Detective Watters Mysteries Collection

Chapter 14

When Watters entered the drawing room, Amy was sitting sewing, pale-faced but composed. Mr Beaumont stepped closer to his daughter when Watters told them he had arrested and interviewed both Varthley and Kelly.

Beaumont squeezed Amy"s hand. "So this creature Varthley was not acting alone?"

"Indeed not, Mr Beaumont. It seems he was part of a group that called themselves the Dundee and Forfarshire Anti-s*****y Alliance. There were only six of them, and they believe that you are trading with the Confederate States of America."

Watters waited for a comment before continuing. He did not know all of Beaumont"s commercial interests but was quite sure that he would trade with the Devil if it meant turning a profit.

"I have done that," Beaumont agreed calmly. "I have bought cotton in Charleston, South Carolina and sold jute products to the South as well as the North." He shrugged. "That"s business, but I haven"t sent a ship to the South for upwards of a year now. What with the Federal blockade and so on, the level of profit is just not worth the risk." He gave a wry smile.

Watters glanced at Amy. "This group have been targeting you, sir. They were also involved in setting fire to your factories."

"Have they, by God!" Beaumont looked up angrily.

"Indeed." Watters did not give details of the interrogation process or the mysterious American and woman. "We have every single member of the group in custody, Mr Beaumont." Watters nodded to Amy. "We are holding them very secure, so there is nothing for you to worry about, Miss Beaumont. We have charged the group with fire-raising. I don"t expect they will see the outside of a jail for many years."

"Thank God." Beaumont held out his hand to Watters. "You have relieved me of a great deal of anxiety, Mr Watters, and I cannot thank you enough."

"It was my duty, sir."

"We heard what you did to Varthley, Mr Watters." Amy put a small hand on his arm. "You dragged him, all unclothed, from his house." She giggled. Her eyes were huge as she considered the scene. "All unclothed! Then you threatened to shoot him. Tell me, Mr Watters, would you have done the same for your lady wife?"

Watters held her eyes. "I would, Miss Amy." That was true. He would have done exactly the same if Varthley had attacked Marie, except that he would have used a loaded g*n and blown the man"s head off. The thought of anybody attacking Marie made his blood run cold.

"Sergeant," Scuddamore hurried up the moment Watters returned to the police office, "do you remember that jacket you brought back from the dead house?"

"The deceased"s clothing," Watters corrected.

"Yes, Sergeant. Well, the jacket has a unique style."

"Is it?" As a married man, Watters had no spare money for stylish clothing. He bought for practicality and wore what was hard-wearing.

"Yes, Sarge."

"Sergeant."

"Sorry, yes, Sergeant. You can"t buy a jacket like that in this country; it"s an American style made in New York." Scuddamore sounded quite excited.

Watters nodded. "That could be interesting. Our dead man could be an American, or he could have visited New York at some time in the past." That might tie in with the mysterious American. It might also be connected to Beaumont"s association with the Confederate states, although New York was in the North.

"Thousands of seamen visit New York," Scuddamore said. "He could be a seaman."

"Would that coat be expensive?" Watters asked.

"Yes, it"s good quality."

"Then we can discount an ordinary seaman then, with their starvation wages. Our dead fellow might have been an officer, perhaps even a ship"s master." Watters sighed. "Or he could have had nothing to do with the sea at all. He had soft hands, as I recall. We are back to the same question, was the dead man connected in some way to the fires in Dundee?"

Scuddamore shrugged. "I doubt we"ll ever know, Sergeant. Our flat corpse was in Calcutta, thousands of miles away, and our only tangible link is Jones, who"s disappeared."

"America." Watters said. "That must be our connection. It"s Beaumont"s trade with America. We have a dead man with an American jacket while an unknown American throws golden boys around at local idiots who think they can end s*****y in America by burning down mills in Dundee." Watters looked up as Duff appeared.

"Sorry to disturb you, Sergeant. The old man wants you."

"Try that again, Duff."

"Superintendent Mackay sends his regards, Sergeant, and asks if you could attend him at your earliest convenience to keep him informed of the latest developments." Duff drew himself to attention. "I think he means now, Sergeant."

"I am sure he does." Watters pushed himself upright. "Scuddamore will keep you informed of the latest developments, Duff." He sighed. Pursuing a case was sufficiently tricky without Superintendent Mackay interrupting him every few minutes. "We"ll get together later and work out what"s best to do."

you"Sergeant Watters," Mackay had listened to Watters report without any visible emotion, "I had hoped that rounding up that g**g of scoundrels would have closed this case, but your American link spoiled that idea, and now we have a further complication."

Watters nodded. "What would that be, sir?"

"When Mr Beaumont returned home last night, he found that an intruder had been in his house."

"Did he, sir?" Watters wished that Mackay would just get to the point rather than talking around the subject.

"Not only that," Mackay said, "the intruder invaded Mr Beaumont"s bedroom and left a tailor"s dummy in the bed, covered in a shroud as if ready for burial."

Watters nodded. "That"s unpleasant."

Who would have done that? The mysterious woman or the American? It can"t have been my abolitionists as they are all locked up.

Who would have done that? The mysterious woman or the American? It can"t have been my abolitionists as they are all locked up."Exceedingly so," Mackay said. "It is as ugly a threat as I have met in my career, Watters. I have posted men at Mount Pleasant. I advised Mr Beaumont to live elsewhere, but he said he would be damned if he"ll bow to threats of that nature."

Watters felt a glimmer of respect for Beaumont. "He"s a brave man."

"Yes, brave but foolish. However, Mr Beaumont does not wish to expose his younger daughter to the same danger."

Watters nodded. "He seems exceedingly attached to her, sir."

"Mr Beaumont mentioned your previous work with his daughter." Mackay leaned back in his chair. "He was impressed with the speed you acted with Varthley."

"Is that so, sir?" Watters wondered what pill Mackay was preparing beneath the sugary compliments.

"It is so, Watters. Mr Beaumont asked specifically that you act as guardian to his family, Watters."

There"s the pill. How bitter will it be? "What does that mean, sir?"

There"s the pill. How bitter will it be?"It means that you will take Amy Beaumont away from Mount Pleasant House and guard her until this whole sorry business is concluded." Mackay drummed his fingers on the desk. "I know it"s not your usual type of duty, but Mr Beaumont is one of our most influential citizens. I hope you will treat his trust as an honour."

Watters fought his dismay. "I"m a detective sir, not a nursemaid! I have a case to solve."

"Not any longer, Sergeant Watters. I will put Sergeant Anstruther on the case. As from now, you are the bodyguard for Beaumont"s younger daughter."

"Anstruther is a thorough policeman, sir, but not a detective. He"d be better looking after Beaumont"s family. Anyway, I know the case far better than Anstruther does."

"Mr Beaumont asked for you, Watters, and what Mr Beaumont wants, he gets, including our full cooperation." Mackay"s face closed into a frown. "A few days ago, you chased down and arrested a completely innocent woman merely because she was foreign. I can"t recall Sergeant Anstruther making such a mistake."

Watters nodded. He could not argue with that fact. He altered his attack. "There"s my wife, sir. If I am to look after the Beaumont girl, she will be alone."

"I"ll instruct the duty constable to keep an eye on her."

"Yes, sir." Fighting his frustration, Watters bowed to the inevitable. "Where do you wish me to take Miss Amy?"

"You will be aware that Mr Beaumont has considerable properties scattered around Dundee."

"Yes, sir."

"His estate is quite large but not compact. It includes the lands immediately around Mount Pleasant House, with holdings elsewhere, including property at the fishing village of Nesshaven. Do you know it?"

"Not well, sir. I"ve never been there."

"Nesshaven is a tiny place only a few miles north of Broughty Ferry." Mackay looked up. "Ness House is not as large or as luxurious as Mount Pleasant."

"I am sure it is a beautiful property, sir, compared to where Mr Beaumont"s workers exist."

Mackay shook his head. "I was doing some digging myself, Watters, and between you and me, Patrick Anderson, the director of the Dundee Bank, believes that Beaumont has some financial problems."

"Does he, sir?" Watters had seen much genuine hardship in his time and knew that the majority of people in Dundee existed in one- or two-roomed homes in unsavoury tenements. Financial problems for such as Beaumont probably meant that he had to drink only one bottle of wine at a sitting rather than two.

Mackay sensed Watters"s cynicism. His mouth set in a hard line. "Report to Mount Pleasant as soon as you can, Watters."

"Yes, sir. And the case? The murder and the fire-raising?" Watters tried one last time.

"I am sure Sergeant Anstruther will keep you apprised of all that happens. That"s all. Dismissed."

Watters closed the door firmly. Was that the end of his involvement in the case? Was he now relegated to babysitting duties while Sergeant Anstruther did the real work? Watters shook his head. I"ll be damned if that will happen. Running upstairs, he thrust into the duty room.

I"ll be damned if that will happen"Scuddamore! Come here! I need a word!"