The Consequences of Fear by Jacqueline Winspear (the best electronic book reader TXT) 📗

idea that his son had witnessed the whole thing?” She looked down at her hands as she rubbed the palm of her right hand across the back of her left. “Given the anxiety that festered inside young Freddie, I have wondered if indeed he saw two men taking on Payot, which is why he was at first confused between facial lines and scars, though he didn’t identify his father. I believe that in the boy’s mind, the killer merged with his father because he only ever knew Arthur Hackett to be a brutal man. But that is for me to talk to Freddie about, in time.” She brought her focus back to Chaput. “Hackett might not have been in his cups at this point, because he helped get rid of the body, dragged it from the pavement, probably around the back of a pile of debris. Then you returned, and I believe there was also assistance from another quarter. Do I have that right?”

“Good enough.”

“Someone provided a vehicle, and I think I know who that might have been. Anyway, I would imagine Hackett was almost soberat this point—he’s a nasty, weak, violent drunk, so it would have been no good using him if he’d hadn’t been able to controlhimself while he was about the business of getting Payot insensible. But later, after the body was disposed of, it was timeto make sure Hackett’s memory was done for. What was it? A draught to make him forget? I’m fairly sure you have a veritablemedicine cabinet at your disposal.”

“I have tools.”

“Of course you do,” said Maisie. “And now we get to the man who was killed in Scotland. Claude Payot’s cousin. Richard.” Shesighed. “I have wavered, asking myself if he was pushed, or whether he fell. I think it was a bit of both. I believe you tormentedhim first—that was the initial push. You plagued him at every opportunity, letting him know that you recognized him, thatyou had not forgotten the fact that he aided his cousin in his quest to supplant you. You can be an intimidating man, MajorChaput, and I am sure Richard reached a point where he was terrified and thought it better to leave this earth than live onemore day with you breathing down his neck. But on that fine autumn day in Scotland, you not only reminded him of his failingsbut attacked him and then allowed him to finish the job himself as he went over the top of that crag.”

“He was a weak man. How he was ever recruited, I will never know. Women are stronger than that dolt.”

“Our women agents have proven themselves to be every bit as strong, if not stronger, than men sent out to your country. Andthey have given their lives. Let’s just remember that.”

Chaput shifted in his chair before bringing his attention back to Maisie. “In the end, yes, he took his own life. And did I push him to the final act? Yes, I did, and mine was the last face he saw as I watched to make sure the fall would kill him—of course I gave him a little extra help.” He scraped back his chair and stood up, pacing to the fireplace and back to the chair again. “You see, Miss Dobbs, those cousins had blood on their hands. They had the blood of every one of my men who was hacked to death that night. I vowed I would have my revenge. And do I have regret? No. I don’t. Not a sou.”

Maisie heard a motor car pull to a halt outside. She stood up.

“You made an error with Gabriella Hunter. She was a fine agent, someone who understands the damage wrought by war, and shewas ahead of you. She will survive. For whatever length of time you have here in London, make sure she remains safe, becauseshe knows what it is to truly honor her country.”

“I made an error. I sent a neophyte, an incompetent agent, to her house.”

“Which is down to you. And why did you try to scare a boy, Major Chaput? Why would you frighten a child by going to his school,when you have nothing to fear even from me, though I know what you’ve done?”

“Miss Dobbs, that is where you make an error. You see, I wasn’t trying to scare the boy, I simply wanted to talk to him. His father is a monster. Hackettmay have saved my life, but he did so to feed the violent devil inside him. War can make a cruel brute of the most benignsoul, but I doubt Freddie’s father was ever a man of good temper. The woman and her children deserve their place of refuge,but be aware, Miss Dobbs—Hackett bears a grudge.”

“I will ensure their safety.” Maisie stepped away from the chair toward the door. “I must go now, Major Chaput. But . . . but I wonder how you feel, Major—now you’ve done all you can to assuage your guilt.”

“Guilt?”

“Yes. There was a feeling of inadequacy that dogged you from the time you were a young officer on the battlefield, wasn’tthere? You, too, were a neophyte once, and in wartime, and when you fell foul of Payot’s constant digs about your ancestry,you didn’t know how to deflect the rhetoric coming from a pest like him. It might have been as simple as admitting your Levantineblood, laughing about it, then singing the Marseillaise.”

“Payot called me a traitor, Miss Dobbs, for not going forward even though I could see it would lead to a rout for us. He pressedand pushed and then said he would lead the men if I was too scared to do it.”

Maisie looked into Chaput’s eyes, at the misery reflected in their darkness. “I know—fear of losing face led you into theambush. And fear is really the most omnipresent of emotions, isn’t it? Fear and panic can be crippling for all concerned.Given your standing, justice will turn a blind eye, but the scales remain, weighing you up. And though you are now