Isaac stared at him, horrified by the thought that Tuppence could have lost her life. The thought of her lying dead in a field somewhere was enough to make him tug at his hair in despair. He was so lost in the horror of it that it took him a moment to realise that Mark was still staring steadily at him. “What?” Isaac almost dreaded the moment Mark started to talk again.
“The boss wants her charged with murder. She is likely to face the hangman,” Mark warned. He crossed his fingers and prayed that God would forgive him for his lie. While his boss hadn’t said anything of the sort yet, and wouldn’t until Mark had gathered the facts, Mark had to do everything possible to get Isaac working for him. He just couldn’t openly enlist Isaac’s help with an investigation unless his boss specifically told him to or else Isaac was likely to be arrested for interfering with a criminal investigation.
Isaac’s gaze was hard as he readily accepted the challenge. “How long do I have before she appears in court?”
Mark braced his elbows on his desk. “She will appear in court in a couple of days on the charge of the murder of Mr Lewis. She has been advised to get a solicitor, but she has said she cannot afford one. If you know of a good one, Isaac, now might be the time to find him and get him here as quickly as possible. She won’t be allowed her freedom while she awaits full trial, but she will at least be properly represented when she appears before the judge. While we don’t have any proof that she didn’t kill Mr Lewis, we don’t have any evidence that she did either. She was just found in deep shock beside the body with blood on her hands, but any good solicitor will point out to a judge and jury that it doesn’t automatically make her a killer. We are awaiting the Coroner’s autopsy to confirm what force stabbing Mr Lewis would take, and if Tuppence were physically capable of such force.”
“Do you think she did it?” Isaac whispered. He huffed a huge breath of relief when Mark slowly shook his head.
“This is completely off the record, Isaac,” Mark whispered because he didn’t want his colleagues to overhear what was being said. When he had summoned Isaac to the station earlier, it was because he suspected Isaac would want to see Tuppence, and he didn’t have any time spare to travel to Aldridge Manor to talk to Isaac if he was at home. It had been easier to send a villager’s boy whom he could trust to fetch Isaac and get him to come to the station. Now, though, Mark had to be careful about what he said aloud. “What I do know is that it takes force to stick a long-bladed knife into a burly man’s back and drive it deep enough to force it between the knuckles of the spine. I don’t think Tuppence is strong enough, nor does she have the personal capability of being that heinous.”
“I saw her talking to Mr Lewis the other day. They were friendly. She was annoyed that his cattle had gotten into her meadow, but she didn’t seem to mind moving them for him, with the help of Baxter, of course.” Isaac hesitated. “Where is he? Baxter?”
“In the barn at the farm.”
“I’ll go and fetch him,” Isaac replied without having to think about it.
“Are you able to take over the running of the farm? Tuppence was worried that the animals would starve,” Mark replied. “If the locals know that you are up there, they are likely to stay away from the place.”
Isaac nodded, but promptly lost all interest in the farm and its animal occupants. “Can I go and see her?” Isaac desperately needed to but frowned when he saw Mark hesitate.
Mark knew that Isaac needed to, even though Tuppence had been stringent in her refusal to allow Isaac to know about what happened. Mark suspected that she was embarrassed and didn’t want to face the indignity of having Isaac see her behind bars. While he could sympathise, he also knew that Tuppence was going to need Isaac’s help. She couldn’t face a murder trial on her own. She needed Isaac’s influence, wealth, and estimable contacts to protect her from the hangman’s noose.
“Mark?” Isaac prompted when Mark didn’t answer.
“She is deeply traumatised, Isaac. I think that even if you saw her, she wouldn’t talk to you. She needs to rest. Why don’t you come back tomorrow when she has calmed down a little?”
Isaac hated the way that Mark suddenly avoided looking at him. “She has told you that she doesn’t want to see me.”
“At the murder site, the locals who gathered to see what was happening were hostile. I think she wants to spare you having your reputation damaged by being connected to her. You must consider things from an outsider’s point of view, Isaac. Tuppence has been arrested for murder, and you are here, at the station within a couple of hours.” Mark muttered a curse. “Even I didn’t stop to think about that when I summoned you here. I apologise.”
“I don’t give a damn what anybody thinks,” Isaac growled.
“Your mother won’t take that attitude.”
“She can think what she likes. The family name won’t mean anything if I don’t marry and there are no Chesters to inherit Aldridge Manor when I am dead,” Isaac snorted.
“Do you not intend to marry then?” When Isaac didn’t reply, Mark sighed. “It’s just her then, eh?” He didn’t really need Isaac to confirm it.
“I’ll be damned if I know why it has to be Tuppence, it just does. She is perfect for me,” Isaac murmured. “I know she is innocent.”
“Am I right in thinking that you know someone who can help her, in a legal sense of course?”
“Leave it to me. I know a good Barrister who will be here in time for the preliminary hearing,” Isaac replied firmly, his eyes g
linting with determination. “Now let me see her.”
Mark contemplated refusing but knew that Tuppence was going to have to accept Isaac’s help at some point because her pride was going to lead to her death for a crime she didn’t commit if she didn’t. “Come on. I will allow you a few minutes with her. But because you are not proper legal representation, I cannot allow you to stay for long.”
“Just a few minutes will do,” Isaac replied before following Mark out of the room.
The first thing that struck Isaac as he entered the basement where the cells were located was the cold. His breath fogged out before him as he marched down the short corridor toward the small rooms set aside for the station’s temporary prisoners. The clip of his heels echoed all around the silent walls and were occasionally interrupted by the iron clanking of keys being jiggled as Mark tried to find the one which would open Tuppence’s cell door.
Tuppence heard the approaching footsteps but didn’t bother to look up. She pressed herself tighter against the wall and hugged her knees a little closer. Whoever it was opening her cell door was going to make his presence felt regardless of what she wanted, but she didn’t want to listen to what he had to say before she absolutely had to. In here, in prison like any other common prisoner, she had no choice in anything, no freedom, no room to move, no fresh air. Nothing. But she had the choice to interact with whoever came to her cell. On this occasion, she chose not to.
“Tuppence?”
Tuppence fought the urge to cry when she heard the achingly familiar voice. The softness in it, the sympathy she knew was going to be in his eyes, was enough to make her want to howl with rage. She wanted to ignore him. She wanted to be anywhere else. Eventually, though, Tuppence lifted her head and stared at him with dull, lifeless eyes. Words failed her. There was nothing she could say to explain her situation. She doubted that denying her involvement in the murder would have any effect on Isaac either, so she didn’t try. But something in Isaac’s eyes, a tenderness perhaps, a soft sympathy, was enough to lift some of the fog of disbelief, of detachment, that had taken over her mind and her soul.