Motives for Murder, A Celebration of Peter Lovesey on His 80th Birthday by Detection Club & Peter Lovesey & Martin Edwards

Author:Detection Club & Peter Lovesey & Martin Edwards [Club, Detection]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9781936363193
Publisher: Crippen & Landru
Published: 2017-01-31T00:00:00+00:00

‘Will you be coming back?’ she said as I passed her at the door. Uncle gave my arm a hefty nudge. To my regret it was time to go.

The Manager of Pollard’s bank clearly wasn’t pleased when Uncle asked for a private word with Mr. Bennett. I hoped that, should the young man prove entirely innocent of wrongdoing, his employer wouldn’t make him suffer for our intrusion.

Mr. Bennett, a lowly clerk, was permitted to use a poky unoccupied office behind the counter for our interview. He was indeed a good- looking young man and, although a few aitches were dropped here and there, he was well spoken and personable. Mind you, during my short time in the Force, I’ve learned not to judge too much by appearances.

‘I’m shocked by what happened to Eliza,’ Bennett began before Uncle could ask his first question. ‘It was an appalling accident.’

‘What makes you think it was an accident?’ Uncle asked.

Bennett looked puzzled. ‘I assumed ...Eliza had no reason to harm herself so what else could it be?’

‘We’re treating it as a case of murder,’ Uncle said. ‘You were seen talking to her yesterday soon after she had words with the mole catcher.’

‘That’s right, Constable. I told her it wasn’t fair that Mr. Guard should send her to do his dirty work. If he had a complaint he should have spoken to the man himself or at least sent Mrs. Keeler.’

‘According to Mrs. Keeler, Eliza volunteered to speak to him.’

‘That’s just like Eliza. Mrs. Keeler shouldn’t have taken advantage of her good nature.’

As I watched his expression I recalled Mr. Guard’s revelation that Bennett had a taste for amateur dramatics. If his indignation on Eliza’s behalf was feigned he would be an asset to any company of players.

‘Did you notice anybody near Mr. Plum’s store of poisons in his absence?’

Bennett shook his head.

‘What was your relationship with Eliza?’

Despite the man’s famed acting abilities he couldn’t suppress a blush. ‘She was the parlour maid.’

‘You were swift to leap to her defence when you thought she’d been given a task that was none of her concern.’

Bennett hesitated for a few moments. ‘Very well, I confess I was fond of Eliza. But I assure you nothing improper took place.’

‘Do you know anything that might throw any light on her tragic death?’ I asked, glancing at Uncle who was listening attentively as though he approved of my question.

‘There is one thing, but I’m not sure ...’

‘We need to know everything,’ I said. ‘However trivial it seems.’

‘Very well.’ He took a deep breath. ‘Eliza and I used to meet in her room in the basement. Mrs. Keeler’s quarters are at the top of the house so Eliza was often on her own down there. She was a jolly sort of girl and I enjoyed her company. She had a taste for detective novels and there was nothing she liked better than a mystery. She followed notable cases in the newspapers and she was taking a particular interest in this Paddington Strangler.

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