Chapter 2: An Inquest?
By Monday John was nearly mad with curiosity. He had attended the funeral service that morning, but Miss Dixon had cut him off and prevented him from approaching the mourning family. He knew that it would be bad form to call on them today. He must wait for the morrow. What possible crime or danger could lurk so near to her bother that it would cause Margaret — his strong, passionate, brave Margaret — to tremble in fear? He certainly did not appear the hardened criminal. In the eternally torturous half hour between first setting eyes on the pair and having the stranger's identity revealed as her brother, he had despaired that Frederick looked every inch the gentleman that Margaret declared John was not. No, he could acquit him of highway robbery, the man tended more towards delicate and refined than hardened. Perhaps he had fought a duel, a refined violence in a misguided attempt to protect a lady's honor.
He had been seated in his office, distracted from his work by these conjectures, when an inspector requested his presence as a magistrate. He had made it a full fifteen minutes into the incoherent deposition before he realized that the man in front of him in the infirmary was the same man he had seen push Margaret on the train platform.
He was torn, he could end the matter right now. He had the authority to prevent an inquest and any investigation into whatever the Hale family secret was. He could save her by a word, but he had sworn an oath as a magistrate. He had a duty to perform and hiding the truth in the performance of this duty would not do. With that thought, he had to trust that the provocation given by such a man as Leonards would, when excited by drinking, in all probability, be more than enough to justify any one who came forward to state the circumstances openly and without reserve. His decision made, he politely interrupted Leonards and excused himself to discuss the matter with the inspector and the surgeon.
"Gentlemen, I fear we may have a conflict of interest. I believe I witnessed the altercation in question at the Outwood Station, though his story is so nonsensical that I did not at first realize it. I will recuse myself as magistrate if you think it necessary."
"We could go fetch Hamper, but he is full five miles off," suggested the inspector wearily.
"I'm afraid that Mr. Leonards has already lost much of the coherency that had us send for you in the first place, in another hour he likely won't be fit to finish his deposition," added the surgeon.
"Perhaps you ought to finish taking down his deposition, Mr. Thornton, then you and I can bring the matter to Hamper."
"It seems for the best, then I can give my statement to Hamper and let him sort out what to do."
John finished taking down Leonards's statement, which was much of the same. The man died shortly after, his last words were a curse on the 'Cornish trick' which had, he said, made him a hundred pounds poorer than he ought to have been. John sought out the surgeon again, who confirmed that the blow or fall was not the primary cause of death.
A half hour later, he was seated in Hamper's office sipping a brandy. "I was at the Outwood station sorting out a misdirected shipment of cotton and had just exited the station when I saw Leonards shuffle drunkenly across the platform, shove a lady and lunge for her companion. The whole of the scuffle had ended in the time it took me to cross the length of the platform."
"Did you recognize either the lady or her escort?" Hamper's tone indicated the type of woman he suspected to be involved in such a dispute and John fought back the roiling anger stirred by his insinuation.
"The lady was Miss Hale of Crampton, her companion was her brother who had been visiting their mother in her final illness."
"Ah, Miss Hale, I met her at your dinner did I not? Beautiful woman, she'd be a goddess if she learned her place and didn't speak on matters she knew nothing about or associate with the rabble."
John tried for an impassive look in response to this glib dismissal of Margaret's keen intellect and caring heart. In as even a tone as he could manage, he continued his story. "After the scuffle Mr. Hale boarded the train to London. Miss Hale was in some distress, so I helped her to a seat and waited with her as she collected herself. I then got her a cab and we parted ways."
"And what of Leonards?"
"I did not see where Leonards went, but I did check the ground and he was not there a few minutes after his fall. He rose of his own accord. Any actions on young Mr. Hale's part were purely defensive in nature."
"Well," Hamper began as he glanced again over the statements from Leonards and the surgeon, "despite the mad ravings of a drunkard on his deathbed, it all seems fairly straightforward. As you saw nothing terribly violent in Mr. Hale's actions, and the surgeon does not have evidence that the fight directly caused his death, I don't see any need for an inquest. Would you agree?"
"Aye, it seems that his own indulgences and impertinence were the culprits."
"Inspector?" Hamper summoned the man who waited outside the office. "There will be no inquest. Medical evidence not sufficient to justify it. Take no further steps."
"Very good, sir." The inspector made his bows to the Masters and took his leave. The matter of the investigation was at an end.
"It is a shame I didn't get a chance to comfort Miss Hale myself. Dammed lucky timing for you Thornton." Hamper said with a suggestive wiggle of the eyebrow when they were once again alone.
This time John could not entirely repress his anger or his jealousy and snarled in reply: "Miss Hale is a respectable young lady. Her father is a good friend of mine, her mother was just interred today, and she has done nothing wrong! I would thank you not to impugn her reputation or revive her distress at such a time."
Hamper gave him a knowing look and smiled. "Well, well, a young lady has finally managed to thaw through your icy exterior. I was just having a bit of fun, I didn't realize you had intentions in that direction."
John gave a bitter laugh. "My intentions are irrelevant, Miss Hale would never have me." He immediately regretted his moment of candor.
Hamper laughed in earnest now. "For years you've dazzled all of the young ladies of Milton, leaving the rest of us with no hope. And now you fix your sights on the one lady you can't have! How the mighty have fallen!"
John's face hardened and he said sardonically, "It's a comfort to know I have your sympathy Hamper. I'll be on my way." He bowed stiffly and left the office. Hamper's laughter continued to echo through the hall as he left the building.