The front door of Silverdale Farm was wide open when Tim and Juliet drew up at the top of the track. As they were getting out of Tim’s car, a small boy came racing across the lawn, followed by a toddler who had little chance of catching him up. The boy crossed the track and cannoned breathlessly into Tim.
‘Steady on!’ said Tim, taking hold of the child’s shoulders. ‘You need to be careful when you’re crossing this road.’ He looked across at the toddler, who had stopped running and was standing in the middle of the lawn viewing them both apprehensively.
‘Is that your little brother?’
‘Yes,’ said the boy. ‘He’s called Alfie.’
‘What’s your name?’
‘I’m Joe and he’s Alfie.’
‘Is your mum in?’
‘Yes, but she’s busy with Daddy. Dilys is looking after us.’ He pointed at the house, from which a heavily-built middle-aged woman was just emerging, pushing back untidy grey hair from her eyes.
‘Come here Joe, Alfie,’ she called. ‘You’re not to run off like that.’
Alfie turned immediately and headed towards her. Joe hesitated. Tim took his hand and crossed the lawn with him. By the time they’d reached the woman, she had bundled Alfie back inside the house. She was standing in the doorway with her arms folded. She wasn’t exactly glowering, but neither was she trying to look hospitable. Juliet caught up with Tim and Joe.
‘Go inside and play with Alfie, Joe,’ she said. Then, addressing Juliet rather than Tim, ‘And who might you be?’
‘DS Armstrong, South Lincs CID,’ said Juliet. ‘And this is DI Yates. You’ll know that Martha Johnson has been reported missing?’
‘It’s hard not to know with all the fuss being made on the wireless. Nothing to do with me or the children, though, is it?’
‘We didn’t come to see you. We’d like to have a few words with Josh Marriott, if you know where we can find him. And since Joe says his mum’s here, perhaps she wouldn’t mind talking to us, too,’ said Tim.
‘Susie’s round the back loading up for the Lincoln show,’ said the woman. ‘As for Josh, I don’t have anything to do with the businesses. That man is a law unto himself and...’
‘DI Yates!’ A rough voice intruded suddenly. Tim turned to see Josh Marriott standing to his right. Somehow, he had managed to join them without being seen, although there was no foliage in the vicinity of the house.
‘Mr Marriott. Just the person we were hoping to see.’
‘Aye, I thought it wouldn’t be long before you beat a path to my door.’
‘Well, you’ve got what you wanted now,’ said Dilys. ‘If you’ll excuse me, I need to look after the kids.’ She gave Tim and Juliet a brief nod that seemed not to include Marriott.
‘Thank you very much Mrs…’
‘It’s Miss. Miss Pacey. Dilys.’
‘Thank you, Miss Pacey,’ said Juliet. ‘We’ll let you know if we need your help again.’
Dilys Pacey raised her eyebrows as she retreated into the house, closing the door firmly behind her.
‘When is the Lincoln show?’ Juliet asked Marriott.
‘Tomorrow. The boss and Susie are both going.’
‘So they’re here for the rest of today?’
‘No, they’ll be off shortly. I’ve had the stand loaded into the van. They’re just picking up some leaflets and that. Then they’ll go to Lincoln to set up.’
‘We’d like to speak to Mrs Fovargue before they leave,’ said Juliet, looking at Tim. He took the hint.
‘Why don’t you go to see her while I talk to Mr Marriott?’ he said.
Juliet nodded and gave him a quick smile. Tim could be obtuse sometimes when it came to catching her drift. Today he was in good form.
Juliet followed the narrow path round the side of the house to the courtyard at the back. The huge pantechnicon was standing on the paved area, its doors wide open. She observed that strips of metal and a canvas awning had been neatly ranged around the sides of its interior and at the back, leaving a huge space in the middle. She could see no one inside the vehicle. She was about to walk to the front of it in case the Fovargues were already sitting in the cab when she heard raised voices. Listening carefully, she decided they were coming from the house. They were very clear: either the kitchen door or one of the windows must have been left open. Fovargue was reasoning with his wife.
‘I admit I made a mistake,’ he was saying. ‘It was wrong of me. But you’re wrong about the rest of it. Of course I wouldn’t have left you.’
‘Oh, a moment of madness, was it? Spare me!’
‘No, it was more than that. I admit it. But nothing and no one would have come between us. Not permanently. We share too much.’
‘Damn’ right we do! Don’t you see that by letting that little bitch in you exposed us?’
‘What do you mean? She doesn’t know about anything except the soil business. She isn’t interested in anything else.’
‘Except you, of course. Besides, how do you know what she is – or was – interested in?’
‘What do you mean, ‘was’? Did you send her away, Susie? Did you make her leave?’
There was a long silence. When the reply came, it was barely audible: subdued, defeated, quite unlike the shrill screeching that had preceded it.
‘How could I have? She wouldn’t have listened to me.’
‘Susie…’
‘Let’s drop the subject, shall we? Help me get this through the door.’
Nimbly, Juliet doubled back on her footsteps. As if just arriving, she was rounding the corner of the house again when the Fovargues emerged, carrying between them an elaborate spinner stacked with leaflets about soil management. Susie Fovargue was first to hear Juliet approaching and turned sharply, placing her end of the spinner on the ground. Fovargue hoisted the contraption upright and stood it on the paving stones.
‘DS Armstrong,’ he said tonelessly. ‘We’re just going out. Is there any news of Martha Johnson?’
‘Unfortunately not.’
‘Well, I’ve told you all that I know.’
‘I realise that, sir. It’s Mrs Fovargue I’ve come to see.’
‘Me? I didn’t have anything to do with the... with her.’
‘I appreciate that, but you were here when she was talking to us yesterday. Therefore, along with Mr Marriott and DC MacFadyen and myself, you were one of the last people to see her before she disappeared.’
‘Purely by chance. I didn’t see her again. As you’ve just said, I left her with you.’
‘How would you describe your relationship with Ms Johnson?’
‘I have no relationship with her. She is one of Jack’s employees. That’s all. I don’t have much to do with most of them.’
‘But she does work in the same part of the business as you do, doesn’t she? The soil appreciation stuff?’
‘Not exactly. She does the testing. I go out to see people – mainly schoolchildren – and take the stand to shows.’
‘Oh? I thought she did go out with Mr Fovargue sometimes. In fact, I thought she was due to accompany him yesterday.’
‘I just asked her to keep herself free as a backstop, nothing more,’ said Fovargue quickly. ‘Just in case Susie couldn’t make it.’
Susie Fovargue stared at him, disbelief etched on her every feature.
‘I see. Well, thank you for your time. I hope the show is a success. When will you be returning?’
‘Tomorrow evening. It’s only a one-day show.’
‘Excellent, because I must ask you to keep us informed of your whereabouts, in case we need your help again. We’ll be sure to let you know if we make any progress. I have your mobile number.’
Fovargue nodded curtly and took hold of the spinner again, rolling it towards the pantechnicon while Susie stood, her arms folded, watching him.