Dryden-Jones broke the silence that followed the solicitor’s revelation. Scarlet with embarrassment, he gabbled, “Needn’t tell you, shan’t breathe a word, none of my business. Mum as the grave. Oh dear, not the best way to put it!” He pulled his gold hunter watch from his fob. “Dash it, is that the time? Bit of a rush, don’t you know. Anything my people can do for you, Chief Inspector . . . Know you’ll excuse me, Mrs. Fletcher!”
Routed again, he bowed and fled, to Daisy’s vast relief. “ ‘Stand not upon the order of your going,’ ” she muttered to herself, “ ‘but go at once.’ And don’t come back.” She doubted he’d know how to start his car, but the van driver could move it when he came down.
Alec looked after him grimly. “Let us hope he really can keep a still tongue in his head. Sir,” he said to Mr. Lewin, “while I appreciate the information, I can’t but feel it would have been preferable to convey it privately. I take it you are Sir Harold’s lawyer?”
Lewin was almost as red in the face as Struwwelpeter had been. “I don’t know what came over me,” he stuttered. “I assure you, Chief Inspector, it is not my practice to . . . er . . . broadcast my clients’ confidential affairs. Lewin’s the name, of Lewin, Lewin, Pent and Lewin. I trust . . . er . . . dare I hope—that you will overlook my disgraceful error of judgement and not mention it to anyone? I feel it very deeply, indeed I do.” He took out a handkerchief, blotted his forehead and polished his glasses.
“You can count on my discretion, Mr. Lewin, and that of my men. And my wife’s.” Alec cast a minatory glance at Daisy, who had installed herself on the sofa by the fire. “The Lord Lieutenant’s I cannot speak for. We shall need to take a statement from you.”
“Oh no!”
“I’m afraid so. Detective Sergeant Tring will accompany you to the billiard room and you can tell him exactly what Sir Harold said to you. Thank you for coming forward, sir. Lawyers are rarely so accommodating to the needs of the police.”
With witnesses to his outburst, Lewin hadn’t a leg to stand on. Looking very hangdog, he followed Tom through the door to the passage.
“That was a nasty dig, darling,” said Daisy as Alec sat down beside her, and Piper opposite. “I suppose he deserved it, but I must say Mr. Dryden-Jones is enough to make anyone forget himself. Thank heaven he’s gone.”
“Yes, but Daisy, what’s this about Gooch? All I know is a maid brought a message from Miss Tyndall saying he’d crashed his car. He was upset when he left us, but I didn’t suppose him incapable of driving or I’d not have let him go!”
“He looked fearfully upset when he passed us—Babs and I were walking along the drive—but he’d have managed if it hadn’t been for the rocket. It shot straight across in front of him. It would have been a miracle if he hadn’t lost control.”
“Did you see who set off the rocket?”
“No, but—”
“We’ll come back to that. Go on.”
“His car went into the ditch and hit the gatepost. He was unconscious and bleeding.” Daisy did her best not to picture the scene. “I don’t know what Babs and I would have done if the mortuary men hadn’t turned out to be St. John’s Ambulance men as well.”
“Where did they take him?”
“Babs said to bring him here. Upstairs, in Sir Harold’s dressing room.”
“Ernie.” Alec jerked his head towards the stairs.
“First floor, third door on the left,” Daisy directed as Piper hurried off. She moved closer to Alec and took his hand. “It was the greatest of luck, darling, not only the ambulance men, but then Dr. Prentice came along and took over.”
“Ah yes, I was expecting him. Good timing.”
“Except that Babs had already left to telephone for him when he arrived. Maybe I should have tried to catch up with her.”
“Certainly not! You didn’t try to help the doctor, did you?”
“He made me sit in his car. And then the others kept turning up, Struwwelpeter, then—”
“Daisy! Struwwelpeter?”
“Don’t you know that illustration of the children’s rhyme? German, I think. The boy with hair like a bush and long, curly fingernails. Not that I’ve noticed anything wrong with the Lord Lieutenant’s fingernails, but perhaps ingrowing hair would explain—”
“Daisy!” Alec reproved her again, but with a grin.
“Sir Nigel called him a stuffed orangutan.” She defended herself. “Or at least, told him not to sit there like a stuffed orangutan. He was just sitting there in his great big car, with all the drama going on, and when Sir Nigel pulled up behind him, he hopped out to see if he could help.”
“Wookleigh’s here, too?”
“Yes. He’s gone to look for Jack. And then that little lawyer arrived and started fussing about how he had to get through because it was his duty to tell you—But I never guessed he was going to make quite such a shattering announcement.”
“One of the maids told Tom she overheard Sir Harold threatening to cut young Tyndall out of the will, yesterday afternoon. She assumed it was just another row. But if Sir Harold actually went so far as to speak to the lawyer, it doesn’t look good for the boy.”
“Oh dear! I suppose you won’t tell me whether Tom found out anything else.”
“If he had, I wouldn’t, but he didn’t. He got the impression the butler was ‘holding out on him,’ as the Americans say, but the old man is so senile, he may just be imagining he has a secret.” Alec looked up as heavy footsteps came down the stairs.
“The ambulance men,” Daisy told him. “Mortuary men.”
He stood up and went over to them. “In case no one else has got around to it, I want to thank you for your attentions to the accident victim. Did you see the crash?”
“That we did, sir. We wasn’t too far behind the gentleman’s car. A blooming great rocket come out of nowhere. Spitting coloured fire, weren’t it, mate?”
“And making a noise fit to wake the dead. In a manner of speaking. Our van ain’t the quietest and we could hear the bangs. Went right acrost the road in front of the poor gentleman.”
“I don’t say as I wouldn’t’ve druv off the road meself, and I can’t say fairer’n that.”
“Did you see who fired the rocket?”
They looked at each other and both shook their heads regretfully.
“Nah, nor hide nor hair. In among the trees he must’ve bin, wouldn’t you say, mate? Well, sir, we gotta go pick up them corpuses of yourn, afore they gets up and walks away.”
“Great Scott, where are they?”
“Lying alongside of the drive, with t’other gentleman’s shover on guard, and no knowing when he’ll get tired of waiting.”
“Yes, you’d best be off. Thank you.” Alec returned to Daisy. “All right, love, you didn’t see who set off the rocket, but . . . ”
“Babs may have seen.”
“If she saw her brother, she’ll never tell us.”
“Jack! Why on earth should he fire a rocket at Gooch?”
“That I can’t say,” Alec admitted, “but Gooch knows something he’s not telling.”
“About Jack?”
“It could be. Jack may have heard Sir Harold talking to Lewin about changing his will and realized he was serious. In that case, Jack’s only hope was to kill his father before he did it. He was in a hurry. He couldn’t wait for a chance to catch his father alone. Whatever Mrs. Gooch’s reason for going with Sir Harold to the study, it’s quite likely that her husband kept an eye on her, and in so doing he’d have seen Jack following them.”
“And Jack noticed him watching?” Daisy said sceptically.
“Or he told Jack he’d seen him. There’s still a whiff of blackmail about this whole affair.”
“I can’t believe Jack would shoot Mrs. Gooch, nor that Mr. Gooch would blackmail his wife’s murderer when he could denounce him. But suppose you’re right, I still want to know, why on earth should Jack fire a rocket at Gooch’s car? It’s a very uncertain way to get rid of someone.”
“True. There’s a chance, though, that he’d crash and be killed, and little or no risk in trying.”
“I call it pretty far-fetched. I bet Jack was with Miller the whole time. They were taking apart the firework scaffolding when I left.”
“Would Miller lie for Jack? For his own sake, or Gwen’s?”
“Give him a false alibi? I doubt it. Not when it’s a matter of murder, or attempted murder. In any case, it wasn’t Jack Babs saw, if she saw anyone. She was sure it was Adelaide’s boys.”
“That’s what she claimed?”
“I’d be very surprised if she’s wrong.”
“Because Jack says they stole some rockets.”
“And because when Gwen fetched me from the station, they threw squibs at the car in exactly the same place. Fortunately, Gwen has steady hands.”
“Fortunate indeed! If it can be proved the boys caused Gooch’s accident, they’re in serious trouble.”
“Don’t worry, Babs is going to give them what for, and she seems to be the one person they’re afraid of. They really are the most appalling children. To tell the truth, their mother’s pretty appalling, too.”
“I’m not looking forward to interviewing her.”
“Let Tom do it,” Daisy suggested, tongue in cheek. “She’d be so flabbergasted, she might even stop whining and showing off and give some sensible answers.”
“That’s an idea! Here he comes. All in order, Sergeant?”
“Yes, sir.”
Tom’s calm rumble contrasted with the agitated squeak of the solicitor. “I assure you, Chief Inspector, I have given every assistance I feel able to justify consonant with my duty to my clients.”
“Of course, sir. I take it you’ll be acting for the family should they be in need of legal advice?”
“Oh no, no, no indeed!” Lewin took off his spectacles and polished them vigorously. “That is, you are referring to possible . . . er . . . criminal charges? Good gracious, no! Apart from the fact that I could, I fear, be called as a witness, my partners and I feel very strongly that . . . er . . . criminal matters are and should remain outside our province. I shall be happy, of course, to refer . . . er . . . anyone in need of such advice to a firm well versed in such issues. I shall consult my partners as to who might be suitable.”
“I see. As you’re here, no doubt you’ll be informing the Tyndalls of the provisions of the current will.”
“After the funeral is the customary time, though I believe Sir Harold made no secret of his . . . er . . . previous intentions. Oh dear, I suppose in the circumstances . . . ?”
“We’ll let you know when the funeral can be held.”
“Very good, very good. In the . . . er . . . circumstances, I believe I shall not linger to present my condolences. A note to Lady Tyndall will be properer. Be so kind, Chief Inspector, as to express my regret that the family were all otherwise engaged when I called.”
“As you wish. No doubt the Tyndalls will be in touch, as will we if we require any further assistance from you.”
As soon as Lewin was out of earshot, Daisy said, “ ‘The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.’ ”
Tom looked at her with eyebrows raised halfway up the shining dome of his head.
“Sorry, I’m feeling a bit Shakespearean this morning.”
“Shakespeare, eh?” Tom grinned, making his moustache twitch. “Now that’s a good bit. What they made us learn at school was a lot of twaddle about fairies.”
“ ‘Hold, enough!’ ” said Alec. “Tom, what did you get out of Lewin?”
“Sir Harold didn’t tell him who was going to be his heir, just drew him aside when he arrived last evening and said he was going to disinherit ‘that damn disobedient puppy.’ Begging your pardon, Mrs. Fletcher. Mr. Lewin got the impression Sir Harold wasn’t sure who to leave the estate to—it’s not tied up in any way—but he can’t pin down just what was said to give him that impression.”
“Did Sir Harold make a habit of threatening to change his will?”
“No, Chief. The boy was always ‘the apple of his father’s eye,’ and Mr. Lewin was astonished to hear he’d fallen from grace.”
“But Sir Harold was serious about it?”
“He actually made an appointment to go to the solicitors’ offices this afternoon.”
“Sounds serious enough. Anything else?”
Tom quickly scanned his notes. “That’s about it, Chief. What’s this about Mr. Gooch?”
Alec explained in about a tenth as many words as Daisy had employed to tell the story. While she admired his succinctness, he failed to convey the drama and horror of the event. Of course, he hadn’t experienced it.
“It was beastly,” she said with a shudder. “I don’t know what Babs and I would have done if the men in the van hadn’t turned up, and then the doctor. Although, to be perfectly honest, looking back, it was quite funny the way people kept arriving one after another, if it hadn’t all been so dreadful. I do hope he’ll be all right.”
Alec put his arm around her shoulders, hastily removed it as they heard footsteps on the stairs, then returned it to its comforting place when they saw Ernie Piper coming down.
“How is Mr. Gooch?” Daisy asked eagerly.
“Pretty bad, Mrs. Fletcher. Dr. Prentice says he’s badly concussed and several bones are broken. Well, the bones’ll knit, but there’s no telling what damage there is to his brain. He’s still unconscious. I brought his wallet, Chief, and this.” Piper waved an envelope.
Alec once again removed his arm from Daisy’s shoulders, leaving a chilly spot, as he took the wallet and opened it. “Over a hundred pounds in notes. Book of cheques. And here’s a receipted copy of a letter of credit from a bank in Australia, for a thousand pounds. They weren’t doing themselves too shabbily! We’d better hang on to this for the moment. Here, make a list of the contents, Ernie. What’s that you have there?”
“Addressed to Sir Harold Tyndall, Chief.” Piper handed over the envelope. “Well, no address, just the name. It was in the inside pocket of his jacket.”
“Just to Sir Harold, not Lady Tyndall. So not a bread-and-butter letter written before the event.”
“They might not have realized thanks for hospitality ought to be addressed to the hostess,” Daisy pointed out.
“True. Tom, you have their passport? Let’s have a look at their signatures. . . . Yes, I thought so, it’s her writing.”
“Back to the blackmail theory, Chief?” Tom suggested.
“Perhaps. An undelivered letter from a murdered woman to a murdered man. I suppose I’m justified in reading it.”
“Felt to me like it’s got another envelope inside, Chief,” said Piper, opening and offering the penknife with which he kept sharp his endless supply of pencils.
Alec carefully slit the top of the envelope. “Yes, there’s another one inside. That’s odd, it’s addressed to ‘Jack.’ Just ‘Jack,’ no surname, no Mr. or Esquire. Here’s the covering letter.”
He unfolded the single sheet. The sprawling handwriting was easy to make out and Daisy read silently as he read aloud: “ ‘Dear Harry, I don’t want to upset anybody you needn’t wory I’m going to tell nobody else. But I thoght I better let you know I’m going to tell Jack. Its no good tryng to stop me. I’ll do it weather you say yes or no but if you say yes you can give him this letter I writ for him so as it don’t come like a shock when I tell him. Its my right. Yrs truly, Ellie Gooch (Mrs).’ ”
They gazed at each other with a wild surmise, silent (though not, thought Daisy, upon a peak in Darien. It wasn’t only Shakespeare haunting her today). Dying of curiosity, she was about to ask Alec if he felt justified in opening the second envelope, when Jack came in from the drawing room, followed by Wookleigh and Miller.
“Mr. Fletcher! Sir Nigel tells me Mr. Gooch ran his car off the road, on our land. Is he badly hurt?”
“I’m afraid his injuries appear to be serious.”
“I told Father that turn into the lane was an accident waiting to happen. I’m going to take down the gateposts and straighten it out. I wouldn’t have had this happen for anything! First Mrs. Gooch, and now this! Where is he? Upstairs?”
“Dr. Prentice is here,” Daisy said soothingly, “and Gwen and Babs are doing what they can to help.” It was not the moment to tell him about the rocket.
“I’d only be in the way,” Jack said in frustration.
“Come and sit down, Mr. Tyndall,” said Alec. “Mr. Gooch was carrying this, addressed to you.”
Still standing, Jack took the envelope and stared at it blankly. “What on earth?”
“I’d like you to open it now, in my presence. I must warn you that anything you choose to say will be written down and may be produced in evidence. You are not obliged to say anything, and you are entitled to legal representation.”
Jack gave no sign of hearing the ominous words. With a frown, he ripped open the envelope, unfolded the letter, and started to read. Utter astonishment was succeeded by shock as he turned the page. Ashen, he dropped into the nearest chair. He read on to the end, then folded the double sheet with automatic fingers. Leaning forward, he held it out to Alec without a word.
Alec took it. Jack slumped against the high back of the chair, his eyes closed, still deadly pale.
“Whisky?” Sir Nigel said in a loud whisper to Miller, who nodded and went off.
Alec unfolded the letter and started to read, silently this time. As before, Daisy read it with him.
My dearest boy,
You will be suprized to get this from me seeing we never met before last night but I’ll explain. You are 21 and a man and you can deside for yourself. I waited all these yrs till you was old enogh to deside for yourself. This is hard to writ and I want you to be shure I’m not going to do anything to upset things. I won’t never tell anyone else, I promise faithfuly. I come all the way from Australia to tell you and becaus I just wanted to see you and tell you and make shure your alright. Becaus my Jimmy is a good man and if theres anything you need he’ll spring for it and won’t never say nothing. Even if its a lot of money he’s not short a penny, long as it don’t take away from our boys you see you got three brothers. Half brothers I shuld say. You see, Jacky dear I’m youre real mother. Your dads youre real dad don’t wory he wanted a boy so badly and him and me, well, you know about the birds and the bees your 21 like I said. And I coudn’t a brung you up propper all on my one and he give me enugh money to start over in Australia and her ladyship promised she be a propper mother to you from what I seen she kept her promis you been happy, so what could I do? But I cried and cried when they took you away and now I’ve come back to make shure your alright like I said and dont hold it agin me Jackie, I just want to see you and talk to you and for you to know I love you and that’s all. And I won’t tell no one else, like I said and me and Jimmy ll go back to Australia and leave you be don’t wory. But if you coud just come down to the Three Ravens tomorrow just to talk a bit more, you was so nice to me last night. O Jackie I love you dearly tho I wasn’t a good mother to you so please come.
Youre loving mother
Ellie Gooch