2

‘I’M AFRAID CHIEF Inspector Golding’s out, Miss Ladram,’ came D.C. Finch’s voice down the telephone. ‘Can I help?’

‘I’m simply calling to see if there have been any developments.’

‘None, I’m afraid. Hasn’t Mrs Abberley been keeping you up to date?’

‘I haven’t liked to trouble her.’

‘Ah. I see. Well, there’s been no response so far to the appeal in the French press for Madame V to come forward. And nothing’s come to light in Spain either. So …’

‘We’re none the wiser.’

‘I wouldn’t say that. Urgent enquiries are continuing. No effort’s being spared.’

‘I’m sure. But it’s a month today since my niece was kidnapped, isn’t it?’

‘Er … Yes. Yes, it is.’

‘And still nothing.’

‘Would you like Chief Inspector Golding to call you when he returns?’

‘No, thank you. I have to go out myself. I’ll ’phone him. Later.’

They were doing their best, Charlotte knew. But their best was pitifully inadequate. As soon as she had put the telephone down, she headed for the door. A journey to Rye lay ahead of her. She had not visited Jackdaw Cottage since putting it on the market two months ago. But the estate agent had now found a buyer, one who was eager to move in as soon as possible. The emptying of the house could therefore no longer be postponed and Charlotte had decided to put matters in hand without further ado. Part of her was glad to have a practical task to address. It was a distraction her mind badly needed.

At Lewes Prison, Colin Fairfax was grinning broadly at his brother across a bare table in the visiting room, which was otherwise deserted. ‘Word’s got round,’ he announced. ‘I can do virtually whatever I like here now. They know I’m not staying long.’

‘According to Dredge,’ Derek replied, ‘things certainly look promising.’

‘Promising? I should say so. Spicer’s been arrested, hasn’t he? It’s only a matter of time now before they find some forensic evidence linking him to the scene of the crime.’

‘Is that what Dredge told you?’

‘They know he did it, Derek. Where did he get the money to set himself up with a yacht in Burnham-on-bloody-Crouch if it wasn’t a pay-off from Maurice Abberley for services rendered?’

‘You don’t have to convince me.’

‘No. But I do have to thank you. Dredge tried to hog the credit, but it’s clear to me where it really belongs. With you. You’ve done more to help me than I ever deserved. And to think I doubted your commitment! You’ve come up trumps, Derek. I’d be proud of you if I weren’t so grateful.’

‘There’s no need to thank me.’

‘But there is. It’s why I was so glad you could come today.’

‘I was on my way to an auditing job in Newhaven. It was no problem to stop off.’

‘Tough job, is it?’

‘Not particularly.’

‘Then why are you looking so glum? To judge by your face, you’d have thought I’d just been sentenced to hang, not thrown a lifeline.’

‘Because … Well, it was Charlotte Ladram who supplied the tape recording and the private detective’s report. Without them, the police would never have started looking for Spicer.’

‘And it’s good to know one member of that family has a conscience. But so what?’

‘So what?’ Derek bridled. ‘She’s lost her brother as well as her aunt, Colin. And her niece has been kidnapped. None of this was her fault.’

‘Nor mine.’ Colin sat back in his chair and cocked his head. ‘You haven’t taken a shine to the girl, have you?’

‘Of course not. I’d just like to be able to repay her generosity.’

‘By riding out on a white charger and rescuing her niece?’

Derek stared hard at his brother. ‘Imprisonment hasn’t blunted your sarcasm, I see.’

Colin raised his hands in mock surrender. ‘Sorry. I don’t mean to pry. If you and she … Well, what can you do to help?’

‘Nothing.’

‘Hence the gloomy physog?’

‘I suppose so. Besides …’ Derek leant forward and lowered his voice. ‘It hasn’t been made public, but the kidnappers have said they’ll kill the girl if they don’t have what they want by the eleventh of October.’

Colin whistled. ‘And today’s the first.’

‘Exactly. Time’s running out. All too quickly.’