Gently said: ‘Did you notice if there were any vehicles parked in the vicinity?’
‘I can’t remember any. There was still quite a bit of traffic going down to the football match.’
‘Did you see anybody you recognized, or any vehicles you recognized?’
‘I wasn’t thinking much about other people… Susan answered the door, and I told her why I had come. I also asked her where Gretchen was. She told me that my father was in the study and that Gretchen was upstairs in her room. I went along to the study, knocked and entered.
‘My father was sitting at the table facing the door. He rose as I entered.’
‘What did he say?’ demanded Hansom.
‘He said something like: “You! I was expecting you to turn up one of these fine days!” I replied that I had not come to annoy him but about a business matter.’
‘What did he say to that?’
‘He said that I hadn’t any business to come about and that I could take myself off again. I did my best to smooth him down so that he would listen to me. I admitted that I had been very much in the wrong, and that I did not expect his forgiveness, and let him give me a thorough dressing-down without saying a word. After he had cooled off a little bit I mentioned that I was in the way of setting up in business on my own.’
‘How did he take that?’
‘He took it a good deal better than I expected. I went into details about the partnership, showed him the balance sheet and eventually touched on the five hundred pounds. He said, “Yes, I could see that coming,” and got out the safe key. I could hardly believe in my good luck. He went over and opened the safe and took out a packet of five-pound notes. Then he came back and put them on the table between us. “There,” he said, “there’s five hundred pounds, my little man. Let us say that is what you were worth to me two years ago. But you’ve depreciated,” he said, “you’ve gone down in the market, my son. Today, you are worth only one per cent of your value two years ago. You have taken money, ha, ha! You have run away, ha, ha! And… you have married!” Upon which he stripped off the top note and thrust it into my hand. “That is your value to me, my son,” he said, “you have it now, and that is all you will ever have.”
‘For a moment I just stared at him, unable to credit it. The next, all my self-control had gone. Everything that had been stored up for two years came out in a rush… everything. I told him just what I thought of him. I couldn’t help it. I have a very bad temper… we both had…’
‘Can you remember anything of what you said?’ asked Gently.
‘I said that he was unnatural — that he had sold his soul — that he had no more human feelings left: and I called him names… hypocrite
… miser… satyr…’
‘Did you refer to the bank-note?’
‘Yes. I told him there’d be a time when that note came back to roost… with interest.’
‘What did you mean by that?’
‘I’m not quite sure. I had some idea of returning it in such a way that he would regret it… I don’t know how.’
The super said: ‘Think carefully, now. Was there any violence on either side during this quarrel?’
‘No, none.’
‘Was any offered?’
‘No… my father raised his hand once, but that was all.’
‘Very well. Go on with your statement.’
‘In the end I flung out of the side door and left him to it. The last thing he said was that if I ever showed my face there again he’d have me put in charge.’
‘Why did you leave by the side door?’ asked Hansom.
‘It happened to be open, and I wanted to get out quickly. I went back to the fairground in a flaming temper. I told Cathy what had happened, which upset her, I’m afraid: it wasn’t fair, but I had to let off steam somehow. Anyway, I cooled down a bit and had a cup of tea, and then went over to the Wall for my next ride.’
‘What time was that?’ Gently enquired.
‘It was timed for four-thirty.’
‘Where did you put on your overalls — at the Wall?’
‘No… I put on this spare pair. I had them at the caravan. I tore the seam of the other pair when I took them off.’
‘Did you see anybody you knew as you crossed the fairground?’
‘I shouldn’t have noticed them if I did. I saw Clark, who told me not to take it to heart too much — he said he’d got a pal in London who might put up the money for me. And then I got on with my rides. I rode at four-thirty, five, five-thirty and six. After the show at five I went back to the caravan and had something to eat… also, I tried to cheer Cathy up. By the six ride I’d pretty well got over it. And then I went out and bought a paper…
‘I saw it directly because I looked at the stop-press for the football results. It struck me absolutely numb, like a blow on the head… it almost seemed that I must have done it myself. I felt as though I were… doomed.’
‘Did it not occur to you that the best thing to do would be to come straight to the police?’ asked the super sternly.
‘But what would they think? What could they think? Everything was so much against me that I could hardly believe myself… The quarrel, that must have been heard by everyone in the house — perhaps other people; my relations with my father — my need of money — his intention of changing his will — it was all well known. And then, for it to have happened directly after the quarrel… it seemed that I was caught up in some terrible mechanism. There was only one thing left to do, and I did it.
‘That evening I hid amongst some derelict buildings near Burgh Street. As soon as it was dark I made my way out of town towards Starmouth. I didn’t know quite what I should do, but I felt I should be safer out in the country. I spent the night in a cart-shed somewhere and tried to think things over and make a plan. There was just a chance that the police would find the murderer quite quickly, that I might not have been suspected at all. In that case I intended to give myself up. But if they did not, then it was as good as committing suicide and I resolved that somehow I must get out of the country. At first I thought I would go on to Starmouth, but it was a long way. Then I thought of the timber-boats that came up to Norchester. Some of them were Dutch, and as you know, I am Dutch by extraction and speak the language perfectly. If I could get on one of those to Holland I should be safe, and later on I could get a message back to Cathy and have her brought over to me.
‘I hid all Sunday in some woods not far from the city. In the morning I had ventured out to some cottages and stole a newspaper from a letter-box. I was convinced from what I read in it that I must get away. When the night came again I worked my way back into the city, keeping to all the back roads and side lanes, and made a reconnaissance along Riverside. There I found the Zjytze. I knew her well — also, she was empty, which meant that she would soon be on her way home. So I crept round into the timber-yard and got aboard her.’
The super slashed parallel lines across a pattern he was building up on his pad. ‘You realize, of course, the immediate construction we were obliged to place on your actions?’ he asked.
Peter’s hand opened appealingly. ‘I know… I know… but what else could I have done? It was not my life that was wanted… yet who would believe that?’
‘We were bound to catch you in the long run. It would have been best to come to us straight away.’
‘I don’t know… one must try to save one’s life.’
Hansom said: ‘Was it true that Hoochzjy didn’t know you were on the vessel?’
‘I could not risk letting him know, not until we were clear of England. I know him well and I don’t think he would have given me up; but I was not going to risk it.’
Gently said: ‘I’d like to go back a little bit. You said just now that “the quarrel must have been heard by everyone in the house”. Whom did you have in mind?’
‘There was Susan and my sister… perhaps others.’
‘Did you see your sister?’
‘No, but Susan told me that she was there.’