‘No. The letter told me not to.’
‘But you can do so if you’re careful about it—’
‘I’d rather not. I have a family. I’m worried about their safety. I’m sure you understand.’
‘Of course.’
‘I think you need to be careful too, Mrs Peel. This letter… it was horrible.’
‘You still have it?’
‘Yes. But I can’t bring myself to look at it again.’
‘I’m sorry that I caused this.’
‘It’s not your fault, Mrs Peel.’
‘If you hadn’t spoken to me about your brother, then you’d have been left alone.’
‘I don’t know about that. I think I probably brought it upon myself when I decided it would make an interesting news story. The person behind this probably read about it in the newspaper.’
‘Of course. And they found out your name from the article and knew where to find you.’
‘I would never have done it if I’d known it was dangerous!’
‘The sooner they catch this person, the better. I’m afraid I have some more bad news for you, Mrs Bradshaw. Your brother’s letters were stolen from my flat last night.’
‘Oh no! Are you alright?’
‘I’m fine. But obviously I don’t know if we’ll see those letters again and I realise they’re valuable to you.’
‘I don’t know about that. My brother’s letters seem to be causing nothing but trouble. Please don’t worry about their loss, Mrs Peel. I need to go. I’m worried that telephoning you might be dangerous, too.’
‘Just a quick question, if I may. Have Mr or Mrs Stanton visited you?’
‘Yes. Jane Stanton called on me yesterday. My housekeeper spoke to her, and she requested to see the letters. My housekeeper… oh, I’ve just realised what’s happened. My housekeeper told her I’d lent them to you. I’m sorry, Mrs Peel.’
‘Don’t be. We’ll find out who’s behind this. I promise. And hopefully it won’t be long before you’re no longer in danger.’
‘Please be careful, Mrs Peel.’
Chapter 40
‘I’ll speak to someone at the Yard,’ said Philip once Augusta had told him about Louisa Bradshaw’s telephone call. ‘This needs a properly coordinated investigation now.’
‘But no one can contact Louisa Bradshaw directly,’ said Augusta. ‘She’s worried about her family.’
‘Fair enough,’ said Philip. ‘At least we’re aware of the threat now. I only wish she’d told you sooner. Then you could have kept those letters somewhere safer. This person has clearly done a very good job of intimidating Mrs Bradshaw. Perhaps they have no intention of actually harming her, but it’s enough to silence her. And all she has done is speak to you and lend you her brother’s letters, Augusta.’
‘The person behind this has to be the person responsible for Alexander Miller’s disappearance. And they could have pushed John Gibson beneath a train at Baker Street. Who is it?’
Philip got up from his desk. ‘I think the blackboard could come in useful now.’ He walked over to it and picked up a piece of chalk. ‘So who have we got? Let’s start with Jane and Robert Stanton.’ He wrote their names on the board.
‘Both benefitted from Alexander Miller’s disappearance,’ said Augusta. ‘They inherited his estate and live in his spacious Baker Street flat. A much nicer flat than the house they were in before in Camden Town.’
‘So they could have murdered him for his estate,’ said Philip.
‘And Jane owed her brother money at the time of his death. We don’t know how much, but it was enough for him to complain to his friend, John Gibson, that she hadn’t repaid him. Perhaps they murdered him so they didn’t have to repay the debt.’
‘Callous but possible,’ said Philip. ‘The pair of them are materially better off now Alexander is no longer around.’
‘And the intruder stole the letters from my flat after Louisa Bradshaw’s housekeeper told Jane Stanton that I had them. Mrs Stanton was quite clear about wanting to get her hands on those letters.’
‘She’s a strong suspect then. Who else have we got?’
‘John Gibson could have harmed Miller.’
Philip wrote his name on the board. ‘The motive being he was a love rival?’
‘Yes. Although I can’t find any evidence the friends fell out over it. The letters could have told me more but I didn’t get the chance to finish reading them.’
‘And we would struggle to prove Gibson was the murderer because he died later the same year,’ said Philip. ‘It’s a possibility though. Who’s next? The Connolly family.’ He made another note on the blackboard.
‘They could have murdered Miller in revenge for the accident in which Arthur Connolly was killed.’
‘I wouldn’t put it past them.’
‘They’re almost too obvious though, aren’t they?’
