Mr. Brook nodded.
“Sir Francis came from the right. He must have turned right at the path and skirted the rose garden in that direction. Anyone who followed the path which you and Miss Hardwicke took would have skirted the rose garden on the left and come out on to the grass on that side. Mr. Zero would almost certainly have come that way, because it was the shortest and most direct route between the meeting-place and the road, where he would naturally have left a car. You did not observe any other car?”
Algy shook his head.
“There was no other car within range of my headlights. There may have been half a dozen farther up the road. I wasn’t out looking for cars.”
“Mr. Somers, did you hear a car at any time either before the shot was fired or afterwards-especially afterwards? If Mr. Zero did not remain at Cole Lester he must have got away-probably by car. Did you hear any car?”
Algy said, “Yes, I did,” and thought how convenient a lie it must sound-‘If Mr. Zero left Cole Lester, he must have left by car. Did you hear a car?-Yes, I did…’ It happened to be the truth, but there were times when you couldn’t expect the truth to impose upon a child of five. He gave a short laugh and added, “You won’t believe it, but it’s perfectly true-I did hear a car, thought I didn’t take any notice at the time. It was just before we met Sturrock and the servants. Miss Hardwicke may have heard it too.”
Inspector Boyce turned in his chair. He addressed the Chief Constable.
“I put the question to her myself, sir, and she said she hadn’t noticed anything. And the servants, they didn’t notice anything either.”
“They had plenty to think about,” said Algy. “I didn’t remember it myself until you asked me, but I’m quite prepared to swear to it now. I did hear a car, and it was going back the way we came.”
“Suggesting that Mr. Zero had run his car on a bit and left it turned all ready to go back to town again?” said Mr. Brook.
Algy admitted a faint tone of sarcasm to his voice.
“I won’t go so far as that-but then I haven’t your imagination.”
Mr. Brook smiled faintly.
“Imagination may be very useful,” he said. “Now I want to ask whether you noticed what time it was when Miss Hardwicke left you to find her way up the drive last night.”
Algy had a sudden conviction that the answer to this question was going to matter a great deal. If he hadn’t known the answer, it wouldn’t have mattered. But he did know it, and it came home to him that if he gave it he might be landing himself in trouble, and if he hesitated it was bound to make a very bad impression. He said without any perceptible pause,
“I looked at the clock when Miss Hardwicke got out of the car, and it was just on twelve.”
Colonel Anstruther said explosively, “What do you mean just on twelve, sir? Can’t you be accurate?”
Algy looked in his direction. The old boy was hostile, definitely hostile. He made his voice as deferential as he could and apologized.
“I’m sorry, sir. It was between one and two minutes to twelve.”
“Yes,” said Mr. Brook-“that is Miss Hardwicke’s recollection also. How long did you wait before you followed her?”
“I gave her a couple of minutes.”
“So you left the car at twelve o’clock. How long do you suppose it would take you to reach the strip of grass beyond the yew hedge?”
“I haven’t timed it,” said Algy. “I suppose you have.”
Mr. Brook nodded.
“It took me four and a half minutes this morning. I might take anything from five to seven or eight minutes in the dark. It might take no more than four for a man who had a torch-and knew his way-and was in a hurry to get there.”
Algy laughed.
“In other words, you mean Mr. Zero might have done it in four minutes. But then why should Mr. Zero have been in a hurry?”
“We should be interested to know that,” said Mr. Brook. “Perhaps you will answer your own question.”
Algy smiled.
“I’m afraid only Mr. Zero could do that.”
There was a momentary silence-rather a concentrated sort of silence. It said, with no need of words, “Well, here you are-the game’s up. Why not make a clean breast of it?”
It would have given Algy the most extraordinary pleasure to take the Inspector by the scruff of his neck and bang his face on the table, chuck little Brook through the window, and let fly with the inkpot at old Anstruther. Instead he maintained an admirable self-control and waited for somebody else to speak.
The silence was broken by Mr. Brook.
“Lady Colesborough says she heard the clock strike twelve just before she left her room. I have ascertained that this clock is five minutes fast. It was therefore six or seven minutes past twelve before she left the house. That would allow Mr. Zero six or seven minutes to arrive at the rendezvous before she got there.”
“But you don’t know when Mr. Zero started, or where he was coming from-do you?” said Algy.
“Don’t we?” said Mr. Brook. “I wonder. But we know when you started, Mr. Somers. You could easily have reached the rendezvous before Lady Colesborough got there.”
Algy contemplated him with amusement.
“I’m afraid that doesn’t help you very much.”
“No? Well, we shall see. Meanwhile here is a provisional timetable. 11.58, Miss Hardwicke enters the drive. 12 o’clock, Mr. Somers enters the drive; Lady Colesborough prepares to leave her room. 12 to 12.05, Lady Colesborough leaves the house by the parlour door; Sir Francis follows her. 12.05, Mr. Zero arrives at the rendezvous. 12.07, Lady Colesborough arrives at the rendezvous. 12.08 to 12.09, Sir Francis gets there after skirting the rose garden. 12.10, Sir Francis is shot. 12.11, Miss Hardwicke arrives and finds Lady Colesborough holding the pistol. The butler Sturrock says it was just after a quarter past twelve when the alarm-bell rang and aroused the servants’ wing.”
“Quite so,” said Algy. “May I point out, however, that your timetable rests chiefly on guesswork? Miss Hardwicke and I can corroborate each other as to the time she left the car, and Sturrock’s evidence as to the time the alarm-bell rang probably has the support of the rest of the staff, but between 12 and 12.15 you’re just guessing, and you know it. It’s no use asking anyone who has ever met Lady Colesborough to expect her to be accurate about time. If she said she heard a clock strike just before she left her room, it might have been one minute before or it might have been ten-I don’t suppose she’d notice the difference.” He turned to Colonel Anstruther. “You’ve been talking to her, sir. Would you expect her to be accurate-well, about anything?”
“Woman’s a half-wit,” said Colonel Anstruther. “Waste of time talking to her-waste of time asking her anything. Hasn’t got a mind, and doesn’t try to use whatever it is she’s got instead. I’ll give you that if it’s any use to you, Mr. Somers-you’ll want all you can get. Any more questions, Mr. Brook?”
Mr. Brook shook his head.
XXV
When are we going to get away from this horrible place?” said Gay.
She and Algy Somers were standing side by side, looking out from the drawing-room across the terrace and the lawn to the rose, garden divided and enclosed by the dark T shape of the yew walk. There were five windows, straight and rather narrow, all hung with curtains of pale, cold brocade which repeated the faded green of the winter grass and the grey and blue of the winter sky. Gay and Algy were at the middle window, standing close but not looking at one another. They looked instead at the lawn where they had groped in the dark, and the black mouth of the tunnel down which they had run to find a murdered man.