Yes, well, as I had also learned from Brodie, it was often the smallest detail that provided information that led to the resolution of a case.
I listened for any sound that the man at the door might have followed to check on me. I heard nothing, opened my bag, and took out my writing pen. Mindful of leaving any trace that might be found by those investigating the case for the MET, I used the pen to lift the front edge of the folder.
There were several pages of notes, a crime report dated ten years earlier, and an official looking letter from the Prison Commission.
The notes were brief, much the same that I had seen Brodie write. Dates, with a half-dozen words at most for each to describe something he apparently was most interested in, a yellowed police report that he had kept or persuaded someone within the MET to provide. The name in the report…Edward Blackwood.
A book in progress, perhaps. Or something else?
There was more as I carefully shifted the report aside and discovered a formal letter dated only a matter of ten days earlier, from the Prison Commission, signed by the chairman of the commission. I leaned closer to read the contents of the letter that was addressed to the chief inspector.
This letter is to inform you of a situation that has
recently occurred.
On 6 January of this year, it was noted that a prisoner
referred to hospital for a medical condition
has in fact escaped and left hospital.
You are advised in the matter as the prisoner was
originally brought into custody through your efforts and others of theMetropolitan Police.
The prisoner in question is considered dangerous. All efforts
will be made to return him to prison.
It was signed by the Commissioner of Prisons, and the last line of the letter?—
The prisoner’s name? Edward Blackwood!
Had Chief Inspector Dawes decided to conduct his own investigation after receiving that letter?
It did seem that the chief inspector’s inquiries were not for a book he was writing, but an effort to find Blackwood.
Inspectors with the MET had already made a cursory inspection of the residence according to Mr. Dooley. Yet, that folder with that letter remained.
If Mr. Dooley knew of it, he would surely have told Brodie.
The Commission had chosen to contact Chief Inspector Dawes directly.
Was it to keep the matter out of the newspapers so as not to cause difficulty for the MET, which had suffered failures in other investigations? Or to protect the citizens of London?
What would happen once the folder was inspected by those investigating the murder of the chief inspector?
Would it simply be swept under the carpet, as Brodie indicated had happened in the past with cases that were considered too sensitive, or too dangerous for the citizens of London to know about?
I heard a sound from the front entrance of the residence. No doubt the inspector come to check upon me.
I quickly made my decision and stuffed the letter into my bag.
“Lady Forsythe?” the inspector inquired as he appeared at the entrance to the parlor.
“It seems that Mr. Brodie may have been delayed.”
“It does indeed.”
