Cut to the Quick by Ross Kate

Author:Ross, Kate
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
ISBN: 9781937384203
Publisher: Felony & Mayhem Press

Luncheon was served before Julian had a chance to talk to Craddock. Halfway through the meal, a servant brought word that Senderby had arrived. Sir Robert and Julian hastily excused themselves and went to Sir Robert’s office.

Senderby had two people with him. One was a boy of seventeen or eighteen, with a ruddy face, unruly brown hair, and a snub nose. He wore a short coat, grubby trousers, and boots. The other was a middle-aged woman in a faded brown calico dress, the sleeves pushed up above her scrawny elbows. Her greying hair was scraped back from her face and covered with a limp straw bonnet.

“You know Mrs. Warren, sir,” Senderby said to Sir Robert, “and Dick Felton from the Blue Lion. They’re the only ones I can find that had any talk with the girl afore she died.”

Mrs. Warren plucked at her apron. She looked as if she expected to be charged with the murder at any moment. Felton seemed to be enjoying himself. He stood rocking back on his heels and looking around him with shrewd, interested eyes.

Sir Robert said to them, “You have been brought here to give information regarding the young woman who was found dead in this house yesterday evening. My clerk”—he gestured toward Rawlinson—“will take down your statements and ask you to sign them. I urge you to be as thorough, accurate, and, of course, truthful as possible. This is a very serious crime, but with the help of conscientious witnesses like yourselves, I feel certain we will soon bring the murderer to justice.” He sat down at his desk. “Felton, please come forward. Preliminarily, your name is Richard Felton, and you are an ostler at the Blue Lion posting house in Alderton. Is that correct?”

“Yes, sir.” The boy stepped forward eagerly. At a nudge from Senderby, he took his hands out of his pockets.

“When did you first see the young woman in question?”

“The day afore yesterday. She drove up to the Lion in a yellow bounder.”

“That is to say, a hired chaise and pair.”

“Yes, sir. She hired it in Hammersley. I reco’nized the postboy and the horses.”

“Hammersley is a village some ten miles south of Alderton,” Sir Robert told Julian.

“Yes, I remember. I changed horses there on my way up from London.”

“Did the girl come from London?” Sir Robert asked.

“I dunno where she started, sir. All I know is, Hammersley’s the last place she changed horses.”

“Had you ever seen her before?”

“I didn’t see her then, sir—not properly. She had a veil over her face. But I’ve been showed her body, and it’s the same young lady. No doubt in my mind about that.”

“Had she any baggage?”

“She had that bag, there.” He pointed to a blue worsted travelling bag with wooden handles, on a table behind him.

“Have you looked through it yet?” Julian asked Senderby.

“Yes, sir. I made a list of what’s in it.” He fumbled in his pockets till he found a paper, from which he read haltingly, “One blue dress, one handkerchief,

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.