Death on Swift Wings (Gertrude Harrington Mysteries Book 1) Read online

  ‘The smuggler now becomes a killer. He confronts Herbert about the ring, about the killing of the birds and the stolen jewels. They perhaps struggle a little, and Herbert tries to escape. The smuggler grabs a rock and crushes poor Herbert’s skull with it, leaving him for dead.

  ‘I don’t know whether Lord Castleford was killed first or if Herbert was the first victim, but I do know that Herbert was missing a few days. During that time, Herbert was the chief suspect for the burglaries because of the ring he gave to Juliet, and because of that incorrect supposition, it was also assumed that he was Lord Castleford’s killer.

  ‘At a later point, suspicion also fell upon Mr Wilkins, Lord and Lady Castleford’s chauffeur, because of his dishevelled appearance on the day of Lord Castleford’s murder. As he has subsequently explained, he saw Clara Hendon driving Lord Castleford’s Bentley down the lane, and thinking it was being stolen he gave chase, but couldn’t catch up and fell over in the mud.’

  Lady Castleford rounded on her. ‘Enough games, Miss Harrington. Tell us who killed my husband, and who killed Herbert?’

  ‘Do you want to tell them?’ said Gertrude, looking past the sea of faces to the one person who had remained silent and unmoving, ignoring her the whole time she had been speaking.

  There was silence.

  ‘Very well, then, I shall tell them.’ Gertrude took a deep breath. ‘The killer is Mr Parkes, Lord and Lady Castleford’s head gardener.’

  -7-

  From his position by the window Parkes laughed incredulously. ‘Me? You cannot seriously expect the others to believe I killed Lord Castleford?’

  ‘Interesting that you only denounce that particular accusation and not the others,’ said Gertrude. ‘You have remained an unobtrusive presence throughout these investigations. In fact, I don’t think I’ve even set eyes on you until this moment. Now why is that? The Chief Inspector and I have been around the estate repeatedly over the past day or so. Neither of us has seen hide nor tail of you. You’re the head gardener here; your presence should be felt and heard constantly out there in the grounds – but we saw nothing of you. Have you been deliberately evading us, or were you up to no good elsewhere?’

  ‘I’ve been busy,’ Parkes growled menacingly, his dark eyes flashing dangerously beneath his jet hair. His swarthy looks appeared flushed in agitation.

  ‘Well then, let me reveal the final clue: the motorcycle.’

  Gertrude noted with some satisfaction that Parkes suddenly turned pale.

  ‘The motorcycle was an important clue. As many of you will no doubt have read in the newspapers, this burglar lurking hereabouts is known as Pegasus. Why Pegasus? Well, it’s because he flees the scene of the crime so rapidly it’s like he disappears in the air on swift wings. It really should have been obvious that the burglar was escaping on a motorcycle.

  ‘A car would have been too cumbersome, whereas a motorcycle can be secreted in amongst the trees and hedgerows. All of the burgled houses were what I would call Big Houses; country estates of the wealthy and the landed gentry. All within, I’d say, a thirty-mile radius of Lower Castleford.

  ‘Each burglary must have been an inside job. The burglar knew precisely how to get in and out again without being detected. Only someone who had previously worked at these houses could know such information, and I have it on good authority that Parkes has worked at most of those houses over the years.

  ‘Also, only someone with knowledge of Lord Castleford’s pigeons could have come up with the idea of using those birds to smuggle the stolen jewellery. Whole jewellery would be too difficult to get rid of, so the jewels were removed and smuggled out of the country, probably to somewhere in Europe where few questions would be asked. The other parts of the jewellery were probably to be sold as scrap gold to an unscrupulous dealer – no questions asked.’

  ‘And what of this motorcycle?’ said Mr Grainger. ‘You said it was important.’

  Gertrude nodded. ‘Yes, it is. I haven’t yet told you all that the two people almost run down by the reckless motorcycle rider are the local constable and my good self. We both got a good look at the motorcycle and also the rider. Now then, when Lord Castleford was killed he had on his person the sum of two thousand pounds, which was intended for the blackmailer. That money never made it to the drop off point. It was taken from the car by the killer, who is nothing more than an opportunistic thief and murderer.

  ‘My brother also saw a motorcycle at the War Memorial in Clyst St James, which was where the blackmail money was supposed to be dropped off. He gave me an excellent description of the make. It was an Alcyon, with a red petrol tank.

  ‘Several villagers we have spoken to in Upper Castleford also reported hearing a revving engine some nights, quite late at night too. Others have said that from their windows they have seen a single bright white light streaking through the night. Nothing too annoying or out of the ordinary to mention to the police though.

  ‘Henry gave us a vital clue, with regards to the motorcycle. He told me that while he was living rough in the woods, he foraged for food in the nearby houses. In other words, he broke into houses in the neighbouring villages. At the rear of one of them in Lower Castleford he found a large tarpaulin, and under that tarpaulin was a motorcycle. Constable Denham, the Chief Inspector and I took a look at that motorcycle, and found it was an Alcyon, with a red petrol tank.

  ‘We gained entry to the house and after a quick search we found all the evidence we need.’

  Gertrude paused, and nodded to Lennox. ‘Chief Inspector, if you wouldn’t mind.’

  Lennox opened the door and left the room, returning seconds later with Denham in tow. Between them they carried the heavy chest, which they set down on the low table in the centre of the room.

  ‘This was found in the house,’ said Lennox, throwing open the lid of the chest. Everyone crowded around to view its contents. ‘That, ladies and gentlemen, is two thousand pounds in Five-Pound notes – the same two thousand pounds that was stolen from Lord Castleford’s car. There are more than a dozen pouches, each one containing a number of diamonds and other jewels, and each just the right size to be tied around the leg of an unsuspecting pigeon. And then there is a large quantity of gold and silver yet to be sold for scrap.’

  ‘This was found in the house of the killer,’ said Gertrude slowly. ‘This was found in your house Mr Parkes.’

  -8-

  Parkes looked suddenly like a rabbit caught in the headlights of an oncoming car. With nowhere to hide, he tried to flee the room. Wilkins and Thomas tackled him, bringing him down before he’d moved more than a few feet, and sensing a forbidding presence by his head as he lay on the floor, Parkes craned his head up to find himself jaw to jowl with a growling dog.

  ‘Good boy, Jasper,’ said the Brigadier from his position on the settee. ‘Well done.’

  Wilkins and Thomas pulled Parkes upright, and he struggled feebly. He knew there was no way he could escape. He knew there was no way he could deny the facts.

  ‘Yes, I’m Pegasus. It was easy enough to break into all those houses. I’d worked in most of them, and slept with the maids of the others. All those stinking rich prigs deserved to lose their precious jewellery; always looking down their noses at me like they’re better than me.’

  ‘Well they are better than you, aren’t they, because you’re a burglar and a murderer!’ said Lennox, coming over to relieve Wilkins and Thomas. He pulled Parkes around, snapping on the handcuffs he’d produced from his pocket. ‘I’m sure very few of the people you burgled are petty thieves and killers.’

  Parkes snorted insolently. ‘Herbert threatened to reveal everything once he’d found out I was the smuggler, but if you want to blame anyone for his death then blame her.’ He motioned towards Juliet, who still sat ashen faced at the piano. ‘If she hadn’t gone flashing that ring around, proudly boasting that it was Herbert who’d given it to her, I wouldn’t have seen it. Herbert would still be alive if it wasn’t for her.’

  J
uliet dried her eyes, arose and walked falteringly towards him. ‘Don’t you dare try to blame me for Herbert’s death. You killed him in cold blood to save your own neck. If you hadn’t stolen from those other people and tried to smuggle the jewels, Herbert wouldn’t have taken advantage after finding that pouch. Yes, he did wrong, and without that pouch he would have given me nothing but a lovely heirloom that belonged to his grandmother – and I’d have been more than happy with it.’

  She slapped Parkes hard across his face. ‘I hope they hang you for Herbert’s murder.’

  Gertrude came and wrapped a comforting arm around her niece’s shoulder.

  Lady Castleford stood up. ‘Why did you have to kill my husband?’ she said. ‘You were obviously making a lot of money from the smuggling. Why did you have to kill my husband for a measly two thousand pounds extra?’

  Parkes shook his head. ‘You can’t pin his death on me. Sure, I caused his car to crash, but he was still alive when I left.’

  Lennox yanked the handcuffs, making Parkes wince. ‘You are an opportunistic thief, and now you’ve confessed to one murder I don’t think anyone’s going to believe that you didn’t kill Lord Castleford as well. Especially with all this evidence that we found in your house.’

  ‘I tell you I didn’t kill Lord Castleford!’

  Lennox passed Parkes over to Denham. ‘Take him out to the car. I’ll join you shortly.’

  Once Denham had disappeared, dragging the protesting Parkes behind him, Lennox turned to Lady Castleford. ‘Don’t worry, we’ll get a confession from him. I think he’s denying it because killing Lord Castleford is a bit more serious than killing Herbert.’ He turned, sensing Juliet bristling behind him. ‘Not that killing Herbert isn’t serious in itself,’ he added.’

  Lennox faced everyone else. ‘The rest of you can go. Thank you for your time.’ He reserved a special glance towards Millicent. ‘Please don’t disappear, Miss. I might still have to charge you with blackmail. I’m going to leave it up to Lady Castleford to decide whether she wishes to press charges or not.’

  Lady Castleford shook her head. ‘There’s been enough unpleasantness today, Chief Inspector. I won’t be pressing charges.’

  Millicent’s sigh of relief was short-lived, curtailed by Lady Castleford’s next words.

  ‘You will, of course, remove from her possession any jewels that she still has?’

  ‘Naturally. They are stolen property and will have to be returned to their rightful owners – although how we’re going to determine which gems belong to whom I really don’t know.’

  ‘Good. In that case, Millicent shall have her own punishment. She must continue working for a living.’ Lady Castleford turned to Millicent. ‘But not at this house. You will pack your things and leave first thing in the morning. I shall give you three months’ severance pay, and nothing more.’

  Millicent fled the room in tears.

  None were shed for her.

  ‘She’ll find another position easily enough’ said Lady Castleford. ‘She’s a hard working girl, despite what’s happened. I’m not vindictive, so I will give her favourable references with no mention of the blackmail. She’ll learn from this mistake, hopefully.’

  Juliet removed the engagement ring from her finger, handing it to Lennox. ‘You’d better have this as well. It’s stolen property after all.’

  Lennox shook his head, pressing the ring back into her hand, which he closed into a tight fist. He looked compassionately into her eyes. ‘That precious ring belonged to Herbert’s grandmother, and we have no way of knowing for sure that it contains a stolen diamond so you should keep it. We’ll have to document all the gems and settings that have been recovered, but although there are a number that will have already been disposed of, there’s no way of knowing how many.’

  He pecked her cheek. ‘I’ll leave you with your aunt.’ He smiled at Gertrude. ‘Thank you once again for your help. You always have the knack of asking the right questions and getting facts out of people who might otherwise remain silent.’

  ‘Well a kind-faced old biddy is easier to talk to than a stern faced official like you, Chief Inspector,’ said Gertrude with a smile. ‘You will keep an eye out for my grandmother’s ring though, won’t you?’

  Chief Inspector Lennox nodded, then left the room, closely followed by all the staff from both houses, until only Gertrude, Juliet, the Brigadier and Lady and Henry Clarendon remained.

  ‘Well,’ said the Brigadier, ‘that was a turn up for the books, I must say. I really did begin to believe that Herbert was guilty.’

  Sinking onto one of the other settees, Juliet sighed, holding the ring gently between thumb and forefinger. ‘I really hate to say it, but I was beginning to think so too.’

  Lady Castleford stood. ‘I’m going to find Mr Jackson. I think we could all do with a nice cup of tea.’

  As she left, Gertrude scratched her head thoughtfully. ‘One thing still puzzles me though. My brother said he found the motorcycle by the War Memorial, which is just across the way from Spring Cottage, where we live. I don’t understand why Parkes went there if he already had the blackmail money.’

  ‘Perhaps he went there before he found the money in the car?’ said Henry.

  Gertrude shook her head. ‘No, because that would imply that he knew about the blackmail before he found the car, and I’m confident that he did not.’

  ‘Is it important, Miss Harrington?’ said the Brigadier.

  Gertrude frowned, deep in thought, and then shrugged. ‘I don’t know. I think perhaps someone else also had access to that motorcycle on the day Lord Castleford was killed. I believe someone else knew about the blackmail and that same person rode the motorcycle to the War Memorial hoping to find it. When they didn’t find the money, they made the best of it by burgling my home whilst my brother investigated the running engine.’

  ‘Who do you think would do that, Miss Harrington?’ asked Henry quietly.

  Gertrude smiled gently at him. ‘I don’t know. I doubt I’ll ever find out. Who knows – the ring that was stolen might yet be returned. That’s all I care about. I doubt Chief Inspector Lennox will find it in amongst all the other jewellery because I am convinced it was stolen by someone else.’ She paused, emitting a wistful sigh. ‘The ring is very precious to me – it was my grandmother’s, after all. Still, it’s only a trinket. There are worse things we can lose other than mere trinkets.’ She hugged Juliet. ‘Like our loved ones.’

  EPILOGUE

  -1-

  Gertrude was awakened several days later by the sound of persistent knocking on the front door. She glanced at the clock on her bedside table, un-amused to find it was six o’clock.

  Flinging back the sheets and eiderdown, she quickly wrapped herself in her candlewick dressing gown and went downstairs. Geoff was already at the door, holding a small box in in hand.

  ‘Who was it?’ Gertrude asked, stifling an irritated yawn.

  ‘I didn’t see. They must have fled when I turned the light on. Whoever it was seems to have left you a gift though.’

  Geoff passed the box to Gertrude and she could see it had a label tied to it, addressed to her.

  Gertrude took the box, slipped off the string and opened it. With a gasp she withdrew the contents and dropped the box on the floor.

  Geoff gasped too. ‘But – isn’t that–?’

  Gertrude nodded happily. ‘Yes it is. It’s grandmother’s ring. And it’s a good day for it to be returned. Today is the funeral of the Earl of Castleford. Henry seemed most upset when I told him this ring was stolen. Imagine how happy he’ll be on such a sad day when I’m able to tell him I’ve got it back.’

  -2-

  The young man stood at the edge of the freshly filled-in graveside, staring down at the temporary wooden cross. The other mourners had gone some time ago, leaving him alone with his thoughts. The name etched into the wood burned into his heart, and he struggled to hold back his tears.

  Henry Arthur Clarendon


  13th Earl of Castleford

  October 2nd 1905-September 1st 1954

  The young man wiped his eyes, wondering what else the Dowager Countess of Castleford would decide to eventually have etched onto the permanent headstone.

  He bent down on one knee, placing a single white rose on the mound of earth. ‘I didn’t mean to kill you. It was an accident. You shouldn’t be dead.’ Tears started to fall freely. ‘What do I do? If I tell the truth, I’ll probably go to jail. If I don’t tell the truth, Parkes will be forever blamed for your death.’

  It had seemed such a good idea at the time to let Parkes take the blame for the Earl’s death. He’d committed the other murder, after all, and the other crimes: what did it matter that one more death was associated to him when he was in fact innocent?

  The young man looked up at the sky in anguish. ‘What would you do, Father, if you were in my shoes?’

  The answer was obvious of course. He must remain silent.

  Henry Clarendon, 14th Earl of Castleford, returned his gaze to the grave, touching the wooden cross tenderly. ‘I’m sorry that I killed you, Father, but it was an accident. I’m not going to pay for it, but I will make it all right, I promise.’

  From the trees at the edge of the graveyard, the shadowy figure of a girl watched Henry, listening intently to his words of sorrow and remorse. Her eyes lit up at the admission of guilt, and a smile played across her lips as a plan for revenge slowly formulated in her mind.

  The girl slipped away silently, unnoticed by Henry.

  Yes, revenge will be sweet indeed, she thought, but all in good time.

  All in good time…