Page 13 of Murder in Highbury

“Thank you. If you grow tired or find his questions too unpleasant, you must feel free to stop. I will not have you distressed by this, my darling. You have had enough of a shock for one day.”

“For a year, more likely.”

She took her husband’s arm as she attempted to order her thoughts and chase away the niggling questions that circled the edges of her mind, refusing to be pinned down.

CHAPTER3

Dr. Hughes gave Emma a ponderous bow. “Mrs. Knightley, please excuse my calling at such a late hour. I will do my best to keep my inquiries short and to distress you as little as possible.”

She smiled. “And I will do my best to help you, sir.”

“Your magnanimity is greatly appreciated, madam. As a medical man, I can well surmise the degree of violence inflicted upon your nerves by the misfortune of stumbling upon such a shocking scene. It is most distressing for a woman of your character and standing. I sincerely regret your involvement.”

She repressed the impulse to note that any sensible person would be distressed to stumble upon a bloody corpse.

“Fortunately, the shock was relatively short lived,” she instead replied.

“Please sit, Doctor,” George said. “I don’t wish to impose upon my wife any longer than necessary.”

Dr. Hughes rather officiously handed Emma to a walnut-framed chair but then planted himself in front of one of the inset bookcases that lined the walls of the study. George regarded him with an ironic eye before moving to sit behind his neatly ordered desk.

Dr. Hughes, a tall man, had a broad stomach and an imposing head of silver hair. A pair of too-small spectacles that perched halfway down his nose forced him to peer over them with a nearsighted squint. Emma wondered why he wore them. Perhaps he thought they imparted a learned air. For the rest, he was well but soberly dressed and gave the general impression of a serious man. She’d never heard complaints about his medical skills except from her father, who resented his existence on principle, since he was competition for his beloved Mr. Perry.

“Before we begin, Mrs. Knightley,” Dr. Hughes started, “I would like to inform your husband of my latest discussion with Constable Sharpe. He imparted a few additional insights to me shortly after you left the Crown, Mr. Knightley. As I’m sure you can agree, time is imperative in these cases, and the constable did not wish to wait.”

If George was irritated by his supercilious tone, he gave no indication. “Proceed, Doctor.”

The doctor glanced at Emma. “I beg you to forgive me, madam, because some of the details may disturb you. Please believe that I have no wish to offend your delicate sensibilities.”

“My sensibilities couldn’t possibly be more offended than they were when I first saw Mrs. Elton’s corpse,” she replied. “Not to mention coming across the bloodstained murder weapon.”

He raised a finger. “The ostensible murder weapon, Mrs. Knightley. We must not rush to conclusions.”

She raised her eyebrows. “I would hate to rush to conclusions, sir. Nevertheless, it seems fairly evident that a heavy candlestick smeared with blood, only feet from a body with a significant blow to the skull, must have played some sort of role in the murder.”

“Dr. Hughes, what additional observations did Constable Sharpe make after I left you?” George smoothly intervened.

The doctor eyed Emma suspiciously but then proceeded. “Mr. Sharpe now feels certain that robbery was the motive. Mrs. Elton’s maid has confirmed that she was indeed wearing her pearl necklace when she left the house. The thief was apparently determined to get his hands on the necklace at any cost—including vile murder.”

From what Emma knew of him, Constable Sharpe was a sober and diligent man. And far be it from her to jump to those pesky conclusions, but his report suggested a certain lack of imagination.

“If it was a thief,” she asked, “then why didn’t he take anything else? There are a number of valuable items in the church, including the candlesticks. In fact, he had one of those candlesticks right in his grasp.”

Hughes gave her a rather pitying smile. “Clearly, Mrs. Elton surprised the thief in his criminal endeavors. And perhaps once he acquired the necklace, he felt no need to take anything else. As Mr. Elton has pointed out, the necklace is quite valuable.”

“Yet one can’t always tell these things at a glance. The pearls may have been artificial, and what appeared to be gold may have been brass. Real pearls are quite rare, whereas imitations are not.”

Dr. Hughes began to look a trifle irritated. “The criminal classes aren’t known for their wit, Mrs. Knightley. The villain obviously saw what looked to be an impressive necklace and took it.”

George held up a hand. “So Constable Sharpe is saying that the thief went into the church, presumably with the intention of stealing the silver. When he was surprised by Mrs. Elton’s appearance, he then decided to rob her instead and wound up killing her in the process.”

“That is exactly what both Constable SharpeandI are suggesting,” Dr. Hughes replied with a degree of hauteur.

“I still fail to see why he didn’t take the candlesticks,” Emma argued. “They’re also valuable, and they wererightthere.”

The doctor scowled over the top of his spectacles. “Perhaps he ran out of time, or was alarmed by the outcome of his villainous actions. He was desperate to escape before anyone made the hideous discovery.”

“But he had time to wipe down the murder weapon and put it quite carefully back on the altar. That doesn’t suggest someone in a state of desperation or panic. It seems rather cold-blooded to me.”