‘Probably not, so far as you and Tom are concerned, but your interests must be protected. Is there any chance that it could have been suicide?’
‘I think the attitude of the police suggests something a lot more sinister than that. They are questioning us and probing and ferreting around in the most unnerving manner. Young Priscilla, who is scared almost out of her wits, asked me if it was possible to commit murder in your sleep. I think she has almost persuaded herself that she did the deed under those circumstances. However, she is a poet and, to that extent, mad.’
‘So the police have made no secret of their suspicions of murder?’
‘The word itself has not been used yet, but actions speak louder than words and they are turning the village and the castle upside down and all of our party inside out.’
Somewhat to Bonamy’s surprise, the Detective-Superintendent made no objection to the visit to Dame Beatrice.
‘We have checked on the information you gave us, sir,’ he said, ‘and Dame Beatrice has confirmed that you and Mr Hassocks were at the Stone House on Monday when you said you were, and that you yourself are well known to her from childhood. When your visit is over, we shall expect to be informed of your whereabouts.’
‘Oh, yes, of course. I say, does that mean you think there was something fishy about Veryan’s death?’
‘We are always very thorough in our investigations into “accidental” deaths, especially those of eminent persons which occur under highly suspicious circumstances, sir.’
‘How do you mean – highly suspicious circumstances?’
‘Now, sir, you must not question a police officer who is only performing his duty. The Chief Constable sends his regards to Dame Beatrice. She has been in touch with him.’
‘So she did pull her rank,’ said Bonamy to Tom, when they were on their way to the Stone House, ‘and I take it very kind of her, because it’s a thing she hates and detests doing.’
‘You don’t suppose she thinks we might be in trouble?’
‘We haven’t an alibi, you know.’
‘Neither has anybody else, so far as I can see.’
‘The Saltergates? After all, if the police are going to find out about that row between them and Veryan, Edward Saltergate will come under suspicion, so it’s lucky for him that he can prove he was safely in harbour at the Horse and Cart.’
‘But can he prove it? I should have thought it was almost impossible to prove that you were in bed with your wife while evil deeds were being committed.’
‘Somebody at the Horse and Cart would have known if he had sneaked out at night.’
‘I doubt it. These country people sleep like the dead. Besides, he wouldn’t need to use the front door to get in and out. There’s an iron fire-escape staircase reaching right up to the roof, so it must connect with every floor.’
‘You know,’ said Bonamy, ‘I think the police have something to go on, apart from mere suspicion and being thorough, and all that. I wonder what it is? It must be a real clue of some sort.’
‘Well, it was strange that the thing happened just when it did, with everybody away except the Saltergates. It almost lets them out, alibi or no alibi, if you see what I mean. If an intelligent man like Saltergate meant to murder somebody, he wouldn’t do it when he was the only man on the spot, especially if the murder was the result of a quarrel.’
When lunch was over at the Stone House, Dame Beatrice and Laura took the young men into the library, ‘As being,’ said Laura, ‘a room of more sober aspect than the drawing-room,’ and there the conference was held.
‘I gather,’ said Dame Beatrice, ‘that the death took place at night.’
‘Yes. It seems that Veryan was a bit of an amateur astronomer. He used to take his telescope up to the top of the keep and study the stars from there.’
‘I thought you two slept in the keep. You say “it seems”. Does that mean you were unaware until now that he must always have passed through your sleeping quarters to get to the newel staircase?’
‘We’ve discussed that,’ said Tom. ‘We think he must have gone to the keep and climbed the stair before we got back from the pub.’
‘That would account for his comings, but what about his goings?’
‘Must have been some time after we were asleep. The newel stair is in the opposite corner from where our beds were placed and the keep is pretty wide. Besides, apparently he wore sneakers on these occasions, so, unless he fell over something or made any other kind of noise, we wouldn’t have been disturbed. We had worked very hard during the mornings, including the time we spent looking for our well before breakfast each day, and then we would drive to our pub after dinner and stay there until closing time.’
‘So all work at the castle has ceased. Is that a temporary measure? Will the parties carry on later?’
‘I think they may. Tynant is staying on, anyway, after the inquest, to carry on with the Bronze Age dig.’
‘If the police have questioned all the members of the party – separately, I suppose you mean – and are still there, they certainly have their suspicions,’ said Laura.
‘Well, there were two rather strange things about the night of the accident. We told them about our being here instead of in the keep when the accident happened.’
‘But it doesn’t seem as though you could have prevented the accident if you had been there.’
‘No, but we might have heard him yell out as he fell. In that case we could have rushed out and got a doctor to him straight away. It might have done some good.’
‘What was the other strange thing?’
‘On that night the three women weren’t in their caravan any more than we were in the keep. I don’t know what they’d been doing for the rest of the weekend, but Dr Lochlure and Tynant were in Holdy Bay on that particular day. It was Sunday, if you remember. Tom and I left you early on Monday afternoon. Well, apparently Tynant’s car broke down (or he says it did) soon after they had left Holdy Bay on Sunday night. He tinkered about with it, but soon realised there was nothing he could do, so he walked Dr Susannah back to the hotel at which they had dined – not the Seagull, but the other one – and made them give her a bed for the night. Then he walked all the way back to the Barbican and, not liking to knock them up in the small hours, he says he sat on the stone coping until the sleeping-out staff arrived on duty and went in with them.’
‘What of Dr Lochlure?’
‘Says she got a taxi after an early breakfast in Holdy Bay on Monday morning and was back at the caravan before the two girls arrived a bit later.’
‘So where had the two women students been?’
‘Well, it was they who were responsible for our deciding to play hooky for the weekend. They had struck work and, like true daughters of Eve, had tempted us to do likewise. Fiona’s home is only about thirty miles from the castle, and Priscilla has friends who live on a farm between Holdy Bay and Fiona’s home, so, as they have the use of Tom’s car, Fiona dropped Priscilla off at the farm, went on home and picked up Priscilla again first thing on Monday morning. It appears they and Dr Lochlure were accustomed to wait in the caravan after breakfast for Mrs Saltergate to come and dig them out for the start of the day’s work. On Monday it wasn’t she who came; it was the police. Then, I suppose, it all happened at once – police towing their caravan away and ordering them to take Tom’s car to the car park and then the general round-up at the Barbican, where they were given the news. Of course Tom and I didn’t show up until nearly teatime because, while all this was going on, we were here with you.’
‘That appears to account for everybody except for Mr and Mrs Saltergate,’ said Dame Beatrice.
‘They were staying at the Horse and Cart, the other hotel in the village. The first they knew was when they got a phone message from Tynant to tell them that Veryan had had a fatal accident and to ask them to come round to the Barbican instead of going to the castle.’