Pete started up the engine; they reversed and drove out. Honour watching them leave. "What did you think?" she asked."About what?""The setup here?""Rather pleasant, if you like this kind of thing, but its really out of the way. I wouldn't like it.""What did you think of her?""Seemed nice; must have been a real beauty, very friendly."Anna nodded and then asked Pete to stop at the ivy-covered cottage. He stayed in the car as she walked up the tiny pathway to the front door. It was a long shot, but nevertheless, she wanted to make sure of something. The same elderly lady opened the front door who had given Gordon the directions to the farm. Anna introduced herself and Mrs. Doris Eatwell patted her arm rather than shake hands, as she was very arthritic. Anna told her that she was making inquiries about an antiques dealer called Julius D'Anton. Mrs. Eatwell said she had never heard of him, but knew Michael Sudmore, as he had bought a number of items from her.Anna was invited inside, and knew she had the right place."Oh, this is nice," she said as she was shown into a small sitting room with a very modern sideboard and table."Thank you. I've got a new bathroom too—1 sold off all the old things I had.""Did you recently sell a table to Mr. Sudmore?""Yes, I did. He's a lovely man—he came by to see some china I was selling, and he saw it outside the back door."Anna was gone for over half an hour."Guess what?" she said when she returned to the car. "Michael Sudmore buys the table, does it up, and puts it into his shop, I would say asking a hell of a lot more than he paid for it. Julius D'Anton goes to the fair—as Sudmore said, he had a real eye for antiques—puts a down payment on the table, and sniffs out where it came from."Pete started up the Morgan and they drove on down the lane."So, this is what I think might have happened: Julius D'Anton drives here to see if Mrs. Eatwell has any other antiques that he can buy for peanuts. It's not far from here to the farmhouse, right?" "Right," Pete said, concentrating on maneuvering the car around the potholes once more."What if he pays a visit and was, according to Mrs. Eatwell, driving a van? She had no idea what make or color, but she said it was a van— you with me?""Yeah."Anna leaned back; it was all supposition yet again."Go on," Pete said, all ears now."Okay, what if he ran into trouble—maybe hit one of the ditches? I don't know, but what if he continued on from Mrs. Harwell's to the farmhouse? Nobody answers at the front door—the bell doesn't work, so again this is just possible—what if he walks around to the back of the farmhouse to the kitchen?""Yes, still with you.""It's a big coincidence, but Julius D'Anton would know Alexander Fitzpatrick from his days at Oxford. What if he saw him here? What if he was hiding out here and Julius recognized him?""Then what?""Well, I don't bloody know," Anna snapped."So this guy Fitzpatrick is hiding out. and up comes someone from his past:'! say, I say, I say, I recognize you, matey'—and then what? 'My van has broken down and do you have a vehicle I can borrow, like the Mitsubishi'?""Oh, shut up. It's possible.""Sure, anything is—but you'll need to match the dates this Julius was seen in the Mitsubishi to when he went belly upward in the Thames.""Yes, I know. Let's just ask around any garages and repair shops in this area and see if we can find the missing van."Anna was doubting herself; she was certain that Pete thought she was adding two and two and coming up with Christ knows what. However, an hour and a half later, in McNaulty & Sons crash repair shop and restoration yard, they found the van.
It was an old post office van, resprayed a dark navy blue, with more dents and bangs than a stock-car racing vehicle. The entire bodywork was a mismatch of filler; it didn't look remotely roadworthy. The backend had indeed gone. The van had been towed into their yard, but remained in the same condition, as the owner had given them a dud check to repair it. The check was signed by Julius D'Anton. Anna gave instructions to the garage that they should leave the van as it was; she would have someone tow it to London.