‘He did what you did, sir, and lied.’
‘Couldn’t you accept his word?’
‘Since I’ve been in Kendal,’ said Colbeck, rising to his feet, ‘I’ve found it increasingly difficult to accept anyone’s word. Simple, unvarnished truth seems to be in short supply here. We’ll have to solve by other means the mysteries that have tormented this town.’ He reached for his hat. ‘Do excuse me, Mr Hedley. I won’t keep you from you work.’
As Colbeck let himself out, he heard a loud thud as if Hedley had just brought his fist down hard on the desk.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Victor Leeming had been so startled by the poem about the missing blacksmith that he read it through three times. He then copied the final verse into his notebook so that Colbeck could read it. Going back into the shop, he waited patiently until the barber had run out of customers. When another gap appeared, Garside apologised for keeping him waiting.
‘No need to say sorry,’ Leeming assured him. ‘It gave me time to think. I’ve been reading about the disappearance of Gregor Hayes. That poem really interested me.’
‘As I told you, Norm has a gift.’
‘I didn’t know much about the blacksmith when I came in here, but I do now. Was he really such a ladies’ man?’
‘So they say.’
‘But he spent his life covered in dirt, sweat and the stink of horses. Most women would run a mile from someone like that.’
‘There’s no accounting for taste, Sergeant,’ said the barber with a chortle. ‘I’ve heard of women going out of their way so they could pass the forge and stare at Gregor’s muscles. His arms were always bare, you see, and they were massive. He made the rest of us look puny.’
‘Was the blacksmith married?’
‘Yes, he had a wife and children.’
‘Norm’s poem says he had a way of talking to women that made them feel … special.’
‘I wish I knew how to do that,’ said the other, gloomily. ‘When I get anywhere near a woman, I always say the wrong thing. My wife says I’m better off keeping my mouth shut.’
‘Was the blacksmith a nuisance?’
‘I never heard of women complaining.’
‘What about their husbands?’
Garside laughed. ‘Oh, they watched Gregor like hawks.’
‘Tell me about this phantom who appears in the poem. Is he real or was he just someone that Norm invented?’
‘I think he’s real.’
‘You think or you know for certain?’
‘Norm made me believe in him.’
‘Has anyone ever seen the phantom?’
‘They only ever get glimpses.’
‘Where does he live?’
‘Nobody knows,’ said the barber, ‘but Norm once saw him for a second or two. He was running among the fells.’
‘What does he eat? Where does he sleep? How does he stay alive?’
‘He’s a phantom, Sergeant. They’re different to us.’
Leeming wanted to press for more detail but a customer stepped into the shop. He thanked Garside for his help and turned to go. The barber spoke in a whisper.
‘If you want to know more about Gregor, you must ask Sergeant Ainsley. He was his closest friend.’
Geoffrey Hedley was unable to concentrate on his work. After his conversation with Colbeck, he felt bruised and uneasy. He therefore left his office and walked briskly in the cold air to clear his head. His footsteps took him towards Walter Vine’s house and, although he’d never liked the man, he felt impelled to pay him a visit. Vine kept him talking in the hall.
‘What’s brought you here, Hedley?’
‘I came to warn you.’
‘I don’t need any advice from you.’
‘It’s in your best interests to listen to me.’ Vine snorted. ‘I know what you think of me and, more importantly, what you thought of Alex. But it’s important that we put our differences aside for a moment.’
‘Why?’
‘Inspector Colbeck has just been to see me.’
‘He came here as well. I think he’s floundering.’
‘Don’t underestimate him,’ said Hedley. ‘He’s clever and he’s dedicated. Colbeck won’t leave this town until he’s found out the truth.’
‘He’ll never do that.’
‘He knows about the duel.’
‘How can he?’ asked Vine, disdainfully. ‘He wasn’t there and has no proof that it ever took place. As it happens, the inspector challenged me about it and I simply denied it.’
‘That’s not enough. Colbeck is the sort of man who’ll go to every doctor in the town until he finds out which one of them dealt with that wound of yours.’
‘Then he’ll be wasting his time. I had the sense to summon a doctor from Carlisle and he took care of me.’
‘Can he be trusted?’
‘Of course he can. I paid him a lot of money to keep his mouth shut. Besides, Colbeck would never find him. He’s just groping in the dark.’
‘That’s not my impression.’
‘What’s wrong with you, man?’ asked Vine, studying him closely. ‘You’re almost dithering. You were never like this when your life consisted of doing whatever Alex Piper told you to do. You were happy to be his lapdog.’
Hedley reddened. ‘Don’t you dare say that!’
‘How could you let anyone enslave you in that way? What possible reward could you get out of it?’
‘I’ve no intention of talking about Alex with you,’ said Hedley, frostily. ‘You’d only sneer.’
‘I’m curious, that’s all. You’re a lawyer and they always expect to profit from any transaction. What did you get in return for all you did for him? Was it money? Was it the satisfaction of serving someone you worshipped? Or was it something else?’
‘I’m leaving.’
‘Not until I get an answer,’ said Vine, stepping between him and the front door. ‘I want you to confirm my suspicion. There’s only one reason you allowed him to lead you by the nose. You picked up his cast-offs, didn’t you? When he’d had his fun with a woman, you were standing by in the hope of taking her off his hands.’ Vine smirked. ‘It was the only way you’d get to enjoy the gorgeous feel of female flesh.’
‘Be quiet!’
‘How are you going to manage now that he’s dead? Your days of fondling pretty women are well and truly over.’
Hedley could take no more. Lashing out, he caught Vine on his wounded arm and produced a howl of pain from him that was followed by an outburst of foul language. He then pulled open the front door and ran away in undignified haste.
When he called into the police station, a pleasant surprise awaited Colbeck. Bernard Ainsley handed him a copy of the diagram of Hither Wood that was kept with his records of the Gregor Hayes case.
‘Sergeant Leeming will have put most of what you need to know in his notebook,’ he said, ‘but he couldn’t draw this diagram on such a small scale. I thought it would show you just how carefully we searched.’
‘I’m very grateful to you,’ said Colbeck, studying the map. ‘You’re something of an artist.’
‘I’m not, but Constable Ewens is. He was heavily involved in the search for Gregor. I got him to draw the original diagram. All I’ve done is to copy it.’
‘Well, it’s very useful.’
‘Don’t waste too much time in the wood.’
‘Why not?’
‘Gregor isn’t there.’
‘The answer to his disappearance might be.’
‘Is that why you went there at midnight?’ Colbeck was taken aback. ‘There’s not much that happens around here that we don’t get to know about, Inspector.’
‘So it seems.’
‘Why didn’t you tell me about your visit?’
‘I chose not to,’ said Colbeck. ‘Are you aware of what happened when we actually got to Hither Wood?’
‘Unfortunately, I’m not. I just know that you went there.’
‘You obviously disap
prove.’
‘Not at all,’ said Ainsley. ‘I think it was very brave of you and the sergeant. Nobody else would have dared to go there at that time of night. Your interest was aroused and, like any good detective, you wanted to satisfy it. I’m only sorry you didn’t take me with you.’
‘With respect,’ said Colbeck, indicating the map, ‘this would have been more use to us than you, though it would’ve have been difficult to see it by the light of a lamp.’
‘If you must go back, do it in daylight. Oh, and if you need any digging done, I can let you have a couple of men.’
‘That’s a kind offer but I won’t need anyone else. The digging that we’re engaged in is metaphorical.’
Ainsley was puzzled. ‘I don’t follow.’
‘We let our heads do all the work, Sergeant.’
‘Ah, yes …’
‘Thinking ahead saves a lot of wasted time.’
‘True.’
Looking over the sergeant’s shoulder, Colbeck saw the poster that Lord Culverhouse had had printed. In bold, black lettering, a large reward was offered to anyone who could provide information that would lead to the arrest and conviction of those involved in the disappearance of Alexander Piper.
‘Have you had much response to that?’ he asked.
‘Oh, yes,’ said Ainsley, wearily. ‘Copies have been put up all over the place. I’ve had three or four people in here already with cock and bull stories. They were kicked straight out with a warning that they’d be arrested if they wasted my time again.’
‘It’s always the same when money is on offer.’
‘We found that out when Gregor Hayes vanished and we papered the town with posters. The reward was much smaller than what His Lordship is putting up, but we nevertheless had half a dozen people in here, claiming they knew what happened. They didn’t provide a scrap of useful information between them. Anyway,’ he went on, ‘you’re not here to listen to my woes.’
‘I came to tell you what I’ve been up to today,’ said Colbeck, ‘but, since you’re able to track my movements, you may already know.’
‘Nobody’s tracking you, Inspector.’
‘Then how did you know we’d been to Hither Wood?’
‘I bumped into Wilf Chesney at the King’s Arms. We often have a drink together. Wilf told me that you’d hired the horse and dog cart from him and that you wanted to pick it up from the stables late in the evening.’
‘But I didn’t tell Mr Chesney where we were going.’
‘Where else would you go at that time of night?’ Ainsley tapped his skull with a finger. ‘I did some of that metaphorical digging you talked about.’
‘It was a good guess.’
‘So what have you been doing today?’
‘I’ve been talking to people who interest me.’
‘Then I daresay Mr Vine was one of them. There was no love lost between him and Piper.’
‘I wanted to know exactly why they fell out.’
‘Who else have you seen?’
‘I paid a visit to Dr Dymock.’
‘Then I daresay he criticised me for not being able to stop the hullabaloo from the parties held by his next-door neighbour. I did exactly what I promised to do,’ said Ainsley, defensively, ‘and had a quiet word with Piper, but I might as well have been spitting in the wind.’
‘Are the two houses so close together?’
‘Not really – they must be thirty yards or more apart. That tells you how loud the noise was when those drunken idiots started carousing. The doctor and his wife could hear them clearly.’
‘What about this boundary dispute?’ asked Colbeck.
‘Oh, that was about a paddock at the rear of the two properties. It belonged to Dr Dymock but Piper wanted it for his horses so he got Mr Hedley to search for a means of making a claim to the land. Also,’ added Ainsley, ‘he wanted to punish the doctor for daring to complain about those parties of his. Piper told me to my face that he’d do whatever he wanted in his own house – only he put it much cruder than that.’
‘So he had no intention of being a good neighbour?’
‘He was establishing his territory, Inspector.’
‘What made him so selfish?’
‘When your uncle is Lord Culverhouse, you’ve got a free hand to be as unpleasant as you like to people you consider as your inferiors – such as Dymock.’
‘And the police,’ said Colbeck.
Ainsley sucked his teeth. ‘We’ve learnt to live with it.’
‘It’s possible that marriage to Miss Haslam might have civilised him a little but it’s by no means certain. When I called on her earlier,’ said Colbeck, ‘her view of Piper was unchanged. He is still a paragon to her.’
‘I hope she never learns the truth. However,’ said Ainsley, ‘Miss Haslam is certainly not a suspect. I can see that Vine and the doctor might be. Did you speak to anyone else?’
‘Yes, I did, as a matter of fact.’
Colbeck paused to consider the wisdom of confiding in the sergeant. Ainsley still had residual resentment at being pushed aside so that Scotland Yard detectives could take over the case. To his credit, however, was the fact that he’d been helpful with regard to the disappearance of Gregor Hayes, and had even taken the trouble to drive Colbeck out to Hither Wood. The diagram of the area that he’d copied for them would be invaluable. On balance, Colbeck decided, the man deserved to be kept abreast of every development.
‘I also called on Mr Hedley at his office,’ said Colbeck.
‘Why? He’s not a suspect.’
‘I believe that he might be.’
Ainsley was shocked. ‘Hedley?’ he exclaimed. ‘No, I don’t believe it. He loved Piper as much as Miss Haslam did. In any case, Geoffrey Hedley is harmless.’
‘I disagree. When his friend was simply a pleasure-seeker, Hedley had a role to play. If Piper married, the lawyer would be largely redundant. I think Hedley felt rejected. Piper was about to squeeze him out of his life.’
‘Why did you bother to go there, Inspector?’
‘I wanted to rattle his cage.’
‘But he’s completely innocent.’
‘He didn’t behave as if he was.’
‘Hedley is the last person I’d suspect.’
‘That calm and businesslike exterior is just a shield,’ said Colbeck. ‘Underneath it is a very manipulative man.’
‘That’s not how I see him.’
‘Then we must agree to differ.’
‘Hedley’s whole life revolved around Piper. They were nearly always together. What possible reason could he have to get rid of his friend?’
‘Think hard, Sergeant.’
Ainsley shook his head. ‘Not Miss Haslam, surely?’
‘That would be out of the question.’
‘Then who do you mean?’
‘Miss Caroline Treadgold.’
‘That’s a ridiculous suggestion,’ said Ainsley. ‘Miss Treadgold wouldn’t have given Hedley a second look. She was besotted with Alex Piper.’
‘I know – but he’s not here any more, is he?’
His first thought was that it would be unwise to approach Tiller again because it would alert him to the fact that he was definitely under suspicion. On reflection, however, Leeming realised that the barber was bound to mention the fact that the sergeant had called on him in order to read some of Tiller’s poetry. It was better to be honest about what he’d done. He therefore made his way back to the bookshop once more. Leeming was in time to see Tiller about to close it for the day.
‘Am I too late?’ he asked.
‘No, of course not,’ said the other. ‘Step inside and I’ll lock up. Friends are always welcome, whether it’s during business hours or outside them.’
Leeming went into the shop and removed his hat while Tiller locked the door. He turned round with a smile.
‘I can’t believe that anyone would steal a book, but you can’t take any chances.’ He waved Leeming to a seat then sat on a stool o
pposite him. ‘To what do I owe this honour of yet another visit from you?’
‘I went to Mr Garside’s shop.’
‘Why – you don’t look as if you need a haircut.’
‘I wanted to talk to one of the poets from your group.’
‘Reg has some way to go before he has the right to be called a real poet,’ said Tiller, smiling, ‘but he’s ready to learn and that’s always encouraging.’
‘I wasn’t interested in his work – only in yours.’
‘You could have bought a copy of my anthology.’
‘The poem I wanted to read wasn’t in that,’ explained Leeming. ‘You told me that you’d torn it up because you didn’t think it was good enough.’
‘Well, yes …’
‘Yet according to Mr Garside, you were very pleased with it. You read it to your group and warned them to look out for certain things.’
‘I’d experimented with different rhyme schemes and with a variety of metres. You must have noticed that?’
‘All I noticed was that the lines got much shorter in some verses, though I didn’t understand why.’
‘There was a double narrative.’
Leeming blinked. ‘Was there?’
‘I thought I’d made that clear. The story of Gregor’s disappearance was told in third-person narrative but what you heard in the verses with shorter lines was the voice of the phantom.’
‘Ah, I see what you mean now.’
‘You obviously don’t believe such a thing exists.’
‘Having dipped into that book you loaned me, I think this whole county is alive with phantoms, ghosts, goblins, evil spirits and things that terrify me.’
‘The phantom was no invention of mine. He’s real.’
‘Mr Garside said that you’ve actually seen him.’
‘I did. He flashed before my eyes and was gone.’
‘It could’ve been a trick of the light.’
Tiller was deadly serious. ‘I know what I saw.’
Geoffrey Hedley was so chastened by what Colbeck had told him that he took a cab out to the house. Having deliberately kept away from Melissa Haslam, he could understand how she must be feeling. During the time she’d been betrothed to his friend, Hedley had seen her on several occasions and believed that a bond had developed between them. In the wake of Piper’s disappearance, however, he’d been so preoccupied with the search that he’d pushed her to the back of his mind. It was shameful.
Fear on the Phantom Special Page 17