The Hyde Park Headsman (5 page)

The woman’s attention went first to Mina Winthrop, full of sympathy, then after acknowledging Bart Mitchell she turned to Pitt, poised either to welcome him or to join battle, depending upon how he was introduced.

Bart seized the initiative. “Thora, this is Superintendent Pitt, from the Bow Street police station. He is in charge of the case.” He looked at Pitt with raised eyebrows. “At least that is what I understand.”

“Correctly,” Pitt said as he inclined his head towards Thora Garrick. “How do you do, ma’am.” He looked at Victor. “Mr. Garrick.”

Victor stared at him out of very wide dark gray eyes. He seemed still to be suffering from shock at the events, or else he was embarrassed by the situation. Pitt thought it quite likely it was the latter. It was never easy to know what to say to the bereaved. When the death is violent and as fraught with darkness as this one, it was doubly so.

“How do you do, sir,” Victor said stiffly, then retired a pace or two to stand a little behind his mother.

“How kind of you to come,” Mina asserted herself, leaning forward with a fragile smile, first to Thora, then to Victor. “Please do sit down. It is a very warm day. May I offer you some refreshment? You will stay a little while, won’t you?” It was more than a polite invitation, it was definitely a request.

“Of course, my dear, if you wish it.” Thora arranged her skirts so as not to crush them, and perched graciously on one of the bright red overstuffed chairs. Victor remained standing behind her, but he adopted a pose in which he looked quite at ease.

“The superintendent was just asking us if Oakley could have called upon anyone in the neighborhood last night,” Mina continued. “But of course we do not know the answer.”

Thora looked at Pitt with wide sharp eyes. She was a very comely woman, fair-skinned, her features regular and full of intelligence and humor and, he thought, a very considerable underlying strength.

“You surely cannot imagine anyone Captain Winthrop knew could have done such a—an insane thing,” she said critically. “That is inconceivable. If you had had even the merest acquaintance with him, such a thought would never enter your head. He was an entirely excellent man….”

Mina smiled nervously. Her hand jerked up as if to her face, then instead touched the black lace at her throat.

Bart winced and his hand tightened on her shoulder, almost as if he were supporting her, even though she was seated.

Victor stood perfectly still, his expression unchanging.

“He was a naval officer,” Thora went on, still looking at Pitt, and apparently unaware of the emotion in the room. “I think you cannot realize what sort of life such men lead, Superintendent. He was not unlike my late husband.” She straightened her shoulders a fraction. “Victor’s father. He was a lieutenant, and would certainly have reached captain had he not been taken from us in so untimely a fashion.” Her face lit with an inner radiance. “Such men have great courage and are powerful both as to character and person. And of course you cannot command in dangerous situations, such as obtain at sea, if you are not an excellent judge of men.” She shook her head to dismiss such a weakness. “Captain Winthrop would not have kept the acquaintance of anyone of such violence and instability as to attack another person in so heinous a fashion. He must have been set upon by lunatics, that is the only possible answer.”

“I was not imagining it to be an acquaintance, ma’am,” Pitt said, not entirely truthfully. “I was wondering if anyone else might have seen him, and thus know where he was and at what time he was last seen alive.”

“Oh—I see,” she conceded. Then she frowned. “Not that I understand how that would help. There can hardly be hordes of
criminal
lunatics in Hyde Park. I know London is in a fearful state.” Her eyes did not move from Pitt’s. “There is anarchy everywhere, talk of sedition and rebellion, and Lord knows, enough trouble in Ireland, what with the Fenians and the like, but one may still walk safely in the better streets of London! Or at least one had supposed so.”

“I’m sure one can, my dear,” Mina murmured. “This is all a nightmare. I still think it may have been some sort of hideous accident—or foreigners perhaps.” She looked at Pitt. “I have heard that the Chinese take opium, and it does all sorts of—well …”

“It sends them to sleep,” Bart contradicted. “It doesn’t make them violent.” He glanced at Pitt. “Is that not so, Superintendent?” He did not wait for an answer but continued to speak to Mina. “No, I think, quite frankly, that it is someone from Oakley’s ship who has had a quarrel with him and has maybe
drunk too much and lost his temper and his self-control. I have known drink, particularly whiskey, to produce uncharacteristic violence.”

Mina shivered. “I suppose you could be right.” Her eyes did not leave Pitt’s face. “I cannot help you, Superintendent. Oakley never discussed his professional life with me. He—he thought it would bore me, I suppose. Or that I would not understand.” A shadow of regret or embarrassment crossed her face. “I daresay he was right. It is an area of life about which I know nothing.”

Bart muttered something under his breath.

Victor flashed a sudden smile at Mina.

“You should not mourn that, Aunt Mina. My father talked about it incessantly, and believe me, it was only interesting the first time, and that was so long ago I cannot remember it anymore.”

“Victor!” Thora’s voice was full of surprise and reproach. “Your father was a great man! You should not speak lightly of him in that way. He set a fine example for all of us, in every kind of moral excellence.”

“I’m sure we all know Lieutenant Garrick was a very fine man,” Mina said soothingly, glancing up at Pitt. Then she smiled at Victor. “But I do understand even the finest people can now and again become tedious when one has heard a story before. And familiarity can occasion a certain loss of respect. It is one of the small crosses that families have to bear, my dear.”

Victor’s face tightened, the muscles in his smooth jaw setting hard and his eyes looking far away.

“You are quite right, Aunt Mina. Being boring is a very slight thing, hardly a sin at all, just a misfortune. If I’m going to criticize I should reserve it for the sins that really matter.”

“Better still not to speak about them at all.” Thora nodded, apparently satisfied.

Pitt would have liked to interpose, but there was no way he could ask Victor what sins he had in mind without being so obvious he would receive no useful answer. Anyway, Oakley Winthrop would hardly have been murdered because he was a bore—of whatever proportions. He turned to Mina.

“Perhaps, Mrs. Winthrop, you would give me the names and addresses of any of the naval men Captain Winthrop knew, and whom he might have seen recently; any, perhaps, who live in this part of London.”

Bart Mitchell looked up keenly.

“A good idea. If there were a quarrel, some seaman who imagined a grievance, they may well know of it. There may even have been a court-martial or something of that sort. Someone dismissed, or punished severely, perhaps some event that seemed an injustice …”

“Do you think so?” Mina said quickly, moving around in her seat to look up at him rather than twist her neck. “Yes, that does seem a reasonable answer, doesn’t it?” She looked back. “Mr. Pitt?”

“We shall certainly investigate it,” he agreed.

Thora looked uncertain. “Do you really think naval officers would behave in such a way?” She shook her head. “I cannot imagine it. They are highly trained, used to command and to self-discipline.”

“They can still lose their tempers like anyone else.” Victor pushed out his lip and stared straight ahead of him. He opened his mouth as if to continue, then changed his mind and stood tight-lipped.

“Oh that’s nonsense!” Thora said sharply. “They are not like anyone else. If they behaved in such a way, Victor, they would not be raised to command, far less retain it.” Her voice gathered conviction. “You should have gone into the navy. I’m sure a fine career would have been open to you. You have all the skills, and your father’s name was highly enough honored that they would have given you every chance.”

Victor’s expression closed over, his eyes fixed ahead of him.

“I think that’s a little harsh, Thora,” Bart said quietly. “Architecture is an honorable profession, and it is surely a sin to waste a real talent. And there is no doubt Victor is gifted. His drawings are very fine indeed.”

“Thank you, Mr. Mitchell,” Victor said with cold resentful calm. “But unfortunately that is not seen as a brave and magnificent thing to do.”

“Don’t be foolish, dear,” Thora said with a forced smile, the patience in her voice dying before she reached the second sentence. “Of course it is. It is just … uncertain. And we have such a fine naval tradition in our family, it would have pleased your father so much. Tradition is important, you know. It is the backbone of our country. It is what makes us English.”

Victor did not reply.

Mina looked from one to another of them. The others seemed momentarily to have forgotten Pitt.

“I expect he would have been just as pleased with a fine building,” she offered tentatively. “And certainly he could only have been pleased, listening to you play. I wonder: Victor dear, would you play for us—when we have a service of remembrance for Oakley? I should find it so uplifting. And you are almost family—after all, poor Oakley was your godfather.”

Victor’s face softened immediately and his smile was beautiful, his eyes bright.

“Of course, Aunt Mina I should love to. Tell me what you would like and I shall be honored to play it for you.”

“Thank you, my dear. I shall think on the matter and let you know.” She turned to Pitt, again moving her head at a curiously rigid angle. “Victor plays the cello quite marvelously, Mr. Pitt. You have never heard anything lovelier. He seems to make the strings laugh and cry like a human voice. He can wring any passion from them he wishes, and take your heart with it.”

“That is indeed a talent that it would truly be a sin to waste,” Pitt said sincerely. “I would a great deal rather make music than fight battles at sea.”

Victor looked at him curiously, his broad brow slightly puckered with doubt and interest, but he said nothing.

Thora was gracious enough not to argue the point further. She took up the thread of her original purpose in coming.

“Is there anything we can do to help you, dear?” she asked Mina. “No doubt there will be lots of arrangements in due course. If I can assist, lend you my cook, or help with invitations or letters, please let me know.”

“How kind of you,” Mina said with a smile of gratitude. “Even your company would be most welcome. It is such a grim task to perform alone. I admit I have barely thought of such things yet. My mind is still quite stupid with shock.”

“Of course, my dear,” Thora said quickly. “Anyone’s would be. How you are bearing up at all is a miracle. You are extraordinarily brave. You are worthy of the great sisterhood of naval widows that stretches back through history. Oakley would be proud of you.”

A look of profound, unreachable emotion crossed Bart Mitchell’s dark face.

Victor let out his breath very slowly.

“Did Captain Winthrop have any other family, apart from his parents?” Pitt asked in the silence.

Mina’s attention jolted back to the present.

“Oh no—no, just Lord and Lady Winthrop.” She used their titles, and Pitt had the impression that was how she thought of them, rather than merely a formality she was pursuing because he was not of their social standing.

“There will be his ship, of course,” Bart offered. “But I will take care of that. Although with the newspapers writing as they do, no doubt they will all know by now anyway. Still, a notification from the family would be a courtesy, I suppose.” He pulled a small face. “Oh, I forgot, Superintendent, you wished a note of the other officers who live in the area. I believe he has some record of those with whom he kept in touch, somewhere in his desk in the library. If you wait a few moments I will fetch it for you.” And excusing himself to Thora Garrick, he left the room.

“If you will forgive me, Superintendent.” Thora turned to Pitt with a faint flush in her cheeks. “I do not wish to appear to tell you your business, but you will learn nothing of poor Captain Winthrop’s death here. You should be out in the streets or asking in the asylums if anyone has broken out. Surely a person who has committed such an act must be plain to observe. He cannot be sane in any sense of the word.” She raised her fair eyebrows. “You will be able quite easily to find at least one person who has seen him. Possibly several.”

Victor bit his lip and stared at the ceiling.

Mina looked at Pitt.

“It is possible, ma’am, and we will certainly try,” Pitt replied. “But I do not hold out a great deal of hope. Madmen do not all have wild hair and staring eyes. I am afraid many of them look as normal as you or I most of the time.”

“Really?” Thora said with cool disbelief. “I would have thought after an act like this he must be quite easy to see. No one could do what has been done and look like an ordinary person.”

Pitt did not argue, there was no point, and he was spared the necessity of an answer by Bart Mitchell’s returning with an address book which he held out in his hand.

“There you are, Superintendent. I think it may prove very useful. There is a full list of his ship’s company and their home addresses. The more I think of it, the more I agree you are right, and that it is probably some quarrel or fancied injustice which someone has brooded upon, perhaps drunk too much, and temporarily lost all reason.” His face brightened. “And that would account for the weapon. After all, it is not inconceivable
that a naval officer might have in his possession a cutlass or some such sword.” He looked hopeful.

Mina put both her hands up to her face.

Victor let out his breath in a little gasp and straightened himself as if he had momentarily lost his balance.

“Really, Bart,” Thora said reprovingly. “I am sure you did not mean to, but you are being rather indelicate, my dear. It is a most distressing thought, and one we do not need to pursue. I am sure the superintendent is much more used to this kind of matter, and we do not need to point the way for him.”