He left, looking very dejected.
‘I wonder how keen he’d be to stay if we told him the “Giant” was here in the house?’ I said.
‘Just as well we didn’t mention it,’ said the inspector. He sighed, looking suddenly very tired. ‘I suppose we’d better speak to Haddock again,’ he said, wearily. ‘Although I don’t feel we’re getting any closer.’
‘Nonsense, my dear Inspector,’ said Lady Hardcastle. ‘We’re nearly there now. Just one or two more things to iron out and then we can nab our man.’
‘We can?’ he said, doubtfully.
‘Indubitably.’
‘My breath is duly bated,’ he said, still without conviction. ‘Miss Armstrong, would you do the honours, please?’
‘Certainly, Inspector. One grilled haddock, coming up.’
I found Mr Haddock on the terrace, playing backgammon with Captain Summers. There were drinks on the table and they seemed to be enjoying themselves.
‘Aha,’ said Captain Summers, catching sight of me. ‘The daring lady’s maid. I say, Haddock, did you know this one threw an Irish prize fighter to the ground? Tiny little thing like that. Don’t know what the world’s coming to.’
Haddock leered at me. ‘What can we do for you, my dear?’
‘Inspector Sunderland would like to talk to you, Mr Haddock,’ I said.
‘What a shame,’ he said. ‘I was rather hoping you’d come to join us.’
I said nothing and waited for him to rise and follow me.
‘Well, Summers, my lad,’ he said at length. ‘Time and Inspectors of Police wait for no man. We shall finish our game presently, but for now I have to accompany this delightful girl to the dining room.’
He rose unsteadily to his feet and followed my in through the French windows of the ballroom. As we neared the door he caught up with me and put his hand on my behind.
‘I’m sure we have time to get a little better acquainted before I see the inspector,’ he said. ‘What a pretty little thing you arrgggghhh.’
There were only two punches and a kick, and quite gentle ones at that. As I helped him to his feet I said, ‘I’m so sorry, Mr Haddock, it’s this ballroom floor. Very slippery. I must have lost my balance a little. Are you quite all right?’
He glared at me.
Still grasping his hand I leaned in close and spoke very softly in his ear. ‘Please don’t touch me again, sir. The floors are quite slippery throughout the house now I come to think about it. Who knows how disastrously I might lose my balance the next time.’
He said nothing for the rest of the short walk to the dining room.
‘Ah, Mr Haddock,’ said the inspector as we entered. ‘Sorry to have to drag you in here once again, but there are still one or two matters to clear up. Oh, I say, you look a bit bedraggled, sir, are you quite all right?’
‘Slipped in the ballroom,’ he said, glaring at me.
Lady Hardcastle caught the glare and gave me a questioning look of her own. I grinned and she smiled.
‘Treacherous things, ballroom floors,’ said the inspector, though I think he caught the silent exchange between me and Lady Hardcastle and had his own idea of what might have happened. ‘But to business. Would you mind telling us again why you came to The Grange?’
‘I came at Sir Hector’s invitation to appraise some of his objets d’art.’
‘And nothing else?’
‘I’m sure I don’t know what you mean, Inspector.’
‘If I were to mention the names Roland Richman and Praveer Sengupta in conjunction with the Nepalese jewel known as the Emerald Eye, would you have a clearer idea of what I might mean?’
‘No, Inspector,’ he said belligerently. ‘Not a clue.’
I took a half-step towards him and he flinched.
‘Keep that vicious little harpy away from me,’ he whined.
‘I’d love to,’ said the inspector, ‘but she doesn’t work for me. I’ve tried to keep her under control, but you know what it’s like with women these days. Law unto themselves, they are.’
‘Just keep her away from me and I’ll tell you what you want to know.’
‘Good lad. She’s quite reasonable. I’m sure she’ll not harm you. At least not while there’s anyone watching. So tell us again about your visit to The Grange.’
‘It’s true that I was invited down here by Sir Hector,’ he said. ‘But on the day of the party I got a telegram from Richman saying that he was going to be playing and that we should complete our business down here.’
‘Your business being the sale of the Eye,’ said the inspector.
‘Yes,’ he said, resignedly. ‘I have a buyer lined up in London but Richman was getting into some hot water over it all, so we decided to make the transfer here, then I’d complete the whole deal when we got back. No one would be looking for it at my place.’
‘And you arranged to meet him in the interval.’
‘You seem to know all about it, Inspector. I don’t really see why I have to go through it all.’
‘Indulge me. You arranged to meet in the interval, but you didn’t show up.’
‘I got delayed, that was all. I went to the… er… you know. I told you before. When I got back to the library Richman wasn’t there.’
‘So you just left it at that?’
‘No… I… er…’
‘You, er, what, sir?’
He sighed. ‘I went into the library.’
‘And what did you see?’
‘Chaos, Inspector. Chaos. The band’s things had been torn apart.’
‘Did you see Mr Holloway?’
‘No. No, I stayed long enough to see what had happened and got out. Richman had told me about The Giant and I was afraid he’d followed him down here, so I wasn’t going to hang around for him to tear me apart, too.’
‘I see,’ said the inspector. ‘Did you see anything else?’
He paused. ‘I think I heard the far door clicking shut as I came in, but I can’t be certain.’
‘And it never occurred to you to mention this when we questioned you before?’
‘Oh, come on, Inspector. It wouldn’t have taken you long to find out my reputation. And then how would it look? I reckoned it would all blow over and I’d be long gone before you sussed who I am and then there’d be no awkward questions and no unpleasantness.’
‘I see. Well, if what you say is true, then aside from being a lying little toe-rag, I’ve got nothing to hold you on, but don’t leave The Grange until I say you can. On your way, Haddock.’
‘Charming,’ said Haddock.
‘Don’t push your luck, “sir”,’ said the inspector.
I shifted my weight slightly and he was out the door like a startled rat.
Inspector Sunderland slumped in one of the dining room chairs and massaged his temples.
‘I just can’t seem to piece it all together,’ he said, dejectedly. ‘The jewel is the key, but no one involved seems to have had cause to pinch it and kill Holloway in the process.’