Shadow of the Hangman(45)

‘Luckily, they will be communities,’ said his brother. ‘Irish immigrants stick together. I won’t have to look for an isolated family. O’Gara’s relatives – if indeed he has any – will be part of a much larger group.’

‘What can I do?’ asked Charlotte.

‘Watch and pray.’

‘I want to give practical assistance, Paul.’

‘Then you can come searching among the Irish with me.’

‘Gully needs Charlotte here to hold the fort,’ said Peter, pleasantly. ‘We can use Jem if need be but my wife stays put.’

She was irked. ‘I always miss the excitement.’

‘We can soon rectify that,’ teased Paul. ‘Next time Peter and I go gallivanting across the rooftops, we’ll take you with us. Will that appeal to you?’

‘Yes,’ she said, laughing, ‘it certainly would. I’d love to join the pair of you up there – as long you promise to catch me if I fall. But you haven’t heard about the other search that Peter had been conducting,’ she went on. ‘This business with the letter from the fugitives has rather eclipsed the disappearance of Mrs Horner.’

‘It hasn’t eclipsed it in my mind,’ said Peter.

‘What have you learnt?’ asked his brother.

Peter gave him an edited account of his investigation, ending with the assertion that the cleaner was still alive, although he was still unsure why she’d been taken in the first place. He speculated afresh on how Anne Horner had amassed so much money, yet discounted the possibility that the kidnappers knew of its existence.

‘Had they done so,’ he reasoned, ‘they’d have already made attempts to get their hands on it yet they haven’t done so. I called at her lodgings yesterday and her little treasure trove was untouched.’

‘What interests me,’ said Charlotte, thoughtfully, ‘is that a woman took part in the abduction.’

‘It’s an age-old device,’ Paul pointed out. ‘If she’d been approached by an aggressive man, she’d probably have taken to her heels. When a woman spoke to her, however, she wouldn’t have expected violence.’

‘So where is she?’

‘Waiting to be rescued by us, Charlotte,’ said Peter, getting up from his chair. ‘I need to speak to Gully. When I’ve done that, I’ll start looking for the man who penned that death threat – but I won’t forget Anne Horner altogether. I’m determined to plumb the mystery of her disappearance.’

Peter went out and left them alone. His brother waited until he heard him ascending the stairs before he turned to his sister-in-law.

‘Have you told him?’

‘No, I haven’t.’

‘Why not?’

‘You spoke to me in confidence about your problem,’ said Charlotte. ‘Besides, Peter has more than enough on his plate at the moment. I’m afraid that he’d view a discussion of your private life as a distracting irrelevance.’

‘That’s not how I see it, Charlotte.’

‘No, I’m sure.’

‘It means a great deal to me.’

‘I don’t find it irrelevant, Paul. I can see what a profound effect it’s had on you. I was touched that you felt able to confide in me.’

‘I had to talk to someone or my brain would have burst like a balloon.’

‘Is the situation still the same?’

‘No,’ he moaned, ‘it’s far worse. I took your advice, you see.’

‘I wasn’t aware that I gave you any.’

‘It was indirect counsel. When you talked about marriage to Peter, you stressed the importance of each partner giving the other some leeway. Compromise was of the essence. That prompted me to … reach out to her by way of a concession.’

Without disclosing the name or the profession of Hannah Granville, he told her that she’d forbidden him access to her and what the consequences had been. Charlotte was dismayed to hear that he’d spent the evening gambling, yet pleased that it had turned out to be such a profitable venture. She was gratified that her brother-in-law had repented and stayed away from the card table ever since.

‘Denial is good for the soul,’ she reminded him.

‘Then why do I feel so dejected?’

‘It’s because you love her.’

‘I do, I do,’ he said with fervour. ‘Life is an arid desert without her.’

‘Well,’ she chided, ‘that’s a fine thing to say to your sister-in-law. I may not be a lush oasis but I like to feel that I was able to offer you some sustenance.’

‘Oh, you did. Talking to you kept me sane. Lost love and madness are near allied. The one feeds off the other.’