part0030

If Mackay's fingers had danced the polka before, now they performed a Highland jig as both hands drummed on his desk. 'This has been a most confusing case, Watters. It has been most confusing indeed. I confess that I am nearly as much at a loss now as I was when the events occurred.'

'Yes, sir,' Watters said.

Mackay stilled his fingers, sighed, and leaned back on his seat. 'Tell me what's happened, Watters. Start with Mr Beaumont.'

'Yes, sir. Mr Beaumont was aware that somebody was targeting his business without knowing who it was. He heard about the threat to destroy Lady of Blackness , so hired an ex-Royal Navy steward, Cattanach, to infiltrate the crew under the name of Jones. When they were in Calcutta, Cattanach saw the fellow in the hold with gunpowder and fuses, crept up, and killed him with this.' Watters placed Cattanach's spike on the desk .

Mackay nodded slowly. 'We can't charge Mr Beaumont with protecting his own ship.'

'No, sir, but we can charge him with concealing a crime by not handing Cattanach over to us when he knew he was guilty of murder.'

Mackay grunted. 'That will ruin his business credentials, which will be the worst punishment possible for such a man. Now, let's look at Cattanach. As the murder was on board a British ship, he was technically on British soil, so he'll be charged with murder or at least culpable homicide.'

'Yes, sir,' Watters agreed.

'Do we know who the murdered man was?'

Watters consulted the notes he had made during his interrogation of Elizabeth Caskie. 'I believe so, sir. Do you recall the case of the Honourable Peter Turnbull?'

Mackay nodded. 'I recall Turnbull, the aristocrat who went missing owing thousands of pounds.'

'That's the fellow. I doubt he'll ever pay his debtors.' Watters permitted himself a small smile. 'Elizabeth Caskie was quite talkative once we got her into the interview room. '

'Was she indeed? What the devil did Turnbull have to do with anything? How the devil did Elizabeth Caskie contact him?' Mackay stilled his fingers. 'And why did he agree to act the incendiary?'

'The world of the minor landowners is small, sir,' Watters said. 'Turnbull had gambling debts; he owed two thousand to Caskie. Elizabeth arranged for him to ship out to India with a hundred pounds to start a new life and his debts to Caskie quashed in exchange for destroying Lady of Blackness . That's her story anyway.'

Mackay's fingers rapped on the desk again. 'We'll contact Turnbull's family for identification. Now, Elizabeth Caskie. Tell me about her.'

'On her own admission, sir, she was the prime instigator.'

'For God's sake, why?' Mackay shook his head. 'She is a close friend of Beaumont's younger daughter; she had everything anybody could possibly want. Why go against Mr Beaumont?'

Watters consulted his notes. 'Two reasons, sir. Firstly, The Caskies were in financial difficulties, while Beaumont was a major commercial rival. William Caskie was a gambler, as we know. That was one reason he agreed to build a ship for the South; he would recoup his losses.'

'Foolish fellow.' Mackay's fingers were drumming again.

'Yes, sir. If William Caskie's business failed, then Elizabeth would face relative poverty, which she could not stand.'

'She would still be comfortably off.'

'Yes, sir, but her sort needs wealth, not mere comfort.'

Mackay's fingers increased their dancing. 'And the second reason?'

'She is an evil, unprincipled woman, sir.' Watters waited for condemnation.

'Explain further,' Mackay demanded.

'The less business that Beaumont got, the more could go to Caskie, so Elizabeth disrupted the mills with fires, tried to sink Beaumont's ships, and made the world, and us, believe that there was a conspiracy against Beaumont. It was pure coincidence that the Federal agents had a similar notion. It was Elizabeth who suggested that Amy should go to Newport. She planned the attack.'

'That's very cold-blooded,' Mackay said .

Watters nodded. 'Amy endured worse at the dance when she mentioned suffering for fashion and beliefs. I wondered at her choice of words at the time and thought she might be involved in some way. I was wrong about her.'

'I suppose that Elizabeth also put the mannequin in Beaumont's bed,' Mackay said.

'Elizabeth was staying at Mount Pleasant at the time,' Watters confirmed.

Mackay took a deep breath. 'You mentioned Amy. Was she involved in this blasted case?'

'I think Amy was unaware of anything,' Watters said.

Mackay sighed. 'So you completed your case, Watters. Or rather, your cases, for it seems two ran side by side.'

'Yes, sir.' Watters did not mention his suspicions about Mrs Foreman and Mrs Caskie. Mrs Foreman evidently did not like Mrs Caskie, with her hints at poisoning, but that had not been his case.

'The thing is,' Watters said, 'if they had kept their cool, even then, they could all have got off with it. We had nothing concrete, only speculation combined with vague theories. The word of young Willie or Varthley would never have stood up in court against respectable people such as Beaumont and Elizabeth Caskie.'

'It just goes to show,' Mackay said. 'These supposedly respectable people are only actors. Behind the façade, they can be as crooked, devious, and downright unpleasant as any garrotter from Couttie's Wynd.' He sighed. 'And if you tell anybody that I said that, I will deny it.'

'There remains William Caskie,' Watters said.

'William Caskie did not break the law,' Mackay said. 'But you can rest assured that he did not get off scot-free. He is deep in debt and nobody will lend him money now. Mr Caskie faces a future of poverty. If he is lucky, he may find a job as a before-the-mast seaman.' Mackay's smile was bleak. 'Well done, Watters.'

'Just one more thing, sir.' Watters took a deep breath. 'Why did you give the case to me, a mere sergeant, rather than to an inspector?'

Mackay's fingers began another dance. 'There was nothing sinister, Watters. One of my inspectors may be retiring soon. I may need a good man.' His smile lit up the bright Highland eyes. 'I would not tell Marie that yet. Now dismiss.'

'Yes, sir.' Lifting his hat and cane, Watters left the room. If he hurried, he could grab a few holes at the golf course. He swung his cane, smiling.