Edward Marston - Timetable of Death

‘It’s not what you told me that’s at issue here, Mr Burns. It’s what you deliberately held back from me.’

‘And what was that?’

‘After the match, you took a train to Derby.’

Burns shrugged. ‘Is that a cause for suspicion?’

‘Why did you go there?’

‘That’s a personal matter.’

‘Did you go to see a friend or were you drawn there by an enemy?’

‘Speak more plainly, Inspector.’

‘If you were in Derby late that night, you were not far from Spondon.’

‘That doesn’t mean I went there.’

‘No, but it raises the possibility that you could have.’

‘I could have done all sorts of things.’

There was an underlying smugness in the reply that alerted Colbeck. He sensed that Burns had reverted to the posture he’d adopted at their first meeting when he’d been evasive and unhelpful. It was at their second encounter that he’d been far more honest. The gardener was behaving as if he’d expended his reserves of honesty and was falling back on prevarication. Waiting for the next question, he offered a challenging smile. Colbeck jolted him out of his complacency.

‘We’ve spoken to Miss Lydia Quayle.’

Burns was startled. ‘Where is she?’

‘The lady lives in London now, sir. I didn’t have the pleasure of meeting her myself but I’ve had a full report of what transpired.’ He could see the gardener’s extreme discomfort. ‘You may be relieved to know that Miss Quayle did not talk about you at any length.’

‘Oh, I see.’

‘You belong to an episode in her life that she has left behind her.’

‘It’s the same in my case, Inspector.’

‘When we last spoke, you told me of a threat made against you. The same vile threat was repeated to Miss Quayle by her father. It was the final straw that broke the bond between them. And, of course,’ added Colbeck, ‘it severed the bond between you and the young lady.’

There was a lengthy pause. Burns gritted his teeth and looked him in the eye.

‘If you’re waiting for a comment,’ he said, eventually, ‘I don’t have one to make except to say that I wish Lydia … Miss Quayle well.’

‘I’ve no doubt that those are her sentiments with regard to you, sir.’

A note of aggression crept in. ‘So why are you really here, Inspector?’

‘An odd coincidence has occurred, Mr Burns.’

‘What is it?’

‘Before I tell you that,’ said Colbeck, gazing around, ‘can you tell me how you keep these gardens in such pristine condition. The lawns are like brushed velvet and the flower beds have nothing but flowers in them. How do you control weeds?’

‘We dig them out by the root.’

‘Some will already have propagated.’

‘I treat those with a herbicide,’ explained Burns. ‘Horticulture is a science that is constantly changing and you have to keep up with the changes. The Americans have done a lot of research on herbicides but I get my inspiration from the Germans.’

‘What do they recommend?’

‘It used to be sodium chloride but some scientists experimented with sulphuric acid and iron sulphate. As it happens, I prefer a herbicide that uses both.’

‘May I see it, please?’ asked Colbeck.

Harriet Quayle had rallied enough to be able to sit up in bed and to talk with more coherence than she’d earlier managed. Watching her with concern, her younger daughter and her younger son sat either side of the bed.

‘Where’s Stanley?’ asked Harriet.

‘He’s gone to Nottingham,’ replied Lucas.

‘Why?’

‘He didn’t say, Mother.’

‘He should be here, mourning with the rest of the family.’

‘I agree,’ said Agnes. ‘Nothing is more important than that.’

‘Stanley is attending to business somewhere,’ said her brother. ‘That’s the one certain thing I can tell you. It proves what I’ve believed all along. He doesn’t feel things the way that the rest of us do. Stanley has no heart.’

‘Let’s have no backbiting, Lucas,’ warned his mother.

‘It’s just an observation.’

‘Where could your brother have gone?’

‘We honestly don’t know, Mother.’

‘He was driven off in the landau,’ said Agnes. ‘That’s all I can tell you.’

‘It’s so inconsiderate of him,’ scolded their mother. ‘Stanley was my firstborn. He was such a delight as a baby. He had such a pleasant disposition.’

‘There’s no sign of that now,’ said Lucas under his breath.

‘In fairness to Stanley,’ said Agnes, ‘he’s taken responsibility for things that neither Lucas nor I really wanted to do. We should acknowledge that.’

‘I agree, Agnes. He’s borne the brunt.’

Harriet went off into a trance for a few minutes and the others waited in silence, communicating by looks and gestures. Their mother finally spoke.

‘If he went to Nottingham,’ she said, ‘he might have been going to the undertaker because the premises are in the town. Stanley may have gone somewhere else, of course, and I’d like to know where.’

‘There’s no need to do that, surely,’ he said.

‘I’m curious.’

‘Then wait until Stanley comes back and ask him.’

‘I want to know now ,’ Harriet told him. ‘If Cleary took him to the station, he might know what Stanley’s destination was.’ She clenched her fists and the veins stood out on the backs of her hands. ‘My elder son should be here. I want to know where he is and what he’s doing there.’

Victor Leeming had arranged to meet Colbeck back at the hotel so that they could compare notes but, when he got there, the sergeant saw no sign of him. He was not long without company. As soon as Leeming went into the lounge, Stanley Quayle rose from an armchair and came across to him. He was still in black garb.

‘Superintendent Wigg told me I might find the inspector or a Sergeant Leeming here.’

‘That’s me, sir.’

‘I’m Stanley Quayle.’

‘I guessed that you might be,’ said Leeming.

‘Where’s Inspector Colbeck?’

‘I’m not entirely certain, sir, but he’ll be collecting evidence somewhere.’

‘Then I’ll have to talk to you, I suppose.’

There was a note of resignation in his voice that Leeming did his best to ignore. Working all the time in Colbeck’s shadow, he was used to being undervalued and disregarded. Quayle resumed his seat and Leeming took the chair next to him.

‘First of all,’ said the other, ‘I must apologise for being so uncooperative when the inspector called at the house.’

‘I understand, sir. You were distracted.’

‘That doesn’t excuse my rudeness.’

Though the words were trotted out smoothly, Leeming couldn’t hear a vestige of sincerity in them and the expression of disdain on the other man was unmistakable.

‘Your brother came to see the inspector, sir. He was very helpful.’

‘It was my brother’s visit that prompted this one. I wanted to correct any misleading statements he made.’

‘That’s a matter between you and your brother, surely.’

‘It has a bearing on this investigation,’ said the other. ‘Lucas may have given you the impression that we were a disjointed and unhappy family. It’s a travesty of the truth, Sergeant. Most of the time, I can assure you, we live in perfect harmony with each other. If my brother and I were not on such amicable terms, we could not run the coal mines so efficiently together.’

‘I thought that you ran the business and that your brother merely assisted.’

‘Lucas has clearly misled you on that score.’

‘I never actually spoke to him, Mr Quayle. I’m only going on what the inspector told me.’

‘Then I must correct some misapprehensions.’