Read Online Deadly Beloved by Alanna Knight - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Alanna Knight
Tags: Historical fiction, Historical, Literature & Fiction, Crime, Genre Fiction, Mystery; Thriller & Suspense, Crime Fiction, Thrillers & Suspense
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told how to do his job as if he was just being sent out on his first murder enquiry.
He found the registrar's clerk in his office.
"Morning, Inspector, what can we do for you?"
"We've lost our timetable of Dr Kellar's lectures," he said casually. It was surprisingly easy. "Have you a spare copy?"
"Certainly, Sir."
Faro studied the paper set before him. "I thought Dr Kellar had a Monday morning lecture."
The clerk shook his head. "Not this term. Inspector. Monday is his day off."
The Superintendent joined him at the door and as they walked towards the Central Office, Faro repeated the clerk's statement.
"Why should Dr Kellar lie about being at his lecture?" said the Superintendent.
"Why indeed, when such matters are so easy to check?"
Things were beginning to look black indeed for the police surgeon, especially as Faro was inclined to disregard Kellar's hint that Mabel's assassin had been a madman on the train. If so, then where was her body?
Logically, it would have been expected to come to light as did the cloak when the snow melted, if it had been pushed out of the train. If not already dead, then appallingly injured and with such considerable loss of blood to be rendered incapable of travelling far. In all probability, she had lain undiscovered, hidden by the snow for the past two weeks.
Faro decided, without a great deal of hope, to examine the railway compartment. A struggle such as the dead woman must have put up would surely have been accompanied by screams for help and even if these had been ignored, it was unlikely that a heavily bloodstained compartment had not yet been reported to the police.
He was brooding on another theory that seriously incriminated Kellar. His wife had never boarded that train. Faro remembered the housekeeper had overheard Kellar shouting that he would take Mrs Kellar 'to the blasted station, or all the way'.
He was now giving serious consideration to the fact that Mrs Kellar had been driven in the brougham through East Lothian and in some lonely spot she had been murdered. Her fur cloak and the knife had then been disposed of on the railway embankment to make it look like a train murder.
As to the whereabouts of her body, no one enjoyed a more advantageous and unique position to commit murder and get away with it than the police surgeon. Dr Kellar was highly skilled at the disposal of corpses by the dissection and distribution of their limbs for anatomical study among his eager medical students.
Chapter 6
Faro soon discovered that there was little hope of asking porters if any of them recalled Mrs Kellar boarding the North Berwick train. He arrived on the platform in time to find that the services of all porters were keenly in demand by anxious passengers emerging from the train, wreathed in heavy clouds of steam.
"All change. All change."
Seizing the opportunity, Faro sought the guard and introduced himself as investigating a suspected crime in Longniddry.
The guard, Wilson by name, whistled. "Don't get many crimes in that area. Oh yes, sir, this is my regular train," he added with a proud and affectionate look at the engine.
"Have I time to have a glance through the first-class carriages?"
"If you can do it quickly, Inspector. We move off again in five minutes."
"That will be adequate. I wonder if you'd be so good as to accompany me."
"Why, yes sir. Of course."
Watching the Inspector's careful examination of the upholstery, Wilson said apologetically, "The train's fairly new, only two years old, but the upholstery gets dirty quite quickly, as you can see, with all the smoke from the stack and so forth. These carriages are just about ready for a spring clean."
Far from being pristine, indeed, but as Faro had already deduced, there was nothing resembling widespread bloodstains.
In reply to his question Wilson said, "Oh yes, sir, we do this same journey back and forward between Edinburgh and Berwick four times each day."
"Then you would be able to remember if it
He found the registrar's clerk in his office.
"Morning, Inspector, what can we do for you?"
"We've lost our timetable of Dr Kellar's lectures," he said casually. It was surprisingly easy. "Have you a spare copy?"
"Certainly, Sir."
Faro studied the paper set before him. "I thought Dr Kellar had a Monday morning lecture."
The clerk shook his head. "Not this term. Inspector. Monday is his day off."
The Superintendent joined him at the door and as they walked towards the Central Office, Faro repeated the clerk's statement.
"Why should Dr Kellar lie about being at his lecture?" said the Superintendent.
"Why indeed, when such matters are so easy to check?"
Things were beginning to look black indeed for the police surgeon, especially as Faro was inclined to disregard Kellar's hint that Mabel's assassin had been a madman on the train. If so, then where was her body?
Logically, it would have been expected to come to light as did the cloak when the snow melted, if it had been pushed out of the train. If not already dead, then appallingly injured and with such considerable loss of blood to be rendered incapable of travelling far. In all probability, she had lain undiscovered, hidden by the snow for the past two weeks.
Faro decided, without a great deal of hope, to examine the railway compartment. A struggle such as the dead woman must have put up would surely have been accompanied by screams for help and even if these had been ignored, it was unlikely that a heavily bloodstained compartment had not yet been reported to the police.
He was brooding on another theory that seriously incriminated Kellar. His wife had never boarded that train. Faro remembered the housekeeper had overheard Kellar shouting that he would take Mrs Kellar 'to the blasted station, or all the way'.
He was now giving serious consideration to the fact that Mrs Kellar had been driven in the brougham through East Lothian and in some lonely spot she had been murdered. Her fur cloak and the knife had then been disposed of on the railway embankment to make it look like a train murder.
As to the whereabouts of her body, no one enjoyed a more advantageous and unique position to commit murder and get away with it than the police surgeon. Dr Kellar was highly skilled at the disposal of corpses by the dissection and distribution of their limbs for anatomical study among his eager medical students.
Chapter 6
Faro soon discovered that there was little hope of asking porters if any of them recalled Mrs Kellar boarding the North Berwick train. He arrived on the platform in time to find that the services of all porters were keenly in demand by anxious passengers emerging from the train, wreathed in heavy clouds of steam.
"All change. All change."
Seizing the opportunity, Faro sought the guard and introduced himself as investigating a suspected crime in Longniddry.
The guard, Wilson by name, whistled. "Don't get many crimes in that area. Oh yes, sir, this is my regular train," he added with a proud and affectionate look at the engine.
"Have I time to have a glance through the first-class carriages?"
"If you can do it quickly, Inspector. We move off again in five minutes."
"That will be adequate. I wonder if you'd be so good as to accompany me."
"Why, yes sir. Of course."
Watching the Inspector's careful examination of the upholstery, Wilson said apologetically, "The train's fairly new, only two years old, but the upholstery gets dirty quite quickly, as you can see, with all the smoke from the stack and so forth. These carriages are just about ready for a spring clean."
Far from being pristine, indeed, but as Faro had already deduced, there was nothing resembling widespread bloodstains.
In reply to his question Wilson said, "Oh yes, sir, we do this same journey back and forward between Edinburgh and Berwick four times each day."
"Then you would be able to remember if it
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