The line had gone dead. Calouste hated the way his informer suddenly ended a call. It had been the same distorted voice. Man or woman? Calouste had no bloody idea.
Coming to a roundabout Calouste drove round it and went back the way they had come. Jacques looked at him, kept his mouth shut. He was still shaken by the extraordinary behaviour of Calouste dancing like a devil in the field of rape. `Tweed will be back at Hengistbury tonight,' Calouste said viciously. 'You have your rifle in the boot?' `Yes, I have.' `He won't expect another attempt on his life so soon. You will shoot him dead. I have a lodge close to that manor. That will be our base. You are the best marksman in all Europe.' `Not quite,' Jacques admitted, 'the star turn is a member of Tweed's team. Man called Mader.'
19
Tweed had driven through the open gates when a motorcycle followed them in. It flashed at speed past the Mercedes, throwing up pebbles. Paula learned forward. `Young idiot. Just a sec – that's Leo' `Complete with brand-new windcheater and woolly cap.' `Could he have been following us? I heard a motorbike as we first saw Dodd's End. And I'm sure I heard the same sound twice on our way back.' `World is full of the things,' Tweed replied.
Leo slowed near the terrace, turned to wave at them, then disappeared on his machine round the back of the manor. The first person they met on entering the hall was Lavinia, dressed in a smart tunic and jodhpurs tucked inside gleaming riding boots. `You opened the gates for us,' Paula said. 'Thank you. `My pleasure. Had lunch? I thought not. I told Mrs Grandy to keep a hot meal. I guessed you might be back soon. That Merc moves – especially on motorways.' `Luckily,' said Tweed, 'the chap we went to meet lives on the verge of London, so we escaped the traffic.' `Something I forgot to tell you and should have let you know earlier. I'm talking about Bella's study. There's a secret entrance. After lunch I'll show you.' `The meal will be delayed half an hour,' the grating voice of Mrs Grandy, who had appeared suddenly, called out. 'If you think heated food can hang about you know as little about kitchens as I think you do.' `We could go up to the study now,' Lavinia suggested in a quiet voice. She raised her voice as Snape appeared. 'You might take their clothes and hang them up, please.'
She led the way up the staircase and along a narrow corridor with panelled walls, passing the entrance to the library. The rest of the corridor appeared to lead nowhere. It was blocked off by solid panelling. The name of the bank was in raised metal letters: the Main Chance Bank.
"The letters are a code. Care to try your luck?' she asked Paula. `She had a course in code-breaking,' Tweed said, `when she worked at Medfords Security before coming to me. `It will be simple,' said Paula.
She pressed the 'M' of Main, then the 'a' of the same word. She paused, then pressed the 'n' and the `e' of Chance. Nothing happened. `Good try,' Lavinia said, 'now watch me.'
Lavinia pressed the `M' of Main. She switched to the second word, pressed the 'a' and then the 'n' and the last `e'. She had spelt out 'MANE' but in a different sequence. The solid panel slid aside and they were looking into the end of the study and the space behind Bella's tall chair. `You did have the right codeword, MANE,' Lavinia said with a smile at Paula. `So that's how it was done,' Tweed said under his breath as he walked in and stood behind the chair. Paula and Lavinia followed him then walked further into the study. `Place gives me the creeps after what happened,' Lavinia remarked. `Me too,' Paula agreed.
Tweed stood stock-still, trying to reconstruct the murder in the place where it had happened. He heard the panel door closing, turned to look at it. The same lettering was attached as on the far side. `Same code opens it from this side,' Lavinia called out. 'When Bella summoned someone for a discreet discussion whoever she was calling knew they should use that door.'
Tweed moved from behind the chair, walked to the other end of the study, sat down in a chair close to Lavinia. `Who else knows the code to open the secret door?' `There's Marshal.' She counted them off on her slim fingers. 'Then Warner, of course. Plus Crystal – and I'm sure Leo knows it. Once, in a hurry, I didn't check the other end of the corridor before I tapped out the code. I glanced back afterwards and Leo was peeking round the corner. He does have exceptional eyesight. And Snape, of course.' `Quite a roll call of suspects.' `Do you mind if we go into the library?' Lavinia suggested, standing up. 'Don't like this room any more…'
The three of them settled in armchairs arranged so they faced each other. Lavinia sat opposite Tweed, studying him – her large blue pool-like eyes he found disconcerting. `You always wanted to work here as an accountant?' he asked her. `No, I didn't.' She laughed, a pleasant appealing sound. 'Once I'd passed my exams and knew I could stay here if I wanted to I decided I'd explore the real world. Now don't laugh,' she said with a ravishing smile, 'I became an actress, playing in small theatres on the northern circuit. The accommodation was frightful, pokey little rooms, and the food was awful.' `What parts did you play?' `Shakespeare. I was in King Lear and played all three of his daughters in succession. I really did,' she said with a chuckle. `Which was your favourite? Goneril or Regan, one of the two evil daughters?' `Absolutely not, although I coped with the parts. No, my favourite was Cordelia, the sister they so cruelly exploited. Then, I can't imagine why, the company toured Europe. In Denmark the audience hissed me when I played Goneril or Regan, but they applauded Cordelia.' `Then you came here?' suggested Tweed. `Not yet. I joined Medfords Security.' She looked at Paula. 'You went there, didn't you. I was taught how to open complex locks, how to shadow suspects without being seen, changing clothes at intervals, the way I walked.' `I did that too,' Paula chimed in. 'I found that the most difficult part of the course. `Me too,' Lavinia agreed. 'I don't think I was very good at it.' `So play-acting didn't suit you?' Tweed asked Lavinia. `The travel abroad was interesting. So many different countries. But I didn't like some of my fellow actors. Let's just say they were peculiar.' She leaned close to Tweed. 'And it was after my time at Medfords I came back here. It is so peaceful after the hell of London traffic and the pedestrians jabbering away on their mobiles and walking into you.' She put a hand on Tweed's knee. 'So now you have the biography of Lavinia.' `Thank you,' he said with a smile. find it fascinating.' `Fascinating? Me or the biography?' she asked with an endearing smile as she removed her hand from his knee. `Both, of course,' he replied gallantly.
Lavinia checked her watch, stood up, her figure erect. `If we go down now for lunch we should just beat Mrs Grandy using her hooter.' `Hooter?' queried Paula as they left the library and reached the top of the great flight of the main stairs. `That's what I call her way of bellowing when a meal is ready.'
As they entered the main library Mrs Grandy appeared with a grim expression. Marshal came bustling in after them, followed by Marler and Newman. Mrs Grandy stood in the doorway, arms crossed. `Nice when some people are on time. Just. As for the male lot, they're late. And I don't appreciate being told late to prepare for two extras.
She aimed her stubby index finger at both Marler and Newman. Marshal turned on her. `Instead of bellowing like a baboon, which I'm reminded of, looking at you, do the job you're paid too much for and serve the meal which, I do hope, is edible.'