Page 73 of Murder in Highbury

“Indeed. I wonder why Curtis was threatening our vicar.”

“Curtis mentioned something about being denied a place on the parish poor roll. That surprised me, because I thought such matters were decided by the vestry council.”

George absently tapped his finger on the edge of his desk. “Generally, they are, although Elton is still empowered to make decisions on his own. I did miss a vestry meeting last month. Perhaps the decision was made then.”

“But Mr. Weston also sits on the council. I can hardly see him turning down someone clearly in need of aid.”

“True. I will have to speak to Elton about this.”

Oh dear.

“I hope you can find a way to do so without . . .”

“Mentioning you? Alas, the wages of sin, my dear.”

She narrowed her gaze. “George—”

He flashed a quick smile. “I will find a way to raise the subject without implicating you or Harriet.”

“Thank you. What do you think about the threat itself?”

“Disturbing, but it was made against Mr. Elton, not his wife.”

“Perhaps she advised him to turn Curtis down. More often than not, she seemed to think the impoverished were to blame for their sad condition.”

“But would Curtis know that? I cannot imagine Mrs. Elton sitting in on meetings with her husband’s parishioners.”

That was indisputably true. “Perhaps he sought to exact revenge against Mr. Elton through his wife?”

A frown marked George’s brow. “As far as I know, Curtis has never caused any sort of trouble, and Farmer Mitchell thinks highly of the man. The note was certainly ill-judged, but it seems more likely the result of frustration than any intent to hurt Mr. Elton.”

She heaved a sigh of frustration. “Drat. I thought it might be of use to you.”

“There’s another possibility, of course.”

Emma perked up. “Yes?”

“Curtis might have decided to exact his revenge by robbing the church. And that way he could get valuable items to pawn.”

“So, Mrs. Elton happened to come across him committing the act, possibly with his hands already on the candlestick.” She clapped her hands together. “George, it makes perfect sense. In his desperation, Curtis would feel like he had no other choice but to kill her, because she could identify him. He then took her necklace and ran.”

“But as you have pointed out several times, why did he not also steal other valuable items in the church, including the candlestick?”

She tried to work through this vexing question. “Perhaps he feared that Mr. Elton would direct the finger of suspicion at him. He would find it difficult to hide the larger items, unlike the necklace.”

George slowly nodded. “That’s possible, though it would require a certain degree of forethought. Were you able to ascertain when Curtis wrote this note?”

“No. And I do realize that assuming he is the killer doesn’t account for every detail of the crime. But you must admit it makes more sense for it to be Curtis than Miss Bates.”

“It does.”

“So you’ll pursue it?”

“I will, but carefully. I don’t wish to accuse an innocent man or to drag you into it. I will simply tell Elton that it’s come to my attention that he rejected the man’s addition to the poor roll, and ask him why he did so.”

“But what if Mr. Elton doesn’t mention the note?”

“Since he hasn’t mentioned it yet, I suspect he doesn’t see it as a very credible threat. Thus, the need to not overreact.”