The Constable turned back. It was dark, and the clouds had vanished, leaving the air cold enough to make his breath bloom in front of his face as he passed the empty tenting fields, the path he’d followed so many times in his life.
How could he have been so wrong? Everything he knew had told him that Jeremiah Darden was Gabriel. Had he lost so much when he was away? He pushed the fringe of his forehead with a short, angry gesture. And if it wasn’t Darden, who was Gabriel?
At least the mayor would be happy.
He tried to think. Gabriel was taller and younger than Darden, Caleb claimed. The merchant was close to Nottingham’s height, no more than an inch between them. There were plenty in Leeds bigger than that. And younger. Darden was in his middle fifties if he was a day. But he could clearly remember the lad saying that Gabriel was old. What was old to a boy of that age?
He kicked at the dirt in frustration. They were right back where they’d begun.
Rob was at the jail when he returned, dressed in his good woollen greatcoat to go out and check on the night men.
‘You don’t need anyone watching Mr Darden now,’ the Constable told him. ‘That boy said he wasn’t Gabriel.’
‘So who is?’
‘I don’t know. Someone taller and younger, he says.’
‘There’s no shortage of them.’ Rob chewed his lip for a moment. ‘What about the factor?’
‘Howard?’
‘Yes.’
Oh, sweet Christ. Solomon Howard stood a good four inches above his employer and he was probably close to forty. Old but still younger. All his sharpness must have gone if he hadn’t been able to see that. He’d need to find Caleb once more and have him see the factor.
‘Put your man on him instead,’ he ordered. ‘And tell Mr Sedgwick I want Holden to follow Howard in the daytime.’
‘Yes, boss.’
The Constable smiled. The lad could go places. ‘Just keep the city in order during the night.’
Rob poked and pushed his way through the dark hours, keeping moving to stay awake. Sleep hadn’t come during the day; he’d thought over and over about his father’s invitation. What baffled him was the reason behind it. James Lister did nothing without a considered reason. Was the man offering his own kind of apology, or was there something darker beneath the words?
He’d said nothing to Emily yet. He wouldn’t until he believed he knew why his father wanted them there. The man rarely forgave and never forgot, and Rob had humiliated him when he moved into lodgings after they’d argued over Emily.
Saturday night had passed calmly with the usual number of drunks and fights that left blood on the floor. A few would wake in the cells, others would take time to heal, but no one had died.
Now Leeds was quiet, from Lands Lane to the other side of the bridge. Folk were in their beds, wrapped in darkness. The only footsteps he heard as he walked around were his own. He still clutched the cudgel tightly in his hand. He’d been taken by surprise before and it was never going to happen again.
The moon was close to full, bright in the cold, cloudless sky. He took a final turn down by the river, where the light shone like jewels on the water. Close to the bank, bumping back and forth in a small eddy, he made out a dark object.
He searched around for a thick branch and slid down right to the edge of the Aire, reaching out to poke and turn the bundle. It slipped and slid away from him, turning slowly in the current; then something rose and he could make out a hand.
‘Shit,’ he said quietly. ‘Shit.’
Rob tried to grab the body, and by the time he’d managed to haul it on to land his boots were soaked. He stood back, breathing hard, and saw the corpse was little more than a child. He knew what to do: he ran through the streets until he found one of the night men, and sent him off to fetch Brogden the coroner. And the boss needed to know about another dead boy.
It was another hour before they’d carried the boy back to the jail, covered with a stained old sheet. The Constable was already there, his face still puffy with sleep. He’d thrown on his clothes, not bothering with a stock, his hose mismatched.
He followed them into the cold cell they used as a morgue. ‘Where was he?’
‘About a hundred yards above the bridge. I haven’t had chance to examine him. I didn’t recognize his face.’
Nottingham peeled back the top of the sheet. The face looked peaceful, so young and clear, washed clean by the water.
‘I do. He was called Caleb.’
THIRTEEN
The Constable took his time looking for wounds. There were small scars on his arms, but nothing from any recent fights, and no stab wound on his chest. Slowly and tenderly he turned the boy, tracing the skin of his back to search for anything. Finally he parted the long hair, still soaked and full of the stench of the river.
‘That’s it,’ he said to Rob. ‘A lump. Someone hit him there, then he either fell into the river or he was pushed.’
‘Gabriel?’
The Constable looked up. ‘I don’t know. But Caleb was the only one we know who’d seen him. Did you set a man on Howard?’
‘Yes, boss,’ Rob replied.
‘Go and find him, I want to know what he saw.’
Left alone, Nottingham stared down at the boy, reaching out to close his eyes. He’d stopped believing the platitudes of the church when Rose had died. There’d be no seat at the right hand of God for Caleb, only the burn of lime on dead flesh in the unmarked grave of the poor.
He knew that any number of people could have killed the boy, for more reasons than he could count. But he had no faith in coincidences. This was Gabriel’s work, protecting himself; he was certain of that.
Outside, dawn was breaking, the light starting to clear. He rubbed the weariness out of his eyes and poured a mug of ale, sipping slowly as he tried to think.
The door opened and Rob returned, followed by Lake, the man who’d been watching Solomon Howard. Lake was a night creature, small with dark eyes full of secrets.
‘Did Howard go anywhere tonight?’ Nottingham asked.
‘To the Talbot, sir,’ Lake answered. His skin was sallow and heavily pock-marked, nose bulbous, the veins red and broken by drink.
‘Did you go inside?’
The man shook his head. ‘The folk in there know what I do.’
‘How long did he stay?’
‘An hour. Happen a bit longer.’
There were plenty of ways in and out of the Talbot; the landlord had made sure of that.
‘How did he seem when he left?’
Lake shrugged. ‘Nowt unusual. He went home and the house went dark a few minutes after that.’
‘Thank you.’
There was nothing he could use. And after his error with Darden he’d need to walk very carefully around Howard. No doubt the landlord would testify that the factor had been there and maybe even produce a whore he’d used. And perhaps it would be no more than the truth.
The time he’d spent recovering had dulled his senses. He’d been wrong about Darden, and now he was uncertain whether he dare trust his own feelings. Nottingham ran a hand through his hair and sighed, then began to pace around the room, trying to shake his thoughts into some kind of order.
He was no further along when the deputy arrived, smiling and eager to work.
‘Morning, boss.’
‘Isabell?’ the Constable asked.
‘The fever broke yesterday. Now she’s coming out in spots, just like the apothecary promised. I never thought I’d be so glad to hear a babby scream and cry.’ He gave a wide grin. ‘Why are you in on a Sunday, anyway?’
‘Someone killed Caleb. Rob pulled him from the river last night.’
‘Darden?’
‘He’s not Gabriel.’ He explained all that had happened.
Sedgwick snorted. ‘There’s three ways out of the Talbot that I know.’