by James Runcie
The Master then stepped forward to read from the Liturgy of the Passion:
I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.
For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.
Hildegard was still thinking about Orlando’s composition, and took out a small notebook and pencil from her handbag. The piece was written in E flat major. She quickly marked out the lines of a score, and jotted down the music that she had just heard.
The word ‘sinned’ was set to the notes E flat, D, E and A with the second D repeated. The notes spelt out the phrase E-D-D-E-A-D.
Sidney preached again. This time he spoke on the idea of eternal salvation from death; that human death also brings with it the death of mortality itself, the end of doubt and pain. This life is but a prelude to the fugue of eternity.
When he had finished, the choir sang Bach’s ‘Komm, süßer Tod’. Hildegard knew it was, of course, a coincidence that the surname of the Professor of Mathematics, Todd, echoed the German word for death, but to place this anthem in such close proximity to the previous composition was more than happenstance.
‘Komm, süßer Tod, komm selge Ruh!’
Was Orlando Richards threatening Edward Todd through music, she wondered, making each piece more obvious? Was he implying that he would avenge Adam Cade’s death himself, or even that he might expose Todd as a murderer and obtain justice through the death penalty?
Hildegard was further troubled after the service when Orlando sought her out. He asked if she had enjoyed the experience.
‘I am not sure if “enjoy” is the right word.’
‘It was a solemn meditation.’
Hildegard was sure that Orlando almost wanted her to confront him. ‘I did notice something a little unusual in the anthem from the Book of Lamentations?’
‘Did you? And what might that be?’
‘The melody over the word “sinned”?’
‘I see. Of course, anything you might have read into the piece would be entirely accidental.’
‘And you repeated the motif of C-A-D-E that I had noticed in your earlier composition, playing with the letters of his name and the German word for death; connecting the two men through music.’
‘It is a bit of showing off. I thought you might appreciate it.’
‘I hope it was not done for my benefit.’
‘Not at all.’
‘I was only thinking if other people would notice the codes in your music; the college mathematicians, for example?’
‘Music allows for several different interpretations at the same time, Mrs Staunton. I do not think mathematicians are too concerned about that. An answer is either correct or it is not. They have a clear sense of right and wrong.’
‘Do you think that applies to their morality as well?’
‘I do not think Professor Todd and Dr Cade were friends.’
‘And so you like to point this out musically?’
‘It is a private observation.’
‘Perhaps it is not so private if others can recognise it?’
‘I am assuming that not everyone is as clever as you, Mrs Staunton.’
Hildegard looked at him coolly. ‘I hope you won’t score any music with my name in it.’
Orlando thought for a moment, as if he was glad to talk about music rather than murder. ‘It would be difficult with the letter H but, as you know, I can use B natural, with B flat as the letter B.’
‘As Bach did.’
‘Indeed, as in the last contrapunctus in The Art of Fugue.’
‘Before he died.’ Hildegard’s gaze was unflinching.
Derek Jarvis conducted his affairs with a brisk efficiency that had irritated Sidney when he had first met him a few years previously, but now he was grateful for the speed and diligence of the Coroner’s Office. He paid a visit to the vicarage in the early evening of Good Friday, just as Sidney was thinking of putting his feet up.
‘Inspector Keating telephoned last night,’ Jarvis explained, ‘and I thought that I might as well get it out of the way. The undertaker was a little surprised, I must say, but I thought that I would just look in to say how impressed I am with what could only be guesswork on your part.’
‘You mean that something is, indeed, amiss?’
‘The cause of death is almost certainly drowning.’
‘Almost?’
‘Yes, Sidney, “almost” and not “certainly”. There are scorch marks on the toes of Dr Cade’s right foot, signs of dialectic breakdown of the skin, and a branching redness on the veins in his leg . . .’
‘Perhaps from the hot-water tap?’
‘Yes, one imagines he topped up the hot water with his foot while lying in the bath . . .’
‘And then the hotness of the tap surprised him . . .’
‘Particularly, Sidney, were it in some way connected to the live wiring to the boiler.’
‘You mean that there is a possibility of electrocution?’
‘An electric circuit through the right-hand side of his body and across the heart leading to ventricular fibrillation.’
‘No?’
‘It’ll be hard to prove.’
‘I’ll need to get into the room.’
‘That would be both dangerous and sensible.’
‘I could take Charlie.’
‘And who is he?’
‘The college electrician.’
‘He may be culpable.’
‘Do you think,’ Sidney asked carefully, ‘that if your theory is correct, Adam Cade’s death could, in any way, be accidental?’
‘I am afraid that I do not. How you came to suspect that something was wrong is quite beyond me, Sidney. You will need to proceed very carefully.’
‘The college will want a discreet and straightforward solution. Whether it is the correct one, I cannot say.’
‘You are anticipating the possibility of some kind of cover-up?’
‘My taking an interest in affairs that are not strictly my business never goes down too well.’
The coroner gave Sidney a steady look. ‘It hasn’t stopped you in the past.’
‘That is true.’
‘And I sincerely hope, Canon Chambers, that it will not stop you now.’
Sidney knew that it was time for a quiet word with Charlie Crawford but he was not looking forward to stirring up trouble. However, he didn’t want the college handyman making any more accusations. ‘I do understand how upsetting it must be for you,’ he began, ‘but I think we all have to be careful what we say in public.’
‘I don’t care about anything like that any more. I have nothing to lose.’
Sidney decided to spell things out. ‘Except, of course, your life.’
‘What are you suggesting?’
‘If someone really did murder Dr Cade they won’t want you telling everyone about it.’
‘But no one believes what I say.’
‘They might feel they have to make sure.’
‘I am not afraid of any man.’
‘Unfortunately, I am. And so I thought it might be helpful, Charlie, if we established a few facts.’
‘As long as it doesn’t involve the police. My old man was always being pulled in for questions and once they start . . .’
‘We don’t need to involve them at the moment.’
‘Mrs Staunton says you have already.’
‘Inspector Keating is a friend of mine. As you know, he cannot get involved in college business unless he is invited to do so.’
‘And have you done that?’
‘Not yet.’
‘Good.’
This was harder than Sidney had been expecting. ‘I was wondering how you think Dr Cade met his end?’
‘Someone drowned him.’
‘The door to the bathroom was locked from the inside. There was a bolt across it.’
‘I can’t explain that.’
‘I was wondering, Charlie, if you could tell me how to electrocute someone?’
‘You are not going to blame the rewiring, are you? Then they’ll definitely pin the whole thing on me.’
‘Just tell me how it could be done.’
‘Most people just throw a fire in the bath. Or a radio. Something live.’
‘But I was wondering, Charlie, could the bath itself be made live in some way? The soap dish, for example, or the taps.’
‘You would need to wire it up. There would have to be switches – wiring from another room.’
‘Such as the one belonging to the Professor of Music?’
‘You’re not suggesting he had anything to do with it? You’d have to go over the ceiling and across the hall for that.’
‘Someone could have used his room.’
‘Like Mrs Staunton, you mean?’
‘I am not suggesting she had anything to do with this.’
‘But she was playing the piano across the corridor at the time. If you start talking like that, Canon Chambers, then they will blame her as well as me.’
‘I was wondering if you would be able to tell, from the wiring, if such a thing were possible?’
‘You would have to get the bath away from the wall.’
‘That should be simple enough.’
‘It would take some force and there would be quite a bit of noise. Then, if there were wires, you would have to follow them back to a switch; some kind of device for making the bath live and then dead.’
‘But it is possible?’
‘Anything is possible, Canon Chambers, you just have to have the mind to do it.’
‘Could I persuade you to come back into the college and have a look?’
Charlie was unconvinced. ‘I’m not sure about that. What if we were discovered?’
‘It would have to be at night and I would be with you.’
‘They could get me for trespassing.’
‘I don’t think they would go as far as that. Besides, you would be with me as a guest of the college. If there has been a crime, which I think we both believe there has been, then we should return to the scene.’
‘I’m worried it could get me into even more trouble. They’re going to fix me up for this.’
‘The thing is,’ Sidney replied, ‘I fear someone has already thought of that. My job is to get you out of it.’
Sidney had left his clerical clobber in the college Combination Room and returned to collect it, eschewing the possibility of an alcoholic sharpener when there was still another day of Lent to survive. He also wanted to press on with his investigation into the professional rivalry between dons, the open nature of the research, and the livelihood, therefore, of plagiary. It was surely possible that one man’s thinking could ‘percolate’ into another’s, almost without him knowing it, but there would have to be a difference between influence, whether acknowledged or not, and theft.
He had to understand the practical application of the theory Edward Todd and Adam Cade had been working on, and so he sought out his friend Neville Meldrum, Professor of Theoretical Physics, to discuss the matter. He needed to discover the likely financial advantages in advancing such a theory, its use in epidemiology, the spread of fire, and even in patterns of immigration. How universally could such theories be implemented and how close was Adam Cade to exploiting the work commercially? Was he, for example, likely to be richer and better known than Professor Todd, and could this have intensified the competition between them?
Professor Meldrum was amused by Sidney’s earnest attempts to ask intelligent questions concerning contemporary research, but anticipated the direction of his friend’s enquiries.
‘You might like to think of it in another way,’ he suggested, leaning forward in his armchair. ‘Human skin, for example, is also a porous substance, taking in material through the pores of the sweat glands, the hair follicles, the sebaceous glands and the keratin matrix, or even lattice, that links them.’
‘You mean it is subject to percolation theory.’
‘It absorbs water, germs, disinfectant, and also, of course, electricity. The resistance of human skin varies from person to person and fluctuates between different times of day. Under dry conditions, the resistance offered by the human body may be as high as 100,000 Ohms. Wet or broken skin may drop the body’s resistance right down to 1,000 Ohms.’
‘I was wondering,’ Sidney began tentatively, ‘if you could therefore apply such a theory to the principles of electric conductivity . . .’
‘You are beginning to catch my drift, Canon Chambers.’
‘You might model, for example, the pattern of the absorption of an electric current, first through water and then through skin?’
‘I would not have thought that much modelling would be required.’
‘But you could calculate the strength of the current, the quantity of water and the likely length of time needed for full percolation?’
‘I think there have already been experiments in this regard. The electric conductivity of a non-ionic water-in-oil micro-emulsion has been measured in the presence of small amounts of carrier electrolyte, yes.’
‘And so, having done such an experiment, it might be possible to ascertain the critical probability . . .’
‘Of an infinite conducting cluster, yes.’
‘Which might lead to electrocution.’
‘Indeed it might; although there is, of course, a difference between modelling such activities and committing a murder. You would need to be able to link the experiment to the crime.’
‘A question of cause and effect?’
‘Or, to put it in your terms, Sidney, of practising what you preach.’
It was a mad idea to allow Hildegard to come with Charlie Crawford on what was, technically, an illegal mission to search Dr Cade’s rooms, but Sidney decided that he wanted her to witness the exact nature of his extra-curricular activities in order to show her how seriously he took them. Furthermore, her doubts about Professor Richards had only increased since the three-hour service, and she was all for searching his rooms at the same time. She still had a key, and the rooms were on opposite sides on the same floor of the same staircase. If there had been any criminal activity it could easily have been swift, and such had been Orlando’s willingness to let Hildegard play on his keyboards that he might even have employed her as a fortuitous decoy.
Sidney had not told Inspector Keating of their plans. This was a research mission with three people, one torch and a handyman’s toolbox.
Dr Cade’s rooms still contained his books, his research and his personal possessions, all neatly stacked, but it was not the main room of the set that aroused Sidney’s interest. It was the small bathroom off the bedroom.
Charlie found the boiler and pronounced that the old wiring was a death trap. There was no earth bonding, the volt trip switch to the main board was not working, and the oil-filled heater had a damaged flex and the wrong-sized fuse.
Instructed by Sidney, he dragged the bath away from the wall and crouched down behind the taps. ‘Amazing,’ he said. ‘It’s been wired up as you suggested; the metallic soap dish and all. If it goes directly to the mains we’re in business.’
‘How can you tell?’
‘I’ll have to hack at the wall a bit; that might make a bit of noise. Do you think we are safe?’
‘I can’t imagine there’s anyone on the staircase,’ Sidney replied. ‘Professor Richards is in Peterhouse and it is Easter.’
Charlie took a hammer to the wall and pulled away at the plasterboard, following the newly exposed wire against the brick. He wedged himself into the gap and shone his torch above his head. ‘It’s going up. It may turn by the ceiling and link back to the circuit board; or it could go on up. I’ll have to hack away a bit more. The bathrooms and boilers are all on top of each other.’
‘And who lives in the room above?’ Hildegard asked.
&nb
sp; ‘Professor Todd,’ Charlie replied. ‘I was just about to start on his room when I had the argument with Dr Cade.’
‘So we would need access to his room in order to find out where this wire leads?’
‘That will not be necessary,’ came a voice from the door. It was Professor Todd himself. ‘May I ask what on earth it is that you are doing at this time of night and on private property?’
Charlie dropped his torch in surprise and began to pack up his toolbox as quickly as he could. Hildegard stooped to help him, as if this burst of activity could distract their accuser from his questioning.
Sidney tried to take matters in hand. ‘We are investigating Dr Cade’s death.’
‘Of a heart attack?’
‘I am not so sure about that.’
‘If you have any suspicions you should go to the police, although, as you know full well, only the Master can invite them into the college. I can’t think what you are up to. Crawford has been dismissed, and this woman has no place in our midst.’
‘She is not “this woman”. She is my friend Mrs Hildegard Staunton.’
‘I don’t care who she is. Get her out of here.’
Hildegard refused to be spoken to in the tone Professor Todd was employing. ‘I am a guest of Professor Richards, as well as Canon Chambers.’
‘This college has a curfew, madam. You have broken it.’
Hildegard spoke with icy charm. ‘Professor Richards invited me here to practice. We have been discussing how musicians often borrow ideas from each other.’
‘And what is that to me?’
‘We have been talking about the differences between being influenced by someone else or making some kind of homage to one’s predecessors. We have also been talking about the outright theft of other people’s musical ideas and how coded messages can be placed in pieces of music; warnings, for example. Threats.’
‘What are you implying?’
‘I am suggesting that you think about the music that you heard in chapel today.’
‘I am aware that Professor Richards seems to think my surname is of interest when it comes to German music. That is tiresome in the extreme. But that is not the business that we have in hand. An official complaint, Canon Chambers, will I think be in order.’
