Search The Dark Part 22

"If I were a woman like that," she said after a moment, "and another very pretty woman came into my household, I shouldn't like it! I suppose it's a natural jealousy in someone who prefers to be the center of attention at home as well as in the neighborhood. The talk was, they'd find a male a.s.sistant for Mr. Wyatt, someone from one of the colleges. Mrs. Wyatt would have preferred that, that, I'm quite sure, another besotted male in the house. It might have kept her from straying farther afield, at least for a time. But it didn't turn out that way, did it?" I'm quite sure, another besotted male in the house. It might have kept her from straying farther afield, at least for a time. But it didn't turn out that way, did it?"

"Are you telling me that Aurore Wyatt has taken lovers in Charlbury?"

She put down her own cup and said, "I don't know about lovers, Inspector, I can't speak for Mrs. Wyatt. I think-at the moment-that it's probably her deep need for male attention. But you know where that leads in the long run! I've seen the way Harold looks when she comes into the shop, and I've seen Denton at the Arms and Bill Dixon, and even Constable Truit hanging on every word she utters, their faces wreathed in silly smiles, their eyes avid, and G.o.d alone knows what's going through their minds! It may not be true adultery yet, but it's only a matter of time. She'll tire of their admiration and want more. No, I don't think Mrs. Wyatt would have liked to see compet.i.tion under her roof, and I'm sure if you don't act soon, something will very likely happen to Miss Napier as well. I'm not suggesting that it will, but one must do one's duty before something terrible happens, and not in hindsight. Well, there you have it!"

It was a tangle of jealousy and envy, with no reason behind it but a woman's need to retaliate, to strike out at the interloper.

"Are you saying that I should arrest Mrs. Wyatt for murder? On what evidence? And the murder of whom?"

She lifted an impatient hand. "Miss Tarlton, of course. Mrs. Dixon swears she saw Mrs. Wyatt in the car driving Miss Tarlton to Singleton Magna. I'm sure she's not the only one to notice the car, if the truth be told. And I've just explained to you why I believe Mrs. Wyatt could have done such a terrible thing. I don't speak up lightly, Inspector! I came to you after considerable thought and prayer. But if a person breaks one of the commandments, it isn't such a great step from breaking others, is it?"

"But you've no proof that Mrs. Wyatt has betrayed her husband?"

She smiled tightly, then drank her tea. "What proof do you need? If that woman they found just the other day is Betty Cooper, then you ought to consider that Mr. Wyatt was thinking of taking her on as a second maid. Edith is rather plain, but Betty had a way with her. Mrs. Wyatt wouldn't have liked her about the house, flaunting herself! It was not long afterward that Betty disappeared. No one remarked it at the time, but it's very likely she met the same fate."

"The woman found at Stoke Minster has been dead for only three months or so. Betty Cooper left Dorset long before that."

"Did she? She left Mrs. Darley, right enough! She may even have gone to London for a time. But in the end she came back, didn't she? And wanted that job Mr. Wyatt had promised her. If she came to the Wyatt door on Edith's day off, and Mrs. Wyatt answered, what do you think could have happened?"

It was an interesting theory.

"Let me get this straight," he said. "If Mrs. Wyatt has, as you say, an eye for the men in Charlbury, why should she object if her husband took a fancy to Margaret Tarlton or Betty Cooper? I should think that would provide Mrs. Wyatt with more opportunity to indulge in her own affairs."

"But I just told you!" Mrs. Forsby said. "She wants to h.o.a.rd them all, Mr. Wyatt, my Harold, any man with eyes in his head to see her-even you. I've watched her with her hand on your arm, smiling up at you like Miss Innocence herself! Even a London inspector from Scotland Yard is fair game for that one!" She finished her tea, her face pink with a sense of righteous triumph. "Mrs. Wyatt got her hands on Mr. Wyatt in the war, even when he was engaged to Miss Napier. It's not right, it's not proper. And if she had no respect for a man already promised to someone else, then she won't let marriage vows stop her."

It was Hamish who put the thought into his head. That Aurore Wyatt had escaped a war-ravaged country by marrying Simon.

"Did you or anyone else see Betty Cooper after she disappeared six months ago? Did anyone see her come back to Charlbury? Hearsay won't do, we need hard evidence. The body wasn't found in this village, after all. It could be unrelated to Margaret Tarlton's death. It may not have anything to do with Aurore Wyatt."

She touched her lips with the serviette in her lap and folded it neatly before laying it beside her empty cup. "n.o.body said she was a fool. And she'd have to be, to leave bodies lying about on her own doorstep! What I ask myself is, who else had any call to harm Betty Cooper? Or this Miss Tarlton. Can you tell me that? No, I didn't think so! And where's it ail to stop? I ask you."

Rutledge walked with her to the door of the Wyatt Arms. Denton nodded to him as he pa.s.sed, but Daniel Shaw was nowhere to be seen. Mrs. Forsby was still talking about how difficult it had been to come forward, as if she wanted his rea.s.surance that she'd done the right thing. But the air of triumph was still there.

He thanked her and watched her walk back the way she'd come, with a neck stiff with righteousness beneath her summery hat.

But Hamish was pointing out, with some force, that Aurore had tried her charms on him, and it had worked.

"You canna' fault a woman like yon, for wanting her own back on the foreigner who takes her husband's eye, when she has a husband of her own."

He was angry all the same. Defensive, for Aurore's sake. Surely Wyatt had some inkling of the feelings that were rampant in Charlbury! Or was the man so blinded by his own pain that he couldn't see what was happening?

"You're no' her champion," Hamish reminded him. "You're a lonely man who's lost the one woman he thought cared for him. You see the loneliness in her, and it turns your head. But it's no' the same-your Jean walked away and is marrying anither man in your place. Yon woman already has a husband!"

"I'm not in love with her!"

"No," Hamish said thoughtfully, "I'd no' say you were. But she can pull the strings, and you dance like a puppet at the end of them! Because she's hurting as much as you are. And like calls to like. It's no' love, but it Can light fires all the same in a man!"

Rutledge swore, and told Hamish he was a fool.

But he knew that Aurore cast spells. Except over her husband. Whatever he'd felt for his wife in France when he'd married her, it was quite different now. And for all he, Rutledge, knew of it, Aurore herself had changed as much as Simon had. That was the centerpiece of their marriage-change-and it might not have been all on one side.

If Aurore's marriage was empty, she might well be frightened of other women catching Simon's eye. If Simon neglected her, she might well be driven to having an affair, to point out to him that others wanted very badly what he chose to cast off.

Which might explain why the husbands of Charlbury were besotted and the wives were prepared to see Aurore Wyatt hang, if it took her away from there.

24.

Rutledge was halfway to his car when he saw Hildebrand coming out of the Wyatt house. The Singleton Magna inspector saw him as well and signaled Rutledge to wait. When he reached the car, there was a nasty gleam in Hildebrand's eyes. For a moment he studied Rutledge, and then said, "Well, you can pack your bags tonight and leave for London in the morning. I've got the Tarlton murder solved. Without the help of the Yard, I might add. You've been precious little help from the start, come to that."

"Solved? That means an arrest, then."

"Of course it does. Keep my ear to the ground, that's what I do. Truit tells me what he doesn't tell you-well, no reason why he should, is there? You were here to find the children. And they've been found, haven't they?"

He was gloating, his face gleaming with it, his manner offensive but just short of insulting. He paused to let Rutledge respond.

"That's good news," he answered.

Hildebrand still waited and, when Rutledge had nothing more to add, went on with malicious pleasure. "I'm having a search warrant brought. We'll find the murder weapon and that suitcase you were so fond of throwing in my face. And when we do, I'll have my murderer. Ever seen a woman hang? Delicate necks, over swiftly."

Rutledge felt cold, not sure whether Hildebrand was telling him the truth or trying to rouse him to anger. "Stop beating about the bush, Hildebrand!"

He held up a square hand, the back of it toward Rutledge, and began to tick off the points, bending down each finger as he went. "Witnesses saw Mrs. Wyatt driving the victim to Singleton Magna, even though she denies it. Mrs. Wyatt wasn't happy about the Tarlton woman coming here. Jealousy, I'm told. Mrs. Wyatt could wash up after the murder at that farm of the Wyatts', and n.o.body was the wiser. Handyman didn't see her leave and didn't hear her return. That's where she tucked the murder weapon and probably the suitcase as well, out of sight into the hay or under one of the sheds. Who'd notice a worn spanner or an old hammer in that yard full of rusting junk?"

"Why did you change your mind?" Rutledge forced himself to ask. "I thought you were convinced that Mowbray had killed Margaret Tarlton, mistaking her for his wife."

"I was fairly sure of that, given the evidence. But we found something else interesting today. I sent one of my men to Gloucestershire, where the Tarlton woman's relatives live. They were that upset, to hear she was dead, not just missing. They asked my sergeant if she'd left a will, and he was smart enough to go to London to find out. Lawyer wouldn't let him see it, but Miss Tarlton had left everything to her young G.o.dson, the cousin's child, we got that much out of the old fool. And her house to Simon Wyatt. There's the motive right there! Miss Napier may've thought she was engaged to Wyatt, but she wasn't the only string to his bow. Must have put both their noses out of joint, when he came home with that French wife! And must have put his wife's nose out of joint when she discovered his mistress was coming to live with them!"

"I don't think-" Rutledge began through the clamor Hamish was raising in his head.

"You aren't paid to think," Hildebrand said, unconsciously quoting Old Bowels. "You're paid to find murderers. Stay out of my way until this is finished, I'm warning you!" He strode off, marching purposefully toward the car waiting for him at Truit's house. Watching him go, Rutledge swore.

Hildebrand had hardly pa.s.sed from view, on his way back to Singleton Magna, when the Napier car came down the same road, making for the inn. Rutledge a.s.sumed it was Benson, going to fetch Elizabeth Napier, then realized that there was a man seated beside him.

The car pulled up in front of the inn and Rutledge saw Benson pointing in his direction. Benson's pa.s.senger nodded and got down, walking toward Rutledge. The distinguished face, the trim beard, the broad shoulders told him at once that this was Thomas Napier.

Napier said, as soon as he was within hearing, "Inspector Rutledge?'

"That's right." Rutledge had been in his car on the point of leaving, but killed the engine and got down to take the hand Napier held out to him.

"Thomas Napier, from London. Is there any place where we can speak privately?" he asked, looking around. "That bench over there by the pond, I think?" he went on, unconsciously choosing the place where Rutledge had questioned his daughter. The ducks had gone, leaving the surface of the pond like a mirror, reflecting the sky.

They walked in silence in that direction, and Rutledge let the older man choose his own time, his own words. But curiosity was rampant, and the tension in the other man had stirred Hamish into questing life.

"I don't trust that fool Hildebrand," Napier began. "Miss Tarlton's solicitor called me today. He said that one of Hildebrand's people had come to ask about Margaret's will. There's a clause in it that could cause a good deal of trouble for a good many innocent people. Margaret's memory as well. I've spoken to Superintendant Bowles, and I'm not overly impressed by him either."

They had reached the bench, and Napier sat down, scanning Rutledge from head to foot. "You look like the sensible sort. In the war, were you?"

"Yes," Rutledge answered, obeying Napier's gesture and taking the other end of the bench. "I was." The words were more curt than he'd meant.

"Hmm. Then I daresay you'll understand when I tell you that Simon Wyatt is a man living on the edge, as it were. He's my G.o.dson, I care deeply about him. The war came d.a.m.ned close to breaking his spirit, and he hasn't been able to recover the balance of his mind. I've not encouraged him to stand for office, I've felt that he was probably better off working on this museum of his, finding his feet again in his own good time. Dorset is quiet, a healing place, as I know myself." The tone of voice was fatherly, concerned. It was as if the rupture caused by Simon's marriage to Aurora had never occurred.

"I understand, but I don't see that this is important enough to bring you from London to tell me."

"Simon may not know some of the terms of Margaret's will. They may need explanation. But they have nothing to do with this murder, and they have nothing to do with Margaret's affairs. Simon's father was kind enough to arrange a loan for her when she needed it, and that was that. He wasn't involved with her in any way, he simply felt that she deserved a measure of independence, and helped provide it. You never knew Margaret, but she was a very able young woman, very charming, very attract-"

His voice broke, and for several seconds he fought for control. "She was all that a man might want in his daughter," he ended lamely. "I would have done the same for her, if she'd asked me, but she no doubt felt it was improper, since she lived in my house. It was the sort of arrangement that could have political repercussions, and she was astute, politically-"

"Unsafe for you-but safe enough for Simon's father?"

Napier turned to look at him. "Don't be purposely obtuse!"

"No," Rutledge answered. "All right, then, you don't want Wyatt to know why the house is left to him. But that's out of my hands. Hildebrand is going for a search warrant for Wyatt's farm. He apparently believes Aurore Wyatt killed Miss Tarlton because she was under the impression that Miss Tarlton and Wyatt had had an affair. That Simon Wyatt bought the Chelsea house. And that Simon Wyatt might well be the father of the child Miss Tarlton bore. She could hardly want his mistress moving in with them." It was a mixture of fact and fiction, but Rutledge was interested to see how well this balloon flew. And what reaction it provoked. He might have only this one opportunity to confront Napier....

The expression on Napier's face was a mixture of shock and horror. "How do you know all this? About the child? And why should Aurore Wyatt know of it? It wasn't Simon's, he was away at war-"

"Was it his father's?"

"G.o.d, no! no! Whatever you think about Margaret Tarlton, I a.s.sure you she-" Whatever you think about Margaret Tarlton, I a.s.sure you she-"

"Then who was its father? Daniel Shaw? You? I'm not interested in Miss Tarlton's child. I'm only interested in what bearing it might have on her murder."

"The child is dead-it was born dead! It has no bearing on anything!" There was an undercurrent of wild grief behind the defensive words. A wrenching pain.

"Mr. Napier, if Hildebrand learns of it, it could send a woman to the gallows. It gives her a clear motive, don't you see that, to kill a suspected rival."

"No. I've met Aurore Wyatt several times. She isn't my concern; she can take care of herself, she's clever and resourceful and strong. Simon is very vulnerable. Whatever this fool Hildebrand is trying to do, he's wrong. I think Margaret was the unwitting victim of that poor sod they've got in the jail at Singleton Magna. There's no more nor less to it than that. What I want from you is the a.s.surance that my daughter-and Simon Wyatt-won't be dragged through the newspapers on the whim of an incompetent policeman!"

"Mr. Napier, I don't believe Bert Mowbray killed Miss Tarlton. I think that her murder was no accident, it was a deliberate attack on her personally. And I suspect that there has been another murder of a young woman, some months ago. How they're related I can't say at the moment-"

"Do you believe Simon is guilty of either of them?"

"No, why should I-"

"But one of them might be set at the door of his wife? Possibly both?"

"As to that, I can't tell you-"

"Then find the answers, d.a.m.n you! I came to warn you that I don't want my daughter's name dragged into this. I'm taking her back to Sherborne at once. And I don't want to read about Simon in the papers either, nor about that house in Chelsea, nor about any child that might or might not have been born."

Rutledge said, "Margaret Tarlton's murderer has covered his tracks quite cleverly. Still, there's an answer somewhere. Ferreting it out may open the Wyatts to speculation and some scandal. I'll avoid that if I can, I've always tried to shield the innocent. But in the end there may be nothing either of us can do to protect them. The other woman who may have died by the same hand-"

"I'm not concerned with another woman! I want you to stop this fool Hildebrand from walking in heavy boots through the life of a man who is very easily destroyed. Personally, professionally. Do you hear me? If any of this touches Simon Wyatt, I'll hold you personally responsible. I'll see to it that you suffer the consequences. I want this business cleared up without damaging Simon or Margaret, I want Margaret's killer hanged, and I don't want any foulness from this affair touching my daughter in any way. You would do well to believe me, Inspector! I am a man who never makes idle threats."

Napier got to his feet and stood looking down at Rutledge. Whatever he read in the other man's face, he changed his tactics abruptly.

"There's that fellow, Shaw," he said roughly. "He was in love with her in the war, and he's still in love with her for all I know. If Mowbray didn't kill her, then Shaw probably did. Find out, and make an end to it."

Rutledge felt himself welling with anger as Napier walked away. Napier had protected his own, he hadn't cared about anyone else. He had willingly sacrificed Mowbray, he had callously abandoned Aurore to the mercy of the police. Even Daniel Shaw was expendable. Politicians made difficult decisions; Napier was used to sacrificing one good for another. But this was ruthlessness.

Walking away from the pond, Rutledge toyed for a moment with the possibility that Napier had killed Margaret himself, out of jealousy or anger at her refusal to carry on with an affair that she may have considered, in the end, was taking her nowhere. But Napier was too well known in Dorset-even whispers of his involvement would ruin him. This was, possibly, what drove him harder than his concern for Simon Wyatt. If he'd wanted Margaret dead, surely he'd have killed her anywhere but here.

By the same token, to be fair, Napier had been unable to show his grief, his love, his loss, in public. He had had to stand aside and let strangers bury Margaret, turning whatever it was he felt inward, to fester and rankle. He may have made his threats out of love for her rather than any fear for Simon.

They were still threats, and Rutledge took them very seriously.

"It's no' in your hands," Hamish reminded him. "Whatever Napier has said. But either way, ye're sacrificed as well."

"Not if I can help it," Rutledge said as he turned the crank and brought the car to sputtering life. He got in and drove to the Wyatt farm, his mind full of Hamish: "If you no' can finish this business, you'll be back in yon hospital, crouched in a dark corner of your soul. It's got to be finished, look you, and not for the woman's sake, for your own!"

Jimson was working in the yard, mending the wheel on a barrow, his gnarled hands deftly shifting the shaft to bring the worn place within reach. He didn't look up until Rutledge's shadow fell across his shoulder and onto the dirtstained wood of the long handles.

"Lord, you know how to startle a man!" Jimson said, straightening up and dropping the shaft. "Now look what you've done," he went on in an aggrieved voice, his face twisting to see Rutledge against the brightness of the sun.

"I need your help," Rutledge said. "I can't go to your master or your mistress, the police from Singleton Magna are coming soon with a search warrant. But I want to go through the house and the barn. Now. Before they get here. Will you walk with me?"

"What're you looking for, then? What's the police after?"

"A suitcase belonging to a dead woman. A pretty hat. A murder weapon."

"Pshaw! There's no pretty hat here. Nor suitcases I don't know about. If it's a murder weapon you want, take your pick." He gestured to the array of tools lying in the dust at his feet. "Any one of those will kill a man."

Hammer, a spanner, a pair of clamps, all of them-he was right-potential weapons.

But Rutledge shook his head. "No. Not these."

"Then what?" Jimson demanded. "That stone? A length of wood?"

"I don't know. All right, we'll forget the weapon for the time being. The suitcase. We'll search first for that."

"What does it look like, then? Mrs. Wyatt, she has suitcases in the attic."

"I don't know, I tell you! If I did, I wouldn't be here. Look, this is useless, Jimson! I need to walk through that house, I need to see for myself what's in the barn. Hildebrand and Truit will be here in the morning-"

"Truit, is it?" Jimson demanded, incensed. "We'll see about that. All right, then, the front door's open, and I can see it from here. Touch anything that don't need touching, and I'll know it."

Rutledge thanked him and walked around to the door. It was unlocked, as it had been before. Thinking about that, Rutledge opened it wider and stepped into the hall, where the stairs rose to the first floor. To his left and right were a pair of rooms, opening into the broad hallway. He gave them a cursory glance, certain that they would hold no secrets. The floors creaked as he moved about, but Jimson wouldn't hear that. The old man's bedroom was in the back to one side of the kitchen and appeared to have been a maid's room at one time, for there were roses on the wallpaper and the iron bed had a floral design at its head. The lamp was serviceable, as were the chair, the stool, and a table. The washstand was oak and had seen better times, the mirror cloudy with age. A jug of water stood on a second table by the bed, and there was a pipe rack next to it, with a tin of tobacco beside it. From the look of the pipes, none of them had been smoked for years, but the aroma of Turkish tobacco lingered and stirred when Rutledge moved one or two.

Upstairs were several bedrooms and a pair of bathrooms. One of the rooms had a rocking chair beside a marble-topped washstand with fresh towels on the racks on either side, a pitcher of water in the bowl. Clothes hung in the closet, mostly coveralls and worn men's shirts that must have been Simon's at one time but carried Aurore's scent now. A pair of straw hats stood on the closet shelf, one of them with a hole in the brim, the other with a sweat-stained band.

The room had an intimate feel to it, as if she'd just left. The candlestick on the bedside table was burned down to half. He wondered if sometimes she'd spent the night here. The bedsheets were soft with age but freshly washed.

The other rooms bore the signs of neglect, a fine sheen of dust on the furniture, a cobweb hanging down above a bedpost, but clean enough for all that. No one had been in these rooms, he thought, for months.