Morse sat where he was, looking duly impressed and appreciative. As a result of his visit to the dentist he had himself arrived at a very similar conclusion (although by a completely different route), but he felt it proper to congratulate his sergeant.
‘You know, they say your eyes begin to deteriorate about the age of seven or eight, and that your brain follows suit about twenty years later. But your brain, Lewis. It sharper every day.’
Lewis leaned back happily. ‘Must be working with you. Sir’
But Morse appeared not to hear him, staring out (as Lewis had so often seen him) across the concreted yard that lay outside bis window. And thus he stared for many, many minutes; and Lewis had almost read the medical report through a second time before Morse spoke again.
‘It’s very sad about life, really, you know. There’s only one thing certain about it, and that’s death. We all die, sooner or later. Even old Max, with all his laudable caution, would probably accept that. “The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power…”.’
‘Pardon, sir?’
‘We shall all die, Lewis – even you and me – just like that poor fellow we fished out of the pond. There are no exceptions.’
‘Wasn’t there just the one?’ asked Lewis, quietly.
‘You believe that?’
‘Yes.’
‘Mm.’
‘Why do you mention all this, sir-you know, about dying and so on?’
‘I was just thinking about Browne-Smith, that’s all. I was just thinking that a man we all thought was dead is probably alive again-that’s all.’
That’s all. For a little while Lewis had almost convinced himself that he might be a move or two ahead of Morse, Yet now, as he shook his head in customary bewilderment, he knew that Morse’s mind was half a dozen moves ahead of all the world So he sat where he was, like a disciple in the Scriptures at the feet of the Master, wondering why he ever bothered to think about anything himself at all.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Morse decides to enjoy the hospitality of yet another member of Lonsdale’s top brass, whilst Lewis devotes himself to the donkey work.
It was high time something was done, Morse knew that. There was the dead man’s suit to start with, for surely Lewis had been right in maintaining that the minutest detritus of living would still be lingering somewhere in the most improbable crannies of pockets and sleeves. Then there was the mysterious man Gilbert, who had been given free (and official) access to the room in which the two letters had probably been typed: Gilbert the furniture-man, who might at that very minute be shifting the last of the crates and the crockery… Yes, it was high time the pair of them actually did something. Necesse erat digitos extrahere.
Morse was (as almost always when in a car) a morose and uncommunicative passenger as Lewis drove down to Lonsdale via St Giles’ and the Cornmarket, then left at Carfax and into the High. At the Lodge, it was the same young porter on duty. But this tune he refused to hand over the keys to any room before consulting higher authority; and Morse was still trying to get through to the Bursar when a man walked into the Lodge whom he had seen several times when he had dined at Lonsdale. It was the Vice-Master.
Ten minutes later, Lewis, with two keys in his hand, was climbing up the steps of Staircase T, whilst Morse was seating himself comfortably in a deep armchair in the Vice-Master’s suite, and agreeing that although it was rather early in the day a glass of something might not be totally unwelcome.
‘So you see, Inspector’ (it was several minutes later) ‘it’s not a very happy story at all-not an unusual one, though. That pair could never have got on together, whatever happened; but there were no signs of open animosity-not, as I say, until five years ago.’
‘Since when they’ve never even spoken to each other?’
‘That’s it.’
‘And the reason for all this?’
‘Oh, there’s no great secret about that. I should think almost everyone in the college knows, apart from one or two of the younger fellows.’
‘Tell me about it.’
It appeared that only two crucial ordinances had been decreed for election to the Mastership of Lonsdale College: first, that any nominand must be a layman; second, that such a person must be elected by the eight senior fellows of the college, with a minimum of six votes needed in favour, and with the election declared invalid if even a single vote was cast against. It had been common knowledge five years ago, in spite of the so-called “secret” nature of the ballot, that when Dr Browne-Smith had been proposed and seconded, one solitary vote had thwarted his election hopes; equally common knowledge was the fact that when Mr Westerby’s name, in turn, had been put forward, one single slip of paper was firmly printed with a ‘No’. The third choice-the compromise candidate-had also been one of the college’s senior fellows, and it had been a relief for everyone when the present Master had been voted into office, nem. Con.
‘Head of House!’ said Morse slowly. ‘Great honour, isn’t it?’ (He was suddenly conscious that he had repeated verbatim the question he had asked of Andrews.)
‘Some people would give a lot for it, yes.’
‘Would you?
The Vice-Master smiled. ‘No! You can leave me out of the running, inspector. You see, I’m in holy orders, and so, as I said, I’m just not eligible.’
‘I see,’ said Morse. ‘Now just getting back to Dr Browne-Smith for a minute. I’d be grateful, sir, if you could tell me something about his, well, his personal Life.’
‘Such as?’ The Vice-Master’s eyes were upon him, and Morse found himself wondering how much, or how little, he could ever expect to know of the complex web of relationships within this tight community of Lonsdale.
‘What about his health, for example?’
Again the shrewd look, as if the question had been fully expected.’He was a very sick man, Inspector.But you knew that yesterday, didn’t you? By the way, Andrews said you looked just a little surprised when he told you.’
‘How long had,you known?’ countered Morse.
‘Three weeks, I suppose. The Master called Andrews and me up to his room one evening after Hall. Strictly confidential, he said, and all that-but we had to know, of course, because of Browne-Smith’s teaching commitments.’
‘When did the Master think…?’
‘Certainly no longer than the end of the Hilary Term.’
‘Mm.’
‘And you’re wondering whether his teaching days might not be over already. Am I right?’
‘How much did Andrews tell you?’ asked Morse.
‘Everything. You didn’t mind, I hope?’
Morse felt oddly uncomfortable with the man, and after asking a few more vague questions about Browne-Smith’s lifestyle, he got up to go. ‘You getting some holiday soon, sir?”
‘Once the Master gets back. We usually alternate so that one of us is here for most of the vac. I know that some people haven’t much time for all us lazy academic layabouts, but there’s a lot to do in a college apart from looking after students. But you’d know that, of course.’
Morse nodded, and knew that he could very soon learn to dislike this unclerically garbed parson intensely.
‘We shall co-operate as much as we can,’ continued the Vice-Master. ‘You know that. But it would be nice to be kept in the picture – just a little, perhaps?’