Simon Green - The Dark Side of the Road

‘But we only looked inside the tithe barn,’ I said. ‘We didn’t go inside any of the cottages. There were no lights on, no obvious signs of occupation or forced entry … but the cottages should certainly be searched at some point. When the weather permits.’

‘I will do that, if it needs doing,’ Jeeves said immediately. ‘I am a professional bodyguard. And I have a gun.’

‘But you work for Walter,’ I said. ‘Who, I regret to say, could be a suspect. Who knows what orders you’re following? I worked for the Colonel, which means I am the only one here with no motive to want him dead.’

‘How do we know that?’ said Khan, his voice rising. ‘We have no idea what your real relationship with James was like! A lot of people have good reason to want their boss dead. What did you do for the Colonel? What exactly is your job, Ishmael?’

‘I protect the innocent and punish the guilty,’ I said.

‘Oh, that’s not vague at all,’ said Roger. ‘Who are you really, Ishmael?’

‘If you find out,’ I said, ‘let me know.’

Melanie turned abruptly to Jeeves. ‘Lock all the doors, front and back! And make sure all the windows and shutters are properly secure! I don’t want anyone outside getting into the house!’

‘I have already done that,’ said Jeeves.

‘Well … do it again!’ said Melanie.

Walter nodded to Jeeves. ‘Probably best to check. If only to reassure people … And you’d better go down to the kitchen and tell Cook what’s going on.’

‘Of course, sir,’ said Jeeves. He strode off down the hallway, disappearing into the dark depths of the house. Everyone looked at everyone else, trying to decide whether they felt safer or not, now the man with the gun was gone.

Walter just sent his bodyguard away, I thought. Leaving him unprotected. And Jeeves didn’t even argue. I just missed something … What did I miss?

‘I think we should all go to our own rooms, and lock the doors, and barricade ourselves in, and wait till the police arrive!’ said Melanie.

‘No,’ I said immediately. ‘Not a good idea. Being on your own is the best way to get picked off. The killer could go quietly from room to room, kill everyone, and then just leave.’

‘That’s a horrible thought!’ said Sylvia.

‘What do you suggest, Ishmael?’ said Penny.

‘We should all stay together,’ I said. ‘In one room, with one easily defended door. Where we can all watch and protect each other.’

Everyone seemed to like the sound of that. Safety in numbers is always a comfort.

‘Wait! I just thought!’ said Sylvia. ‘The murderer could already be gone! I mean; if he killed James out in the garden, he might never have come inside the house. He could have murdered James, hidden the body, and then left the gardens by … whatever way he got in! Why would he hang around? The snow would cover up whatever tracks he left …’

‘She’s got a point,’ said Walter. ‘Good thinking, girl!’

They all began to smile, and relax, for the first time. Everyone liked the sound of this new idea. They wanted to believe it. Because it meant the killer was gone, so they didn’t have to worry any more … and because it meant one of them didn’t have to be a killer, after all.

Khan looked at me, scowling thoughtfully. ‘James did have enemies. Someone could have followed him here.’

‘Yes,’ I said. I was about to point out that the Colonel couldn’t have been killed where he was found, because there was no blood pool, but I decided to keep that to myself. Let the killer think themselves safe.

‘I think we should have dinner as planned,’ Walter said loudly. ‘And talk things through. Don’t you, eh? All of you? I think we’ll all feel a lot better with some good hot food and drink inside us.’

They were all nodding and smiling. I was quietly amazed they could contemplate just sitting down to dinner, so soon after a sudden violent death. But I said nothing. Let the killer think suspicion had passed. I’d still be watching.

Walter and Melanie led the way down the hall, and we all just followed on behind. As though it was just another dinner, and just another day, and no one had died who mattered. Roger was still sticking close to Penny, who didn’t have the heart to brush him off. Khan was right behind them, trying to attract Roger’s attention so they could continue their conversation. To his credit, Roger was having none of it. Not as long as he thought Penny needed him. Everyone was all talking loudly and cheerfully, as though they could drive back the dark if they only made enough noise. Diana and Sylvia walked together, apparently inseparable, until Diana stopped abruptly and looked back at me, bringing up the rear. She gestured for me to wait, and then smiled apologetically at Sylvia.

‘You go on ahead, dear,’ said Diana. ‘I need to talk privately with this young man.’

Sylvia glowered at me, openly suspicious. ‘Are you sure, Diana? I could hang around, at a respectful distance, just so you’re not left alone with him …’

‘No; you go on, Sylvia,’ said Diana, and there was enough authority in her voice that Sylvia just shrugged quickly, turned, and walked on.

Diana came forward, to stand before me. She had to tilt her head back, to look up at me. And in her old face, I could see a young face I used to know. She stared at me with something like wonder. ‘You look just like the young man I used to know, back in Paris.’

‘But that was 1969,’ I said gently. ‘All those years ago. So it couldn’t have been me, could it? That would have to be my grandfather, Adam.’

‘Yes,’ said Diana. ‘That was his name. You look like him, sound like him, move like him. Every time I look at you, something you say or do brings back an old memory. Like the Ghost of Christmas Past; when the world and I were both so very much younger.’ She reached up to touch my face, with a trembling old hand. I stood still, and let her, doing my best to keep my smile nothing more than polite and respectful. Her fingertips trailed across my face, like the hand of a blind woman searching for truth.

‘My dear Adam,’ she said. ‘In Paris, in the spring. Such a time to be alive. But mostly what I remember now was how badly I treated him. I was young and foolish, and I thought I had the world at my feet. I told him to his face that my career had to come first. That I was one of the leading dancers of my generation, and I had a duty to pursue my art. And then I was surprised when he walked out on me. I never saw him again. So I could never tell him how wrong I’d been, and how sorry I was. Could I tell you, instead?’

‘I’m sure he knew, then,’ I said gently. ‘And I’m sure he knows now. But yes, you can tell me. If you like.’

‘I’m so sorry, Adam,’ she said, her voice cracking as old unshed tears glistened in her eyes.

‘It’s all right, Diana,’ I said. I took her in my arms and held her. And she clung to me like a drowning woman.

After a while, I gently pushed her away from me. ‘Take my arm,’ I said. ‘And I’ll lead you into dinner.’

‘Thank you, Ishmael,’ she said. ‘Sometimes, as you get older, you have to take your comforts where you can find them. My son is gone, my first love is gone, and all that’s left is some old woman whose face I don’t even recognize in the mirror. Getting old … is all about leaving things behind.’

‘That’s not getting old, girl,’ I said. ‘That’s just life.’

She laughed, briefly. ‘You sound just like him.’

She slipped an arm through mine, and I led her down the hallway. She was smiling.

Of course I remembered her, from Paris, in the spring, when we were both so very young. I’d only been human six years then, and I was still learning what that was. Diana taught me everything I needed to know about love; about joy and happiness and shared good times. About the importance of caring more for someone else than for yourself. I didn’t leave Diana because of her career. I left because I couldn’t be who and what she needed me to be. Because I couldn’t grow old alongside her.