'Peter,' said Pascoe.
'Peter. It's my fate to meet Peters. The rocks on which I foundered,' said Ursula lightly. 'Where is my revered husband, by the way?'
'Being all parochial in the corner. Circulate, circulate; you'll have plenty of time, too much perhaps, for close confabulation later.'
From the far side of the room there came a little scream.
'Oh lor,' said Kingsley. 'It'll be the colonel up to his Wimbledon tricks.'
But when he got across there with Pascoe not far behind, it turned out to be the colonel's lady, who claimed to have seen a face at the window.
'It peered at me through the hydrangea bush,' she claimed.
'No need to worry, dear lady,' Kingsley assured her. 'It was probably one of the local peasants, drawn by rumours of wild festivity and your great beauty.'
'There was a man. I think he was carrying a gun,' insisted the woman.
'I shall organize a p^sse,' promised Kingsley and moved away.
'Silly ass,' said her grey-haired companion, presumably the colonel. 'Soft at the centre. He'll end up like his father. Time we were off, old girl.'
He glowered suddenly at Pascoe to show he resented his eavesdropping. Pascoe smiled embarrassedly and turned away to find himself confronting Peter Davenport, who had obtained a larger glass for his gin.
'What are you after?' he demanded, his light tenor voice scraping falsetto. 'How can the law help? Your law, I mean?'
'What other law is there?' responded Pascoe, thinking to steer the exchange into areas which might sound conventionally theological to those around.
But instead of the hoped-for sermon, Davenport's reply was to laugh shrilly, drawing the attention of everyone in the
room and, shaking his head, to say, 'What indeed? What indeed?' before turning abruptly away and making for the bottle-laden sideboard. Geoffrey Rawlinson, his face full of concern, tried to interrupt his progress but was shouldered aside.
Thank God it's not my problem, thought Pascoe as he observed Kingsley join the vicar at the sideboard and talk animatedly to him with his hand resting familiarly on his shoulder.
A few moments later, Kingsley was taking the same liberty with his own person.
'Mr Pascoe, Peter, I wonder if I could ask for your help?'
Pascoe shook his head firmly.
'Not if it involves arresting drunken vicars or chasing gunmen through the shrubbery.'
'No, please. I'm seriously concerned about Peter, the other one I mean. I've never seen him hit the booze like this before, and there are those here quite capable of sending anonymous letters to the bishop.'
'I dare say. But what do you want me to do about it?' asked Pascoe, who was beginning to feel as if he'd strayed on the set of a 1940s British film comedy.
'Just have a word. Something's bothering him and he seems to want to talk to you.'
'He could have fooled me.'
'No, really,' insisted Kingsley. 'If I put you in the library and tell him you'd like a chat, I'm sure he'd go. And it'd be a real favour to the dear chap getting him out of here before he starts falling in the fireplace.'
The library! thought Pascoe. They really are bent on making a little Poirot out of me!
'If you think it would help ...' he said.
'I'm sure of it.'
Pascoe cast a last look about the room before he left. Swithenbank, his hand resting familiarly on Jean Starkey's back, just above the swell of her buttocks, was talking animatedly in the centre of a much amused group; Ursula was being
serious with Stella Rawlinson, whose husband was standing apart by himself with all the animation of a pillar of salt. The colonel and his lady, hovering to pay their dues to their host, were watching the Reverend Davenport mixing himself a gin and tonic without much tonic. Rather to Pascoe's surprise, their expressions were more regretful than disapproving. Seen it all too often in the mess, Pascoe guessed. Damn shame. Good man. Damn shame.
Was it? and was he? And did whatever was burning up inside Davenport have anything to do with the Swithenbank case?
The library was a disappointment - an ugly square room with a single wall lined with glass-encased books that looked as if they'd been bought by the yard. In the opposite wall an electric fire had been placed in the fireplace but its dry heat did nothing to dissipate the stale smell of long disuse. Encircling the fireplace were a chesterfield and a pair of upright armchairs in hard red leather. Before the room's solitary window was a large desk with a chair on either side of it. Kingsley gestured ambiguously, saying, 'Please, sit down,' and Pascoe suspected he was being watched with amusement to see whether he would opt for the formal or informal set-up.
'Thank you,' he said, peering through the glass front of one of the bookcases at a series of leather-bound collections of The Gentleman's Magazine for the years preceding the First World War.
'Help yourself, do,' said Kingsley, referring, Pascoe hoped, to the decanters and glasses which stood on a pair of small wine tables rather than to the contents of his bookshelves.
'Right,' said Pascoe.
Kingsley left and Pascoe immediately poured himself a large scotch and tried to recall what the hell he was doing here. It all seemed very unreal. Kate Swithenbank, possibly -probably - dead somewhere; that was the thing to hang on to. Alcoholic vicars with voluptuous wives were probably totally irrelevant. He wasn't sure whether even this Ulalume business meant anything.
He studied a framed map of the West Riding, dated 1786, which hung on one side of the fireplace. It was no more helpful than the O.S. 2l/2 inch sheet he had examined on Dalziel's suggestion. There were a few patches of woodland around Wearton but the nearest thing to a 'dank tarn' was a small reservoir in open country some three miles to the north.
No, the thing was a mess or at best a confusion. His mind was trying to draw connections which could easily be coincidences, as for example Geoff Rawlinson's accident occurring on the very night Kate may have disappeared. Well, at least that gave Rawlinson an alibi, if he needed one. Unless, of course, he had jumped from that tower because of something on his conscience. Or perhaps was pushed because of something he had seen. Seen? Where? In the churchyard, of course. That's what he'd be looking down at — from a vantage point no one would expect to be occupied at midnight. Or perhaps someone had remembered too late that there was a chance it would be occupied, and gone up to check, and . . .
No, he was straining; too much speculation and too little evidence was a bad diet for a policeman. But there was something else about the churchyard. Arthur Lightfoot claimed to have seen Swithenbank skulking about there - which meant Lightfoot himself had been skulking about there.
And where else were you likely to find 'the door of a legended tomb'?
'Rapt in thought, Inspector?'
Unheard, Peter Davenport had entered the room. He had a full glass in his hand but seemed to have taken at least temporary control of himself.
'I was just wondering how far the church was from Wear End. You walked here tonight, didn't you?'
'Yes. We came down the old drive that used to be the Aubrey-Beesons' private route to church.'
The who?'
'The old squires of Wearton. They died out in the nineteenth century and by the time Boris's family bought the
place, the road had been metalled and motor cars were the new status symbol. It's no use looking at that map, you'll see it much better on here.'
He indicated a picture on the other side of the fireplace in an ornate gilt frame matching that of the map.
'You know a lot about this,' observed Pascoe as he approached.
'Local history's easy for parish priests,' said Davenport. 'We've got most of the records.'
He was making a real effort to sound normal as though eager to postpone an unpleasant moment. But Pascoe lost interest in the vicar's state of mind as he looked more closely at the picture before him.
It was entitled A Prospect of Wear End House 7799 and as fr
om a fair elevation showed the house and its estate. The tree-lined drive was clearly marked running up to the churchyard but close by the churchyard wall a much denser area of woodland was indicated with a small lake in the middle of it.
'These woods, are they still there?' asked Pascoe.
'No. They've all gone. It's a wonder the avenue survived.'
'Why's that?'
'Economics,' said Davenport shortly, as though beginning to feel rather piqued that his reluctance to bare his soul to Pascoe was matched by Pascoe's present indifference to the baring.
'You mean they were sold?'
'Not just them. The Kingsleys had wool money when they came here, but the last two generations, Boris's father and grandfather, were better at spending than making. The estate's nearly all gone. There's a housing development here, a new road there, the village sports and social club playing fields are here, Geoff Rawlinson's bungalow's there. . . all Boris is left with is this thin triangle with the old drive running up to the corner here.'
His long forefinger, its whiteness stained with nicotine, stubbed viciously at the Prospect.
'And the lake?'
'What? That pond? Drained and filled in when the Kings-leys were still spending money on improvements. About the same time as the "library" was refurbished, I expect. There are limits to what money can buy, aren't there, Inspector? I mean, you can't buy culture. Or peace of mind.'
The hysterical note was beginning to return to his voice, but Pascoe wasn't done with the Prospect yet.
'The old drive - what kind of trees are they?'
'Beech mainly.'
'No cypress?'
'There's a pair of cypress trees by the old lych-gate at the end of the drive, but they're in the churchyard itself. What's your concern with trees, Inspector? Stop trifling, man! Come out with whatever it is you want to say. It's no secret to me why you're here!'
Now Pascoe gave him his full attention. The problem of why the anonymous phone-caller's geographic references should be a century out of date would have to wait. Perhaps (could it be as easy as this?) it wouldn't be a problem in a few minutes. Whatever it was that was devouring this man would soon be revealed. All he had to do was wait. But he wasn't sure if he would have time. He glanced at his watch. Already he'd heard a couple of cars pulling away from the house. Pretty soon he was likely to be interrupted. So, although his judgement told him to sit quietly opposite this man and wait till he spoke of his own accord, instead he took an aggressive feet-apart stance before the fireplace and said sharply, 'All right. If you don't want to talk about trees, suppose you tell me exactly what did happen in the churchyard last October?'
The man looked at him, a curious mixture of relief and wariness in his eyes.
'Happen? What does happen mean to the dead?'
'The dead? Which dead?' asked Pascoe urgently.
'The churchyard's full of the dead, Inspector. In a way since last October I have been one of them.'
'You can drop that rubbish!' said Pascoe scornfully. 'You're here and now and as alive as me. But who's dead, Davenport? Who is dead?'
The vicar held out his glass. Obediently Pascoe slopped it full of gin. The man opened his mouth, was seized by a fit of coughing, drank as though to relieve it, coughed the more, recovered, drank again and made ready to speak.
The door burst open.
'Thank God that's over!' said Boris Kingsley. 'Once one goes, the others soon follow. It's the sheep principle. Mr -Inspector — Pascoe, how would you like us — one by one or all at once?'
CHAPTER VII
There the traveller meets aghast Sheeted Memories of the Past.
Some women cross their legs provocatively. Stella Rawlinson crossed hers like a no-entry sign and regarded Pascoe with all the distaste of an assault victim scanning an identity parade.
'It's kind of you to talk to me,' he said with as much conviction as he could manage. His mind was still on the kind of admission or confession Davenport had been about to make before Kingsley's ill-timed entrance. After that the vicar had risen and withdrawn without another word and Pascoe, deciding it would be poor policy at this time to invite the man along to the station to 'help with enquiries', had exercised his only other choice and pretended nothing had happened. He'd get back to Davenport after he had chatted to the others, by which time another half-bottle of booze might have put him in the talkative mood once more.
He had picked Stella Rawlinson first on Kingsley's advice. Evidently when the last of the drinks-only guests had gone, Swithenbank had told the others precisely why it was that
Pascoe was here. Pascoe would have liked to have done this himself to observe reactions, but he made no complaint and accepted Kingsley's diagnosis that the only likely non-co-operator was Mrs Rawlinson and it might be well to get her in before her indignation had time to come to a head.
'Can we start by going right back to this time last year?' he said. 'Most people would have a hard time remembering anything after twelve months, but in your case it shouldn't be difficult.'
'What do you mean?' she demanded as if he had accused her of immorality.
'Just that it was the time of your husband's unfortunate accident arid I know how an unpleasant experience like that sticks in the mind,' said Pascoe soothingly. 'It must have been a terrible shock to you.'
'I thought you wanted to talk about Kate Swithenbank,' she said.
'You knew her well?' said Pascoe, abandoning charm.
'We grew up together.'
'Close friends?'
'I suppose so.'
'What was she like?'
She looked genuinely puzzled.
'I don't know what you mean.'
'What words describe her?' said Pascoe. 'Plain, simple, open. Devious, reserved. Emotional, hysterical, erratic. Logical, rational, cool. Et cetera.'
'She kept herself to herself. I don't mean she wouldn't go out or was shy, anything like that. But she didn't give much away.'
The woman spoke slowly, feeling for the words. She was either very concerned to be fair or very fearful of being honest.
'I believe she was sexually very attractive as a young girl,' he probed.
'Who said that?' she asked. 'John, was it?'
'You sound as if that would surprise you.'
'No. Why should it? It would be natural, wouldn't it? He married her.'
'In fact it was his mother,' said Pascoe. 'It's interesting when a woman says it. That's why I wondered what your opinion was.'
'Yes,' she said, not bothering to conceal her reluctance. 'She was very attractive. In that way. When she wanted to be. And sometimes when she didn't want to be.'
Pascoe scratched his head in a parody of puzzlement.
'Now you're bewildering me,' he said.
'A bitch on heat's got no control over who comes sniffing around,' she said viciously, then relenting (or at least regretting) almost immediately, she added, 'I'm sorry, I don't mean to be unkind. She was a nice quiet ordinary girl in many ways. We were truly friends. I should be very distressed to think anything had happened to her.'
'Of course. How terrible it must be for all her friends,' said Pascoe fulsomely. 'But if what you say is true, there might be no cause for worry.'
'If what I say . . . ?'
'About her sexuality. Another man, perhaps; a passionate affair. She takes off with him on a sudden impulse. It's possible. If what you say . . .'
'Oh, it's true all right,' she said. 'Right from the start. Ten or eleven. I've seen her. In this room.'
She tailed off. Funny, thought Pascoe. Everybody wants to talk, but they all want to feel it's my subtle interrogative techniques that made them talk!
'This room?' He glanced at the Prospect of Wear End. 'You used to play in here as children?'
'Oh no. When we visited Boris, this was one room we were never allowed in,' she answered. 'But I was looking for Kate. We'd lost her. I just opened the door and peered in. She was . . .'
'Yes?'
/> 'She was sitting on his knee. Her pants were round her knees.'
Pascoe gave his man-of-the-world chuckle.
'So? Childhood inquisitiveness. A little game of doctors with Boris. It's not unusual.'
'It wasn't Boris. It was his father.'
Pascoe tried to look unimpressed.
'Who is dead, I believe?' he said. 'Just as well. It's a serious offence you're alleging, Mrs Rawlinson. Very serious.'
'I felt sorry for him,' she said vehemently.
'For him?'
'And for Kate, too.' It was relenting time again. 'She couldn't help what she was. Her parents died while she was young. Her brother brought her up. That can't have helped. He's an animal. Worse!'
Dear God! thought Pascoe. Incest is it now?
'I've met Mr Lightfoot. He seems an interesting sort of man. He's very sure his sister's dead.'
She shrugged uninterestedly.
'He says he's seen her ghost continued Pascoe.
'He's a stupid ignorant animal,' she said indifferently.
'Perhaps so. But he may be right about his sister. She could very well be dead.'
She laughed scornfully.
'Because some yokel sees ghosts? You must be hard up for clues these days!'
'No,' he said seriously. 'Because what you've been insinuating about the missing woman's morals makes it seem very probable she could provide her husband with a good motive for killing her.'
Her mouth twisted in dismay and for a moment this break in the symmetry of that too well balanced face gave it real beauty.
'No! I've said nothing! I never meant . . . that's quite outrageous!'
She stood up, flushed with what appeared to be genuine anger.
'But what did you imagine we were talking about?' asked Pascoe.
'You're trying to find out who's been suggesting these dreadful things about John.'
'Oh no,' said Pascoe, shaking his head. 'That would be useful, of course. But what we're really trying to discover is whether or not these dreadful things are true!'
Hill, Reginald - Dalziel and Pascoe 14 - Asking For The Moon (HTML) Page 12