Page 73 of Courier of Death
“So,” Leo began, her voice tellingly hoarse. “What happened with Mrs. Bates?”
Finding out how things had gone at Scotland Yard was why she’d come. Partially, at least.
Jasper went to the Chesterfield and eased down onto the corner cushion so as not to jar his aching ribs. He looked worn to the bone. “She’ll be arraigned tomorrow, charged with conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder, and bribery. It appears Mrs. Bates was with Porter Stewart when he met with Sir Elliot to bribe him; Payne is admitting to the meeting. He claims he rebuffed the offer and did not attend the WEA meeting due to discomfort with Mr. Stewart.”
Leo settled herself in the opposite corner of the Chesterfield. The worn leather creaked softly.
“Did Mrs. Bates name any of her accomplices?” she asked after a moment of quiet. “Lester Rice, for example?”
“No, though we did bring him in, along with the Olaf fellow from Bloom’s casino room. Both are claiming innocence, of course. But Mrs. Bates will stay quiet. It won’t matter that she is a Paget by blood; if she turns on them, she’ll be dead. So, she’s keeping names to herself.”
He swirled his whisky and took another sip as a question continued to nag at her.
“How did the Angels get the idea to put Mr. Foster’s body on Lord Hayes’s property? Clearly, they meant to implicate the viscount, but Mrs. Bates couldn’t have known about their family connection.”
Jasper raised his pointer finger from his glass. “I’d thought of that too. Sir Elliot introduced his aide to Mr. Stewart and Mrs. Bates before their meeting, and when I pressed the subject, he admitted to explaining to them that Foster was a sympathy hire. A favor to his friend, Lord Hayes.”
That would account for it then. Not only had Emma wished to silence Mr. Foster, but she’d also wanted to arrange for a suspect in his murder. Oliver Hayes had been the perfect scapegoat.
“And Lord Babbage?” Leo asked, recalling the anti-women’s suffrage MP whom Geraldine was accused of targeting at the Yard. “How did he play in?”
“He didn’t,” Jasper replied. “His appointment at headquarters that day seems to have been a useful coincidence. On the surface, at least.”
Like Jasper, Leo didn’t wholly believe in coincidences.
“What did Porter Stewart know about all of this?” she asked. “Earlier at his home, he seemed utterly oblivious to Mrs. Bates’s machinations.”
Jasper released a long and weary exhalation. “I think he is trying to convince himself of his own obliviousness, though anyone with even half a brain should have been able to work it out.” Shaking his head, he went on. “When I interviewed him at the Yard, he added to his statement that he’d turned to Mrs. Bates after Foster’s visit to the bank. Allegedly, she told him not to worry, that she would take care of things.”
“And did he ask how she intended to help?”
Jasper sent her a bemused look. “What do you think?”
Leo knew the answer. She eyed her drink. The whisky had warmed her chest and alleviated her shivering. Or perhaps that could be attributed to something else entirely. The shivers had subsided after Jasper’s arrival.
“I think Geraldine Stewart should have married a better man.”
He chuckled. “No arguments there.”
“What will happen to her?” she asked. “Will the charges against her be dropped?”
“As the only evidence against Mrs. Stewart was her ownership of the valise, Tomlin won’t have a choice but to rescind the charges. Superintendent Monroe has already ordered him to do so.”
Leo well imagined Inspector Tomlin’s resentment and fury that his own sewn-up case had been picked apart and correctly solved by another detective. She also knew Jasper would suffer a fair amount of enmity from Tomlin and his team for having interfered with their investigation.
“Her reputation won’t recover quickly. There’s a chance it might never,” Leo said, thinking of the ladies who had attended the WEA meetings. Most were wealthy and well-connected, and though they supported suffrage, they might not wish to be associated with someone who’d had scandal attached to her name.
“At least she’ll have her freedom,” Jasper said. “Besides, something tells me she isn’t going to be dissuaded from her mission.”
Leo agreed. It was nice to know Jasper could see that determination too and didn’t seem to dislike her for it.
She drew her legs up onto the sofa cushion beneath her, though the motion pulled at her bandaged waist. She tried to mask her gasp of pain by bringing the glass to her lips, but he still heard it.
“Did Claude place any sutures?”
“I was right; I didn’t need them.”
He made a face that said he didn’t believe her. “He didn’t even look at your wound, did he?”
