Виктория Холт - The Captive

“He’d soon put them to rights.”

Meanwhile, basking in the glory of such admiration, Mr. Dolland would sit at the table and expound his views.

“It must be this young man,” he said.

“It all points to him, living with the family and not being one of them. That can be tricky, that can.”

“One wonders why he was brought in,” I said.

“Adopted son, it seems. I reckon he was jealous of this young man.

Jealousy can drive people to great lengths. “

“I could never abide empty houses,” said Mrs. Harlow.

“They give me the creeps.”

“Of course, the story is that he went into this empty farmhouse, this Bindon Boys as they call it, and shot him there,” went on Mr. Dolland.

“You see this Cosmo was the eldest son and that would have made the young man a bit jealous on its own, he being the outsider as it were.

Then there was this widow . Mirabel . they call her. He wanted her for himself and Cosmo takes her. Well, there’s your motive. He lures Cosmo to this empty farmhouse and shoots him. “

“He might have got away with it,” I said, ‘if the younger brother, Tristan . wasn’t that his name? if he hadn’t come in and caught him red-handed. “

I pieced the story together. There were two sons of Sir Edward Perrivale Cosmo and Tristan and also in the household was the adopted son, Simon, who had been brought there when he was five years old. Simon had been educated as a member of the family but, according to the evidence, he had always been aware that he was not quite one of them.

Sir Edward was a sick man and in fact had died at the time of the murder so he would probably have been quite unaware of it. Bindon Boys originally Bindon Bois, the Press told us, because of a copse nearby was a farmhouse on the Perrivale estate. It was in need of renovation and all three young men were concerned in the management of the estate which was a large one on the coast of Cornwall. The implication was that Simon had lured Cosmo to the derelict farmhouse and calmly shot him. He probably had plans for disposing of the body but Tristan had come in and caught him with the gun in his hand. There seemed to be ample motive. The adopted son must have been jealous of the other two; and it seemed he was in love with the widow to whom Cosmo was engaged to be married.

It was a source of great interest to the servants, and I must admit that I too began to be caught up in it.

Perhaps I was getting a little apprehensive about the coming trip with my parents and seized on something to take my thoughts away from it. I would become as animated as any of them when we sat round the kitchen table listening to Mr. Dolland pitting his wits against Scotland Yard.

“It’s what they call an open and shut case,” he pronounced.

“It would make a good play,” said Mrs. Harlow.

“Well, I am not sure of that,” replied Mr. Dolland.

“You know from the start who the murderer is. In a play there has to be a good deal of questioning and clues and things and then you come up with the surprise ending. “

“Perhaps it is not as simple as it appears,” I suggested.

“It might seem as if this Simon did it… but he says he didn’t.”

“Well, he would, wouldn’t he?” put in Mrs. Harlow.

“They all say that to save themselves and put the blame on someone else.”

Mr. Dolland pressed the palms of his hands together and looked up at the ceiling.

“Take the facts,” he said.

“A man brings a stranger into the house and treats him as his son. The others don’t want him … and the boy resents not being treated like one of the family. It builds up over the years. There’d be hatred in that house. Then there’s this widow. Cosmo’s going to marry her. There’s always been this feeling between them … so he killed Cosmo and Tristan comes in and finds him.”

“What fancy names,” said Meg with a little giggle.

“I’ve always been partial to fancy names.”

Everyone ignored the interruption and waited for Mr. Dolland to go on.

“Then there’s the widow woman. That would be the last straw. Cosmo gets everything. And what’s Simon? Just a bit better than a servant.

Resentment flares up. There you have the planned murder. Ah . but before he could dispose of the body Tristan comes in and foils his plan. Murders always go wrong in plays. They always have to or there wouldn’t have been a play and plays are based on real life. “

We all hung on his words.

Emily said: “I can’t help feeling sorry for that Simon.”

“Sorry for a murderer!” cried Mrs. Harlow.

“You’re out of your mind, girl. How would you like him to come along and put a bullet through your head?”

“He wouldn’t, would he? I’m not Cosmo.”

“You thank your lucky stars you’re not,” said Mrs. Harlow.

“And don’t interrupt Mr. Dolland.”

“All we can do,” went on the sage, ‘is wait and see. “

We did not have to wait long. The newsboys were shouting in the streets: “Dramatic turn in Bindon Boys case. Read all about it.”

We did . avidly. It seemed that the police had been on the point of arresting Simon Perrivale. Why they had delayed was a mystery to Mr. Dolland -and now Simon had disappeared.

“Where is Simon Perrivale?” demanded the headlines.

“Have you seen this man?” Then “Police on trail. Arrest expected hourly.”

“So,” pronounced Mr. Dolland.

“He has run away. He could not have said more clearly, I’m guilty. They’ll find him, never fear.”

“It’s to be hoped so,” added Mrs. Harlow.

“A body don’t feel safe in bed of nights with murderers running around.”

“He wouldn’t have reason to murder you, Mrs. Harlow,” said Meg.

“I wouldn’t trust him,” retorted Mrs. Harlow.

“They’ll soon find him,” said Mr. Dolland reassuringly.

“They’ll have their men searching everywhere.”

But the days passed and there was no news of a capture.

Then the case ceased to be headline news. The Queen’s Golden Jubilee was taking up the space and there was no room for a sordid murder with the chief suspect having left the scene. No doubt when he was captured there would be a fresh surge of interest; but in the meantime the news of Bindon Boys was banished to the back pages.

It was three days before we were due to depart when we had a caller.

I was in my room when my parents sent for me. I was to go to the drawing-room immediately. A surprise awaited me there. As I entered, Lucas Lorimer came forward to greet me.

“Mr. Lorimer tells me that you met at Mr. and Mrs. Grafton’s house,” said my mother.

“Why, yes,” I said, naively betraying my pleasure.

He took my hand, smiling into my eyes.

“It was such a pleasure to meet Professor Cranleigh’s daughter,” he said, complimenting both my father and me at the same time.

My parents were smiling on me indulgently.

“We have some good news,” said my father.

The three of them were watching me as though they were about to inform a child of a treat in store.

“Mr. Lorimer is sailing on the Atlantic Star,” said my mother.

“Really!” I cried in amazement.

Lucas Lorimer nodded.

“A great surprise for me and a great honour. I have been asked to give a talk on my discovery at the same time as Professor Cranleigh gives his lecture.”

I felt laughter bubbling up within me. I was amused by the fine distinction implied between a talk and a lecture. I could not really believe he was as modest as he sounded. The look in his eyes did not somehow fit his words.

“So,” went on my father, “Mr. Lorimer will be sailing with us on the Atlantic Star.”

“That,” I replied with truth, ‘will be very pleasant. “