Page 70 of Death of a Courtesan
‘Blimey,’ Salter breathed. ‘We’re in the wrong line of work.’
‘I don’t think you should be considering a new career,’ Riley replied, chuckling. ‘I doubt whether your services would be in much demand.’
Salter grunted.
‘I assume you advised Adelaide upon her investments,’ Riley said, returning his attention to Talbot.
‘I enjoyed that privilege.’ He went on to tell them where her money had been placed. ‘As to who benefits…’ He paused to flip through more pages. ‘A lady by the name of Celeste Clement with an address in Battersea is the sole beneficiary.’
Riley and Salter exchanged a significant look. ‘Is Mrs Clement aware that she stands to inherit?’
Talbot spread his hands. ‘I have absolutely no idea, Lord Riley, but if she is, she didn’t hear it from me.’
‘Has she been in touch with you?’ Salter asked.
‘No. I was unaware that Adelaide was dead until you came here this morning.’
‘And if we had not tracked you down, you would have remained in ignorance. What would have happened then?’ Riley asked.
‘Adelaide was cautious by nature. We had an arrangement whereby she called here once a quarter to discuss her investments.’
‘Her investments?’ Salter scowled. ‘Was that strictly necessary?’
‘If you think I invented the necessity in order to increase my income then you mistake the matter, sergeant,’ Talbot said crisply. ‘The meetings were Adelaide’s idea but I will confess that I looked forward to them. We always enjoyed a lively exchange of views. I liked her forthright manner and cynical attitude. But to answer your question, Lord Riley, if for any reason she did not keep one of her standing appointments then I had instructions to enquire of Mrs Sinclair as to her welfare. That is how I would have discovered what had happened to her.’
‘She feared that she might be killed?’ Riley asked, sitting forward expectantly.
‘She worked in a dangerous profession and had no one other than me to protect her interests. I asked her once about her family but she wouldn’t tell me anything about them and was adamant that if anything did happen to her then they were not to be involved in her affairs. She even left instructions for her funeral, which is not to be religious, and to which none of her family are to be admitted.’
Riley wasn’t surprised to hear it. Adelaide knew how to bear a grudge and probably considered that she had earned the right.
‘I shall have to contact Mrs Clement and make the necessary arrangements.’
‘Not yet, if you don’t mind. Adelaide’s body is still with the police pathologist and I would like for it to remain there for the time being. I hope to be able to bring the murderer to justice in a short time from now and would prefer for Mrs Clement not to know of her windfall before then. She is aware of Adelaide’s death but not, as far as I know, that she stands to benefit from it. She isn’t a suspect but people connected to her could be, especially if they somehow knew of Adelaide’s arrangements.’
‘Very well,’ Talbot said, standing and extending his hand. ‘I shall do nothing until I hear from you again, Lord Riley.’
Riley shook it, thanked him and he and Salter left the premises.
‘You are thinking, I suppose,’ Salter said as they hailed a cab to take them to Maiden Lane, ‘that if Michael Clement knew of Adelaide’s intentions it now makes him a suspect. Ray was getting harder for him to control and was asking awkward questions about his involvement with Adelaide. Perhaps he’d also followed Michael to Battersea and seen Celeste. There are any number of possibilities that might have made it expedient for Michael to do away with his would-be partner. A partner whom he’d only needed for her money. If she was dead then her money would come to him through his wife anyway.’
‘I’d be failing in my duty if I didn’t think along those lines, Salter,’ Riley agreed as he climbed into the cab that rattled to a halt at the curb, ‘but I still can’t see Michael as the throat-cutting type. Besides, he was in France at the time.’
Salter allowed himself another grunt. ‘So was Derek Huxton. Supposedly.’
‘I shall find a way to ensure that Michael and Celeste Clement learn of the existence of the diaries, too,’ Riley assured his sergeant. ‘Just to be thorough.’
‘We seem to be gaining more suspects, rather than eliminating them,’ Salter replied gloomily.
Riley nodded, feeling frustrated because they appeared to be taking one step forward followed by two in the opposite direction. ‘Perhaps this is all about the money, after all,’ he mused, ‘and the superintendent was right to make that suggestion. Hopefully time will tell.’
Peterson and Harper, following Riley’s orders, were waiting for Riley and Salter at Maiden Lane, conspicuous in their uniforms. Tennyson opened the door to them, still in shirtsleeves, his sparse hair standing up at odd angles, as though he had not long been out of bed and hadn’t given any thought to his personal grooming.
‘Oh, it’s you lot. What do you want this time?’
‘Access, if you please,’ Riley replied, thrusting his hat at him and striding past the man into the entrance salon. ‘Be so good as to have Mrs Sinclair and all the girls join me in this room. Peterson, you and Harper are to tear Adelaide’s room apart. We are missing something and I don’t want you to stop until you find it.’
‘Very good, sir.’
