Who Goes Home? by Elizabeth Lemarchand

Author:Elizabeth Lemarchand [Lemarchand, Elizabeth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781913028145
Publisher: Sapere Books
Published: 2019-05-09T04:00:00+00:00

‘I could do with a drink, couldn’t you?’ Pollard remarked as Toye braked at the junction of the lane with the main road. ‘Not the Peatcutters though, at this hour on a Sunday morning. We’d better head for the Southgate and have a decent Sunday lunch as well. What price Brian as the bloke the fireman saw leaping about early last Monday morning? Of course, the 64,000-dollar question is whether he was feeling exhilarated at the result of his efforts in the arson line during the Saturday night. At least we’ve got a possible lead of a negative sort out of this interview.’

‘Would you say he’s round the bend?’ Toye asked, emerging on to the main road.

‘No. I don’t think it’s as simple as that. There was a lad rather like him in my home village. The people said he was a “natural”, and looking back I can see they meant somebody who knew things more by instinct than by the usual way of learning about them and reasoning. Brian seems to have instinctive understanding of animals, and how to manipulate things with his hands in the sort of simple jobs Miss Pettinger would want done at Dogdays. He’s obviously hooked on Cerby, and would be able to take in Paul Anstey’s remark about handing him over if he — Paul, I mean — ever gave up the farm and stopped coming down to these parts. I can imagine Brian’s mind working something like this. If Anstey’s Farm wasn’t there, Paul wouldn’t come any more, and he’d give me Cerby... If I set fire to it one night it wouldn’t be there any more... He’d miss out completely on any other outcome of burning the place down. Absolute singlemindedness, in fact.’

They drove on in silence. Finally Toye announced that he could see the idea, but what about the practical possibilities? Could he have slipped out of Dogdays and got back again on two consecutive nights without rousing the dogs?

‘Don’t overlook the point that Brian’s flat is well away from the cottage and the kennel area. And if it’s true that the dogs only raise hell at unfamiliar sounds, they wouldn’t have barked at hearing him about at unusual times. Well, I suppose we’ll have to follow it up, perhaps by directly challenging Brian in front of the Pettinger woman. It would be something to eliminate the arson from the list of attacks on the Ansteys for being Ansteys.’

Despite the fact that it was midsummer the Southgate laid on a traditional Sunday lunch of roast beef, Yorkshire pudding and apple pie with clotted cream. Pollard and Toye attacked it with the zest of men uncertain of when their next meal will materialise, and having done it full justice they retired to the hotel lounge to read the Sunday papers over coffee.

‘Excuse me, sir.’ Pollard surfaced with a start over an hour later to find one of the Southgate’s receptionists beside his chair. ‘You’re wanted on the telephone: Inspector Parkin speaking from the police station.

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