Page 17 of Death of a Courtesan
‘You will make yourself available to Rochester whenever he wishes to speak with you, Danforth. Do I make myself clear?’
‘Yes, sir.’ Danforth lifted his head and spoke for the first time since Riley had entered the room. ‘Is it common knowledge yet?’
‘No one other than Salter and myself know of your association with the place,’ Riley told him, ‘and we will endeavour to keep it that way. However…’ Riley spread his hands, not thinking it necessary to explain that Danforth’s involvement was bound to leak out sooner or later. Danforth sent him a suspicious look, clearly thinking that Riley was exacting some sort of revenge. Riley had expected that, well aware that if their positions had been reversed, Danforth would have taken great pleasure in shouting about Riley’s deviances from the rooftops and glorying in his spectacular fall from grace.
‘Very well then. Go and wait in your office, Danforth. Rochester will want to talk to you once we’re finished here. But first, I want to hear his report on progress thus far, and you cannot be involved.’ Danforth shuffled to his feet like an old man. ‘We will discuss your position here once this case has been resolved.’
‘Damned idiot,’ Thompson muttered as the door closed behind Danforth. ‘What the hell was he thinking, involving himself in a place like that, laying himself open to blackmail, coercion, or worse?’
‘How much did he tell you about his predilections?’
Thompson shuddered. ‘He merely said that the place was discreet and catered for particular requirements. I didn’t ask for details.’
Riley wasn’t surprised to hear it. Thompson, like Danforth, was a family man, but that was as far as the similarities went. Thompson respected Riley’s qualities as a detective and didn’t seem to resent his lifestyle. Danforth did. Riley explained what it was that drew Danforth to Mrs Sinclair’s establishment.
‘For what it’s worth, sir, I don’t think he’s likely to be blackmailed. Every man who goes to that place does so because he harbours obscure desires that he wouldn’t want to have made public, even if he’s unmarried. We are talking about middle-class men with businesses to run and reputations to maintain. That’s why they reply upon Mrs Sinclair’s discretion.’
‘But he was there openly, using his own name.’ Thompson, red in the face with anger, shook his head. ‘The stupid fool seems to think that he’s untouchable. I gather he didn’t pay for the services he received, which I assume gives the madam a hold over him.’
‘A tenuous one,’ Riley conceded, wondering why he was still defending Danforth. ‘He would no doubt use his authority to have her business raided, shut down even, if he felt she had betrayed his trust.’
‘Ha!’
‘Anyway, sir, I shall naturally try and speak with as many of the men as possible who were there last night, but I am fairly confident that none of them carried out the murder.’ Riley went on to explain why. ‘I have slight reservations about the only man living there. I think he had developed feelings for the murdered girl. Protective feelings, ludicrous though it might sound, that could have become obsessive. It seems she had that effect upon men. Even the other girls—most of whom didn’t like her—admit that much. I shall delve more deeply into Tennyson’s background but I can’t see him resorting to murder if she refused to listen to his advice.’
‘So, an intruder, you think?’ Thompson leaned back in his chair, sliding a paperknife through his fingers and scowling at the wall. ‘Not much chance of catching him, then.’
‘I think it was personal, sir, not random, and that the perpetrator planned it carefully in advance. It couldn’t have been an opportunistic crime committed by one of the men there last night, because the victim was seen alive and well after the last of the visitors left. I am hoping that something in Adelaide’s past will lend us a clue.’
‘And I have every faith in you, Rochester.’
‘Well then, sir, if there’s nothing further, I’d best go and put the chief inspector out of his misery.’
‘Don’t you dare! Give him hell. It’s less than he deserves.’
Riley smiled. ‘I’ll see what I can do.’
Riley tapped on Danforth’s closed door and was gruffly invited to enter. Danforth had regained a little colour but still looked like a condemned man whose career had been compromised.
‘I suppose you’re enjoying this,’ was his opening gambit.
‘I am doing my job, nothing more.’ Riley seated himself without being invited to do so. ‘I will protect you as much as I can but we both know that will not be possible indefinitely. Gossip will prevail, as always. The best that you can hope for is that your presence there will become known and no man will condemn you for it. If they discover the precise nature of your needs, I’m afraid you will become a laughing stock.’
‘Dear God!’ Danforth shook his head from side to side, causing his jowls to wobble. ‘I’m a bloody fool!’
Riley couldn’t abide self-pity. Danforth had brought this upon himself and must deal with the consequences. ‘Then why take the risk?’ he asked briskly.
‘I have eight children, Rochester. Eight. Ten of us live in a house not much larger than your drawing room. It’s bedlam. Oh, I love my wife and family, don’t get me wrong, but sometimes…well, I just need a little personal attention. I have responsibilities here, more responsibilities at home. When I’m with Adelaide she knows what I need and I can abdicate from all those demands upon me, if only for a fleeting moment in time. I’ve never met any other woman like her, but that only made my cravings worse. I could control them after a fashion before I came across her. Now…well, I don’t know how I’ll survive without those visits to look forward to.’
‘The cravings must be very strong.’
Danforth winced. ‘You have no idea. None whatsoever, so I wouldn’t expect you to understand. Just don’t judge, that’s all I ask.’
‘Tell me about last night.’
Riley’s no-nonsense tone seemed to communicate itself to Danforth. He sat a little straighter and became more like his usual gruff self as he started to talk.
‘I arrived late. It was past nine and the party was already under way. Adelaide was engaged and I had to wait for her. She saw me at about ten and I left just after eleven.’
