I took the stairs quietly and darted into the scullery, which opened onto the backyard. Eva was pouring hot water into a dolly tub, a big metal-rimmed tub for doing laundry. The bed sheets were in the tub, but hanging from a peg was a blue serge suit.
“Oh, Captain,” Eva said, stepping in front of the clothing as if I might not notice.
“Did you take anything else?” I asked. “I don’t care about the suit, although his relatives may.”
“No,” she said, her eyes downcast. “Just this. I thought I might take it out a bit and it would fit Father nicely. He’s had nothing new since the rationing, and Mr. Neville told me he had no close relatives. I was worried the police would take everything away. I’m sorry.” That last bit was drawn out as if she was talking to an idiot, which meant she wasn’t sorry at all, and that I should stop being so mean.
“Don’t worry,” I said, going through the pockets and coming up empty. “Did Mr. Neville tell you anything else that you forgot to mention?”
“Yes. To be careful and not go out at night alone. He said the world was a dangerous place, and that I should watch out for myself. He was very serious about it. I didn’t want to say anything in front of Mama, it would only worry her.”
“He was right about the world,” I said. “It was good advice.”
“What should I do with the suit?”
“I’m not your conscience, kid. Do whatever you can live with.”
CHAPTER NINE
It wasn’t like I was a stranger to valuables vanishing from a crime scene. I’d never take a treasured family possession, but I do recall nicking a smoked ham once, from the house of a guy who’d taken two slugs to the back of the head. He was a mobster, lived alone, and I figured no one would mind since he had about a dozen of them hanging down in the cellar. Depending on the circumstances, I could live with certain small appliances, foodstuff, clothing and whatnot walking away. One suit from a guy who either had no family or didn’t care about them was a long way from crossing my line. I’d admired Eva’s initiative, but felt like I had to play the tough guy.
I wasn’t feeling so tough as I looked for Sergeant Sullivan, given that I was investigating a murder and had instead uncovered a kid pinching a dead man’s suit for her paunchy old man. I found Sullivan in the parlor, leafing through a copy of a film magazine with David Niven on the cover.
“It’s Eva’s,” he said, tossing it aside. “She loves the moving pictures. We’re supposed to see The Way Ahead, the new David Niven film, tonight. But I’ll be in Dutch with my CO for not getting back on time.”
“Yeah, you got it rough, Sullivan. Tell me, how’d you get along with Neville?”
“Everyone calls me Sully, Captain.”
“Okay, Sully. What did Neville call you?”
“We hardly exchanged a dozen words. I’m here to see Eva, so I stay in the kitchen most times. I had dinner with the family once when he was here, but he mainly talked with Mr. Miller. He was okay, I guess.”
“He ever give Eva a hard time?”
“You mean come on to her? Hell, Captain, he was an older guy. Forty, maybe.”
“Wouldn’t be the first time. Eva’s a pretty gal. You certain she never said anything?”
“No, she didn’t. What, do you think he pulled a fast one and she … oh, wait, I get it. You think I clobbered him, huh?”
“You’d have every right to be mad about a guy making a move on your girl. Him living under the same roof and all.”
“No, he didn’t pull anything. And you got a suspicious mind, Captain.”
“Goes with the territory. Anything out of the ordinary happen around here lately? Break-ins, strangers prowling around?”
“No, just that missing girl they’re all looking for. It’s the talk of the town.”
“Did Neville ever go out boating on the canal?”
“Jeez, Captain, I don’t know. I wasn’t keeping tabs on the guy.”
Big Mike came in and sat down on the couch next to me. I felt the springs sag. “Anything?” I asked.
“Sore feet and wasted time,” he said. “No one saw anything, and most don’t remember ever seeing Stuart Neville around. Nothing unusual to report, but everyone is keeping their kids close by until they find that girl. It’s all they wanted to talk about.”
“Okay. Big Mike, why don’t you run Sully here back to his base. Shouldn’t take too long. Put in a good word for him and let his CO know he discovered the body and was assisting the investigation.”
“Thanks, Captain,” Sully said. “You’re all right. I’ll say so long to Eva.”
“One more thing, Sully. You have any Negro units on the air base?”
“Yeah, there’s a Quartermaster truck company. Why?”
“Is there much trouble between the white and colored boys? Fights, that sort of thing?”
“Hasn’t been any I know of, Captain. Might be because it’s only one company, and they do a good job, no complaints there. When I was stationed in Northern Ireland, there were lots of Negro GIs around, and there was trouble, especially over girls. A lot of the Southern boys especially didn’t like seeing those girls arm in arm with Negroes.”
“What about you, Sully?”
“Well, it was pretty strange. Not something you’d expect to see back in the States. Can’t say I got used to it, but no one forced those girls to go out with them. I heard it said more than once that the Negro troops were polite and well behaved, and the locals liked that. But some fellows really took offense. There was real trouble there, believe me.”
“But not at Greenham Common?”
“No. We even got a baseball game coming up, our squadron against the QM company. I’m playing shortstop.”
“Okay, take off. Meet Big Mike at the jeep in five.”
“I’ll pump him, non-com to non-com,” Big Mike said after Sully cleared the door. “You think he’s hiding anything?”
“No, he seems genuine. But I’m wondering about what Eva said Neville told her. That the world is a dangerous place.”
“You think Neville had something to do with the missing girl?” Big Mike said, with a born cop’s instinct and innate suspicion of everyone.
“All I know is he was pretty much a cipher except for that warning. I wonder why he said it. See what Sully thinks. Meet us at the Hog’s Head pub, it should be within walking distance; it’s where Neville drank.”
“Okay, Billy. That stuff about the Negroes, that wasn’t about this case, was it?” Big Mike gave me a skeptical glare. I’d filled him in about Angry Smith and he was playing mother hen, making sure I didn’t wander too far afield.
“No. Just trying to get a feel for the attitudes around here. Hungerford is the next town over. I might make some time to check in with Tree while we’re here.”
Big Mike left with Sully and I walked out the back door, standing in front of the now-empty cellar stairs. The body was gone, the air was quiet, and the day was winding down. Faint sounds of traffic came from Bridge Street, and water in the canal gurgled as an oarsman worked against the current. A line of trees separated the houses from the path and the narrow watercraft moored along the bank. The deck of one boat was uncovered, and leaves floated on a thin patch of water from the recent rains. Is this where Neville got his feet wet? I went aboard, and the vessel rocked in the water. It was decrepit, with faded, peeling paint and rusty metal fixtures. The bow deck was open, with a small enclosed cabin aft. I knocked and the cabin door swung open, sending the odor of mildew and rot wafting up. It was deserted, as was the tiny engine room with its ancient diesel engine, which was the best-kept part of the boat. My shoes squished as I crossed the water logged floor, and I realized Neville was not quite a cipher after all. He’d warned Eva and his shoes and socks were soaked. Two things out of the ordinary in a very ordinary life. I caught movement out of the corner of my eye, and glanced to the path.