The Treacherous Dead by Paula Harmon

Author:Paula Harmon [Harmon, Paula]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-12-28T16:00:00+00:00

Twenty

The verger told them the village pub didn’t serve meals suitable for ladies, and the nice little tea shop was closed to prepare for the holiday weekend. He reluctantly suggested a nearby town, where the offices of the newspaper which had reported on the memorial service were situated. Wondering what sort of meals were unsuitable for women, Margaret tied her veil over her face.

The journey to the market town was painful and dusty. The country lanes were unsurfaced: horses and cartwheels had dug holes and grooves which had turned into ruts when dried by the sun.

Aching from the juddering of the wheels, Margaret felt frustrated. Even if they could get word to Elinor, the chance of her obtaining access to records tracing Lena, John or Carl Webber, on a Friday afternoon before a holiday weekend, was almost nil.

‘John Webber rings a bell,’ said Fox, once they were on a better road. ‘I think he was the one Sir Broderick described as a milksop, who sucked up to Gastrell. He seemed too young and unreliable to be Gastrell’s accomplice.’ He extracted a notebook from an inner pocket and despite the jolting of the car, began to write. ‘In 1892, when the scandal with Lena Webber happened, Gastrell was twenty-four and she was eighteen. The verger said Lena’s brother John was a year or so younger than her, so he’d have been sixteen or seventeen. Therefore he was in his mid twenties in South Africa and mid thirties now. So far, we’ve discounted Mr Webber, who owns the house where Dervla died. Could he actually be this Webber?’

‘All the better,’ said Margaret. ‘If anyone digs, he can just say he wanted to distance himself but not conceal anything. But surely it was a huge risk to have her die there.’

‘The evidence points at the neighbour and me. He’s being used. Damn, I’ll have to go back to regimental headquarters and find out more.’

‘You could ask Sir Broderick.’

‘Of course, yes’

‘At least you might find something out about him,’ said Margaret. ‘Finding the others will be hard. Even if we assume Lena stayed in Fulham and get access to electoral rolls, that won’t help. Carl Webber is too young to be on the roll and Lena won’t be on it because she’s a woman.’

‘I might write to the prime minister and argue for universal suffrage just for that reason,’ grumbled Fox.

‘You do that, but it won’t help now. Can you get access to last year’s census?’

‘We can try,’ said Fox. ‘But Lena might have boycotted it. Tax records are even harder. I suppose there’s Somerset House, in case Lena married or died. The newspaper which reported on the memorial ceremony might give some clue, if any of them turned up. Though I can’t see why they would. It’ll be a job for Elinor, talking to all those clerks and convincing them to hand over records.’

‘I don’t know how she does it.’

‘We don’t call Elinor Mrs Hedgehog just because she’s prickly. I’ve often suspected hints of violence.

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