The Barker's Dozen - Reminiscences of an Early Police Dog (20 page)

My master reached gently into the pocket and pulled out a pair of gold cuff links. She stared at them and started shaking. For the first time I could smell her fear.

‘How do you explain these?’ Your uncle asked gently.

‘I can’t, Sir.’ She replied. ‘Honestly, I don’t know how they got there. I haven’t entered Mr Yorke’s room and I wouldn’t steal anything.’

‘I bet you hear this all the time Inspector,’ Jasper said, with a triumphant sneer. ‘You catch one of the lower classes red-handed and they don’t know anything at all. Before you know it she’ll be saying that I put my cuff links in her pocket.’

‘That must be it!’ the girl cried. ‘When you came in here this morning. You could have dropped them in my pocket then.’

Jasper reached out and grabbed her wrist. From the way that she winced, I could tell that he was hurting her. I also realised that I had seen him holding her in the same way before.

‘Lying won’t help you,’ Jasper snarled. ‘If we get the inspector to search your room we will no doubt find the rest of the stolen property.’

Your uncle forced Jasper to unhand the girl. There was a moment of bedlam when Jasper, Lady Gough and Peter all started addressing my master at once. I think that we had all forgotten David’s presence; it was almost as if he wasn’t there. We were, therefore, all shocked when he shouted. His words were incomprehensible but his anger was readily obvious.

Lady Gough ran to his side and attempted to calm him down. It seemed to me that the more she tried to placate him down the angrier he became.

Jasper rounded on the maid and shouted, ‘look what your criminal ways have done to him!’

As Molly started protesting her innocence again, Jasper suddenly slapped her with his full strength. The blow knocked her from her feet so that she ended up half-sprawled on the bed.  My master gently helped her to her feet and then took a step towards Jasper, who backed off holding up his hands apologetically.

‘I’m sorry,’ Jasper said, without any real contrition, ‘but I find her lies almost unbearable.’

David’s shouts rose to a crescendo and he started flailing around. Lady Gough and Molly each caught hold of one of his arms. If this stopped his flailing, it did nothing to reduce the noise of his shouts. He was crying, it seemed to me, in both anger and frustration.

Miss Blanchard burst into the room and took charge; from her condition it was obvious that she had heard the commotion and come at a run.  A few minutes later my master, Peter, Jasper and myself found ourselves banished into the hallway as Miss Blanchard started organising some treatment.

My master had tried to escort Molly from the room but was informed that ‘the girl, useless as she may be’ was essential for David’s care. My master, therefore, compromised by leaving Molly in Lady Gough’s charge.

We had to wait until David had been calmed down before your uncle could organise a quick search of Molly’s room as Lady Gough had insisted that both she and the girl should be present. Although the search was quick, the scarcity of hiding places in the attic room made it readily apparent that the missing money was not there.

After some discussion, my master decided that Molly would be locked in her room except when she was needed to help with David's care. Should the stolen money be returned by Sunday afternoon the matter would be left in Lady Gough’s hands if not, Molly would be formally arrested. The only person who did not seem to want to avoid a scandal was Jasper. I found this strange, as he hadn’t actually lost anything.

You are probably wondering why Molly was needed to help with David’s care. It may help if I describe the treatment that David received whenever he had one of his ‘fits’.  The medical treatment given to David consisted normally of two baths; one filled with water that was almost scalding hot while the other was filled with iced water. David was lowered into the hot bath and after a pre-set time he was pulled out and plunged straight into the cold water. This was done to induce a fever. If David protested he was ignored because the treatment was for his own good.

Every so often David was subjected to an even more scientific form of treatment. A table had been procured that could be spun around one end. David would be strapped to this table with his head pointing outwards and spun. The idea was that all his blood would rush to his head and cause a blackout. This instrument was referred to as the centrifuge and was visited on him when he was at home.

David was, therefore, subjected to the baths and then drugged into a deep sleep with laudanum. I know that it stopped his raging fit, but I don’t think it did anything for his underlying problem. The only thing that I am certain of is that Miss Blanchard terrified him.

The evening's party was quite a success. Most of the guests, probably in deference to Peter, seemed to have decided that the least said the soonest mended. Jasper, however, would initially speak of nothing else. He seemed to think that the maid was not being treated harshly enough. I must admit that I did not like him at all. Fortunately, the twin distractions of cards and brandy soon distracted him from ‘the undue leniency being shown to this larcenous maid’.

I had a really good evening. To my surprise, the rather portly party whom I had unhorsed literally collared me. He then took me round the assembled company and told them, in frankly hilarious terms, the story of his soaking. After each telling he went back to the buffet table for ‘a little bit of dinner.’ As he always shared this bounty I was perfectly happy to accompany him on his rounds.

I went to bed fatter and happier.

After breakfast on Sunday, most of the party went to the estate church. I decided to stroll round the estate. I walked into one of the walled gardens, and found David sitting in his chair. No one was with him so I walked over to sit by him

I had no sooner settled down than David began to talk to me. Although I could not understand what he was saying, I suddenly realised that he had seen something. David was a witness! How to understand him was beyond me so, having told him I would hurry back, I raced off to the church.

The service was thankfully quite short and I did not have to wait very long. When my master appeared in the doorway, I took hold of his hand and started pulling. Now I am not normally that direct with your uncle, but he is clever enough to know when I want to show him something. As soon as he said, ‘alright, I’m coming,’ I let go and led him back to David. Peter and Lady Gough saw my master hurrying back to the house and thinking that something was afoot followed him.

I had no idea how I could make my master understand David, but I had reckoned without the young man’s intelligence. When David saw your uncle he spoke. The word he said sounded enough like ‘inspector’ to rivet my master’s attention.

The young man then carefully touched his eyes and then mimed placing something into an apron pocket. He then repeated the actions.

‘David,’ cried Lady Gough. ‘Are you trying to tell us something?’

The young man very clearly nodded his head. My master crouched down so that their eyes were almost level.

‘David,’ he began, ‘I am going to ask you a few questions; if the answer is yes nod your head, if the answer is no please speak. Do you understand?’

David nodded his head emphatically. The rest of us watched in fascinated silence one of the most interesting conversations I have ever seen.

By keeping the questions short and making sure that they all had yes or no answers, my master was able to extract the following facts from David. For simplicity I will recount your uncle’s questions and David’s answers as simple statements.

Yes, David knew something about the thefts. No, Molly had not taken the cuff links. No, someone had not given them to her. Yes, someone had placed them in her pocket. No, it was not a woman. Yes, he knew the man. At this point, your uncle asked Peter to recite a list of all the men in the house; David nodded violently when he came to Jasper Yorke. My master very precisely framed his next question: Yes, David had seen Jasper put the cuff links into Molly’s apron pocket.

‘Unfortunately,’ your uncle mused, ‘this evidence will not stand up in a court. Any reasonably competent lawyer would destroy David’s statement. I will interview the girl and if her story supports David’s we will deal privately with Master Jasper.’

‘Thank you,’ said Lady Gough, ‘I want to avoid any scandal if I can.’

Lady Gough brought Molly into Peter’s study and my master gently asked the maid to tell him her version of events.

‘Well, Sir,’ she began, ‘I don’t want to cause no trouble because I like my job. It all began on Friday night when I was coming back downstairs after sitting with Master David. Young Mr Yorke took hold of my wrist and started pulling me towards his room. I protested and he got angry. I remember he said, “If you don’t kiss me, I’ll have you dismissed from your position.” I wasn’t afraid of him, as Lady Gough is my employer and she wouldn’t pay no heed to the likes of him. He wouldn’t let go and I was about to scream when he heard someone on the stairs and released me. I didn’t think any more of it, as he had been very drunk.

‘Yesterday, just after Miss Blanchard went downstairs for her lunch, he entered David’s room. “Well,” he said, grabbing my shoulders, “have you reconsidered?” I told him to release me and he said. “You’ll be dismissed before tonight. Dismissed without a reference you hear?” He then pushed me in the stomach and stormed out.

‘David was upset about something, but I just couldn’t understand him. A few minutes later you arrived.’

My master thanked Molly and asked Lady Gough to take her back to David.

‘What are we going to do?’ Peter asked my master, ‘I just can’t see any way to avoid a scandal.’

‘If I act officially, there will be a scandal,’ your uncle replied. ‘I believe, however, that we can clear this matter up, without undue publicity. I would suggest that you ask your staff to inform you when Yorke is ready to leave. Tell your butler to arrange for Jasper’s bags to be carried in here, rather than outside. Then, you need to search his bags. If he protests I will give him the option of having his luggage examined at a police station.’

Peter was not at all happy with this idea. It went against his concept of hospitality and was rather ‘underhand’. However, when confronted with the choice between a scandal involving his aunt and embarrassing a potentially innocent man, he chose the lesser of the two evils.

It came as no real surprise that Jasper announced that he would leave immediately after lunch.

When the meal was over Peter and my master went into the study. A footman brought in a case and a portmanteau and then left us to wait for Jasper.

We waited in silence. Both men, I think, would rather have been elsewhere. Eventually the study door opened and the butler ushered Jasper into the room. He took two paces into the room before he saw the men waiting for him with his luggage on the desk. He stopped and for the second time that weekend I saw someone go absolutely white.

‘Would you mind opening your portmanteau and showing me the contents?’ Peter asked, ‘if you do not, I will have to ask Inspector Thompson to do it for you.’

With a certain desperate bravado Jasper complied. At first sight there was nothing out of the ordinary in the bag. However, one of the items that he removed was a tightly rolled shirt that gave a slight clink as it was put down. I barked quietly. When I had everyone’s attention, I reared up and placed my paws on the desk. I gave the package a cursory sniff, as I expected I could detect traces of the victims’ scents. I dropped back to the floor and sat facing my master and barked again.

Peter reached out and unrolled the bundle. In it there was a bundle of notes and a leather purse containing sovereigns.

‘How do you explain this?’ my master asked, slightly coldly.

‘I never carry much money in my wallet or pockets when travelling by train.’ Jasper replied with a certain confident bravado, ‘there are rather a lot of petty thieves and pickpockets about.’

‘What I meant,’ my master said, his voice now definitely glacial, ‘Is how do you come to have so much money on you, when only two days ago you were attempting to borrow off everyone?’

‘I was very lucky at cards last night,’ Jasper returned, he sounded confident but his face reminded me of the rabbit when it had seen me coming.

‘In that case I have no doubt that your unlucky fellows will confirm your story,’ your uncle remarked. ‘Their names please?’

‘I will not answer any more of your impertinent questions.’ Jasper suddenly shouted, as he started shoving his things back into his case. ‘You have no right to treat me like a servant caught drinking your port. I am leaving now but you can be assured that you have not heard the last of this outrage.’

‘You can either answer my questions here,’ my master said quietly. ‘Or if you refuse to co-operate, I will be forced to arrest you. We will then continue this interview at the nearest police station.’

Jasper’s defiance suddenly collapsed like a bitten ball. He sat down and muttering a minor blasphemy looked anxiously at my master.

‘Why did you betray my hospitality?’ Peter said in a low but threatening voice.

‘I had no choice,’ Jasper whimpered. ‘When I had bad luck at my gaming club, the proprietor gave me to the end of next week to settle my debts. My Pater refused to give me the money. If I don't pay up, I'll be ruined. I
 decided yesterday that I would just take what I needed.