England Expects by Sara Sheridan Read Free Book Online Page A

to have meant something to the officers who first arrived at the scene of his murder. They removed his corpse without waiting for the senior officer to examine it. That concerned me.’
    ‘Some members of this lodge are police officers, Miss Bevan. But it does not follow that everyone here has intimateknowledge of police affairs in Brighton. I myself, for example, was an accountant before I retired. There are always dark stories of conspiracy about the freemasons but we’re a simple bunch. Perhaps you ought to ask the policemen who attended the scene of the murder, if they were familiar with Mr Gillingham. I only read about the affair in the evening paper. I’d say I know a good deal less than you do.’
    ‘But if it’s a matter that pertains to the lodge, they won’t tell me any more than you will. That, as I understand it, is one of the first rules of freemasonry.’
    Captain Henshaw ignored this comment. ‘Tell me, to whom did the chap owe money?’
    Mirabelle played with her sunglasses. ‘Captain Henshaw, if you think freemasons have a stringent code of secrecy, it has nothing on the code of honour between a debt collector and her clients.’
    A shadow of a smile played on Vesta’s face. Mirabelle really was something.
    Captain Henshaw sucked his bottom lip and contemplated his next move. There was a flash of steely anger in his gaze – but only a flash. He took a deep breath. ‘Well, that being the case, it seems to me you require Mr Gillingham’s solicitor to register his debt for probate,’ he parried. ‘The poor chap came from London, I understand, so perhaps you should direct your enquiries there. As far as I’m aware he was not legally represented in Brighton. I’m sorry – there’s nothing more I can do. It might have been better if you had been collecting for charity. I should have liked to have been able to help.’
    Captain Henshaw hauled his leg into position and eased himself up in order to bring the meeting to a close. He grimaced as if this caused him some discomfort. Vesta wondered if it was painful, but then how could the leg be painful if it wasn’t there?
    ‘Takes a minute to get my balance,’ he said.
    She was about to form a question, to ask about his injury in a roundabout way, when there was a thump from beyond the room – as if something heavy had fallen elsewhere in the building.
    ‘What on earth was that?’ Henshaw was becoming annoyed. First these women arrived asking questions and now there appeared to be a disturbance. ‘I don’t know what’s happening today. Giles! Giles!’
    ‘Giles would be?’ Mirabelle enquired.
    ‘The caretaker,’ Henshaw snapped as he struggled to keep his leg from buckling.
    ‘I’ll go and look for him if you like,’ Vesta offered.
    ‘No, you can’t,’ Henshaw objected. ‘Visitors are only allowed in the hallway and in this room . . .’
    Here he was interrupted by another thump, this time followed by a much louder crash. It was clear that the noise was coming from the room next door.
    Mirabelle held out her arm. ‘Let me help. We’d better go and take a look.’
    Captain Henshaw reluctantly put his hand on Mirabelle’s sleeve and found his balance. They made their way into the hallway while Vesta went ahead to open the door of the adjoining room, but before she could turn the handle Captain Henshaw withdrew his hand from Mirabelle’s arm and motioned for the women to stay at a distance.
    ‘I’m all right,’ he insisted. ‘I’ll take it from here.’
    Mirabelle and Vesta remained behind him as he turned the handle.
    At first none of them noticed anything odd – or at least nothing that might have caused the noise. The room was in shade, but they could discern ceremonial chairs laid in rows around a central square. The walls were decorated with murals – the night sky in one corner and the sun in the other with a wheatfield just like the one in the hallway. The windows weresmall and set high on the wall. The modern