Bainton Gray and the Churchyard Mystery - Part 2

Bainton's shop had flourished so much, that he could afford to pay others to attend the shop for him. He had more time, which he spent calling on Cordelia.

Or reading.

He took a rather secret, guilty pleasure in reading his sister's Gothic novels. Graveyards, castles, hidden passageways, and wicked men attempting to seduce innocent women. It was a world away from the life that Bainton knew.

But now he was spending his time making seemingly casual inquiries into whether anyone in the town could have disappeared. He'd started with the Crown and Oak public house.

"Yes", said Bet, who worked at the bar, in answer to Bainton's query. There had been a man who'd disappeared mysteriously. One of their guests, who'd stayed at the pub not so long ago. His name was, rather oddly, Mr Beau Titus. He was a wealthy wine merchant. She recalled that he was a charming, smartly dressed gentleman. Always wore a silk top hat. She remembered that he’d played cards one evening with Bainton's cousin, Stephen. Although they'd claimed it wasn’t for money, Stephen had accused Beau of cheating. There'd been a bit of an argument between them.

But her husband, the landlord Bert Smith, interrupted the conversation. He growled in his hoarse voice that Mr Titus was “ a dandy" and referred to him as "him with his too smart hair and clothes!"

Bainton got the impression Bert strongly disliked him. He claimed that Mr Titus had upped and left one night, without paying his bill!

How mysterious. Why would someone who was wealthy not settle their bill before leaving?

Did Bert Smith know something?

So was it a murder? If not, why the trick?

If it was a crime, who was the victim?
What was the motive?

* * * * * * * * * *

Bainton was going for his morning constitution. Just then, he saw his cousin Stephen leaving Adam’s cottage. Stephen saw Bainton. He started, then looked rather furtive.

“Visiting Adam again, eh? What high jinks are you two planning now?” enquired Bainton.

Stephen smiled rather hesitantly, but evaded the question.

Later on, Bainton went for a drink in the Crown and Oak. The landlord’s wife looked up and gave Bainton a big smile. He hastily averted his eyes, after seeing the dark look on Bert Smith's face. Bainton pondered this. If this Mr Titus was so attractive, could Bert have been jealous of him too?

He looked around and to his surprise saw Adam drinking in the corner. So who had Stephen been visiting?
He doubted Stephen would have been visiting Adam’s formidable maiden aunt. Could it be that his cottage was actually empty? Bainton wondered whether to go over and talk to him, but decided it would look odd. Shop owners didn’t normally mingle with manual workers; he had his reputation to think about.

He waited until Bert had gone down to the cellar, then decided to ask his wife Bet.

Bainton casually talked to her about his sister’s wedding plans, which Bet seemed quite interested in. But she didn’t even know about the wedding, despite the fact that Stephen spent a lot of time in there.

Bainton asked about the row his cousin had had with Mr Titus, over the game of cards. Bet replied that she thought it was more likely Stephen was sour over Mr Titus courting Adam's sister Peggy these past few months.

* * * * * * * * * *

That night Bainton lay in bed. He'd read a few chapters of a Gothic novel, which turned out to be too ridiculous for words. Then he drifted off to sleep.....

He dreamt that he saw a mad monk, (who was really a vicar in disguise), poisoned wine, playing cards..... a crypt with a fallen maiden named Peggy locked away inside, her outraged relatives....... and finally - a trapdoor.....

Bainton awoke with a start.

What a strange dream! Yet it gave him an idea.

Oh, if only there was proof!

It was evening. Adam was working in the graveyard, clearing some bushes. To his horror, he looked down and saw the body of a man. It was half hidden by a bush. The dead gentleman was lying face down, blood on his hair, his top hat askew. Then a look of dread appeared on Adam's face.

He stared at the finely made top hat with disbelief, for it was a hat that he knew he'd seen before. It had once belonged to his enemy. But he'd killed the man weeks ago - and buried him! Why was his enemy's body lying there? Had it come back from the grave to haunt him? He cried out in angst:

“Titus! Leave me be! It was an accident.... I swear… I didn’t intend to kill you. Don‘t haunt me.. "

"Am I going mad? ” he sobbed.

But as he sank to his knees in anguish, the “corpse” slowly got up - and turned to face him. It was Bainton Gray!

“That’s a confession I think, isn’t it, Constable?” asked Bainton calmly.

Constable Wright emerged from his hiding place behind the cypress tree.

Adam made as if to bolt, but was promptly arrested.

* * * * * * * * * *

Later that evening, Bainton summed up how he'd solved the crime:

He'd thought about the body in the churchyard. Whether it was fake or real, there would have been blood or something similar. The vicar or Adam must have seen it.

Another thing that stood out for Bainton, he said, was the black top hat that Adam wore. It was too fine for a poor man like him. Bainton certainly knew about hats!

Plus the idea of someone else telling Adam to pretend to be a dead body was odd. Who would take the word of an unknown person seriously? How would Adam have known the exact location to lie in - unless he'd known about the first body?

Bainton knew that the vicar must be involved, because of the kneeler he'd seen which had red blood stains. But he knew there had to be someone else, because when he'd heard the footsteps echoing in the church,  the vicar had been talking to Stephen. They were at the other end of the building to the footsteps, so it couldn't have been them.

Another point: if there was a John Smith who'd died, why had no one else mentioned his absence?

Constable Wright and Bainton checked the church and their suspicions were confirmed.

Adam’s confession:


Mr. Titus had promised Peggy marriage, but as soon as she'd told him of her plight, he'd abandoned her.

He'd told her that he was due to go away to the city, she'd never find him there. In the meantime he'd booked into the village pub to wait until the day when the next carriage cab left for London.

Poor Peggy had been left in the lurch. She'd been too ashamed to tell her maiden Aunt, so she'd confided to Adam about her situation.

Adam was sickened to hear how Titus had treated his sister. He'd tried to devise a plan to help Peggy. When Peggy had told him that Beau Titus was staying in the village inn, he'd had an idea.

Adam had known for many years that the pub had a hidden passageway. He'd heard tales passed down in his family about it. He'd been told that there was a hidden trapdoor in the cellar. Stone steps led down from this trapdoor to an opening, beyond which was a smuggler's tunnel which led to the church. Long ago, smugglers hid barrels taken from boats, and then hid them in the nearby church. The clergy were willing helpers, as they made a tidy profit.

Adam had been told the location of the entrance inside the church. It was in the oldest part. It looked almost like a priest hole, but it had steps going downwards. The passage led into the cellar of the Crown and Oak. The hatch hadn’t been sealed. The current owners were unaware of it.

He'd entered Mr. Titus’s room, then stolen money and a gold ring. His plan was to try and raise enough cash for Peggy to go away, abort the child and return without anyone knowing.

But his plan had gone wrong......






Mr. Titus had returned unexpectedly. He'd opened the door to his room, but Adam was still in there!

Adam had ran past him, then leapt through the trapdoor that led to the secret passageway towards the church. But Beau Titus had pursued the thief, and followed him down the tunnel. He'd discovered Adam hiding in the church.

An angry confrontation had then taken place, during which Titus had threatened to go to the police over the theft. But Adam had angrily replied that he should be ashamed; the money was for getting rid of his child. Did he want his wife to find out he'd fathered a bastard?

Titus had laughed derisively, he'd even called Adam's sister Peggy a "dollymop". Adam had been enraged by this insulting remark. In a fit of temper, he'd grabbed a heavy brass candle stick and had then slammed it over Titus’s head.

With that, Beau Titus had dropped down to the floor. He'd fallen backwards into a pew, his bloody head resting against a church kneeler. The blow to his head had killed him almost instantaneously.

With sick realisation at what he’d done, Adam knew that he needed to escape. But before he could do so, Rev. Orange had entered the church. He was alarmed at seeing Titus' dead body. Adam had begged him not to tell anyone.

He remembered that he still had what was left of Titus’s money, so in desperation he'd offered it to the reverend.

Rev. Orange, tempted by the offer of money, had accepted the bribe. But it was offered only on the condition that he kept quiet about what he'd seen. Realising that there were no other witnesses, the reverend thought to himself that it was highly unlikely anyone would find out. Adam was hardly going to tell the police, neither would he. He thought about how much he needed that money. So he'd seized his chance.

Adam had then hidden the body out of the way, by dragging it into the church’s hidden passage.

It was agreed between them that they would dispose of Titus' corpse, by making it look like a "burial" in the churchyard. They would tell people that it was a poor person's burial. The Reverend decided that the name John Smith would be used on the grave; after all they couldn't use Beau Titus's real name. A plain and simple name like John Smith wouldn't stand out too much.

One moonlit night Adam had set about burying the body. He'd already dug a deep grave to throw the corpse in to. Now all he had to do was drag the body from it's hidden location to the prepared pit. But he'd struggled to lift it in the dark. Titus' body was heavy, and he was out of breath. He'd only managed to drag it halfway across the churchyard. As he'd paused, gasping to get his breath back, he could hear footsteps. Realising that someone was coming, he'd quickly heaved the body under a bush. Then Adam had crept behind the trees and hid out of sight, down the steps of a family crypt.

Adam had waited for the person to go. But instead, the footsteps had stopped and he'd heard a man's voice cry out. He'd listened as the man's footsteps then retreated hurriedly back down the path. As soon as it had gone quiet, he'd emerged from the steps of the Castledine's crypt. The man had gone. He'd quickly dragged the body back to the tunnel and hid there with it. What a macabre experience, sitting in the dark, with the cold clammy corpse of his enemy for company.

After burying Titus' body, he'd crept back down the tunnel from the church to the pub. He'd then sneaked into Titus' room, cleared out his belongings, and left (without being seen) back down the tunnel. He tried to make it look as if Mr. Titus had left without paying his bill.

Not long after, Adam had seen the police talking to the reverend and asking questions. This troubled him, so he'd asked the reverend what the police knew. Rev. Orange told Adam that a Methodist gentleman had seen a body in the churchyard one night. But the reverend said that he'd told the police that he didn't know anything about the alleged "body".

Adam had been drinking in the pub one night with Stephen. Stephen had been telling Adam about his cousin. He'd mentioned how Bainton had come across two bodies in his short life! So Adam had ventured the idea that they play a joke on Bainton. He knew that if he pretended to be a corpse, that way the real incident could be laughed off as a practical joke.

His fatal mistake had been in keeping that fine hat. Of course it was the hat that gave him away......

* * * * * * * * * *

A day later, the news of Adam and Rev. Orange’s arrests spread around the village.

Bainton's sister Penelope was horrified to learn that her betrothed had spent so much time with a murderer. She was absolutely appalled by his poor judgement of character. It didn't take much to see that the foolish prank her fiance had played had nearly helped a murderer to get away with it.

She called off her wedding to Stephen. Her suspicions had already been aroused once before. There had been one occasion previously when she'd seen him visiting Peggy, whilst Adam was out. She'd come to suspect that Stephen was only marrying her for her dowry.

* * * * * * * * * *  

Later that evening, Bainton discussed the churchyard mystery with his mother and sister. Penelope looked saddened as she explained to him why she could not marry Stephen.  Her mother said it was an awful shame how things had turned out.

Penelope replied that it didn’t matter, there might well be another marriage in the family soon anyway.

Both women cast knowing glances at Bainton, who blushed......



The End

A Note From the Author

The story was inspired by a piece of history where I live. There was reputed to be a public house with a secret passage that led to the church.

Did you spot the reference to the Castledine family, who were mentioned in the first story about Barnaby Hall?

I took some of the photos of the churchyards at places I have visited. (They have of course been edited to "age" them and make them look creepy!) The twisted spooky tree is at St. Tudy, Cornwall. There's another of graves at St. Clement, near Truro.