Chapter 4 – Red Herrings and Other Bait
"I don't know what's going on Mrs. Hughes," Thomas said. He was feeling somewhat panicked. The police had been to the house after the family returned from London and gone through the employment records yet again. They wanted to talk to anyone who worked at the house inside or out who had been there since 1912. The only time he hadn't been at the house was during part of the war. Otherwise he fit the bill perfectly.
"They want to talk to everyone," Mrs. Hughes said. "I don't know anymore than you. I'll have to talk to them myself. I've been here longer than you, longer than anyone now."
"I admit I did some petty pilfering when I was young and foolish," Thomas said. "But those days are long behind me."
"I don't think petty pilfering lends itself to murder," Mrs. Hughes said. "Answer their questions truthfully and you won't have any troubles."
"Mrs. Hughes, what if they ask me about…my personal life?"
"Do you have a personal life, Mr. Barrow? Most of us in service don't. I don't, neither does Mrs. Patmore. After all these years in service I wouldn't think you have one either."
"Thank you Mrs. Hughes. I'll keep that in mind," Thomas Barrow said.
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"Well, well, well," he said to himself. "Grantham is getting careless now that he's back home." Lord Grantham had left out a folder with George Murray's office crest on it on the sofa in the library. He was just about to reach for it and have a look when he heard the doorknob turn and the sound of Grantham and Branson on the other side of the door talking about something. By the time the two men entered the library the only trace anyone had been there was a faint click of footsteps in the great hall.
"Do you think our culprit took the bait?" Lord Grantham asked.
"We can only hope," Tom Branson replied. "Make sure you leave it out again in a few mornings. We don't want to make it too obvious."
"Who ever it is, I want to be there when the hangman puts the noose around his neck," Robert Crawley said.
"Patience," Tom reminded him. "He's had a long time to practice his skill. He's slipped up once. We'll catch him."
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"The police questions seemed rather routine if you ask me," Anna said. They were sitting at dinner in the servants' hall. Everyone from the house had been questioned as well as the outdoor staff and a few people like Mr. Carson and Daisy who had been long time employees of the estate.
"I think they're looking for a man," Thomas said with a sour expression.
"What makes you say that Mr. Barrow?" John asked.
"The type of questions they asked. The only women that have worked here that long ago are Mrs. Hughes, Mrs. Patmore, Anna, Miss O'Brien and Daisy. They were all asked if they had ever seen anything suspicious, who might have a grudge, was anyone flashing a bunch of cash about over the years. There is only a select group of men who have been here off and one over a long period of time. They are myself, Mr. Lynch, you, Mr. Bates, Mr. Carson, Mr. Branson and a few of the other outdoor staff. William Mason is dead. That lets him out and Mr. Branson arrived late in 1913. They are looking for someone who arrived in 1912 or before. They asked us about our bank accounts, past criminal records and whom we associated with in London and what we do on our time off. They are definitely looking for a man."
"I have a criminal record and have been in prison twice," John commented. "It doesn't make me guilty."
"It wouldn't be the first time an innocent man has been convicted as you well know, Mr. Bates," Thomas said. His paranoia over his past indiscretions was getting the better of him.
"They haven't charged anyone yet, Mr. Barrow and there are always ways out of prison," Mr. Bates said.
"Listen to him. He should know," Miss O'Brien said gesturing to Mr. Bates. "He's been in and out twice. I wish you'd stop talking about it you're putting me off my meal. Goodness knows I worked long enough hours for it today."
"Miss O'Brien is correct. Let's agree not to discuss this nasty business over meals," Mrs. Hughes said.
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"Finally," he thought. He had seen the folder with Murray's office crest left out twice but it hadn't been left long and there had been no chance to get a look until today. He merged into the shadows in the room then flipped the folder open. There it was in black and white, a list of the thefts going back to 1912. "It had been a good long run," he thought with a self-satisfied smirk making its way across his face. His eyes narrowed when he looked at the amounts. There was considerably more missing in the thefts than he had ever received payment for. "The bastards! He had been orchestrating the thefts and the thieves had been stealing from him. Of course there was no honor amongst thieves. It was nothing he wouldn't do himself but it couldn't go unpunished. If he left his henchmen to get away with it the next would think he was an easy mark as well. Collins and McCormick were behind bars now. They had been nabbed when they took the boys, but the others. If he found out it was them short changing him. They would pay and pay dearly."
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"Milord, Mr. Barrow found this left out in the great hall and asked me to give it to you as I was on my way up," John Bates said handing a blue folder to Robert Crawley. "He thought it might be important."
"Goodness Bates, I wouldn't want that falling into the wrong hands," Robert said. "I must have been distracted and set it down. Thank you for returning it to me."
"Your quite welcome, milord," John said. "Do you think the police will be around again?"
"Who knows how their minds work?" Robert replied. "Mr. Branson, Lady Rose and I have an appointment with them later this afternoon. I have no idea what they want, but I do wish they would hurry up and get this mess resolved one way or the other."
"Dealing with the police is never a pleasant matter in my experience," John said. "The staff are all rather unsettled from the experience."
"Are they? Nothing about this has been pleasant," Robert said with a sigh. "It was hard enough to loose Matthew to an accident, but now to find out it was deliberate."
"Perhaps the person was only trying to scare him and things went further than intended."
"Perhaps. It doesn't change the fact that Matthew is dead and we all have to carry on without him."
"Death is rather final, milord," Bates said.
"Hopefully, we have a few years left in us, old chap," Robert said touching John's arm lightly. "I had best get back down stairs before Branson and Lady Rose take a notion to use the front lawn for summer pasture."
"Very well, milord," John replied.
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"Lord Grantham, Lady Rose, Mr. Branson, please take a seat," the Detective Inspector said as the entered his office at the police detachment in Ripon.
"Why did you want us to come here?" Lord Grantham asked.
"Security is much better here than at your estate, Lord Grantham" the Detective Inspector said. "If the perpetrator is a member of your staff, there is less likelihood of being overheard here or any information leaking back to the culprit."
"Yes, I see," Lord Grantham replied. "I just hate to think someone I have trusted to come into my home and care for my family could be behind this."
"Who ever this person is would have to have your trust and be able to move around your house and grounds without suspicion, Lord Grantham," the Detective Inspector said. "The thefts themselves were conducted by low level criminals. So far we have traced the hay and feed to a feedlot where it was sold. The lot paid for the goods to an account that had periodic cash withdrawals. It was a busy bank and none of the tellers have a clear memory of the man who made the withdrawals."
"So you're looking for a man then," Tom Branson asked.
"Yes, we believe so," the Detective Inspector said. "One who can appear in public well dressed and not call attention to himself. We know the car tampering occurred sometime during the summer, Lord Grantham, most likely before your trip to Scotland."
"Why would you say that?" Robert asked.
"The level of tampering would not have allowed the car to be driven more than once or twice. The car was driven to the station by one of the staff on the estate. He reported no problems at that time. Mr. Crawley drove to the hospital and as you know he did not make it home."
"I know the car was tampered with, but I don't know how they managed to get access," Tom stated. "There were three chauffeurs at the time. One of them would have surely noticed a stranger or someone out of place around the garage."
"That is what leads us to believe it was someone familiar to staff members who is trusted around the estate. They could easily make an excuse of being at the garage to retrieve something from one of the cars or be a regular visitor to that part of the estate who would go unnoticed," the detective inspector stated.
"Do you believe the two crimes are connected?" Rose asked.
"Yes, I'm afraid we do," the detective inspector replied. "We have only found two people with motives to harm Mr. Crawley. The first would be Mr. Jarvis, the estate agent Mr. Crawley let go. He moved to a remote part of Wales to live with his daughter and her husband over a year before Mr. Crawley's death and has a concrete alibi for that entire summer. The second person with motive would be the thief if Mr. Crawley was getting close to the same realization you had Lady Rose."
"So you're saying you suspect the head theif is someone at the house we trust," Lord Grantham said.
"At this point it is still speculation but we believe so," the detective inspector said. "Did you put out the false folder as we requested?"
"Yes, we've brought a copy of the false document. You were sent a copy of the original report directly from Murray's office," Lord Grantham said. "I left it out in conspicuous locations three times. It was returned to me by Bates, the third time out. He claimed he had received it from Barrow, who asked him to bring it upstairs to return it to my possession."
"Did you see Mr. Barrow with the folder in his hand for yourself?" the Detective Inspector asked.
"No, I did not," Lord Grantham said. "You don't think it's Bates, do you? I trust the man with my life."
"At this point Lord Grantham, everyone is still a suspect. Hopefully, the red herring has been taken and pushes the culprit to make a careless move. I advise you to continue to keep all the estate records away from prying eyes at this point. You might casually mention we have narrowed down the list of suspects in front of some of your staff. It may agitate the culprit enough to loose his nerve, although I highly doubt so."
"Why would you say that, Detective Inspector?" Rose asked. She had taken her husband's hand throughout the meeting. The idea of their children sharing a home with a crook was unsettling to say the least.
"Who ever this is, they are not prone to rash decisions. They have been slowly and methodically robbing the estate for twelve and a half years. I would suspect they have a long record of criminal history and have gotten away with their crimes repeatedly over the years. That type of criminal mind is not one that snatches things for the quick money. They are in it for the long haul with a definite goal in mind. The motive could be any number of things including revenge, greed or they may just enjoy the cat and mouse game of not being caught."
"We will let slip the information you have narrowed the list of suspects in the next few days," Lord Grantham said. "Please let us know as soon as you turn up anything."
"Of course Lord Grantham. I have every confidence the culprit will be caught and brought to justice," the detective inspector said.
"I'm glad you do," Lord Grantham said as he stood to leave.