Martha looked up from her breastfeeding. ‘I forgot to tell you. I came across a body yesterday at the end of the lane. Birds had pecked out the eyes. When I came back later, it was gone.’
‘Yellow Bill probably heard about it and carted it off to the burial pit.’
‘It wasn’t anyone I knew.’
Knox nodded. He knew it was only a matter of time before one of them came upon the corpse of a friend or neighbour. He put on his coat and took his time buttoning it up. ‘I was being foolish, wasn’t I? Getting myself worked up over that man they found on Moore’s estate.’
‘You were just doing what you thought to be right.’
Knox picked up his hat. For some reason, he hadn’t told Martha that he’d sent a letter to the dead man’s son. It wasn’t an outright lie but he was uncomfortable about having withheld this information. Perhaps, Knox decided, it wouldn’t matter now.
Martha carried James to where he was standing and kissed him softly on the cheek. ‘I do love you, Michael. And it won’t always be this bad.’
Knox carried these words with him as he walked into the town. The sky was clear and bright and it was easy to believe they were true.
‘Constable Knox,’ one of the clerks said to him, as soon as he’d set foot inside the barracks. ‘The sub-inspector wants to see you in his office immediately.’
Knox felt the muscles in his stomach tighten. He murmured his consent and shuffled up the stairs.
Hastings’ office was at the top of the stairs and enjoyed an uninterrupted view of the Rock. Knox knocked on the door, waiting for the sub-inspector to answer. Hastings opened the door himself and greeted Knox with a nod of his head. ‘Come in and sit down, Constable.’ He stood to one side and let Knox enter the room. There was someone Knox didn’t recognise sitting behind Hastings’ desk. A chair had been set out for him but Hastings opted to stand. He gestured to the other man. ‘This is the County Inspector.’ No name. Knox inhaled sharply. The County Inspector was based in Clonmel.
The man in question had a thin, cadaverous face, a beaked nose and a widow’s peak that swooped dramatically down his forehead. His eyes were fixed on Knox. ‘Constable Knox.’ He gestured for Knox to sit down.
‘I have just received this letter from one of the commissioners of the Metropolitan Police.’ He held it up for Knox to see. ‘In it, he describes how one of my constables, namely you, has identified the body of a man who was murdered in the grounds of Dundrum Hall three weeks ago as one Detective-inspector Pyke — from the aforementioned Metropolitan Police.’ The County Inspector let the letter fall to the desk.
‘I wrote to the deceased’s son in Somerset, to inform him that his father had likely died in the circumstances you just mentioned.’
The County Inspector stared at him impassively. ‘And yet I also have in front of me the report you penned and submitted to the sub-inspector here, in which you made it clear that you could not determine the deceased’s identity.’ His mouth hardened.
Knox saw his mistake. If he’d come clean about his discovery, they would not have been able to touch him. After all, he could claim to have done what he had been told to do. But he had lied — and now he had been caught in that lie.
‘I couldn’t be certain that this man was who I thought he was. The letter I sent to the son was written in a personal capacity. I felt I couldn’t let him live his life not knowing what had happened to his father.’
‘But you just said you couldn’t be wholly certain that the deceased was, in fact, the lad’s father.’
‘I had no idea the man was a policeman from London.’ Knox had lied again but they wouldn’t catch him in that lie if they didn’t get to see the letters Felix had written. He would tell them he’d thrown them away.
‘Surely you must have considered making some mention of this discovery in your official report.’
‘I did, sir.’
‘And yet there is no mention of it in the report. Can you explain why this might be?’
Knox lowered his head. He was sweating profusely; his only hope was to throw himself at their mercy. ‘I took from Lord Cornwallis that it would probably be best if nothing came of my investigation.’
The County Inspector exchanged a fierce look with Hastings. ‘This is a most serious allegation, sir. Are you suggesting that his Lordship tried to exercise undue influence over a police matter?’
Knox sat bolt upright, suddenly aware of what he’d said. ‘No, not for a minute, sir. His Lordship’s actions were absolutely proper throughout…’
‘He didn’t tell you how to conduct your investigation?’
‘No, sir.’
The County Inspector nodded. ‘But you assumed he would not have wanted anything arising from your inquiries to damage his estate’s reputation.’
‘I tried to approach the matter with the utmost caution. I understand that murder is a very sensitive subject.’
‘And yet — in spite of whatever assurances you may have given his Lordship — you went ahead and wrote to the son of the deceased.’
Knox tried in vain to swallow. ‘It seemed like the right thing to do.’
‘And did lying to the sub-inspector in your report seem like the right thing to do?’
‘As I tried to explain, sir, I wrote to the son as a father.’ He hesitated, trying to clear his mind. ‘On the subject of the investigation, I have to admit I was a little surprised that a man of my lowly rank would be given such responsibility.’
The County Inspector’s eyes narrowed. Knox knew he’d made a good point. It would be hard for them to discipline him for his failings as a detective because to do so would be to admit their own culpability — dispatching a constable with no experience to investigate a murder.
As if to underline this point, Knox added, ‘I wasn’t told whether the report should be what I absolutely knew to be true or what I thought might be true. In the end, I used the former standard.’
Below in the yard, a horse and cart rattled to a halt. The County Inspector waited for silence. ‘I can see that mistakes were made on all sides.’
Knox ignored the sweat spilling down his face.
‘I am concerned, however, about the lingering taint on the good character of Lord Cornwallis.’
‘As I tried to explain, sir, his Lordship conducted himself with absolute propriety at every juncture…’
‘I am pleased to hear this. I would like to be able to say that his Lordship feels the same way but I’m afraid to report that he has made a rather serious accusation about your conduct as a policeman.’
Knox felt his blood run cold. ‘I’m sorry…’
The County Inspector consulted another document. ‘Were you summoned to Dundrum Hall on Sunday the tenth of January this year?’
‘It’s possible. I would need to think about it…’
‘Perhaps I can jog your memory, Constable. Were you, or were you not, asked by his Lordship to transport a man by the name of McMullan, who’d been caught stealing blood from the estate’s livestock, to one of the cells at the barracks to stand trial for theft?’
The room started to spin. Knox tried to sit up straighter but it didn’t seem to make a difference.
‘Please answer the question, Constable.’
‘Yes, sir… I was.’
The County Inspector nodded. ‘And yet this man never appeared at the barracks.’
‘No, sir,’ Knox muttered, trying to plan a new defence for himself.
‘Would you care to tell us why not?’
‘The man in question broke free of his restraints and escaped. I searched but wasn’t able to find him.’
‘I see.’ The County Inspector glanced across at Hastings. ‘Were you made aware of this fact?’
Hastings shook his head.
The County Inspector turned back to Knox. ‘So you didn’t feel the matter was important enough to report it to the sub-inspector?’
‘On the contrary, I realised what a big mistake I’d made. I was too ashamed to admit I’d failed.’ Knox bowed his head and exhaled. He could feel the thump of his heartbeat.