‘I can show you the bag that was found but the remains have been sent to the Westminster Hospital for Dr Bond the police surgeon to look at. And you sir?’ he asked Wylie.
‘I am Stephen Wylie, a business associate of Mr Edwin Antrobus and acting for his unhappy wife. Miss Doughty is employed by myself and Mrs Antrobus to discover the truth about her husband’s disappearance.’
Sharrock grunted. ‘I suppose both of you are content that the ladies join our discussion. Not that it will make much difference if you aren’t, from my experience. Come this way.’
The discomfort in the Inspector’s office as they were all seated was due to more than just the overcrowding. Only Sharrock seemed at his ease as he placed a leather bag, creased, scuffed and discoloured, on top of the untidy pile of paperwork on his desk. ‘Can either of you gentlemen identify this as the property of Mr Edwin Antrobus?’
Lionel Antrobus examined the bag. ‘My brother had purchased a new travelling bag not long before he disappeared. He was thinking of having it stamped with the name of the business but he had not yet done so. This could be the one, assuming it has lain neglected in contact with dirt or rubbish, but it could equally well have nothing to do with him.’ He opened it and peered inside.
‘It is very like the kind of bag he carried, but more than that I cannot say,’ Wylie admitted. ‘I was told there were some business cards?’
‘Still where we found them,’ said the Inspector.
Lionel Antrobus drew a card case from an inner pocket. There was a long silence as he opened it and studied the contents. At last he took a deep breath and nodded. ‘This is Edwin’s card case, engraved with his initials, and these are his cards.’ He paused, then placed them on the desk. ‘You will want these for the inquest, I suppose, but in time I would like them returned to me. Of course, this does not even identify the bag, let alone the remains.’
‘True, which is why I would like to ask if you know of anything about Mr Antrobus which might serve to establish whether or not the skeleton is his,’ said the Inspector.
‘There was no clothing or jewellery found with it?’
‘The remains were disturbed by the activities of workmen. Small items, like pieces of old clothing, buttons, shoe leather and so on, were all mixed in with the general rubble.’
‘I suppose no one was seen disposing of a body there?’ asked Frances.
‘On the contrary, the remains were deposited in the brickyard by workmen who were demolishing some houses recently purchased by Mr Whiteley. The bricks and other rubbish were all loaded onto wagons and taken to Shepherd’s Bush. It was only when a skull turned up in a cartload of material being tipped out that the carriers realised there was a body at all. We got some men to sift through the dust heap, and that was when we found the bag and other bones. No jewellery, but a lot of rags and bits of old shoes that could be anyone’s. As far as we can see we have just the one skeleton.’
‘Which might just as well be that of a female or any other man,’ said Lionel Antrobus dismissively.
‘We’ll leave that to Dr Bond, shall we sir? The size of the skull does suggest a male, and it’s more complete than what was found in the canal, so we have a better chance of making an identification. Can you think of anything that might distinguish the skeleton of your brother from that of another man?’
Antrobus gave the question some thought but after a while shook his head. ‘Edwin and I did not spend a great deal of time in each other’s company, even as children. If he suffered any accidents or illnesses which might have left their mark he did not mention them to me.’
‘You don’t know if he attended a dentist?’
‘No. In fact he had an aversion to dentists and may have avoided them.’
Sharrock looked disappointed, so much so that Frances felt sure there was some aspect of the teeth that could prove vital in identifying the remains. ‘Mrs Antrobus was also unable to help us with that, and we are visiting all the dentists in Bayswater.’
Mr Wylie gave a gentle cough. ‘Er – I might be able to suggest something.’ Lionel Antrobus gave him a look of withering contempt. ‘Some years ago when Antrobus was in Bristol he complained to me of a bad toothache – he thought there was an abscess, and it was giving him some considerable pain. I said he should go to the dentist’s at once and not wait until he returned home. He took my advice and later told me he was much better for it. I am afraid I don’t know which dentist he went to.’
‘Did he have the tooth out?’ asked Sharrock.
‘Yes, I am sure he did and the abscess drained.’ Wylie clutched his hand to his jaw. ‘He used to hold his hand to his face like this.’
‘The left lower jaw, then?’ said Sharrock intently. Frances recalled that the lower jaw of the man in the canal was missing, so that particular clue would not have assisted identification of those remains.
‘I think so.’ Wylie, now that his information was being questioned, began to look nervous. ‘Or it could have been the right. I really can’t be sure. But from the way he placed his hand, it was the lower one. A wisdom tooth, I think he said.’
Sharrock had the air of a man who had received some crucial information and was trying to appear nonchalant. He pulled a notebook and pencil from his pocket and made a quick jotting. ‘I’ll let you know when the inquest will open as both of you will be required to give evidence.’
‘When do you expect the report from Dr Bond?’ asked Frances.
Sharrock glanced up from his writing. ‘I suppose you want to see confidential police records as usual, do you?’
She smiled. ‘That would certainly make my work easier.’
‘Yes, well, we’re not here for your convenience,’ he grumbled.
‘I am sure,’ interjected Wylie, ‘that Miss Doughty can be afforded all courtesies and information that you would see fit to allow Mrs Antrobus.’
‘Well, we’ll see about that,’ grunted Sharrock. ‘As to the report, I hope to have it in the next two days in time for the inquest, and I really don’t think you would like me to show that to Mrs Antrobus. Funny things bones, a man once said that the whole of a person’s life is written on them. Don’t see it myself.’
‘Can you at least tell us the address of the building being demolished?’ asked Frances.
‘It was one of the set of houses in Queens Road being knocked down to make way for Mr Whiteley’s new warehouse. The ones with all those great big hoardings blocking people’s windows on either side. We’re trying to trace the owners now but the properties have been empty for some time. Before that they were lodging houses. Now then, I’m a busy man and unless any of you intends to make an actual confession to murder I must ask you all to leave.’
There were a great many things Frances wanted to discuss with the Inspector, but the visitors decided to take the hint and depart.
Outside the police station, as everyone prepared to go their separate ways, Wylie turned to Lionel Antrobus but was unable to fully meet his gaze. ‘I suggest to you, sir, that any legal action you are currently contemplating should be postponed until we know the outcome of the inquest.’
‘I will take whatever action I think necessary, without any advice from you, sir,’ replied Antrobus stiffly, but he looked thoughtful, nevertheless.
Frances hired a cab but decided that she and Sarah would go straight to see Harriett Antrobus, who she hoped would tell her more than the Inspector had done.
CHAPTER TEN
Charlotte Pearce looked relieved to see Frances on her doorstep, with the solid presence of Sarah beside her inspiring quiet confidence. ‘Please do come in. I was about to send you a message, and I know Harriett wants to speak to you. Such an unpleasant man, that policeman. It was all I could do to stop him talking at the top of his voice. I could not allow him near Harriett.’