Charlie looked at her. “What do you know about Blagmire?”
Hetty sighed and tipped her head back so that the sunshine could bathe her face in its warmth. Given their recent activities she should be exhausted, but she wasn’t. She was buzzing instead, and thrilled that he appeared to want her to help him with his investigation.
“He owns – owned, the old coaching in, the Goat and Cloak.” She smiled when his brows lifted, and he looked askance at her.
“The Goat and Cloak?”
“I know,” she smiled. “It’s about half way between Hemsley and Tattersnell. It’s been in his family for generations.”
“Did Blagmire know Snetterton?”
Hetty thought about that for a moment. She couldn’t understand the direction of his thoughts, but considered his question anyway.
“I really don’t know for definite. I suspect that Blagmire was probably busy with his coaching inn, and didn’t go to church much. But that’s not to say that he didn’t know Snetterton. You need to ask his wife about that.”
“He had a wife?” Charlie looked at her with a frown.
“Yes; and three children.”
“Where are they now?”
Hetty shrugged. “Still at the Goat and Cloak, I think. I really don’t know. Why?”
“How was Blagmire bullied? I mean, how do you go about threatening a business like a tavern?” Charlie frowned. “I know that Meldrew’s men blocked the driveway to the mill once, but what happened at the Goat and Cloak?”
“Although Blagmire couldn’t prove anything, he suspected that Meldrew’s men were stopping coaches from using the road that led to the inn. Rumour has it that Meldrew’s men would wait for the coaches at the main road and order them to carry on to the coaching inn in Bannerson. Obviously, Blagmire lost trade and that cost him money. As a result, he hit on hard times.”
Charlie nodded. For a coaching inn that was located quite rurally, the passing coaches brought in good trade. Bad weather notwithstanding, the inns relied on passing travellers to fill their beds at night and purchase food and drink. To have just one coach waylaid could damage the purse-strings significantly. To have it happen on a regular basis would soon leave the business running at a loss. Once coaches got into the habit of passing by, the trade would be impossible to recoup.
“Did Blagmire pay Meldrew anything?”
“I really don’t know. Simon may have heard rumours in the tavern, if Blagmire told anyone, but I certainly didn’t hear of anything.” Hetty frowned at him. “Why?”
Charlie shook his head and gazed off into the distance. “So you don’t know if Blagmire knew the vicar or verger at Hemsley?”
“What’s all this about Charlie? You don’t think that the verger had anything to do with Blagmire’s death, do you? Did you see Snetterton on the night you were arrested?” Hetty stared at him with wide eyes.
A part of her simply refused to believe that a member of the clergy could be a cold-hearted murderer. In reality, though she knew that she couldn’t really discount anyone as a culprit until the killer was found.
“No, I didn’t see anyone other than whom I presume were Meldrew’s men.”
“I can’t see Snetterton killing Blagmire, even if he knew him. The verger had arguments with your friend, yes. It is conceivable, I suppose, that Snetterton was so jealous of the vicar that he killed him, but I really don’t know how Meldrew fits into it all.” Her head was beginning to ache with the weight of the questions that tumbled through her.
She had to wonder if Charlie, a veritable stranger to the area, was making any sense of it either.
“I think that there is nothing we can discount as being unconnected,” Charlie warned. “Meldrew is in the thick of this, I am sure of it. We just don’t know how yet.”
“How do you cope with all of this every day?” Hetty asked suddenly. “I mean, I am so confused right now that I don’t know what to think about anythi
ng. After everything you have been through, most people would be more than happy to spend a few days in front of the fire, thanking God that they are still alive. Yet here you are, charging through the countryside, trying to get into the mind of the county’s biggest blackguard.”
“Believe me, I would love to sit in front of the fire and do nothing for a couple of days. Unfortunately, I couldn’t do that knowing that Meldrew was likely to burst through the door at any moment. I don’t want anyone going through what we have been through. Simon and I were just two of Meldrew’s many unsuspecting victims. Heaven only knows how many more have been put to death so needlessly already. We have to stop him from claiming more victims, and quickly.” He turned to look at her and softened his voice. “Then, I can relax in front of the fire, and stay there for a while.”
The sudden huskiness in his voice captured her attention. Her gaze flew to his, and a silent understanding swept between them. She knew that he wanted to stay before the fire with her. The very thought of it thrilled her, and left her with such a pang of yearning that she knew she would do whatever it took to bring that moment to fruition.
“Are you alright?” he asked as he eyed her suddenly flushed cheeks.
“Mmm?”