-Chapter Five-
Once he was alone with Sherwood and Julia, William announced: "Mr. Sherwood, the bargain was worth Miss Latcher's cooperation. In under thirty minutes we can eliminate the rolls of film we are not interested in, have negatives prepared, and begin matching the presence or absence of the persons in whom we do have an interest." Finally! He now had a method for zeroing in on who was in the garden and who had opportunity to kill Mr. Burke, and match that to the list of individuals with motives that Sherwood provided.
He clapped his hands in excitement, turning to his wife. "Dr. Ogden, will you please examine Miss Latcher's logbook of photographs with Mr. Sherwood to select the proper rolls of film, while I gather up Miss Latcher and prepare to create negatives?"
William made good on his prediction. Julia and Mr. Sherwood selected five rolls of film which were believed to best fit the time of death window to see exactly when Mr. Burke disappeared from view. A little more than thirty minutes later the first two sets of negatives were drying, causing even Commissioner Sherwood to be impressed by the swift result. Miss Latcher's silence was bought with the promise of an exclusive story, which she jumped at, despite not knowing a thing about what was happening other than it was BIG. Her sense of adventure was stirred, so after she showed the detective how to use the Kodak cylinder and chemicals for turning the film into negatives she acquiesced to waiting with Mr. Perkins, albeit under guard, in the private family quarters behind the front hall's fireplace, soaking up as much atmosphere as she could, while pummeling Mr. Perkins to tell her everything that transpired between him and the detective.
While the negatives were processing, Mr. Sherwood had quietly peeled off and sequestered his six suspects in separate rooms under the pretext that Mr. Taggert wished to have a word with them that would prove a financial benefit. And would they be so kind as to wait until the charity affair was over and the rest of the guests departed for a very special private meeting? Each of them went along with it, uttering nary a protest, especially after whiskey and cigars were offered while they cooled their heels.
"Work fast, detective. We cannot afford to let them go and we also cannot hold them," Sherwood had admonished.
William was not surprised: Such was the power of wealth and position. William did not bother to hide his irritation this time since he knew the problems very well. He and Julia decided to use the billiard room to create and examine the negatives as it offered a copious closet for a dark room and excellent light for looking at the images, was private enough, and came with the advantage of the chalk board to organize their findings. William had six columns on the chalk board, one for each suspect with alleged motive next to it. One was about "love" and five about "money." A timer secured from the cook ticked off until the next batch of film was ready.
William peered at the seventh negative while Julia read its description. "This is the first entry about a photograph mentioning Mr. Burke. It says Caleb Burke is standing to the right of Mr. John Strathearn Hendrie and his wife, Lena. I believe he was Hamilton's Mayor last year. Do you see Mr. Burke?"
"Yes I do…Good. We know Mr. Burke is alive here. Now we go to any other mention of Mr. Burke…" William asked Julia to flip to that notation.
"The last mention of Mr. Burke was in a shot with Mr. Adam Zimmerman, who it appears is going to run for a seat in the House of Commons next year according to the description here. In the background is supposed to be the speaker's dais. There is a side note- 'Pennsylvania'—I assume that means that Mr. Zimmerman was originally from the States?" She flipped the page back. "That should be the second to last image on that roll."
"Got it! Excellent. We have documentation that Mr. Burke was alive and well up to that point. In the larger crowd shots I see the distinctive shortbread trays making the rounds. Where is our first suspect…?"
William's plan was straightforward. Miss Latcher took pictures of individuals as they arrived at the party to shake hands with the various dignitaries and important people, including Mr. Taggert. This established who showed up in what order. Visual details in the background of her pictures were compared to what they knew about the time when the shortbreads were served. Anyone who came in to the garden too late to have been able to toss Mr. Burke over the balcony was eliminated as a witness or suspect. With the addition of Miss Latcher's photographs of the crowds taken at regular intervals, it was possible to track whether or not an individual remained in his seat or was visible in the shots. If any of the six suspects went missing during the period of time that coincided with Mr. Burke's demise, then William planned to interview him.
While they worked, Julia spent some time speculating out loud about motives for the killing. "It seems Mr. Burke had no trouble worming his way into Hamilton Society. He theoretically came here to better himself. It's a shame, really; if he had stayed in Virginia would he still be alive today? "
"Yes, I suppose. He attracted attention while he was here, obviously of the wrong kind." William contemplated his new chalk grid, listing all the confirmed evidence to one side, then picked up the next length of negatives. "Let us look for Mr. Gregory Sanford. Which number negative is he in?"
Julia sought his name in the ledger. "Let's see-look for him in number twelve. He should be chatting with the current Mayor."
While William traced through the images, he listened to Julia's continued musing. "It would be helpful if we had a better handle on the motives for killing him."
"Yes," she grunted. "Motives…Gambling…Drinking…Womanizing! According to Mr. Taggert, one would think that his education in the ways of the tobacco business should have kept Caleb Burke sufficiently out of trouble." Julia's head came up, presenting the portrait above the mantle to her view. She squinted at the image and made sound of disgust. "Then again, Endeavour Taggert could never imagine anyone daring to do anything that went against his wishes. Perhaps if Mr. Taggert discovered his protégé acquired interests outside of what the old man approved, he'd be tempted to push Mr. Burke over that railing himself." She finished acidly, "I believe he is quite capable of single-minded pursuit of a goal and demand others follow or be tossed aside!" Julia's voice rose sharply at the end, so she paused and tried to calm herself down.
William found Mr. Sanford's image and then traced it through to the end of the film, locating him in the background, while listening intently to Julia's words. He was taken aback by his wife's bitterness about the Taggert patriarch, wondering if he should explore this issue that upset her so. Working together today had broken loose the uncomfortable log jam in their communication, and he wanted to keep it flowing, so even though it was a distraction from examining the evidence, it made sense to him to broach the subject for her insights. "Julia, what bothers you so much about Mr. Taggert, senior?"
"Because, William! I feel so badly for Dennie. It was awful-enough how he dominated her life, and the lives of everyone around him when we were girls." She crossed her arms and her eyes flashed in anger. "Later on, when it was clear she and her husband were never going to have children of their own she wanted adopt. She was so excited…then it all collapsed." Julia snorted. "You know how some men are about their legacies...her father was actually going to marry again to have more children, but then died suddenly. Well, then her grandfather objected to adoption when there was no more hope of a male grandson, putting the focus on having male great-grandchildren instead. William, his youngest granddaughter, Joy, is only seventeen and is going to marry a thirty-year-old company executive in hopes of a new son-in-law and source of an heir for Endeavour Taggert. More pointedly, Mr. Taggert put his words into action by stipulating only male offspring from his 'flesh,' as he put it, could ever inherit from him. It devastated her, William. She loves her grandfather and is she devoted to this family… so it broke her heart." She shook her head to clear the emotion leaking from her eyes. "Her husband was a good man, but he also passed away before she could persuade him to go against her grandfather…." Julia stopped, standing stiffly and defiantly next to him while trying hard not to stamp her foot. "Men…!"
"Julia, I…" William started to object but she steam-rolled right over him.
"That large stained glass window you admired again as we walked up here? Dennie's father commissioned it. It is nominally the Goddess Persephone in her garden. In reality the central figure is a portrait of his mother, Myrtle, whom he hardly knew as she died in childbirth when he was only three. The four cherubs featured in the transoms are his four surviving daughters—memorialized as perpetual, ineffectual children. The whole thing is supposed to be a family portrait of sorts, but I think it is ghastly." Julia remained red-faced. "Merit Taggert kept marrying and producing offspring, looking for the grandson his father wanted so desperately." She swung her arm around the room. "He built this whole house to aggrandize his father, right down to the oval ballroom and an oaken dining room that can seat thirty, so his father could preside over his descendants from the head of a grand table. Except none of them were good enough because they were of the weaker sex! The five blue and five red flowers on either side of the middle portion of coloured glass represent the all the dead wives and children who were sacrificed to gratify Endeavour Taggert's vanity for male offspring." Her chest was tight and her mouth dry. "Eleven women and children dead in a relentless desire for sons…It is horrid!"
Julia made a supreme effort to stop herself from going on. She was dangerously close to spilling more of her mind to William about this whole business of motherhood and fatherhood. I am being unfair to him to withhold my true thoughts-how often has that resulted in disaster? He has no idea what is under my skin and should have every reason to believe we settled it all this summer whilst on our cycling vacation together. Yet, still, she bit her tongue. Spending time with Dennie and on this case has rattled me.
William crossed over to her and took each of her arms in his hands. He was absolutely appalled, as well as feeling he needed reassure himself there was no other subtext in her outburst, and reassure her if there was. "Are we talking about Mr. Taggert or are we talking about us, you and me?" He made her look at him so she would read his eyes.
She just slumped her shoulders. I am so conflicted about this. Do I tell him I have learned medical science has advanced to the point where there may be a way for me to have his child? But that it would also risk my life? "I…" she wavered, then changed her mind. "I am sorry William for losing my composure. The inequity of it all makes me angry, I suppose. This is why improvement in care for women and children is such a passionate cause for Dennie and why I naturally support her in this."
William guessed that was probably true; knowing there was definitely more going unsaid. "Julia. I hope you know that for me fatherhood is more than passing on my… biological traits…and more than a sign of virility. I do not need that. I promise I will be very satisfied with the child we choose, boy or girl, for us to raise together." His thoughts churned, hoping to comfort her without knowing exactly what her distress encompassed, and flummoxed about what to say. He felt her relax a bit in his arms and cling to him for a minute, before she released him and dried her eyes.
"Yes, William," she smiled tentatively. "I promise we can talk about this more, but your alarm went off and we have film to look at without much time." And before we talk I must know my own mind…
He searched her face and agreed, reluctantly, because he knew this was only over for now. "All right." As he fetched the film and put the last batch in, he let her insights about Mr. Taggert register a little deeper. "Do you really think there could be a motive for Mr. Taggert to do in Caleb Burke? I wonder if we need to consider that." He brought out finished rolls to dry.
Julia sighed dramatically. "I put nothing past him, William. He relies heavily on Dennie in business as well as for the family. Without her the business would have faltered… and gives her no credit for it. He belittles Charity for being unmarried, and turned his back on Mercy when her young son died of pneumonia. Murder? I am hardly a fair judge of the matter…" Julia caught herself becoming agitated again, so she took a moment to regroup.
She returned to the case. "…What if the issue was that the killer knew you were coming and assumed you would talk with Mr. Burke in the course of your duties?" Her eyes brightened. "Or what if Mr. Burke made an ultimatum of some kind or threat he was going to talk with you and naively challenged the wrong person?" Julia was firmly in command of herself again and grateful to go back to the investigation.
"The killer might have taken exception to that. I do think that having eliminated any national security threats means that we have a mundane case." He looked at the chalk board. "The love motive posits that Mr. Armitrading confronted Mr. Burke about taking advantage of his sister- killed him in a fit of rage or a scuffle."
Julia looked with him at the board. "You know, we have left out the cook's statement there was a woman's voice she heard, however Mr. Sherwood identified no direct motives among the female contingent. Why should a woman have not done the deed? I am asking myself if that was Mr. Armitrading's sister's voice Cook heard?" She rifled through the photographic ledger again. "See if you can find Mr. Armitrading and his sister, Jane, in frame twenty-five in your next roll."
William squeezed the remaining moisture away from the negative and went to the proper frame. "Yes. I have them just arriving." He searched the remainder of the frames in both rolls of film. "They picked a spot and remained there. If they stayed there all through the final roll we can eliminate them."
He and Julia finished looking at all five rolls of negatives. The shortbreads came and went. The guests filled up the lawn. People took their seats. One by one, suspects were stricken from the list until there were a final two men with sufficient motive who were out of sight for the required time. Julia completed a rapid sort of the contents of Mr. Burke's room to provide insight into motive.
When they were both satisfied, he announced: "Julia, I think we are ready."
# # #
"Mr. Sanford, you are being evasive." William's tone edged up sharply. He hated it when other people cluttered up his interviews: the suspect's attention often got diverted away from answering his questions and on to showing off for the rest of the room. That was clearly the case for Mr. Gregory Sanford, whose eyes kept darting towards Commissioner Sherwood sitting by the window with the sun behind him, effectively concealing his face in shadows. Mr. Sanford knew, instinctively, that Sherwood was the real power in the room and it was undermining William's interrogation. "We know you had business with Mr. Burke today up on the third floor of this house, and we want to know what that was."
At Mr. Sherwood's insistence, they were first trying to get an admission of a meeting between the two men, then an explanation for where the suspect was during the time of the death, before disclosing the fact Caleb Burke was deceased. William was fairly certain that the Dominion Police were not going to want any public admission of this death occurring at an event they were guarding, if there was any way to prevent it. I also think Miss Latcher is going to be quite disappointed about her "exclusive" story when it all comes down to it.
Mr. Sanford crossed and then recrossed his long legs. "I am not obliged," he said with a smile. "My business is my business. It is not in my best interests, gentlemen to divulge such information; if you must know the matter was private and successfully concluded, that is all. If it is so important to you, then ask Mr. Burke himself."
William got part one of his objective-a sideways admission of a meeting and no dispute it was on the third floor; still, he wanted to throttle the man's insouciance. "Mr. Sanford. I know that you are a gambler. In fact, I know that you make your living on all manner of games of chance, but you don't always win, do you? No. In fact, you owe Mr. Burke money, a great deal of money." He brought out a collection of slips from his pocket. William and Julia has a very productive search of Caleb Burke's room at Myrtle House, revealing a trove of clues, including betting slips signed by Mr. Sanford as IOU's. "I believe you argued with him about gambling on horse racing."
Mr. Sanford kept smiling. Commissioner Sherwood had said that his nick name was "Smiley" Sanford, now William knew why. "We might have had words. Private wagers between gentlemen are not illegal…"
Another admission that fits the witness statement. At this point in most investigations William would lay out his evidence and, if warranted, an especially gruesome photograph of the victim to shake the suspect out of complacency. He'd missed the opportunity for a photograph and was tossing the idea around of making Mr. Sanford look at the corpse in the basement. If the corpse is still there...
He decided he was not going to play by the Commissioner's rules any longer. He looked right at Mr. Sanford: "No. They are not. But murder is…"
Unfortunately Mr. Sanford just kept smiling. And smiling. William came forward to block his view of Mr. Sherwood, demanding the man's full attention. "Mr. Burke is dead, Mr. Sanford, and you killed him to prevent him speaking with me!" William was most gratified to see the smile on "Smiley's" face run away faster than some of the horses he bet on.
"Now wait a damned minute," he sputtered. "I did no such thing!" at the same time Mr. Sherwood growled his disapproval.
William ignored that was well. "You and Mr. Burke disappeared from the party and only you returned. "You don't deny you argued about gambling and were up on the third floor. Why did you do it, Mr. Sanford? You pushed him in a fit of rage, perhaps? Or did you mean to impale him on the staircase."
"Impale him?" Gregory Sanford was instantly white faced and sweating. He shook his head in denial. "No! I mean, we argued, yes. But we came to a…mutual understanding."
"How is that? He kept your IOU's and he had no payment on his person, so how could you have possibly settled your debt?" William kept his face as close as he could to crowd the obviously frightened man; he only required a tiny opening for the lever needed to crack this man wide open and get a confession pouring out.
Mr. Sanford had his hands splayed on the arms of his chair. William saw him blink and take in a breath, then let it go in a long harsh sigh. Afterward, to William's disquiet, the smile started to take effect again on Sanford's face. "Mutual-assured destruction," was all he said, his demeanor relaxing as he settled deeper in his chair and checked the timepiece in his waistcoat, snapping the case shut with a flick of his wrist and a flash of teeth. "Let me tell you a little more about your boy, Caliber Burke…"
# # #
"The problem is, I believe him." William paced in front of the fire place. Out of the bay window he spied the outflow of guests leaving the charity event and getting into carriages or walking back to their own homes. It still rubbed him the wrong way that none of those individuals was interviewed; to William is was a long colourful line of suspects and witnesses draining out of his case.
"I do as well," agreed Sherwood. "It makes sense in a convoluted way. Sanford accused Burke of cheating. Burke had a hold over Sanford because of the gambling debt. Conversely, if Mr. Taggert learned of Burke's gambling on horse racing, or worse yet a whiff of cheating of any kind, it could likely ruin his business partnership with the Taggert tobacco empire. As I said before: Endeavour Taggert is as flinty a businessman as draws breath but he will not tolerate anything illegal or improper and certainly not out-and-out cheating, even if he was as fond of Burke as everyone says. If anything, Burke had more to lose, giving him a strong motive to shut Sanford up, not the other way around. They both had each other by the short…er, I mean, their threats cancelled each other out."
William winced at the implied analogy and could not disagree. "He says he went down the main staircase and to the garden through the ballroom, and that on his way down he heard the sounds of people coming up the back staircase. I can't imagine someone unfamiliar with the house using the servant's passages." He saw Sherwood roll his eyes indicating his opinion of the mansion's configuration. "That also fits with Mr. Howard, our remaining suspect."
"Better yet, Mr. Howard's suite is on the third floor and he has a strong motive, if we can credit Mr. Sanford." Sherwood continued. He slapped his hands on his upper thighs and stood up, smiling. "This turns out to be a domestic case after all, eh, Detective?"
"What about the cook overhearing a female voice?" Julia had a good point earlier, and William did not like seeing all those women leave the premises.
Sherwood's shoulders moved up and down. "That also brings it back down to someone in the household since we ruled out Mr. Armitrading and his sister, and no other female acquaintances are known to have enough motive. Perhaps Cook got confused or it was not Mr. Burke and a female at all."
William concurred, irritated at Sherwood's relieved grin. "I think we now have enough to turn the whole case over to the Hamilton Constabulary. We have the body, trace evidence, the film, and a suspect with motive and opportunity." Even though he said the right words, he discovered he was balking at turning over the investigation. "They need to secure Mr. Howard and confirm witnesses." He turned to Sherwood, clasping his hand behind his back. "Sir, would you like to make the call or should I?" I suspect the commissioner will delay the inevitable again, the question is, do I want to continue or should I leave well enough alone? William was not certain, but waited without betraying his anxiety.
"Detective! I am surprised at you. May I remind you, you have not been relieved of duty; by my calculation you have a little more time. It also turns out I am interested in the results of your interrogation of Trevor Howard, aren't you?" Sherwood asked mildly.
William noticed right away his curiosity was being baited, again. No matter. I've missed my train as it is, and Julia is still here….
He accepted the challenge. "This time we are going to do this my way, Mr. Sherman. Please have one of your men locate Mr. Howard and escort him here. I will get my wife."
# # #
A long wooden library table was laid out with a folder containing Mr. Sanford's statement, notes from Julia on the body, and a tray containing trace evidence. William placed Trevor Howard facing the window so the full light of day fell on his face, and William sat opposite so his own body was back-lit. Mr. Sherwood and Julia sat behind the suspect, out of view. William did not so much as ask questions as lay out his case, piece by piece, while watching the other man's reactions.
Mr. Howard trained for the law before going into the employ of Mr. Taggert. He may have been a lack-luster solicitor, but he knows his right not to speak, and is holding up well, in William's estimation. All right. So he refuses to tell us where he was and what he was doing. I have my methods…. The first crack came when a description of the corpse was presented, with fear showing in the man's eyes and his hands pushing him away from the table. Offering a trip to the basement to view the damage resulted in the man gagging. After a nod from Julia, William pressed his advantage. "I think I can tie you to the crime, Mr. Howard. You have not given me any alibi for the time of death. I believe if we examine your clothing under a microscope we will find trace evidence that will match what was found on the body. That chalk dust, for instance, on your suit. It does get everywhere, does it not?" William saw Mr. Howard surreptitiously wipe his palms on his trousers. "And you had motive. According to my several sources Mr. Taggert favoured Mr. Burke over you. This interloper from another country was edging you out, wasn't he? Going so far as courting one of his granddaughters just as you have done. Perhaps even Miss Joy…?"
Julia had suggested Mr. Burke was ambitious and flirtatious indeed, after examining his effects and scanning the correspondence and papers filched from his room at Myrtle House. In her professional opinion it was very likely any man might have found Mr. Burke too forward with the ladies and become jealous of the attention paid to them. William got the reaction he was waiting for when Trevor Howard's composure ruptured.
"Caleb Burke was a trouble-maker! He was too interested in the family, asking a lot of impertinent questions. Whenever he came over here he never seemed to know his place, behaving much too familiarly… At first I thought it was just because he was an American, a rude one at that, but I have seen him be so slick and polite when he wanted to be, and crude and pointed when that suited him… I considered that Mr. Taggert was getting dotty and being taken advantage of by this outsider... Was he really who he said he was? Anyone could have written a sycophant-ish letter and scraped an acquaintance… Mr. Taggert generously opened all doors for that man and in return he acted like he was owed even more, always poking around…."
When Mr. Howard finally paused to take a breath, William introjected. "I take that as a 'yes'?" He learned when someone talked their way around answering it was to avoid the truth. As Howard choked on a reply, William went for the final jabs. "He lured you to the third floor. You argued. It got physical. Did he taunt you, Mr. Howard? What happened?" William's hand slammed on the table sending his suspect jumping in place.
"I did not harm him! I swear! We argued, yes, because I caught him coming out of the third floor office. He was rifling through desk drawers. I gave him a piece of my mind and he laughed, the insolent bastard!" Howard went from indignation to bluster. "I would have thrashed him but Joy and Miss Charity came to fetch me down to meet Mrs. Hoodless who was due to arrive soon. Joy and I went straight down."
William just stared, nonplussed. He has an alibi, and effectively offered up his soon-to-be sister-in-law as the new suspect? If this was accurate, they now had a new, much more narrow window for time of death—instead of an hour it was a sliver of an hour between when Mr. Burke could have been pushed to his death and when the butler, Mr. August, was estimated to have found him that way.
"Mr. Howard," he said evenly with great effort. "You could have said that earlier."
# # #
The three of them were in the billiard room, huddled anxiously around a long strip of negatives. "Julia! We have it!" William checked the film twice, chastising himself for his previous lapse in attention. "Mr. Howard and Miss Joy Taggert disappear separately and reappear together; Miss Charity Taggert only returns to the garden to take her place on the dais after Mrs. Hoodless arrived." Joy Taggert had already confirmed her fiancé's story. He erased all the other columns on his chalk board. "I think we are back to a love motive. Miss Joy and Mr. Howard heard her sister, Miss Charity, having a row with Caleb Burke. That explains the woman's voice the cook heard. She is our next interview." He happily handed the film and his magnifier to Julia for confirmation, and turned expectantly toward the commissioner.
Mr. Sherwood was disappointed… he'd had such hopes for the Toronto pair, but his Special Investigator's train was pulling into the station any minute, leaving no room for the case to continue. "I am afraid your time has run out, Detective, Doctor. My men will secure the house. We will give a story to Miss Latcher to sell to the papers and return most of her film except for the rolls which document your time line. She might even be able to get to her deadlines if we release her now." He reached for the remaining negatives and the ledger which identified who was in each photograph.
William's face fell. "But sir…"
"Detective, you have truly proven this is a domestic tragedy. I thank you and your country thanks you. I imagine when Prime Minister Laurier learns about your efforts he will personally thank you, and Dr. Ogden as well." His head travelled side to side. "But you are about to accuse the daughter of our host with homicide and it will be up to the Hamilton Constabulary to prosecute the case. I don't envy them. There is no provable motive and the family will form a tight ring of defense. I think it is best you let them flail around at it rather than take it on."
Giving up the investigation grated on William's nerves. "I understand I have advocated from the beginning to turn this over to the local constabulary, however, as of now I feel we should continue."
"Detective, you want a third try at a suspect?" Sherwood was skeptical and sounded like it. "How many do you usually run through before you get it right?"
William was stung. I expect a comment like that from the Inspector... He inhaled, feeling the need to justify his actions, if only to himself. Disproving the null hypothesis is the scientific method after all… He searched for words to convince the commissioner, when a tap on the closed door distracted him. Julia opened it up to find Mr. August with a tight expression on his face.
"Madam, Sirs. Mr. Taggert requests you join him downstairs with his family." The butler did not wait for an answer, merely turned around and headed for the main staircase.
Julia saw him stop abruptly at the top of the stairs, before backing up like a cat and reversing to take the service stairs. He cannot bring himself to pass by where Mr. Burke's body was, she thought sympathetically, I know the feeling. Julia had automatically balked at entering their suite at the Windsor when she got out of the hospital; her body refusing to go forward across the area where she had been shot, even though she knew there was no danger.
William saw his opportunity. "Mr. Sherwood. If we allow the family to take charge of the narrative, escape interview, or contaminate the evidence, we are subverting justice!" He stood upright and engaged the commissioner directly. "My replacement is not here and if the local constabulary takes over, your service loses control." William tried to keep his face bland. "You will have to explain to them how a murder occurred while your men were providing security…"
Sherwood was surprised at how strongly he reacted to that gambit. So, Murdoch is as good at chess as my report says he is. Interesting…And he's not wrong. "Detective, your logic is inescapable. I yield…for now. If I told you to work fast before, make that double time now."
Julia felt the exhilaration at solving a case by his side had suddenly gone. His logic, indeed. Julia recalled all the losses her friend has suffered. Poor Dennie, did her sister really do this? She said Charity was egregiously misnamed, but was still her own flesh and blood. For Dennie's sake, I hope William is wrong. Julia pushed the disquiet away to look over at her husband, while absently pocketing the remaining five rolls of negatives and magnifier. "Shall we?" She sought his arm and together they descended, followed by Commissioner Sherwood past the elegant stained glass, beautifully executing such ugly symbolism, to the main floor where Mr. August ushered all three into the private family quarters.
A generous room boasting a curved wall with three windows topped by stained glass transoms of hunting scenes, greeted William. More of Merit Taggert's masculine taste, he assumed. A Dominion Police security officer was posted by the door. Hopefully to keep them from talking with each other about the murder. Sherwood motioned to his man, gave him the film and the remaining ledger pages, and pointed to the door after whispering a few words.
Endeavour Taggert positioned himself to ostentatiously command the room with lesser satellites arrayed around him. William made an educated guess about their identities: to Taggert's right was a woman he took by her widow's weeds to be Mercy Pomfret, her black dress relieved only by a gold medallion around her neck, then Mr. Howard who was holding a young woman's hand indicating she was Miss Joy Taggert. On his left the remaining unknown woman had to be Miss Charity Taggert, conventionally pretty and red-eyed, nervously plucking her yellow skirts, then finally Mrs. Prudence Carter. Miss Latcher was nowhere in sight, but family photographs stood on every surface. William's eye caught a certain similarity is style to the photographs on Miss Latcher's negatives, guessing she was invited today to take the Society pictures because of the quality of her work and intimacy with the Taggert family.
William raised his eyebrows and pursed his lips. Mrs. Carter was wearing linen trousers and vest over a loose white shirt; rather than masculine she seemed singularly feminine, having made the outfit her own and perfectly natural to wear. Her sapphire necklace gleamed from inside the open necked shirt. Mr. Taggert was pointedly not looking at his eldest granddaughter; he also did not offer any seats to William, his wife or Mr. Sherwood. William was certain that was just as deliberate.
Prudence Carter did the honours instead. "Commissioner Sherwood, Detective Murdoch, Julia—please be seated. My grandfather and I wish to thank you for joining us, and for your discretion…"
She was cut off by a grunt from Mr. Taggert. "Percy, I have told everyone about Caliber's death and expected an arrest. Is your new man not up to the job?"
William remained standing. So much for not contaminating the witness pool… He noticed Mr. Sherwood did not appear to take any offense. "Mr. Taggert, to complete an investigation requires gathering all the facts. Detective Murdoch has some questions for Miss Charity. It seems she might have been the last person who saw Mr. Burke, alive," he answered casually, and gestured for William to proceed.
William was displeased in the extreme as this was not how he wanted to interview his suspect. He was bristling and about to resist when he saw Sherwood check his pocket watch; William had no trouble taking his meaning. Now or never. William sharpened his gaze and advanced, putting the focus on his quarry. He observed a slight variation in the sunny colour of her dress. Since the black and white negatives he examined gave no clue as to colour, he wondered if that was trace evidence on the clothing. He edited his questions rapidly in his mind to come up with a new approach. "Miss Taggert, if I may. Can you please tell me about your conversation with Mr. Burke this afternoon?"
Julia watched the wheels turning in William's mind, trying to predict how he will problem-solve the dilemma of insufficient time and constricted ability to conduct an investigation by his own rules. Turning her attention to the room, she made a sketchy psychological assessment of the Gestalt of the group and then each individual, specifically studying her husband's target. She observed Charity's pout looked well-practiced, and unattractive, especially on a woman of her age. The 'room' was charged for action but Miss Charity exhibited none of the characteristics of a guilty conscience.
"Grandfather…?" Charity ignored William and Mr. Sherwood to appeal to the highest authority in the room. "Do I have to…?"
She got no quarter from him. Raising her eyes, she sighed and tried to deny it and Mr. Howard objected. "Miss Charity, Joy and I both heard you arguing with him."
William shifted to see Julia's friend jump upright, fists on her hips and eyes blazing, radiating exasperation. He automatically imagined Julia doing the same.
"Shut up, Trevor!" Prudence Carter hissed. "You fool! Haven't you done enough damage? Do you seriously think you can find a place in this family by acting this way?"
Charity stood as well with her fists clenched in her dress, her sister's support energizing her. "How could you? Both of you?" She shot daggers at Joy and Trevor Howard. "Yes, I spoke with him. So what?" Mr. Howard's face reddened and he started to stand.
William regained control of the conversation before another argument erupted. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Mr. Taggert was still, only his eyes moving. He returned to Charity. "Please be seated, everyone. Miss Taggert, what was the topic of your conversation?"
Charity tried again to get her grandfather to rescue her, but he remained unmoved. "He was alive when I left him, can't we leave it at that?"
"Miss Taggert, please answer my question," William asked flatly, his ears ringing at her choice of words.
Miss Charity seemed to physically waver before giving in with a bitter, waspish tone. "I confronted him about you, Mercy! I loved him from the first time I saw him." She started to cry and sank into her seat. "I just knew he was the one for me, from the first time we spoke. Can't you understand that, Detective? Wanting to marry for love?" Since no one else offered, William handed over a clean handkerchief for her sobbing.
"Not again, Charity, why were you so jealous?" Mercy Pomfret regretted her outburst immediately.
William reoriented. "Again, Mrs. Pomfret? To what are you referring?"
Mercy looked to Prudence, who shook her head in return. Mercy dropped her chin. "My sister misunderstood, I don't know why…"
"Why? WHY? That's not the first man you tried to steal from me! I overheard you and Caleb saying you were going to make your announcement this afternoon. It was of an engagement, wasn't it? What would he want with you anyways, a sad dry stick…" Her speech was wracked by ragged breaths.
"Good gracious, Charity. Not marriage, not at all. He was just being pleasant to you, but he had no interest in you—or me for that matter!" Mercy said, shock and amusement in equal measure, clearly not catching on to the implications. e wa
Julia saw Dennie try to intervene but Charity could not stop herself. "No interest in me? Pleasant to me? I felt he loved me! I thought I finally found someone who loved me for me and who could also win grandfather's approval. Then I found out about you. How could you betray me that way, Mercy? You already had a husband," she wailed. "Can you imagine? He called me silly and spiteful. We had a terrible set-to and now he's dead…"
"Miss Taggert, is that an admission of guilt?" William asked softly, his voice penetrating the emotionally overheated room. "If we examine your dress, will we find pollen stains from where he grabbed you when you fought? Lilly pollen is notoriously difficult to remove…"
"No. Detective, stop this. Julia? Stop this!" Dennie asked. "All of you stop this. Don't say another word!" William saw that Julia had taken out the film negative as was furtively scanning them, paying no attention to her friend.
Mercy was open-mouthed in alarm. "You killed him?" Her voice rose to a shriek. "You killed him?!" This time she was on her feet. "He was our brother, Charity. We figured it out. He has a sovereign just like the one I wear-like we all received from father when we were born. Caleb and I were not going to announce an engagement, but that he was our long lost half-brother, come to join the family." She raised her gaze to Endeavour Taggert who remained implacable. "I knew you'd be so pleased about our discovery, grandfather …" She rounded on her sister. "And you killed him…?"
"That is absurd!" Trevor Howard burst in. "You have no proof of his identity! He was a stranger trying to insert himself into the family and the business to take advantage of Mr. Taggert. We don't even know he was who he said he was. He could have been anyone; anyone could have known the gift of a coin was a Taggert family tradition. He was merely an opportunist …"
"Unlike yourself, Trevor? You don't seem to mind being used as breeding stock for the Taggert bloodlines… isn't that right, grandfather?" Julia heard Dennie's voice cut through as effectively as William's had, getting everyone's attention with her wry, cutting observation. "Wedding a child almost half your age to get a partnership in the Taggert empire? Hardly evidence of a strong character, but then that has been on display here, has it not?"
Charity was choking in distress. "Brother? I agree, that is absurd. A coin? That is no proof. I would have known, I would have felt it…"
"Is that why you killed him? For leading you on? For courting you when he was actually your brother?" William asked. "I could understand the powerful blow that must have been." William was still seeking a firm admission of guilt and the real motive behind his death. "Perhaps you just reacted when he told you and it was an accident after all?" His eyes travelled towards Julia who held the deepest frown on her face. He allowed one part of his mind to worry about that, whilst the rest worked on the convoluted puzzle that was this case.
"He only wanted to belong to the family, he told me so…" Mercy remained focused and angry with Charity, who continued to sob and had not clearly denied doing the deed: what William came to interpret as a non-denial of the facts, meaning the facts were true. He was about to announce his intention of arresting her, when a clear, low voice drew attention to Prudence Carter, standing by a set of family portraits.
"Oh he wanted more than that. Much more than that. He called asked me to come upstairs so he could crow. Mercy, how could you have been so naive? He planned on announcing he was the bastard son of our father at the charity event today—to the press! To the whole town. To all of Society! Can you imagine? He wanted more than a ten percent share of the business. He planned on inheriting the whole affair—lock, stock and barrel. Well, I could not have that, could I?" Dennie looked at Julia for understanding.
Mr. Taggert finally roused himself. "Prudence! What have you done?" his gravelly voice croaked and he stood up, using the arms of the chair to brace him.
"Done? I have done what needed to be done, grandfather. What you would have done if someone threatened the business. Caleb was going to do two things: ruin the business and push all of us out of our inheritance one way or the other. If blackmail did not work he was going to openly campaign for inheritance—just as your Will specifies. That was probably what he was looking for upstarts in the office, and why he'd been poking around, Trevor. The problem is, grandfather, you only want sons. You denigrate Charity for not catching a man; lost interest in Mercy when your great-grandson passed away; matched up my sweet baby Joy, much too young to marry, to this spineless, lickspittle toady." Prudence pointed to Trevor Howard, whose eyes were round in disbelief. "Sons and grandsons…so many that three of our mothers died trying to give them to you…."
"While you actually run the business…" Julia came to her friend's side and held her arm. Dennie was shaking.
"There is no proof!" Trevor Howard kept repeating himself, and was ignored. His fiancée, Miss Joy left his side and chose another seat, wringing her hands in fear.
"Yes there is," said Julia. She looked at William to make him understand that she needed to bring forth evidence. She saw he trusted her and nodded once. She turned to Dennie, indicating the others in the room. "They are right. Anyone could make up a story about the coins; he might have been impersonating the real Caliber Burke; I suppose he could make the case that he was conceived in Virginia with the wife of his business partner since your father was there during the critical period of time. But it was more than that. Look at the photographs of your father, here. See the dimple in his cheek? And the portrait of your grandfather as a young man? The same crease in his cheek. It could not have seen it on his body after death, but," she produced a length of negative, "but I now see in these photographs taken today that he has the same feature—they are inherited features: father to son to grandson." Julia held Dennie's eyes with hers—blue to blue, and felt very angry.
Brilliant! William's visual mind assembled the negative frames he scrutinized into a set of moving pictures in his head and he knew instantly where his wife was going with this, and he understood she was right. Mr. Taggert had never referred to Caleb Burke's legal father, Edmund Burke as anything but Mr. Burke senior, I should have caught that omission before. He all but told me then that Edmund was not Caleb's 'real' father. William compared his recollection of the photographic negatives to the portrait of a young Endeavour Taggert and the photographs of a clean shaven Merit Taggert. Fathers and sons indeed. We have spent the day on the possibility that M. LaVergne was Mr. Laurier's illegitimate son as the spark for today's tragedy, when it was another family secret altogether.
Julia continued. "That is why there are no pictures of you, Dennie. It was not only because you were busy as hostess. You told William you were greeting guests with your grandfather, but he did not confirm that, did he? And that is why you sent me inside to fetch your fan, isn't it? You knew what I would find. Or was it you could not bear to see what you had done?" Julia saw defiance in her friend.
"I had to protect the business, protect my sisters, even protect you, grandfather, from the obsession you have about male progeny, no matter how unworthy." Julia and Dennie stood face to face, barely breathing.
In the airless silence, Endeavour Taggert shuffled forward, every ear straining for his words. "I already knew he was my biological grandson; I have always known." The groaning sound in the room was sharp. "My son had an interest in an unsuitable person while he was on business in Virginia." His mouth formed words of disgust. "She had no breeding, no social standing at all. Merit even thought he loved her despite his engagement to another young lady I selected for him from the best sort of family." He shook his head in disbelief, apparently still angry his son defied him so many years ago. "My sentimental son gave Caliber's mother his own sovereign as a token of affection." He looked directly at Sherwood, hoping for understanding. "Don't you see? I could not let him bring someone of an inferior background into our family!" I offered a financial incentive to Edmund Burke to marry the woman to make her unavailable to Merit, and when Caliber was born a little too prematurely, I paid off Mr. Burke with a slice of the business and he was content with that, by all accounts raising Caliber as his own and reconciling with his wife. Merit never knew about his son, or at least I don't believe he ever did. I reckon Caliber's mother hinted to him about coming north to seek a fortune and carrying Merit's sovereign and an American Trade dollar with him as leverage."
Endeavour Taggert directed his words to Prudence. "I knew about his blackmail threats, but I did not care and told him so. I am an old man past being persuaded by threats. I had already come to realize you knew enough about the company that I changed my will to leave you and your sisters the business in trust for your sole use to protect you from losing your rights should you decide to marry or remarry," he shot a withering glance at Trevor Howard. "I have you, Prudence, installed as the company president. I just didn't tell you…" He took a long breath, muttering, "What have I done…?" under his breath.
No one moved. The great hall clock-chimes sounded through to the hour as one man spoke. "Prudence Carter. I am placing you under arrest for the murder of Caliber Burke." Arthur Percy Sherwood got there before William could act, taking the deflated, tearful woman by the elbow and into the hall. The remaining sisters sobbed quietly. William had no idea what Endeavour Taggert was thinking, and discovered he did not much care. As a school boy he learned that the stuff of tragedy is where the hero brings his own doom down upon himself because of his actions and then must live with the consequences. He did not know if there were any heroes here.
# # #
-Epilogue-
Julia's head ached. She sought fresh air through the open double doors which lead from the well-proportioned oval ballroom to the now empty garden, resting her eyes on blue and white flowers moving in a light breeze. Mr. Sherwood whisked Dennie (and the body and all the evidence) away. There was no actual premeditation, and Endeavour Taggert extracted a promise to have his granddaughter represented by the best barrister money could buy. Julia sighed and let her mind drift to her friend. It was the best I can hope for. Now we have more, horrible things, in common—killing a man and going on trial for murder. Recognizing William's footsteps coming up behind her on the parquet dance floor, she sank against him as he slid his hand around her waist. They were quiet for a minute, before she felt him getting restless again.
"Julia. We should go home to Toronto, there is nothing for us to do here," he offered to her ear.
She heard him, but her mind was still unsettled and refused to focus on anything. Today's events were excruciating enough without stirring up things between her and William. After a while she managed a bitter laugh at her delusion that was something she could control. I was so excited about solving a case with him. Be careful what you ask for…
In hopes of delaying the inevitable she separated a little from him to draw deeper into the grand room and run a hand over the smooth onyx mantle that matched the stone in the front hall. The ocher graining was dramatic, elegant…much like Dennie. She took in and let out a breath to clear her mind. "William," she said, moving back to him and pulling him into her arms for comfort, "this oval room reminds me of where we took dancing lessons all those years ago. That was the first time you held me." She found his face and they shared the memory. "Hold me now?"
William was pleased to do so, having no words to give her comfort. Even without music, William was able to imagine escorting her across the floor in sweeps of movement, melding their bodies together. He held her until she seemed to relax and her breathing became regular. "Julia. What can I do to help you feel better?" The distance between them that had narrowed before while they worked together on Caleb's murder was widening again, and he did not know why nor how to bridge the gap.
She sighed. What can he do? I get frustrated with him for not being sensitive to my feelings when I am not certain what they are or I am in conflict about them. I want him to read my mind when I don't even know it! "I have been thinking about families. About fathers and sons, William. Does biology make a family? Are we fooling ourselves into thinking we can adopt a child and predict the outcome?"
William was thoughtful. "Predict? No. But like any experiment we can set the conditions, control some of the variables." He made a sideways smile. "This situation today has rattled you, hasn't it, more than about what Mrs. Carter did. Please tell me….?"
Here it is. Another opportunity. "William," she hesitated. Her heart started pounding and Julia felt unhappily caught between excitement and dread. William was patiently waiting, calm, concerned, and steadfast, so…I might as well say it. "I have withheld something this from you. Considering the lesson I was shown today about the consequences of not disclosing important information, I believe I must." She felt tears threaten to start. I am not a hysterical female! I will not cry! "William, I have learned there is a combination of medical breakthroughs that increase the likelihood of a successful pregnancy and live birth in women like me… It is now possible to surgically remove a baby from the mother safely, without her bleeding to death, and assuming sterile techniques are used, puerperal fever and infection won't kill her either… Dr. Kehrer developed the concept of the ideal incision site and Dr. Sanger developed the technique for suturing the womb… If those medical advances were more widely and properly practiced, both mother and child prosper… There is an eighty-five percent chance it might be possible for a woman like me to carry a pregnancy to term and birth a child, your child, assuming that I could get pregnant in the first place… You so want a child, a son…" Julia forced it all out in nearly one breath.
She brushed a finger on her cheek, surprised to find tears while William rummaged in his jacket for a handkerchief to hand her. Accepting it, Julia started laughing, A little hysterical after all. "William! How many of these things do you have and what else is in your pockets?"
William was not going to be distracted. He pulled her closer so they could feel each other's hearts beating. "Julia. I want you. Period. I have no need for biological offspring. I have no fortune to pass along, no property to inherit. Fatherhood, for me, is not about that; it is about giving a child a good home with loving parents and the advantages I never had, forming a young mind and heart to prepare them for the future. If we had a biological child together he, or she, would be an expression of our love, the both of us, but I believe that is also what an adopted family is about." He gathered her even closer, inhaling her sandalwood scent. "I would never want anything to risk losing you, ever!" I knew about those medical advances, but the risk is too enormous. I should have known she'd be worried, but I believed we'd put all this to rest!
"Are you certain, William? I am worried that we will not be allowed to adopt, so if this provided a viable opportunity for parenthood, and considering my age we would need to do this soon…." She clung to him and he felt her light tremble.
"We are not the Taggert family. We are not a replica of your family nor mine, thank goodness! You and I will chart our own destiny, unencumbered by the flaws we saw today, God willing. Come home with me, Julia. We have come this far and together we can figure it out."
William had no idea if he said the right thing, be he spoke with sincerity and hoped it was enough. Julia sank deeper into his arms and after a while they began to dance, swaying like the flowers outside in the breeze.
**END**
DEAR READER: Thank you for travelling to Hamilton with me. I set the story in the building, currently the Scottish Rite Club, where The Murdoch Mystery Experience 2016 (MME16) was held. The event was spectacular and the four ladies who planned and executed it deserve all the credit in the world. You are amazing!
I have used the original 1895 house as a character in the story, (with just a few embellishments –I had to put Latin over the door for William-and made guesses, such as the kitchen & dumbwaiter.) The descriptions of the house, individual rooms and the stained glass are as accurate as I could make—I made up the "story" about the stained glass, but you can go on the internet and see the house if you like. (SEE INFO BELOW). Huge thank you to Lovemondays for her incredible research and attention to details about the beautiful house, where many, many scenes from Murdoch have been shot over the years (yes, including the dance studio where W & J took those lessons.) She could not have been nicer, and this story could not have been done without her. All things I got right are due to her; any errors (and the choices) are mine, and she gets credit for co-creating the story and the main (invented) characters. Anything you liked is because she made it so; blame me for the rest.
Thank you to GL and JH for wanting to play! I hope you like "your" characters; you both honour me.
Thank you RomanticNerd for sharing your idea about caesarian sections for Julia to safely bring a baby to term-I hope next week is better!.
Bless you, dear beta reader, "Dutch." Many sets of eyes have gone on a search and destroy mission for typos—but a few always get through—I blame the negative hallucinations…
"The Taggert family" was inspired by the original owners of the house and they did get tobacco from the South during the American Civil War and introduced an assembly-line sort of factory for making tobacco products — however, my characters are a work of fiction, any resemblance to anyone living or dead is purely coincidence, etc., etc.…
Other "real" characters (Right off the internet! Has to be accurate, right?):
Mrs. Adelaide Hoodless did all I said she did and much more and I have quoted her opinions.
Arthur Percy Sherwood, Commissioner of the Dominion Police did say he spent his time allying other people's fears.
Monsieur Armand LaVergne was suspected to be Mr. Laurier's son and Mr. Laurier did say that LaVergne would throw the English in the river—eventually Mr. Laurier threw LaVergne out of the Liberal party.
There were national security threats as I described in 1903-4.
I have used other actual residents of Hamilton as well, a couple Mayors and members of parliament/legislature.
THE SCOTTISH RITE CLUB:
In 1884, the property was acquired by George E. Tuckett of the Tuckett Tobacco Company. Tuckett built his home, known as "Myrtle Hall", where the Grand Lodge building now stands. Myrtle Hall survived until the late 1950s, when it was demolished to make way for the current structure. In 1895, George T. Tuckett, the son of George E. Tuckett, built his own family home. Known as "The Towers," it was designed by Hamilton architect James Balfour. The Towers now forms the Club portion of The Scottish Rite building. The magnificent woodwork in the club was done by John Hoodless and Sons, a prominent furniture manufacturer in Hamilton at the time. Hoodless also built the incredible Tuckett Family dining room table, which was custom built for the dining room in which it still sits.
