Anne Perry - The Twisted Root

"No, he did not. I am afraid the circumstances of his leaving the house are somewhat mysterious, and not understood by any of us, Sergeant. We know when he left, but nothing more than that."

"You knew he had taken your coach," Robb pointed out. "But you did not report it to the police. It is a very handsome coach, sir, and exceptionally well matched horses. Worth a considerable amount."

"Major Stourbridge has already mentioned that Treadwell was related to his cook," Monk interrupted, "who is a longstanding servant of the family. He wished to avoid scandal, if possible. He hoped Treadwell would come to his senses and return … even with a reasonable explanation."

Lucius could bear it no longer. "My fiancee was with him!" he burst out. "Mrs. Miriam Gardiner. It was to find her that we employed Mr. Monk’s services. Treadwell is beyond our help, poor soul, but where is Miriam? We should be turning all our skill and attention to searching for her! She may be hurt … in danger …" His voice was rising out of control as his imagination tortured him.

Robb looked startled for a moment, then his jaw hardened. He did not even glance at Monk. "Do I understand Mrs. Gardiner left your house in the carriage with Treadwell driving?" he demanded.

"We believe so," Stourbridge answered before Lucius could speak. "No one saw them go." He seemed to have appreciated something of the situation in spite of Monk’s silence. "But we have not heard from her since, nor do we know what has happened to her. We are at our wits’ end with worry."

"We must look for her!" Lucius cut across them. "Treadwell is dead and Miriam may be in danger. At the very least she must be in fear and distress. You must deploy every man you can to search for her!"

Robb stood still for a moment, surprise taking the words from him. Then slowly he turned to Monk, his eyes narrow and hard. "You omitted to mention that a young woman was a passenger in the carriage when Treadwell was murdered and that she has since disappeared. Why is that, Mr. Monk?"

Monk had foreseen the question, though there was no excuse that was satisfactory, and Robb would know that as well as he did.

"Mrs. Gardiner left with Treadwell," he replied with as honest a bearing as he could. "We have no idea when she left him…."

Lucius was staring at him, his eyes wide and horrified.

"Sophistry!" Robb snapped.

"Reality!" Monk returned with equal harshness. "This was five days ago. If anything happened to Mrs. Gardiner we are far too late to affect it now, except by careful thought and consideration before we act." He was acutely conscious of Lucius and of Harry Stourbridge. Their emotions filled the air. "If she met with violence as well, she would have been found long before now." He did not glance at either of them but kept his eyes level on Robb. "If she was kidnapped, then a ransom will be asked for, and it has not so far. If she witnessed the murder, then she may well have run away, for her own safety, and we must be careful how we look for her, in case we bring upon her the very harm she fears." He drew in his breath. "And until Major Stourbridge identified the body as that of Treadwell, we did not know that it was anything more than a domestic misunderstanding between Mr. Stourbridge and Mrs. Gardiner."

Lucius stood appalled.

Stourbridge looked from one to the other of them. "We know now," he said grimly. "The question is what we are to do next."

"Discover all the facts that we can," Monk answered him. "And then deduce what we can from them."

Robb bit his lip, his face pale. He turned to Lucius. "You have no idea why Mrs. Gardiner left your home?"

"No, none at all," Lucius said quickly. "There was no quarrel, no incident at all which sparked it. Mrs. Gardiner was standing alone, watching the croquet match when, without warning or explanation, she simply left."

"With Treadwell?"

"She left in the carriage," Stourbridge corrected him. "She could hardly have driven it herself."

A flash of irritation crossed Robb’s face and then disappeared, as if he had remembered their distress. "Had Mrs. Gardiner any previous acquaintance with Treadwell, perhaps through the cook?"

"No," Lucius said instantly. "She had met no one in the house before I first took her there."

"Where did you meet Mrs. Gardiner?"

"On Hampstead Heath. Why? It is natural enough that he should bring her back here. She lives on Lyndhurst Road."

Robb pursed his lips. "That is about three quarters of a mile from where the carriage was found, and rather more from where Treadwell’s body was. I assume you have already been to her home to see if she was there?"

"Of course! No one has seen her since she left to come to Bayswater," Lucius answered. "It is the first place we looked. Please, tell us what you know of Treadwell’s death, I beg you."

They were outside in the street again now. Lucius stood breathing deeply, as if trying to clear his lungs of the choking air of the morgue with its close smell of death. Even so, he did not take his eyes from Robb’s face.

"We know nothing except that he was murdered," Robb replied. "We did not even know his name until you gave it to us, although from his clothes we assumed his occupation."

"Was there nothing found in the carriage?" Stourbridge asked with a frown. "No marks or stains to indicate where it had been? What about the horses? Are they hurt?"

"No, they were lost, confused, aware that something was wrong. There was nothing to indicate they had bolted. The harness was not broken. The reins were still tied to the bar, as if the driver had stopped, then climbed down rather than fallen. The carriage itself has no scratches or marks but those of ordinary use."

Stourbridge turned questioningly to Monk.

"There is nothing further you can do here now," Monk assured him. "Thank you for coming to identify Treadwell. Perhaps you had better return home and inform your family- and, of course, the cook. She is bound to be distressed. As soon as I learn anything more, I will tell you."

Lucius stood still. "The answer must be here!" he insisted desperately, loath to leave without something further accomplished.

Stourbridge touched his elbow. "Perhaps, but Mr. Monk will find it more easily if we do not hamper him."

Lucius did not move.

"Come," Stourbridge said gently. "We shall only make it more difficult."

Reluctantly, still half disbelieving, Lucius bade good-bye and permitted himself to be led away.

"You realize I shall have to find this woman?" Robb shoved his hands deep in his pockets, staring grimly at Monk. He looked guarded, careful, his shoulders hunched a little. "At best she may be witness to the murder, at worst a victim herself."

It was unarguable. Monk said nothing.

"Or she may be guilty herself," Robb went on. "That blow could have been struck by a woman, if she were frightened enough or angry enough. Perhaps you will now be frank and tell me what you know of this Mrs. Gardiner. Since Mr. Stourbridge seems to have hired you to find her, presumably you know a great deal more than you have so far told me."

There was no evading it now, and perhaps it was the only way to help Lucius Stourbridge. Whatever the truth was, one day he would have to face at least part of it. Some details might be kept from him, but not the essence. If Miriam Gardiner were involved in the murder of Treadwell, it would be public knowledge sooner or later. Monk could not protect him from that, even if she were no more than a witness. And unless Treadwell had set her down somewhere before he reached the Heath, that seemed an unavoidable conclusion. It was plain in Robb’s face now as he looked grimly at Monk, ignoring the traffic passing by them and the people on foot having to walk around.

Monk told Robb the outline of his interview with Lucius Stourbridge and his visit to Bayswater. He gave no more detail than was necessary to be honest, and none of his own impressions, except that he had believed what he had been told so far.