Messenger of Truth

by Jacqueline Winspear

  Maisie nodded, still frowning. “I take it there is a police report.”

  “As I said, Detective Inspector Stratton was called—”

  “Yes, I was wondering about that, the fact that Stratton was called to the scene of an accident.”

  “It was early and he was the detective on duty apparently,” added Georgina. “By the time he’d arrived, the pathologist had made a preliminary inspection….” She looked down at the crumpled handkerchief in her hands.

  “But I am sure Detective Inspector Stratton conducted a thorough investigation. How do you think I might assist you?”

  Georgina tensed, the muscles in her neck becoming visibly taut. “I thought you might say that. Devil’s advocate, aren’t you?” She leaned back, showing some of the nerve for which she was renowned. Georgina Bassington-Hope, intrepid traveler and journalist, became infamous at twenty-two when she disguised herself as a man to gain a closer view of the lines of battle in Flanders than any other reporter. She brought back stories that were not of generals and battles, but of the men, their struggle, their bravery, their fears and the truth of life as a soldier at war. Her dispatches were published in journals and newspapers the world over and, like her brother’s masterpieces, her work drew as much criticism as admiration, and her reputation grew as both brave storyteller and naive opportunist.

  “I know what I want, Miss Dobbs. I want the truth and will find it myself if I have to. However, I also know my limitations and I believe in using the very best tools when they are available—price notwithstanding. And I believe you are the best.” She paused briefly to reach for her cup of tea, which she held in both hands, cradling the china. “And I believe—because I have done my homework—that you ask questions that others fail to ask and see things that others are blind to.” Georgina Bassington-Hope looked back at Billy briefly, then turned to Maisie once again, her voice firm, her eyes unwavering. “Nick’s work was extraordinary, his views well known though his art was his voice. I want you to find out who killed him, Miss Dobbs—and bring them to justice.”

  Maisie closed her eyes, pausing for a few seconds before speaking again. “You were very close, it seems.”

  Georgina’s eyes sparkled. “Oh, yes, we were close, Miss Dobbs. Nick was my twin. Two peas in a pod. He worked with color, texture and light, I work with words.” She paused. “And it has occurred to me that whoever killed my brother may well want to silence me too.”

  Maisie nodded, acknowledging the comment deliberately added to intrigue her, then she stood up, moved away from the fire and walked across to the window. It was snowing again, settling on the ground to join the brown slush that seeped into shoe leather only too readily. Billy smiled at their guest and pointed to the teapot, indicating that perhaps she might like another cup. He had been taking notes throughout the conversation, and now knew his job was to keep their guest calm and quiet while Maisie had a moment with her thoughts. Finally, she turned from the window.

  “Tell me, Miss Bassington-Hope: Why were you so reticent to keep your appointments? You canceled twice, yet you came to Fitzroy Square in any case. What caused you to renege on your contract with yourself on two—almost three—occasions?”

  Georgina shook her head before replying. “I have no proof. I have nothing to go on, so to speak—and I am a person used to dealing with facts. There’s a paucity of clues—indeed, I would be the first to admit, this looks like a classic accident, a careless move by a tired man using a rather precarious ledge upon which to balance while preparing to hang a work that had taken years to achieve.” She paused briefly before continuing. “I have nothing except this.” She pressed her hand to her chest. “A feeling here, right in my heart, that all is not as it should be, that this accident was murder. I believe I knew the very second that my brother died, for I experienced such an ache at what transpired, according to the pathologist, to be the time of his death. And I did not know how I might explain such things and be taken seriously.”

  Maisie approached Georgina Bassington-Hope and gently laid a hand on her shoulder. “Then you have most definitely come to the right place in that case. In my estimation, that feeling in your heart is the most significant clue and all we need to take on your case.” She looked at Billy and nodded, whereupon he flipped over a new card. “Now then, let us begin. First of all, let me tell you about my terms and the conditions of our contract.”

  MAISIE DOBBS HAD been in business as a psychologist and investigator for almost two years, having previously been apprenticed to her mentor since childhood. Blanche Dr. Maurice Blanche, was not only an expert in legal medicine, but himself a psychologist and philosopher who had provided a depth of learning and opportunity that might otherwise have been unavailable to his protégé. Now, with a steady stream of clients seeking her services, Maisie had cause for optimism. Although the country was in the grip of economic depression, there were those of a certain class who barely felt the deepening crisis—people like Georgina Bassington-Hope—which in turn meant that there was still plenty of business for an investigator with a growing reputation. The only dark cloud was one she hoped would remain at a good distance. During the autumn of the previous year, her own shell shock had reared up, resulting in a debilitating breakdown. It was this malaise, compounded by a rift with Blanche, that had led to a loss of trust in her mentor. Though in many ways she welcomed the newfound independence in the distance from him, there were times when she looked back at the rhythm of their work, at the rituals and processes, with an ache, with regret. At the outset of a case, following a preliminary conversation with the new client, Maurice would often suggest a walk or, if the weather was poor, simply a change in the seating arrangement. “As soon as that contract is signed, Maisie, we shoulder the weight of our load, open the gate and choose our path. We must therefore move the body to engage our curiosity again after taking on the task of administrator.”

  Now, with the contract signed by both Maisie and Georgina Bassington-Hope and poor weather preventing all possibility of a walk, Maisie suggested the trio move to the table by the window to continue the conversation.

  Later, after the new client had left, Maisie and Billy would unfurl a length of plain wallpaper across the table, pin the edges to the wood, and begin to formulate a case map of known facts, thoughts, feelings, hunches and questions. As the work went on, more information would be added, with the mosaic eventually yielding up previously unseen connections pointing to the truths that heralded closure of the case. If all went well.

  Maisie had already jotted some initial questions on an index card, though she knew that many more would come to mind with each response from her new client. “Miss Bassington-Hope—”

  “Georgina, please. ‘Miss Bassington-Hope’ is a bit of a mouthful, and if we are to be here for any length of time, I would rather dispense with the formalities.” The woman looked from Maisie to Billy.

  Billy glanced at Maisie in a way that made his discomfort at the suggestion obvious.

  Maisie smiled. “Yes, of course, as you wish. And you may call me Maisie.” Though she was not at all sure she was really open to such an informality, her client’s preference must be honored. If she were relaxed, information would flow more readily. Both women now looked at Billy, who blushed.

  “Well, if you don’t mind, I think I’ll stick to your proper name.” He looked at Maisie for guidance, then turned to the woman again. “But you can call me Billy if you like, Miss Bassington-’ope.”

  Georgina smiled, understanding the predicament she had placed them in. “All right, then, Billy—and how about just ‘Miss B-H’ for me.”

  “Right you are. Miss B-H it is.”

  Maisie cleared her throat. “Well, now that we have that little conundrum out of the way, let’s get on. Georgina, first I want you to tell me as much as you know about the circumstances of your brother’s death.”

  The woman nodded. “Nick has—had—been preparing for this exhibition for some time, over a year, in fact. His work
was becoming very well known, especially in America—there are still a fair few millionaires and they are buying up everything from poor old Europe, it seems. Anyway, Stig Svenson of Svenson’s Gallery on Albemarle Street—he’s more or less Nick’s regular dealer—offered him a special exhibition that comprised both earlier and new works. Nick jumped at the chance, especially as he thought the gallery would be the ideal place to unveil a piece he has been working on, one way or another, for years.”

  Maisie and Billy exchanged glances, and Maisie interjected with a question. “Why was it perfect for his work? What did the gallery have that made him so excited?”

  “Stig had just had the whole place ripped apart and painted—and Nick had already made it clear that he needed a certain amount of room for the new pieces.” Georgina held out her arms to help describe the gallery. “Essentially, there are two sort of square bay windows at the front—they’re huge—with a door in between, so you can clearly see in from the street, though you cannot view each individual piece. Svenson has—as you might imagine—a very modern, Scandinavian idea of how to use room. It’s very bright, every inch of his gallery modeled to display a piece to its advantage. He’s had the latest electric lighting installed, and fittings that direct beams in such a way as to create shadows and light to draw buyers in.” She paused, to see if her audience of two were keeping up. “So, at the far end there is one huge blank wall almost two floors high for larger pieces, then on both sides a galleried landing, so that you walk in as if you are walking into a theater, only there are no seats and you are not on a gradient—and it’s completely white. You can go to either side, up stairs to the landings, but there are screens to divide the room in sections so that you never actually see the whole pièce de résistance—if there is one—until the end. All very clever.”

  “Yes, I see.” Maisie paused, tapped her pen against the palm of her left hand, then spoke again. “Would you describe his ‘pièce de résistance’ for us?”

  Georgina shook her head. “Actually, I can’t. As far as I know, no one had seen it in its entirety. He was very secretive about it. That was why he was at the gallery until late—he wanted to construct it himself.” She paused thoughtfully, her hand on her mouth, then she looked up. “The only thing I know about it is that it was in several pieces.”

  “But I thought you said he was working on it when he died. Wouldn’t it still be at the gallery?”

  “Sorry, what I meant was that he was working on scaffolding, placing the many anchors that would secure the pieces when he brought them in. He had them in storage in London—frankly, I have no idea where.”

  “Who would know where? Svenson?”

  She shook her head. “That’s a bit of a mystery at the moment. No one can find the key, and no one knows the address. We just knew he had a lock-up or something somewhere. I know he wanted it all to be kept under wraps until the last moment so that it would draw even more attention—I think he imagined the gasps, if you know what I mean.”

  “I see, and—”

  “The trouble is,” Georgina interrupted, “he had already promised most of the collection—except that main piece—to a collector of his work, sight unseen.”

  “You mean, someone made an offer without first viewing the collection?”

  “They’d seen preliminary sketches, but not of the centerpiece.”

  “Was it a significant offer?”

  The woman nodded. “Some tens of thousands of pounds, to my knowledge.”

  Maisie’s eyes grew large and, glancing at Billy, she thought he might pass out.

  “…For a painting?”

  Georgina Bassington-Hope shrugged. “It’s what people will pay if they think the work will dramatically increase in value. And the buyer has the money, had already paid a deposit, which Svenson retains until delivery.”

  “Who was the buyer?”

  “A man called Randolph Bradley. He’s an American living in Paris, though he also has a home in New York. One of those back-and-forth people.” She ran her fingers through her hair and looked away.

  Billy rolled his eyes. “I think I’ll put the kettle on again.” He stood up and left the room, taking the tea tray with him. Maisie said nothing. Though she understood his annoyance at such amounts of money passing hands in such troubled times, she was dismayed that he had felt it necessary to leave the room. Maisie made small talk, a series of barely consequential questions, until he returned.

  “Several pieces? So, was this ‘piece’ like a jigsaw puzzle, Miss B-H?” Billy set a cup of hot tea in front of Georgina and the customary tin mug in front of Maisie. He placed his own cup on the table and took up his notes again. Maisie was relieved that he had been thinking as he made tea, and not just fuming with resentment.

  Georgina nodded. “Well, yes, you could say that. Before the war, Nick was studying art in Europe. He was in Belgium when war was declared, and he returned home very quickly.” She shook her head. “Anyway, in Belgium he became very interested in the triptych form.”

  “Triptych?” Maisie and Billy spoke in unison.

  “Yes,” continued Georgina. “A triptych comprises three parts, a center main panel with smaller panels on either side. The stories depicted on the smaller panels give more detail to the scene in the main panel, or augment it in some way.”

  “Bit like the mirror on a dressing table, eh, Miss B-H?”

  The woman smiled. “Yes, that’s right—though a stained-glass window in a church might be a better description. Triptychs are often religious in nature, though many are quite gory, with scenes of war, or execution of someone important at the time—a king, perhaps, or a warrior.”

  “Yes, I’ve seen some in the museums. I know what you’re talking about.” Maisie paused, making a note to come back to Nicholas Bassington-Hope’s background as soon as she had a sense of the circumstances of his death. “So, let’s continue with his death—he was at the gallery—what happened, as far as the inquest revealed?”

  “There was scaffolding against the main wall. All of the smaller, less important pieces had been placed, and Nick was working on the main wall, as I told you. The scaffolding was there so that he could situate the pieces correctly.”

  “And would he do this alone?”

  “Yes, that was his plan. Though he had help with the scaffolding.”

  “Wouldn’t Svenson have arranged for workers to set up the scaffolding?”

  “No.” Georgina paused. “Well—yes, usually he probably would, but this time he didn’t.”

  “Why?”

  She shook her head. “You don’t know Nick. Has to do it all himself, wanted to ensure that his scaffolding was in the right place, that it was strong and that there was nowhere the work could be compromised by the structure.”

  “And he had help?”

  “Yes, his friends Alex and Duncan helped.”

  “Alex and Duncan?” Maisie glanced at Billy to ensure that he remained attentive. If they both took notes, then nothing would be missed as they studied the cache of information later.

  “Alex Courtman and Duncan Haywood. Both artists, Nick’s neighbors in Dungeness, where he lived. His other friend, Quentin Trayner, had a twisted ankle and couldn’t help. He’d fallen while bringing a boat ashore.” She paused briefly. “The three of them always helped one another out. They were all artists, you see.”

  “And they all lived at Dungeness—in Kent? It’s a bit bleak and isolated, isn’t it?”

  “And freezing cold at this time of year, I shouldn’t wonder!” Billy interjected.

  “There’s quite an artists’ haven there, you know. Has been for a few years now. In fact, when the Rye to Dungeness railway closed down—I think in ’26 or ’27—they sold off the railway carriages for ten pounds apiece, and a few artists bought them to set up as houses and studios on the beach.” Georgina paused and her voice cracked, just slightly, so that both Maisie and Billy had to lean forward to better hear her. “I called it the ‘place where lost souls we
re beached.’” Georgina leaned back in her chair. “They were men of an artistic sensibility who had been drafted by the government to do its dirty work, and afterward all four of them were left feeling sick about it for years.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Maisie.

  Georgina leaned forward. “Nick, Quentin, Duncan and Alex met at the Slade, that’s how they forged such a strong friendship. And they had all seen service in France. Nick was wounded at the Somme and was sent to work in propaganda after he’d healed—he was no longer fit for active duty. Alex worked there too. Then Nick was sent back over to Flanders as a war artist.” She shook her head. “It changed him forever, that’s why he had to get away after the war, to America.”

  “America?”

  “Yes, he said he needed lots of space around him.”

  Maisie nodded and flicked back through her notes. “Look, Miss—Georgina—I suggest we complete our notes on the actual events of your brother’s death today, then let us make another appointment to talk about his history. That will give you time to gather other items that might be of interest to us—journals, sketchbooks, letters, photographs, that sort of thing.”

  “All right.”

  “So…” Maisie stood up, placed her index cards next to her teacup and walked to the other side of the table to look across at the snow-covered square. “Your brother, Nick, was working late, preparing the gallery’s main wall to hang a piece—pieces—of his art, which no one had seen yet. At what time did he arrive to do this work? Who else was with him? And what time, according to the pathologist, did he die—and how?”

  Georgina gave a single nod as she sipped her tea, set her cup down again and began to answer Maisie’s questions as directly as they were asked. “He had been there all day, since dawn, hanging the pieces. They had set up the scaffolding later in the day, according to Duncan and Alex, who said he told them to return to my flat around half past eight—it wasn’t unusual for Nick to bring friends to stay at my flat and they had turned up the night before with their knapsacks. My home is a convenient London bolt-hole for all sorts of people.” She paused, took another sip of tea, and went on. “The gallery caretaker, Arthur Levitt, said that he looked in on Nick around nine and told him he was ready to go home. Nick replied that he had a key and would lock up.”