[Berkeley Brigade 10] - Shadow of Murder (16 page)

After a little talk of this sort, Miss Lipman seemed to have recovered somewhat from the dreadful shock. Corinne concluded that her grief was at the loss of a potential husband rather than a man she was in love with.

Corinne hadn’t learned much. She didn’t think either Miss Lipman or Corbett had stolen the icon. Was it possible the icon was to be Corbett’s reward for helping Diamond Dan? But Townsend didn’t think Diamond Dan would steal anything but jewelry, so where had he got it? And if Diamond Dan had gone to Corbett’s house to kill him, why take the icon with him? Was it possible he had taken it on purpose to leave behind, to make it appear Corbett was the thief?

When Corinne returned to Berkeley Square she heard female voices in the rose salon and felt a dreadful apprehension that the ladies from the Orphans’ Ball Committee had learned of the robbery. She asked Evans who had called on her and felt a wave of relief when he said, “It’s Miss Chalmers come to call on Mrs. Ballard, madam. Sir Reginald is not having a rehearsal this morning, and she was at loose ends. I believe Mrs. Ballard is lending her some knitting pattern.”

Corinne took the opportunity to see if Chloe could tell her anything about Vance. She found the two sitting before the fire, having a cup of tea and chatting like old friends. Mrs. Ballard looked happier than she had looked in years. And Chloe, outfitted in a plain round gown and simple bonnet looked much too young and innocent to be involved in anything criminal. She had asked to see the house because she was curious. It was probably the only mansion she had ever been in. Vance knew she spent time abovestairs with Mrs. Ballard and had quizzed her to add to his knowledge of the house.

“Oh, milady!” Mrs. Ballard said, jumping up in alarm, as if caught rifling the family safe. “Chloe just stopped by to get a pattern for a scarf she is knitting for her fiancé.” She held up the pattern as proof.

“Please, don’t get up,” Corinne said. “You know I am always urging you to entertain your friends here, Mrs. Ballard. This is your home too.” Then she turned to Chloe. “Miss Chalmers, you must be upset about what happened last night.”

“I was nearly paralyzed with shock, Lady Luten,” she said, her blue eyes wide with astonishment still. “Sean — my fiancé — and I heard about it this morning from an actor friend. We were told that it was Vance who was murdered. And when Sir Reginald mentioned in his note something about getting a replacement for Vance, I made sure he had been killed. But Mrs. Ballard tells me the body wasn’t his at all, and he has disappeared.”

“Evans told me, milady,” Mrs. Ballard said with an air of apology.

Corinne sat down. “Yes, he’s run away. He’s suspected of killing the — the victim found in his house.” She decided it was best not to give out any unnecessary details. She noticed that Mrs. Ballard had not been so discreet.

Not that it mattered, and no one had asked her to keep things private in any case.

Chloe shook her head sadly. “He shouldn’t have run off. If the man broke into his home, Vance was only trying to defend himself. It’s horrid that a man was killed, but it’s not a crime to defend yourself, is it?”

“I daresay it is not. If that’s what happened.”

“But what else could it be, milady?” she said in obvious distress. “Vance is a little proud to be sure, but he would never
kill
anyone.” She drew out a handkerchief and sniffled into it. “Oh it’s all some dreadful mistake. I wish he would come back and tell the police everything.”

“I expect the police will find him and clear the matter up,” Corinne said with more confidence than she was feeling.

Mrs. Ballard said timidly, “Won’t you have a cup of tea, milady? We can ask Evans for another cup.”

“No, thank you. I didn’t mean to intrude on your little tea party. I have some work to do.” She left, no wiser than when she had entered, but happy withal that Mrs. Ballard seemed to have found a friend.

Chloe had left when Townsend arrived an hour later and was shown into the rose salon. “Any news?” Luten asked at once.

“I’m working on it. Knowing you wouldn’t want to spare any expense, I’ve hired half a dozen sharp lads to make enquiries about any wagons seen early yesterday morning north of town. They’re to search any suspicious warehouse nearby if they get a lead. It’ll take a while, but it stands to reason the goods are not far away. Why haul them out of town, only to have to bring them back? During transit is the dangerous time. Like the Russian job, where the wheel fell off the carriage. That was a stroke of luck for us.”

“Did you discover anything interesting from Father Maccles?” Luten asked.

“He hadn’t a thing to tell me. Said he hadn’t heard from Mother — they’re none of them much for writing. It’s true he had no letter from her, though she knitted him two pairs of sox for his birthday. Of course there’s other ways of getting news — from newcomers, mostly. Some of the guards are bribable as well. As to the Leeds job using his
modus operandi,
he thinks ‘twas just some tuppenny gang using his method. Not the first time it’s happened, he says. No, there was nothing useful to be learned there.”

“Did you ask him about Diamond Dan?”

“I did, and he looked at me as if I was mad. Didn’t know a thing about him, never worked with him, never met him, never so much as shared a drink with him. After hearing that I didn’t bother hinting that Dan might be Mother’s new beau.”

Luten scowled and said, “Why on earth was Diamond Dan involved in this?”

Townsend shook his white head. “I can’t believe it was a direct involvement. He’d never involve hisself in such a thing. Ken smashing is beneath a jewel thief. There’d have to be a strong personal reason, and so far as we can determine, the men haven’t a thing in common, other than thieving.”

Luten listened, thought a moment, then said, “I believe you said Diamond Dan has a daughter who worked with him in the past.”

“You’re thinking the daughter might have taken up with one of the Maccles lads. I thought of that, of course, but she did her stunt years ago, when she was a child. When she was older, he sent her off to some fancy school, trying to make a lady of her. The story of his murder’s been in the journals and since she’s not come forward to claim the body, I don’t believe she’s in the country at all. Or not in London at least. It occurred to me that Corbett might be Dan’s by-blow, but then he’d hardly have planned to kill his own son, which is what we figure he was doing at Corbett’s place. Tell me, what does this Corbett fellow look like? What age is he? Where does he hail from?”

“He’s tall, dark, rather handsome but with a somewhat menacing face,” she told him. “He’s in his mid-twenties.”

“He’s from an orphanage in Devon,” Luten added.

“Now that’s interesting,” Townsend said, nodding. “Dan is also tall, dark and with a menacing phiz. The Dumbrilles come from Devon.”

“You mentioned Dumbrille wouldn’t kill his own son,” Luten said, “but there could be some animosity there if Corbett found out Dumbrille was his father and had abandoned him. An argument...”

Townsend shook his head in frustration.
“Could
—
if.
”
He pounded his knees in frustration. “We can’t build a case on that. We need facts.”

“Are you actively looking for Corbett?” Luten asked.

“I’m looking for anything and everything that can give us a handle on this case. I spent some time searching his little cottage for clues, but found nothing of account. He didn’t take much with him. His clothes are still hanging in his closet
_,
which tells me he left in a panic after he killed Dan. Now that I know what he looks like, I’ll check out the posting houses. He might have caught the Flyer to Devon, if he hails from that part of the country. He’ll be armed, as the pistol that killed Diamond Dan wasn’t in the house.” He turned to Corinne. “Did they let you in to see Miss Lipman, milady?”

“Yes, and she pretty well convinced me the icon was in the house long after Corbett was in the library. I half remember seeing it in that bowl myself, and I don’t think she would take it. She couldn’t afford to risk her reputation. I don’t think she knows a thing. When I spoke to her she still thought it was Corbett who was murdered. All she saw was the body slumped over. The corpse did have black hair, like Corbett. I think she was just there on a romantic tryst. Poor girl.”

Townsend nodded. “If she’s telling the truth, that means Dan brought the little picture with him, though why he would carry it around beats me.”

“I’m sure she was telling the truth. Her eyes were red from crying, and she didn’t know I was coming. I thought Dan might have taken the icon there for the purpose of leaving it behind to tie Corbett to the theft of the auction goods.”

Townsend shook his head in confusion. “And that means, or suggests at least, that young Corbett was never involved in the theft at all.” He stood up, frowned and said, “Anyhow I know recovering the goods is priority number one with you folks, and I’ll just dart back to Bow Street and see if there’s any word come in.”

“Where do the Maccles live?” Luten asked.

“Who knows? Their type shifts about, but as they seem to concentrate their work in London, we figure they live hereabouts.” He bowed and left.

Luten and Corinne exchanged a sorry look. To cheer her up, he said, “With luck Black might have ferreted out something.”

“If anyone finds out anything, it will be Black.”

“What arrangements have you made for the delivery of Lady Clare’s diamonds?”

“I’m not going to let them come anywhere near Berkeley Square. I’ve asked her to deliver them to Elgin Hall the night of the auction ball. Then I shan’t be responsible if anything happens to them.”

“Not likely it will, since Diamond Dan’s no longer with us.”

“Unless he’s been training up a successor.” She frowned and jumped up. “Luten, that could be why Dan was visiting Vance, to make plans to steal the diamonds! They’re both from Devon. If Vance
is
Dan’s illegitimate son, he might be hanging around London to go after the diamonds himself, now that his father’s dead!”

“He’s a hard man if he killed his father, then is cool enough to stay in town where he must know everyone’s looking for him and pull off a job like that.”

“Maybe not his son, but just someone he knew from living nearby in Devon. It’s possible.”

Luten was unconvinced. “Not impossible, I suppose,” he said.

“We must tell Townsend this. He won’t be looking for Corbett in London. He thinks he left town.”

“I’ll run down to Bow Street now while he’s still there, waiting to hear from his men.”

As was often the case, it was Black who came up with some new information.

Prance and Coffen had each been at home awaiting a summons to Luten’s house. Unable to contain his curiosity any longer, Coffen decided to go uninvited. Prance spotted him from the window and joined him. Corinne was glad for their company at this nervous time. She had brought them up to date by the time Luten returned. He reported that Townsend had taken a dim view of Corinne’s theory that Corbett was planning to hijack the Clare diamonds.

“He has no inside information now that he’s on the run, no idea when or how the necklace is to be delivered,” he explained. “If Dan was connected somehow with the Maccles, as the icon suggests, they’ll be out looking to wreak their vengeance on Corbett as well. No, if he has a brain in his head he’s left town.”

They discussed other possibilities while impatiently awaiting Black’s return. They knew from his worried expression when he was shown in that he wasn’t bringing good news.

“Black, sit down and have some coffee while you tell us what you’ve been doing,” Corinne said.

His heart glowed, to see her as attentive to his comfort as ever, despite his awful failure. “No news here, then?” he said.

“Not really,” she said. “Townsend is busy. He has men out looking into whether anyone saw the wagon, and searching warehouses and things. I take it you had no luck either?”

“Not a single real copper-bottomed fact, I’m sorry to say, just a few strange rumours that may mean something or nothing. For what it’s worth, it seems Mother Maccles has got herself a new partner, which don’t surprise me, seeing as Father’s been in lock-up for a year, and has fourteen more to go. That’s a long time to wait for her man to get out. I was wondering if the new lad and her together rumbled the auction goods from your library here.”

“Any indication who the new inamorata may be?” Prance asked.

“ ‘Twould be a professional man of some sort, one in some crooked line of business, like Father and herself.”

Luten told Black what Townsend had discussed with them that morning. “The icon found in Corbett’s house tells us there’s some connection between Diamond Dan and the robbery here. Is it possible Mother Maccles’s new inamorata is Diamond Dan? It would explain his involvement in this business that Townsend thinks he wouldn’t stoop to without a very good reason.”

“And what better reason than love!” Prance cried.
“
Amor omnia
vincit.
”

“Possible,” Black said fingering his chin. “Dan would be the right age for her and is a widow. Corbett might have been feeding them details about how to get into the house and get the goods out. He complained to them that he was being quizzed, Dan went along to kill him before he could squeal. ‘Twouldn’t be the first time Dan’s broken the fifth.”

When his listeners frowned, he explained, “Thou shalt not kill. Fifth commandment. Corbett managed to overpower him and shot him, then took off in a panic. Yes, it could’ve happened like that I daresay. What it don’t explain is what the deuce the little Russian picture was doing there.”

“A bribe?” Prance suggested. “We know Corbett had a taste for fine things. He was looking up Luten’s artworks in his art book. He may have mentioned the icon when he was telling Dan what he’d seen in the library, and said that he particularly admired it. Somehow Dan got in and nabbed it.”

“You’re suggesting Dan took it along as a little
pourboire
to keep him happy — or just as an excuse to call?” Luten said. “Something small he could carry in a pocket, and Corbett could hide until such time as he felt it safe to reveal it.”