‘I don’t quite know how to put this to you,’ said Ravenscroft, accepting the offer. ‘What I have to say may not be of a welcome nature.’
‘Out with it, man. No need to beat about the bush. I always believe in a direct approach,’ said Sir Arthur.
‘During our investigations into the brutal murder of your maid, Ruth Weston, I had cause to inspect the official registers for the birth of her son, Arthur,’ began Ravenscroft.
‘What on earth for? What has the birth of Ruth Weston’s son to do with her death?’ asked Sir Arthur, sitting uneasily in his chair.
‘Bear with me, sir. I found that the child had been christened Arthur, Granville, Sackville, Boscawen, Griffiths Weston. You will note, sir, that the first four Christian names are the same as your own, and that the last Christian name — Griffiths — is your own surname. The father is not named however, on the birth entry,’ said Ravenscroft in as formal and calm manner as he could.
‘I see.’ Sir Arthur rose from his seat and walked over to the window, where he remained silent for some moments. Ravenscroft looked across at Crabb and wondered whether he had been too blunt in his approach. ‘You have done well, Inspector. So you have discovered my little secret. Yes, I was the father of Ruth Weston’s child. My wife had been dead for some years when Miss Weston entered my household — and yes, I must admit that I abused my position as her employer and benefactor — and in a moment of weakness took advantage of her. I am not particularly proud of my actions, and I do not expect you to understand the loneliness I was feeling at the time, although I might add that my attentions were reciprocated by the other party. You must appreciate, however, that I could not acknowledge the child as my own. That would have led to my ruin and would have served little purpose. All I could do was to see that Ruth and her son were found lodgings in the town, and that she continued in my employ, so that I might be able to see that no harm should befall either of them. I suppose you would seek to condemn my actions.’
‘It is not my role to either approve or disapprove of your actions, Sir Arthur.’
‘Look, does all this need to come out? As you say, you have caught Ruth’s murderer, so what possible good can come of making public the parentage of the boy?’ said Sir Arthur resuming his seat.
‘Although Billy, the bargeman, killed her, we believe that he was paid to do so by another party whose identity is at present unknown to us. We believe that she had probably discovered the identity of the man who had killed Nicholas Evelyn the librarian, and consequently she suffered the same fate that had befallen him. Whoever took the Whisperie and killed Evelyn, also paid Billy to kill Ruth Weston.’
‘And do you have any notion as to who this person is?’
‘At the moment we are following several lines of inquiry, and have a number of possible suspects under consideration,’ replied the inspector, trying to sound as confident as he could.
‘Then there is no reason why the parentage of Ruth Weston’s son should be made public, as it clearly has no bearing on the case,’ suggested Sir Arthur nervously.
‘It would seem that way, Sir Arthur.’
‘Then can I have your assurance that what I have told you today will not enter into the public domain?’ asked the politician.
‘I cannot give you a complete assurance on that score,’ said Ravenscroft, ‘but you have my word, Sir Arthur, that the true parentage of Ruth Weston’s child will not be made public, unless I find that it has a direct bearing on this case. That is all I can say at present.’
‘Then, that is all I can ask for. I thank you, Inspector,’ said Sir Arthur, rising from his seat and offering his hand.
‘Rest assured, we will do all in our power to find the murderer of Nicholas Evelyn and Ruth Weston, and bring him to justice,’ said Ravenscroft, shaking the outstretched hand.
‘I wish you well, Inspector, in your investigations. If you require any assistance, at any time, then please call on me.’
They began to walk out of the room, but were unexpectedly called back by their host. ‘Tell me one more thing.’
‘Sir Arthur?’
‘The boy — where is the boy now?’
‘The child, Arthur, is being cared for by the wife of my colleague here, Constable Crabb, but such an arrangement, of course, can only be of a temporary nature,’ replied Ravenscroft.
‘And eventually?’
‘We would need to place him with the appropriate authorities.’
‘By which you mean the workhouse?’
‘Until he should come of age to secure an apprenticeship of some kind, or unless-’
‘Thank you, Inspector,’ said Sir Arthur quickly, interrupting and turning away.
Ravenscroft closed the door behind him, and he and Crabb stepped out on to the green and into the early autumn sunshine.
CHAPTER TWELVE
‘Sit down, Ravenscroft.’
‘Thank you, sir.’
‘Not a very pleasant thing to receive,’ said Superintendent Henderson, brandishing a sheet of paper.
‘No, sir,’ replied Ravenscroft, guessing what was about to happen next.
‘Apparently you have had dealings with some fellow called Cranston.’
‘I have had cause to interview him on two occasions, in connection with our investigations, yes, sir.’
‘He says you were rude and objectionable. Wanted to search his rooms, and when he refused, he says that you were heavy handed and threatened him with all manner of things,’ said Henderson, glowering.
‘That is an incorrect accusation. I certainly wanted to search his rooms, and he did object, but at no time did I threaten him. Nor was I rude or objectionable,’ replied Ravenscroft, beginning to feel uncomfortable.
‘Well, that’s not what he says here. Apparently he’s got some smart London brief called Sefton Rawlinson to represent him. Says he knows you.’
‘I have encountered the said legal gentleman in the courts of the Old Bailey,’ Ravenscroft said, fearing the worst.
‘This fellow Rawlinson says you are victimizing Cranston, and that if you have any further contact with his client, he will take legal action against both the force and yourself. I view this as a grave matter, Ravenscroft, a very grave matter indeed.’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘Damn it man, can’t you see that anything which brings the force into disrepute, is not to be tolerated?’ barked Henderson.
‘I understand.’
‘Just who is this Cranston fellow anyway?’
‘He is a commercial traveller with the Worcester Porcelain Company. He lives at the same premises as the victims, Nicholas Evelyn and Ruth Weston. That is why I decided to interview him. He proved the most objectionable of fellows and raised my suspicions. In particular, I discovered that although he claimed to have worked for the Wedgewood Company for a number of years — before arriving in Worcester — this proved on further investigation, not to be the case,’ said Ravenscroft attempting to placate his superior.
‘So you asked to search his rooms?’
‘Yes.’
‘Whatever for?’
‘I thought there might be some evidence there that would link him to the two murders. There was also the possibility that we might have found the Whisperie.’
‘But you had no reason to undertake such a search, other than the fact that he lied about his past employment?’ said Henderson, his face growing redder by the second.
‘I considered that there was just cause to undertake such a search.’
‘Good grief, you can’t go around threatening people-’
‘I did not threaten him.’
‘That’s not what it says here,’ replied Henderson, waving the letter again.
‘Begging your pardon, sir, but I still believe that Cranston is one of our chief suspects. He has clearly lied about his past, which suggests to me that he probably has a criminal record-’
‘But you don’t know that?’
‘No, sir, but-’
‘This just won’t do, Ravenscroft. We can’t go around getting heavy handed with people and demanding to search their premises, just on the grounds that we dislike them, and suspect them of having a criminal record. That might be how you do things in London; we do things rather differently here in Worcester. If I let my officers behave in the way you have, the reputation of both the force, and myself would reach an all time low.’