AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Fifteen
Daniel went straight from the prison back to Lincoln’s Inn, and then, a little after six, to his parents’ home on Keppel Street. He wanted to give his father a copy of the names Graves had given to him, and it was best to do this away from his father’s office. Daniel was still deeply afraid that someone in Special Branch had leaked the information to Graves, and flattered, bribed or threatened him into using it in the most damaging way, not only to inflict harm on Special Branch now, but to cast shadows over most of its past as well. He could only imagine what that reputation for corruption and blackmail would do to its ability to function at home, never mind abroad.
But most of all, he had to ask his father for the full story of Luz dos Santos. How much was Graves only guessing, and how much did he know? At some level, it would hardly matter. The damage of suggestion would be enough. And his father could not explain it publicly. Rightly or wrongly, he would be disgraced, perhaps even worse.
Daniel sat across from his father in his study, and reached over the desk with the list of people whom Graves had mentioned as sources for the book in his hand.
Pitt took it from him, looked at the names, and thanked him.
Daniel waited for something more.
‘Who I expected,’ Pitt said. ‘One or two I didn’t. It’s time to see if I can find any corroborative evidence. I wouldn’t damn anyone on Graves’ words alone.’ He smiled bleakly. ‘But it casts a shadow, and that may well be all they expect of it. Thank you, Daniel.’
‘I don’t think Graves killed his wife,’ Daniel said. It came out sounding like an excuse, and he had not intended that. ‘I can’t . . . let him hang just because he’s a swine.’ He wanted Pitt to understand. ‘I wish he were guilty!’
‘Letting him hang because he’s a swine is roughly the same as killing him yourself,’ Pitt answered. ‘I dare say he felt like that about his wife. It’s not an excuse.’
‘Actually, she sounds rather nice,’ Daniel answered. ‘I think I would’ve liked her. She was far better than he. Interested, funny, brave, according to her children.’
‘How old are they?’
‘Why?’
‘A lot of children view their parents uncritically for a time, and at others find them totally boring,’ Pitt said a trifle ruefully.
‘Oh . . .’ Then Daniel saw the wry smile and felt himself flush. ‘We all take a little while to grow up. They are sixteen and nineteen. The girl is the elder, and takes care of her brother. He’s in a wheelchair, and looks terribly frail.’
‘Don’t let pity slant your vision,’ Pitt told him gently. ‘It’s only part of the truth.’
‘They need their mother,’ Daniel replied, as if he were defending them against some charge. ‘She’s only a girl, and has a heavy responsibility, now that her mother’s gone, not least for poor Arthur.’
‘I’m sorry. We take our health for granted. But don’t let your pity rule you.’ Now there was humour in his face. ‘I’ve liked some people who have killed, a lot more than I liked their victims. Find all the mitigating facts you can, but do not lose the truth. Listen to me, Daniel! Most of any case has right on both sides. It’s your job to find as much of it as you can, not to weigh it, and not to hide it.’
‘Did you ever hide it?’ Daniel asked, and his disbelief was plainer in his voice than he meant it to be, but the murder of the Portuguese woman was crowding his mind.
Pitt stared at him very steadily. ‘Yes. I’m part of the country’s defence against those who would spread terror and anarchy. You are not. Your part is to defend individuals against wrongful accusation, and to mitigate their punishment when their convictions are correct, in fact at least, if not in cause.’
‘Yes, I know,’ Daniel agreed. ‘And I don’t think that it was her husband. Which is a shame. I very much would have liked it to have been. He’s a dangerous and vicious man. He loves the power to destroy, and he’s hellbent on using it. Starting with Narraway and Vespasia, and going on to you, and then Special Branch in general.’
They stared at each other steadily.
Daniel knew that this was the moment. If he let it slip away, he might never have it again.
‘What exactly happened about the Portuguese murder? Graves is not going to let that go. Explain it to me, so I’m not fighting in the dark.’
Pitt was silent.
‘I need to know! I’m a lawyer; you made me one. Trust me not to betray your confidence!’
‘Is that what it is?’ Pitt said wearily. ‘I don’t think Graves really knows anything about it, but I suppose on the chance that he does, I need to tell you.’
‘You need to know if you’ve got a traitor in Special Branch, Father! And if you have, you have to find him.’
‘I will. Believe me, I will. What do you want to know about the murder of Amalia dos Santos?’
Daniel swallowed. ‘All of it. Then I won’t fall into any traps.’
Pitt leaned back in his chair and looked at Daniel as he spoke. ‘Luz dos Santos was giving me extremely valuable information about agitators and anarchists in London, and plans for insurrections here and around Europe. I disliked the man, but as an informant he was irreplaceable. He telephoned me late in the evening, almost hysterical, saying that he had been quarrelling with his wife and had lost his temper and struggled with her, and that she was dead. He asked for my immediate help, with a reminder of how much I needed him.’
