TYLER HAD TO SPEND TIME BOOKING DENNIS. HE made him go over all the sexual contacts he’d had recently. There were four including Florence Hancocks. The station would have to get in touch with each girl, order medical checkups, and follow up on any other men they might have infected. Dennis himself would be handed over to Major Fordham.
Tyler left him with Sergeant Gough and walked across the road to his house. The skies had cleared and it was a beautiful sunny morning; the sky a brilliant blue, small puffs of clouds dotted here and there. Usually his spirits lifted in weather like this, but nothing could do that at the moment. The patch of lawn at the front of his house was looking as wilted as he felt. All of his fears about his son had come flooding back. A voice kept going round and round in head. Surely not. Not Jimmy. Not his gentle son.
He went in.
Vera was in her dressing gown, hair still in curlers, sitting in the kitchen with her father. She looked as if she had been crying. From the cool way Lambeth greeted him, Tyler guessed they had been talking about him.
“Where’s Jimmy?” he asked.
“Don’t we even warrant a ‘Hello’ or ‘Good morning, Dad’?” said Lambeth.
“Good morning, Walter. Sorry I can’t stop to chat. I need to talk to our Jimmy. Is he upstairs, Vera?”
“I don’t know if he’s up yet. Do you have to disturb him, Tom? He looks exhausted.”
Lambeth wiped his moustache. “I’m off then, Vera, just dropped in for a minute. Tell Janet I expect to see her tomorrow. I can’t get in help at short notice.”
Tyler turned around. “I’d rather she had the next few days off. She’s had a shock.”
“It might do her good to work,” interjected Vera. “Take her mind off her troubles. Besides, you heard Dad. He needs her in the shop.”
Tyler looked at his wife. “I said no. She’s not going in.”
Lambeth patted his daughter’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, Vera. I’ll manage. I’m not going to cause trouble between a man and his wife. I’ll give you a bell later on today.”
Vera’s lips were tight. “I’ll see you out, Dad.”
“That’s all right – I need a quick word with Tom.”
At the door, Lambeth paused. “I’ve got some information about that case you’re on. It concerns the lady of the manor. Not the old Lady Somerville. The one who just came back. Her’s got a fancy French name, and her’s stuck up, if you ask me. Even worse than she was twenty years ago. You know who I mean, don’t you?”
Tyler nodded, not trusting himself to say anything.
“Drop by the shop, and I’ll tell you,” said Lambeth.
He winked and nodded his head in the direction of the kitchen. “Better keep it between you and me.” He left, and Tyler returned to Vera.
“Is Janet home?”
“No, she’s not. All of a sudden, she’s up with the larks. She’s gone over to Jillian’s. I can’t fathom that girl. First of all she’s crying for her mummy, then she starts to act as if she can’t get away from me fast enough.”
Probably because reality set in, thought Tyler.
“She’s not poorly, is she?” he asked.
“Not that I know of. I think that was just a cock and bull story she told Dad. Wanting to go for a walk in the woods. Bloody nonsense. It’s my guess she was meeting a boy from school.” She halted. “Why did you ask if she was poorly?”
“I just wanted to make sure she was all right.”
His wife put her hands to her face. “My God, Tom, she hasn’t got herself in the family way, has she?”
“No, no, nothing like that,” answered Tyler. He turned. “I’ve got to see Jimmy.”
Vera caught his sleeve. “What’s wrong? Please don’t shut me out, Tom. I have a right to know, I’m his mother.”
Tyler tried to extricate himself. “I can’t tell you at the moment, Vera, it’s police business.”
Fear made Vera’s voice shoot up an octave, and she managed to block his way. “Police business? With your own flesh and blood. What are you talking about?”
Before Tyler could answer, the door at the top of landing opened and Jimmy came out.
“What’s all the commotion?”
Tyler was shocked at how his son looked. In less than twenty-four hours, Jimmy seemed to have lost weight and was even more haggard and drawn. His fair skin was pasty white and his eyes puffy and red-rimmed; from crying or sleeplessness or both, Tom didn’t know.
“I need to have a word with you, son,” he said over Vera’s shoulder.
She turned and addressed Jimmy. “You don’t have to if you don’t want,” she said.
“That’s all right, Mum. Dad has his job to do … But I’m not going to be questioned on the landing. Shall we go back downstairs? Or do you want me to come to the station, Dad?”
“Kitchen’ll do fine.”
“I’m going to be in on this,” said Vera.
“That’s up to Jim,” said Tyler.
Jimmy shook his head. “Don’t worry, Mum. If it’s police business, it’ll probably be better if it were just Dad and me.”
Vera started to protest, but seemed to see something in Tyler’s face that stopped her. Her eyes filled with tears.
“I don’t know what’s come over everybody. You look like a ghost, your sister is lying to us, your dad’s biting my head off all the time. Aren’t I entitled to know what’s going on?”
It was Jimmy who answered. “Of course you are. Dad and I just have to sort something out.”
Vera wouldn’t look at Tyler. “I’ll be in the bedroom then. Shout up if you need me.”
Tyler headed back downstairs, Jimmy behind him. Vera hovered on the landing then went into their bedroom.
When they were in the kitchen, Tyler went to the sink to fill up the kettle.
“I don’t know about you but I’m parched. I’ll make a cuppa.”
“I’d rather have a fag. Have you got one? I’m all out.”
“Here, help yourself.” Tyler tossed him the cigarette case. He continued with the tea making and Jimmy lit up, inhaling gratefully. He was about to slide the case back across the kitchen table when he paused.
“Love forever, C. Who gave you this? I don’t remember seeing it before.”
“That? I found it in an antique shop in Church Stretton. I needed one so I bought it.”
“Nice. Somebody appreciated somebody.”
Tyler got the tea caddy down from the cupboard and spooned some tea into the pot.
“I think rationing tea is going to be one of the hardest things for people to tolerate.”
There was an awkward silence. Finally, he was ready and he sat down opposite Jimmy, poured himself a cup, and stirred sugar into it.
“We’ve caught Dennis McEvoy. He’d got as far as Wales.” He’d made his voice as casual as he could, but he noticed Jimmy made no pretence of surprise. “He says you lent him your motorcycle. Is that true?”
Jimmy answered through a cloud of smoke. “Yes, it’s true. His was out of commission.”
“Didn’t you know he was planning to go AWOL? The army doesn’t look kindly on deserters. He’s in big trouble. I’m surprised you didn’t try to talk him out of it.”
“Why should I? He’s old enough to make his own decisions.”
“But you knew the consequences. Weren’t you lot the four musketeers? One for all and all for one.”
Jimmy flinched as if he’d slapped him. His hand was shaking. Tyler felt like a rat pushing him like this but he had to. There might be worse to come.
“Dennis had had it. He said he needed to go for a ride out in the country. I dunno, I thought maybe that’d be enough and he’d be back in time to report in.”
Tyler wasn’t sure he believed him but he let it go. He got to the point.
“Dennis said that you were Elsie Bates’s boyfriend. Is that true?”
Tension was like a blanket in the room. Jimmy was concentrating on flicking ash from his cigarette.
“Jimmy, I asked you a question. Were you and Elsie Bates going out together?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I’m twenty years old. I don’t have to tell my father every facet of my life.”
Tyler put down his cup so hard, some of it slopped over onto the table.
“Cut it out, Jimmy. You know bloody well what I mean. After she was killed, you didn’t utter a peep about knowing her.”
They heard the door upstairs open and Vera called down.
“Is everything all right down there?”
“Yes, Mum. We’re fine.” They heard her go back into the bedroom. “She’s really worried, Dad.” The reproach in his voice stung Tyler.
“So are we all, Jimmy, so are we all. My guts are in a knot because I’m investigating a brutal murder and my own son is giving me the runaround. What am I supposed to think?”
“You seem to be implying I’m a murderer.”
“Do me a favour, will you, Jimmy? Answer my questions.”
More ash flicking. Jimmy’s face was white, except for two red spots on his cheeks, as if he had a fever.
“When did you last see Elsie?”
“We were together on Wednesday night.”
“In the old Fort?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact.”
“What time?”
“Night. It’s quite cosy in there if you don’t mind a few spiders. Then she left because she had to get to work.”
“And you stayed on in your comfy bed with the wildlife?”
Jimmy’s jaw was pulsing. He touched the spot to try to stop it. “For a while. Then I got up and went to visit Mrs. Thorne.”
“What time was all this coming and going?”
“I’m not sure. It wasn’t light, I know that. Maybe five-thirty, a quarter to six.”
“And you didn’t see anybody else on the road? Or hear a gunshot or voices?”
Jimmy stubbed out his half-finished cigarette. “No.”
“You must have been shocked when you heard your girlfriend had been shot?”
“Yes, I was.”
“I understand Elsie wasn’t averse to accepting little presents from her admirers. Did you give her anything?”
“Nothing special. Just some cream and lotions that Mrs. Thorne made.”
“She had two pound notes sewn into her dungarees. I wonder where they came from and why she was hiding them.”
Tyler could see that was news to his son, but Jimmy didn’t answer, preoccupying himself with shaking out another cigarette and lighting it.
“Am I to understand from your lack of response you don’t know where that money came from?”
“No, I don’t. But Elsie had had a hard life. She didn’t trust many people. The money was probably what she saved up and she wanted to keep it safe.”
“There’s another matter I have to ask you about. As Elsie’s boyfriend. She bought an indelible pencil from one of the men in the internment camp. She said she wanted her boyfriend to draw a tattoo for her. There was one on her buttock. Did you do that?”
“Yes.”
“What was it? The tattoo, I mean.”
“A heart around the word ‘love.’ ” Jimmy pretended to smile. “Nothing you would understand, Dad.”
Tyler ignored that. “Did Elsie’s mate, Rose Watkins, have a boy?”
“Not that I know of.”
Tyler got up and brought the teapot over to the table with a second cup. Without asking, he poured some for his son.
“Here. You look like you need it.”
Reluctantly, Jimmy took a sip of the tea. Tyler went to the cupboard again, reached way into the back, and brought out a bottle of brandy.
“We keep this for emergencies.” He added a stiff shot to Jimmy’s tea and a smaller one to his own. “Now then, there are a couple of more things that I’ve got to ask you. All right?”
“Go ahead.”
Tyler ignored his tone and fished in his jacket pocket. He took out the card he’d got from Alice’s stall.
“Have you signed this?”
“No, not yet. I’m thinking of it.”
“White poppies are a symbol of the peace movement, and I found a bunch of white poppies on Elsie Bates’s body. Any idea who would put them there?”
Jimmy averted his eyes. “I saw some of the Jerry up close. They were the same age as we are and they looked just as scared. They didn’t want to fight any more than we did.”
“At some point we’re going to have a good old chin about the philosophy of defence and unprovoked aggression, but I’m not in the mood right now. Answer my question, please. Do you know who put the poppies on Elsie’s body?”
“It could have been anybody. They grow near the Fort and it’s a popular spot for couples. You know that. You told me you went there yourself when you were younger.” He tapped the cigarette case. “The anonymous C, perhaps?”
Touché and gotcha.
Jimmy drained his cup.
“Is that everything? I’m bushed. I’m not sure I can take much more.”
“Elsie was shot with a German Luger. It’s most likely that she stole it from one of the girls at the hostel. Do you know anything about that?”
Jimmy shook his head.
“Are you sure? By all accounts, Elsie Bates was on the light-fingered side.”
“Dad, give her some respect, will you? She’s dead.”
Tyler gripped his son’s hand. It was icy cold.
“Jimbo. I’m sorry. I know you’ve had a rotten time, and if I could have done anything in the world to make that easier for you, I would have but –”
“But it’s something a man has to do, go to war for his country. Isn’t that what you were going to say? Makes us grow up. Of course, those that don’t – grow up I mean – are another matter all together. They’re usually dead or insane.” Jimmy shoved his chair back. “Is that all you want to ask me?”
Defeated, Tyler nodded. “For now.” He tried a feeble joke. “Don’t leave the country without telling me.”
“I’ll be at Mrs. Thorne’s. I told her I’d help her out in the garden.”
“Go ahead. I’ll see you later.”
“Tell Mum I won’t be home for dinner.”
He left, and Tyler got up and went upstairs. Vera stuck her head out of the bedroom.
“Where’s Jimmy?”
Tyler didn’t answer but went into the bathroom and opened the medicine cabinet. There wasn’t much in there, some plasters, some iodine, a bottle of aspirin. He opened it, but there were only three pills remaining so he left them. On the bottom shelf was a bottle of prescription pills made out for Jimmy Tyler. Take two nightly for sleep. Do not exceed the dosage.
He opened the bottle and poured the contents into the lavatory bowl, jerked hard on the chain, and flushed them away.
“What did you do that for?”
He turned and saw Vera was standing in the doorway. But she knew the answer, and her face crumpled into tears.
She ran over to Tyler and pressed herself against him. He held her close, rocking her soothingly. “He’ll be all right, Vee. He’s just going through a bad patch. He’ll come out of it.”
He was saying it as much for himself as for her, and he didn’t know if even he entirely believed his own words.