Kerry Tombs - The Worcester Whisperers

‘Right, sir.’

‘See if we can fit the torn pieces together. It might be something important.’

The two men manoeuvred the fragments of paper around.

‘It seems to be some kind of message.’

‘I can just about read it. Evelyn seems to have screwed up the paper first, before reading it again, and then finally tearing up the note into small pieces. Ah, here we are-’

Tonight. Midnight. Leave book in usual place. You are released

‘What on earth does that mean, sir?’

‘It seems to indicate that after stealing the book, Evelyn is told to leave it in a prescribed place. Clearly the person who wrote this note was planning to collect the book later.’

‘Yes, sir, but what does it mean by “you are released”?’ enquired Crabb.

‘Yes, of course!’ exclaimed Ravenscroft. ‘By stealing the book, and by giving it to another, Evelyn was fulfilling some kind of pledge, and was being allowed to go free.’

‘Perhaps he was just being paid, and had fulfilled his side of the bargain?’

‘I don’t think so. He does not appear to have been the sort of person who sought wealth and riches. No, I think he was being blackmailed. Someone had discovered his dark secret, and was threatening to disclose it to the church authorities unless-’

‘He stole the Whisperie for them!’

‘Exactly!’

‘But we are no further forward in discovering what that secret was?’

‘I agree, but we now know that after stealing the book that night, Evelyn went down to the river with the direct purpose of leaving the book somewhere — “the usual place” — evidently a place where things, messages perhaps, had been left before.’

‘Why didn’t this person just ask Evelyn to steal the book for him, and then hand it over? Why go to all the business of sending messages and such like?’ asked a bewildered Crabb.

‘Because our blackmailer — for want of a better word — did not want Evelyn to know who he, or she was.’

‘Ah, I see now.’

‘Now we must find out where this place was. My guess is that it is somewhere between the base of the cathedral steps, and just off the towpath, and before the entrance to the canal. We need some men to search that area thoroughly. The book might still be there. Our blackmailer might not have collected it yet. Go back to the station and see if you can round up some men, I’ll meet you all at the bottom of the steps.’

‘Right, men, line up here and listen to what the inspector has to say.’

‘Thank you, Constable Crabb. All of you will no doubt have heard about the theft of a book from the cathedral library some nights ago, and the recovery of the body of the librarian from the river,’ said Ravenscroft addressing the four uniformed policemen who now faced him. ‘We believe that after the librarian came down these steps he made his way along the towpath, and out towards where the canal joins up with the river at Diglis. Somewhere between the two places he hid the book. We don’t know exactly where. As we go along the towpath, I will send each of you inwards away from the river. We are looking for a hiding place, somewhere small where the book might still be hidden. If you find a parcel of any kind, recover it, and bring it to me. Is that clear?’

‘Yes, sir,’ answered the constables in unison.

‘Then, let’s set to it, men.’

The party set off. Eventually, after clearing the outer walls of the cathedral precincts, Ravenscroft brought the group to a halt, by some waste ground. ‘You two search this ground thoroughly. I want every stone turned over.’

‘Like looking for a needle in a haystack,’ muttered Crabb.

‘We must at least try while there remains the outside possibility that the book might still be hidden. Here, you go and look in that empty building over there,’ replied Ravenscroft, instructing one of the remaining two men. ‘And then make your way inwards towards the inn.’

‘Right, sir,’ replied the constable.

The rest of the party continued on its way, until they reached another building, where Ravenscroft despatched the final officer. ‘You and I, Crabb will proceed further on. There are several other places that need investigation.’

The search for the Whisperie continued into the late afternoon. Occasionally one or more of the constables would rejoin Crabb and Ravenscroft, who would then send them off to search in another direction.

‘We seem to be getting nowhere, sir, if you don’t mind my saying,’ said Crabb, wiping his brow with his handkerchief.

‘I think I am inclined to agree. We seem to have reached the canal and have turned up nothing. If the book was out there, it must have been taken long ago.’

‘Oh dear, sir. I think we may be in trouble,’ said Crabb, looking down at the ground.

‘Ravenscroft! What the deuce is going on?’ shouted a familiar figure striding in their direction.

‘Good afternoon to you, sir,’ replied Ravenscroft. ‘We think the Whisperie might be hidden out here somewhere.’

‘The blazes it is! What the devil do you mean by taking some of my men, and tying them up all afternoon here on some useless search? Don’t you know that I need every man I can get to prepare for the Races?’ growled Superintendent. Henderson.

‘I’m sorry, sir, that was my doing,’ said Crabb.

‘Constable Crabb was only acting on my orders, sir,’ said Ravenscroft quickly.

‘Well you’ve overreached yourself this time, Ravenscroft. I told you that you were to keep me fully informed about developments in this case.’

‘Yes, sir, I’m sorry,’ replied Ravenscroft feeling like a naughty schoolboy being addressed by his irate teacher.

‘Damned insolent, I call it! Dammed insolent, taking my men without permission!’

‘I felt we had to act quickly, sir, if we were to recover the book. Acting upon information obtained this afternoon-’

‘Information? What information?’ snapped Henderson.

‘We found the remains of a note at Evelyn’s lodgings, instructing him to leave the book in a prearranged hiding place.’ replied Ravenscroft, hoping to pacify his superior’s anger.

‘And just where is this place?’ asked Henderson, glaring at his junior officer.

‘I believe Evelyn hid the book somewhere between the cathedral and the canal.’

‘Good God, man! You could be searching from now till next Christmas! You’re wasting your time and I’m damned if you will waste any more of my men’s time on this wild goose chase!’

‘Over here, sir!’

The speaker was a uniformed constable who was waving his hands in the air in an excited fashion.

‘Excuse me,’ said Ravenscroft, running over to what appeared to be the remains of an old building.

‘I think I’ve found something.’

‘Well done, Constable.’

‘It was this piece of cloth, sir. It was lying on the ground. Then I found this.’

Ravenscroft knelt down.

‘Well, man, what can you see?’ asked Henderson, peering over Ravenscroft’s shoulder.

‘This slab seems to cover a recess of some sort, in the bottom of the wall of this old building, making a kind of cavity,’ replied Ravenscroft, sliding the stone across. ‘This was undoubtedly the place where the Whisperie was placed that night. Evelyn must have used the cloth to wrap around the book, and whoever later recovered the Whisperie decided to discard it.’

‘That’s all very well, Ravenscroft, but where is the blessed thing now?’ growled Henderson.

‘Taken, sir! Taken!’

Ravenscroft sat on the seat in the cathedral grounds, his thoughts returning to the events of the previous day. He was unsure which was the most unsettling — the wrath of his superior officer, or his failure to recover the lost book. The former had caused a severe dent in his professional reputation, whilst the latter meant that he and Crabb had to begin all their investigations all over again. Then he remembered that small attic room, in the centre of Worcester where Nicholas Evelyn had lived out his meagre, sad existence for nearly forty years, until the revelation of some disclosure from his past had driven him to commit such a desperate act which had resulted in his demise. How was he ever to discover the librarian’s secret, and would he ever be able to recover the lost book? And it was still not clear whether Evelyn had been murdered, or that he had simply lost his footing in the dark and fallen into the river by accident. It seemed as though the cathedral was not yet anxious to give up its secrets.