The Chief Constable, Major Grierson, arrived just before half past three in a large car with the Divisional Surgeon, a sergeant in plain clothes, and a photographer. He was a worried-looking man of about fifty, with a quick, fussy way of talking, and what appeared to be a chronic catarrh. He kept on dabbing at his thin nose with a ball of a handkerchief, and his conversation was punctuated by sniffs. He was met by the local Superintendent, and by Dinah, who happened to be in the hall when he arrived. He said: "This is a terrible business. Shocking, shocking! Knew the General quite — er — well. You're his sister-in-law? Quite. Now Superintendent, if you are ready… !"
He, and the doctor, the photographer, and the plainclothes man, who turned out to be the finger-print expert, all followed the Superintendent into the study, and remained there for a very long time.
At half past four Fay came downstairs. She had changed into a black frock, which had the effect of enhancing her pallor. Her eyes still had that strained, dilated look, as though they were haunted, but her manner was carefully controlled. She took her usual place behind the tea-tray, and said with an effort: "It was nice of you to stay, Julia. I'm afraid it has all been very — very horrid for you. I find I can't quite realise it yet. It doesn't seem to be possible, somehow. Have they — have they finished yet? Did they find anything to show — to give them any clue, do you know? I feel so certain myself that it must have been someone from outside. The windows were open, after all, and — Arthur made a great many enemies. Don't you think so, Julia? Don't you, Dinah?"
Geoffrey set down his cup and saucer with an unsteady hand. "I suppose you mean you think I did it?" he said. "Well, it may interest you to know that I wasn't anywhere near the house."
Fay looked distressed. "Oh no, no, I didn't mean that!" she said. "Of course I didn't mean that!" She looked up as Stephen Guest entered the room, and in that fleeting moment Dinah read the dread in her eyes. Then Fay said quietly: "Ah, here you are, Stephen. I was just going to ask Geoffrey to tell you tea was ready."
The Hallidays came in at that moment. Camilla had solved the problem of dress, apparently to her satisfaction, by putting on a brown frock instead of the pale blue one she had worn all the morning. She looked though she had been crying, and seemed rather subdued.
There was nothing subdued about Lola, who presently sailed into the room dressed in the deepest of mourning.
Any stranger entering the room would certainly have taken her for the widow, and not Fay. She wore a long, trailing robe of some dead-black material, without any ornament at all, and carried a handkerchief with a dark black hem. Where she could have found such a thing. in a moment's notice Dinah could not imagine. She was forced to the conclusion that either it must belong to the faithful Concetta, or the inky border had been hastily stitched to an ordinary white handkerchief.
"I am quite upset," she announced. "You can feel how my heart is beating, altogether too fast. I have seen that they have taken away the corpse of Geoffrey's papa. It has made me feel extremely sad, quite overcome. And I must tell you that it is very painful to me that the policemen who stand in the hall should stare at me as though they think it is I who have stabbed Geoffrey's papa. I have told the fat policeman that he cannot at all prove that I am an assassin, but he is, I think, a fool, since he will only open his mouth like a fish, and not answer me when I speak."
Her auditors were spared the necessity of replying to this address by the entrance of Finch, who came to tell Fay that the Chief Constable would like to speak to her and to Geoffrey.
They both went out, Geoffrey saying: "I wonder what he wants to see me for? I suppose, though I hadn't thought of it before, that now Father's dead I'm the head of the family. I suppose that's it."
The Chief Constable was looking more worried than ever. The Superintendent, who was standing beside him, with his thumbs tucked into a belt of quite enormous span, had a profoundly dissatisfied look in his eye, and stared hard at a painting over the fireplace in a glassy way that gave the impression that he had entirely dissociated himself from any subsequent proceedings.
The sight of Fay made Major Grierson dab his nose a great many times in succession. He said: "Ah, Lady Billington-Smith! Quite. Er — a very bad business. I assure you I — er —- feel for you most deeply. Now, Mr — er — Billington-Smith, we have come to the conclusion, the Superintendent and I — yes, yes, Superintendent! We have come to the conclusion, as I say, that this is a case where it will be — er — advisable to call in Scotland Yard."
"Scotland Yard?" repeated Geoffrey. "Do you mean we've got to have detectives down? But I say — I mean, is that absolutely necessary?"
The Superintendent brought his aloof gaze down from The Fighting Temeraire, and bent it sternly upon Geoffrey.
Major Grierson's manner became still more impersonal. "I should not, Mr. Billington-Smith, do anything that was in my — er — opinion unnecessary. Now you will understand, of course, that no one must enter the room where the — er — in short, the study. Quite. The Superintendent will leave two of his men — er — on duty. I understand that you have guests in the house. None of these must leave until after the — er — visit of the Yard Inspector. Yes, Superintendent, what is it?"
"In the matter of Mrs. Twining, sir," said the Superintendent woodenly, "who, if agreeable, desires to return to Blessington House, which same being her residence in the vicinity."
"Mrs. Twining, yes. Well, I think in the case of Mrs. Twining, since she lives close — er — at hand, there would be no objection. She will understand, of course, that she must hold herself in — er readiness to be here to answer any further questions which the Yard Inspector may want to put to her. Naturally." He dabbed afresh at his nose "And — er — one other matter, Mr. Billington-Smith. The Inspector will want to see the — er — safe in the study opened. That should be done by your — er — late father's solicitor. Perhaps you will arrange for him to cone down for that purpose. I think that is all at — er — present ."
"Yes, but surely it can't be necessary — I mean, it'll be a most awful nuisance having to stay cooped up here with a lot of policemen on guard," objected Geoffrey. "I shouldn't have thought it would be so frightfully diflicult to find out who murdered Father — not that I'm criticising, of course, but —"
Fay pressed his hand. "Geoffrey, if Major Grierson thinks it necessary, of course — of course it must be done." she said almost inaudibly. "We we quite understand. Major. And you want my husband's solicitor to come down. Yes, I — see. Geoffrey, you'll telephone to him, won't you?"
Chapter Seven
Inspector Harding, of Scotland Yard, arrived at Ralton shortly before two o'clock on Tuesday afternoon, and drove straight to the police station. Here he was awaited by Superintendent Lupton and Sergeant Nethersole. The Superintendent, who was fifty years of age, with scant grey locks, a red and somewhat fierce face, and a waist measurement of fifty inches, looked forward to Inspector Harding's advent with considerable hostility. It was not that he really wanted to handle this case up at the Grange. He would not go so far as to say that he thought it beyond his powers, but he could see that it was going to mean a lot of work, awkward work too, what with the General having been a big pot in the neighbourhood, and her ladyship giving away the prizes at the Police Sports only a week ago — not that he held with all these sports, and football teams and he didn't know what beside. They hadn't had them in his young days in the Force, and nobody need think he was going to encourage the young chaps in his division to waste their time over such-like nonsense, because he wasn't. A quiet set-down in a cosy bar with a mug of beer had always been good enough for him in his off time, and still was, though naturally as you got older you needed more than one mug of beer. But that was neither here nor there, and whether he approved of sports for the police or not, it would be an awkward job handling this case, a very awkward job it would be. But that wasn't to say he wanted one of those sharp Yard chaps poking his nose into everything, and trying to teach him his business. If he saw any signs of uppishness he'd put Mr Inspector Know-All in his place pretty quick, and no mistake about it.