Sharrock remained unconvinced. ‘People have surprised me before with what they are capable of; they’ve surprised their nearest and dearest too.’
‘But your actions are so blinkered!’ exclaimed Cornelius, loud enough to make Harriett wince. ‘First you arrest a respectable doctor and then a virtuous lady! Who will be next? The Lord Mayor of London?’
‘Indeed,’ continued Harriett. ‘Why cannot you look for some common street thief – every day the newspapers tell of desperate creatures who commit the most terrible crimes for next to nothing. Mr Eckley was surely lured into the Mews and murdered by a robber for the sake of his watch.’
Sharrock shook his head. ‘Street robbers act on the moment, they see something and they snatch it or they follow their mark to a quiet place. They don’t make an appointment by letter. We know that Eckley received a letter that day and took it with him to meet his murderer. We found a fragment of it in his hand.’
‘But you don’t know what the letter said,’ reasoned Harriett. ‘It might have had nothing to do with the case.’
‘Then why would the killer take it away? It makes no sense. People don’t steal letters. No, the killer took it because it made the appointment and was incriminating. Eckley must have been told to bring it to the meeting. The watch was only taken to make it look like a robbery.’
‘Harriett,’ interrupted Frances, softly, ‘how did you know that Mr Eckley’s watch had been stolen?’
Harriett looked startled, but recovered. ‘The Inspector has just said so.’
‘Yes, but you mentioned it before he did.’
‘Did I? Then you must have told me about it.’
‘I did not.’
‘In that case I must have read it in the newspapers, in the account of the inquest.’
Frances shook her head. ‘I was at the inquest. It was never mentioned.’
Harriett turned to Cornelius. ‘Then you must have told me, I am sure that someone did.’
‘I didn’t even know that his watch had been taken,’ protested Cornelius.
Sharrock gave Harriett a penetrating stare. ‘Very few people indeed know of it apart from the police.’
‘Then I must have been mistaken,’ said Harriett, lightly. ‘Perhaps I was confusing it with something else.’
‘Oh but you seemed very certain of yourself just now,’ Sharrock persisted. ‘You’ve been caught out, Mrs Antrobus. Just as we hoped you would be. All credit to Miss Doughty for spotting your little mistake yesterday and also for realising that it would be better evidence if spoken before a police witness. You see, to my mind there are only two ways that you could have known that Mr Eckley’s watch had been stolen. Either you were there yourself and took it or you were told about it by the person who did. It’s one of the two. Now which is it to be?’
Harriett looked about her, suddenly afraid, but there was no sympathy to be had from Frances.
Cornelius was astounded at the sudden turn in the conversation. ‘Have you taken leave of your senses?’ he exclaimed and then looked at Frances appealingly. ‘Say something!’
‘I’m sorry uncle, but I agree with the Inspector. I am waiting to hear what Harriett says.’
There were a few moments of quietness, broken only by the sound of Harriett trying to stifle her tears. ‘I’m so sorry,’ she told them, ‘I admit that I have been telling untruths, but it was for the best of reasons, to save my poor sister. Can that be wrong? Does she not deserve to be happy? Perhaps I was selfish, wanting her always to be by my side. But she has done a terrible thing and I suppose she must suffer for it now. Charlotte wanted to stop Mr Eckley’s enquiries because she knew,’ Harriett took a deep shuddering breath, ‘she knew that Mr Martin would abandon her when he found out that she was the mother of Isaac Goodwin.’
‘What?’ cried out Cornelius, aghast, and Harriett flinched at the stab of sound. He looked contrite and allowed her to recover before she went on.
‘That day, when I woke with one of my headaches, Charlotte must have known that I would be retiring to bed before my usual time. We went out for an early walk in Hyde Park to get some air. The streets are at their quietest then, and when we passed the pillar letter box by the church she posted a letter. She tried to distract me by drawing my attention to the flower beds but I saw what she did, and when I asked about it she said it was a note to Mr Martin. That night I retired to my room at six o’clock and did not rise again until six the next day. I did not see Charlotte in all that time, but next morning she was so upset that she confessed what she had done. She told me she had put the knife in the flower urn, she said it was covered in blood and she dare not put in her pocket or she would stain her clothes.’
Cornelius hid his face in his hands and groaned.
‘And she took the watch so the motive of the crime would appear to be robbery?’ asked Sharrock.
‘Yes.’
‘What did she do with it?’
Harriett fidgeted and her eyes flickered nervously about the room. ‘She knew she could not sell or pawn it. She threw it away.’
Frances had been watching the eyes of the trapped woman. She rose and went to the writing desk and tried to open the drawer, but it was locked. ‘Please let me have the key to this drawer.’
‘I don’t have it. Perhaps Charlotte has it.’
Frances turned about and came to face her. ‘I’m afraid I don’t believe you. In fact I don’t believe most of what you have been saying to me for the last month. I am going to have to search you.’
Harriett recoiled. ‘Please, no,’ she whispered.
‘I think you would prefer it to the Inspector searching you, which I am sure he is prepared to do.’ Sharrock looked alarmed at the suggestion but said nothing. ‘Or to avoid any searches, kindly give me the key.’
‘Harriett, I beg you,’ said Cornelius, ‘we must have this resolved. For the sake of decency give Frances the key to the desk. If you cannot then I will force the lock myself.’
Harriett hesitated and, without meeting the gaze of anyone in the room, took a key from her pocket and handed it to Frances. Cornelius smiled in relief, took Harriett’s hand and patted it gently. ‘Don’t worry; all will be well, I am sure of it. There has been a terrible mistake. Frances will find the answer, she always does.’
‘You are such a good kind man,’ murmured Mrs Antrobus, gazing up into his face, her eyes bright with tears, and Cornelius, like so many men before him, was unable to do anything but melt in sympathy.
As Frances unlocked and opened the drawer the Inspector hurried to her side and peered in. ‘Aha!’ he said, loudly enough to make Mrs Antrobus wince.
Cornelius cupped his hands protectively over Harriett’s ears. ‘Please – this lady has suffered enough.’
Frances stood back, and Sharrock delved into the drawer, removed a silver watch with a broken chain and held it up. ‘That should match the portion of chain found on the body, and if I am not mistaken, we have an engraving here – J.E.’
‘Charlotte gave it to me, she told me to hide it,’ whispered Harriett.
‘Was that before or after she threw it away?’ retorted Sharrock sarcastically. ‘Mrs Antrobus, I am arresting you for the murder of Jonathan Eckley —’
‘No,’ Harriett wept. ‘Please don’t put me in a cell, I couldn’t bear it.’
Cornelius stared at her in horror. He let go of her hand, rose and looked at the watch. ‘There can be no doubt?’
‘None,’ Sharrock assured him. ‘This is the murdered man’s watch. If Miss Pearce didn’t kill him then Mrs Antrobus did, and my money is on this lady here. Why don’t you call a cab, sir, and we can take her to the station?’