‘You’re on the side of a valley here, aren’t you?’
‘Yes, with a great view. The pool is a feature, no question, but I’m the only one who uses it. Lady Sally sits beside it on a lounger sometimes, but Sir Ed doesn’t bother much with it. To him, it raises the value of the property and he’s happy with that.’
‘They’ll be showing it off to their party guests.’ Diamond was still in two minds.
‘You’re right. They sent me out this morning to buy some better sunshades.’
‘Do you know who’s been invited?’
‘Beau Nash Society people, mostly. It’s a sort of farewell do. He’s stepping down as the Beau and he tells me he’s pleased to be shot of it.’
‘His words?’
‘He may have added something colourful. He can be down-to-earth when he chooses. He reckons he’s done more than his share as chairman.’
‘President.’
‘Okay.’
‘Speaking of shots, does Sir Edward own a gun?’
Spearman looked startled by the question. ‘I’ve never seen him with one. There are no game birds here. The ground isn’t suitable for shooting. Most of the property is a sixty-degree slope and even more sheer in places, perfect for the pool, but useless for anything else. They let the lower part grow wild and nobody ever goes there.’
‘Down in the valley — that’s all part of the estate?’
‘If you can call it that. There’s a high wall to mark the limit of their land.’
Diamond was thinking hard, making connections, networking inside his own head. ‘Do you have any idea whether Sir Ed had an earlier marriage? Lady Sally is quite a bit younger than he is.’
‘Nothing wrong with that,’ Spearman said, straightening up on the sofa. ‘I’m nearly fifteen years older than my wife.’
‘It’s a question, that’s all.’
‘No idea.’
‘When they married, was he already the Beau?’
‘Must have been. They hadn’t been married long when I started work with them. He was already a big name locally. I expect he ploughed some of his money into the society.’ He looked at his watch. ‘I ought to be at the party handing out drinks. Can we draw a line under this?’
‘Soon as possible,’ Diamond said, and meant it. ‘There’s one more thing. Your boy Rufus was talking to us and if I understood him right you and he were at Twerton the morning the skeleton was discovered at the demolition site.’
He reddened again. ‘Kids.’
‘It wasn’t imagination. He said you lifted him up to one of the observation windows to see the wrecking ball at work. Is that right?’
‘We happened to be there, yes.’
‘In Twerton?’
‘I was having one of the cars serviced. There’s a very reliable motor mechanic there I’ve used for years. I took the boy with me to give Astra a break. We were killing time.’
‘Killing time?’
‘While the work was being done. He’s at the age of asking endless questions and he noticed people at the windows and wanted to know what was going on. I lifted him up for a look and it was bad timing because that was when the ball ripped open the roof and exposed the skeleton.’
‘Was he frightened?’
‘No, he took it in his stride. I got him away as soon as I saw the thing for myself.’
‘And you were there before we were called?’
‘Must have been.’
‘But two days later you were back with Sir Edward when the skeleton was lifted out. You’d managed to get inside the secure area. I remember seeing you both. I sent DCI Halliwell to speak to you.’
Halliwell confirmed it with a murmur.
Diamond added, ‘You can’t have forgotten. Sir Edward spoke to us later in the Archway café. Why the special journey for another look?’
Spearman didn’t seem to think of their presence as guilty conduct. ‘The papers were full of the story, weren’t they? Sir Ed wanted to see for himself so he asked me to drive him out there.’
‘Did he say anything to you about why he made the trip?’
‘I just told you.’
‘He didn’t make any link to the Beau Nash Society?’
‘If he did, it was all in his head. Nothing was said to me.’
This time it was Diamond who checked his watch. ‘You’d better get back to your duties serving the drinks. I’ll follow shortly. Mine’s a beer.’
Spearman frowned and shook his head. ‘Sir Ed doesn’t want you there. He made that very clear. That’s why he sent me to see you.’
‘Obstructing the police is an arrestable offence. Tell him that, if you want. I’ll have that beer in a tankard.’
28
All the principal officers in CID together with a back-up of ten uniformed constables had gathered at a passing point along the lane not more than fifty yards from the front gate. Diamond stood on the bank opposite to brief them. Their objective was to seal off the grounds with a car and two officers blocking the front entrance and the others out of sight and marshalling the wild area along the escarpment immediately below the infinity pool. This, he explained, was the most obvious escape route for anyone trying to evade arrest. To be in place and remain unseen, the team would need to footslog their way along the rear of the property, climb the steep valley side as rapidly they could and space themselves at intervals out of sight along the margin.
Easily said. Peter Diamond was getting a reputation for commando-course missions. Some of these same officers had endured the rain-soaked dig at Twerton. This afternoon they had sweltering heat and a stiff climb to contend with. Yet if there was muttering in the ranks he didn’t hear it.
He admitted he hadn’t scouted the grounds for himself, but this was normal in police operations. Using Ingeborg’s tablet he was able to show everyone a map and aerial photography of the terrain.
Halliwell, Leaman and Gilbert moved off with the constables towards a footpath descending to the valley floor. Ingeborg and one uniformed sergeant would set up the block at the main entrance. Diamond himself walked the short distance with them.
It was agreed that communication would be by phone. Nobody would contact Diamond, but he would alert the team to developments when an opportunity came. This could be the fatal flaw in the plan.
‘Are you okay about making contact, guv?’ Ingeborg asked as tactfully as she could.
Bloody technology. His nerves were at snapping point. ‘I’m not a total dumbo.’
‘Never said you were.’
‘It’s a simple matter of pressing the right keys.’
‘Exactly.’
‘You’d better go over it with me.’
The raised voices from the patio beside the infinity pool left Diamond in no doubt where to find most of the guests. Going by the shrieks of jollity no one had been deprived of drinks while Spearman was away being interviewed. Some of the forty or more were standing, glasses in hand, but a few had looked for shade and a place to sit at the tables. Lady Sally in a white dress flitted like a butterfly from group to group with a tray of canapés. More food and drink was served from an open marquee.
Diamond was quick to spot Paloma in a blue summer dress he hadn’t seen before. Tie straps and billowy sleeves. She was looking relaxed in a group that included Estella, Sir Edward and several of the Beau Nash crowd including Crispin, the one who so enjoyed the sound of his own voice.
He decided not to go straight over. His plan was to merge inconspicuously, but this was already proving difficult. He was getting suspicious looks and he knew why. Leaving his suit jacket in the car and removing his tie hadn’t done the trick. He didn’t look the part of one of Bath’s glitterati. The tankard of beer hadn’t been such a good idea either. He’d been desperate for a long drink because he was thirsty. Most of them were holding flute glasses.