A False Mirror

by Charles Todd

  So far, Rutledge thought, stifling an urge to announce his presence, the rector’s keeping to the script we’d discussed.

  Granville said, “In the beginning I was set on Miss Esterley. Then I heard George Reston saying that Mrs. Hamilton would be a very rich widow. But Hamilton refused to die of his injuries, stubborn bastard that he is. I was on the point of quietly helping him to that end when he disappeared. When we couldn’t find him that morning, Rutledge and I, I saw my chance, went back to the surgery and killed Margaret.”

  “Rutledge thought Hamilton’s wounds were more grievous than they were. That was clever of you, a chance to keep him sedated and silent.”

  “Did Rutledge put you up to this? Are there witnesses back in the shadows?” Granville shielded his eyes with his hand and peered into the darkness. “Rutledge, are you there?”

  “You’re quite wrong,” the rector answered him. “I’ve come here because I want to help you.”

  Rutledge had been on the point of showing himself just as Putnam deviated from the script. He cursed the man roundly—instead of distancing himself from Granville, Putnam was letting the doctor approach him. Closer than was safe, already. Before Rutledge could possibly reach either of them, Granville could make the decision to kill again.

  What weapon did the man have with him?

  “A knife,” Hamish said. “It’s what he kens best.”

  “Let me listen to your confession, Granville. It’s the least I can do. Your soul is in jeopardy, man, and you will surely hang. Will you not stop now and give a thought to what is waiting for you at God’s hands?”

  Granville gave up searching the shadows. He stood there, a frown on his face, then walked forward. “I’m not sure I believe in God,” he said slowly, as if considering the matter.

  “But he cares for you,” Mr. Putnam pointed out. “Inspector Rutledge will have you in custody by tomorrow morning. He knows you hid the hammer in your bag until you could leave it in my house. Make your peace now of your own free will. It will see you through the long and frightening days to come.”

  “You can’t stop me from leaving.”

  “Wherever you go, you take yourself with you. And the ghosts of two women will follow you.”

  To Rutledge’s surprise but not Mr. Putnam’s, Granville said with what sounded like sincere regret, “Yes, I’ve already seen them at my heels.” He hesitated, finally giving in to Putnam’s persuasion. “All right then. Pray for me, Rector.”

  He fell to his knees, contrition in every line.

  Putnam went down more stiffly, and reached a hand for Granville’s shoulder to steady himself or to offer comfort. Rutledge never knew which.

  The rector closed his eyes, lowered his head, and began an earnest prayer. Granville, on his knees, looked upward, as if to find atonement in the air above his head. Or to see if his prayers, like the King’s in Hamlet, had failed to rise with Putnam’s.

  Then without any warning, he sprang again to his feet, and with an arm outflung, swept the two lamps off the table onto the floor, spilling hot oil and sending a spray of fire racing toward the back wall. Before Rutledge could move or Putnam could even cry out in alarm, Granville lifted his leg and with the flat sole of his shoe, shoved the unresisting man of God into the flames.

  30

  The harsh smell of burning oil and charring wool had enveloped the room and was fast reaching into the passage beyond.

  Rutledge came out of the darkness with a roar of rage, his shoulder catching Dr. Granville hard in the chest before he could stumble through the door and out of reach of the inferno behind him.

  Granville went backward, tripped over Mr. Putnam’s sprawled feet, and fell heavily, one arm twisted behind him. As his left hand brushed the flames, he cried out and rebounded like a spring.

  Rutledge didn’t hesitate. He did as Granville himself had done, drawing back his knee and then delivering a blow with his stocking foot directly into Granville’s sternum, pushing him backward and knocking the wind out of him. Gasping for air, Granville went down beside the struggling rector.

  Catching up the blankets from Nan’s narrow cot, Rutledge dragged them over the rector, smothering the fire already taking hold in the shoulder and back of his coat. Then he pulled the rector to his feet and with all the strength he possessed shoved him bodily, still smoking and retching, out into the passage. Putnam bit off a scream as his burning shoulder hit the far wall hard, and he fought to keep his feet even as he tried to beat at the smoldering ruins of his coat.

  Then in a shambling run, he went down the passage toward the dining room, leaving Rutledge alone with Granville and the leaping blue-gold tongues of a strengthening conflagration.

  Rutledge reached down for the doctor, dodging a fist wildly thrown in his direction. With a firm grasp on Granville’s collar and shirtfront, he hauled him out of the room and into the passage, slamming him into the opposite wall. While Granville cursed him, he wheeled and swung the door shut on the unbearable heat.

  The fire would blow out the glass in a matter of minutes. But just now he had Granville to deal with.

  Hamish said, “You mustna’ harm him!” As if he recognized the fury that was driving Rutledge.

  In the distance, Rutledge could hear shouting somewhere, and then other voices.

  Breathing hard from the smoke and his anger, he turned on the doctor. “It’s over, do you understand me? Give Hamilton or Mallory half an excuse and they’ll kill you with their bare hands.”

  He reached for the man’s belt, turned him roughly, and secured his wrists behind his back. “Hamilton would like a private half hour with you. Make no mistake, he’s still capable of doing considerable damage. Don’t tempt him.”

  It was a warning he hoped the doctor would take to heart.

  Feet were racing toward him, and in the light of the blazing walls behind him, he could see Mallory, with Putnam not far behind him, and Hamilton struggling to keep up. The constable on watch was trying to pass all three of the men. And in the rear, Felicity stopped short, eyes bright with the fire’s reflection and her own fury.

  They organized a rough water brigade and did what they could to stop the flames. Putnam found more blankets somewhere, and cloths for the table. They beat at the fire, beginning to make headway.

  Suddenly they heard the roar of a revolver in the confined space of the passage behind them. It was deafening, stopping them in their tracks with the shock of the report.

  When they turned nearly as one man to look, Dr. Granville was cowering on the floor, and Felicity Hamilton stood ten feet from him with her husband’s revolver clenched tightly in both hands.

  “There are five more shots,” she told him shrilly. “The next one won’t miss.”

  But he lay there, not moving, his face buried in his shoulder.

  More people were coming now, Bennett leading the charge.

  Ten minutes later the fire was out, though smoke still filled the kitchen quarters, and sooty faces paused long enough to catch a breath. Several of them coughed heavily before grinning at one another in satisfaction. Hamilton, exhausted, stood with both hands on his knees, head down.

  Putnam was lying against the wall, his face gray with pain. Felicity had helped him take off what was left of his coat and the clerical shirt beneath it. The flesh was raw and wet, burned deeply. Putnam tried for a wan smile, saying to Rutledge, “I’ll have one of those powders you gave Hamilton. It will be awhile before Dr. Hester is here. Bennett has sent young Jordan for him.”

  Bennett was busy with Dr. Granville. Rutledge felt in his pockets for the packet of Hester’s pills and found instead the box of powders that Granville had given him for Hamilton. He looked at them, glanced up to see Granville watching him with an unreadable expression on his face, and then made a decision. He put them away. It was too great a risk, he thought. Even if only one was tainted…how was he to know which?

  He found the pills then, and went to kneel by Mr. Putnam. As he gave him one to swallow
dry, he found that Felicity had already fetched a glass of water from the kitchen.

  “That was a bloody stupid thing to do,” he told the injured man, infusing wrath into his voice. “Can’t you follow orders, for God’s sake? Why didn’t you wait to see if I was there, why did you take it on yourself to challenge him?”

  “Old fools never learn. I was afraid you hadn’t come back from the fire—no, that’s not true. Don’t you see? I had to try to save him. I failed them all, Margaret and Nan, and even Matthew. If I’d waited for you to speak to him, I might not have got the chance. But I didn’t fail you—you have what you want, a full confession.”

  Bennett was saying, “We lost Granville as he came up the hill. I see now why the constables never saw anything, it’s bloody difficult in the dark. I went back to see if he’d given us the slip and returned to Hampton Regis. Pity he didn’t try to burn the rectory down. We weren’t watching Miss Trining’s house. We can’t prove which boat hook it was, but we’ve got the hammer. The handle’s in a bad way, but the head is all right. You’re sure of your facts, then, Rutledge?”

  “We turned the surgery upside down looking for a weapon, Bennett. Remember? And all the while that hammer was in the one place we never really searched—Granville’s medical bag. I was reminded when I watched Dr. Hester digging in his bag that it could easily conceal a weapon of the right size. Like a hammer. But Granville couldn’t leave it there, he’d have to hide it again. The rectory was ideal. Both Putnam and I saw it. He could swear it wasn’t his, that it hadn’t been there in his box of tools before Granville came to stay.”

  “Granville should have thrown it into the sea,” Bennett answered.

  “It’s possible he intended to use it again on Nan Weekes. But she was asleep and it was easier to smother her. It’s a hammer to work metal, not something you’d readily find in a surgery. For all I know, Granville or his wife kept it there to deal with a rusty damper in the office fireplace or a stubborn latch on the garden gate. But there it was, the perfect weapon. Something Mallory might have brought with him and taken away again. But then Mallory never came. Hamilton walked away under his own power. Granville didn’t know that when he murdered his wife. He thought in the end we’d find Hamilton dead and blame Mallory for killing him.”

  “He covered it over well enough. Clever bastard. Begging your pardon, Rector. But there won’t be lettering left on that scorched handle,” Bennett said, fuming.

  “We don’t need it now. We heard his confession tonight, Putnam and I, and that will see him hang.”

  Dr. Hester had finished with Putnam and turned to Hamilton, who shook his head and pointed to the prisoner. Hester went over to look at Granville’s hand.

  Watching them, Bennett confessed, “I’d never have suspected the doctor. We respected him, trusted him. It’s not right.” After a moment he added, “You took a hell of a chance with Putnam, you know.”

  “If he’d forgot for an hour that he’s a man of the cloth, it wouldn’t have turned nasty,” Rutledge retorted. “And I needed him to look at the hammers.”

  He glanced around, saw that Mallory was just bringing a chair for Hamilton, who looked out on his feet, one hand pressing hard against his ribs. Felicity Hamilton was leaning against the wall by the rector, forlorn tears running down her face unheeded, the revolver shoved into a pocket of her robe.

  Mallory touched Hamilton on the shoulder, nodding toward her. He roused himself, tried to stand again, and then decided against it. But he held his hand out to his wife, and after a moment she came forward to take it.

  Mallory crossed to where Bennett was standing with Rutledge. “I’d like to leave now,” he said tightly. “Am I free to go?”

  “For the present,” Bennett agreed, after a glance at Rutledge. “We’ll speak tomorrow.”

  Mallory nodded and started to walk back down the passage alone. Rutledge caught him up. “You’re not to do anything foolish. I’ve had enough trouble for one night, by God.”

  “No,” Mallory said wearily. “I won’t put that burden on Felicity. She doesn’t deserve it. And it would fuel the gossip. You needn’t worry.” He walked on, then stopped just before opening the door into the hall, his back to Rutledge.

  “I was the best soldier I knew how to be. We weren’t all cut from the same cloth.”

  “If you’re asking my forgiveness, you’ve come to the wrong person. For my sins, I have no right to judge you or anyone else.”

  “Every time I looked in my mirror, I saw your face. The man I ought to have been.”

  “It was a false mirror. What you were searching for was someone to blame. I want no part of it. I have my own nightmares. I don’t need yours.”

  “Then, damn it, forgive me and be done with it.”

  Rutledge could hear Hamish’s voice roaring in his ears. But he stood there for a count of ten, then said, his words clipped and raw, “I forgive you.”

  Mallory nodded and stepped through the door, shutting it firmly behind him.

  Rutledge closed his eyes, and swore long and fluently under his breath.

  About the Author

  CHARLES TODD is the author of eight Ian Rutledge mysteries—A Long Shadow, A Cold Treachery, A Fearsome Doubt, Watchers of Time, Legacy of the Dead, Search the Dark, Wings of Fire, and A Test of Wills—and one stand-alone novel. They are a mother-and–son writing team and live in Delaware and North Carolina, respectively.

  www.charlestodd.com

  Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.

  ALSO BY CHARLES TODD

  A Test of Wills

  Wings of Fire

  Search the Dark

  Watchers of Time

  Legacy of the Dead

  A Fearsome Doubt

  The Murder Stone

  A Cold Treachery

  A Long Shadow

  Credits

  Jacket design by Susan H. Choi and Richard L. Aquan

  Jacket photograph © by Michael Trevillion/Trevillion Images

  Copyright

  This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  A FALSE MIRROR. Copyright © 2007 by Charles Todd. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

  ePub edition December 2006 ISBN 9780061742835

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Todd, Charles.

  A false mirror / Charles Todd.—1st ed.

  p. cm.

  ISBN-13: 978-0-06-078673-1

  ISBN-10: 0-06-078673-6

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  About the Publisher

  Australia

  HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty. Ltd.

  25 Ryde Road (PO Box 321)

  Pymble, NSW 2073, Australia

  http://www.harpercollinsebooks.com.au

  Canada

  HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

  55 Avenue Road, Suite 2900

  Toronto, ON, M5R, 3L2, Canada

  http://www.harpercollinsebooks.ca

  New Zealand

  HarperCollinsPublishers (New Zealand) Limited

  P.O. Box 1

  Auckland, New Zealand

  http://www.harpercollinsebooks.co.nz

  United Kingdom

  HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

  77-85 Fulham Palace Road

  London, W6 8JB, UK

  http://w
ww.harpercollinsebooks.co.uk

  United States

  HarperCollins Publishers Inc.

  10 East 53rd Street

  New York, NY 10022

  http://www.harpercollinsebooks.com