Increasingly solitary, he saw his life as all that was left to him: a tattered sail that might bear the wind but would bring him to no haven.
3
At nine o'clock the following morning, Chief Inspector Sinclair addressed the team of detectives assembled in the Highfield church hall.
'Some of you with experience in murder inquiries may already have recognized the particular problems we face in this case. Most murders, as we know, are either domestic in origin or are committed in the course of some other crime. We can probably rule out the first in this instance. And while robbery was certainly a factor at Melling Lodge, there are reasons to believe that this was not the principal motive.
Indeed, it seems likely that whoever broke in did so with the intention of killing all those present in the house.'
His words drew a murmur from his audience. The group of a dozen detectives included plain-clothes men from Guildford CID and a contingent from Scotland Yard, comprising Madden and Styles and a detective sergeant named Hollingsworth. They were accommodated in straight-backed chairs facing a dais where Sinclair sat at the centre of a table, flanked by Chief Inspector Norris on one side and a senior uniformed officer on the other. Also on the stage, but sitting apart, were Lord Stratton and a middle-aged man whom Boyce identified as Sir Clifford Warner, the Surrey chief constable. A thin file lay on the table in front of Sinclair. Beside it was a canvas bag tied with a drawstring.
'In a case of this nature there's bound to be speculation.
You will have seen some of it in the morning papers. Apparently we're looking for an armed gang.'
The chief inspector paused. 'That may or may not be true. Let's hope it is. One of them is sure to open his mouth before long. I see, too, that the Sinn Fein is being held responsible in some quarters. It might be useful if I gave you some background on Colonel Fletcher. He was born in India and was commissioned in the Indian Army before returning to England, where he transferred to the regular army. He served in the war in the Signals Corps and then settled with his family here in Surrey. Neither he nor his wife has ever set foot in Ireland so far as we can determine.'
Sinclair smoothed his neatly trimmed cap of grey hair. His eye fell briefly on Madden, who was sitting in the front row of chairs beside Boyce. The inspector looked pale and drawn.
'This investigation will be run initially from High field. The vicar has put this hall at our disposal, and I intend to use it as the main interview room and also as a central collecting point for all information. Mr Boyce will be in charge here, along with Inspector Madden, whom most of you have met. They'll be assisted by Detective Sergeant Hollingsworth from Scotland Yard. The uniform branch will be working with us in the early stages under the direction of Chief Inspector Carlyle, of Guildford.' Sinclair indicated the uniformed officer beside him. 'For the past hour his men have been searching the woods behind Melling Lodge. That will go on all day — and for as long as necessary thereafter.
'A word about the interviews. The villagers have been informed, and they'll be turning up in relays starting in about fifteen minutes. I want to know how they spent the weekend, and in particular where each and every one of them was between eight and ten on Sunday night.' He paused to give emphasis to his next words. 'Every person in the village must be spoken to.
We need to know if they saw or heard anything out of the ordinary, no matter how trivial.
'A more general line of questioning will deal with the matter of strangers. In a small rural community like this, outsiders are quickly noticed. Were any seen on Sunday, or the preceding days? With the help of the Surrey police we're going to be asking the same questions in the surrounding villages. Unfortunately, either by chance or design, this could not have occurred at a worse time for us.' The chief inspector frowned. 'I refer, of course, to the bank-holiday weekend.
Half the country seems to have been on the move, and I'm afraid we'll find even Highfield has had its share of visitors and passers-by.'
He opened the file and took out a sheet of paper.
'Here is a partial list of items taken from Melling Lodge. It was supplied by the cook, Mrs Dunn. She can't be sure about the upstairs — we'll have to check that with the maid Brown when she's brought back here from Guildford. Mainly silverware and some of Mrs Fletcher's jewellery.' He glanced up. 'Not the best bits, incidentally. It's being circulated to jewellers and pawnbrokers in the normal way. Consult it if you need to.'
He removed a second sheet of paper from the file.
'Fingerprints lifted from the house are being checked against the occupants and others who were known to be regular visitors. That will take a while.
We also have a footprint.' He held up the sheet of paper. 'This is a sketch of the cast taken of a print in the stream bed at the bottom of the garden. Size eleven, military-type boot. Notice the heel.'
Sinclair displayed the drawing which showed an arrow-shaped wedge missing from the rim of the heel.
'This will have to be checked against the boots of all the men in the village, as well as Colonel Fletcher's footwear. Mr Boyce will organize that.' He paused again. 'A number of cigarette stubs were found near the body of James Wiggins in the woods above the house. They have been sent to the government chemist for analysis. They were all the same brand — Three Castles — which Wiggins didn't smoke. Find out who smokes cigarettes in the village and what brand they favour.'
The chief inspector extracted a further piece of paper from the file. He studied it for several seconds.
'I have here a preliminary report from Dr Ransom, the pathologist,' he went on. 'A description of the wounds inflicted on the three victims downstairs at felling Lodge and on Wiggins. I expect to receive a further report on Mrs Fletcher's injuries by courier from Guildford later today. The four victims I refer to were all killed with the same weapon, or an identical one. Dr Ransom characterizes this as a relatively narrow blade — no more than an inch wide — with one angle acute and the other blunt. The depth of the wounds varies between four inches, in the case of Alice Crookes, the nanny, whose body was found in the kitchen, and six inches, in the case of Colonel Fletcher.
No exit wounds were found. Dr Ransom is unable to say whether the wounds were inflicted by a right- or a left-handed man. This is because they were struck with "a remarkable degree of uniformity" — I'm quoting now — "being both straight in relation to the skin surface and horizontal". He adds one further observation:
"in each case some lateral damage to tissue was caused when the weapon was withdrawn."'
Sinclair replaced the sheet of paper carefully in the file. His glance met Madden's briefly.
'Dr Ransom agrees with Inspector Madden and myself that these wounds are typical of those caused by the standard British Army sword bayonet. I have one here.' Sinclair loosened the drawstring on the canvas bag and took out a sheathed bayonet. He withdrew the glittering steel from the scabbard and held it up. 'Notice the similarities to the murder weapon as described by Dr Ransom. One angle blunt,' he ran his finger along the top of the bayonet, 'the other acute. It may strike you as strange that a weapon of this length — it's twenty-one inches, in fact — should be used to inflict such relatively shallow wounds.
Inspector Madden will explain.'
Madden rose to his feet and faced the detectives. He spoke in a monotone. 'What I have to say will be familiar to anyone who has served in the ranks. For the rest of you, I'll describe briefly the training given to infantrymen in the last war. The average soldier, armed with rifle and bayonet, will automatically thrust the weapon in as far as it will go. Run his enemy through, in fact.