Page 26 of Dead Beside the Thames
Frowning, Stokes glanced at her. “Allof them?”
“All. There are at least twenty-three members of the ton known to be in that category.” Her expression severe, she shook her head. “I have never come across any man so reviled by so many. In short, there is a very long list of people who would have wanted Sedbury dead. And that’s just within the ton. As was stated to me, Sedbury was a man who delighted in gatheringenemies, and given that behavior, we can be absolutely certain that there are many more who wished him ill among the lower classes.”
Stokes appeared utterly confounded, and even Barnaby looked taken aback.
After a moment, as if feeling his way, Barnaby ventured, “In speaking of the family, why include the marchioness and Claudia and the younger children?”
Penelope evenly replied, “While no one imagines they would have—or indeed, could have—strangled Sedbury themselves…” She looked at Claudia. “Are there any trusted family retainers here in London?”
Claudia met her eyes, then sighed and tipped her head toward the street. “Fosdyke. Currently, he’s acting as my coachman-cum-guard.”
“His background?” Penelope inquired.
Claudia glanced at Charlie. “As I explained to Charlie, Fosdyke came to Rattenby with Mama on her marriage. He was her groom, and he’s first and foremost devoted to her, but his vigilance extends to all her children.”
Stokes fixed Claudia with a steady gaze. “Would he kill to protect any of you?”
Her gaze locked with Stokes’s, Claudia hesitated, then sighed and said, “I really couldn’t say.”
And that, Penelope thought, was answer enough.
Charlie cleared his throat, and when they all looked his way, with an apologetic glance at Claudia, he offered, “Fosdyke has a nasty gash above his left eyebrow. Also, Jonathon Hale has a livid scrape down one cheek.”
Stokes, who had been busily writing, looked at Charlie and frowned. “You met Jonathon Hale?”
Charlie explained how Jonathon, knowing Charlie to be a whip collector, had asked him for advice on what to do withSedbury’s whips. “But of particular note, when I looked over Sedbury’s collection, I found a whip that, up until a week ago, belonged to Lord Napier.”
Claudia sat straighter. “We—Charlie and I—called on Lord Napier, and he was kind enough to trust us with the story of how his son, who has recently come on the town, fell into debt, and how Sedbury had acquired those debts and insisted not only that the money be paid but that Napier throw in his whip for good measure.” She looked at Penelope. “I imagine Napier’s story is much like those you heard today concerning other members of the ton.”
Penelope nodded. “Sedbury didn’t exactly blackmail people, but extortion for immediate gain? Yes, indeed, that was his game.”
Charlie said, “While I can’t see Napier as the murderer, he certainly had as much motive as anyone. As did his son, although Napier sent the lad north to his sister nearly a week prior to Sedbury’s murder, so the son, at least, seems to be off the list.”
“Convenient.” Stokes was still writing. “We’ll need to check on the boy’s movements, regardless.” He looked at Penelope. “Do you have a list of those twenty-three names?”
She pulled a sheet of paper from her pocket. “I wrote down all the names, but as it happens, with this being the off-season, several are known to be in the country. Assuming they didn’t hire someone to do the deed while they are far distant—always a possibility—then we have fourteen who were in town themselves when Sedbury was killed.”
Stokes took the sheet, scanned the names, and sighed. “As matters stand, as well as the Hales and their people, and the Ellises and theirs, and now also Napier and his household, we need to investigate everyone on this list.” He looked at Penelope.
She stared back unenthusiastically.
Barnaby stirred. “We should be able to at least make a cursory examination using my network”—he focused on Penelope—“as well as yours.”
Stokes arched a brow at her. “You have a network as well?”
She lifted one shoulder. “The maids and the cooks’ helpers the Foundling House has placed in service. Those girls are now distributed throughout the ton. I’ve taken on two of the older girls for training here, and with my encouragement, they keep in contact with all the others. In reality, the staff of all the houses in Mayfair have their own network—as we’ve all known for decades, given they are the speediest and most reliable source of ton gossip—and through my two girls as well as the staff here, we can tap into that wider network as well.”
Stokes sat back. “That’s…quite brilliant. I’m impressed.”
Resigned, Penelope tipped her head at the list in Stokes’s hand. “I have a copy of that, of course, and despite the number, accepting that everyone had motive enough, if we concentrate instead on who had opportunity, I would hope to reduce the list to possibles within a few days.”
Stokes slowly nodded, then looked at Claudia. “How many days do you think we’ll have before your father arrives in town?”
She plainly calculated, then grimaced and said, “Probably only another day, two at most. I know Aunt Patricia—Lady Selborough—is expecting Papa and Mama to arrive by the day after tomorrow.”
Stokes grimaced, then briefly filled the others in on the progress—or lack thereof—in the search along the riverbank. “We’re working on the theory that, assuming Sedbury was killed by the river or close to it, either there will be some physical sign of a struggle somewhere along the embankment or someone will have noticed an altercation. We know there was a fight, and given Sedbury’s size and strength, the encounter had to have been notable. Alternatively, if he was killed somewhere else andhis body brought there and dumped into the river, there should be someone who saw something. Despite the hour, in that area, there are taverns that would have still been open, and night watchmen and boatmen about as well.” He concluded with, “Although it’s been slow going, we’ve cleared the stretch from Limehouse Dock to the entrance to Regent’s Canal. Tomorrow, we’ll continue searching westward from there.”
The sentimentand hope we find something soondidn’t need to be articulated.
