positioned above the fireplace and the framed religious tapestries adorning the walls of the cottage, Amos had
assumed the ex-housekeeper was a practising Christian and he added, âI think Iâm right in saying that the sixth commandment declares, âThou shalt not commit murderâ.â
âThe seventh says âThou shalt not commit adulteryâ,â Jemima retorted, âbut she paid no heed to that one, so donât quote commandments to me when youâre talking about Kerensa Tonks, young man. Iâve spent my whole life living by them, but I doubt whether she had even heard of them.â
âThen we should feel sorry for her, Jemima, but my job is to uphold the law here in Cornwall and the most serious crime that can be committed against that law coincides with one of the Commandments. Whatever Kerensa Morgan had done, she is the victim of a very serious and particularly violent murder and itâs my duty to bring whoever did it to justice. It is your duty, both as a law-abiding citizen and a Christian, to give me all the help you can, so Iâll ask you once more. What did you mean when you said baby Albert Morgan might be able to live a better life than the one he had with his rightful parents?â
For some moments Jemima Rowe remained silent and Amos thought his pleas had fallen upon deaf ears, but suddenly her shoulders sagged and she said resignedly, âYouâre right, of course, Iâm being unchristian. Iâve never liked the girl, but no one deserves to die the way she did and the baby might have brought some real happiness into her life â there was little enough of it there before he was born.â
âWasnât she happy with her husband?â
âHim? Horace Morgan gave her his name and a respectability she hadnât known before, but little more than that. He wasnât a generous man in any way. He was as tight with his money as he is with praise for anyone who does anything for him.â
âYet he gave her baby Albert.â
It was a policemanâs baited statement, and Jemima responded as Amos had hoped.
âAs long as Horace Morgan believes that itâs not for anyone else to say otherwise, whatever they may think.â
âIs there any other man you can think of who might have been the father?â
Jemima gave an unladylike snort of derision. âIâm trying to be charitable towards the girlâs memory but there are limits! Had Horace Morgan not come along when he did a great many men would have been quaking in their boots for fear sheâd name them as the babyâs father.â
It hardly narrowed down the list of possible suspects for Kerensa Morganâs murder and Amos returned to his earlier line of questioning. âExplain what you meant when you spoke about the possibility of the baby being better off now ⦠if heâs still alive.â
Jemima looked uncomfortable, âI was referring to something that happened years ago ⦠just gossip, no more.â
âIâd still like you to tell me about it.â
âAll right, but it happened some years ago and couldnât possibly have anything to do with the disappearance of Albert Morgan.â
âLet me be the judge of that,â Amos persisted.
âWell, as I said, it was no more than a rumour concerning simple Annie Dawe, daughter of Harold Dawe who farms at Bowland, out on the moor. She wasnât seen for a long time and word went around sheâd got herself in trouble â by her own father some said. Then the Dawes were snowed in for weeks during the bad winter we had some years ago and when folks were able to get about again Annie told old Bessie Harris, the midwife at North Hill, that sheâd had the baby and her father
had paid one of the gypsies camped out at Sharptor to take it away and give it to someone he knew who desperately wanted a child.â
Amos frowned, âYouâre not suggesting