The Whitechapel Conspiracy - Anne Perry [38]
Juno’s face filled with astonishment, and then anger.
“That is monstrous!” Unconsciously she had chosen the very word in Charlotte’s mind. “To whom can we speak to have it changed?”
“No one.” Charlotte shook her head. “By pursuing the case he has made powerful enemies. It is probably better if he is out of their sight for a while. I came to you because Thomas spoke very highly of you, and he was certain you believed that your husband was the victim of murder, not an accident.” She tried to read Juno’s expression and was startled to see a moment of unguarded grief in it. Instead of being perceptive, she felt she had intruded.
“I do believe it,” Juno said quietly. “I didn’t at first. I was simply numb. I couldn’t grasp that it had happened. Martin is not … was not clumsy. And I know perfectly well that he would never have put his books on Troy and Greece on the top shelf. It made no sense at all. And it was other things as well when Mr. Pitt pointed them out: the chair that wasn’t where it usually was, and the pieces of fluff on his shoe.” She blinked several times, struggling to keep her emotion in control.
Charlotte spoke, to give her a moment and perhaps take her mind from the acutely personal subject of the shoes. Surely mention of them must make her picture Fetters being dragged backwards across the floor. It would be all but unbearable.
“If you had known why Adinett did it, you would surely have said so at the trial, or before.” She leaned forward a little. “But have you had time to reconsider since then?”
“I have little else to do,” Juno said with an attempt at a smile. “But I can’t think of anything.”
“I need to know.” Charlotte heard the raw edge of urgency in her own voice. She had intended not to betray herself so completely, but seeing Juno’s grief had unlocked her own. “It is the only way I can prove to them that it was a just verdict, and Thomas wasn’t being arrogant or irresponsible, and there was no prejudice in his actions. He was following the evidence in a case and he was right. I don’t want anyone who matters being allowed an inch of room to doubt that.”
“How are you going to do it?”
“Find out all I can about John Adinett and—if you will help me—about your husband, so that I know not only what happened but I can prove why it did.”
Juno took a deep breath and steadied herself, looking at Charlotte gravely. “I want to know what happened myself. Nothing will stop me missing Martin or make me feel any better about it, but if I understood it I should be less angry.” She shook her head a little. “I wouldn’t be so confused, and maybe I would feel as if there was some sense to it. It is all so … unfinished. Is that an absurd thing to say? My sister keeps telling me I should go away for a while, try to forget about it … I mean, about the way it happened. But I don’t want to. I need to know why!”
Outside in the garden the birds were singing and the breeze brought in the scent of grass.
“Did you know Mr. Adinett well? Did he call here often?”
“Quite often. At least once or twice a month, sometimes more.”
“Did you like him?” She wanted to know because she needed to understand the emotions involved. Did Juno feel betrayed by a friend, or robbed by a man who was relatively a stranger? Would she be angered if Charlotte probed critically into their lives?
Juno thought for a few moments before replying, weighing her words. The question seemed to cause her some difficulty.
“I am not entirely certain. At first I did. He was very interesting. Apart from Martin, I had never heard anyone speak so vividly about travel.” Her face lit with memory. “He had a passion about it, and he could describe the great wildernesses of Canada in such a way that their terror and beauty came alive,