The Judas Kiss (21 page)

They were soon in the car, heading for Beckford. They did not speak much. Joy felt she was starting on a new adventure and she kept saying to herself, the clouds are a sham; the sun is still shining above them. Ben was wondering how Major Bennion would accept this new responsibility, but he did not doubt he had done right.

When they reached Oldways he drove straight in. Roger was in the garden.

"That's him," Ben said to the girl. "Wait a minute; I'd best tell him."

"Had a good time, Ben?" Roger asked.

"Yes, sir," Ben said softly. "You told me to find out all I could about Gore-Black. I've a little bit of goods in the car that'll tell you more than you imagine. If it don't stop the weddin' nothin' would."

He gave the essentials of Joy Austin's story. "I 'ope I did right, sir. I couldn't leave her like she was."

"You were quite right," Roger said. Then he went to the car and spoke to the girl. "Come in and I will introduce you to my wife. Ben will see to your bags."

A little later he had another talk with his faithful handyman.

"Congratulations, Ben. It is the first I have heard of your niece and the little nipper."

Ben grinned a little sheepishly. "Told you that, did she, sir? I had to say something. It was the best I could think of."

"It has given us a useful idea. The girl must be looked after for a day or two, but people may see or hear of her. So she is your niece come to pay you a visit. I have spoken to Bessie and she is quite willing. We will see what we can do for her."

"Thank you, sit. I believe she is a decent girl really. It is devils like Black that make 'em go wrong."

"You did so well, Ben, that I have another little job for you."

"What's that, sir?"

"More sleuthing. Jasper Michelmore, as you know, was away in London for four days when Adelaide died. In fact he did not return until he heard she was dead. The police checked his alibi and there seems no doubt he was there all the time. He went to discover the date of a wedding. Somerset House has these things so carefully tabbed that you can generally cover all the ground necessary in a morning. Why was he away so long? He sold a picture too, but that would hardly account for it."

"You mean, sir," Ben said slowly, "it might have been a marmalade murder?"

"What is a marmalade murder?"

"Delayed action, sir." Ben told of the plot Inglis claimed to have suggested to Gore-Black.

"It could be that," Roger said, "or there may be nothing in it. He stayed away until he heard of the lady's death. I want to know why. I will give you the address of the hotel and other details. It is strictly hush-hush. And don't bring back any more of your female relations. Our accommodation is limited."

The death of Garnet Michelmore created a profound sensation both in Beckford and Torbury, especially coming as it did so soon after the unexplained mystery of the death of Adelaide Bidaut, to give her her correct name. But no one except Chief Inspector Grimsby appeared to see any connection between the two tragic happenings. The young curate had been highly esteemed and the general view was that overwork, together with the shock of his reputed stepmother's fate, accounted for his mental breakdown.

The inquest on the day after Ben Orgles' return with Joy Austin was soon over. Roger had seen the Coroner in his private rooms. A Mr. Gilbert Reeves, he had both legal and medical qualifications. He had heard of Roger Bennion's successes in other cases and was aware that he had discovered that lipstick was the cause of Adelaide's death, though it had not yet come before him in his official capacity.

"I want you to read this, sir," Roger said, handing him a letter.

"What is it?"

"It was written by Garnet Michelmore to his sister Pearl just before his death. She was meaning to destroy it after she had shown it to me. I said she must not do that, though I hoped it would not be necessary for it to be read in public."

"H'm. We will see."

Mr. Reeves put on his glasses and perused it carefully.

"Certainly suggests an unbalanced state of mind. What does he mean by telling you the whole story?"

"That," Roger said, "is the real explanation of the unhappy affair. A few days before she left for the hotel Adelaide told the family their father had never married their mother. It was a terrible shock to all of them, especially to Garnet. In sin had his mother conceived him, as he puts it. He took his duties as a clergyman very seriously and felt it made it impossible for him to carry on. He was of course in a highly emotional state."

"Is the story of the illegitimacy true?"

"I am afraid it is."

"Has Inspector Grimsby seen this letter?"

"No, sir. I was hoping it would be unnecessary for him to do so."

"You know his view of the case?"

"I do. He suggested to me that Garnet poisoned Adelaide to get the money that under his father's will would be his on her death, and he then destroyed himself in a fit of remorse. I said the idea was preposterous."

"Why so?" Mr. Reeves looked shrewdly at him.

"Does a man plan a cunning murder for such a reason and the moment it is successful suffer such remorse? There is absolutely no shred of evidence to support the suggestion. No doubt Garnet could get lipstick, though no one can show how or where. The poison was accessible to him as well as to others, but he had no contact of any kind with Adelaide after he heard her story. The idea is at utter variance with his character. Another point, "

"Yes?"

"Is it conceivable that such a man, having committed so foul a crime and suffering such remorse that he decided to do away with himself, would have written the letter he did and not have confessed his guilt to save his brother and sisters as well as others from suspicion?"

"Something in that," Reeves said. "The family do not want their illegitimacy to become known?"

"Naturally they do not. The parents are dead after a long and happy life. It would be cruel and could serve no useful purpose."

They discussed the matter at some length. A Coroner has wide discretion in his own Court and Mr. Reeves had already formed an unfavourable opinion of Grimsby who, at the previous inquest, had tried to instruct him in his duties.

"Of course if there is any real evidence put forward," Roger said, "it will be another matter, but I am convinced there will not be. There are enquiries afoot that seem likely to establish the guilt for Adelaide's murder in quite a different quarter."

"I hope you are right. I think the girl, the sister, must produce the letter in Court. I shall then read it in the light of such evidence as we shall hear. So far as I can see, it will not be necessary to make it public. Of course I make no promise."

Roger thanked him and withdrew, taking the letter with him to return to Pearl.

The Court was crowded when the hearing commenced, the Coroner sitting without a jury. Evidence of identity was again given by Jasper and Emerald. Asked if their brother had ever said or hinted that he might do away with himself, Emerald said no, although he had appeared very depressed. Jasper hesitated.

"Not definitely," he said.

"What do you mean by not definitely?"

"He was upset when he knew that Adelaide and my father were not married. He declared he could not live in the house of a harlot. Extravagant words, of course, but not I think to be construed in that way, especially as she said she would leave us."

"Did he and Adelaide meet again?"

"So far as I am aware, they did not."

The police described the finding of the body and the doctor gave his report. Death from drowning, and no external injuries.

The Reverend Forbes Fortescue, the Vicar of Torbury, then entered the box. The testimony of the white-haired old clergyman carried conviction. Garnet Michelmore, he said, had assisted him in his work for about two years. He was admirable in every way but he was impatient to see the results of his labours. He tried to do too much and to do it too quickly. His loss would be deeply regretted by his flock.

"I had to warn him," he went on, "that he was doing too much and was heading for a breakdown. But he would not spare himself. 'The zeal of thy house hath eaten me up,' the Psalmist said, and that can be very true. Any additional emotional strain might certainly have been too great for him."

He wiped his eyes. The Coroner thanked him and Pearl was called.

She was dressed in black and looked a sad little figure as she faced her ordeal. She answered questions in a low but clear voice.

"I believe you had a letter from your brother?" the Coroner said.

"I did."

"Will you let me see it?" It was handed to him. "When did you receive it?"

"About an hour after, after I heard of his death."

"You are sure it is in his handwriting?"

"Quite sure."

There was a tense silence in the court while he read it, for the second time.

"It is not necessary for me to read this aloud," he pronounced at last. "It is the writing of a mind distraught. Are there any other witnesses?"

The question was to the local superintendent of police who was in charge of the proceedings.

"No, sir," was the reply.

"Then I find that the deceased, Garnet Michelmore, drowned himself while the balance of his mind was upset."

The letter was handed back to Pearl and the court slowly emptied.

Peter Skelton had been sitting by Pearl and went out with her. Roger Bennion joined them. Pearl tried to thank him for his help. She asked him to keep the letter and said the coroner had been very kind. He waved the subject aside.

"The only possible verdict." Then in lighter vein, he said to Peter. "You look as if you had been in the wars. Patients refractory?"

"Not patients exactly, sir."

"No. From what I heard Teague was anxious to push a fallen foe home in a wheelbarrow. A sensation for the street, but you stopped him."

"I couldn't let him do that, sir. We got him a taxi."

"Kind of you. I have also heard that his wife is expected home in a day or two. So all is well that ends well."

"I hope so," Peter said.

"I can congratulate you both?"

"Not yet, please," Pearl murmured. "Peter understands. We must wait till all this trouble is cleared up. Then, "

"Then you will settle down happily, somewhere else if not here?"

"I hope so." Pearl said it this time.

"I feel sure your hopes will come true, especially as you both hope for the same thing. Take care of her, Peter."

"I will, sir."

Roger left them together. Love is the best, sometimes the only antidote for grief. When he reached Sunbay he met Jasper who appeared very angry.

"Do you know that we are practically turned out of our home?" the young artist asked.

"By whom?" Roger countered.

"Grimsby and his nit-wits. A swarm of them. They are in my rooms and they even want to see the girls' handbags. They have done it all before. What is the big idea?"

"You would wish the person responsible for Adelaide's death detected?"

"Would I? He did us a pretty good turn. But even if I would, how will it help to ransack our things again and again?"

"They may think there is some clue they have overlooked."

"That would not surprise me, but they will not find it here. We are sick of it. I know we are all under suspicion in a way, except myself. Lucky I was in London at the time. Grimsby even suggested Garnet might be responsible for it all."

"You would not agree with that?"

Jasper shrugged. "Can't harm him now. What was in the letter he wrote to Pearl?"

"The coroner called it the writing of a distraught mind."

"I know that, but what was in it? She showed it to you, didn't she?"

"Garnet asked her to."

"Why did she not show it to Emerald and me?"

"He did not ask her to do that. She would have destroyed it but I persuaded her to let the coroner see it. By the way, you were in London rather a long time, weren't you?"

"What do you mean by that?" Jasper demanded sharply. "I had business to attend to. I came back directly I heard of Adelaide's death."

"And that lets you out?"

"Doesn't it? Even Grimsby seems satisfied about that. Of course he is too big for his shoes, and they must be size twelve. I thought it was the great Major Bennion who would solve all our mysteries for us."

The tone was offensive but Roger answered in his usual quiet way. "I yet may."

"Then I wish you would hurry up about it. It was beastly enough before. I had no reason to rush back, had I? Now it is worse. No one really trusts anyone. Even Pearl hiding that letter. But I may get it from her."

"You cannot do that. She gave it back to me. What did you do with the key of your flat while you were away?"

"I left it with Emerald in case I had to write for anything. Why?"

"Just curiosity," Roger said.

With that they parted. Roger entered his own house, where Ruth was waiting for him.

"I have had another long talk with Joy Austin," she said. "I like her and I am sorry for her. Some girls seem to have such a difficult time from the start, with others it is easy all the way. It does not seem fair. Her mother was betrayed by a man under promise of marriage and Joy was the result. Then the man disappeared. The mother was clever with her needle and worked very hard to keep them both. They were often hungry, but she had Joy taught shorthand and typing, then things were easier. When the mother died Joy got a job but had the misfortune to meet Gore-Black. She fell for the same old story. I think there must be something in your theory."