Alex Grecian - The Yard

Hammersmith decided not to mention that the worst he’d done to the barkeep was upset him.

“At any rate,” Day said, “we were hoping to connect with you before the morning was out, so it’s good luck for us running into you here. Detective Blacker says you’re among the best men we’ve got, dedicated and serious. We could use the assistance of a man like that. Clearly you’ve anticipated us, though. I assume you’re here about the body, too?”

“Yes, but-”

“Yes,” Kingsley said. “You mean the man’s body that was brought in late last night. Or rather, early this morning.”

He gave Hammersmith a pointed look. The investigation of the little boy’s death was unofficial. Day and Blacker were here on a different matter.

“Yes, of course. And I wonder if I might take another look at that button found in Inspector Little’s trunk?” Day said.

Kingsley raised an eyebrow and patted his pockets. He found the sofa button and handed it to Day.

“You have an idea?”

“It occurs to me that I may know where this comes from.”

“Do tell.”

“Let me check into it first. I think this button may be immaterial to our case, but I’m not ready to decide that just yet.”

Kingsley nodded. He brushed past Hammersmith and walked to the counter.

“Well, if you find anything, I’d like to know about it. Meanwhile, I haven’t had a chance yet to do a thorough examination of this new body, but I can tell you a few things. To begin…”

He trailed off as he seemed to be looking for something on the countertop. Then he brightened and opened the drawer underneath.

“Forgot where I’d put this,” he said. He brought out the razor Hammersmith had used to shave. “I’m quite certain this was the murder weapon,” he said.

The room began swimming again, and Hammersmith grabbed the table behind him to keep from passing out.

PYWORTHY, HOLSWORTHY DISTRICT, DEVON, THREE YEARS EARLIER.

Wake up, Constable!”

Walter Day heard the voice as though from a great distance and struggled toward it. He opened his eyes, immediately felt an ice-pick stab of light, and closed them again. After the briefest moment, a shadow blocked the light and he was able to open his eyes again. The shadow resolved itself into Claire Carlyle’s lovely face. She seemed concerned, and Day tried to reach for her, to comfort her, but he couldn’t move.

“Walter? Can you hear me?”

Seeing Claire, knowing she was alive and well, gave him strength. He had known Claire for most of his life and had admired her from afar, but had always understood that she was too good for him. She came from money, and he was the son of a valet. He was almost surprised that she knew his name.

He blinked and found his voice. It sounded far away, as if someone else were speaking.

“I’m awake,” he said. “Don’t worry about me.” It came out Doane wurbit meeh .

“Oh, thank God. The inspector said you would recover, but I was afraid … Your head’s bleeding horribly, you know.”

“I’m okay.” M’uh kay.

He could feel his arms and legs now, heavy and useless, but it was an improvement. He moved his head and saw that he was lying flat on his back on a church pew.

“What’s happened?”

“Mr Sanders hit you.”

“Where is he?” Day said. Whurzee?

“He ran right out after he hit you in the head.”

“Where’s Inspector March?”

“He chased after Mr Sanders. But he stopped first to be sure you were breathing.”

Day worked one marionette arm and grabbed the top of the pew. His body gradually came unstuck and he pulled himself up. The air in the church’s nave smelled hot and dusty and he wanted to lie back down, but he fought the temptation and stood on wobbly legs. Blue and yellow light streamed through the stained-glass windows around them and pressed painfully on Day’s eyeballs. His stomach churned and he swallowed hard.

“Are you sure you’re all right?”

“Fine. I’m fine.”

The world began to come into focus. The inside of his head was a rock tumbler and his legs still wanted to quit under him, but every second that passed brought a little more resolve. Day touched his temple and stifled the urge to cry out. When he looked at his fingers, there was blood on them.

“You say Sanders hit me?”

Day looked down at the pew. A broken pitchfork lay on the floor beneath it, the two halves of the handle splintered. He realized that his skull must have sustained a terrific blow. It explained why he couldn’t remember anything that had happened since he’d entered the church. He could remember chasing the impostor stable hand, Sanders. He remembered Sanders grabbing Claire, snatching her right off her feet and dragging her into the church. Day had given chase and then…

Then he had opened his eyes here in the nave.

“You saved me,” Claire said.

“Of course I did. I love you.”

“You do?”

Day blinked. Had he spoken out loud?

“What?” he said.

“Perhaps you should sit back down.”

“No. I need to help the inspector.”

“He has had years and years of experience in catching the likes of Rex Sanders.”

“Still…”

“I love you, too, Walter Day.”

Day sat. He closed his eyes and inhaled slowly, exhaled, and then drew another breath. When he opened his eyes again, she was still there. He looked away, at the high windows in the clerestory above them. A shadow flitted past, blocking the sun, a pitter-pat of feet on the roof. There was a dreamy quality to the air, and when Day spoke, his voice seemed to him to come from somewhere else.

“Marry me,” he said.

Claire drew back from him.

“Your injury…”

“I’m sorry. I don’t know why I…”

“No, don’t be sorry.”

“Entirely inappropriate of me. Percy Erwood has his eye on you, I know. It’s an excellent match.”

“I can’t stand Percy Erwood. I can’t stand any of the men my father wants for me. They’re all spoiled little boys who care for nobody but themselves. They love their money and they love the way other people look at them. I am not an accessory.”

“Yes, Erwood’s an excellent match,” Day said. “My head is simply … Again, I apologize most sincerely and I hope you’ll mention nothing of this to your father.”

He stood again and lurched past her, out into the center aisle. He stumbled, regained his footing, and walked steadily past the sanctuary and out the back door into the vestibule. When he looked back through the small window in the door, Claire was standing by the far pews under a stained-glass window, blue light shimmering in her hair. She wasn’t looking in his direction, hadn’t watched him leave. He wasn’t sure he would ever be able to speak to her again.

Outside, he took a moment, leaned his hand against the cool stone of the church wall. Far away, across the marshes, he could see a figure moving slowly toward him. The air in front of him wavered and the figure split into two men, moving side by side, then merged back into one. He closed his eyes again.

When he opened them, Inspector Adrian March was standing over him.

“You look rocky, Constable,” March said. “Your head’s still bleeding.”

“Did you catch him?”

March snorted and stretched his hand out to indicate the marshes behind the church. Green and brown, they extended as far as the eye could see. Day could smell the rotting plant life and hear the desperate insects calling out to one another. Their lives amounted to a handful of days in which to find love and leave their legacies.

“Sanders could be almost anywhere by now. I can find no sign of him out there. He knows this territory far better than I,” March said.