‘This is all very well, Ravenscroft, but there is one flaw in all of this,’ interrupted Henderson.
‘And what is that, sir?’
‘Surely it would have been easier for your murderer to have just taken the Antiphoner and the Whisperie, without all this supposed recourse to blackmail?’
‘You would have thought so, but the library was kept locked with the dean and Evelyn having the only keys. I have no doubt that our thief could have overcome this obstacle, but there was always the risk that he would be caught in the act. By blackmailing Evelyn and using him to take the manuscripts, he would avoid the chance of being caught himself.’
‘Very clever!’
‘As you say, sir, very clever — or that is what we were supposed to think, that the main motive was the theft and acquisition of the manuscripts. But I believe our murderer desired one thing more than all this. He wanted to see Evelyn dead, for you see his main purpose was not the theft of the Antiphoner and the Whisperie — although he could see that he could sell the works and make a tidy sum — no, his main desire was for revenge,’ he said, turning away and looking out over the town.
‘If your theory is correct, is it not time that your murderer made his appearance?’ said Henderson, taking out his pocket watch and examining the hands. ‘It looks to me as though he is not going to show up. Got cold feet and backed off, I’ll be bound. All this has been a complete waste of time, if you ask me.’
‘Far from it. You see, I did not expect anyone else to join us. There were no letters written to our chief suspects. I informed only one person that I would be up here tonight — and that was you! The person who killed Nicholas Evelyn was none other than yourself,’ said Ravenscroft, turning round and looking his superior straight in the eye.
‘For God’s sake, man! You’re rambling! Now I know this has all been far too much for you,’ protested Henderson.
‘Yesterday I went to Hay-on-Wye, where the Tinniswoods lived. I learnt that they had left the town over twenty years ago, or rather one of them did, the other three remain buried in the churchyard — the two boys, Martin and Malcolm, and their mother Martha. There was no trace of the father, Robert Tinniswood. That is because he shut up the house after the death of his wife, and left the town, adopting his wife’s maiden name and entering the army where he rose to the rank of major, later retiring, before being elevated to the position of Superintendent here in Worcester. For you see the name on his wife’s gravestone was Henderson!’
‘Very clever,’ said Henderson, staring into the distance.
‘Something always worried me about this case. I was invited to investigate the crime by the Dean and Chapter of the cathedral, because of the lack of progress that had been made by your force in finding either Evelyn or the missing manuscript. Of course, you had no desire to solve the crime; you hoped that in time it would all go away. It must have been very irritating for you when I turned up. When Evelyn’s body was recovered down at Upton, you had not even searched the corpse to see what possessions he had on him, because you did not want the keys to the library to be found on his person. You always maintained that someone else had broken into the library, and when we later established that it had been Evelyn all along who had stolen the manuscript, you suggested that the work probably lay at the bottom of the Severn. You were annoyed when I took men away to search the grounds near the river and revealed the hiding place, and hindered our further requests for manpower claiming that your men were needed for the policing of the Worcester Races. You were no doubt relieved when Billy, the bargeman, was killed, and were more than anxious to pin the blame for both murders on him, being reluctant for me to continue with my investigations. You could see that I was not getting anywhere, and knew that eventually my lack of success would give you the excuse you needed to demand my recall to London. That is why you gave me just two days to conclude my investigations — and, of course, you did not want to organize a search of Renfrew’s house where you knew we might find the Whisperie and discover that he had purchased the work from yourself.’
‘I see you have worked it all out, Ravenscroft. It was that damned headstone that gave it away! You were right. Shortly before my son Malcolm died of that dreadful fever, he spoke of his suspicions regarding Evelyn. A few weeks after his death, my wife also died. I had no desire to remain in Hay, and, as you said, joined the army using my wife’s maiden name, Henderson. My service took me out to Africa, and then India for a number of years, but all the time I was out there I could not forget my wife and my two children, and swore that one day I would make Evelyn pay for the way he had abused my boys! Then last year, I was appointed as the superintendent of the force here in Worcester. I found that Evelyn was still alive, and wanted to kill him for what he had done all those years ago — but first I used him to acquire the two manuscripts, which I then sold on to Renfrew. The man was an evil predator who took innocent young boys and corrupted them. He deserved to die.’
‘I understand that. Nevertheless, a crime has been committed and you know that I must arrest you for the murder of Nicholas Evelyn,’ said Ravenscroft firmly.
‘Damn it, Ravenscroft, can’t you see the justice in all this? The man finally paid for his crimes. What good would it do to arrest me? Any father would have done the same,’ pleaded Henderson.
‘I’m sorry,’ replied Ravenscroft looking down.
‘Then you leave me with no alternative.’
Ravenscroft looked up to see that Henderson had removed a pistol from his coat pocket.
‘I don’t want to do this, Ravenscroft. You are a decent enough man, but I’m not prepared to face the gallows. It’s your word against mine, but I can’t take the risk in letting you go. I’ll say I came up here and found you dead. Shot by our murderer before I arrived. People will accept my word. I am, after all, the superintendent of the local force. I’ll arrest Cranston, plant the gun in his rooms, and charge him with your murder.’
‘Very neat; you seem to have thought of everything.’
‘I really am sorry. There’s no other way out,’ said Henderson pointing the gun at his junior officer.
‘And I’m sorry to have to disappoint you, sir, but before you press that trigger, you might consider that I would not have been so foolish as to come up here alone.’
‘Don’t be stupid, man! There’s no one else here but us. That’s just foolish bravado!’
‘That’s where you are wrong. You see, after you climbed the stairs, I gave instructions that you were to be followed. Our conversation and your confession have been witnessed by Constable Crabb, Brother Jonus and two officers who have been situated all this time at the top of the steps.’
‘Stuff and nonsense! You’re bluffing!’ protested Henderson, going red in the face and waving his pistol around.
‘I assure you that I am not. Show yourselves, gentlemen!’
Crabb, Brother Jonus and a number of police officers emerged from the stairwell and stepped out on to the top of the tower.
‘Damn you, Ravenscroft!’ shouted Henderson.