Hawke's Tor by E. V. Thompson Read Free Book Online Page B

Sergeant Churchyard and I are investigating a murder, a particularly brutal murder, as well as the disappearance of a baby you will have helped to bring into the world – Albert Morgan.’
    â€˜I did, and a right screamer his mother turned out to be … but I mustn’t speak ill of the dead, not even if it is Kerensa Morgan, but what’s this gypsy you’re talking about got to do with her, or with me?’
    â€˜I want to speak to him to see if he knows anything about Mrs Morgan’s death, or can give me any clues as to the whereabouts of her baby….’
    Bessie’s mouth immediately became a tight-lipped thin line and Amos added, hurriedly, ‘… I am not interested in the babies he’s found homes for, especially if they’ve gone to homes where they’re wanted. They’ll no doubt live better lives than they might otherwise have had, but I am seeking a murderer and this gypsy has to be a suspect, even though he is not the only one right now.’
    â€˜ That doesn’t surprise me. I could name you half-a dozen women who have wished Kerensa Morgan in her grave … not
that they’d actually be ready to put her there,’ she added hastily, ‘… and as for Jed Smith, he wouldn’t hurt a soul.’
    Amos now had the gypsy’s name and, nodding at Tom to make a note of it, he asked, ‘Where can I find this Jed Smith?’
    Aware she had given away the gypsy’s name, Bessie made no further effort to keep anything about him secret. ‘He has a caravan over at Slippery Hill, a couple of miles up the road towards Launceston. He married a non-gypsy woman from out Temple way and his people wouldn’t have much to do with him after that, not even after she died, a year or so back. He used to have his caravan up at Sharptor, but as his daughter grew older and prettier she began attracting too many of the miners who work up that way, so he moved off. Like I say, he’s not the sort to murder anyone – or steal any babies, either. You hit the nail on the head when you said the babies he’s passed on go to better homes than they would have had with their natural mothers.’
    Bessie had said far more than she deemed was wise and now she added hurriedly, ‘Not that I’ve ever had anything to do with that sort of thing myself, but I know the man. I think I can promise you he doesn’t have a violent bone in his body. If he can possibly help you find Albert Morgan, he will.’
    â€˜Thank you, Bessie, you have been very helpful – but you mentioned half-a-dozen women who would have wished Mrs Morgan in her grave … can you give me names?’
    â€˜That was just my foolish way of saying Kerensa was disliked by a great many women; I wasn’t saying any of them would have actually killed her!’
    â€˜Of course not, but someone did and one of those women might well be able to point us in the direction of the murderer. Name them for me, Bessie, and tell me why it is they dislike her so much.’

    â€˜It’s the same reason with every one of them – Kerensa played fast and loose with their husbands. Mind you, they’re only the ones folk knew about – not that Kerensa ever cared overmuch about keeping her goings on secret, not even from her own husband, so perhaps you ought to be speaking to him instead of raking up old scandals that are best forgotten.’
    â€˜They probably would have been forgotten had someone not murdered her and stolen her baby, so if you tell me the names of these women, Sergeant Churchyard and I will be on our way. Horace Morgan has more than enough to cope with at the moment and we have spoken to him on a number of occasions, the last only this morning. I would like to leave him in peace until we have some information for him. As for raking up old scandals … We are not out to break up anyone’s marriage, Bessie, we’ll be as discreet as is