Page 47 of A Whisper in the Shadows (Raven & Wren #4)

Mrs. Walters’s brow furrowed. “We didn’t ever use a canvasser before, and Philip never admitted members who were ill. That would have drawn attention. If he was doing that, it’s no surprise the scheme failed. I knew he was too greedy.” She closed her eyes briefly.

“Thank you, Mrs. Walters.” Tilda nodded at Chisholm to indicate she was finished.

“Wait, I have a question,” Hadrian said. Tilda looked over at him, curious what he wanted to ask. “Mrs. Walters, do you know who Mrs. Atkins is?”

She shifted on the bench, and her features hardened. “She’s a benefactress who’s been supporting the Amicable Society.”

“Have you met her?” Hadrian asked.

Mrs. Walters’s amber eyes flashed with surprise before darkening. She hesitated before responding. “Yes.”

Tilda glanced at Hadrian, so pleased he’d started this line of questioning. “When?”

“I called at her house on Monday.” Mrs. Walters cast her eyes toward the floor again and spoke in a quieter tone.

“What happened?” Chisholm demanded. “You should not be keeping important information from us.”

“Nothing happened,” Mrs. Walters replied defensively.

“I said I knew ‘Phelps’ from before he came to London.” She said the name ‘Phelps’ in a derisive tone.

“I told Mrs. Atkins he was a philanderer, and she should not trust him. She laughed and said she liked philanderers because they didn’t expect much. ”

“Take her back to her cell,” Chisholm said to the constable.

Hadrian stepped forward quickly and offered his hand to Mrs. Walters to help her up. “Thank you for your honesty today.”

Tilda knew he was trying to see a memory, perhaps to determine if the woman was hiding anything else.

She took a step toward them as Mrs. Walters stood, hoping to give him a little more time to see something.

“It speaks well of you that you’re forthcoming now and admitting your crimes.

If there is anything else you ought to divulge, you must do so now. ”

Mrs. Walters shook her head, then withdrew her hand from Hadrian’s. “I didn’t see anyone else. After I saw my husband had been killed, I rarely left the boarding house until I went back to his house on Thursday. I was too upset. And perhaps a little afraid.”

“Why?” Tilda asked gently.

“If someone would kill Philip because of what he’d done, mayhap they’d kill me too. I doubted anyone here knew about me, but I couldn’t be sure.” She sounded genuinely frightened, which—at least to Tilda—supported her declarations of innocence.

Chisholm inclined his head toward the constable, who then led Mrs. Walters from the room.

Once they were gone, Chisholm exhaled. “That was very helpful. Now we know Phelps was killed between ten, when Mrs. Burley saw him enter the house with Nevill, and one.”

Tilda couldn’t help thinking Nevill was now the prime suspect in both murders. He had motive and was seen at both murder scenes. Of course, only Tilda and Hadrian even knew where Eaton had been killed. She looked to Chisholm. “Mrs. Walters is almost certainly the woman Mr. Burley saw.”

“Agreed,” Chisholm said. “Still, I’ll confirm the time she says she was there with Burley.”

“I imagine this will conclude Maxwell’s investigation,” Chisholm said. “Mrs. Walters confirmed that her husband started the Amicable Society with the intent to commit fraud.”

“We still don’t know if he and Eaton were working together,” Hadrian said.

Chisholm’s brows drew together. “Does that even matter at this point? I’m sure the victims of this crime only care about recovering their money.”

“We are still in the process of identifying those victims,” Hadrian noted.

“I don’t think the investigation can be concluded until that has happened.

And how will they recover their funds? What of the money Mrs. Walters found at her husband’s house?

I should think that would be payable to the victims of his fraud. ”

“It will be,” Chisholm said. “Once Mrs. Walters’s trial is complete. If she’ll admit her guilt, things should happen fairly quickly.”

“What is your next step in determining Phelps’s killer?” Tilda asked. “Do you believe Mrs. Walters that she didn’t kill him?”

“I’m inclined to, but she’s not trustworthy,” Chisholm replied. “Nevill remains a suspect. If Mrs. Walters was the woman who called on Phelps that night, that may eliminate Mrs. Cardy and Mrs. Atkins as suspects. Though I’m not sure Mrs. Atkins had a strong motive anyway.”

“What of Furnier or Dr. Giles?” Tilda asked. “Surely their motives are the same or similar to that of Mr. Nevill.”

“Yes, but they weren’t seen at his house Monday night, and Nevill was.” Chisholm’s gaze glimmered with purpose. “It’s time for me to have another conversation with the tailor and to search his residence.”

“To hopefully find the missing candlestick?” Hadrian asked.

Tilda doubted the inspector would be so fortunate. Keeping the murder weapon would be an incredibly foolish thing to do.

“That or any other evidence,” Chisholm replied.

Tilda and Hadrian took their leave a few minutes later, departing as they’d entered, through the rear of the station.

Waiting until they were nearing Gresham Street, Tilda looked over at Hadrian. “What did you see when you helped Mrs. Walters up?”

“She was at Mrs. Atkins’s doorway speaking with Mrs. Atkins. I couldn’t hear what she was saying, of course, but I was able to discern Mrs. Atkins’s derision. She was looking at Mrs. Walters as if she were a street urchin begging for food.”

“I’m not surprised that she found Mrs. Walters wanting,” Tilda said with a shake of her head. “Anything else?”

“Mrs. Atkins waved her hand dismissively and laughed, just as Mrs. Walters described. This angered Mrs. Walters. That’s all I saw.”

“Well, it’s good to have confirmation, since Mrs. Walters isn’t reliable.”

They turned to walk along Basinghall Street. “You didn’t offer any information to help Chisholm with the murder investigation,” Hadrian said.

“I didn’t think he’d want my input.”

“Do you think Nevill is the strongest suspect now?”

Tilda didn’t immediately respond as she was still considering this latest development about Mrs. Walters and Mrs. Atkins meeting. It didn’t appear that Mrs. Atkins was aware of Mrs. Walters’s identity, however.

“He does seem the likeliest culprit,” Tilda said. “I do wonder why Mrs. Atkins hasn’t mentioned the woman who called on her about Phelps on Monday. It seems as though she should have shared that information at Phelps’s inquest.”

“It does indeed,” Hadrian replied. “Does this make her look more guilty?”

“It certainly raises questions. We should perhaps try to learn more from her, but I almost hate to ask you to participate, given the way she behaves with you.” She sent him an apologetic glance.

Hadrian chuckled. “I have survived many a managing mother in Society as they sought to match me with their daughters. She is not terribly different. I confess, I find her company distasteful, but my reasons go beyond her fascination with me. I don’t care for her disregard of Mrs. Cardy and the others who have suffered from Eaton and Phelps’s fraud. ”

Tilda smiled at him as they continued past Gresham Street on their way to Evans Court. “I am not surprised to hear that. We will discuss Mrs. Atkins and what to do about her later. Let us turn our attention to the night soil man. I hope we’ll be able to speak with him.”

“You didn’t mention him to Chisholm either,” Hadrian noted.

“I’m not sure he pertains to Chisholm’s investigation. Since the inspector seems inclined to keep the cases separate, who am I to ignore his preferences?” She lifted a shoulder, and Hadrian laughed.

“You are as cunning as you are curious. I shall be forever grateful that we are partners.”

His words warmed her in ways she would rather they didn’t, reminding her that their association went deeper than the investigations they worked to solve. She met his gaze briefly. “So shall I.”