time he’d swallowed, Nivens was at their table. He nodded
curtly at the two men. “Witherspoon, Barnes.”
Nivens was a middle-aged man with dark blond hair and
cold gray eyes. Clean shaven, he was of medium height
with a slight portliness that couldn’t be disguised by the
expensive black greatcoat he wore. A black bowler hat dangled from his fingers, and there was a copy of the Policemen’s Gazette tucked under his arm.
Witherspoon smiled politely and Barnes contented himself with a grunt.
But Nivens appeared not to notice the tepid reception.
“You’d best be on your toes, Witherspoon.” He whipped
out the newspaper and waved it at the two policemen.
“You’re not the only one who can catch ruthless killers.
You ought to read what the judge said to Tommy Odell
when he was sentenced for Caroline Muran’s murder.”
“I have read it,” Witherspoon said softly.
“I’d like to go to the execution,” Nivens continued. “Too
bad they did away with public hanging; it would be a deterrent for others, show them what happens when they disregard the law.”
“Murder is a horrific crime,” Witherspoon commented.
He didn’t wish to engage in a debate with Nivens, but he
didn’t agree with him, either. He wasn’t in the least sorry
that public executions had been banned. The idea of watching someone die, even someone who might deserve the 14
Emily Brightwell
punishment, was grotesque. He couldn’t imagine any human being enjoying such a spectacle.
“Do you ever want to see any of yours hang?” Nivens
continued chattily.
“No.”
“I wish I could be there,” Nivens said eagerly. “It isn’t
fair that they’ll let the press into the hanging shed but they
won’t let us in to watch. I’d love to see that nasty little
woman-killer swing from the neck until he’s as dead as
that poor woman he shot.”
Witherspoon lost what remained of his appetite. He
pushed his lunch away.
“It’s odd that a pickpocket would be carrying a gun,”
Barnes said. He watched Nivens carefully and was rewarded
by seeing an angry flush creep up the man’s fat cheeks.
“You sound like Odell’s counsel,” Nivens snapped. “But
the fact is he was carrying a weapon. When the husband
tried to fend him off, Odell panicked and shot the woman.”
“Why didn’t he shoot the husband?” Barnes asked. A
lot of coppers had wondered about this case; there was
something really odd about the whole business. “Why bash
him over the head if he had a gun? You know as well as I do
that you can’t count on knocking someone out, even if you
strike them with something like a brick. But a gun is generally very reliable, especially at close range.”
Nivens shoved the newspaper back under his arm.
“How the devil should I know why the fellow acted the way
he did. Like most people of his class, he’s stupid. He
pawned Mr. Muran’s pocket watch less than a mile from
where he’d done the killing.” He glared at them. “You’d
best watch what you say, Constable Barnes, the chief inspector won’t want questions about a closed case being bandied about. The department is still smarting over the
licking we took from the press over those Ripper murders.”
“Constable Barnes was simply making a comment,”
Witherspoon said quickly.
“Humph,” Nivens snorted. “Then I’ll thank him to keep
Mrs. Jeffries Appeals the Verdict
15
his comments to himself. I’ll not have the two of you wandering about asking questions about my case. Do you understand? This was my case; I solved it and I won’t let you or anyone else ruin it for me.”
“I assure you, Inspector,” Witherspoon said earnestly,
“we’ve no interest in this case whatsoever.”
Nivens said nothing for a moment, then he turned on his
heel and stalked toward the door, almost knocking over a
constable who had the misfortune to wander in his path.
“I want to make sure you all understand that we’ve no
guarantee we’ll be successful if we undertake this endeavor,” Mrs. Jeffries said. They had been debating the issue for almost an hour now and it was almost noon.
“We’ve no guarantee we’ll be successful on any of our
cases,” Mrs. Goodge pointed out. “So I don’t see that we’ve
anything to worry about with this one.”
“But like Mrs. Jeffries says, the inspector won’t be able
to give us any bits and pieces on this one,” Wiggins countered, “and that’ll make a big difference. We might not find out anything.”
“People don’t stop talking about a murder just because
someone’s been arrested and sentenced to hang. There’s
plenty of information out there, and there’s no reason we
can’t find out every little detail of what happened that
night.”
“Maybe we can get a copy of the police file,” Betsy
mused.
“We’ve no reason to ask the inspector whether or not he
even has access to the file,” Mrs. Jeffries said. “It wasn’t his
case.”
“Are you sayin’ we shouldn’t do this?” Smythe asked
the housekeeper. He was amazed that it was Mrs. Goodge,
who wasn’t exactly a champion of the criminal classes, who
was arguing so vehemently for their intervention. He’d
have thought that with something like this, the chance to
16
Emily Brightwell
prove someone innocent, it would be Mrs. Jeffries wanting
them to take it on.
She shook her head. “No, not at all. I’m merely trying
to make sure that we all understand we might not succeed. I don’t want anyone feeling disappointed or guilty if we can’t prove Mr. Odell innocent. The task might be
impossible.”
“But why would it be so different?” Betsy asked. “As
Mrs. Goodge pointed out, people will still be talking about
the case. They’ll still be clues for us to follow up.”
“Yes, but without the inspector actively on the case,
we’ll need an enormous amount of evidence to get anyone
to take notice.” She didn’t want to have to point out that
on most of their previous cases, she’d used a deductive-
reasoning method that relied half on instinct and half on
evidence to catch the killer. She wasn’t sure that would
work on this murder. The trail was cold and she had a feeling that the timing of an investigation had a direct bearing on her own sense of urgency. Perhaps she wouldn’t be able
to pull it off this time.
“Then we’ll get the evidence,” Smythe promised.
“Even with evidence,” she continued, “it’ll have to be
very compelling to get an execution stopped.”
Smythe had had enough. They could go on arguing for
hours, but they didn’t have that much time. “This isn’t like
you, Mrs. J. What’s really botherin’ you?”
She hesitated before she answered. She was almost
afraid that voicing her concern aloud would make it come
to pass. It was silly, but she felt it nonetheless. “My worst
fear is that
we’ll find enough to convince ourselves the man
didn’t commit the murder, but we won’t get enough to convince the authorities not to hang him.”
“Cor blimey, that’d be a terrible thing,” Wiggins said
softly.
“I’d not like trying to sleep at night knowing an innocent man had been hung because we weren’t clever enough to save him,” Betsy murmured.
Mrs. Jeffries Appeals the Verdict
17
“The police and the courts aren’t quick to admit they’ve
made a mistake,” Smythe said.
“And that’s why I’m hesitating,” Mrs. Jeffries blurted.
“It’s not that I don’t want to help; it’s just that for us, the
truth might be very hard to live with if we fail to stop the
execution.”
The cook looked around the table, her expression troubled. “I can’t believe what I’m hearing. We can’t turn our backs on someone who might be innocent just to protect
our own feelings. If we find evidence Tommy Odell is innocent, we take it to the inspector. If that doesn’t work, we find us a newspaper or a member of Parliament or someone
in the Home Office who’ll listen. But we don’t hide our
heads in the sand and pretend it’s best not to do it at all
rather than risk failin’.”
Everyone stared at her in stunned silence.
“Cor blimey, Mrs. Goodge, you’ve missed yer callin’.
They needs the likes of you in Parliament.” Wiggins stared
at her in admiration.
The cook nodded regally. “Thank you, Wiggins. Perhaps one of these days women will actually get the chance to run for public office. But as that’s not likely to happen in
my lifetime, I do hope I’ve at least changed the minds of
those sitting around this table.”
“You’ve changed mine,” Betsy said quickly.
“And mine,” Smythe added.
“Me, too,” Wiggins nodded vigorously.
“Thank you, Mrs. Goodge, for reminding us where our
duty actually lies.” Mrs. Jeffries smiled softly. “You’re
right, of course. I just wanted everyone to be aware that we
may face some sad consequences ourselves if we fail.”
She glanced at the clock. It was almost noon. “Let’s put
some food on the table. I’m sure Blimpey will be a bit hungry when he gets here.”
Blimpey was delightfully surprised by the unexpected
meal. “You didn’t ’ave to go to this trouble,” he said as he
tucked into a plate of shepherd’s pie.
18
Emily Brightwell
“It’s no trouble,” Mrs. Jeffries replied politely. “Now, if
you don’t mind answering a few questions while you have
your meal, we’ll see what we can do to help.”
Blimpey swallowed hastily. “Don’t mind at all. Would it
be easier if you asked me questions, or should I just tell ya
what I know?”
“Why don’t we try both,” she replied. “We’ll all ask
questions, but if there’s anything we don’t ask that you
think is pertinent, then by all means, speak up.”
“When did the murders take place?” Mrs. Goodge
asked. She had a vague idea from the newspapers, but as it
hadn’t been a very interesting case, she’d not paid much
attention.
“It was the evenin’ of January thirtieth,” he said. “Mr.
and Mrs. Muran were walkin’ down Barrick Road, which
is on the other side of the Waterloo Bridge, when it happened. Mr. Muran was hit over the head with something and Mrs. Muran was shot. That’s how I know for sure
Tommy didn’t do it: he’d never hurt a woman. He’d never
hurt anyone.”
“I’m sure he wouldn’t,” Mrs. Jeffries muttered. “What
time of night was it?”
“From what my sources tell me, it was almost eleven
o’clock.”
“Did they take a walk every evenin’ at the same time?”
Smythe asked.
Blimpey shoved another bite of pie into his mouth and
shook his head. “As far as I can tell, they weren’t takin’ a
walk at all. They’d been to a concert at St. James Hall, which
is this side of the river and in the West End. On their way
home, they’d had the hansom stop and let them off.”
“Were they close to their house?” Betsy asked.
“The Muran house is in West Brompton. That’s miles
from where the murder happened.”
“Why did they stop then?” Wiggins asked.
Blimpey shrugged. “That’s a good question, and I’m
not sure the police ever even asked it.”
Mrs. Jeffries Appeals the Verdict
19
Mrs. Jeffries ignored that. “What sort of people were the
victims?”
“Wealthy,” Blimpey stated. “Mrs. Muran owns the
Merriman Metal Works Factory in Clapham. They’re rich
people, not the sort to get out and go for a stroll in a commercial neighborhood on their way home from a concert.”
“Perhaps it was because they were rich that they were
picked as victims,” Mrs. Jeffries speculated.
Blimpey shook his head. “Nah, Mrs. Muran dressed as
plain as a pikestaff. She were raised Quaker, so she’d not
have been sportin’ fancy clothing. Her man would have
been in a proper suit and hat, but that’d not have marked
them as wealthy.”
Smythe frowned thoughtfully. “So they just happened to
be in the wrong place at the wrong time, is that it?”
“That’s what the police would have you believe.”
Blimpey looked disgusted. “No disrespect meant to your
inspector, but the police made a right old cockup of this
case. They didn’t ask the right questions, they didn’t interview witnesses. They just found out that Tommy was the one who fenced that pocket watch and nabbed him for it.”
“Do you know who was in charge of the case?” Betsy
asked curiously. She hoped it wasn’t one of the inspector’s
colleagues that they knew and liked.
“Course I do,” Blimpey said. “It was Inspector Nigel
Nivens.”
C H A P T E R 2
Q
Mrs. Jeffries shot Wiggins a warning look and he managed to clamp his mouth shut. They loathed Nivens, but it wouldn’t do their inspector any good if that information
was known. “I take it Inspector Nivens was the one who arrested Tommy Odell?”
Blimpey nodded. “That’s right. Nivens come across the
pocket watch Tommy had lifted from Mr. Muran at a
pawnshop. The watch was fairly distinctive, and since the
murder, Nivens had been on the lookout for it.”
“How was it distinctive?” Mrs. Goodge asked. Life had
taught her it was important to get the details right.
“There was an engraving on the inside of the face plate.
It read, ‘To my beloved Keith from his adoring wife.’ Keith
is Mr. Muran’s Christian name. Nivens put pressure on the
pawnshop owner and they had poor old Tommy down at
the nick in two shakes of a mare’s tail.”
“What’s the name of the pawnshop?” Smythe asked. He
thought it awfully peculiar that a pawnshop that was in the
20
Mrs. Jeffries Appeals the Verdict
21
habit of receiving stolen goods would be easily intimidated
by a police inspector.
“Murdoch’s. It’s on Albion Road in Soho. The owner’s
a nasty little toad named George Rumsfield. He rolled on
Tommy pretty fast.”
“Any idea why?” the coachman pressed.
“My sources tell me that Rumsfield didn’t want to have
anything to do with murder,” Blimpey sighed. “But Tommy
didn’t kill anyone. He lifted that watch off Keith Muran
earlier that evenin’. He used the old bump-and-run dodge.”
“How do you know?” Betsy asked. “I mean, if Tommy
had already been arrested when you returned from your
holiday, how do you know any of these details? I’m not trying to be rude, but it’s important for us to know how reliable our information is.”
“And you can’t see the police lettin’ me into Tommy’s
cell for a little chat, is that it?” Blimpey grinned and looked
at Smythe. “She’s not just pretty; she’s smart, too. You’d
best hang onto this one, Smythe.”
“You don’t ’ave to tell me that,” the coachman replied.
“She’s got a good point.”
“Course she does, and her askin’ it makes me all the
more glad I come to you. It shows ya all know what you’re
about.” Blimpey sobered. “Tommy didn’t tell me any of this
directly. I got it from one of my sources who’s managed to
make contact with Tommy in the nick. He’s a reliable fellow. Used to be a solicitor, so you’ve no worry about the details. They’re correct.”
“Yes, of course, I’m sure your man is quite dependable.
Do go on,” Mrs. Jeffries urged.
“Well, as I was sayin’, Tommy lifted the watch, but
Tommy’s mother took sick when he got home that night so
he didn’t fence the goods till almost two weeks later.”
“Which gave the police plenty of time to have a description of the stolen items circulated to every constable in the city,” Mrs. Jeffries mused.
22
Emily Brightwell
“That’s right.” Blimpey took a quick sip of tea. “And it
led ’em straight to poor Tommy.”
“What else have your sources told you about the case?”
Mrs. Goodge asked.
Blimpey thought for a moment. “Are you wantin’ details
of the crime or the case in general?”
“Either,” the cook replied.
“Caroline Muran was practically a saint; she treated the
workers at her factory decently, her servants loved her,
and no one seems to have had a reason to want her dead.”