Chapter 45
Vanessa glanced around anxiously. She desperately hoped someone would help, but those who met her eyes were quick to look away. Helping the vagrant into a more comfortable position, she replied, “Just try to stay calm for now. People are coming to help you soon…”
“Don’t l-l—lie to me! You’re going to call… call those bastards, aren’t you?”
Trembling as if he might draw his last breath at any moment, the man glared at her and screamed. But his aggressive momentum didn’t last long. He let out a dry, hacking cough and struggled to push himself up.
“I’d r-r—rather d-die… I’m not… going back to those bastards!”
“I understand. Please, calm down.”
Vanessa patted the man’s frail back, waiting for his coughing fit to subside. The handkerchief she held was woefully insufficient to wipe away the flowing blood. She looked anxiously in the direction Mary had run and supported the vagrant, who seemed on the verge of losing consciousness. She had to keep him talking. If he lost consciousness in this state, he would surely die.
Vanessa chose her words carefully, trying not to provoke him.
“It’s true that help is coming. I’m not lying to you. First, let a doctor examine you, and then…”
“N-no! Don’t call anyone. Understand? D-don’t call them.”
He looked seized by a profound terror. If he had been able to move, he likely would have pushed her aside and fled instantly. The vagrant looked around frantically before grabbing Vanessa’s wrist in a tight grip.
“Tell… tell that man. I have evidence, very clear evidence… Evidence that will drag him before the Lord Chief Justice this instant…”
“The Lord Chief Justice?”
“Yes. The owner of that car p-paid me to k-kill someone…”
At that moment, Vanessa inadvertently let go of the rambling man’s arm. Seeing the change in her expression, he continued with an uneasy gaze.
“I remember when the engine was repaired, it made a strange sound because of the… m-m—smuggled parts they used. And the color was definitely that color.”
A chill ran down her spine. This man had committed a terrible crime, and he was mistaking her for an accomplice of the person who had commissioned it…
All because of the car’s old, peculiar engine sound and its painted color.
“Besides, the color is tacky. There couldn’t be another car this color in all of the South…”
Vanessa’s lips went pale and trembled. She didn’t know why Mary’s words came back to her now.
‘Could it be someone related to my uncle?’
A horrific thought flashed through her mind—one so repulsive she felt disgusted with herself for even thinking it.
‘That’s impossible.’
Why was she even listening to this man so intently in the first place? It was nothing more than the delusions of a vagrant.
Of the three cars her uncle Wyatt owned, this was the oldest. It was usually tucked away in the garage, used only on the rare occasions she went out to Bath. And as Mary had said, the color was indeed peculiar.
It was a car originally supplied for military use that he’d bought cheaply, then painted over with navy blue to follow the trends of the time. There wouldn’t be another car like it in all of Ingram. Perhaps, truly…
“What is this ‘clear evidence’ you’re talking about?”
When she asked, a look of deep suspicion finally crossed the vagrant’s face. He narrowed his eyes, searching Vanessa’s face, and then let out a raspy sound as if he had realized something.
It was a sound somewhere between a scream and a groan. Moaning, he began to frantically grope at his filthy chest. Through the tattered grey military uniform, something made of pure gold glinted. It was such a discordant light that she couldn’t have mistaken it for anything else.
Just as she tried to get a closer look, the vagrant gasped and clutched it tightly with his right hand. The thin metal chain pulled taut, looking as though it might snap at any second.
“Who… who are you?”
“I am from Somerset…”
“Found him! Ah, there he goes again.”
Vanessa was just about to answer when three men pushed through the gathering crowd and approached. Seeing them, the vagrant began to gasp in horror. He immediately pushed Vanessa away and tried to flee, dragging his barely functioning legs.
“Look at him, trying his nonsense again.”
The men strode forward and grabbed the vagrant from both sides, hauling him up. He struggled and resisted with all his might, but he was soon pinned to the ground, his mouth stuffed with a dirty rag. Tears mixed with grime streamed down from his wide, terror-stricken eyes.
“Wait!”
Vanessa raised her voice to stop them, but the man who appeared to be the leader stepped in her way. Intimidated by his overbearing presence, she faltered for a moment before straightening her back and facing him.
“Let him go this instant. If you don’t, I’ll call the constable!”
“Oh, my, Miss.”
One of the men pinning the vagrant to the ground spoke with a slick smile.
“You might not know since you’re an outsider, but today isn’t the first time this fellow has done this.”
“He throws a fit every time he sees a car with a peculiar color. It’s his trick to pretend he’s been hit and extort money.”
“We’ve had several reports from residents this week alone. He’s a real piece of work.”
The man blocking her path pulled a constable’s badge from his coat and showed it to her. Vanessa looked back and forth between the badge and the vagrant with bewildered eyes.
Meanwhile, the struggle was growing more violent. Eventually, after some unseen maneuver, the vagrant’s limbs went limp. Vanessa started to move toward him in shock, but her path was blocked again.
“This happened in our jurisdiction, so we will handle it ourselves.”
“But that man looked like he was dying. He was bleeding so much…”
“It’s likely pig’s blood. They keep it in small pouches and spray it on themselves.”
Vanessa looked down at the dried blood on her hands in confusion. All of this was pig’s blood? It looked far too much like human blood for that. And the blood was still trickling from his forehead…
“Your maid is coming, Miss.”
At the constable’s words, she turned around to see Mary approaching with a brisk pace, carrying a basin of water. Mary’s face was slightly pale, as if she thought the ruffians were harassing her mistress.
“Don’t worry about this fellow. We’ll keep him at the station tonight and send him home tomorrow once he’s calmed down.”
“…I called a doctor. I’ll go to the station with you, so at least let him be examined.”
“You’re being quite stubborn about something impossible. We have much to do besides this.”
“We apologize for not being able to wait on a noble lady.”
When the man pinning the vagrant down with his knee bowed like a palace servant, dry laughter erupted from various spots in the street. Vanessa’s cheeks flushed at the mockery—the first she had ever experienced—but she gathered every ounce of her remaining courage and stood tall.
“If you know him so well, what is his name?”
“What use does a vagrant have for a name? Please, go back. It isn’t wise to cause a scene here.”
“Miss.”
Mary, having reached her side, called out softly. As the standoff dragged on, complaints began to rise from the onlookers about the road being blocked. Forced to step back, Vanessa watched as the constables dragged the unconscious vagrant away. Mary, having grasped the situation from their brief exchange, stood beside her.
“They say he was a fraud, don’t they? Yes, I thought he might be.”
Vanessa stared at the retreating backs of the men with eyes still filled with confusion. The constable’s badges they had shown were real, so it should have been clear whom to trust. Yet, the vagrant’s pitiful gaze kept weighing on her mind. And his words, so certain that the people coming to catch him would arrive.
“How did they know I was an outsider?”
“Well, it’s a small town, so they must have known. We should use this water to wash your hands.”
“……”
“Come now.”
At Mary’s urging, Vanessa looked down to wash her hands, and that was when she saw something lying at their feet.
“Wait, Mary. Under your foot…”
Vanessa crouched down and picked up a locket covered in dust. She had only glimpsed it before, but she recognized it instantly. It was the one the vagrant had been wearing around his neck. It must have fallen to the ground during the violent struggle with the constables.
She realized immediately why the man had cherished this locket so dearly. It was made of solid gold. The craftsmanship was delicate and beautiful, and it felt familiar—familiar enough to give her a sense of déjà vu. She definitely remembered seeing it somewhere. That was…
“It’s pretty, isn’t it?”
Vanessa snapped her head around. The voice was so vivid it felt as though someone had whispered it right into her ear.
“Your mother lent this to me. If you flip it like this, it opens, and if you do this, it locks, so you can keep something precious inside.”
“Wow.”
“I’m going to commission a small portrait to go in here. That way, I can see my little girl whenever I miss her.”
Following the memory, she flipped the locket once. The loose, broken clasp gave way, and a piece of paper tucked inside fell to the ground. It looked like a portrait, or perhaps a photograph that had faded with age. She picked up the paper with trembling hands.
“Miss?”
Vanessa looked up blankly at her maid’s voice. Her face, pale and devoid of blood, was strangely cold.
“I need to borrow a phone. I have to tell them I can’t come because of an urgent matter.”
“Wait. Does that mean you’re not going to Essex?”
“Yes. There’s somewhere else I have to go.”
“Go? Where?”
Vanessa folded the portrait and put it back into the locket.
“To Gloucester.”
