The Droitwich Deceivers by Kerry Tombs Page A

down the hill, and across the railway line, to the side of the canal, and that the handkerchief was dropped there,’ said Ravenscroft.
    ‘All this is quite terrible, Inspector.’
    ‘If I may have the handkerchief back? Thank you, Miss Petterson. If you will excuse us, we must both continue with our investigations.’
     
    A few minutes later Ravenscroft and Crabb stood once more in the churchyard of St. Augustine’s church.
    ‘A fine view from up here, Crabb,’ said Ravenscroft looking out beyond the canal and river and the salt workings below them, towards the buildings of the town in the distance. ‘Now that Miss Petterson has identified the handkerchief , I think we know which way young Mildred was taken.’
    ‘Do you think she was taken aboard a canal barge?’ asked Crabb.
    ‘Almost certainly, I would say. That would explain why no one in the area saw the girl and her captor. If Mildred, and the person or persons who took her left the town that way, they would have followed a route which joined the Worcester–Birmingham canal after a few miles, and from there they could have gone either north or south. We must make enquiries of the lock keepers along the canal to see whether they have noticed anything untoward. Unfortunately it is now getting dark, so we must wait for the morning.’
    ‘Do you believe Miss Petterson was telling us the truth? She could have arranged the abduction of the child herself and planted the handkerchief in the canal where it was sure to be found,’ suggested Crabb.
    ‘You could well be right, Tom, but I cannot see why she would have arranged such an abduction; she has nothing to gain by such an action – in fact quite the reverse.’
    ‘I don’t see sir.’
    ‘Well, she would have known that police enquiries would be made, and that such enquiries might have reveal the truth concerning her deception to secure an appointment here.’
    ‘She lied to us about her time in the church – tidying up the hymn books and such like.’
    ‘Yes. Just why did she go into the church? All this nonsense about finding which hymns had been chosen, and untidy books, I don’t believe her for one minute. No, I think she had arranged to meet someone there, although of course she denied that. Furthermore I believe she was inside the church for more than five minutes, giving ample time for Mildred to be taken. I wonder who she met there? Sir Charles, perhaps?’
    ‘Why Sir Charles?’ asked Crabb. ‘He is her employer.’
    ‘She could have been having a liason with Chilton. She would not be the first governess to be taken advantage of by her employer.’
    ‘She is a bit too plain if you ask me, and he would probably frighten most women off with his bluff manner if he made advances towards them,’ joked Crabb.
    ‘You’re probably right Crabb, but we must retain an open mind. A meeting inside the church would have been well away from the house where the servants might have talked. Certainly Sir Charles does not appear to have any feelings towards his wife, so he may have transferred his affections to the governess, but until we have any evidence that Miss Petterson met either her employer, or indeed someone else, in the church, then we cannot accuse her of lying on that account.’
    ‘I suppose you’re right sir.’
    ‘What’s that, Tom?,’ said Ravenscroft suddenly.
    ‘It’s that laughing noise again, the same as last night,’ replied Crabb.
    ‘Yes, quick – where is it coming from?’
    ‘Over there sir, behind that tree,’ indicated Crabb.
    ‘Quickly Tom. Come out man, show yourself!’ shouted Ravenscroft as he and Crabb ran forwards.
    A figure darted quickly from one side of the tree to behind one of the larger upright stones in the churchyard.
    ‘That’s him sir,’ said Crabb pointing to the ragged grey-haired man. ‘I swear that was the old fellow I chased down the path last night.’
    ‘Can’t catch Old John!’ laughed the man.
    ‘We would like a word with you, my man.