Chapter Nineteen #2
She almost asked what Janey found to smile about in that, though a moment’s reflection kept her tongue still. If Janey had found pleasure in Lenny’s company—or their relationship had taken a step beyond friendship—then it was not for Constance to pry.
“No, neither did we,” she said, walking into her office. “It was a lie. They had never planned to elope. In fact, Darrow killed her.”
Janey followed her in, wide-eyed. “For love?”
“No,” Constance said thoughtfully, “I don’t think he’d have risked it for love.
She threatened his music through what she knew of him.
She could have put him in prison for murder.
And, in fact,” she added sadly, “she did, in the end. He’d killed before, you see, and to avoid the law, he had to start at the beginning again with a new name and a new city and a new favored instrument.
I think she probably found out that he had never been to the Royal Academy as he claimed, but didn’t care while her obsession was upon her.
But when she needed the information to use against him, it was a starting point for her own inquiries. ”
Janey wrinkled her nose. “Too late.”
“Yes. She underestimated him. So did I. I think I let his music blind me. How could a man who plays as he does commit such appalling acts of violence?”
“Pretense,” Janey said unexpectedly. “We all play the parts we need to, don’t we? Just his needs were selfish and ugly, and he got no line to stop him.”
Constance regarded her with some respect.
“I ain’t playing a part no more,” Janey said, meeting her gaze. “Lenny knows the worst about me, and he still likes me. I can’t replace his wife, of course, but he’s asked me to step out with him on Saturday night.”
Constance smiled with genuine pleasure. “I’m glad for you. And him. You’re good for each other.”
Janey grinned. “That’s what I told him,” she said cheekily, and spun away. “Get the tea on, will I? Hat’s still too eaten with remorse to be able do anything. Except go and get the pies in, maybe. Hat? Shift your arse!”
Home, Constance thought contentedly, and leaned back in her chair with a sigh.
There would be more tears to mop, of course. Poor Edith would be devastated. And then there was Reid the pianist, and Mrs. Philpot, both of whom had seemed fond of Darrow. One way and another, one crime affected a lot of people.
*
Solomon returned about an hour later. He walked straight into her office and took her into his arms, which was a lovely place to be.
“I think it was your parting shot that finished him,” he said into her hair.
“By the time we got to the police station, he was desperate to tell anyone who would listen exactly what he had done. It’s a quicker road to fame than music, and I doubt he has long left to enjoy it.
He has been charged with the murder of both Caterina and the woman in York.
Kellar, Montague, and I all made discreet statements that avoided Caterina’s… misjudgments.”
“Darrow won’t avoid them,” Constance said, inhaling the scent of his skin, absorbing his sheer warmth. “He’ll shout them to whoever will listen.”
“He already has, but since he’s admitted the crimes, there will be no public trial. The newspapers will be careful what they print, on account of libel and stepping on the toes of the rich and powerful.” His arms tightened around her. “Montague said he had misjudged us.”
“I misjudged him, too,” Constance said ruefully.
“We both did, but not entirely. He’s clearly not a violent man, let alone a killer, but he’s not quite the clean potato either.
He told me so while we were waiting at the police station.
He burned a letter of Darrow’s that he found crumpled at the bottom of a drawer—those were the ashes we found in the grate that first day.
And in India, as a young man, he really did swindle some people, including a young widow who was in love with him, in order to pay for the transport of his tea, which he couldn’t afford without an expensive loan.
He used a false name in the fraud, but he was recognized and it all came out.
He had to flee back to England. The British, of course, swept it largely under the carpet and pretended it hadn’t happened.
But rumor persisted and he could never go back there.
Understandably, people were reluctant to do business with him.
He runs his plantations from a distance now, which is never ideal, and this severely curtails his profits. ”
“I imagine Caterina was quite expensive, too.”
“It’s an expense he’d have back in a heartbeat, if he could,” Solomon said.
Constance sighed. “I knew I didn’t like this case.”
“Well, we can begin a new one tomorrow.”
Constance was silent for a moment, then she said into his neck, “We misjudged Kellar, too. Juliet was right. He might be dangerous, but not for purely selfish or trivial reasons, not just to obtain a promotion. He would never have hurt Caterina, would he?”
“He brought her here to avoid her being hurt. He says it got him into trouble with his superiors at the time. What does he mean by Juliet?”
“God knows,” Constance said fervently. “The even more confusing question is what she means by him. I am keeping well out of it.”
“We have invited both of them to the party,” Solomon reminded her.
“But Juliet won’t come,” Constance said. Of that, she was certain.