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n savagely ripped off her neck.”
Rebecca was white-faced. She was clearly reliving the whole thing, awakening in the night to find a man right there in her bedroom. She had screamed, and he had lunged at her for the necklace. Then fearing she had roused the household, he darted out of the room and fled.
“I saw quite plainly that it was Philip Sidney. I was only a few yards away from him. He hesitated and stared at me. I thought for a moment he was going to attack me. How misled we can be by people,” she said quietly. “He seemed—”
“We were all misled,” Tobias agreed. “I feel guilty that I ever allowed him into the house.”
“He worked at the British Embassy, Tobias,” Bernadette said gently. “If they didn’t know what sort of a man he was, how could you?”
Jemima felt all her muscles knot. And she also felt Patrick’s hand tighten on hers under the table. She looked at Tobias. “Why did you say it was you who saw him? Someone will ask you. It seems an unnecessary lie.”
Tobias’s lips tightened. “I was trying to protect Bernadette from having to relive that night again in front of strangers,” he said curtly. He clearly resented being obliged to answer her.
But no one challenged him, certainly not Jemima. She thought Bernadette was quite capable of seeing off a pack of dogs, let alone a gentle police questioning, respectful of her position in society and the crime that had taken place in her house. But she did not say so. There was nothing to be gained. And now that the pendant had been recovered and traced back through another member of the British Embassy, making the possible link to Philip Sidney, it seemed that it was all over. Sidney would be far wiser not to fight the inevitable any longer.
Why did she feel so defeated? Was it because Daniel was going to lose the case? That was absurd! He had accepted it originally in order to see justice brought about for another crime in what seemed impossible circumstances. And there was now the terrible weight of Morley Cross’s murder hanging over everything. Did Sidney even know of that? Was he responsible?
She had better put on a more appropriate face than one of gloom, as if she had lost something. Daniel was wrong. There was no darker secret hanging over them at all, only a man who loved his family and was defending them with a lie that was natural in instinct, but unwise on deeper thought.
And, of course, the people at the British Embassy behaving like fools. Or perhaps not? Perhaps they were getting rid of Philip Sidney in a rather heavy-handed fashion.
She felt Patrick’s hand grip hers a moment longer, then release it.
Poor Daniel. He was going to lose the case, badly. But he had to!
CHAPTER
Nineteen
EARLY THE FOLLOWING morning, Jemima dressed in a plain, dark gray costume and white lace blouse. She loved the stark contrast of colors and the way the fabric moved with her. It almost felt like silk. She told everyone at the breakfast table that she had an important appointment and hastened out before anyone could ask her what it was.
Patrick followed her to the front door. “What are you going to do?” He made no attempt to be tactful.
“Nothing dangerous,” she began.
“Are you going to see Rebecca? You can’t. She may know the truth, but she won’t tell it to you, or anyone else, and certainly not in court if it hurts her family.”
“Do you think it will?” she asked directly.
“Don’t play games!” he said tartly. “Of course it might. The answer she is giving, is it believable? She’ll stay with it, whatever it costs, because anything different will betray her family. Wouldn’t you if it were your father? I’ve seen how close you are…” There was a break in his voice. He had several brothers and sisters, too many to pick favorites, and no deep companionship with either of his parents.
Jemima was instantly sorry. “I’m not going to see any of the Thorwoods. I’m going to see Daniel’s friend Miriam fford Croft, if she’s in.”
“Why? Who is she, and what does she know?” He was genuinely taken by surprise. It was an answer he had not even considered.
“She’s the one who knows there’s something missing.”
“How can she help?” He was not satisfied. The anxiety was keen in his face.
“To see if she thinks this is it. Daniel thinks very highly of her.”
“In what way? Who is she? And don’t give me an empty answer!”
“She studied as a doctor, then as a forensic pathologist, but she can’t practice and hold any official post…because she’s a woman.” She saw the startled expression on his face. She was not looking for a quarrel. “She helped him before, with a very difficult case, about three months ago. I’m only going to ask her.”
“Medicine and pathology?” He raised his eyebrows. “No one is dead over here, Jem. And the only injury is a scratch mark on Rebecca’s neck. What can she tell you?”
“I don’t know. Perhaps whatever it is we’re looking at and can’t see.”
