Saffron withheld a snort. “I’m sure thefive hundred poundsfrom Dr. Berking helped. Richard Blake isn’t likely to talk, I think. He didn’t even want to know what Alexander and I had figured out. He hardly showed any expression the entire time he had us. It was frightful how calm he was.”
The inspector shrugged. “Well, some are like that.” He looked at them carefully before adding in a low voice, “The barristers wouldn’t like me telling you this, so you are not to repeat it. Berking confirmed that Mrs. Henry was the target, not Dr. Henry.”
“But why?” Alexander asked.
Saffron had spent long hours in her hospital room considering just this point. “It was the College Committee meeting, wasn’t it, Inspector?”
He nodded, and Saffron suppressed her urge to grin.
Alexander mirrored the inspector with his nod. “She wasn’t going to the Committee about Dr. Henry’s inappropriate relationship with Miss Ermine or his idea for a new branch in the history department. She was going because she found out about the embezzlement.”
Saffron looked to him in surprise, and his expression turned smug.
“According to Mrs. Henry, she noticed irregularities in paperwork she saw on Mr. Blake’s desk during a few of her office visits,” said Inspector Green. Saffron thought “office visit” was a very tame way to explain a lovers’ rendezvous. “She became suspicious and she arranged a meeting to report it.”
“Richard Blake realized she’d discovered the embezzlement, and Berking agreed to create a poison to kill her?” Saffron asked. That seemed rather elaborate.
“Or did she discover his true identity and was going to expose him?” Alexander asked.
Saffron turned to him, mouth agape. “Blake’s true identity?”
The inspector’s mouth inclined into a half smile. “Apparently, Mr. Ashton has discovered it himself.” Alexander shot Saffron a wink, leaving her shocked and not a little charmed. “It seems the man we know as Richard Blake is, in fact, James Harper. For the past decade, he’s been running small confidence plays, often taking on the role of a philanthropist soliciting donations for scholarships. This is by far his grandest scheme yet.”
“How did Berking know who Blake really was?” Saffron asked.
“They met at a house party in Lincolnshire, when Blake—Harper—was living under another name and went after the fortune of one of the guests. Berking later recognized him when he took up at the university. When the opportunity came to swindle the university out of thousands of pounds, they put a plan into motion. Dr. Berking had been experimenting with his new breed of aconite for some time. He seemed rather proud of his creation and eager to try it.”
That explained part of it, but she still had unanswered questions. “Dr. Henry was supposed to take the fall for embezzlement, of course, but what about the poisoning? If they meant to have Dr. Henry arrested, they could have chosen a better method. We figured out it wasn’t him right away!”
“Wrong method,” Alexander and the inspector said simultaneously, and they eyed each other with cool surprise.
“Exactly! He’d probably strangle her or throw her down the stairs or—”
“Something else,” Alexander said firmly. “Perhaps their aim was to muddle the field so much that the police would ignore them long enough for the expedition to leave. It would beperfect; they’d get out of the country on a believable pretext and slip away the moment we reached Brazil.”
Saffron frowned. “If their goal was to run off with thousands of pounds, why wait for the expedition at all? Why didn’t they just take the donations and run?”
No one seemed to have an answer to her question.
“I don’t like to think what Mrs. Henry must have felt when she heard her lover tried to kill her,” Saffron mused aloud.
The inspector frowned slightly. “Mr. Blake, or Mr. Harper, wasn’t her lover, according to her testimony. She was attempting to discover what exactly Dr. Henry did to gain the funding from the Ermine family, and thought Blake would be a good source of information. She might have mentioned that Dr. Henry suspecting they had a relationship was a bonus.”
Saffron blinked. She certainly hadn’t considered that possibility.
Inspector Green tapped the top of his hat and moved toward the door.
“You know, Inspector,” Saffron said, “the police poisons expert who came around, he knew nothing about poisons apart from arsenic and strychnine. I’m fairly certain I’d be a better expert than him.”
The inspector smiled, a wry expression that crinkled his eyes. “Maybe you would, Miss Everleigh. I’m glad you’ve both recovered. Mr. Ashton, good luck on your expedition.” He left.
Saffron grinned widely at Inspector Green’s retreating form before turning to Alexander and laughing. “Hesmiled!”
CHAPTER 24
Stepping into the sapphire evening, Saffron and Alexander looked out over the dark lawn and the tall hedges beyond. The stone balcony was cool with crisp spring air. The invitation to the party given in honor of the departure of the expedition team at the Leisters had been received with incredulity among those involved in the poisoning investigation. Saffron had telephoned Elizabeth immediately, laughing into the telephone that she’d have to borrow another dress. Elizabeth had decided to find a set of common poison remedies for Saffron to carry in her handbag, lest another guest turn up poisoned. She’d gotten a dress, a mauve number glittering with beading, but was lacking in antidotes.
“It seems you’ve earned the undying support of Dr. Henry. He spoke rather warmly of you just now,” Alexander said with a sideways look. “If I didn’t know you’d convinced him to reform his meandering ways, I’d advise you to watch out for him, Everleigh.”
