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ing in his temple.  Don t have a lot to show for it, though, do we?
Pitt felt himself flush. The criticism was fair, but it still hurt,
and the fact that in Special Branch he was out of his depth, and
aware of it, and someone else had his position in Bow Street, made
it worse. He did not dare to think of failure, but it was always at the
back of his mind, waiting for an unguarded moment. When he was
at home in the empty house, weary and without any clear idea
where to look next, it was a black hole at his feet and falling into it
was a possibility all too real.
 I ll go, he said curtly.  You d better do more to find out how
she got her blackmail material. Was it all watching and listening, or
did she do some active research? It may help to know.
Tellman appeared undecided, one emotion conflicting with an-
other in his face. It looked like anger and guilt, perhaps regret for
having said aloud what was in his mind.  I ll see you tomorrow, he
muttered, and turned to leave.
Sitting in the train to Teddington, Pitt turned over in his mind all
the possible lines of enquiry about Francis Wray. Always at the
forefront was the leaflet he had seen on the table advertising Maude
Lamont, and the fury in Wray s face at mention of spirit mediums.
He denied to himself that the old man was so emotionally disturbed
by the death of his wife he had lost mental balance, and perhaps he
had, in the first depth of his grief, abandoned a lifetime s faith and
gone to a medium. He certainly would not be unique in that, not
even unusual. And with the vehemence of his conviction that it
was sin, he would then have equated the medium with the offense,
and have tried to rid himself of his self-loathing by destroying her!
And the more that thought intruded into Pitt s mind, the more
fiercely he tried to deny it.
When he reached Teddington he got off the train, but this time
229
SOUTHAMPTON ROW
he avoided Udney Road and went to High Street. He loathed ask-
ing the villagers about Francis Wray, but there was no choice left to
him. If he did not, then Wetron would send others who would be
even clumsier, and cause more pain.
He had to use an invention. He could hardly say outright,  Do
you think Mr. Wray has lost the hold of his sanity? He framed in-
stead questions as to things having been lost, lapses of memory,
other people s concern that Wray was unwell. It was not as difficult
as he had expected simply to find the words, but forcing himself to
pry into the way the old man s grief had affected him was one of the
most offensive things he had ever done, not to the people he spoke
to, but to himself.
The answers all carried the same elements. Francis Wray was
deeply liked and admired, perhaps loved would not have been too
strong a word. But those who answered Pitt were also anxious for
Wray, aware that his loss had left him more vulnerable than they
were sure he could deal with. Friends had been uncertain whether
to call in to see him or not. Was it intrusive, disturbing a private
emotion, or was it a much-needed respite from the utter loneliness
of the house with no one to speak to but young Mary Ann, who was
devoted to his welfare but hardly a companion to him.
Pitt did manage to draw something from one of these friends,
another man roughly Wray s age, and also a widower. Pitt found
him in his garden tying up the most magnificent pink hollyhocks,
well above the height of his own head.
 It s only a matter of concern, Pitt explained himself.  There is
no complaint.
 No, of course, Mr. Duncan answered, pulling off a length of
string from the ball and cutting it awkwardly with his secateurs.  I
am afraid when we get old and lonely we tend to make nuisances of
ourselves without realizing it. He smiled a little ruefully.  I daresay
I did so myself the first year or two after my wife died. Sometimes
we can t bear to speak to people, and others we can t leave them
alone. I m glad you see no need to do more than ascertain that
230
ANNE PERRY
there was no offense intended. He cut off another length of string,
and looked apologetically at Pitt.  Young ladies can misunderstand
the desire for their company, no doubt with cause, now and again.
Reluctantly, Pitt introduced the subject of séances.
 Oh dear, how unfortunate! Mr. Duncan s face filled with
alarm.  I am afraid he feels very strongly against that kind of thing.
He was here when we had a local tragedy, quite a number of years
ago now. He chewed his lip, ignoring the hollyhocks.  A young
woman had a child out of wedlock, you know. Penelope, her
name was. The child died almost immediately, poor little thing. Pe-
nelope was distraught with grief and went to a spirit medium who
promised to put her in touch with her dead child. He sighed.  Of
course, the woman was a complete fraud, and when she discovered
it, poor Penelope went quite wild with grief. It seems she thought
she had spoken with the child, and that it had gone on to a far bet-
ter place. She was comforted. The muscles in his face tightened.
 And then the deception drove her right out of her senses. I am
afraid she took her own life. It was very dreadful, and poor Francis
saw it all and was helpless to prevent any of it.
 He argued to have the child buried properly, but of course he
lost, since it was illegitimate and unbaptized. He was very put out
with the local minister over that. The feeling lasted for quite a
while. Francis would have baptized the child regardless, and taken
the consequences. But of course he didn t have the power.
Pitt tried to think of something to say that expressed the emo-
tions boiling up inside him, and found nothing that touched the
anger or the futility he felt.
 And of course he comforted her the best he could, Duncan
continued.  He knew the wretched medium was a fraud, but Pe-
nelope wouldn t listen. She was desperate to have any belief at all
that her child still existed somewhere, poor creature. She wasn t
very old herself. Of course, Francis has had something of a passion
against all kinds of spiritualist activity ever since then. From time
to time he has launched something of a crusade.
231
SOUTHAMPTON ROW
 Yes, Pitt said, pity twisting inside him with a hard, empty
pain.  I can understand his feelings. There can be little more bit-
terly cruel, even if possibly it is not meant so. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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