‘We saw him that night,’ said the first Miss Tovey.
‘Saw who, my dear lady?’
‘Why, the person you are looking for, Inspector, the librarian, Nicholas Evelyn.’
‘Nicholas Evelyn,’ repeated her younger sister.
‘The librarian,’ added the third.
‘When did you see him exactly?’ asked Ravenscroft, as Crabb took out his notebook.
‘I was just retiring to bed for the evening, when I saw him creeping along the side of the building in a rather furtive manner, as if he was up to no good. I remember it was exactly eleven o’clock, because I had just heard the church clock strike and I always retire exactly at that time of night,’ said Miss Mary Ann in an excited manner.
‘Exactly at eleven o’clock,’ said the second sister.
‘And I saw him as well, Inspector,’ added the youngest sister, anxious not to be excluded from the conversation.
‘You say that he was acting in a furtive manner?’ asked Ravenscroft, addressing the eldest sister.
‘Yes, Inspector. It was as if he did not want to be seen. He went in through the door over there.’
‘Through that door,’ said the second Miss Tovey, pointing to the cathedral.
‘Was Mr Evelyn in the habit of coming back to the cathedral late at night, ma’am?’ asked Crabb.
‘Not usually. That’s why we thought it so odd,’ said Mary Ann.
‘Very strange indeed,’ added Alice Maria.
‘Did any of you ladies happen to see him come out of the cathedral?’ asked Ravenscroft.
‘Why yes. I remember looking at the clock. It was a quarter to twelve exactly,’ replied the elder sister.
‘I saw him as well, Inspector,’ said Miss Emily.
‘He was very secretive,’ added her younger sister.
‘How do you mean, secretive?’
‘He kept looking around him, to see if anyone had noticed his presence there,’ said the elder sister.
‘Did you see what happened next, ladies?’ asked Crabb, making notes in his book.
‘Yes. He made his way across the lawns there, before he went down the steps at the end, towards the river. We all thought it rather strange that he should be going down to the river at that time of night,’ replied Miss Mary Ann.
‘It was very dark,’ added her younger sister.
‘Did you see whether Mr Evelyn returned later?’
‘No, Inspector,’ replied Mary Ann, a puzzled expression on her face.
‘Well, this is all very interesting,’ said Ravenscroft, smiling. ‘You have been most helpful, ladies.’
‘I am glad we have been of assistance,’ said Miss Mary Ann, looking rather pleased.
‘We always try and help the authorities as much as we can,’ remarked Miss Emily.
‘I do hope you find Mr Evelyn — and the book,’ said Miss Alice Maria.
‘We will endeavour to do so,’ said Ravenscroft.
‘You know where we are, Inspector, if we can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to call upon us,’ said the eldest Miss Tovey.
‘Perhaps you would care to take tea with us, when you can spare the time,’ said the second sister.
‘You would be most welcome, and your constable as well, of course,’ added the third sister smiling, as they began to turn away.
‘That is most kind of you, ladies. If you will excuse us now, I wish you good day.’
‘Good day, Inspector,’ said the eldest sister, a remark that was repeated by her two companions.
Ravenscroft and Crabb watched them as they walked back, towards the house across the green, deep in conversation with one another.
‘Well, they certainly seem to know what is going on,’ remarked Crabb, closing his notebook.
‘It is fortunate for us that they were so observant. So we now know that it must have been Evelyn who returned to the cathedral that night to steal the book.’
‘Why did he just not take it during the daytime?’
‘Because he wanted it to look as though someone had broken in during the night and taken it. If he had smashed the glass during the day, there was always the possibility that someone in the distance might have heard the sound of the glass breaking, or that he would have been caught in the act by someone suddenly entering the library. No, he had to undertake the robbery at night, when he knew he would be alone and undisturbed.’
‘Why did he then go down to the river, at that time of night?’ asked Crabb, looking puzzled.
‘Perhaps he was meeting someone. He might have kept an appointment with someone who wanted the book. Let’s follow in his footsteps and go down there and see what we can find.’
‘Just the river, I should think, sir.’
‘Nevertheless, I would be most interested to see whether there is a towpath, and to see where it goes.’
‘I think one of our constables is looking for us, sir. I’ll give him a shout. Over here!’ said Crabb, gesturing to the officer.
‘Ah, there you are, sir. You must be Inspector Ravenscourt?’ said the breathless constable.
‘Ravenscroft,’ corrected the detective.
‘Begging your pardon, sir, Superintendent Henderson sends his compliments and has asked me to see that you get this note, sir.’
‘Thank you, my man,’ said Ravenscroft, taking the piece of paper and reading its contents.
‘Something serious, sir?’ enquired an anxious Crabb.
‘Apparently they have recovered a body from the River Severn down at Upton. They think it might be Evelyn. We are to go to Upton right away and meet Henderson there,’ replied Ravenscroft, refolding the piece of paper.
‘This way, sir, I’ve got a trap waiting,’ said the constable.
‘Then we’d best be on our way, Officer.’
As the group of three men made their way out of the cathedral precincts, they failed to notice the forlorn hooded figure, who gazed down upon them from the ramparts of the tower of the great building.
CHAPTER FOUR
‘There is no doubt, I suppose, that it is Nicholas Evelyn?’ asked Ravenscroft, staring down at the body on the river-bank.
‘Everything seems to fit his description, sir,’ answered the constable.
‘Blessed if I see how you can tell, after the fellow has been in the water for the past few days,’ remarked Crabb.
‘When was the body discovered?’ continued Ravenscroft.
‘Early this afternoon. A fisherman found the body at the side of the river. Apparently he had been swept into the bank by that tree over there.’
‘Tell me, Constable, this is the River Severn, which I believe flows through Worcester and down here to Upton, before eventually making its way to Bristol?’
‘That is correct, sir. Next place after here is Tewkesbury, then Gloucester.’
‘So it seems most likely that either Evelyn fell into the river at Worcester whilst it was dark, or that someone killed him. Either way, the body then made its way down here to Upton.’
‘Seems most likely, sir, as you say,’ replied the constable.
‘Where is Superintendent Henderson?’ asked Ravenscroft.
‘Over there, sir, in the inn. Shall I tell him you have arrived?’
‘Not for a while. Tell me has anyone looked in the pockets of the deceased man, or examined the body?’
‘I don’t think so. Tell you the truth, I don’t think anyone quite liked the idea of taking a close look at him!’ said the constable shaking his head.
‘Well, Constable, I think we need to,’ said Ravenscroft taking out his handkerchief as he bent down towards the corpse. ‘The body seems to have quite a number of cuts and marks on the head and face. Someone could have hit him on the back of his head I suppose, or the wounds could have been caused by the body hitting various obstacles on his way down the river. There is no way of telling. We need to turn him over so that I can remove his coat. Can you help me, Constable?’
Ravenscroft held the handkerchief up to his nose with one hand, whilst using the other to assist the constable in removing the garment, Crabb being content to remain at some distance. ‘Thank you, Constable, now let us see what is in his pockets. A few coins, a handkerchief — ah, this is what we are looking for Crabb — a set of keys on this ring.’