His Father's Ghost (Mina Scarletti Mystery Book 5) Page 6

Mina also meditated on the fact that young Franklin had received a good education, the kind his father would have wished for him. Yet without the insurance money the estate would have been worthless. How had the expense been met?

  Then there were the newspaper reports mentioned by Miss Cherry, the details of which had been refreshed in her mind by recent gossip. Had Mr Holt been telling the truth when he told Mr Sutherland that he was advised to take the sea air for his health? And was there any significance to his proposed visit to Shoreham? Who was the detective employed by Mrs Vardy’s brother and what, if anything did he discover? There was, she realised, one enquiry she could easily make from her bed. If Mr Sutherland still lived in Brighton, she had the means of discovering his address.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Miss Cherry settled in her chair, opened her little book, and cleared her throat in preparation for a new reading. ‘Sincerity,’ she announced, but Mina quickly interrupted her.

  ‘I am sorry, but I cannot help myself — I am so distracted and cannot attend to your reading — all I can think of is poor Mrs Vardy and the sufferings of her child. Please can you reassure me of something, and set my mind at rest and then I can be content, — since you were able to leave your duties and consign young Franklin to the care of his family, then that must mean that his health has improved of late?’

  Miss Cherry laid the book in her lap. ‘I am reluctant to say anything, since I don’t want to upset you —’

  ‘Oh, please, I beg of you, the truth. I will know if you are making light of it. Imagination can be more upsetting if the truth is hidden.’

  Miss Cherry, bound to care for her patient, did not like to hear this. ‘Very well. I do not believe that he has improved. Mrs Vardy has a sister, a Mrs Norbert of Southsea. She is a very organising kind of lady, who I am sure must be excellent in her own way, but despite understanding nothing of his condition she has taken it upon herself to know what is best for her nephew. I don’t believe Mrs Vardy sent for her, but she arrived at the house one day announcing in a very loud way that her sister’s troubles were over, as she had come to take charge. There was no denying her. Mrs Vardy was very apologetic, but I was informed that she no longer required my services. That is her choice, of course.’ Miss Cherry’s opinion of this development was very apparent from her tone of voice.

  ‘Does Mrs Norbert have any experience of caring for invalids?’ asked Mina.

  ‘All mothers must do to some extent; as in the normal ailments of childhood. As far as I have been able to learn, Mrs Norbert has a husband who is a chandler, two grown sons in good health who assist in the business and idle hands. I very much doubt that she has ever had to care for a boy who is afflicted like Franklin Holt. I did happen to encounter Mrs Vardy quite recently and asked after Franklin, but it was clear to me from her manner that if anything he was more indisposed than when he was under my care. I think she would have liked to engage me again but feared offending her sister.’

  ‘It would appear that Mrs Norbert has failed to work her powers of healing,’ said Mina. ‘When I am feeling well again, I will arrange to meet Mrs Vardy and I hope to be able to advise her on whatever it is she wishes to ask me.’

  ‘But you are not nearly well enough for that,’ said Miss Cherry, sternly. ‘When such a meeting becomes possible, I will advise you of it. The poor lady, I do feel for her, but I am not sure how you might be able to help her.’

  ‘If nothing else I can try and put an end to the cruel rumours,’ said Mina. ‘I could write a letter to the newspapers, perhaps, or put a word in the right quarters. I have friends in Brighton who would be sympathetic and could introduce Mrs Vardy back into good society. That might be all that is needed. And when she is more content, then her family will be too. Sometimes all that is required is a period of calm and a little common sense.’

  Miss Cherry nodded and returned to her book. ‘Sincerity,’ she read, ‘expresses a quality which belongs to the mind and the heart. Sincerity is —’

  ‘But what can you tell me of Mr Sutherland, the boatman? He too must be suffering under a cloud of ill-informed suspicion. Does he still reside in Brighton?’

  ‘I am not sure,’ said Miss Cherry.

  ‘Although he was not charged with any offence, there must be many who still think that he was not being truthful about what happened on the yacht and was Mr Holt’s accomplice in a plot to defraud the insurance company. You know how people like to believe the worst, even when there is no evidence for it. I wish I could speak to him.’

  Miss Cherry sighed. She was clearly regretting having raised the matter in the first place. A tale told of events that took place almost eight years before was one thing, but she had started a hare running that she now felt should not be encouraged.

  ‘Please indulge me in this, ‘said Mina, sensing Miss Cherry’s reservations. ‘My body may be weak, but my mind is still strong. It keeps me alive when all else fails. Thoughts are as good as breath to me.’

  ‘Dr Hamid was very strict,’ said Miss Cherry, with a frown, but she was wavering. ‘I feel I have already said too much.’

  ‘But you are here beside me to judge if I go too far. I will rely on you and take your advice, I promise. Will you tell me what you know?’

  There was a silence then Miss Cherry slowly nodded.

  ‘What do you know about Mr Sutherland?’

  ‘Only that I heard he was a professional gentleman.’

  Mina was surprised. ‘So he was not a boatman by trade? I had imagined him as a man who took visitors on sea trips.’

  ‘No, I think that was only his amusement.’

  ‘What was his profession?’

  ‘Something in finance, I believe.’

  ‘I wonder if there was a business connection between him and Mr Holt?’ mused Mina, but from Miss Cherry’s expression she clearly didn’t know.

  Rose arrived with a copy of Page’s Directory which Mina had requested earlier, and Mina carefully studied its lists of residents and businesses in Brighton and nearby towns, but there was no-one with the surname Sutherland. Mina leaned back on the pillows, suddenly wearied. Had she overtaxed herself? She placed the book by her bedside but when Rose wanted to remove it, Mina placed her hand on it and shook her head.

  It was possible, she thought, that Mr Sutherland, if he was something in finance might be a London man who visited Brighton for the pleasure of the climate and fresh sea air and sailing his little yacht. There were many such visitors in the summer months, professional gentlemen taking time away from the cares of business. Unfortunately, there was no London directory in the house, and any requests she might make for one to be purchased could arouse the suspicion that she was starting another enquiry, or at the very least testing her strength beyond what Dr Hamid had thought advisable.

  She mused again on what she had gleaned so far. Mrs Vardy’s solicitor in 1864 was a Mr Phipps, presumably a partner in Laidlaw and Phipps. Mina knew that in recent years the firm had added two more Phippses, while Mr Laidlaw had recently retired, supposedly on health grounds, but in reality, to avoid a scandal which had connected the name of his wife to that of the handsome adventurer Mr Arthur Wallace Hope.

  The newest Phipps partner, Ronald of that ilk, was a sensible young man whom Mina had consulted several times in the recent past. He shared her opinion of those spirit mediums who leeched on the bereaved so as to feed on their fortunes, and he had been of considerable assistance in her enquiries. Young Mr Phipps could well be a fruitful source of information, but what reason could she offer for wanting to see him?

  ‘Sincerity is the foundation of honesty. Honesty is uprightness of act,’ continued Miss Cherry.

  ‘Help me sit up and bring my writing materials,’ said Mina.

  Reluctantly, Miss Cherry put the book back in her pocket and made a careful check of Mina’s brow, which was warm and flushed. ‘That is enough conversation for today,’ she said. ‘I am not sure if I should allow you to write a letter.’

  ‘But the
re is no time to lose,’ said Mina, urgently. ‘I require a solicitor. I am going to make my will.’

  Miss Cherry started in alarm, then relented. ‘Very well, I suppose you had better do so if it sets your mind at rest. Is that what you have been thinking about? I could see that you were preoccupied.’

  ‘When one lies in bed all day one has the leisure to think of so many things,’ said Mina, innocently.

  Miss Cherry set some notepaper, ink and pens on a tray and put them on Mina’s lap. Then she stood back and watched her charge carefully.

  As Mina composed her letter to Mr Ronald Phipps, she began to wish that Saltmire and Vardy were funeral directors as that would make her task so much easier. Then a thought struck her, and she picked up Page’s Directory once again. She found a half page advertisement for Saltmire and Vardy Fine Porcelain, listing their main products, a full brochure available on application. She read the list and smiled. How she might arrange it she was not yet sure, but she could now see a chance that her plans might fall into place.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Mr Ronald Phipps was about the same age as Mina, twenty-six, but in his appearance and demeanour he was deliberately courting thirty-five and seemed excessively anxious to reach forty. He was always perfectly correct in his behaviour, stiff and dignified in deportment and immaculately groomed, the first qualities required in an aspiring young solicitor. Good looks were not an essential, which was as well, since he had a face like an unhappy horse. Somewhere, lurking quietly beneath the formal exterior was a sense of humour which was rarely glimpsed, and when it was, vanished before it could be held accountable.

  Mina had first consulted him on the subject of Miss Eustace, a spirit medium who had once been fashionable in Brighton. This lady had used her formidable skills in both conjuring and persuasion to extract large sums of money from her admirers who included Mina’s mother and her friends. Mr Phipps had proved to be an invaluable ally in Mina’s campaign to expose these criminal activities before any of the victims were ruined. As a result of their joint endeavours Miss Eustace and her accomplices were now serving prison sentences for extortion, and Mr Phipps’ career was ascending.

  Mr Phipps was a single man. Whether he had any ambitions to change that state of being in the future was unknown. His most constant companion was an elderly aunt, a Mrs Phipps, who required to be conducted to every social gathering in town, where she would consume copious amounts of tea and cake and fall asleep. Mr Phipps took this duty very seriously, so seriously that the rumour in Brighton was that Mrs Phipps’ late husband who had never been seen by anybody was an illusion, and had never existed, and that the young solicitor was actually the lady’s natural son due to an indiscretion of desperate late spinsterhood.

  Mr Phipps arrived to see Mina with a leather case of papers, and a worried expression which softened a little when he saw her sitting up in bed. ‘Miss Scarletti, I trust you are improved in health? From your letter I assumed… Well, no matter, you are looking very well.’

  ‘Thank you, I am better than anyone had a right to expect,’ said Mina. ‘I was extremely ill for a while, but I am told that if I am well looked after, which I am, I will recover. Miss Cherry has been extremely careful of my health.’

  Miss Cherry brought a chair forward for Mr Phipps and allowed herself a little smile at the praise.

  ‘We were to discuss your will, and I believe you have not made one before?’

  ‘That is correct. I suspect that people of my age rarely make wills, but given the recent circumstances, it seemed prudent. I fear that our interview may take some time. There are many delicate matters concerning my family about which I wish to consult you.’

  ‘Ah, yes, families,’ said Mr Phipps, nodding sympathetically, but not elaborating on that comment.

  Miss Cherry had returned to her chair, but now she understood the import of the exchange, and rose. ‘If you don’t mind, Miss Scarletti, I need to give Rose some instructions about what is required from the chemist.’

  ‘Please do so,’ said Mina. ‘Would you like some refreshments, Mr Phipps?’

  ‘No, that will not be necessary. Let us to business.’

  Miss Cherry inclined her head and left the room. Mina noticed that the nurse had no difficulty in leaving her alone with Mr Phipps. Young, single and male he might be, but doctors and solicitors were in Miss Cherry’s view a kind of priesthood, professional gentlemen in whom one placed one’s trust and confidence absolutely. Mina felt confident that Miss Cherry would not return until the solicitor had departed.

  ‘And how is your aunt, Mrs Phipps?’ Mina enquired. ‘My mother is back in Brighton now and is often quite melancholy due to her anxiety over my health. I am sure she would appreciate a visit from a friend. It would lift her spirits.’

  ‘Oh, my aunt is well, although she is occasionally troubled with arthritis which is only to be expected, I suppose, but it does hinder her travelling about which she is determined to do for as long as possible. She goes to see Miss Hamid at the Baths who she says does her a great deal of good, and as you know, she likes to see her friends as often as she can, especially those who know how to set a tea-table. I will make sure she knows that Mrs Scarletti is returned and would like to see her.’

  ‘Your devotion is admirable,’ said Mina, ‘especially considering your recent professional advancement which must demand so much of your time.’

  ‘Thank you, but as her closest relative I know my duty. I have suggested engaging a companion, but she won’t hear of it.’ He puffed out a mournful little sigh as he opened his briefcase and extracted some documents.

  Mina had actually given hardly any thought as to whom she might leave her small savings and other possessions. There was the sum she had received from her father’s estate which she had invested wisely, her clothes, which would fit no-one but herself, a few family trinkets, and the value of her published works. Taken all together she was worth very little. Ultimately the discussion was mainly about the options open to her, and when it was complete it was decided that she would consider them, and they would meet again.

  ‘And now the other matter you mentioned in your letter,’ said Mr Phipps. ‘Might I know your interest in the Holt case?’

  Mina chose her words carefully. ‘I have never met any of the persons concerned, and the events of that case occurred several years before our family came to live in Brighton. But there has been a great deal of talk about it recently because of Mrs Holt’s remarriage to a Mr Vardy. It interested me as a mystery, as a puzzle. I feel so very idle lying here all day and I suppose it occupied my mind.’

  ‘That is understandable,’ said Mr Phipps, cautiously.

  Mina waited for him to mention some obstacle to her exercising her curiosity, but he merely looked thoughtful. ‘If I was well it would be another matter, but if I cannot go out and see what information I can discover, then the information must come to me.’

  His expression did not change but his eyes glanced quickly at the chair Miss Cherry had recently vacated. ‘I have the feeling that your nurse would not approve of you pursuing this interest.’

  Mina reluctantly decided to follow the path of sincerity and honesty. ‘No, she would not.’

  ‘Nor your doctor.’

  ‘You are correct.’

  ‘And what of the family concerned? Is it not their private affair?’

  ‘It is, but — this is in confidence, of course…’

  ‘Of course.’

  ‘I have received a letter from Mrs Vardy written before I was taken ill, in which she begged for my help. I do not feel able to refuse her.’

  ‘And you believe that you can help her?’

  ‘I don’t see why not. I would like to try.’

  ‘I see. What an interesting life you do lead, Miss Scarletti.’ He gave the question some consideration. ‘What is it you wish to know?’

  Relieved, Mina consulted the sheet of writing paper on which she had assembled her thoughts. ‘When Mrs Holt was married rece
ntly the newspapers said that the body of her first husband had never been found. Is that true?’

  ‘It is. As far as I am aware the body of Mr Holt has not been found, or at least none of the bodies recovered from the sea since his disappearance have proved to be his, neither has there been any evidence that he might still be alive. Legally, however, he is dead.’

  ‘Is it possible, do you think, for a man to fall into the sea and drown and his body not to wash ashore?’

  To Mina’s surprise, Mr Phipps did not need to give this question any thought. ‘Yes, it is. We do a great deal of inheritance work, and we have dealt with cases of that kind in the past.’

  ‘I have been told that Laidlaw and Phipps acted for Mrs Holt at the time of her husband’s disappearance.’

  ‘We did. I did not act in the case myself as I was then engaged in my studies and had not yet joined the firm. But in view of your interest I did take a look at the papers we have. Of course, there is much that is private, and above all — I am sure you understand this — I must protect the confidentiality of our clients. However, I do not believe I saw anything in our files that is germane to the solution of the mystery.’

  ‘Did your firm also act for the owner of the yacht, Mr Sutherland?’

  ‘No, he employed a London solicitor.’

  ‘What can you tell me about him?’

  This did result in a pause for thought. ‘I have never met him, although my uncle did correspond with his representatives. The letters mainly indicate that the incident was not only very distressing for Mr Sutherland but a personal and professional embarrassment. There was no information that had not already appeared in the press or at the inquest.’

  ‘Did Mr Sutherland appear to give evidence when Mr Holt was declared to be deceased?’

  ‘There was no new evidence. Neither he nor Mrs Holt appeared. It was simply a question of going over the original statements and confirming that nothing had been seen or heard of Mr Holt since the incident in 1864. Mrs Holt had hoped it would be dealt with as discreetly as possible, and her wishes were respected. It did not attract press attention until she remarried. That was when the rumours started again,’ he added with a wince of distaste.