Don Gutteridge - The Bishop's Pawn

Cobb absorbed all this before saying, “So youcome in here a week ago Sunday, the day before Mr. Dougherty gotstabbed?”

“I was supposed to. But I get cold feet. Sothe old girl sends a lad to fetch me, an’ she’s furious. She tellsme the box ain’t been emptied yet because of all the fuss over themurder, and I’m to do the job that night. She promises me I c’n bethe new verger – soon as the bishop is made inta a bishop an’ herhusband becomes the rector. So I say I’ll do it.”

“So you come in here that Monday night?”

“No. I didn’t get up enough nerve till theWednesday. But I was so scared I knocked the box off its pole. Themissus was very upset with me ‘cause I was supposed to sneak themoney out real careful.”

“What about last Sunday?”

“That was me, too. But nothin’ seemed tosatisfy the woman. She said if I wanted the verger’s job I had tokeep on with it.”

“An’ this was to be the last time, Itake it?”

“She promised. She said the real scoundrelwas gonna be ‘exposed’ an’ the bishop would be awful happy aboutit.”

At this point, Cobb’s eye caught somethingshiny on the floor beside Nestor’s foot. He bent down. “What’sthis?”

Nestor gave Cobb a sheepish grin. He wasstill not sure what sort of ground he was standing on, as Cobb’sexpression had given nothing away. “She told me I had to leave thatthing beside the box.”

“That thing” was a silver locket. Cobb knewthat if he opened it, he would see David Chalmers’ sister staringup at him. He shuddered. Fantastic as it seemed, Nestor Peck wastelling him something very close to the truth, and it was as uglyas it could be. He slipped the locket into his coat pocket.

“What’re ya gonna do?” Nestor said, startingto quake just a little.

Before Cobb could reply, they wereinterrupted by a loud and imperious voice at the other end of thenave.

“What in Heaven’s name is going on here?”

Constance Hungerford came storming up theaisle and into the pool of moonlight like a force of Nature. Shehad a florid dressing-robe wrapped ineffectually around her body’saggressive angles, and metal curlers shook in the thickets of herhair like Medusa’s locks. She strode right up to Cobb, stopped withthe precision of a drill sergeant, and skewered him with a keen,appraising, unblinking stare. Cobb stood his ground, thinking itbest to let surprise have its way with her.

Slowly, some sort of understandingregistered, and Constance said, “It’s you, is it, Cobb? Sneakingabout like a thief in order to catch one?”

“I believe, madam, that it was you thatwanted the thief caught.”

“Don’t be impertinent, sir.” She swivelledand glanced once at Nestor. “However unsavoury your methods – andthe racket in here might have wakened the dead! – it’s evident youhave the felon in hand. My God, he looks as if he’s just crawledout of a sewer!”

Nestor was trembling again, all over, andlooking at Cobb with a desperate pleading in his bruised eyes. Itwas clear that he was incapable of accusing Constance Hungerford toher face.

“I did catch this fella with his paw on thecheese, ma’am. An’ he’s confessed to bein’ in here twicebefore.”

“Then do your duty. He’s stinking up myhusband’s church!”

“Well, ma’am, I intend to do just that but,you see, he’s been tellin’ me a strange tale of how he was purr-suaded inta robbin’ the Poor Box by a lady that livesright here in the vicar – ”

Constance gave Nestor a cuff on the side ofthe head, and he yelped at the shock of it. “I had to tell thetruth,” he wailed. “Cobb made me!”

“Shut up, Nestor,” Cobb said.

Constance stared at Cobb with a look thatcombined hauteur, malice and animal cunning. “I trust, sir ,that you gave no credence to such a self-serving and implausiblestory out of the mouth of this – this cutworm!”

It was not a question.

“I take it you’re denyin’ you had anythin’ todo with – ”

“What I’m doing , Cobb, is ordering youto haul this thief and prevaricator off to jail. Thisinstant ! I have seen the wretch only once before in my life -when Epp dragged him over to help repair the porch – and I do notintend to lay eyes on him again. Now go, at once!”

“I didn’t do nothin’ wrong!”

Cobb grabbed Nestor by one elbow. “Comealong,” he said, but made no move to leave.

Nestor, fearing the worst, pulled somethingout of his pocket and managed to babble, “But she give me thesekeys. How else could I have gotten ‘em?”

Constance reached out and snatched both keys.“Don’t be absurd,” she snapped. “Look at these, Cobb. They’re cheapcopies.”

Cobb looked at them, and nodded hisagreement.

“Epp and this creature here were likely inthe game together,” she said. This bald-faced lie prompted a newthought. “Have you searched him thoroughly?” she said with amalicious half-smile.

Cobb sighed, but went through the motions ofpatting down the suspect. “Only the keys on him, ma’am. You wasexpectin’ somethin’ more?”

“Of course not. I was just making sure youknew your duty. Now take him out of here before the vicar iswakened.”

Cobb shoved Nestor along and they went outthe oaken door. With Nestor squirming and whining, Cobb paused andglanced back inside. Constance Hungerford was bent over and feelingabout among the flagstones below the Poor Box. Looking for thelocket she had taken from David Chalmers’ desk, Cobb thoughtruefully. He would return it as soon as he could.

“But you can’t just cart me off to jail,”Nestor wailed.

“If the magistrate has to choose between yourstory an’ the lady’s, who is he gonna believe, eh?”

“But that silver thing, it ain’t mine!”

“You had a key fer the church. You coulda gotinto the vicarage through the tunnel an’ filched it from Chalmers’study.”

“ But I didn’t !”

They had progressed along the single blockbetween Church Street and the Court House. Suddenly Cobb pulledNestor into the nearby shadows and whispered harshly, “Shut yer gobfer a second an’ listen. I ain’t throwin’ you in jail. I’d like tothrow her inta some dungeon an’ leave her to rot, but Ican’t, an’ you know I can’t. She’s a respectable Christian lady anda crony of his ever-rants. ”

“You’re gonna let me go?”

“Only if you agree to vamoose fer a couple ofweeks. If she asks, I’ll say you escaped. But I got a feelin’ thatnow her game is up, she’ll soon forget about you. An’ here’s twobucks ta tide ya over.”

Nestor dropped to his knees and threw botharms around Cobb’s shins, knocking his forehead against Cobb’stender kneecap.

“Fer God’s sake, quit gravellin’ an’get up, man! I ain’t no engraved image!”

Nestor relaxed his hold, reluctantly, and gotback onto his feet. He gripped Cobb’s right hand in his. “Youalways been good to me, Cobb. An’ you’re the only one. The only wayI c’n think of thankin’ you is ta give ya a bit of information Iswore never to tell – on my granny’s grave.”

Cobb stared at Nestor with fresh interest.“Not about Reuben Epp?”

Nestor grinned. “The same.”

“Well, out with it! The sun’ll be comin’ upand I want you a long ways from here before it does.”

“All right, all right. It’s like this. I wasover at Swampy Sam’s havin’ a drink or two with him, an’ before weknow it we’re both pie-eyed.”

“Some news that is.”

“Well, Swampy gets awful gossipy in his cups,an’ he tells me Reuben Epp was his best customer till he hunghimself – payin’ up regular an’ sometimes even treatin’ thehouse.”