Page 112 of The Clockmaker's Cottage
In the recording, Blake outlines a plan to use the proceeds and disappear with Agatha, while Agatha expresses fear that Wetherby’s growing skill and confidence could threaten the brothers’ reputation.
Police sources have confirmed that the recording is authentic.
a second man implicated
While the tape reveals that Blake removed the watch from the workshop, the investigation also found that Horace Vale took credit for several of Wetherby’s designs, contributing to the strained environment that made the false accusation plausible.
However, police say there is no evidence that Horace was aware of the affair or the plot surrounding the commission.
Police confirmed that both Horace Vale and Arthur Blake were interviewed earlier this week. Blake admitted that during the 1965 police search, he panicked and slipped the watch into the pocket of a stranger’s coat in a café on Puffin Island to avoid being caught with it, effectively losing control of the scheme entirely. The watch then unknowingly left the island and remained untraced for decades.
historic wrong finally set right
A spokesperson for local police stated:
‘New material evidence has conclusively disproved the long-standing allegation against Andrew Wetherby. We recognise the profound impact this wrongful accusation had on him and on generations of his family.’
Relatives of Andrew Wetherby have expressed relief that his name will finally be cleared.
a scandal rewritten
For decades, the fall of the Vale Brothers has been the subject of speculation among horologists and historians. This new evidence not only rewrites the story of the firm’s collapse, but also restores the reputation of a young designer whose career and family were devastated by a lie.
The MI5 commission, once believed lost forever, has now been secured by investigators and will undergo forensic examination.
Puffin Island residents, many still familiar with the legacy of the Vale Brothers, have reacted with a mixture of shock, sadness, and relief. While the truth has been slow to emerge, the reopening of the case brings long overdue justice for a man whose reputation was destroyed by secrets that have remained hidden for nearly six decades. The full truth has finally come to light.
Theo noticed her looking at it and shook his head with a half-smile. ‘I still can’t believe that was a whole year ago.’ He put the butter knife down, slid his arms around her waist, and kissed her neck.
Pippa looked over her shoulder and nudged him with her hip. ‘I know. One year ago today I was standing in a wedding dress in a church doorway, deciding whether to walk down the aisle or run like the wind.’
‘Luckily for me, you ran,’ Theo said, tapping her nose.
She laughed. ‘Entered a competition, jumped on a train. Won a cottage stay. Wandered in drenched to my skin and found you half-naked coming out of the shower.’ She grinned. ‘It’s definitely one to tell the kids.’
Theo paused, and his expression softened in that way she’d come to adore. ‘It really is.’
They both rested their hands on her stomach. The bump was still small, but just enough to make her trousers tight. Four tiny, miraculous months.
‘Can you believe it?’ She grinned. ‘One year ago, I was about to marry the wrong man. Now I’m standing in our kitchen, pregnant, cooking breakfast with you in a cottage that was once the centre of one of the biggest scandals in clockmaking history.’
‘And is now ours.’
He kissed her cheek, then reached for the frying pan. The rain intensified outside, slanting against the old window like someone had turned up the volume.
‘You should have been travelling the world by now,’ she teased, passing him a plate.
‘The less said about that, the better.’
After the scandal broke and the recording was released, Theo’s contract was withdrawn before he had the chance to sign it. He was dropped immediately.Public image, they said.Not ideal working with someone connected to deception in the industry, even indirectly.It had stung at the time, but Theo later admitted to Pippa that he secretly felt relieved. He wanted to stay with her.
‘Your life changed too,’ he said, nodding towards the framed article again. ‘Your offer on The Clock House got accepted just as the police turned up at the cottage to talk to Arthur and Horace.’
Pippa could still remember that call, the warmth that flooded her chest, the realisation that she had a future here. ‘And I haven’t left Puffin Island since,’ she said softly. ‘Not even for a night.’
‘No chance of that now,’ Theo said, giving her stomach a gentle tap. ‘You’re officially rooted.’
She rolled her eyes, laughing. ‘You make me sound like a tree.’
