‘I gave that money to you, Robert,’ said Jane.
He turned to see she had got up from her seat. He stepped towards her, and she backed away.
‘We both needed the money,’ he said. ‘You said that just a minute ago.’
‘Yes, but—’
He interrupted her. ‘I don’t want to hear any more.’ He pointed at the sofa, and she sat down again. ‘You brought this on yourself, Jane. You spoke to that woman, Mrs Peel, when she called round here. And then you spoke to the press! If you’re worried people have found out things about you, then you only have yourself to blame.’
‘I didn’t—’
‘Don’t argue with me!’
Silence fell. He took another gulp from his glass. What could he do about Mrs Peel? The woman was a nuisance.
Jane gave a sniff, then spoke in a timorous voice. ‘I just wish we had paid the money back to Alexander.’
‘Why? Everything he had became yours in the end, didn’t it? It wouldn’t have made the slightest difference. Sometimes you really do talk nonsense, Jane.’
‘What if Mrs Peel mentions the money to the police? It doesn’t look good that we owed my brother money when he vanished.’
‘You owed him money, Jane. Not me.’
‘But—’
‘What did I say?’ He raised a warning finger, and she was quiet again. ‘Just get those letters back, Jane. And get them destroyed.’
Chapter 31
‘Jane Stanton owed Alexander Miller money?’ said Philip as he stood in Augusta’s workshop that evening. She had been busy mending a copy of The Enchanted Castle when he had knocked at her workshop door. ‘How much money?’
‘I don’t know. I didn’t ask Mrs Stanton because she didn’t want to discuss it with me. Maybe I’ll find out from the letters.’
Philip rested against the workshop table. ‘And Mrs Stanton didn’t repay him?’
‘She wouldn’t say. But I think she would have told me if she had.’
‘Yes, I think she would have done too. This is interesting. It could be a motive for Mr and Mrs Stanton harming Miller. They borrowed money from him and couldn’t pay it back. Perhaps he was harassing them for it and they decided to get rid of him.’
‘And then benefit from inheriting his estate seven years later,’ said Augusta.
‘I wonder what they were doing at the time of Miller’s disappearance? It’s almost impossible to establish alibis for people a decade later.’
‘It might be worth a try,’ said Augusta.
Philip gave a laugh. ‘I don’t think I’d be able to persuade the police to do anything on it, though. They’re busy enough as it is. We need more evidence first.’
‘Such as what?’
‘I don’t know. This is a tricky case. And I don’t have many good ideas at the moment. Today has been an unproductive day.’
‘Oh dear. Why?’
‘I called at the offices of the London Weekly Chronicle to speak to the editor about Ferguson’s article. But he was out. And then, Charlotte Ramsden noticed me while I was watching her.’
‘How?’
‘It couldn’t really be helped. We were in the Lyons Corner House in Piccadilly and a thief tried to steal her handbag. She’d rested it on the seat next to her as she sat with a friend. He marched past, grabbed it, and ran off.’
‘Oh no!’
‘He headed for the door and his route happened to take him past the table I was sitting at. I had to do something. So I lunged sideways and rugby-tackled him.’
‘You got her handbag back?’
‘I did. Some customers sat on him once he was on the floor and he couldn’t get away. He had to stay there until the police arrived.’
‘You’re a hero, Philip!’
His face reddened. ‘I don’t know about that. I just did what anyone else would have done in that situation.’
‘I don’t think many people would be brave enough to rugby-tackle a thief. Did you hurt yourself?’
‘Not really. I came off my chair and ended up on the floor with him. My bad leg’s a little sore, but I’m fine.’
‘Mrs Ramsden must have been very grateful.’
‘That’s the trouble. She was. She sat with me at my table for a while afterwards. She asked me my name and I told her I was Albert Clark. She’s a friendly, chatty lady.’
