Reader rolled his eyes. ‘He’s a different proposition altogether. I don’t think he’s done a decent day’s work in his entire life. In a word, he’s a parasite. He sponged off his mother for years and treated Aubrey appallingly. I don’t know why he was christened Adam,’ he said, bitterly. ‘If they wanted a biblical name for him, a far more appropriate one would have been Cain.’
When the undertaker conducted them into the room, Colbeck stood in a corner and watched. Adam Tarleton spared his stepfather’s coffin no more than a cursory glance and his mother claimed little more of his time. As the undertaker drew back the shroud to reveal the ravaged face, Tarleton gazed at it for a brief moment before turning away.
‘It’s her,’ he said.
‘Take a proper look, sir,’ suggested Colbeck.
‘I don’t need to, Inspector. I know it’s my mother. Apart from anything else, the circumstantial evidence points to her. As far as I’m aware, no other woman of her age has gone missing.’
‘Circumstantial evidence can sometimes be misleading, Mr Tarleton. I’ve seen juries reach unsafe verdicts as a result. I’d advise you to take another look. It’s vital that identity is established beyond all doubt by next of kin.’
‘It’s my mother,’ insisted Tarleton, ‘and I’ve no wish to look at her again. This place stinks. I want to get out of here.’
Colbeck followed him out, leaving the undertaker to pull the shroud over the cadaver. When he stepped into the street, Tarleton inhaled deeply. He was in mourning attire but Colbeck didn’t feel that he was actually mourning anyone.
‘What happens next, Inspector?’ asked Tarleton.
‘An inquest will be held to establish cause of death.’
‘Isn’t that obvious? She was murdered.’
‘Yes,’ said Colbeck, ‘but we need to know when, where and how. Those details will help us in our investigation.’
‘But you already know them, surely. You found the body.’
‘All that we did was to exhume it. The actual discovery was made by a farm labourer. He deserves our gratitude.’
‘Well, if he’s expecting any money from me,’ said Tarleton, harshly, ‘he can go whistle for it. And how do you know he really found it? Couldn’t it be that he took you to the place where he’d buried the body himself?’
‘That never even crossed my mind.’
‘It should have, Inspector. Do I have to do your work for you?’
‘It never crossed my mind because it would be a ludicrous supposition,’ explained Colbeck. ‘Mrs Tarleton was killed by a shotgun fired at close range. Where would a farm labourer get such a weapon from? He’d have to steal it. More to the point, where would he acquire the trap that brought the dead body miles from the location of the actual murder? Then there’s the farmer who employs him. I think that Mr Higginbottom would surely notice the absence of one of his men for a length of time, especially if he’d been last seen walking towards a trap he didn’t own with a stolen shotgun under his arm.’
Tarleton was surly. ‘Very well, I was wrong about the fellow.’
‘Do you have any other theories to offer, sir?’
‘I just want the killer caught and the case cleared up.’
‘I’ll endeavour to do just that,’ said Colbeck, ‘and, as part of my investigation, I’d like to question you and your sister. Would you have any objection to my accompanying you back to the house?’
‘Is it really necessary, Inspector?’
‘I’m afraid that it is, sir.’
‘What can we possibly tell you?’
‘You might have some idea who could have done this. I know that you moved away some time ago but you must have kept in touch with your mother. Did she hint at any tensions with neighbours?’
‘Mother and I had no contact whatsoever for the last two years,’ said Tarleton, ‘so I can’t help you on that score. Everyone liked her, I can tell you that. Those who visited us were mostly her friends. My stepfather was a prickly character. He was better at making enemies than friends.’
‘Can you think of any particular enemies?’
‘Why should I? He wasn’t the murder victim – Mother was.’
‘Of course,’ said Colbeck, ‘but it’s not beyond the bounds of possibility that she was killed in order to get back at the colonel. All reports confirm that he doted on your mother.’
‘Then why did he control her life so closely?’ snapped the other. ‘Why did he treat her – and me, I should add – as if we were lowly members of his regiment? He couldn’t seem to remember that he was no longer in the army and was always issuing orders of one kind or another. It’s the reason I left home.’
‘What about your sister?’
‘Eve was the exception to the rule,’ recalled Tarleton. ‘If he doted on anyone, it was her. She was his favourite.’
‘I look forward to meeting her. I was impressed by the way she bore up under questioning at the inquest yesterday.’
‘She’s still quite frail, Inspector. Can’t you delay your visit?’
‘I’m afraid not, sir. I’m not merely coming in order to talk to you and to Mrs Doel. My visit to the house has another purpose.’
‘Oh…what’s that?’
‘I want to establish something once and for all,’ said Colbeck. ‘I need to find out if your stepfather should be our prime suspect.’
CHAPTER NINE
Madeleine Andrews was thrilled to receive the letter from Colbeck but her delight was tempered by disappointment when she heard that he might be away from London for a considerable time.
‘It could take us an eternity,’ admitted Leeming.
‘Do you have no clues at all, Sergeant?’
‘Well, I certainly don’t – but I think that the inspector does. That’s not unusual, mind you. No matter how puzzling a case, he always manages to find a way to solve it in the end.’
‘What sort of a place is South Otterington?’
‘It’s a pretty little village with countryside all round it. That’s why I couldn’t wait to get back here. I didn’t take to it at all.’
‘Why ever not?’ she asked. ‘It sounds rather attractive.’
‘It’s a bit too quiet for my liking, Miss Andrews. It’s too isolated and nothing ever happens there.’
Madeleine smiled. ‘You’ve had a murder and a suicide in just over a fortnight. What else do you want?’
‘I’d like more action,’ said Leeming, ‘and we get that every day here in London. Yes, there’ve been two violent deaths, I grant you, but that’s exceptional in a backwater like South Otterington. It might never happen again for years. When I was walking my beat in uniform, we’d have a murder at least once a week, not to mention a string of other serious crimes.’
They were in the house in Camden and Leeming had a cab waiting for him outside. Madeleine was very fond of him. Though they’d met infrequently, she liked the way he’d accepted her and was touched by his habit of talking so affectionately about his wife and two children. Leeming was also very discreet. If it became known that Madeleine had actually taken part in some criminal investigations, Superintendent Tallis would have gone berserk. He believed that women had no place at all in law enforcement. Colbeck thought otherwise and Leeming had been grateful for the contribution Madeleine had made in some of the cases they’d handled.
For his part, the sergeant felt honoured to have been the first person to know of their engagement. It had pleased him beyond measure. Over the years he’d worked very closely with Colbeck and had noticed the subtle changes brought about in the inspector by his friendship with Madeleine Andrews. Now that the friendship would blossom into marriage, Leeming knew that, in Madeleine, he’d be acquiring a new colleague, albeit one whose work behind the scenes had to be kept secret. The thought contented him.
‘I have to go,’ he said. ‘I must report to the superintendent.’
‘I don’t suppose…’
Madeleine’s voice tailed off but he read the question in her eyes.
‘No, Miss Andrews – the superintendent still hasn’t been told of your betrothal. So far Inspector Colbeck hasn’t managed to find him in a receptive mood.’