“Come along, then. We’ll get you something to eat. What would you fancy?”
“An eel pie.”
Dylan laughed. He felt exultant and said, “We’ll get it, and then I’ll go to the bank, and you’ll be ten sovereigns richer.”
“This is the place that Callie said Sadie lived with the man with the steel hook.” Dylan turned to see Serafina’s reaction.
“It’s a terrible place.”
“Yes, it is.”Dylan looked up at the leaning tenement. It looked as if it were about to fall down. “Let’s find out if Callie’s right.”
“I pray that she is.”
Dylan suddenly looked at her and smiled. “You pray that she’s right? That’s a good sign, isn’t it?”
“I—I didn’t mean that literally.”
“Well, I do. Come along, Serafina.”
The two entered the house and climbed a set of creaking stairs. Dylan knocked at the first door, and no one answered. Moving over, he tried another door, and after his knock, a voice inside said, “Wot do yer want?”
“I’m looking for Sadie.”
The door opened then, and a woman stood there. She was large and gaunt, and her hair was unclean. She had lost most traces of her early beauty, but some of it was still there. “Who are you? Wot are you doing ’ere?” The woman looked over Dylan’s shoulder at Serafina. “Why does you bring a woman ’ere for?”
“Is your name Sadie?”
“Wot’s it to yer?”
“I think we might do you some good, Sadie.”
“That ain’t likely. You rich nobs come ’ere to satisfy your appetites, not to do me no good.”
“Are you living with a man here with a hook on his right arm?”
Something like panic touched Sadie’s eyes. “’E ain’t done nothing! ’E’s been here for two weeks, too sick to get out of bed. ’E couldn’t hurt nobody or steal nothin’.”
“I’m sorry to hear he’s sick,” Dylan said. “I don’t know his name.”
“’Is name is Oscar Bent.Wot do you care for? You ain’t a copper.”
“No, we’re not the police. Sadie, could we step inside?”
“You might as well,” she said, her voice filled with despair.
They went inside the room and saw a man lying on the bed. His eyes were closed, and he had not shaved in some time. Both arms were lying across his breast, and a steel hook glinted where his right hand should have been.
Sadie backed up as if to protect herself. “Wot do yer want? We ain’t got nothing, and he’s like to die.”
“He needs to be in the hospital,” Serafina said abruptly. She was touched by the awfulness of the situation. The woman was obviously worn out and had been misused, and the man, indeed, might even be dying. “We want you to help us,” Serafina said, stepping closer to the woman. “And I hope we can help you.”
“Me ’elp you? How could I ’elp you?”
“Several weeks ago a young man came here. You picked him up on the street, and he was drunk.”
“I sees lots of drunks.Was ’e quality like you?”
“Yes, he was. He’s not a tall man, and he has light brown hair and brown eyes and he’s very handsome.”
“Wot’s it to you if I seen ’im?”
Serafina decided to be totally honest with the woman. “The man is my brother. He’s being tried right now for the murder of a woman, but the murder took place while Clive says he was with someone. He didn’t remember your name or where he was, he was so intoxicated. So you see, we’ve been looking for you for some time, and now we’re going to ask you if you’ll help us.”
“And ’ow could such as me ’elp you?” Sadie demanded wearily. “I ain’t got nothing to ’elp nobody.”
“Would you be willing to testify that my brother was with you that night?”
“You means go afore a judge? I’d be afeared to do that!”
“You needn’t be afraid, Sadie,” Dylan said quickly. “You’ll be doing the court a favour.”
The man on the couch started to cough, and the woman turned and went over to him. She poured something into a glass and pulled him into an upright position. “Drink this, Oscar. It’ll do you good.” The man opened his eyes and reached out and took the glass. He managed to get most of it down, and then when she took the glass, he reached up and touched her cheek. “Thank you, Sadie. You’re good to me.”
“Lay down and try to sleep,” Sadie said. She laid the man down carefully, and there was obvious affection in her, as well as worry. She turned again and came to stand before the two. “I remember ’im, all right.Wot will I get out of it?”
Quickly Serafina said, “We can’t pay you money for your testimony, but I will tell you this. If you do testify, I will be very grateful to you.”
“So will I, Sadie. We’ll get a doctor here to look at Oscar, and if he says that he needs to be in a hospital, we’ll see that he goes there. Things will be better for you both. And you’ll save a good young man’s life.Will you do it?”
Sadie looked at the two and then at the man. “If it’ll get my man in a ’ospital, I’ll do it.”
“Good! We’ll get some proper clothes for you to wear to the court,” Dylan said.
“And we’ll have a doctor here to look at your—” She started to say husband but faltered. “To look at Oscar, and we’ll put him in the hospital if that’s what the doctor says.”
Sadie stared at the two, and suddenly tears came into her eyes. She dashed them away, saying, “Look at that. I ain’t cried in many a year, but nobody ain’t ’elped us. I still don’t believe it.”
“You can believe it,” Serafina said. She came forward and put her hand on the woman’s shoulder.“It will be all right.You’ll see.We’ll go find a doctor right now.”
The two left then, and when they got into the carriage, Serafina was quiet. Dylan did not disturb her, but he could see that the viscountess had been moved by the pitiful condition of the two.
Serafina said, “She loves him, doesn’t she?”
“She obviously has an affection.”
Serafina seemed to be unable to speak for a moment. “It’s hard for me to see how such people can have any love left in them. It seems it all would have been drained out by the hardness of their lives.”
“I’ve seen love in strange places, but she does care for him, and he for her, it seems.”
Serafina was quiet again, and finally she straightened up in the seat and turned to face him. “I know you think I’m cold, Dylan, but I wasn’t always that way.”
“What happened, Serafina?” Dylan’s voice was gentle, for he saw she was struggling to get something out.
“I had a terrible marriage.” The words came slowly, and Serafina had to clear her throat. “Everyone in the family thought Charles was such a wonderful match. He was rich, he had a title, and his family was high on the social scale. And he had a romantic way about him when he was courting me. I thought I was in love with him, but I was wrong.”
Dylan saw that tears welled in Serafina’s eyes.He pulled his handkerchief out of his breast pocket and said, “Here, take this.”
“Thank you.” Serafina wiped her eyes, then took a deep breath, but her voice was still unsteady as she said,“He married me to get an heir.He didn’t love me.” A touch of bitterness came to her then. “I was a brood mare to him. He liked—” Her voice broke, and she shook her head. “I hate to say this, but he liked . . . boys.After David was born, as he began to grow up, I was terrified that he would molest our son.”
“How terrible for you!”
“I stayed with David constantly to give him no chance for that.”
“How did he die, Serafina?”
“A man came to the house, a violent, angry man. I heard them shouting, and I listened at the door. The man accused Charles of molesting his son and ruining his life. I heard Charles laugh at him, and then the man cried out, and there was the sound of crashing. They had a terrible fight.
When I went in, t
he man was standing over Charles, who was on his back and had a terrible wound. The man didn’t bother me. He just ran away.”
“It must have been awful for you.”
“Everyone thought I had done it. They didn’t believe my story about a man coming in, but I knew what that man suffered, so I refused to tell them what he looked like.”
“I think you did the right thing.”
“So if I’m cold, it’s because of those terrible days. I—I feel like I’m frozen sometimes.”
Dylan suddenly took her hand. He held it with both of his and said, “God will be with you, Serafina.We found the witness that can save Clive, and the Lord God is going to save you. He’s going to take away those old memories and give you a rich, full life.”
Serafina stared at him in disbelief, but with hope in her eyes.“Do you really think so, Dylan?”
“Of course I think so. God’s not finished with either one of us yet. Now,” he said, “we’ve got to get news to Sir Leo that we’ve found the witness.”
“He’ll be glad to have some ammunition for the battle, won’t he?”
“I think he will, and it’s going to be a glorious day when Clive walks out of that courtroom a free man! If you are having my opinion, the Lord God is giving you a miracle.”
TWENTY-FIVE
As soon as Grant stepped into the superintendent’s office, he saw that Winters was in a good mood. “Good morning, sir,” he said at once.
“Well, good morning, Inspector Grant.How are you this fine morning?”
“I’m fine, sir.” Grant smiled and said, “I suppose congratulations are in order. I understand that you’re to be knighted very soon.”
“Oh, well, that’s true enough, but it means little. After all, it just means that you put a Sir in front of my name. I don’t know if that’s any great advantage to a man. But it’s what my wife’s been trying to bring about for quite a while. Sit down, Grant, and tell me what’s going on.”
Grant took a seat and went over three cases that he had been working on. He saw that the inspector was paying close attention to him, and finally he said, “Well, I have a bit of personal news.”
“I can see that you look different. What’s going on? Don’t tell me you’ve found a lady that pleases you.”
“Indeed, I have, Inspector.”
“Well, it’s about time.You’ve lived alone for so long I had about given up on you as a crusty old bachelor. I don’t suppose I know the lady.”
“Yes, you do, sir. It’s Dora Newton.”
Winters opened his eyes wide. “Well,” he said, “that is a surprise. You’re actually courting her?”
“I made my intentions known to her father and to the family yesterday.”
“It’s a wonder they didn’t throw you out. A policeman doesn’t rank very high on the social scale.”
“That’s true enough, sir, but I think highly of the young lady, and it seems she likes me too.”
Winters turned his head to one side and studied Grant. He asked, “Doesn’t she blame you for arresting her brother?”
“Oh no, sir. But her brother’s not guilty.”
“Why do you say that?”Winters’s voice was sharp. “We have all the evidence. Allen Greer says it’s a certain thing that he’ll be found guilty.”
“The woman’s been found, sir—the witness that the viscountess and Dylan Tremayne have been looking for.”
“What? She’s actually been found?”
“Yes, sir, and she’ll testify in court that young Newton was with her at the time the murder was committed. Sir Leo says the case will be dismissed for lack of evidence. But there’s more than that.”
“What else is there?”
“The secret journal of Katherine Fairfield. Viscountess Trent has solved it. She’s translated the whole diary, and, sir, here’s the good thing. The woman lists all the lovers she had. She had been blackmailing all of them, so there’s going to be a stink over that when it becomes public.”
“I wasn’t aware that the viscountess was an expert in cyphers. We sure haven’t had any success.”
“She’ll be a brilliant woman to Sir Leo tomorrow.”
“Well, this is a surprising development. It looks like this case is out of our hands, doesn’t it, Matthew?”
“I’m very happy, sir. I was convinced of Clive Newton’s guilt, but it’s not possible anymore to think like that.”
“Well, we’ll have to rearrange our plans, then.”
“I don’t think there’s any rearranging to be done.With that diary and a witness that will possibly eliminate Clive Newton, we may have a new tack on this.”
“Very well. Keep on top of it and let me know what you find out.”
“Yes, sir, I’ll do that.”
Dylan had received a visit from Grant, who had a worried look on his face. “What’s up,Matthew, or Inspector Grant, I should say.”
“Matthew sounds good to me, Dylan. I’ve been worried about something. I thought I’d share it with you.”
“What’s that?”
“Well, things are looking good for Dora’s brother, but you know this woman Sadie is the key to the whole thing. If something happens to her, Clive will probably be convicted.”
“You’re right about that.” Dylan stroked his chin thoughtfully. “I think I’d better be sure that she has some protection. The viscountess has bought her some new clothes for her appearance in court. She looks pretty rough, but her word of testimony will save Clive.”
“You’d better be sure she’s kept alive. If the killer knew she was coming to testify, he’d kill her.”
“Right, you. I’ll take care of it.”
Dylan went at once to the Newton house. He didn’t see a sign of Yago, who was on the day shift, but when he called out, the man suddenly appeared from behind a hedge. “What is it, Mr. Dylan?”
“I’ve got a job for you, Yago. I want you to go to this address and be sure nothing happens to a woman called Sadie or to the man she lives with.”
“What could happen to her?”
“Well, she’s a key witness. I want to be absolutely sure that she’s safe.
Here’s the address. Here’s the money for the cab. Are you armed?”
“Yes, sir, I always am. I’m a servant of the Lord, but you never know when you’ll need to protect yourself.”He hesitated, then asked, “Who will look after the boy while I’m there? Lorenzo won’t come on duty until midnight.”
“I’ll take over, Gyp.”
“You got a gun, have you?”
“No, but I won’t need one. Off with you, then.”
“Yes, sir, I’ll see to it.”
Dylan moved around the house, which was hooded with darkness. Pike would be due to come on the scene in an hour, but Dylan didn’t want to leave his charge alone for even that short span of time. He moved as quietly as possible through the trees that grew thickly on the east side of the house, then stopped dead still.He wasn’t certain, but he thought he’d seen the figure of a man moving toward the back of the house.
He moved forward quickly. Suddenly another shadowy figure appeared not more than ten feet away from him.He tried to see who it might be, but the moon was behind a cloud.He advanced toward the figure,wishing that he were armed. He could make out little about the intruder, but when the man passed within a few feet, Dylan launched himself forward with all his might. He struck the man with a blow that brought a muffled cry, and the two of them rolled on the ground. Dylan felt the strength of the man, and suddenly his adversary spoke in the darkness: “I’ll put a hole in you unless you hold still!”
Dylan recognised the voice and cried out,“Matthew—it’s you!”
“Dylan, you almost broke my neck!”Matthew Grant got to his feet, and by the pale light of the sliver of a moon, the two men stared at each other.
“What are you doing here, Matthew?” Dylan whispered.
Matthew put the gun back into his pocket and moved closer to say, “I came to be sure that t
he family was all right.” He hesitated, then said, “I had a crazy idea. It made no sense, but I couldn’t get it out of my head.”
“What kind of crazy idea?”
“Well, I’m convinced that Clive is innocent, and so are you, right?”
“Yes, of course.”
“But somebody killed Kate Fairfield, and it came to me that the only real evidence we had on Clive was the stolen jewellery and the bloody handkerchiefWinters and I found in Clive’s room. I was going over the possible suspects, and it came to me—something I should have thought of before.”
Dylan suddenly understood where Grant was going with this line of thinking. “You think Winters planted that evidence, don’t you?”
Grant’s voice was tense as he said, “It had to be him! We were both in the room, and he planted the jewellery and the handkerchief while I was looking at something else. It would only take a minute.” Grant said miserably,“ I never once thought of such a thing,Dylan! Why would I? Winters—the superintendent of Scotland Yard! And he’s a killer! And then I realised that I’d told him that you two had found the missing witness—and that the viscountess had broken the code of the murdered woman’s journal.”
A chill ran through Dylan’s mind. “He’ll have to kill Serafina now, and the witness as well.”
“That’s why I came.He doesn’t know where the woman is who’ll testify that Clive was with her—so he’ll force Lady Trent to tell him, then he’ll take the diary and—”
“And he’ll kill Serafina and the witness!” Dylan whirled and made for the house at a dead run.
“Where are you going?”Matthew called out.
“To Serafina’s room!” came the answer. Matthew broke into a run and followed Dylan toward the house.
Night had fallen, and Serafina had spent the evening with David. He had missed her since she had been away so much at the trial and looking for the missing witness. They had played games, and she had told stories, and now she was saying, “All right. Off to bed you go.”
The Mermaid in the Basement Page 32
