me guess,’ Salter said, his grin widening. ‘He said his mythical cousin was working on Adelaide’s case.’
‘Precisely. Clement had many disparaging comments to make about Adelaide’s profession but was more interested to learn if Stout’s cousin was aware of any imminent arrests.’
‘So today he will go back and mention the papers we’ve supposedly found?’
Riley nodded. ‘And speculate about the problems any suspects will have if they can’t account for their movements on the night of the murder. Stout will imply that we’re very keen to lock people up on the flimsiest of excuses, just to clear the case up.’
‘So being resented by the public at large might actually work to our advantage for once.’ Salter grunted his approval. ‘Someone like Clement will be well aware of the prejudices we struggle to overcome.’
‘I am depending upon it. I want him to wonder how much we know when we bring him in for questioning.’
‘And you’ll let me grill him?’ Salter asked, practically salivating at the prospect.
‘I was saving you for the uncle.’
‘Can’t you let me do both?’ Salter looked angry and Riley knew that despite his condemnation of their behaviour towards him the day before, his sympathies must reside with the girls forced by circumstances into the oldest profession. ‘What about Mirabelle? I get the impression that she’s still high on your list of suspects.’
‘She is.’ Riley allowed himself a reflective pause. ‘There’s just something about her smug satisfaction at Adelaide’s fate that gives me pause. It’s a harsh world those ladies occupy, competition is fierce and friendships are rare, but even so…all that spite.’ Riley shook his head. ‘I wish I knew why she disliked Adelaide so much. It has to go beyond jealousy, surely?’
‘If she was the guilty party she’d probably try and pretend remorse at Adelaide’s death, just to put us off the scent.’
‘Unless their relationship was so acrimonious that she knew we would be told about it, so preferred to tell us herself.’
Salter conceded the point with an abrupt nod. ‘Possibly.’
‘Anyway,’ Riley said with an expansive sigh. ‘We’ve allowed Mrs Sinclair to reopen for business but Adelaide’s room is still locked up. Peterson has charge of the key and no one is permitted entry. I had a feeling that we weren’t finished with that room, I just didn’t know why. Now I do. We shall go back there this afternoon, at a time when we can reasonably assume that all the ladies will be up and about, and ask to speak with them all together. At the same time we’ll have Peterson and Harper in their uniforms making an almighty racket, ripping up floorboards and what have you in that room. Whilst we are talking to the girls downstairs, I will be obliged to chastise Peterson for his indiscretion when he bursts in on us and announces in front of everyone that he’d found hidden diaries.’
Salter grinned. ‘It will be interesting to watch Mirabelle’s reaction.’
‘Indeed it will, sergeant.’ Riley leaned back in his chair and thought the matter through. ‘If Mirabelle’s feud with Adelaide dated back a while it’s reasonable to assume that she would have recorded details of it in her diaries. The discovery of those diaries will also give me a legitimate reason to question Ray Clement without revealing what his brother has already told me. A man who holds such extreme prejudices is seldom able to keep his opinions to himself when given the opportunity to voice them. Hopefully, if he is the guilty party, he won’t be able to help contradicting himself and then we’ll have him.’
‘And the uncle?’
‘Oh, we’ll haul him in here and let him know that we have evidence in Adelaide’s own hand that he lied to us.’ Riley grinned. ‘I shall wave a diary under his nose and say that it proves he saw her more often than he let on.’
‘We don’t know that he actually did,’ Salter said, scratching his head.
‘No, but we will when we see his reaction. If he thinks we have something in writing, he wouldn’t be able to talk himself out of trouble by continuing to lie.’ Riley leaned back and stretched his legs out in front of him, crossing them at the ankle. ‘I hope—I expect even—that when he hears of the diary’s existence, he will come to us with a revised story. That, of course, will be equally suspicious.’
Riley and Salter spent an hour ironing out the details of their plan. They had just exhausted all anticipated reactions when a tap at the door preceded Sergeant Barton’s head appearing round it.
‘Urgent message for you,’ he said, passing Riley a folded slip of paper.
Riley thanked him, opened his message and spluttered with surprise. ‘That was fast work,’ he said, admiration in his tone.
‘What was?’ Salter asked.
‘Tom Morton offered to try and trace the solicitor acting for Adelaide and has found him already.’ Riley stood and reached for his hat. ‘Come on, Salter, we’re for Lincoln’s Inn.’
A short time later the two policemen were shown into the office of Mr Maurice Talbot, Solicitor and Purveyor of Oaths. He was a tall, thin young man, with a fresh, open face and keenly intelligent eyes.
‘Lord Riley,’ he said, using Riley’s title rather than the rank with which he had introduced himself. ‘Morton said you needed to speak to me about a client’s affairs.’ He motioned Riley and Salter to the chairs in front of his desk and then resumed his own. ‘But as you know there is the tricky matter of confidentiality.’
‘You haven’t heard then?’ Salter asked.
‘Heard what, sergeant?’
‘Miss Mary Huxton, or Adelaide as she preferred to be known, was unfortunately recently murdered.’
‘Murdered?’ Talbot’s expression reflected surprise, shock and then horror. ‘I read a few lines in the newspaper about a woman in her line of work meeting a sticky end, but I didn’t for one moment imagine that it would be Adelaide.’ He ran both hands down his cheeks, leaving pink tracks on his otherwise white face. ‘This is terrible. The poor, poor girl. She was so young. So vibrant and full of life.’
‘You knew her well?’ Riley asked.
‘Only in a professional capacity…my profession of course,’ he added hastily, his pasty complexion colouring. ‘I cannot recall why she first came to me for legal services. A recommendation, I suppose. However, I can tell you that she was a lovely young woman, determined and resolute. She knew her own mind, and having made it up there was no changing it, despite the advice I gave her.’
‘You knew how she made a living?’ Salter asked.
‘Oh yes, she was never anything other than forthright on that subject.’
Salter scowled. ‘And that didn’t concern you?’
‘Sergeant, I am here to give my clients legal advice, not to stand in judgement upon their lifestyles. I leave that sort of thing to the clergy, although I gather that some of London’s more senior clerics were regular customers at Mrs Sinclair’s establishment.’ He shrugged. ‘Make of that what you will. For my part, hypocrisy is the first word that springs to mind.’
‘Adelaide discussed her clients with you?’ Riley asked.
‘Only in broad terms. No names were ever mentioned and I only know about her ecclesiastical clients because on one visit here we fell into a discussion upon religion. Adelaide held very strong and intelligent views in that regard, none of which our church leaders would have appreciated hearing voiced, since they would have had a hard time refuting them.’
Salter turned a reluctant chuckle into a cough. Riley felt a moment’s sympathy for his sergeant, whose firmly held Christian values were being severely tested by this case. Riley himself was less circumspect. He thought of the aunt’s stringent religious beliefs that had been forced upon Adelaide from an early age and had a good deal of sympathy for the dead girl’s point of view.
‘You admired your client,’ he suggested.
‘Very much so. I know nothing of her past circumstances but I do know, mostly from the things that she didn’t say, that she felt disillusioned and badly let down by those who should have protected her.’
‘I understand she saved almost every penny she earned.’ Talbot inclined his head. ‘Are you able to tell us how much that amounted to and who benefits from her demise?’
Talbot hesitated, then reached into a drawer, flipped through some files and extracted the appropriate one. He opened it and quoted a figure. Riley looked sharply at the solicitor, thinking he must have misheard him. When Talbot stared directly back at him without blinking Riley realised that he had not, and uttered an astonished oath.
‘Blimey,’ Salter breathed. ‘We’re in the wrong line of work.’
‘I don’t think you should be considering a new career,’ Riley replied, chuckling. ‘I doubt whether your services would be in much demand.’
Salter grunted.
‘I assume you advised Adelaide upon her investments,’ Riley said, returning his attention to Talbot.
‘I enjoyed that privilege.’ He went on to tell them where her money had been placed. ‘As to who benefits…’ He paused to flip through more pages. ‘A lady by the name of Celeste Clement with an address in Battersea is the sole beneficiary.’
Riley and Salter exchanged a significant look. ‘Is Mrs Clement aware that she stands to inherit?’
Talbot spread his hands. ‘I have absolutely no idea, Lord Riley, but if she is, she didn’t hear it from me.’
‘Has she been in touch with you?’ Salter asked.
‘No. I was unaware that Adelaide was dead until you came here this morning.’
‘And if we had not tracked you down, you would have remained in ignorance. What would have happened then?’ Riley asked.
‘Adelaide was cautious by nature. We had an arrangement whereby she called here once a quarter to discuss her investments.’
‘Her investments?’ Salter scowled. ‘Was that strictly necessary?’
‘If you think I invented the necessity in order to increase my income then you mistake the matter, sergeant,’ Talbot said crisply. ‘The meetings were Adelaide’s idea but I will confess that I looked forward to them. We always enjoyed a lively exchange of views. I liked her forthright manner and cynical attitude. But to answer your question, Lord Riley, if for any reason she did not keep one of her standing appointments then I had instructions to enquire of Mrs Sinclair as to her welfare. That is how I would have discovered what had happened to her.’
‘She feared that she might be killed?’ Riley asked, sitting forward expectantly.
‘She worked in a dangerous profession and had no one other than me to protect her interests. I asked her once about her family but she wouldn’t tell me anything about them and was adamant that if anything did happen to her then they were not to be involved in her affairs. She even left instructions for her funeral, which is not to be religious, and to which none of her family are to be admitted.’
Riley wasn’t surprised to hear it. Adelaide knew how to bear a grudge and probably considered that she had earned the right.
‘I shall have to contact Mrs Clement and make the necessary arrangements.’
‘Not yet, if you don’t mind. Adelaide’s body is still with the police pathologist and I would like for it to remain there for the time being. I hope to be able to bring the murderer to justice in a short time from now and would prefer for Mrs Clement not to know of her windfall before then. She is aware of Adelaide’s death but not, as far as I know, that she stands to benefit from it. She isn’t a suspect but people connected to her could be, especially if they somehow knew of Adelaide’s arrangements.’
‘Very well,’ Talbot said, standing and extending his hand. ‘I shall do nothing until I hear from you again, Lord Riley.’
Riley shook it, thanked him and he and Salter left the premises.
‘You are thinking, I suppose,’ Salter said as they hailed a cab to take them to Maiden Lane, ‘that if Michael Clement knew of Adelaide’s intentions it now makes him a suspect. Ray was getting harder for him to control and was asking awkward questions about his involvement with Adelaide. Perhaps he’d also followed Michael to Battersea and seen Celeste. There are any number of possibilities that might have made it expedient for Michael to do away with his would-be partner. A partner whom he’d only needed for her money. If she was dead then her money would come to him through his wife anyway.’
‘I’d be failing in my duty if I didn’t think along those lines, Salter,’ Riley agreed as he climbed into the cab that rattled to a halt at the curb, ‘but I still can’t see Michael as the throat-cutting type. Besides, he was in France at the time.’
Salter allowed himself another grunt. ‘So was Derek Huxton. Supposedly.’
‘I shall find a way to ensure that Michael and Celeste Clement learn of the existence of the diaries, too,’ Riley assured his sergeant. ‘Just to be thorough.’
‘We seem to be gaining more suspects, rather than eliminating them,’ Salter replied gloomily.
Riley nodded, feeling frustrated because they appeared to be taking one step forward followed by two in the opposite direction. ‘Perhaps this is all about the money, after all,’ he mused, ‘and the superintendent was right to make that suggestion. Hopefully time will tell.’
Peterson and Harper, following Riley’s orders, were waiting for Riley and Salter at Maiden Lane, conspicuous in their uniforms. Tennyson opened the door to them, still in shirtsleeves, his sparse hair standing up at odd angles, as though he had not long been out of bed and hadn’t given any thought to his personal grooming.
‘Oh, it’s you lot. What do you want this time?’
‘Access, if you please,’ Riley replied, thrusting his hat at him and striding past the man into the entrance salon. ‘Be so good as to have Mrs Sinclair and all the girls join me in this room. Peterson, you and Harper are to tear Adelaide’s room apart. We are missing something and I don’t want you to stop until you find it.’
‘Very good, sir.’
‘Here, you can’t come in here, throwing your weight about and destroying things,’ Tennyson protested.
Salter stood very close to him and poked his chest with his forefinger. ‘I think you’ll find that we can. What’s more, we can arrest anyone who stands in our way and throw him in a cell. Think on that before you start telling us what we can and can’t do.’
Tennyson looked down at Salter’s finger, as though giving serious consideration to the idea of snapping it like a twig. Common sense prevailed and he moved away with an angry snarl. Meanwhile the two uniformed constables lumbered up the stairs in their heavy boots, making enough noise to wake the dead. Riley had the satisfaction of hearing doors opening on the top floor and female voices demanding to know what was going on.
‘Rustle up some tea whilst we wait, Tennyson, there’s a good chap,’ Salter said.
Tennyson scowled, then shrugged his massive shoulders and stomped off towards the kitchen, muttering under his breath.
They had just been served with their tea by a nervous-looking Lily when Mrs Sinclair appeared on the stairs, impeccably attired as always.
‘Lord Riley,’ she said, descending slowly, one elegant hand sliding along the polished bannister. ‘This is an unexpected pleasure. Do you have news of the investigation?’
‘We are making steady progress.’
‘I don’t suppose you can tell me much. But still, it was kind of you to permit us to reopen our doors. Life must go on. Understandably, business is slow and the girls are on edge. None of us will feel safe until Adelaide’s killer is found.’
She took the chair across from Riley and he resumed his own. ‘As I say, we are making headway, which is what we came to talk to you about.’
‘I will gladly do anything I can to help but I have already told you everything I know.’
‘Tennyson is asking the other girls to come down. Once they are all here, I will explain what point we have reached, which will save me from having to repeat myself.’
‘How intriguing.’ Mrs Sinclair folded her hands in her lap. ‘I assume you have a suspect.’
‘Oh yes,’ Salter said, more loudly than necessary since the rest of the girls were now straggling down the stairs, unable to avoid hearing every word that was spoken. Mirabelle, Riley noticed, was standing apart from the others and paying particular attention. She also looked distinctly uneasy.
‘Come and join us, ladies,’ Salter said, standing and giving them an exaggerated bow. ‘It ain’t like you’re shy now, is it?’
‘Salter,’ Riley said in a mildly castigating tone.
Riley’s sergeant shrugged and resumed his seat. The ladies wandered into the space normally used for a very different form of entertainment and settled onto various chairs. Mirabelle, usually in the thick of things, selected a single armchair apart from the others and curled her feet beneath her bottom. She looked unnaturally pale, but whether that was because she had just got out of bed or because she was worried about Riley’s sudden appearance, he had yet to decide. She caught Riley watching her, lifted her head and tossed her black mane over her shoulders, giving him a challenging look that was better suited to her profession than to a murder investigation. Riley looked away first and cleared his throat. As he did so, he noticed a tiny smile briefly touching Mirabelle’s lips, as though she thought she had tempted Riley with her wiles. Nothing could be further from the truth but he was becoming increasingly suspicious of Mirabelle, and it suited his purpose for her to think that she held the upper hand.
‘Good afternoon, ladies,’ he said. ‘I apologise for this disturbance at what must be an early hour for you. However, I know you are anxious to learn what progress we have made with our investigation into your friend’s death.’
Riley noticed Mirabelle’s upper lip curve derisively. Ruby, on the other hand, clutched a handkerchief tightly in her hand and dabbed at her eyes with it.
‘Were you aware, any of you, that Adelaide saved almost every penny she earned?’ All of the girls shook their heads, with the exception of Mirabelle, who looked bored. ‘She actually managed to amass a small fortune.’
‘There is a small fortune to be made in this business, inspector,’ Mirabelle said scathingly. ‘Providing you know what you are doing.’
‘But it must be unusual for almost all of it to be put aside,’ Salter reasoned. ‘Do any of you save your income with a view to your future? For when you are, excuse me, too old to attract custom?’
The girls looked at one another and again shook their heads.
‘There are always things that I need,’ one said.
‘I have debts to settle,’ said another.
Mirabelle remained silent, which didn’t suit Riley’s purpose. ‘You claim there is a small fortune to be made in this business, Mirabelle,’ he remarked. ‘What do you mean by that?’
She shrugged. ‘We don’t do it for the dubious pleasure of our clients’ company. We literally sacrifice our bodies on the altar of their collective perversions. I think we deserve every penny we extract from the idiots who frequent this place. That is what I meant. Besides, like you say, it’s a young woman’s game so what we earn now will have to see us through the rest of our lives. Looked at like that, our income isn’t that excessive.’
‘You say you sacrifice your bodies,’ Riley replied, watching Mirabelle closely, ‘but Adelaide became a wealthy woman without actually doing so.’
Mirabelle dismissed Riley’s claim with a sneer. ‘Don’t be naive, inspector. I can see that the little flirt has captivated you, despite the fact that to the best of my knowledge you only ever saw her after she was dead. She might have learned the art of domination and she might have been handy with the whip, but she still had to give her clients the ultimate satisfaction through copulation, just like we all do.’
‘Actually she didn’t.’ Riley allowed a significant pause, aware that he had the complete attention of everyone in the room. ‘She died a virgin.’
Riley kept his attention focused upon Mirabelle as he made the statement. Everyone else gasped, then the ladies all spoke at once, declaring it to be impossible. But Mirabelle’s expression darkened and she didn’t say a word. Riley would wager fifty guineas that what he had just revealed hadn’t come as a complete shock to her, much as she pretended otherwise.
‘I can assure you it’s the truth,’ he said, still watching Mirabelle as he spoke. ‘The police doctor who examined her body was adamant on that particular point.’
‘You knew?’ Ruby asked Mrs Sinclair, wide-eyed with astonishment.
‘I did.’
‘How can it have been possible?’ another asked.
Riley allowed them to talk amongst themselves, noticing that Mirabelle remained sullen and made no contribution to the discussion. The dispute was interrupted by Peterson and Harper clumping down the stairs, waving the diaries in the air that had recently made their way up the same staircase, concealed beneath Peterson’s uniform.
‘We found these, sir!’ he cried, brandishing them above his head. ‘Hidden beneath a lose floorboard.’
‘Thank you, Peterson,’ Riley said, swiftly standing and relieving the constable of the books that contained nothing more incriminating than notes from old cases that Riley had taken from his desk. ‘Not here.’
‘Sorry, sir.’ Peterson looked convincingly contrite.
‘Here, what are those?’ Mirabelle demanded to know.
‘Since my constable’s enthusiasm got the better of him, I suppose there is no harm in your all knowing that they appear to be Adelaide’s diaries.’ Riley stood, flipped through the books and allowed himself a satisfied smile. ‘I need to return to Scotland Yard in order to study them in more detail. This is excellent work, Peterson!’ he said, slapping the constable’s shoulder. ‘These books could well break the case wide open.’
Peterson grinned. ‘Just doing my job, sir.’
‘Even so.’ Riley took in all the occupants of the room with a single glance. ‘If anyone here has anything further to tell me that might shed some light on Adelaide’s murder I would strongly suggest that you come to the Yard and talk to me before I discover it for myself from these books.’ He again flipped through the pages and then tapped the books against his thigh for emphasis. ‘Adelaide appears to have been a scrupulous diarist.’
Mirabelle mumbled something indecipherable, got up and flounced back up the stairs. Riley watched her go, then thanked Mrs Sinclair for her time, promising to keep her up to date with developments.
‘Well, that put the cat amongst the pigeons,’ Salter said, chuckling as he strode along beside Riley, on the lookout for a vacant hansom. ‘Mirabelle’s actions were right suspicious. There’s more to her than meets the eye, take my word for it.’
‘I thought you wanted the uncle to be guilty.’
‘Perhaps they were in it together,’ Salter said optimistically.
‘Mirabelle was aware of Adelaide’s virginity,’ Riley said. ‘She gave herself away by showing no reaction.’
‘I noticed that, too.’
‘It would account for her abject dislike of her rival. Mirabelle thought that she was Adelaide’s equal in terms of looks, wiles and tricks of the trade. Yet she has to spread her legs for her customers on a regular basis, whereas Adelaide was devious enough to avoid that fate. I’ll wager that their rivalry came to a head at some point in the recent past and Adelaide took pleasure in telling Mirabelle how she had the last laugh over the lot of them.’
‘A motive for murder if ever I heard one.’
‘Quite, and if we’re right about it then it was also a foolish miscalculation on Adelaide’s part. She usually remained tight-lipped about her personal affairs, but I expect Mirabelle goaded her once too often and she couldn’t resist taunting her.’ Riley sighed. ‘But will she come to us with a story to explain whatever it is that she thinks Adelaide might have written about her, Jack, that’s the question?’
‘Here, what if she tries to scarper? She could disappear into the back streets and we’ll never find her in a month of Sundays.’
‘Peterson and Harper are taking it in turns to watch the place, but I’m guessing that she will hold her nerve. She knows that if she runs it would be tantamount to admitting her guilt. Besides, Mrs Sinclair will tell me at once if she does take off. She is well aware that it’s in her best interests to remain in my good books, even if it costs her one of her best girls.’
‘If Mirabelle runs she will have lost her anyway and if we think she allowed her to go and didn’t tell us immediately, we could shut her down.’
‘Exactly, but I honestly don’t think Mirabelle will take the risk. She has it relatively easy in Mrs Sinclair’s house, especially with her main rival out of the way.’ The cab then had just clambered into moved off with a jolt. ‘Unlike Adelaide, I suspect that Mirabelle hasn’t put much money aside and would have to lower her standards in order to survive on her own. We’d find her soon enough if she went to another house so she can’t risk doing that. Ergo, she’s better off riding out the storm, trying to decide what Adelaide might have written about her and coming up with an explanation.’
‘Aye well, time will tell.’ Salter sighed. ‘What now, sir?’
‘Now, Salter, we go back to the Yard and wait.’
Riley had just come back from updating the superintendent upon his activities when Carter and Soames returned from Ware.
‘All of the family was there, sir, including the uncle and the brothers. Not sure how efficiently a business can run if its owners take no interest in it,’ Carter opined, sniffing. ‘Employees will take advantage, I dare say.’
‘How did they react to the news of our discoveries?’ Riley asked.
‘The father seems befuddled, and I don’t reckon he understood much of what we told him,’ Soames said. ‘Consumed with guilt for having let his daughter down, I shouldn’t wonder. But the uncle and aunt took it all in, that’s for sure. The look that passed between them was one of outright shock.’
‘Fear, more like,’ Carter added. ‘Anyway, we told the uncle that you’d appreciate seeing him here at the Yard tomorrow morning. Right put out by that demand, so he was. He said there was nothing more he could do to help but that he’d be here anyway.’
‘I’ll bet he will be,’ Salter said scathingly. ‘It’ll be interesting to hear what he has to say for himself this time.’
‘It will indeed,’ Riley said, glancing at the clock and standing to reach for his hat and coat. ‘Time’s getting on. If Mirabelle and Ray Clement don’t make an appearance tomorrow then we shall have to call them in as well and you’ll finally get your chance with them.’
‘I look forward to it,’ Salter snarled.
‘In the meantime, you’d best come with me. I’m for Battersea and Celeste Clement. Since we now have reason to believe that she’s not quite as innocent as she would have us believe, it would be better if I didn’t call upon her unaccompanied.’
‘Need a chaperone, do you, sir?’ Salter asked, grinning.
Riley treated his subordinate to a droll look. ‘Naturally, we won’t tell her that we are aware of her windfall, but we will make it clear that we’ve tracked down Adelaide’s solicitor and plan to visit him tomorrow in the hope of learning who benefits from her demise.’
‘Should prove interesting,’ Salter said, grabbing his own hat.
‘I want all of our suspects feeling desperate enough for the actual killer to do something foolhardy,’ Riley said. ‘Adelaide deserves justice.’