Early that evening, he set off for the theatre with a large basket of flowers, hoping that the gift would soften her heart towards him. It was well before the time of the performance and she’d given him privileged access to her before. When he presented himself at the theatre, however, his way was blocked by the tall, angular figure of the stage doorkeeper.
‘I’m sorry, sir,’ he said. ‘I’ve orders to turn everyone away.’
‘Miss Granville and I are close friends.’
‘A lot of gentlemen claim that honour.’
‘It’s true, man,’ insisted Paul, ‘and you know it. You’ve seen us both together and admitted me to her dressing room before. Now let me past at once.’
‘I’d lose my job, if I did so.’
‘All I wish to do is to give her these flowers.’
‘Her express wish is that I’m to accept no gifts on her behalf.’
‘That may be true for others but surely not for me. Miss Granville and I have an understanding. Now move aside and let me through.’
The stage doorkeeper held his ground. ‘I’m afraid that I can’t do that, sir.’
Paul felt a rush of anger and had to fight against the impulse to brush the man aside. He couldn’t believe that Hannah would bar his entry to her dressing room. Was she acting out of spite or simply reinforcing her ultimatum? If he wanted her enough, she seemed to be saying, he had to change or he would not even be allowed near her. Paul felt sympathy for the stage doorkeeper. The man was only obeying instructions and should not be blamed for that. Taking a step backward, Paul looked down sadly at the flowers.
‘Are you married?’ he asked.
‘I have been for twenty years or more, sir,’ said the other, contentedly.
‘Then take these flowers home to your wife and tell her you love her.’
After thrusting the basket into the man’s hands, Paul spun on his heel and strode out of the building with his mind in turmoil.
‘Where was this, Peter?’
‘It was in a lane that Mrs Horner would have had to walk down on her way back to her lodging. It could have been designed for an ambush.’
‘And who was this man you caught?’
‘His name was Reuben Grigg, a ruffian who preyed on those passing by.’
‘He chose the wrong victim when he picked on you,’ said Charlotte.
‘I was rather insulted that he saw me as a vulnerable target. From his point of view, I suppose,’ decided Peter, ‘I must have looked as if I had money about me. Also, I was evidently a stranger. He assumed I’d be off guard.’
‘You are never off guard.’
He brushed her lips with a kiss. ‘I was when I first set eyes on you, my love.’
‘Less flattery and more story, please.’
‘Grigg was an awkward fellow. He refused to cooperate at first.’
‘What did you do?’
He smiled. ‘I had to persuade him.’
They were in their house comparing notes about the day they’d each spent. Peter felt that he’d at last made headway in his search for the missing cleaner. Reuben Grigg had been a denizen of the dark corners of the lane where they’d met. Most of the people who walked down it were too poor to have anything of value on them and too aware of the dangers to be taken unawares. Grigg had first told Peter what he felt the latter wanted to hear so he had to be discouraged from telling lies. The man’s own cudgel proved the ideal asset. By means of judicious blows, Peter had soon knocked the truth out of him.
‘He remembered a woman who walked down that lane at night regularly,’ he said, ‘though he’d never accosted her. It may or not have been Anne Horner but one has to ask how many unaccompanied women would venture into such a place. On the night when we know she last left the Home Office, she would have taken that route home at her usual time.’
‘What did this man, Grigg, actually see?’
‘It’s not so much what he saw as what he heard, Charlotte. There was a scuffle further down the lane, it seems, and he heard a woman scream for help. Her cries were soon muffled.’
‘Why didn’t he go to her assistance?’
‘Grigg would be more likely to join in the assault than help her.’
‘Wasn’t he even curious?’
‘He thought it was a lady of the night caterwauling because she hadn’t been paid for her services. That’s not unusual, it appears. All that Grigg was interested in was a likely victim for that cudgel of his.’ Peter grinned. ‘Now he knows what it’s like to feel its sting.’
‘Where is he now?’
‘He’s in custody, pending an appearance in court. As a result of my evidence, he’ll get no mercy. The irony is that, in trying to rob me, he may unwittingly have helped to unearth another crime.’