The Evil That Men Do.(Inspector Faro Mystery No.11) Read Online Free PDF Page A

sleep alone at Priorsfield. When she was a little girl she had, well, rather a scaring experience.’
    Vince seemed reluctant to continue and Faro prompted him:
    ‘What happened?’
    ‘She - thought - she saw a ghost. It wasn’t just a dream because it happened more than once,’ he added hastily. ‘Everyone knows that small children often fancy they see things. I know it sounds ridiculous—’
    ‘Not to me, it doesn’t.’
    Vince smiled. ‘Of course, you’re sympathetic, aren’t you. Well, this will interest you. She always described his white bagwig and old-fashioned knee breeches - and how he walked straight through the wall.’
    ‘And who was this spectre supposed to be? Any ideas?’
    ‘From his dress, I should say the French officer who came to deliver the gold to Prince Charlie while he was preparing for the Battle of Prestonpans. The gold that might have changed the face of Scottish history.’
    ‘One of many similar legends, I should say, of gold hidden and lost for ever.’
    ‘Rather different in this case. The French count’s ship came too late, pursued by ill luck, an English frigate, and then a storm. He arrived in Leith after Charles Edward had departed. Then rumour takes over. The alehouse keeper at their rendezvous, the original Langweil, if truth be told, got rid of him as he slept. Poisoned him and when things went against the Jacobites used the gold to bribe himself into Butcher Cumberland’s favour.’
    ‘I don’t think people give much credence to such rumours. But the whole thing was revived, Cedric told me, much to his family’s distress when a skeleton was dug up in the grounds during the last century with a knife blade between its ribs.’
    ‘Probably one of the Prince’s gallant soldiers who had fallen foul of a drinking companion. People have very romantic imaginations, especially when it comes to historical misdeeds. No doubt Cedric had told Grace the story when she was quite small and she had dreamed the rest.’
    ‘I agree. I think that is most likely the reason. Anyway it made quite an impression on her. Now she insists that her mother share her room.’ Vince looked at Faro. ‘You know, I was quite surprised when she told me she thought Priorsfield was haunted. Especially as Grace is such a sensible, practical sort of girl.’ He sighed. ‘How did I get on to all this?’
    ‘You were telling me that Maud noticed the untouched tray outside Cedric’s room as she went down to breakfast at nine.’ Faro thought for a moment. ‘But she didn’t look into the room. Wasn’t she curious?’
    ‘Not at all. Theodore and Cedric boasted that they needed little sleep and they rarely retired before three. As on this occasion when they decided to polish off another bottle of Langweil claret as a nightcap.’
    ‘Did they indeed?’ said Faro significantly.
    ‘No, no, Stepfather. It couldn’t have been in the claret otherwise Theodore would have been poisoned too—’
    ‘Unless the arsenic was added to Cedric’s glass only.’
    Vince registered astonishment. ‘But that would mean - Theodore—’
    Faro said nothing. But a demon in his brain said only one thing. If Theodore had murdered his brother for cause or causes still unknown, then he would hang.
    And Barbara - Barbara will be free—
    ‘You are wrong, Stepfather.’ Vince interrupted his giddy tide of fantasy. ‘It cannot be Theodore. I’ll never believe that—’
    ‘We won’t know whether I’m right or wrong until we get all the facts together in their right order and see what we have left over. So at what time did Maud finally go into Cedric’s bedroom?’
    ‘About eleven o’clock. They had an engagement in Edinburgh for lunch. Of course, she was in a terrible state of shock and Theodore raised the alarm immediately. The coachman was sent for me and when I arrived nearly an hour later I knew from the state of his body - rigor mortis had set in - that he had already been dead for several hours.’
    ‘So the