‘But you see, old chap, it’s never easy trying to row a boat without oars.’
‘One day soon I’ll tell you everything I know. I promise.’
‘And until then, I’m supposed to live off your scraps?’
Pyke looked at Saggers’ sprawling girth. ‘From where I’m standing, it doesn’t look like you’ve made too bad a job of it.’
An hour after Pyke had dispatched a young lad with a note to deliver to Fitzroy Tilling, the deputy commissioner of the New Police strolled into the Edinburgh Coffee House on The Strand carrying his hat. He looked older somehow, as though the job and its responsibilities had accelerated his hair loss and deepened the creases on his forehead.
‘If you were a policeman, you could be dismissed for drinking on the job.’ He pointed to Pyke’s gin and ordered a mug of coffee for himself.
This was the first time they had met since the angry words they’d exchanged outside Mayne’s chambers and the atmosphere between them was palpable.
‘Then it’s lucky for me that I’ve got a mind of my own and an aversion to taking orders from people who think police work is moving pieces of paper from one side of their desk to the other.’
It drew the thinnest of smiles. ‘When I got your note, I thought twice about coming to see you. I don’t owe you a thing, and if there’s any ground to be made up, it’s your job to do so.’
‘So why did you come?’
‘I suppose I was curious to know what, if anything, you managed to dig up in the West Indies.’
Short of him talking to Godfrey there was only one explanation for Tilling knowing about his trip to the West Indies. Pyke decided not to pursue the question for the moment.
‘I hear you made an arrest while I was away.’
‘That’s right. Arthur Sobers.’
‘Has he made a confession?’
‘He refused to speak at his committal hearing. The trial is due to take place in a couple of days.’ Tilling took his mug of coffee from the waitress and put it down on the table. ‘If he continues to say nothing, he’ll be found guilty.’
‘Is the case against him strong?’
‘Circumstantial evidence mostly,’ Tilling said.
‘Has Pierce done a good job?’
‘In spite of what you might think, Pyke, he’s a solid investigator. Very methodical.’
Pyke bit his lip. This description applied to Tilling but not Pierce, who cared only about advancing another rung up the ladder. ‘Where did they find Sobers?’
‘Sniffing around at the back of a property near Hyde Park. A neighbour didn’t like the look of him and fetched a constable.’
‘Let me guess. Pitts Head Mews.’
Tilling looked up, unable to hide his surprise. ‘How did you know?’
‘The property belongs to Elizabeth Malvern, daughter of Silas Malvern. I’m told she’s in the West Indies.’
‘But you didn’t come across her when you were out there?’
Pyke shook his head. He wanted to find and speak to Elizabeth Malvern before he divulged anything further to Tilling. According to Alefounder, she had never made the trip in the first place.
‘You don’t think Sobers killed her, do you?’
Tilling’s question sounded genuine rather than defensive. For a moment they stared at one another, trying to appraise each other’s views on the subject.
‘Silas Malvern went to see Sir Richard Mayne yesterday and Mayne talked to you. That’s how you know I’ve just returned from Jamaica, isn’t it?’
Tilling nodded. He knew it was pointless to deny the accusation. ‘It would seem you didn’t exactly endear yourself to the old boy at an anti-slavery meeting at Exeter Hall.’
They both looked up at a pretty woman who sat down at the table next to them. ‘I think he’s somehow involved in Mary Edgar’s murder.’
‘Any particular reason?’
Pyke thought about telling Tilling what he’d found out in Jamaica but decided to keep it to himself for the moment.
‘Just so you know, and this comes directly from Mayne, Silas Malvern is not a suspect. From the beginning he’s cooperated with our investigation and what he’s told us has been thoroughly investigated.’
‘By Pierce?’
‘At the risk of offending you, let me repeat myself. Malvern is not a suspect. That’s all you need to know.’
‘Did Malvern tell you that Lord Bedford was godfather to his son Charles?’
Tilling stared at him; he understood the implication of this immediately. ‘Go on.’
‘Charles made a private arrangement with his godfather for Mary Edgar, his fiancee, to stay with Bedford at his Norfolk Street residence because he knew his father wouldn’t approve of him marrying a mulatto.’
A brief, uncomfortable silence passed between them. ‘Do you have any proof of this?’
Pyke took out the letter he’d taken from the great house at Ginger Hall and handed it to Tilling.
‘It makes no reference to Mary Edgar by name,’ Tilling said, once he’d read it. ‘And from what I gather, Charles Malvern is now dead.’
‘But it establishes a link between Charles Malvern and Lord Bedford. And Malvern’s engagement to Mary Edgar was common knowledge in Falmouth.’
‘Falmouth?’
‘A port town on the north coast of Jamaica.’
Tilling scratched his chin. ‘To take this farther, I’m going to need some hard evidence. Did any of Bedford’s servants know about the arrangement?’
‘Bedford’s butler knew. Apparently Mary Edgar stayed in a basement annexe, so as not to arouse the suspicion of the rest of the household. Morel-Roux told me he thought Bedford had a mistress.’
A frown passed across Tilling’s forehead. ‘When did you speak to him?’
Briefly Pyke told Tilling about the arrangements Godfrey had made for his visit to the valet’s cell.
Tilling took a sip of his coffee and stared out of the window. Pyke could tell he was upset by what he’d just heard, even if his expression was outwardly calm. ‘I’m told the evidence against Morel-Roux was overwhelming. For God’s sake, the man didn’t even offer a defence. The jury took only a few minutes to return a verdict of guilty.’
‘In the same way that Arthur Sobers isn’t, for the moment, offering a defence?’
‘I can’t believe you actually think we knowingly seek to punish innocent men? Besides, the circumstances of these two cases are completely different.’ But for the first time the extent of Tilling’s unease was showing.
‘Are they? Mary Edgar was staying in Bedford’s house. Both Mary and Bedford were killed. How likely is it that Morel-Roux committed both murders? How likely is it that Sobers committed both murders?’
Tilling contemplated this. ‘You said just now that Lord Bedford’s butler knew about the arrangement with Mary?’
‘I’m not saying he knew who Mary Edgar really was or that she’d been murdered. But he knew she was staying there.’ Pyke took out the charcoal sketch from his pocket and handed it to Tilling. ‘It probably isn’t an exact likeness, but show it to the man and see if he recognises her.’
‘Give me a few days,’ Tilling said, folding up the drawing and putting it into his pocket. ‘In the meantime, stay away from Silas Malvern.’
‘I want to see Sobers,’ Pyke said, hoping to take advantage of the rapprochement that seemed to be taking place between them.
‘I’m afraid that’s out of the question.’
‘I want to see him anyway.’ Pyke waited. ‘If he isn’t talking to anyone, what harm can it do?’
Standing up, Tilling pulled his coat on. ‘I’ll see what I can arrange. Where can I contact you?’
Pyke scribbled down his address on a scrap of paper and pushed it across the table. ‘What date has been set for Morel-Roux’s execution?’
‘Just over a week.’
‘That soon?’
‘Once the Home Secretary turned down his appeal, the judge didn’t see any reason to delay it.’
‘I suppose not,’ Pyke said, thinking about the crowds that would gather to watch the hanging.
‘I’ve barely made a farthing out of the whole enterprise, dear boy, and that’s the God’s honest truth. Ever since the vultures in the cheap presses stripped my work of literature down to its carcass and sold it in roughly bound editions using the cheapest paper for a few pennies, I’ve lost a large chunk of my readership. It’s robbery, m’boy, and I don’t know why I should stand for it.’