Death of a Prosecutor Read online

  ‘What are you planning to do, sir?’

  Riley explained about Caldwell’s case as they retraced their earlier steps. Dark clouds scudded across the sky, painting the landscape in a dull sepia. Riley pulled his hat low and increased his pace.

  ‘Ah, so you think your friend Lord Isaac doubted Caldwell’s guilt?’

  ‘I do, Jack. And I’m equally sure that Sir Robert was convinced of his culpability, at least when he took the case on, so battle lines between two of London’s most respected barristers had been drawn. No doubt that prospect would attract a decent crowd of interested spectators, including those influential in the legal profession. There is little Joseph Milton would not have done, I suspect, to be the one doing the prosecuting in such a career-making case.’

  Salter raised his bushy brows. ‘Including murder?’

  ‘It’s interesting, don’t you think, that we failed to discover Sir Robert’s notes on the case he was due to prosecute today. They were not in his briefcase, his study at home or his office in chambers. Ask Price if he knows where they are.’

  The two men parted when they reached Lincoln’s Inn. Riley made his way to Isaac Arnold’s chambers, situated just a few minutes’ walk away from Sir Robert’s. The first person he encountered was Tom Morton, engaged in lively conversation with one of the clerks. He turned when the door opened and offered Riley a grim smile.

  ‘Riley.’ He held out his hand. ‘We thought we might be receiving a visit from you today, although we wish it could have been under happier circumstances.’

  ‘As do I,’ Riley agreed. ‘Sir Robert was a close personal friend.’

  ‘Of Isaac’s too, despite the fact that they argued opposite sides of the same case on too many occasions to recall. Or perhaps because of it. I know Isaac had great respect for such a worthy opponent. He’s in, if you would like to see him.’

  ‘I would indeed.’ Riley paused. ‘But tell me, do you come across Sir Robert’s junior, Joseph Milton, very often?’

  Tom sent Riley a shrewd look. ‘Ever the policeman.’

  ‘I cannot afford to overlook any possibility, not matter how slight.’

  ‘Milton has a sharp mind and is fiercely ambitious. I once heard Sir Robert describe him as too ruthlessly determined for his own good.’

  Riley nodded. ‘What do you suppose he meant by that?’

  ‘I would imagine he thought of Milton as a man in a hurry, ready to run before he could walk. All us junior slaves are guilty of that crime, some more so than others. There’s a lot to learn in this business, and one doesn’t reach the lofty heights that Isaac or Sir Robert scaled without serving a long apprenticeship.’

  ‘Is Milton liked within the legal profession?’

  Tom frowned and folded his arms. ‘You really do suspect him, don’t you?’

  Riley shrugged. ‘I would be failing in my duty if I didn’t look with suspicion upon those who have the most to gain from Sir Robert’s death.’

  ‘Quite.’ Tom took a moment to reflect. ‘Joe Milton is pleasant enough out of the courtroom, but I have never seen anyone quite so focused as he is when put in front of a jury. We all suffer losses but he takes them personally, and I think he sometimes blamed Sir Robert, albeit privately, because he had to endure them.’

  Tom was now assured of Riley’s complete attention. ‘Why?’

  ‘Because Sir Robert had ethics, I suppose, and would not win at all costs. Isaac would know more about that than I do. The lowly cases I’m let loose on are beneath Milton’s notice and I’ve not argued against him yet.’

  ‘Right then, I’d best quiz Isaac. Do send my best wishes to your mother and Jake. How are they both?’

  ‘In the very best of health, thank you. I dare say Jake will be champing at the bit to get the inside story on this case.’

  Riley smiled. ‘Tell him that I will call and update him as soon as time permits.’

  ‘Will do.’

  Tom tapped at Isaac’s door, opened it when invited to do so and stood back to let Riley walk through it. ‘The visitor we’ve been expecting,’ he said, closing the door again and leaving Isaac and Riley alone.

  Isaac rose from behind his desk and extended his hand to Riley. ‘No need to ask why you are here,’ he said sombrely, shaking Riley’s hand and indicating one of several chairs arranged around a circular table at the other end of his room. ‘I know you and Sir Robert were close.’ Isaac took the chair across from Riley. ‘This can’t be easy for you.’

  ‘Our friendship increases my determination to bring his killer to justice.’

  ‘I can easily imagine that it would.’ Isaac folded his hands on the table in front of him. ‘How can I help?’

  ‘The case you were due to defend today.’

  ‘Caldwell. He’s not guilty, Riley. I’d stake my reputation on it and I told Sir Robert so.’

  ‘What makes you so sure? Hardgrave doesn’t make a habit of bending the evidence to fit the suspect.’

  ‘No, I agree with you there. Hardgrave is a decent detective, but feelings ran high on this case because Caldwell was having an affair with a girl young enough to be his daughter. A lot of people thought he had taken advantage of her and then dropped her when he grew tired of her.’

  ‘Did he not?’

  ‘Not exactly. Oh, he’s a handsome rogue, popular with the ladies, and he had his way with her. He freely admits it but insists that he put an end to it when she became too dependent upon him.’

  Riley frowned. ‘What do you mean by dependent?’

  ‘She was unhappy with her home life. She didn’t much like having to help her mother, feared her father and wanted to distance herself from her family.’

  ‘I see,’ Riley said, wondering why Hardgrave hadn’t thought to mention that rather pertinent fact.

  ‘The girl was not quite as innocent as the prosecution would have the jury believe. We found half a dozen people, including her own sister, who could attest to the fact.’

  ‘And you would prefer not to call them as witnesses and blacken the victim’s name.’

  ‘The girl was fifteen, Riley. Don’t you think her family have been through enough? I had a meeting with Sir Robert and Milton, telling them what I had discovered and offering not to call witnesses who could attest to the girl’s lack of moral conduct provided they didn’t try to paint her as an innocent victim to the jury. It seemed like a dignified compromise.’

  ‘I don’t need to ask you if Sir Robert agreed.’

  ‘Oh, he was more than willing to agree, but I could see that Milton was far from happy about it. It didn’t matter though, because they were unaware what testimony Caldwell’s wife would give.’ Riley raised a brow in silent query when Isaac paused. ‘She knew about the dalliance, said it wasn’t the first and probably wouldn’t be the last, and that she couldn’t give a damn. Gave her a rest from Caldwell’s demands, she insists, which were exhaustive when he didn’t have what she described as a bit on the side. Besides, she paints him as a good provider who loved his family according to his own warped sense of values and would never desert them.’

  ‘Which supports Caldwell’s insistence that he’d ended the affair when the girl began to make demands.’ Riley took a moment to digest what he had just learned. ‘Did Hardgrave interview the wife? I assume he must have done and that she would have told him the same thing.’

  ‘Oh yes, she did, very forcefully, but Hardgrave simply assumed that she was trying to save her husband, the father of her children, which is not an unreasonable conclusion to reach. He will hang, of course, if he’s convicted. As I say, Caldwell’s a handsome dog and has no trouble attracting female company. I don’t think much of his morals, but that doesn’t make him a murderer. Anyway, his addiction to female company is why no one recalls seeing him in the Red Lion on the fateful night. He was there right enough—’

  ‘But upstairs making use of the other services on offer.’

  ‘Right, but the land
lord was reluctant to tell Hardgrave that for fear of being accused of living off immoral earnings. And the jury wouldn’t want to hear that. It would bias them against him, so we’ve kept it to ourselves, hoping the wife’s testimony would be enough to clear his name.’

  ‘What happens about the trial now?’

  ‘In view of the circumstances, the judge has set a new date for two weeks’ time, giving the victim’s family time to decide who takes Sir Robert’s place.’

  Riley made a moue of distaste. ‘No prizes for guessing who will be head of the queue.’

  ‘Milton will almost certainly be selected, given that he’s already au fait with the particulars of Sir Robert’s defence strategy. Whether he will stick to the agreement Sir Robert and I reached is another matter.’

  ‘He will have to, I should think,’ Riley said speculatively. ‘He won’t want details of the victim’s sexual indiscretions to come out in open court. A male jury would feel some sympathy for Caldwell if they did, probably because some of them have been in similar situations themselves, or because they don’t approve of young girls leading decent family men off the straight and narrow.’ Riley chuckled. ‘A point you would then be obliged to labour, no doubt.’

  Isaac merely blinked. ‘You think Milton killed Sir Robert simply to get his hands on this case?’ Isaac looked sceptical. ‘I know he’s ambitious and I can’t say I like him that much, but he’s too wily to risk anything that would scupper his career.’

  ‘He wouldn’t have done it himself, and he made sure he was seen at the Bailey at the time. Anyway, it’s too soon to be sure what I think yet.’ Riley sighed. ‘Do you know of anyone who held a grudge against Sir Robert?’ Riley gave a brief laugh. ‘I know. Everyone tells me to look at just about every old lag he ever sent down, but my instincts tell me this was a revenge killing. Pay back for something that happened recently. I hear your client’s brother has been making threats.’

  Isaac waved the suggestion aside. ‘He doesn’t think his brother should have been charged, but if he wanted to kill Sir Robert, he would wait to see if his brother was convicted first. I don’t know of anyone else who resented him sufficiently to bump him off. Sorry.’

  ‘Don’t be.’ Riley paused. ‘Do you know if Sir Robert was having an affair?’

  ‘Good lord, how would I know a thing like that?’ Isaac looked mildly shocked by the suggestion. ‘I can’t see it myself. Sir Robert lived for his family, but mostly for his work. When would he have found the time?’

  Every Wednesday afternoon.

  ‘Of course.’ Riley stood. ‘Thank you for your time. Please sent my regards to Eva.’

  ‘I will. She is about to become a grandmother and says she’s feeling her age.’

  Riley smiled as he recalled that Grace, Eva Arnold’s daughter from her first marriage, had married a year previously and was now Lady Gorringe. ‘A time for celebration.’

  ‘And constant worry on Eva’s part.’

  Riley and Isaac shook hands. ‘How is your nephew?’ Isaac asked.

  ‘Not good,’ Riley said on a deep sigh.

  ‘Which puts the pressure squarely upon your shoulders, I suppose. I wish it could be otherwise. I know how much you enjoy your freedom, as do I. I always knew as a younger son that I would have to make my own way, especially since there were several brothers between me and the title. You are not so fortunate.’

  ‘But I really shouldn’t complain. We can none of us be held responsible for the circumstances of our birth. And, as my sergeant likes to remind me whenever I’m feeling sorry for myself, at least I have never had to go hungry.’

  ‘Well, there is that.’

  Isaac and Riley parted at the door to the clerks’ office with promises to meet socially soon. Riley waved to Tom and made his way back to Sir Robert’s chambers, where he was surprised to find Salter standing outside in the cold in huddled conversation with Price.

  ‘Ah, here’s the inspector now.’ Salter placed a hand on Price’s shoulder and led him further away from the building. ‘Mr Price here has something you should hear, sir.’

  Price glanced nervously over his shoulder, as though concerned that someone inside chambers might be watching them. They almost certainly were.

  ‘Well, Mr Price?’ Riley raised an expectant brow.

  ‘It might be nothing of consequence,’ Price said, moistening his lips nervously. ‘It’s just that your sergeant asked me if I knew how Sir Robert spent his Wednesday afternoons.’

  ‘And do you?’

  ‘Well, not precisely. He didn’t tell me and I didn’t presume to ask. But about six months ago he told me not to make appointments for him late on a Wednesday and started leaving chambers early on that day. I thought it odd because Sir Robert was diligent and never left early. It was almost as though he didn’t want to…but that’s not for me to say.’

  ‘You thought he preferred the chambers to his home life?’ Riley suggested mildly. ‘A lot of men do. I myself have been accused of being married to my career.’ Riley withstood such accusations frequently, levelled at him by his mother, who considered that having a son in paid employment lowered the family’s standing in the eyes of society.

  ‘Quite.’ Price looked relieved when Riley made the suggestion. ‘Anyway, purely by chance I happened to leave chambers just after Sir Robert a few Wednesdays ago, on an errand for Mr Milton,’ he explained, frowning as though he considered running errands for Sir Robert’s junior to be beneath him. ‘My duties took me to Gower Street. I was just alighting from my cab when I happened to notice Sir Robert greeting a young woman at the door to an apartment building. They arrived at the same time, so I am unaware if she lived there or if they were calling upon a mutual acquaintance.’

  ‘Had you ever seen the young woman before, Price?’ Riley asked.

  ‘No, sir, and would not recognise her if our paths crossed again, since she wore a hat that concealed most of her face on that one occasion when I caught a glimpse of her. I didn’t like to stare, just in case Sir Robert observed me. I would not have wanted him to think that I was spying on him, since I most assuredly was not. The circumstances of my happening upon him were entirely coincidental.’

  ‘I have the address of the apartment building,’ Salter said.

  ‘Have you mentioned this to anyone else?’ Riley asked, sending the chambers behind them a significant look.

  ‘Upon my word, sir, I have not. Sir Robert was a considerate employer and enjoyed my complete discretion. I would never speak out of turn about his behaviour, especially not to…’ He cleared his throat and lifted his chin, leaving his sentence unfinished. ‘I have had the privilege of serving Sir Robert for over twenty years. I do not know what will happen now, but I do know that things will never be the same.’

  From which Riley inferred that the clerk did not hold Milton in similar regard.

  ‘You will doubtless be asked what we were discussing out here,’ Riley said. ‘I would prefer it if you would continue to keep Sir Robert’s confidence, even though he is now dead. It might help us to bring his killer to book.’

  ‘You can depend upon my discretion, sir.’

  ‘I have the list of Sir Robert’s cases,’ Salter said. ‘And very comprehensive it is too.’

  Price accepted the compliment with an inclination of his head. ‘I never do anything by halves. Nor did Sir Robert, which is why we understood one another so well.’

  ‘Mr Price had the notes on the Caldwell case.’

  ‘Mr Milton now has them,’ Price said with a small sniff. ‘Sir Robert, as I already mentioned, worked long hours and prepared methodically for trial, so he seldom needed to take the papers home for a case about to come to court. He would have memorised the salient points and would read through the papers one last time before attending court, which is undoubtedly what he intended to do when he arrived early this morning.’

  Riley nodded. ‘Thank you very much, Price,’ he said. ‘You have been a grea
t help.’

  ‘Well,’ Salter said, as the two detectives strode away. ‘What do you make of all that?’

  ‘What indeed? Your first task is to discover who occupies the apartments at the Gower Street address and—’

  ‘And whether one of them bears the initials P.B.’ Salter nodded. ‘Posh address.’

  ‘You are thinking that Sir Robert had a mistress and kept her in style.’

  ‘Ain’t you?’

  ‘No, Sergeant, I am not. If that was the case, why would he need to remind himself of his visits in his appointment book? Not the sort of thing a man would forget, surely. Besides, one visit a week when he was spending so much to keep her.’ Riley shook his head. ‘I remain to be convinced.’

  ‘He wasn’t a young man anymore. Perhaps once a week was enough for him.’

  ‘Well, once we find the elusive P.B., we will ask her.’

  They entered Scotland Yard to be told by Sergeant Barton that someone was waiting to see them.

  ‘A lady says she has information about Sir Robert’s case,’ he said. ‘Right upset she is.’

  ‘Her name?’ Riley asked.

  ‘Barchester. Mrs Patricia Barchester.’

  Riley shared a look with Salter. ‘Mrs Barchester has probably saved you a tedious job, Jack.’ He returned his attention to Barton. ‘Have someone bring the lady to my office, please,’ he said.

  Riley and Salter had only just shed their hats and coats when a knock at the door heralded the arrival of their visitor. Salter opened the door and admitted an elegant young woman in her twenties, wearing a fashionable walking gown in mulberry twill. Her eyes were concealed behind a half-veil which failed to disguise the fact that those eyes were red and puffy. A beautiful woman beset by grief.