The Sins of the Father

'But this is madness. Why wasn't I consulted?'

'You were unconscious,' Lord Harvey reminded him, 'and in any case, they were debating a point of law, not your opinion, so the verdict will stand, unless it's overturned on appeal in the House of Lords.'

Harry was speechless.

'So as things stand,' continued Lord Harvey, 'you are now Sir Harry, and the major shareholder in Barrington Harvey, as well as owner of the Barrington estate and, to quote the original will, all that therein is.'

'Then I'll appeal against the Law Lords' judgment, making it clear that I wish to renounce the title,' said Harry firmly.

'That's the irony,' said Giles, 'you can't. Only I can appeal against the verdict, but I have no intention of doing so unless I have your blessing.'

'Of course you have my blessing,' said Harry. 'But I can think of a far easier solution.'

They all looked at him.

'I could commit suicide.'

'I don't think so,' said Emma, sitting down on the bed beside him. 'You've tried that twice, and look where it got you.'

44

EMMA BURST INTO the library clutching a letter. As she rarely interrupted Harry when he was writing, he knew it had to be important. He put down his pen.

'Sorry, darling,' she said as she pulled up a chair, 'but I've just had some important news that I had to come across and share with you.'

Harry smiled at the woman he adored. Her idea of important could range from Seb pouring water over the cat, to 'it's the Lord Chancellor's office on the phone and they need to speak to you urgently'. He leaned back in his chair and waited to see which category this would fall into.

'I've just had a letter from Great-aunt Phyllis,' she said.

'Whom we all hold in such awe,' teased Harry.

'Don't mock, child,' said Emma. 'She's raised a point that may help us prove Papa wasn't your father.'

Harry didn't mock.

'We know that your blood group and your mother's are Rhesus negative,' continued Emma. 'If my father is Rhesus positive, he can't be your father.'

'We've discussed this on numerous occasions,' Harry reminded her.

'But if we were able to prove that my father's blood group wasn't the same as yours, we could get married. That is assuming you still want to marry me?'

'Not this morning, my darling,' said Harry, feigning boredom. 'You see, I'm in the middle of committing a murder.' He smiled. 'In any case, we have no idea which blood type your father was, because despite considerable pressure from your mother and Sir Walter, he always refused to be tested. So perhaps you ought to write back, explaining that it will have to remain a mystery.'

'Not necessarily,' said Emma, unbowed. 'Because Great-aunt Phyllis has been following the case closely, and thinks she may have come up with a solution neither of us has considered.'

'Picks up a copy of the Bristol Evening News from a newsstand on the corner of sixty-fourth street every morning, does she?'

'No, but she does read The Times,' said Emma, still unbowed, 'even if it is a week out of date.'

'And?' said Harry, wanting to get on with his murder.

'She says it's now possible for scientists to identify blood groups long after the person has died.'

'Thinking of employing Burke and Hare to exhume the body, are we, darling?'

'No, I am not,' said Emma, 'but she also points out that when my father was killed, an artery was severed, so a great deal of blood would have been spilt on the carpet and the clothes he was wearing at the time.'

Harry stood up, walked across the room and picked up the phone.

'Who are you calling?' asked Emma.

'Detective Chief Inspector Blakemore, who was in charge of the case. It may be a long shot, but I swear I'll never mock you or your great-aunt Phyllis again.'

The Sins of the Father

'Do you mind if I smoke, Sir Harry?'

'Not at all, chief inspector.'

Blakemore lit a cigarette and inhaled deeply. 'Dreadful habit,' he said. 'I blame Sir Walter.'

'Sir Walter?' said Harry.

'Raleigh, not Barrington, you understand.'

Harry laughed as he sat down in the chair opposite the detective.

'So how can I help you, Sir Harry?'

'I prefer Mr Clifton.'

'As you wish, sir.'

'I was hoping you might be able to supply me with some information concerning the death of Hugo Barrington.'

'I'm afraid that will depend on whom I'm addressing, because I can have that conversation with Sir Harry Barrington, but not with Mr Harry Clifton.'

'Why not with Mr Clifton?'

'Because I can only discuss details of a case like this with a member of the family.'

'Then on this occasion, I shall revert to being Sir Harry.'

'So how can I help, Sir Harry?'

'When Barrington was murdered - '

'He was not murdered,' said the chief inspector.

'But the newspaper reports led me to believe - '

'It is what the newspapers didn't report that is significant. But to be fair, they were unable to study the crime scene. Had they done so,' said Blakemore before Harry could ask his next question, 'they would have spotted the angle at which the letter opener entered Sir Hugo's neck and severed his artery.'

'Why is that significant?'

'When I examined the body, I noticed that the blade of the letter opener was pointing upwards, not down. If I wanted to murder someone,' continued Blakemore, rising from his chair and picking up a ruler, 'and I was taller and heavier than that person, I would raise my arm and strike down into his neck, like this. But if I was shorter and lighter than him, and, more important, if I was defending myself  - ' Blakemore knelt down in front of Harry and looked up at him, pointing the ruler towards his neck  -  'that would explain the angle at which the blade entered Sir Hugo's neck. It is even possible from that angle that he fell on to the blade, which led me to conclude that he was far more likely to have been killed in self-defence than murdered.'

Harry thought about the chief inspector's words before he said, 'You used the words "shorter and lighter", chief inspector, and "defending myself". Are you suggesting that a woman might have been responsible for Barrington's death?'

'You'd have made a first-class detective,' said Blakemore.

'And do you know who that woman is?' asked Harry.

'I have my suspicions,' admitted Blakemore.

'Then why haven't you arrested her?'

'Because it's quite difficult to arrest someone who later throws herself under the London express.'

'Oh my God,' said Harry. 'I never made any connection between those two incidents.'

'Why should you? You weren't even in England at the time.'

'True, but after I was released from hospital I trawled through every newspaper that even mentioned Sir Hugo's death. Did you ever find out who the lady was?'

'No, the body was in no state to be identified. However, a colleague from Scotland Yard who was investigating another case at the time informed me that Sir Hugo had been living with a woman in London for over a year, and she gave birth to a daughter not long after he returned to Bristol.'