Steps to the Gallows Read Free Page A

there to seek our help.’
    ‘I’ll never be able to face Gully again.’
    ‘A moment ago, you wanted to run back to make your peace with him.’
    ‘I doubt if he’ll let me through the door, Peter.’
    ‘That’s nonsense,’ said Charlotte, softly, ‘and you know it. Gully will be very upset that you were injured so badly. A lesser man might have died from the wounds inflicted on you. You need a long rest.’
    Huckvale was embarrassed. ‘I can’t impose on you.’
    ‘It’s no imposition, Jem.’
    ‘Charlotte is right,’ said Peter with a considerate smile. ‘We’re glad to look after you and I’m happy to lend you that nightshirt you’re wearing. In some sense, you’re one of the family, so let’s have no more protest. If there’s anything you need, ring that little bell on the bedside table and Meg will come running.’
    At any other time, Huckvale might have blushed. Meg Rooke was one of the servants and he’d long ago conceived a fondness for the pretty young woman with the dimpled cheeks. Too shy to make his feelings known, he’d worshipped her in silence. The thought that she might now wait on him introduced a whole range of conflicting emotions. Huckvale’s mind momentarily wandered from the plight he was in. The pounding inside his skull seemed to ease slightly.
    Peter and his wife exchanged an understanding smile. Their house had space and comfort that Huckvale could never enjoy elsewhere and they were pleased to be able to offer hospitalityduring his short convalescence. Sensing his affection for Meg Rooke, they felt that she might play an important part in his recovery. In the large bed, Huckvale looked impossibly small and vulnerable. The sight of his pinched face and bandaged crown steeled Peter’s resolve to find the man who’d assaulted him.
    Dismissing his own predicament, Huckvale thought only of Paige.
    ‘He was a soldier,’ he said, ‘able to defend himself.’
    ‘I fancy that he was caught unawares,’ said Peter.
    ‘And he was garrotted, you say?’
    ‘A final indignity awaited him, I fear. His room was set alight. Luckily, the neighbours rallied around and got the fire under control.’
    ‘Who could do such a dreadful thing?’ demanded Huckvale.
    ‘We mean to determine that, Jem.’
    ‘How did his killer get into the house? Was it not securely locked? Who else was there? Why did nobody come to the assistance of Mr Paige?’
    ‘Those are the very questions that Paul will be putting to the landlord. Even as we speak, he’s beginning his investigation. Put your faith in my brother. When Paul is involved in a murder case, he has an uncanny knack of solving the crime.’
     
    Before he could even begin to question the couple, Paul Skillen had to calm them down. The landlord and his wife were astounded to return home and find their house on fire with a murder victim inside. Gregory Lomas was a middle-aged man with a kind face distorted by the tragedy and a voice reduced to a croak. His wife, Eleanor, remained on the verge of hysteria.
    ‘Was nobody else in the house?’ asked Paul.
    ‘No, sir,’ replied Lomas. ‘Our servants had gone shopping andwe were visiting relatives. Mr Paige was alone in the house.’
    ‘Apparently not, Mr Lomas – the killer was also in there.’
    ‘How on earth could he have got in? The front door was locked.’
    ‘Yes,’ said Paul, ‘I took the trouble to examine it. Granted, it’s a stout enough lock but it could easily be picked by someone with skill in his fingers.’
    ‘Does that mean anyone can let himself into our home?’ asked the wife in alarm. ‘Do you hear that, Gregory? We could be murdered in our beds.’
    ‘The door is always well bolted when we’re inside, my love.’
    ‘I’ll never feel safe inside that place again.’
    They were part of a small crowd standing outside the house. The fire had been doused but some stray wisps of smoke still emerged from the room once occupied by Leonidas Paige. Though the corpse of