Mistress Pratt.
“In that case,” said he, “I must reject your testimony, for Mr. Marsden informs me that clear daylight lasts this time of year a bit past five. That from that time on it is well into the dusking hour. I can therefore only judge that you spent far longer in Shakespeare’s Head than you realized. You may be seated. Mistress Pratt.”
“But I — ”
“Be seated, please.”
Even more reluctantly than she had risen, did she sink back down in her chair.
“And now, you men of the jury,” said Sir John, turning and facing in their general direction, “will the one of your number who has been appointed foreman please identify himself?”
Then rose a tall man, a bit older than the rest. “Yes, sir,” said he to Sir John, “that would be me.”
“I fear you and your eleven fellows may be disappointed in your part in this, for I must now direct a verdict to you. There can be no doubt that murder was committed. Teresa O’Reilly did not die of natural causes — that much is obvious. Nor could she have committed suicide, removed the knife from her heart, disposed of it, then hidden herself where she was found. It was proved, even by the testimony of Mistress Pratt herself, that Private Sperling, whom she had seen in conversation with the deceased, could not have been involved in her demise. He accounted for his time.
Corporal Tigger confirmed the hour and minute of his arrival at the Coach House Inn.
“Therefore, I direct you, in the matter of the death of Teresa O’Reilly, to a finding of ‘willful murder by person or persons unknown.’ You must concur in this by an acclamation of ‘aye.’ Do you so concur?”
A ragged “aye” went up from the twelve.
“Then it shall stand. The verdict is ‘willful murder by person or persons unknown.’ ” He banged solidly once with his mallet upon the table. “The jury is dismissed with thanks.”
I, who was sitting quite close to the men in the front benches, heard one remark to another: ” ‘Twas the easiest shilling I ever come by!”
“That’s as may be,” replied the second juror, “but it was enlightenin’, very enlightenin’.”
FOUR
In Which Another Victim
Is Discovered and
Identified
The passing days brought Sir John no closer to solving the puzzle. Who was this person, who were these persons unknown, who had taken the life of Teresa O’Reilly? And for what purpose? There had been, in fact, eight shillings found in that purse about her waist which the larcenous couple were eager to make off with. Murders have been committed, and are committed still, for far less; theft was clearly not the motive. Revenge? Who could say? None but Maggie Pratt had come forward to tell us details of the Irishwoman’s life. Bills had been posted round Cov-ent Garden announcing the murder and asking for information — yet to no avail. Had she been killed in a fit of rage by a rejected client? What Mrs. Crewton had told seemed to support that, yet the well-calculated placement of that single thrust to the heart seemed to deny it. Could there be murder without motive?
I had my own, rather baseless, suspicions in the matter. They were focused upon him I had dubbed the “bully-boy.” True enough, I had seen him leave Maggie Pratt’s place — the room she had shared day by night with Teresa O’Reilly. There could be no doubt he was known to Mistress Pratt, for she had indeed addressed him in crudely familiar terms; that did not mean, however, that he had been equally well known to O’Reilly. For that matter, if he had murdered the woman, could he have carried her to that spot beneath the stairs where she had been so crudely hidden away? To myself, I admitted that was doubtful. At twelve-stone or more, she had been a proper load for the two of us, Mr. Donnelly and myself, when we had hauled her body from the Raker’s barn. I, who was about the same size and strength as the fellow in question, could not have managed her alone — or only with
“In that case,” said he, “I must reject your testimony, for Mr. Marsden informs me that clear daylight lasts this time of year a bit past five. That from that time on it is well into the dusking hour. I can therefore only judge that you spent far longer in Shakespeare’s Head than you realized. You may be seated. Mistress Pratt.”
“But I — ”
“Be seated, please.”
Even more reluctantly than she had risen, did she sink back down in her chair.
“And now, you men of the jury,” said Sir John, turning and facing in their general direction, “will the one of your number who has been appointed foreman please identify himself?”
Then rose a tall man, a bit older than the rest. “Yes, sir,” said he to Sir John, “that would be me.”
“I fear you and your eleven fellows may be disappointed in your part in this, for I must now direct a verdict to you. There can be no doubt that murder was committed. Teresa O’Reilly did not die of natural causes — that much is obvious. Nor could she have committed suicide, removed the knife from her heart, disposed of it, then hidden herself where she was found. It was proved, even by the testimony of Mistress Pratt herself, that Private Sperling, whom she had seen in conversation with the deceased, could not have been involved in her demise. He accounted for his time.
Corporal Tigger confirmed the hour and minute of his arrival at the Coach House Inn.
“Therefore, I direct you, in the matter of the death of Teresa O’Reilly, to a finding of ‘willful murder by person or persons unknown.’ You must concur in this by an acclamation of ‘aye.’ Do you so concur?”
A ragged “aye” went up from the twelve.
“Then it shall stand. The verdict is ‘willful murder by person or persons unknown.’ ” He banged solidly once with his mallet upon the table. “The jury is dismissed with thanks.”
I, who was sitting quite close to the men in the front benches, heard one remark to another: ” ‘Twas the easiest shilling I ever come by!”
“That’s as may be,” replied the second juror, “but it was enlightenin’, very enlightenin’.”
FOUR
In Which Another Victim
Is Discovered and
Identified
The passing days brought Sir John no closer to solving the puzzle. Who was this person, who were these persons unknown, who had taken the life of Teresa O’Reilly? And for what purpose? There had been, in fact, eight shillings found in that purse about her waist which the larcenous couple were eager to make off with. Murders have been committed, and are committed still, for far less; theft was clearly not the motive. Revenge? Who could say? None but Maggie Pratt had come forward to tell us details of the Irishwoman’s life. Bills had been posted round Cov-ent Garden announcing the murder and asking for information — yet to no avail. Had she been killed in a fit of rage by a rejected client? What Mrs. Crewton had told seemed to support that, yet the well-calculated placement of that single thrust to the heart seemed to deny it. Could there be murder without motive?
I had my own, rather baseless, suspicions in the matter. They were focused upon him I had dubbed the “bully-boy.” True enough, I had seen him leave Maggie Pratt’s place — the room she had shared day by night with Teresa O’Reilly. There could be no doubt he was known to Mistress Pratt, for she had indeed addressed him in crudely familiar terms; that did not mean, however, that he had been equally well known to O’Reilly. For that matter, if he had murdered the woman, could he have carried her to that spot beneath the stairs where she had been so crudely hidden away? To myself, I admitted that was doubtful. At twelve-stone or more, she had been a proper load for the two of us, Mr. Donnelly and myself, when we had hauled her body from the Raker’s barn. I, who was about the same size and strength as the fellow in question, could not have managed her alone — or only with
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