Free Southampton Row by Anne Perry

candidate for that seat. He does not represent the old Liberal values of sane and enlightened reform, but rather a hysterical socialism which would sweep away all the great achievements of the past in a frenzy of ill-thought-out changes, possibly well-meaning, but inevitably benefiting the few, for a short while, at the expense of the many, and to the eventual destruction of our economy.
    I urge all others who normally support the Liberal Party to pay the closest attention to what Mr. Serracold has to say, and consider, albeit with regret, whether they can indeed support him, and if they do, what path of ruin they may be setting us upon.
    Social reform is the ideal of every honest man, but it must be done with wisdom and knowledge, and at the pace at which we can absorb it into the fabric of our society. If it is done hastily, to answer the emotional self-indulgence of a man who has no experience and, it would seem, little practical sense, then it will be to the cost and the misery of the vast majority of our people, who deserve better of us.
    I write with the greatest sadness,
    Roland Kingsley, Major General, retired
    Pitt let his tea go cold, staring at the printed sheet in front of him. This was the first open blow against Serracold, and it was hard and deep. It would damage him.
    Was this the Inner Circle mobilizing, the beginning of the real battle?

CHAPTER
THREE
    Pitt went out and bought five other newspapers and took them home to see if Major General Kingsley had written to any more of them in similar vein. Almost the same letter was in three of them; there was only a variation of phrase here and there.
    Pitt folded the papers closed and sat still for several minutes wondering what weight to attach to it. Who was Kingsley? Was he a man whose opinion would influence others? More importantly than that, was his writing coincidence or the beginning of a campaign?
    He had reached no conclusion as to whether there was a necessity for learning more about Kingsley, when the doorbell rang. He glanced up at the kitchen clock and realized it was after nine. Mrs. Brody must have forgotten her keys. He stood up, resentful of the intrusion although he was grateful enough for her work, and went to answer the increasingly insistent jangle of the bell.
    But it was not Mrs. Brody on the step, it was a young man in a brown suit, his hair slicked back and his face eager.
    “Good morning, sir,” he said crisply, standing to attention. “Sergeant Grenville, sir . . .”
    “If Narraway wants to tell me about the letter in the
Times
, I’ve read it,” Pitt said rather sharply. “And in the
Spectator
, the
Mail
and the
Illustrated London News
.”
    “No, sir,” the man replied with a frown. “It’s about the murder.”
    “What?” Pitt thought at first that he had misheard.
    “The murder, sir,” the man repeated. “In Southampton Row.”
    Pitt felt a stab of regret so sharp it was almost a physical pain, then a surge of hatred for Voisey and all the Inner Circle for driving him from Bow Street, where he had dealt with crimes he understood, however terrible, and for which he had the skill and the experience in almost all cases to find some resolution. It was his profession, and he was good at it. In Special Branch he was floundering, knowing what was coming and powerless to prevent it.
    “You’ve made a mistake,” he said flatly. “I don’t deal with murders anymore. Go back and tell your commander that I can’t help. Report to Superintendent Wetron at Bow Street.”
    The sergeant did not move. “Sorry sir, I didn’t say it properly. It’s Mr. Narraway as wants you to take over. They won’t like it at Bow Street, but they just got to put up with it. Mr. Tellman’s in charge in Southampton Row. Just made up recent, like. But I expect you know that, seeing as you was used to working with ’im all the time. Begging your pardon, sir, but it would be a good thing if you went there right away, seein’ as they discovered