His expression did not change but his eyes glanced quickly at the chair Miss Cherry had recently vacated. ‘I have the feeling that your nurse would not approve of you pursuing this interest.’
Mina reluctantly decided to follow the path of sincerity and honesty. ‘No, she would not.’
‘Nor your doctor.’
‘You are correct.’
‘And what of the family concerned? Is it not their private affair?’
‘It is, but — this is in confidence, of course…’
‘Of course.’
‘I have received a letter from Mrs Vardy written before I was taken ill, in which she begged for my help. I do not feel able to refuse her.’
‘And you believe that you can help her?’
‘I don’t see why not. I would like to try.’
‘I see. What an interesting life you do lead, Miss Scarletti.’ He gave the question some consideration. ‘What is it you wish to know?’
Relieved, Mina consulted the sheet of writing paper on which she had assembled her thoughts. ‘When Mrs Holt was married recently the newspapers said that the body of her first husband had never been found. Is that true?’
‘It is. As far as I am aware the body of Mr Holt has not been found, or at least none of the bodies recovered from the sea since his disappearance have proved to be his, neither has there been any evidence that he might still be alive. Legally, however, he is dead.’
‘Is it possible, do you think, for a man to fall into the sea and drown and his body not to wash ashore?’
To Mina’s surprise, Mr Phipps did not need to give this question any thought. ‘Yes, it is. We do a great deal of inheritance work, and we have dealt with cases of that kind in the past.’
‘I have been told that Laidlaw and Phipps acted for Mrs Holt at the time of her husband’s disappearance.’
‘We did. I did not act in the case myself as I was then engaged in my studies and had not yet joined the firm. But in view of your interest I did take a look at the papers we have. Of course, there is much that is private, and above all — I am sure you understand this — I must protect the confidentiality of our clients. However, I do not believe I saw anything in our files that is germane to the solution of the mystery.’
‘Did your firm also act for the owner of the yacht, Mr Sutherland?’
‘No, he employed a London solicitor.’
‘What can you tell me about him?’
This did result in a pause for thought. ‘I have never met him, although my uncle did correspond with his representatives. The letters mainly indicate that the incident was not only very distressing for Mr Sutherland but a personal and professional embarrassment. There was no information that had not already appeared in the press or at the inquest.’
‘Did Mr Sutherland appear to give evidence when Mr Holt was declared to be deceased?’
‘There was no new evidence. Neither he nor Mrs Holt appeared. It was simply a question of going over the original statements and confirming that nothing had been seen or heard of Mr Holt since the incident in 1864. Mrs Holt had hoped it would be dealt with as discreetly as possible, and her wishes were respected. It did not attract press attention until she remarried. That was when the rumours started again,’ he added with a wince of distaste.
‘Were Mr Sutherland and Mr Holt business associates?’
‘No. I think they met through a mutual interest in yachting. Mr Sutherland was a member of a club. I am not sure if it is still there, it was called the Brighton Yacht Club and it had rooms on Old Steine. Mr Sutherland had been a sailing enthusiast for some years, whereas Mr Holt, I think had only recently become interested in yachting. Though, of course, as it turned out —’ Mr Phipps permitted himself a brief smile — ‘he might not have been genuinely interested but only told Sutherland he was. Mr Sutherland lives in London, but he came to Brighton when he could and stayed at the club when he wanted a few days sailing. The club rooms offered meals and overnight accommodation for its members.’
‘What is his profession?’
‘He is a stockbroker.’
‘Ah, yes,’ said Mina, ‘I can see that being questioned by the police over a death and being suspected of complicity in a fraud would have been especially embarrassing to him. Does his business still thrive? I ask because Mr Holt’s scheme arose because he was in financial difficulties. I was wondering if Mr Sutherland might have been in a similar situation?’
‘I have no information on Mr Sutherland’s financial situation, either then or now. I suppose I could make some discreet enquiries. I do know, however, that at the time of Mr Holt’s disappearance Mr Sutherland was engaged to be married. A wedding date had been set. The married state can be financially demanding even for a professional gentleman.’
So, thought Mina, even if Mr Sutherland’s business was successful, he might well have been in need of money, but would that have been sufficient for him to be tempted to connive with Mr Holt in a fraud in return for a payment from the anticipated life insurance? So much depended on the character of the man.
‘I assume,’ said Mina, ‘that a policy on someone’s life will not pay out if the insured person commits suicide?’
‘That is correct, or there would be many more suicides than there are. Insurance companies take an extremely poor view of being cheated, even by those extreme measures.’
‘But now that he has been declared dead, will there be a payment?’
‘I am quite sure that there will not be. His legal date of death is seven years from when he was last seen, and only one instalment was ever paid. The policy lapsed when the second instalment was not paid.’
‘Yes, of course. I should have thought of that. So, in order to receive any payment on the insurance policy there would have to be incontrovertible proof that he died, but not by his own hand, and before the second payment was due?’
‘Exactly.’
‘Around the date of his disappearance.’
‘Yes.’
‘What sum was Mr Holt insured for?’
‘Twenty thousand pounds.’
‘That is a very large amount.’
‘Indeed. More than sufficient to clear all his debts and leave his family well provided for.’
‘But was there no difficulty in obtaining the policy, as he was not in good health?’
Mr Phipps looked surprised. ‘Why do you think that?’
‘I understand that he told Mr Sutherland that he had been advised by his doctor to take the sea air for his health.’
‘Ah, yes, I recall that now. He may have said so, but it might not have been true, of course. The gentleman was very duplicitous. Maybe it was an excuse, a reason he gave for wanting to take up sailing. But I can tell you that before taking out insurance in such a large sum Mr Holt was examined by a doctor who certified him to be in excellent health for his age. The policy would not have been granted without it.’
‘What was the name of the doctor?’
‘Dr Thomas Crosier.’
‘And Mr Holt paid the first instalment?’
‘He did. Only the first.’
‘Was it a large sum of money?’
‘Two hundred pounds. There were to be monthly payments thereafter.’