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Chapter 15
From where Harriet and Agatha were seated in the gallery, they could see Inspector Cosgrove preparing his evidence.
“I have here a collection of letters received by the accused.” Cosgrove remarked, holding them aloft before proceeding to line them up one-by-one on a nearby table.
“May I remind you Inspector,” said the leading magistrate. “That Mrs Carter is not on trial and I will fine you for contempt of court if her privacy is compromised.”
Phoebe Carter appeared quite shaken at the sight of her letters... her 'dirty linen' publicly exposed like this. She realised the police must have taken them when they had disappeared from her house following their search. However, she had not expected the Inspector to use them in a public display in court. She stared at her lawyer through pleading eyes, but he remained unemotional.
“Your honour,” began Cosgrove. “On the night 3rd December 1895 my constables and I were summoned to the British Museum by the nightwatch man Mr Samuel Bailey after he had reported seeing a disturbance in one of the exhibit rooms. When we eventually arrived, we discovered two females.”
“Lucky you!” someone from the gallery shouted, sparking a burst of hilarity.
Both Harriet and Agatha felt their cheeks burn with embarrassment.
“Silence in court!” shouted the leading magistrate.
“And the body of Thomas Carter was found in one of those Egyptian tomb things, your honour.”
“The word you are looking for Inspector is ‘sarcophagus’.” Informed one of the other magistrates.
Agatha caught Harriet rolling her eyes.
“Thank you, your honour.”
The leading magistrate appeared puzzled. “Tell me Inspector, why did you not arrest these two women? Surely they would have been your prime suspects?”
“They both volunteered to come down to the station for questioning your honour and after a lengthy interrogation it was concluded that neither of them had the means, motive or opportunity to carry out the act.”
“So, you diverted your enquiries to Mrs. Carter?”
“Your, honour. It is of no great surprise to any of us who read the papers, that Mrs Carter's marriage was in decline. Furthermore, she had regularly been spotted taking solace in other pursuits that require a substantial amount of funding.”
For the first time since the court came into session, Phoebe Carter's lawyer broke his vow of silence and sprang to his feet. “Objection, your honour! May I remind the Inspector that my client is not on trial and I will instruct my client to pursue a charge of slander against the Inspector if he continues this line of enquiry.”
“Objection carried Mr Styles. Inspector Cosgrove, why do you believe you have a case against Mrs Carter? These hearings should only take half-an-hour, you have nearly doubled that!”
Harriet placed her hand over her mouth and sniggered,
Feeling somewhat frustrated, Inspector Cosgrove lifted up one of the letters from the table. “These were found in Mrs Carters house after we conducted a detailed search, I will read a couple of them to the court;
“Dear Mrs Carter, I’m sorry to hear of your money problems again, but may I remind you we are a business and not a charity. Prompt payment is now required for the alcohol you have on your account. If a payment of £5-10s-6d is not paid by 10th November, I will be forced to ask the bailiffs to enter your property to seize items of equal value.
Then this one from Selfridges;
‘Dear Mrs Carter, It has been brought to our attention that the hamper you had from us in the summer has yet to be paid for. Please settle your account of £12-8s at your earliest convenience...
Cosgrove let the letter fall from his hand as the gallery gave a collective gasp. The leading magistrate rapped his gavel several times to bring the court back to order.
“Every one of these letters is an unpaid bill your honour and if you were to read them yourself, I think you would agree that Mrs Carter is struggling financially to pay them.”
“Inspector Cosgrove, I see what you are alluding to here. However, a collection of unpaid bills is inconclusive evidence to support the motive that Mrs Carter deliberately murdered her husband for her own personal financial gain. Now, do you have anything further to add before I dismiss this court!”
Inspector Cosgrove stood for a while, then fished into his inside pocket retrieving a slim diary. He flicked through a few pages then stopped. “May I show this to Mrs Carter?”
The leading magistrate hesitated for a moment then gave his consent. Inspector Cosgrove walked over to where Mrs Carter and her lawyer were seated. He held the diary out in front of Phoebe Carter, she looked briefly at the page before turning her head.
“Mrs Carter, is this your handwriting?”
Slowly, Phoebe Carter nodded her head.
Inspector Cosgrove turned and walked back to the magistrate bench. “Your honour, it says here dated two days before the discovery of Thomas’s body and I quote, ‘If Thomas was dead, then all my money worries would be over.’”
Without saying another word, Inspector Cosgrove replaced the diary in his pocket, the gallery once more erupted into a chorus of shouts and jeers. Mrs Carter closed her eyes, knowing that one forgotten diary entry, written in the heat of the moment, had just signed her death warrant.
After briefly conversing with his fellow magistrates seated either side of him, the leading magistrate then addressed the senior policeman for the last time.
“Inspector Cosgrove, this court will grant you the maximum time of five days to put a case together against Mrs Phoebe Carter.”
Then turning to address Mr Styles, Phoebe’s lawyer, the leading magistrate asked, “Do you wish to add to anything that has been said here today?”
“No, your honour.”
“Phoebe Carter, you will be taken down from here and held at Bow Street police station until this court sits again on the 10th December.” Then with a final blow of his gavel, proclaimed. “Court dismissed!”
Harriet and Agatha were jostled as they made their way back down the stairs. Once outside, hansom cabs were being hailed from all directions by the crowd previously assembled in the gallery. Eventually, Harriet managed to attract the attention of a cab driver.
“Where to Miss?”
“24 Harrington Square.” Harriet replied. She made her comfortable before removing her hat.
“Just as I thought,” said Agatha. “Cosgrove is playing on the motive that Phoebe killed her husband so she can claim rights to his estate.”
“And what about her dairy!” exclaimed Harriet. “Pretty conclusive, wouldn’t you say?”
“It was certainly unfortunate for Phoebe when the police discovered such potentially incriminating information, but it is still only superficial evidence. Cosgrove has certainly got his work cut out to build a case on what he has so far. He may have some kind of motive for Phoebe to kill Thomas, but he is certainly lacking in the opportunity and means. What evidence does he have to suggest she killed him and how did she get her husband in the sarcophagus?”
"Someone else was involved?" asked Harriet.
Agatha closed her eyes before rubbing a hand across her face. "Phoebe being implemented in Thomas murder and his body found in a sarcophagus with his pockets pulled out. None of this makes sense!"
The cab driver pulled up outside 24 Harrington Square and no sooner had Harriet opened the cab door, then Sarah came running down the stone steps in a state of panic.
“Oh! Miss Wells, Miss Wells, I’m so glad you’re back. Something terrible has happened!”
Harriet threw her hat towards Agatha and grabbed the frightened Sarah by the shoulders. “What is it girl! What’s happened?”
“It’s that nice Mr Carter,” sobbed Sarah. “He’s up in your study Miss. He’s been attacked!”
© Alice White
“I have here a collection of letters received by the accused.” Cosgrove remarked, holding them aloft before proceeding to line them up one-by-one on a nearby table.
“May I remind you Inspector,” said the leading magistrate. “That Mrs Carter is not on trial and I will fine you for contempt of court if her privacy is compromised.”
Phoebe Carter appeared quite shaken at the sight of her letters... her 'dirty linen' publicly exposed like this. She realised the police must have taken them when they had disappeared from her house following their search. However, she had not expected the Inspector to use them in a public display in court. She stared at her lawyer through pleading eyes, but he remained unemotional.
“Your honour,” began Cosgrove. “On the night 3rd December 1895 my constables and I were summoned to the British Museum by the nightwatch man Mr Samuel Bailey after he had reported seeing a disturbance in one of the exhibit rooms. When we eventually arrived, we discovered two females.”
“Lucky you!” someone from the gallery shouted, sparking a burst of hilarity.
Both Harriet and Agatha felt their cheeks burn with embarrassment.
“Silence in court!” shouted the leading magistrate.
“And the body of Thomas Carter was found in one of those Egyptian tomb things, your honour.”
“The word you are looking for Inspector is ‘sarcophagus’.” Informed one of the other magistrates.
Agatha caught Harriet rolling her eyes.
“Thank you, your honour.”
The leading magistrate appeared puzzled. “Tell me Inspector, why did you not arrest these two women? Surely they would have been your prime suspects?”
“They both volunteered to come down to the station for questioning your honour and after a lengthy interrogation it was concluded that neither of them had the means, motive or opportunity to carry out the act.”
“So, you diverted your enquiries to Mrs. Carter?”
“Your, honour. It is of no great surprise to any of us who read the papers, that Mrs Carter's marriage was in decline. Furthermore, she had regularly been spotted taking solace in other pursuits that require a substantial amount of funding.”
For the first time since the court came into session, Phoebe Carter's lawyer broke his vow of silence and sprang to his feet. “Objection, your honour! May I remind the Inspector that my client is not on trial and I will instruct my client to pursue a charge of slander against the Inspector if he continues this line of enquiry.”
“Objection carried Mr Styles. Inspector Cosgrove, why do you believe you have a case against Mrs Carter? These hearings should only take half-an-hour, you have nearly doubled that!”
Harriet placed her hand over her mouth and sniggered,
Feeling somewhat frustrated, Inspector Cosgrove lifted up one of the letters from the table. “These were found in Mrs Carters house after we conducted a detailed search, I will read a couple of them to the court;
“Dear Mrs Carter, I’m sorry to hear of your money problems again, but may I remind you we are a business and not a charity. Prompt payment is now required for the alcohol you have on your account. If a payment of £5-10s-6d is not paid by 10th November, I will be forced to ask the bailiffs to enter your property to seize items of equal value.
Then this one from Selfridges;
‘Dear Mrs Carter, It has been brought to our attention that the hamper you had from us in the summer has yet to be paid for. Please settle your account of £12-8s at your earliest convenience...
Cosgrove let the letter fall from his hand as the gallery gave a collective gasp. The leading magistrate rapped his gavel several times to bring the court back to order.
“Every one of these letters is an unpaid bill your honour and if you were to read them yourself, I think you would agree that Mrs Carter is struggling financially to pay them.”
“Inspector Cosgrove, I see what you are alluding to here. However, a collection of unpaid bills is inconclusive evidence to support the motive that Mrs Carter deliberately murdered her husband for her own personal financial gain. Now, do you have anything further to add before I dismiss this court!”
Inspector Cosgrove stood for a while, then fished into his inside pocket retrieving a slim diary. He flicked through a few pages then stopped. “May I show this to Mrs Carter?”
The leading magistrate hesitated for a moment then gave his consent. Inspector Cosgrove walked over to where Mrs Carter and her lawyer were seated. He held the diary out in front of Phoebe Carter, she looked briefly at the page before turning her head.
“Mrs Carter, is this your handwriting?”
Slowly, Phoebe Carter nodded her head.
Inspector Cosgrove turned and walked back to the magistrate bench. “Your honour, it says here dated two days before the discovery of Thomas’s body and I quote, ‘If Thomas was dead, then all my money worries would be over.’”
Without saying another word, Inspector Cosgrove replaced the diary in his pocket, the gallery once more erupted into a chorus of shouts and jeers. Mrs Carter closed her eyes, knowing that one forgotten diary entry, written in the heat of the moment, had just signed her death warrant.
After briefly conversing with his fellow magistrates seated either side of him, the leading magistrate then addressed the senior policeman for the last time.
“Inspector Cosgrove, this court will grant you the maximum time of five days to put a case together against Mrs Phoebe Carter.”
Then turning to address Mr Styles, Phoebe’s lawyer, the leading magistrate asked, “Do you wish to add to anything that has been said here today?”
“No, your honour.”
“Phoebe Carter, you will be taken down from here and held at Bow Street police station until this court sits again on the 10th December.” Then with a final blow of his gavel, proclaimed. “Court dismissed!”
Harriet and Agatha were jostled as they made their way back down the stairs. Once outside, hansom cabs were being hailed from all directions by the crowd previously assembled in the gallery. Eventually, Harriet managed to attract the attention of a cab driver.
“Where to Miss?”
“24 Harrington Square.” Harriet replied. She made her comfortable before removing her hat.
“Just as I thought,” said Agatha. “Cosgrove is playing on the motive that Phoebe killed her husband so she can claim rights to his estate.”
“And what about her dairy!” exclaimed Harriet. “Pretty conclusive, wouldn’t you say?”
“It was certainly unfortunate for Phoebe when the police discovered such potentially incriminating information, but it is still only superficial evidence. Cosgrove has certainly got his work cut out to build a case on what he has so far. He may have some kind of motive for Phoebe to kill Thomas, but he is certainly lacking in the opportunity and means. What evidence does he have to suggest she killed him and how did she get her husband in the sarcophagus?”
"Someone else was involved?" asked Harriet.
Agatha closed her eyes before rubbing a hand across her face. "Phoebe being implemented in Thomas murder and his body found in a sarcophagus with his pockets pulled out. None of this makes sense!"
The cab driver pulled up outside 24 Harrington Square and no sooner had Harriet opened the cab door, then Sarah came running down the stone steps in a state of panic.
“Oh! Miss Wells, Miss Wells, I’m so glad you’re back. Something terrible has happened!”
Harriet threw her hat towards Agatha and grabbed the frightened Sarah by the shoulders. “What is it girl! What’s happened?”
“It’s that nice Mr Carter,” sobbed Sarah. “He’s up in your study Miss. He’s been attacked!”
© Alice White
