The Borough Treasurer · Chapter
XXX: Cotherstone explained
Cotherstone, having been discharged from court, faces public scorn and isolation in Highmarket.
What happens
Cotherstone, having been discharged from court, faces public scorn and isolation in Highmarket. He attempts to celebrate with his barrister at the Arms hotel, but is met with cold silence and contempt from the townspeople. Later, he visits the police superintendent to confess his knowledge of Kitely's murder, revealing that he discovered Kitely's body and was subsequently blackmailed by Miss Pett, who threatened to expose his and Mallalieu's criminal past.
Themes in this chapter
Respectability and Hypocrisy
Cotherstone, a former treasurer of the town's club, is shunned by his fellow members and townspeople after his arrest, highlighting the fragile nature of social respectability and the hypocrisy of a community quick to judge.
Secrecy and Blackmail
Cotherstone's confession reveals that Miss Pett blackmailed him to keep silent about discovering Kitely's body, threatening to expose his and Mallalieu's criminal past.
Crime and Punishment
The chapter deals with the aftermath of Kitely's murder and the threat of Mallalieu being hanged, as Cotherstone weighs his desire for revenge against the moral imperative to tell the truth.
Characters to notice
- Mr. Cotherstone
Discharged from court, he faces public hostility but resolves to confess his knowledge of Kitely's murder to the superintendent.
- Miss Pett
Implied to have been at Kitely's cottage on the night of the murder, she blackmails Cotherstone to keep silent about his discovery.
- Mr. Mallalieu
Mentioned as Cotherstone's partner and a fellow suspect; Cotherstone initially sought revenge against him but now considers telling the truth.
- Mr. Kitely
The murdered man; Cotherstone recounts finding his body and the empty pocketbook near the scene.
- Mr. Bent
Mentioned as having been at Cotherstone's house on the night of the murder, along with Brereton.
- Mr. Brereton
Mentioned as a guest at Cotherstone's house on the night of Kitely's murder.
Key passages
“I’ve never been able to bring myself to think that either you or Mallalieu ’ud murder a man in cold blood, as Kitely was murdered. As regards Stoner, I’ve firmly held to it that Mallalieu struck him in a passion. But—I’ve always felt this—you, or Mallalieu, or both of you, know more about the Kitely affair than you’ve ever told!”
The superintendent admits he doesn't believe Cotherstone or Mallalieu planned Kitely's murder, but he is certain they have withheld information about it.
The superintendent expresses his long-held suspicion that Cotherstone and Mallalieu know more about Kitely's death than they have revealed.
“Half an hour ago, I shouldn’t have minded if Mallalieu had been hanged half a dozen times. Revenge is sweet—and I’ve good reason for being revenged on Mallalieu. But now—I’m inclined to tell the truth. Do you know why? Why—to show these Highmarket folks that they’re wrong!”
Cotherstone says he previously wanted Mallalieu dead out of revenge, but now he wants to confess the truth to spite the townspeople who have judged him.
Cotherstone's motivation for confessing is not moral but driven by a desire to prove the townspeople wrong about him.
“You tell a word, and I’ll tell it all over the town that you and your partner’s a couple of ex-convicts! I know your tale—Kitely’d no secrets from me. You stir a step to tell anybody, and I’ll begin by going straight to young Bent—and I’ll not stop at that, neither.”
Miss Pett threatens to expose Cotherstone and Mallalieu as former convicts if he reports what he saw at Kitely's cottage.
Miss Pett blackmails Cotherstone to ensure his silence about finding Kitely's body.
