Part 25 (1/2)

36.

Easy Tricks Sidney Grice listened in silence. He was even paler than usual.

He held the letter up to the light and said, *No watermark.' He put his elbow on the desk and tapped his forehead. *Cheap paper. HB pencil not sharpened during the writing. See how the lines progressively thicken.'

*These are easy tricks, Mr Grice,' Inspector Pound said, *but what are we to make of the contents?'

*There is no doubt that it came from James Hoggart's pocket?'

*Mr Rawlings found it himself.'

Sidney Grice sniffed the letter.

*And it has certainly had a long soak in foul water. Who else has read this?'

*Only Mr Rawlings and he gave it directly to me.'

*This must be kept quiet at all costs,' Sidney Grice said urgently. *It would be a powder keg in the hands of agitators.'

*We can depend upon Mr Rawlings' discretion.'

My guardian looked at the letter again. *May I borrow it?'

The inspector shook his head. *It could be crucial evidence, Mr Grice.'

*Of what?' Sidney Grice said. *We have already caught and hanged the murderer of Sarah Ashby.'

*I hope so,' Inspector Pound said quietly.

*Miss Middleton will make a good copy,' Sidney Grice said. *I trust you have no objection to that?'

*None whatsoever.' Inspector Pound opened a drawer and gave me a sheet of blank paper, and indicated to the inkstand and bra.s.s-tipped pen. *Caligula,' he said as I set to work. *That is an Italian name, is it not?'

*It was the nickname of a Roman emperor infamous for his cruelty,' I said. *It is said he murdered his own mother and had knowledge of her and his three sisters. He is supposed-'

*Is that what they teach young ladies these days?' Inspector Pound broke in.

*They taught me how to read,' I said, *and my father had a volume of The Twelve Caesars by Suetonius. Do you want me to copy this exactly?'

*Of course,' my guardian said.

*Including the spelling mistakes? He has spelled Ashby as Ashbey.'

*Let me see.' Sidney Grice took the letter from me. *Why would he do that?'

*Because he was Italian,' the inspector suggested.

*He was not Italian,' Sidney Grice said.

*And he has spelled Caligula with two double L's.'

*Not very Italian of him,' my guardian said sourly.

*This blood test of yours...' Inspector Pound brought out a box of matches. *I suppose there is no possibility of a mistake?'

*It is not my test.' Sidney Grice fiddled with his eye. *And Professor Latingate is respected throughout the Empire. Besides which, the case against Ashby was based on a whole gamut of forensic and circ.u.mstantial evidence. Even if I had never found the knife, he would have hanged, and rightly so.'

I dried my copy carefully on a much used blotter and turned it over.

*All the same, it was the test that clinched it,' the inspector said.

*What are you implying, Inspector?'

Inspector Pound rubbed the back of his neck and hesitated. *Just that I would feel more comfortable if we had had more evidence, and if Ashby had not been such an unlikely murderer and this letter had not turned up to corroborate his story.'

Sidney Grice laid his palms upon the desk and tensed his lips. He started to say something but no sound came. His fingers drummed the wood and he blew out slowly.

I re-dipped the pen. The ink was India Blue, almost black in my shadow.

*We thought there was trouble before William Ashby was hanged,' the inspector said. *My G.o.d, if it got out that he was innocent...'

*I hardly think...' Sidney Grice's voice wandered off.

*You were nearly lynched last time,' I said, but he did not seem to hear me. He brought out his halfpennies and flipped them absently.

I turned to the inspector. *Have you sent anyone to investigate Chandler Street?'

*Not yet,' he said. *I only received this an hour before you came and I wanted Mr Grice to see it first. I was hoping he would be able to dismiss it.'

My guardian roused himself from his thoughts.

*Then we must go there immediately.' He pushed his chair back. *And give the lie to this tasteless prank.'

I finished and dried my copy, and my guardian slipped it into his satchel. On the way out we saw the constable who had stood over William Ashby in the interview room.

*Good morning, sirs, miss.'

The men replied and walked on, but something was troubling me.