Hester and Mungo 5

[rix_scaedu]

 So, kelkyag asked for more Hester and Mungo, and I found that I had this section all done bar the posting.  This section comes in at 1,649 words.  This follows on from Hester and Mungo 4.

Before I write the next section, I need to conduct an archaeological dig on my desk and find the family tree notes....

"Where are we going?"  Mungo Munro echoed Hames Hogan's question.  "We're being taken to a place on the western side of Kintyre, in the parish of Guilfel, to see the major property my wife has come into."

"We're being escorted by a gentleman from the office of the King's Remembrancer, so everything is above board," added Hester.  "No imposters or fakes."

"That is something I'm happy to put behind me," agreed Major Hogan, "but I'm still looking for someone I don't know from Adam."

Ross interrupted, "Really, should we?"

"I think we should," James Hogan gave both the other men a firm look.  "We know that Mrs Munro is sensible and has a sound head on her shoulders, and if I need to drag Munro back into this business then it will save time and prevarication if she knows what's going on."  He paused and added, "We should all probably take a seat.  This may take a while."

The Munros sat beside each other on the settee while Colonel Ross closed the door, then he and Major Hogan took two of the chairs that faced the larger piece of furniture. 

James Hogan cleared his throat and began, "I was asked by certain official parties in Lundun to look into a matter that began in the Western Isles.  The first the Castle administration knew of it was when a group of separatists who were under observation by administration agents were found dead of poisoned whiskey in one of their normal meeting places.  That was in late March and the administration didn't pay too much attention to it because, well, separatists might as well be rebels and traitors, so if they're dead, well good riddance.  Early May a barn burnt down, with another secret meeting of separatists inside it, and again the authorities didn't pay too much attention.  Except this time there was an administration agent who'd infiltrated the group among the dead, and from his reports his superiors eventually realised that a recent addition to the group wasn't among the dead.  In mid-May, this time in Ulster, a group of shepherds were killed by poisoned whiskey, and the same night a boarding house landlady in the local town and her housemaid were killed.  One of the boarding house's gentlemen tenants disappeared the same night." 

Hogan paused for a moment, picking his words.  "The gentleman in the administration who lost an agent to the barn fire had already found the report on the separatists who took a dram of poisoned whiskey each, and he happened to hear a comment about the poisoned shepherds.  That led to a comment about the other local murders that night and he noticed that the description of the missing gentleman boarder matched that of the conspirator who hadn't died in the barn. " He sighed.  "It also matched the description of a man who sold a horse to a known dealer in animals of questionable origin in Belfast.  That man then got on a ferry to Stranraer before the horse dealer's associates could retrieve the dealer's money from the gentleman's pocket."

With an air of professional interest, Hester asked, "Lucky set of coincidences or solid intelligence work?"

"The usual combination of both, is what it sounds like to me" replied Ross.

"As you say," acknowledged Hogan. "This is where things stood when I was brought into the matter in Lundun.  When I was briefed there, I asked if there had been any other deaths in any of the locations within a day or two of the known deaths.  Anything that might not have been reported on straight away because it was in a different parish or in the jurisdiction of a different magistrate."  He paused and swallowed.  "It seems that the gentleman in the administration had the same idea, and the report was waiting here for me when we arrived.  There was a farmhouse fire the night of the first incident - no-one who lived there got out alive.  The second incident - there was a widow who lived alone was found dead in her bed and a tinker with his cart was found with his throat cut.  There's a notation that a housemaid from one of the local inns has been missing since then, but there's been no body found, so it may be nothing.  In Ulster a middle-aged man was found with a broken neck - he'd gone out riding and the horse hasn't been found."

Munro asked, "Does the missing horse match the one sold to the disreputable horse trader?"

Hogan shook his head, "No description of either horse in here but I'm definitely suspicious.  And then we've got the other report that was waiting for me when we arrived.  There's been another incident.  This time in Wigtown.  Some shepherds, not a group but men who were working in the same general area.  A vicar with an interest in local antiquities - the local magistrate reported that he's certain there are papers missing from the man's study.  And finally, a landlady and her housemaids - looks like poison again."

"So, whatever he's doing is probably a problem in and of itself," commented Hester, "but the immediate issue is that, for whatever reason, he's killing a lot of people.  Because we don't know why he's killing them, it looks indiscriminate to us.  He doesn't baulk at killing large groups of people and we don't know whether he wanted all of them dead, or just killed everyone to make sure he got the person he was after."

"Exactly," replied Hogan.  "My current problem is I don't have confirmation that the man who got on the ferry to Stranraer, went to Wigtown, and where he might have gone after that.  I want to stop the atrocities, not track them."

"Where is Wigtown compared to where we are going?"  Hester looked enquiringly at the two Marchmen in the room.

"East and south with the Firth of Clyde in between.," replied Munro.  "Different county.  Different clans.  Known for having drowned dissenters at the stake."

Hogan went on, "I need to go to Wigtown in order to follow up on this report.  See if I can find someone who met the man that he hasn't killed.  See if anyone saw him leave town.  Find out if the magistrate has anything more.  I am hoping that you two, Ross and Munro can come with me.  Is there any way, Munro, that you can put off this trip or that Mrs Munro can go on her own?"

"No," replied Munro bluntly.  "We have to be back here in Dunedin in two weeks when there's something else we have to be at.  The property matter is...bigger than Hester understood it to be."

"On consideration, I think that the person who first told me about the property back in Lundun is used to a different definition of a small house than I am," added Hester.  "If I wasn't married, I suspect that out escort would be trying to use that time to fix his interest with me, so having Mungo along would put that issue firmly to bed.  Mind you," she added, "I don't blame him - he's a younger son and if he was my unmarried brother escorting an unmarried version of me around the countryside to inspect her new properties, I'd encourage him to try his chances too."

"The chance of a good marriage is not to be sneezed at," agreed Hogan.  "Didn't you say something at dinner the other night about the property being entailed?"

"It is," agreed Hester, "so I'm a tenant for life and it hasn't become Mungo's on our marriage.  He just gets my ten thousand-odd in funds.  And my horse."

"What?"  Mungo Munro looked startled and a little offended.  "I'm not taking your horse or your savings off you."

"They both became yours when we married," pointed out Hester.  "No marriage settlements, so when we became a single and joint legal person under your name, the money and horse became yours.  I wrote to my solicitor and my bank about the money when we wrote to our parents.  It's rather what I expected when I started saving the money, because that's what dowries are for isn't it?"

"Ideally not quite," replied Mungo, and the other two men nodded approvingly.  "I'm going to have to work on that when we go back to Lundun.  But back to the matter in hand.  I do want to see this property of yours and there's a chance, Hogan, that you might catch up with your murderer in two weeks, but what are the odds?"

"Not as good as I might hope," admitted Hogan.  "It would help if I knew what he was doing and where he was going, and at the moment the best chance I have of getting more information is going to Wigtown."

"You'll need to go south-west while we go west then," commented Mungo.  "After that, you could wind up anywhere while we have to come back here."

Hester asked, "I don't suppose that the man in the administration gave you a full copy of the reports his agent made that mentioned the new man in the group, the one who didn't die, did he?"  In reply to Hogan's questioning look she added, "I was wondering if there might be a comment in there about the man's other interests or concerns."

"The papers that were taken from the vicar's study are almost certainly significant," replied Hogan, "but I need to find out what they were."

"There's not a lot that we can do to help you now, then," said Mungo thoughtfully, "but you know where you can find us in two weeks.  It might even be useful for us to be out of sight of your investigation for now.  In case we have to come into the matter as fresh faces," he added.

Comments

[kelkyag]

Curiouser and curiouser! This is going to be a solid novel to get even most of these threads tied up.

Also many cheers for getting an unposted piece across the line. :)

[rix_scaedu]

Yes.

[kengr]

Known for having drowned dissenters at the stake."

That's rather novel of them. :-)

[rix_scaedu]

This actually happened in 1685. They thought they'd get the younger to confess after she'd watch the elder drown, but that didn't happen.

[zero_pixel_count]

Hester and Mungo just get more and more interesting :) I would not lay any bets on there being nothing relevant to the mystery poisoner where they're going, though, given how he's been moving around...

[rix_scaedu]

:)

[lilfluff]

Ooh! I'm sure these events are going to be coming together and I'm curious to see how.

[kailing]

yes! happy to read more! <3