Anne Perry - Ashworth Hall

By Anne Perry
Published by Fawcett Books:

Featuring Thomas and Charlotte Pitt:

THE CATER STREET HANGMAN

CALLANDER SQUARE

PARAGON WALK

RESURRECTION ROW

RUTLAND PLACE

BLUEGATE FIELDS

DEATH IN THE DEVILS ACRE

CARDINGTON CRESCENT

SILENCE IN HANOVER CLOSE

BETHLEHEM ROAD

HIGHGATE RISE

BELGRAVE SQUARE

FARRIERS LANE

THE HYDE PARK HEADSMAN

TRAITORS GATE

PENTECOST ALLEY

ASHWORTH HALL

BRUNSWICK GARDENS

BEDFORD SQUARE

HALF MOON STREET

THE WHITECHAPEL CONSPIRACY

SOUTHAMPTON ROW

SEVEN DIALS

LONG SPOON LANE

BUCKINGHAM PALACE GARDENS

Featuring William Monk:

THE FACE OF A STRANGER

A DANGEROUS MOURNING

DEFEND AND BETRAY

A SUDDEN, FEARFUL DEATH

THE SINS OF THE WOLF

CAIN HIS BROTHER

WEIGHED IN THE BALANCE

THE SILENT CRY

A BREACH OF PROMISE

THE TWISTED ROOT

SLAVES OF OBSESSION

FUNERAL IN BLUE

DEATH OF A STRANGER

THE SHIFTING TIDE

DARK ASSASSIN

The World War I Novels:

NO GRAVES AS YET

SHOULDER THE SKY

ANGELS IN THE GLOOM

AT SOME DISPUTED BARRICADE

WE SHALL NOT SLEEP

The Christmas Novels:

A CHRISTMAS JOURNEY

A CHRISTMAS VISITOR

A CHRISTMAS GUEST

A CHRISTMAS SECRET

A CHRISTMAS BEGINNING

A CHRISTMAS GRACE

Dont miss this
Charlotte and Thomas Pitt Novel:

BRUNSWICK GARDENS

by
Anne Perry

When a young pregnant woman tumbles down a staircase to her death, Thomas Pitt, commander of the Bow Street police station, suspects murder. Powerful forces demand that the matter be cleared up immediately. But Pitt and his clever wife, Charlotte, refuse to settle for less than the truth and justice.

Published by Fawcett Books.
Available at your local bookstore.

If you enjoyed ASHWORTH HALL,
why not go back to the beginning?

THE CATER STREET HANGMAN

T HE F IRST C HARLOTTE AND T HOMAS P ITT N OVEL

by Anne Perry

While the Ellison girls were out paying calls one afternoon, a maid in their own household was strangled to death. Quiet young Inspector Pitt found no one above suspicionand his investigation at the staid Ellison home caused many a composed faade to crumble into panic.

But it was not panic beating in the heart of Charlotte Ellison, and something more than brutal murder was on Inspector Pitts mind. Yet a romance between a society girl and a common policeman was impossibleespecially during an investigation of murder

Published by Fawcett Books.
Available at your local bookstore.

1

P ITT STARED DOWN at the body of the man lying on the stones of the alley. It was a gray October dusk. A few yards away on Oxford Street the carriages and hansoms were whirling by, wheels hissing on the wet road, horses hooves clattering. The lamps were already lit, pale moons in the gathering darkness.

The constable shone his lantern on the dead face.

Es one o ours, sir, he said with tight anger straining his voice. Least e used ter be. I knowd im. Thats why I sent for you personal, Mr. Pitt. E went orff ter summink special. Dunno wot. But e were a good man, Denbigh were. Id swear ter that.

Pitt bent down to look more closely. The dead manhis name was Denbigh, according to the constablelooked to be about thirty and was fair skinned, dark haired. Death had not marred his features. He looked only slightly surprised.

Pitt took the lantern and shone it slowly over the rest of him. He was dressed in very ordinary cheap fabric trousers, plain cotton collarless shirt and poorly cut jacket. He could have been a laborer or factory worker, or even a young man come in from the country looking for employment. He was a little thin, but his hands were clean, his nails well cut.

Pitt wondered if he had a wife and children, parents, someone who was going to grieve for him with the deep, hurting pain of love, more than the respect this constable beside him felt.

What station was he from? he asked.

Battersea, sir. Thats were I knew im. E werent never in Bow Street, which is wy you dont know im, sir. But this int no ordinary murder. Es bin shot, an street robbers don carry guns. They uses knives or a garrote.

Yes, I know that. Pitt looked through the dead mans pockets gently, his fingers searching. He found only a handkerchief, clean and mended carefully on one corner, and two shillings and nine-pence hapenny in change. There were no letters or papers to identify the body.

Youre sure this is Denbigh?

Yes sir, Im sure. I know im quite well. Only for a short time, but I remember that mark wot e got on one ear. Unusual, that is. I remember peoples ears. Yer can make a lot of things look different, if yer wants ter pass unnoticed, but almost everyone forgets their ears stays the same. Only thing yer can do is get air wot ides em. I wish as I could say as it wasnt, but thats Denbigh, poor soul.

Pitt straightened up. Then you were right to call me, Constable. The murder of a policeman, even one off duty, is a very serious thing. Well start as soon as the surgeon comes and takes the body. I doubt youll find any witnesses, but try everyone. Try again tomorrow at the same time. People may pass regularly on their way home. Try the street traders, cab drivers, try the nearest public houses, and of course all the buildings around with a window onto the alley, any part of it.

Yes sir!

And youve no idea who Denbigh was working for now?

No sir, but I reckon as it were still some department o the police, or the govment.

Then I think I had better find out. Pitt rammed his hands into his pockets. He was cold standing still. The chill of the place, islanded in death as it was, only yards from the rattle and bustle of traffic, seeped into his bones.

The mortuary wagon pulled up at the end of the alley and turned awkwardly to come down, the horses whinnying and swinging shy at the smell of blood and fear in the air.

And youd better search the alley for anything that might be of meaning, Pitt added. I dont suppose the gun is here, but its possible. Did the bullet go right through him?

Yes sir, looks like it.

Then look and see if you can find it. Then at least wed know if he was shot here or brought here after he was dead.

Yes sir. Immediately, sir. The constables voice was still harsh with anger and hurt. It was all too close, too very real.

Denbigh. Assistant Commissioner Cornwallis looked very unhappy. His strong features made him appear particularly bleak with his overlong nose and wide mouth. Yes, he was still on the force. I cant tell you precisely what he was doing, because I dont know, but he was involved with the Irish Problem. As you know, there are a great many organizations fighting for Irish independence. The Fenians are only one of them, perhaps the most infamous. Many of them are violent. Denbigh was an Irishman. Hed worked his way into one of the most secret of these brotherhoods, but he was killed before he could tell us what hed learned, at least more than the sort of thing we already know or take for granted.

Pitt said nothing.

Cornwalliss mouth tightened. This is more than an ordinary murder, Pitt. Work on this one yourself, and use your best men. I would dearly like to find whoever did this. He was a good man, and a brave one.