03 - Murder at Sedgwick Court (23 page)

Both
policemen eyed the doctor with considerable interest as he was shown into the
study. They saw a man in his late twenties or early thirties, clean shaven
except for a neat moustache and rather handsome in a country doctor type of a way,
as Lavinia had so eloquently put it to Rose. His appearance was such that they
imagined his complexion was usually rubicund, and not the sickly hue of grey it
was now. This, coupled with the dark shadows under his eyes, and his skin,
which looked taut across his face, gave the overall impression of a man suffering
from grief.

‘Sit down
please, Dr Harrison,’ said the inspector, indicating the chair that had been
placed on the opposite side of the desk. ‘If you don’t mind my saying, you
don’t look at all well. Perhaps you’d like a glass of water?’

Theo’s
only acknowledgement of the question was to shake his head wearily and pass a hand
through his hair. For a moment or two he studied the floor rather than Inspector
Bramwell’s face. If he was physically present, his mind appeared to be
elsewhere, focused on something a long way off in the far distance. The doctor
seemed only vaguely conscious of where he was, as if he were just waking from a
dream to find that none of it had been real.

‘Just for
the record, sir, will you give us your full name, please?’

‘Theodore
Harrison.’ Theo said, and then added as an afterthought: ‘Doctor.’

He spoke in
a flat voice, which gave the impression of the speaker being bored. The inspector
frowned. He had a particular dislike of monotone voices for the very reason
that such voices did not rise or fall in pitch and as a consequence gave no
indication of how the speaker was really feeling. He stared at Theo, trying to
take in the measure of the man. He reminded himself that the fellow was a
doctor, used to dealing with all types of tragedies and sad cases. In Inspector
Bramwell’s view a voice with no expression would be a considerable disadvantage
to someone in Dr Harrison’s profession. He concluded therefore that this was
not the doctor’s usual voice, but rather his way of coping with his own
personal tragedy. There was always the possibility therefore that the man could
be provoked into showing some emotion.

‘Your
middle name too, if you please, Dr Harrison. I take it you have one?’

The
doctor made a face.

‘Does it
by any chance begin with an ‘E’?’

‘Begin
with an ‘E’? How the devil did you know that?’ The doctor stared at the
policeman with his mouth open. ‘Oh … never mind. Yes … If you must know, I was
christened Theodore Ebenezer Harrison.  I’ve never been particularly fond of
the name Ebenezer. Try not to use it if I can. Sounds damned old-fashioned if
you ask me. It reminds me of that character in
A Christmas Carol
.’

‘But it
is your middle name?’

‘It is.’

It was
not lost on the doctor, even in his befuddled state, that the inspector
exchanged a look with his sergeant. He swallowed hard and looked at the floor.

‘Tell me
about your relationship with Miss Montacute, Dr Harrison.’

‘My … my
relationship with Miss Montacute?’

‘Yes. Was
there a love affair between you and Miss Montacute?’

‘Certainly
not!’

Theo
visibly stiffened, and the inspector was relieved to hear the two words uttered
loudly and with feeling. It appeared that gone was the man who showed no
emotion.

‘Come, Dr
Harrison, this really will not do. We are aware that an attachment had formed
between yourself and Miss Montacute.’

‘I
wouldn’t listen to servants’ idle tittle-tattle if I were you, Inspector.’

‘No? And
yet we find it can be very informative. But as it happens, one or two of Lord
Belvedere’s guests also advised us of your relationship with Miss Montacute.’  

‘Did they
indeed? People should learn to hold their tongues. If you are so well informed,
I am surprised that you bother to ask me about it.’

‘It is
always as well to have it confirmed from the person most involved in the matter.’

‘Very
well,’ Theo said testily. ‘I adored Miss Montacute. Everyone who knew her found
her very beguiling.’

‘Is that
so? Even Miss Brewster?’

‘No … Not
Miss Brewster.’

A splash
of colour had appeared on the doctor’s cheeks, making his face appear less
ashen.    

‘It would
be as well to tell us the truth, Dr Harrison,’ said Inspector Bramwell, impatiently.
‘We’ve no time to play games. Were you, or were you not, in love with the
deceased?’

‘Yes … yes,
I was.’

The words
were uttered quietly, but with enough emotion for the inspector to pause a
moment in his questioning.

‘And she
with you?’

‘I think
so … yes.’

‘It has
been suggested to us,’ said Inspector Bramwell, not altogether truthfully, ‘that
you formed a relationship with Miss Montacute in an attempt to further your
career.’

‘No! Who
said that?’

This time
Theo rose from his seat, his eyes blazing.

‘Sit
down, please, Dr Harrison. Is it not correct that you aspire to be a
fashionable London doctor? A wealthy patient or two would help you on your way,
wouldn’t it?’

‘It is
true that I don’t want to stay in Sedgwick all my life and be just another
country doctor. But that had nothing to do with my relationship with Miss
Montacute, I assure you. I loved her, Inspector.’

‘Did you
indeed? And pray what of Miss Brewster, your fiancée? I take it she did not
take too kindly to this attachment?’

‘No … you
are right … I must have hurt her dreadfully. But I’m afraid I wasn’t thinking
of her feelings. It is awful to say it, but I just didn’t care. I daresay
you’ll think me a rotten sort of a fellow and I suppose I am. I know I behaved very
badly, not like a man of honour. I can’t explain it. I couldn’t think of
anything or anyone but Emmeline. She consumed my every thought, Inspector.’ Theo
put his head in his hands and finally broke down. ‘Heaven help me, she still
does.’

There was
an uncomfortable silence as the policemen waited for the doctor to recover his
composure. It took rather longer than either man had anticipated. Sergeant Lane
put down his pencil and fumbled inside his double-breasted jacket pocket for a
clean handkerchief, which he passed to the man. It appeared that, having
finally succumbed to his emotions, Theo Harrison had little inclination to
return to the silent, brooding figure of a man he had been before. 

‘There
are those here who think you made a bit of a fool of yourself over Miss
Montacute, Dr Harrison,’ said the inspector, not altogether kindly. ‘They are
of the opinion that you behaved disgracefully towards Miss Brewster and made
her quite miserable. It made for an unhappy atmosphere, I’ve been given to
understand. Apparently everyone felt it, even the servants.’

‘Yes … I
suppose they did. I’m not proud of the way I behaved, if that’s what you’re
thinking. I just couldn’t help myself. I have never felt before about a woman
as I did about Emmeline.’ 

The inspector
snorted.

‘I am
sure Miss Brewster would be delighted to hear you say that. To know that she
never meant anything to you.’

‘That’s
not what I said, Inspector,’ Theo said, somewhat defensively. ‘As it happens, I
was very fond of Miss Brewster. I thought she would make an excellent doctor’s
wife.’

‘Do you
think she will take you back, when this business is all over and done with?’

‘The
awful thing is, Inspector, I think she would.’ He gave a rather pathetic laugh.
‘She wants me back now, you know. Emmeline is not even dead in the ground and
she wants me to go back to her.’ He sighed. ‘I won’t of course.’

‘Now tell
us about last night, Dr Harrison. Let’s start with after dinner, shall we?’

‘After
dinner? Oh … so Cedric …Lord Belvedere’s told you?’

‘Told us
what, Dr Harrison?’

‘About
our little talk,’ Theo said, a little bitterly. ‘As a rule, we didn’t tend to
linger over the port and cigars. We found it a little awkward because of the count.
It was damned difficult to make conversation with the fellow. He was a dab hand
at keeping the ladies enthralled. Laughed a good deal with them and flattered
them rotten. But he had difficulty joining in our conversations. I don’t think our
company interested him much.’

‘Your
talk with Lord Belvedere?’ prompted the inspector.

‘I am
sure I have nothing more to add to that which Lord Belvedere has already told
you.’

‘Actually,
sir, Lord …’ began Sergeant Lane before faltering on receiving a glare from the
inspector.

‘Even so,
sir,’ said Inspector Bramwell, ignoring the sergeant’s interjection. ‘We’d like
to have your recollection of the conversation.’

‘Very
well, Inspector. It was all rather humiliating if you must know. Lord Belvedere
told me I was making a damned fool of myself over Miss Montacute. Said everyone
was unsettled by it. He informed me that I was making Vera miserable, and that
he would not have his guests made upset.’

‘I see.
Did Lord Belvedere say anything else?’

‘He said that
I was to resolve the situation, otherwise he would have no alternative but to
ask me to leave.’

‘I see.’

‘I was
jolly angry about it at the time, I can tell you. I didn’t think it was any of
his damned business what I did.’ Theo looked down at his hands, clasped in his
lap, before looking up. ‘If you must know, Inspector, I felt ashamed. To be reprimanded
for my conduct by a man eight or ten years my junior I found rather demeaning.
Not least because I knew he was right.’

‘Tell me
about the maze now would you, sir.’

‘The
maze? What do you want to know about it? You’ve been to see it yourself, haven’t
you? It was where Emmeline’s body was found … Oh … I can’t bear it!’

‘Please,
sir. If you’d just humour me. Had you ever been in the maze before?’

‘Of
course, a good few times I should think. I grew up in the village of Sedgwick.
I’ve lived here all my life. I’m considerably older than Lord Belvedere and
Lady Lavinia, of course, but Miss Brewster is only a few years older than them.
They used to play together as children. I’ve walked with Miss Brewster a few
times through the maze when we’ve been visiting Sedgwick Court.’

‘So you
would know your way through the maze without using a plan or map?’

‘Yes, I
suppose so.’ Theo looked at the inspector a little warily. ‘I can’t say I have
ever had occasion to walk through the maze by myself. It is not the sort of
thing one does. But I daresay I could make a fair stab at making my way to the
middle … and back out again, if that’s what you are asking. But if you’re
suggesting that I had – ’

’I’m not
suggesting anything at the moment, Dr Harrison,’ replied the inspector firmly.
‘I am given to understand that after dinner in the drawing room the maze was
discussed and a game was proposed for today?’

‘Yes …
yes, it was. A silly sort of a game. But I daresay it would have been quite fun.
Emmeline was very keen to take part, I remember that. And then she was … Oh!’

‘Now,
now, Dr Harrison, calm yourself. You’d do better not to dwell on Miss
Montacute’s death just now. The best thing you can do for all concerned is to
answer my questions as truthfully and accurately as you can.’

‘Yes, inspector.’
The doctor’s voice had returned to its weary state.

‘Last
night, Dr Harrison. I’d like you to go through your movements if you would. What
did you do last night?’

‘What did
I do?’

‘After
the others had retired for the night.’

‘Oh … so
you know about that too, do you? I say, you do seem very well informed. You
appear to know about everything.’

Sergeant
Lane dropped his pencil on to the floor and Inspector Bramwell took a deep
breath, wondering how best to proceed.

‘We know
a great deal, sir. But I’d like you to tell me about it in your own words.’

‘Very
well. I asked Vera to meet me in the library before she followed the others
upstairs. I told her I had something important to tell her that wouldn’t wait
‘til morning.’

‘And Miss
Brewster obliged?’

‘She did,
Inspector.’ Theo looked down at his hands. ‘To tell you the truth, it was
awful. You should have seen the look on her face. She thought I was going to
say I was sorry about everything and that it was all over with Miss Montacute.
That we’d go back to the way we had been.’

‘And you
didn’t say that?’

‘No, of
course not. Far from it. I told her that I knew I had behaved very badly
towards her. That she deserved a far better man than me, and that I was
breaking off our engagement as much for her sake as for mine.’     

‘I see.
Now, bear with me if you will, Dr Harrison. Are you saying that you broke off
your engagement to Miss Brewster last night?’