Watchers Of Time Part 6

Rest seemed to elude him, his body tense with pain.

And yet at some point he slept, the quiet in the room giving way to the sound of battle, the distant roar of artillery, the chatter of machine guns cutting down the men struggling across No Man's Land. The rain that beat against the windows in a sudden squall became mud underfoot, slippery, black. He went down, unsure whether he'd been shot or lost his footing. He lay there, unable to find the will to rise again, hoping he was dying. Corporal MacLeod's voice was shouting at him, asking if he'd been hit. He scrambled to his feet, wondering why his chest felt heavy, wondering when there had been time to bandage it. It was hard to breathe as he ran, calling to his men, his eye on the barricaded hole where the Hun gunners lay hidden. He could hear the thump thump of bullets all around him, the screams of the wounded, the prayers and cries of angry, terrified men. His men. He couldn't reach the gunners, he couldn't get within range-the spotters had given him the wrong coordinates, it was a slaughter, of bullets all around him, the screams of the wounded, the prayers and cries of angry, terrified men. His men. He couldn't reach the gunners, he couldn't get within range-the spotters had given him the wrong coordinates, it was a slaughter, and he couldn't get and he couldn't get to the gunners to the gunners-!

And then a well-hidden sniper's rifle fired, and somehow he heard it over the din of battle, and it fired again, and at the third shot, for a mercy the machine gun nest fell silent-

CHAPTER 7.

RUTLEDGE ATE DINNER IN THE QUIET little restaurant attached to the hotel. Most of the other diners were local people, and he belatedly remembered, thinking about it, that it was Sat.u.r.day evening. The hats of the ladies lacked style but were worn with pride, and the suits of the younger men were pre-War, ill-fitting, as if the weight lost in whatever theater they'd served hadn't been regained. Couples chatted self-consciously, keeping their voices low and falling silent from time to time as though they had no idea what to say to each other. Fourfive years of war left gaps in their lives that would be slow to mend.

He wondered what Jean had to say to her Canadian diplomat. How long, even, she had known him. Not that it mattered . . .

As the door from the lounge bar opened, Rutledge looked up. In that brief instant he thought he recognized the man standing by the hearth drinking down what appeared to be a Scotch and water. But when the door opened again the man was gone.

It was the same man he'd seen bringing in the boat at the Osterley quay, he was nearly sure of it. Edwin, his name was. . . .

The hotel's food was simple but well cooked: carrot soup, roast mutton and potatoes, with a side dish of cabbage and onions, and an apple tart to finish. With only Hamish for company, Rutledge's mind, unbidden, returned to the murder of Father James.

Why is it, he found himself thinking, that there has to be meaning in an unforeseen death? All of nature kills without compunction. Why should Everyman die with a fanfare of trumpets, like another Hamlet? In London he, Rutledge, had seen his share of wanton murder, where life had been snuffed out callously. And yet Father James's friends had searched for purpose in his death, as if this somehow provided a legacy. . . .

Hamish, with relish, reminded him that there was no longer a case. "If yon Strong Man is the murderer, it's no' your duty to finish the investigation."

Rutledge heard him, and even agreed. But he was not satisfied.

If he was guilty, Walsh's motive had been theft. To pay for his new cart. And Father James most certainly would have recognized him. Even in a dark room, the sheer size of the man would have given him away. That alone might have turned Father James toward the window to call for help. On the other side of the coin, if Walsh had been startled to find someone walking into the study, he couldn't have guessed that the priest was not likely to press charges. Cornered, he would have tried to protect himself as best he could, and once the crucifix was in his hand, it was a very small, frantic step to using it. A frightened man, looking for a way out . . .

What would Mrs. Wainer have to say to that? Or Monsignor Holston?

Even Inspector Blevins, with his man apparently safely tucked away in a cell, had asked Rutledge to stay on in Osterley.

Why?

By the time Rutledge had reached his dessert, he had come to realize that each of Father James's defenders had spread over the indignity and degradation of murder a cloak of tragedy. But even their vision of that cloak was different.

What was it about this priest's death that made everyone wary of the simple truth? Or made the simple truth a very odd choice? What had they failed to tell their visitor from Scotland Yard?

Hamish interrupted him to ask why a Protestant in apparently good standing with his own pastor would suddenly demand to see a different one-and one outside his own faith? It was not something that set well with his Covenanter's view of things. Come to that, he persisted, why would Father James feel concerned about that dying Protestant's mental stability?

Rutledge was moving on to the lounge for his tea. In a quiet corner, where the bay window looked out over the dark gardens, he discovered that he was staring at his own reflection in the uneven, two-hundred-year-old gla.s.s. It distorted his features, giving him a sinister look. But mercifully, the chair had been set at an angle, the reflection of Rutledge's right shoulder masked by the shadows of the velvet drapes, and there was no way to tell if there was anyone standing behind him- A s.h.i.+ver ran through him and he turned away from the window. Even the teacup in his hands couldn't warm the coldness that had touched him-what if the chair had been placed only another few inches one way or the other, and he had stared without warning into a b.l.o.o.d.y and accusing face?

Hamish prodded again, the voice just out of Rutledge's line of sight. Still shaken, it took him several minutes to answer.

Confession was a sacrament in the Catholic Church. . . . The stricture on silence was not as strong in the Church of England.

If there had been something on the old man's conscience, something serious enough for confession to ease his dying, he might well have chosen not to tell his own Vicar. As Dr. Stephenson himself had pointed out, Sims knew the family-the wife, if there was one, the children. Instead Baker might have turned to a priest who not only was bound by secrecy but had no close ties with the survivors.

"I canna' see it makes sae great a difference! Unless the truth would prevent Baker from lying in consecrated ground."

That was something Rutledge hadn't considered.

"He wouldna' fash himsel' o'er small sins," Hamish continued. "And I canna' think whatever it was weighed sae heavily on his conscience, if he carried it about wi' him to auld age!"

Rutledge agreed. Nothing so common as infidelity or an unpaid debt would send Father James to the doctor to ask questions about Baker's sanity. And a man confessing to a sin, even to a crime long forgotten by everyone else, would present no question of conscience for the priest. A dying man was past trying in a court of law. Justice, after a fas.h.i.+on, had been done.

Father James had spoken of the dead man's Will . . .

What if one of the inheriting children had no right to the family name?

"Aye. That," Hamish answered his thought, "would be a serious matter."

Or had another name that had been kept hidden for a lifetime- Was that the secret the dying man wanted to impart to Father James? To leave behind a record of a child's true heritage?

Was it that responsibility that had kept the priest pacing the rectory floor at night? Surely he might have felt he owed some duty there.

If it was was a Confession, Father James wouldn't have spoken of it to Monsignor Holston. He was bound by his vows not to tell anyone, even another priest. Or even to seek comfort in his own quandary. But Monsignor Holston might have been aware of some distraction, of a heavy burden that was never brought into the open. . . . a Confession, Father James wouldn't have spoken of it to Monsignor Holston. He was bound by his vows not to tell anyone, even another priest. Or even to seek comfort in his own quandary. But Monsignor Holston might have been aware of some distraction, of a heavy burden that was never brought into the open. . . .

It was an interesting dilemma, what to do about a Confessed sin.

And where there was a Will, there was a solicitor who had drawn it up. If there were dark secrets in the Baker family, perhaps he would also have a few of the answers. If there were none to be found . . .

"We're back again to the War," Hamish said without enthusiasm. "You ken, better than most, what secrets soldiers bring home with them. Or what secrets a man might confess before battle, no' expecting to survive it!"

And how to find such a needle in a haystack of returned veterans?

Yet that same needle might have found Father James, nearly a year after the War had ended. . . .

Because he'd come to a bazaar?

The next morning Rutledge left the Norwich hotel and drove back to Osterley, Hamish battering at the back of his mind.

Rutledge hadn't slept deeply the night before, unable to find a comfortable position. His chest had throbbed relentlessly, torn muscle overtired from fighting the wheel (Frances would have had his head if she'd known) and refusing to be eased.

Consequently he'd been subjected to a long and unpleasant interlude every time he'd roused enough to turn over. Hamish, for one reason or another, had taken a dislike to the damp, dreary weather and was in full form.

If he wasn't comparing the rounded green land of this part of Norfolk to the great barren mountains and long glens of Scotland, he was reviewing the circ.u.mstances surrounding the death of Father James or mulling over the conversation with Monsignor Holston or Inspector Blevins. Awake, Rutledge was unable to let down his guard. Asleep, pain found him again in an endless, restive circle.

Hamish, Rutledge discovered he was thinking at some point, was a malevolent spirit with no need for sleep.

This morning, fighting a headache from the unpredictable s.h.i.+fts in subjects, some of them seeming to lie in wait for him and aimed with a deadly accuracy, others following the unsettled state of his own thoughts, Rutledge was glad to see a modic.u.m of sunlight sifting through the overcast. It seemed to foretell a lifting of the clouds in his mind.

Hamish seemed to find it more to his liking as well. As the land changed a little, announcing their approach to the sea, Hamish unexpectedly said, "It isna' a verra' pleasant thought, returning to London. I canna' ken why people live in cities, jammed cheek by jowl like so many sheep off to market!"

Rutledge agreed. His cluttered office was claustrophobic when rain ran down the soot-blackened windows, shutting him in with the lamplight and the musty smell of cigar smoke and wet wool. When it rained, Old Bowels's moods were as unpredictable as the s.h.i.+fts in Hamish's trains of thought.

Nor was he eager to return to Frances's watchful care. His sister was a master at concealing her worry behind a light facade of humor, but he knew her too well to be taken in by it. He said aloud, in the silence of the motorcar-a habit he found nearly impossible to break- "I'll be here at least one more day. It will do no harm."

A lorry, bound from King's Lynn to Norwich, sent an arc of muddy water across Rutledge's bonnet as it pa.s.sed in the southbound lane. He blinked as the spray washed the windscreen and left behind a dark and odiferous residue that slowly vanished in the drizzle that had resumed, swallowing up the sun.

As he drove into the town, Rutledge saw people hurrying toward Holy Trinity, bound for the service. He recognized a few of the faces from his brief visit on Sat.u.r.day- the farmer and his sons who had successfully purchased the prize ram, the young woman he'd seen earlier in the churchyard, the barmaid at The Pelican, and two of the children who had been playing in Water Street. The familiar habit of Sunday wors.h.i.+p comfortably being followed: occasionally greeting a friend, often looking up at the great tower that marked their destination as if already focused on the service. There was something very English about it.

He had the odd feeling that he had come home.

The constable on duty in the police station informed him that Inspector Blevins was at Ma.s.s, and had left word that he would expect his London counterpart after lunch.

"If there's a Ma.s.s, there's a priest," Hamish told Rutledge as he walked back to the motorcar.

"Yes. I'd like to see who has been sent to conduct it."

He turned the car and drove to St. Anne's. The watery sunlight brightened.

Stopping in the drive beside the rectory, Rutledge sat back in his seat, trying to ease the tense muscles in his chest, ma.s.saging his upper arm near the shoulder, commanding it to relax. He'd nearly succeeded by the time the first of the paris.h.i.+oners came out of the service and walked away down the street.

Watching them, he wondered which had been under suspicion before Walsh had been taken into custody. Surely Blevins had considered a good many of them, before the investigation had widened.

In a few moments, Monsignor Holston stepped out of St. Anne's and stood by the door, speaking to each family as they left the service. Rutledge, watching, could see that Monsignor Holston knew a number of them, and found a brief word even for those he didn't. For a scholarly man, the priest had a remarkably affable manner with people. Inspector Blevins, in the middle of a group, stopped to make several remarks, and the priest's face lighted a little. But there was doubt in his expression as he turned his head to follow Blevins and his family as they walked on. A trio of elderly women, dressed in black and very eager to take Monsignor Holston's hand in their turn, brought up the rear of the procession of people. He rea.s.sured each woman, bending to hear what the eldest, stooped and leaning on a cane, had to say. But in the end he shook his head.

Hamish said, "He doesna' know who will replace Father James."

"I have a feeling the Bishop may wait until the police have finished their job."

As the women moved off down the path, Monsignor Holston turned to go back into the sanctuary, and then saw Rutledge for the first time, hailing him.

Rutledge got out of the car and strode toward the church.

"Well met," the priest said. "Come and talk to me while I change out of my robes."

Rutledge joined him at the door. "I see you were sent here to conduct the service. Does this mean the Bishop has made no decision about Father James's successor? Or are you taking up residence now?"

"The Bishop's biding his time. I think he prefers to wait until there's some news about the killer. Not wanting to be seen to be filling Father James's shoes with unwarranted haste. But he can't leave it much longer. There are needs here that I can't meet, coming only for a day. And most of all it's a need for continuity, a sense of order having been restored."

They went into the sanctuary together and down an aisle. "This is a very lovely church, you know." Monsignor Holston gestured to the stark simplicity surrounding them. "Father James used to say that it was stripped of all pretension, down to the bare bones of faith. Architecturally, that's quite true. And I think he carried that message through into his pastoring here. But this is a dying parish; there's no work for the young people here along the coast. The Bishop should find a young priest with energy and ideals to fill Father James's shoes. One who might reach them before they wander off to work in Norwich or King's Lynn or Peterborough. You could see for yourself how many of those present this morning were over forty."

"Yes, I had noticed. Is this considered advice? Or an offering to the G.o.ds to keep you safely in Norwich?"

Opening the vestry door, Monsignor Holston smiled. "Yes, there's that. I don't mind coming here for the services. I just don't have a fancy for staying."

"I should think with Walsh's capture that much of the strain would begin to dissipate." To soften the remark, Rutledge added, "Although that will take time, I'm sure."

Monsignor Holston shook his head. "There's still something in that house"-he gestured toward the unseen rectory-"that would keep me awake at night!"

"The coffin door knocker, for one?" It was said lightly.

The smile returned. "That was a bit of whimsy on some Victorian priest's part. A reminder that dust to dust is everyone's fate." He took off his robes and laid them carefully in the small black case on the table. After a moment he said, "I was surprised to see you still here, Inspector. I had thought you'd go back to London, duty done."

"I had every intention of going," Rutledge answered. "But Inspector Blevins has asked me to stay on a day or two. Until they are sure that this man Walsh is the one they want. They only brought him in yesterday, and there's still a great deal to find out about his movements."

Monsignor Holston nodded. "Blevins spoke to the Bishop last night. 'Early days' was what he said, but I think he's very hopeful. Bishop Cunningham asked to be kept informed."

"Blevins would also like to see this ended." Rutledge paused, watching Monsignor Holston as he added the consecrated wafers to his case and closed the lid. As they walked out the vestry door into a spreading patch of sunlight, he said, "I'm just going to the hotel to see about a room. Will you join me for lunch?"

Monsignor Holston sighed. "I'd like that very much. But I have to be back in Norwich for a service tonight. If you're here next Sunday, I'll accept."

"If I'm still here," Rutledge agreed. "Where did you leave your motorcar?"

"Behind the rectory. Look, if you are staying on here, will you keep me apprised of the situation? I'm sure Inspector Blevins will have his hands full. And-I'd appreciate it."

"Yes, I will."

And Monsignor Holston was gone, hurrying around the apse into the churchyard, lifting a hand in farewell as he disappeared in the direction of the rectory.

Hamish said, "He left with indecent haste."

"Yes. I don't know what he's afraid of, but Monsignor Holston is a man looking over his shoulder. He wanted me to come inside with him because he didn't want to be in that church alone. At a guess I'd say he's not sure the evidence against Walsh will stand."

"Aye," Hamish said thoughtfully. "There're ghosts there. But of his making or are they real?"

"I wish I knew!" Rutledge answered, walking back to his own motorcar.

The Osterley Hotel had once been grander, when the town was closer to the sea. Now it offered comfort to what travelers there were and to families and merchants staying for market day. Rutledge thought it might also be the only lodging within several miles where townspeople could put up guests.

The hotel stood on Water Street, where the road ran along the quay, and was built of the ubiquitous flint, three stories with windows looking out over the marshes or onto a courtyard at the side of the building, where carriages and motorcars could be left.

The woman who came to the desk as he entered was nearing fifty, he thought, her graying hair tidily pulled back into a soft knot at the nape of her neck. Clear gray eyes met his when he asked for a room. "For the night?"

"For several days," he said.

She nodded, pleased. "There's a nice view of the sea from number seventeen. If you have keen eyesight," she added with a smile. "What brings you to Osterley? We don't get many holiday-makers this time of year."

"A matter of business," he said pleasantly. "When did the sea recede?"

"Not in my lifetime. The early years of the last century. Though they say that the storms since 1900 are eroding the beaches again, and we might see the water return within the next ten or twenty years. That would be nice!" There was more hope than certainty in her voice. "We serve breakfast at seven, later if you prefer it. And if you'll be in to luncheon, we'd like to know. It's generally served at half past twelve. Dinner is from seven to nine. Then the cook wants to go home. You can also find a meal at The Pelican when we're closed. That's the pub at the end of the quay."

She was leading him up stairs that had been painted a soft green to match the carpet running down the center of the first-floor pa.s.sage. A line of photographs in gold-trimmed oak frames had been hung along the walls, and he saw that they were early photographs showing Osterley when it still managed to attract a few bathers. Dark and faded, but fascinating as history: Victorian women in black silk gowns and bonnets strolling by the sea with black silk parasols shading their faces from the sun; small boats coming in to the quay in deeper water than existed now; and a fisherman proudly displaying his catch, his cap at a jaunty angle. There was a very early photograph of a coaster unloading freight, boxes and bales and barrels, just beyond The Pelican. And next to that, children forming a ring of curious faces around a pair of seals on the strand, their sleek, wet heads c.o.c.ked in wary uncertainty. In this one, the marshes were a thickening line of reeds and gra.s.ses, more prominent to the east, leaving the western side of the narrowing harbor as a last sacrifice to the encroaching silt.

Noticing Rutledge's interest, she said, "My grandfather took those. Avid photographer with a keen eye for such things. He was lucky with the seals-they don't come this far south very often." She stopped before number seventeen and opened the door.

It was a bright room, flooded with light from a double pair of windows. Large, well furnished with a bedstead of mahogany wood, a dresser with a mirror, and a clothespress that matched. A painted washstand stood in the corner. Two comfortable chairs framed a table under the first pair of windows, and a desk was set under the second.

"The finest room in the house," Hamish murmured.

"I'm Mrs. Barnett," she told Rutledge. "If I'm not in the office, I'm in the kitchen or out to do the marketing. Leave a note if you can't find me."

"I will. Thank you."