Andrew Pepper - The Detective Branch

‘And?’

‘If I’m not mistaken, Culpepper is involved in a battle over territory with the Rafferty brothers. The same Raffertys, if you remember, who were initially accused of killing the three men in Cullen’s shop.’

‘But we came to the conclusion that the Raffertys weren’t to blame for that.’

‘I know. I was just thinking that no one’s ever recovered the Saviour’s Cross, have they?’ Pyke was still bothered by this idea and the notion that Egan, the fence, might have found a way of locating it without them knowing.

Whicher was still struggling to follow his logic. ‘Are you suggesting that this business between the Raffertys and Culpepper is related to the theft of the cross?’

‘Not at all.’ Pyke leaned back against his chair and sighed. ‘I don’t know what I’m saying, Jack. I’m just worried that Rafferty and Culpepper are involved in all this and I can’t yet see how.’

Afterwards Pyke thought about their conversation and wondered how much he could trust even Whicher. It was surely inconceivable that Whicher was passing information back to Pierce. Pyke liked the man, and in their own way they’d become close since the summer, but he knew very little about the detective sergeant. He was interrupted in his thoughts by a knock on the door as Lockhart peered in.

‘Come in, Eddie, please have a seat.’ Pyke waited for Lockhart to sit down before adding, ‘I just wanted to say how much I appreciated all you did, getting the affidavit from the coroner’s assistant.’

Lockhart nodded but said nothing.

‘There’s something else I’d like you to do for me. It’s a little unorthodox.’ Pyke saw Lockhart’s strained expression and smiled. ‘You were once a beat constable in the Kensington Division, weren’t you?’

‘For a year or so.’

‘So you would have come across a sergeant by the name of Russell?’

‘I knew him; I couldn’t say with any certainty that he’d know me any more.’

Pyke was certain that the man had been told to look out for and protect the interests of the Hogarth family. Why else would he come running as soon as the alarm was raised?

‘I want you to go and see Russell. Assure him you’ve got confidential information about our investigation into Hogarth’s death. Tell him you want to trade. He’ll ask what you want in return; be vague. Tell him the investigation has uncovered something important that links Hogarth and Guppy, that this information will discredit Hogarth and that his family will want to pay to have it silenced.’

Lockhart looked at him dubiously. ‘You’re assuming Russell is somehow in the pocket of this family.’

‘That’s right,’ Pyke said. He paused, wondering whether he needed to add that, until recently, Pierce had been in overall charge of the Kensington Division.

‘You’re assuming that Russell will believe I’m corrupt, too.’

‘If he is corrupt, it will be easier for him to believe you are. My guess is he won’t question it: he’ll be too keen to relay your offer to the family.’

Lockhart thought through the request. ‘I take it you’re just fishing? You don’t really have anything that connects the two murders?’

‘Not at the moment. But that’s not to suggest a connection doesn’t exist. And let’s not forget about the issues here. We’re up against a man, or a group of men, with the power to conceal a murder and make two other people — the coroner and the porter — disappear into thin air.’

‘So what if Russell turns around and accuses me of trying to profit illegally from my work?’

‘He won’t.’

‘But if he does?’

‘If he does, just deny it. After all, it’ll be your word against his.’ Pyke paused and rubbed his chin. ‘But I’ll bet you a hundred pounds he won’t do that.’

‘A hundred, eh?’ Lockhart looked at Pyke and smiled. ‘Maybe I should take you up on that.’

Martin Jakes was waiting for Pyke in the main office of the Detective Branch. At first Pyke thought something might have happened to Felix. Quickly the curate assured Pyke that his son was well and was thriving as a helper. Once they were seated in Pyke’s office, Jakes started to explain the real reason for his visit.

‘Something’s been playing on my conscience since our last conversation. I’m afraid to say I wasn’t entirely honest with you.’

Pyke studied Jakes’s face and motioned for him to continue.

‘You asked me whether I knew Brendan Malloy and Morris Keate.. ’

‘And you told me you didn’t. Or that you had heard of them but didn’t actually know them.’

Jakes nodded slowly, as though acknowledging the lie. ‘Keate was once a member of my congregation at St Luke’s.’

Pyke went across to the fireplace and poured more coal on to the fire. When he turned around, he said, ‘I’d always assumed he was a Catholic.’

‘Most people did; because of his association with Malloy.’

‘So Keate did know Malloy, then?’

‘When I couldn’t help Keate any further, I sent him to Malloy. I didn’t know Malloy and to this day I’ve never met him, but at the time he’d garnered something of a reputation for the exorcisms he performed

… For a long time, the Protestant Church has turned its back on the practice of exorcism. It’s deemed to be too close to confession; too much power in the hands of the priest. I sent Morris to him because I didn’t know what else to do.’

Pyke gazed into the fire and said, ‘Tell me about him.’

‘Morris Keate was a simple man, in every sense of the word; a little strange, perhaps. Lived with the constant fear that he’d been possessed by the Devil. But in his own way he was kind hearted. Or so I thought.’

‘Until he was arrested and accused of killing those boys?’

The memory of this time was clearly painful to the older man. He loosened his collar and wiped his forehead. ‘At the time, I was persuaded that Morris had, in fact, done what he’d been accused of.’

‘And now?’ Pyke tried to read the troubled expression on Jakes’s face.

‘Now, I don’t know. I really don’t know. Part of me would like to believe he didn’t kill those boys. I don’t like to think that any of my congregation would be capable of such a thing. But if he were innocent, that would be even more horrendous: an innocent man killed on the scaffold.’ Jakes’s eyes remained downcast.

‘You didn’t campaign on his behalf at the time of the murders?’

‘As I said, I was persuaded by the evidence. And Morris failed to provide any kind of defence for himself.’

Pyke went across to the window and opened it. He wanted some cool air on his face. It also gave him a few moments to think about what Jakes had told him.

‘What do you know about Keate’s family?’

‘I think I’m right in saying he was very close to his mother. And he had brothers and sisters. But I didn’t know them. None of them ever came to St Luke’s.’

‘You wouldn’t know where I could find them now?’

Jakes shook his head. ‘I’m afraid not. It was a long time ago.’

Pyke felt let down by the curate and he wanted Jakes to know it. ‘Tell me, Martin. Why did you lie to me, when I asked if you knew Keate?’

Jakes let out a heavy sigh. ‘It was a terrible time for me… for the entire congregation. What Morris did; what they accused him of doing. Somehow the idea of revisiting it seemed too painful for words. I was a coward. I suppose I was hoping the whole thing would just go away.’

‘So why put right this wrong now?’

‘I don’t know.’ Jakes stared down at the floor. ‘I suppose I didn’t want you to catch me out in a lie.’

This made a certain amount of sense. ‘If I was to talk to Brendan Malloy, he’d be able to confirm that Keate once attended your church.’