Heirs of the Body(77)

“In the circumstances…” Geraldine took out the letter and quickly read it. “Ah, the missing Samuel. In the circumstances, I consider your action entirely justified. After all, Mr. Pearson might have written to tell us Frank Crowley’s been unmasked as a kidnapper and forger—”

“What! You don’t like Frank, I gather.”

“I like him very well. He’s an amiable, obliging sort.”

“You don’t trust him?”

“Not as far as I could throw him. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if he were a forger. However, I’m certain Derek and Belinda would know by now, and have told us, if Ben had been kidnapped, so we can acquit Frank of that. In any case, that was not what Mr. Pearson wrote about.”

“I can’t help feeling he would have sent a cable!”

“Very likely. You’ve broken the news of Samuel’s coming to Martha?”

“Yes indeed. She’s tickled pink. And now, if you’re not going to haul me over the coals for reading the letter, I must go and tell Alec.”

“Tell him if there’s anything I, or Edgar, or the household can do to help, it shall be done.”

“Thank you for being so understanding.”

“Believe me, Daisy, the thought of going through all this without you and Alec to support us is … inconceivable!”

“All the same, it won’t hurt to have Tommy here too. If I were you, I’d wire him to come at once.” She pushed the telephone towards Geraldine.

“You’re right. I think I will.”

Daisy went to find Alec. Ernest, never the most wooden of footmen, told her with obvious curiosity that Smethwick had brought a message from Mr. Fletcher: He was going into Morton Green to send some cables from the post office.

“Mr. Fletcher got a lift with a gentleman that came about the same time as the ambulance. They was round at the stables. Smethwick wouldn’t say what was going on. Said the Chief Inspector—Mr. Fletcher, I should say—swore him to silence. But I cou’n’t help noticing, madam, Mr. Raymond didn’t come home with the rest. He’s not been took ill, I hope?”

“Sorry, Ernest. I’ve been sworn to silence as well. Did Mr. Fletcher intend to walk back from the village? I think I’ll go to meet him.”

It was a beautiful afternoon, sunny and warm but not humid and oppressive. Daisy started out across the park on the path that led to the Dower House, then took the right-hand branch towards the village. The beige Jersey cows lay chewing the cud under the scattered oaks and chestnuts or paced slowly across the slope, bright green after the rain, cropping the grass short as they went.

The distant crack of a rook rifle, familiar from childhood, reminded Daisy that all was not as peaceful as it seemed. In the orchards, birds were gorging on ripe fruit. She hoped the shooter had scared them off without killing any.

Before she reached the top of the hill, Alec came over the crest. She waved but, lost in thought, he didn’t respond.

“Alec!”

He looked up and his pace quickened. The only spectators being bovine, they met with a kiss before walking down towards the house, arm in arm.

“Who did you send cables to, darling? Let me rephrase that: To whom did you send cables?”

“Haven’t you left something off the second version?”

“To whom did you send cables, darling?”

“That’s better. First I rang up Sir Nigel to make sure the county force would pay for them, because I wired South Africa and Jamaica and Trinidad, as well as Scarborough. Pearson investigated their ancestry. I want more information about their present-day families, their backgrounds, their way of life.”

“Raymond’s as well?”

“If his death was no accident, it was not necessarily associated with the inheritance.”

“Diamonds!”

Alec reached into his inside breast pocket and produced a small wash-leather pouch, closed with a tightly tied drawstring. “Diamonds.”

“Let me see.”

He opened the bag and showed her a handful of grey and yellowish pebbles. Some looked like lumps of glass or quartz, some just like bits of gravel. “Not very spectacular.” He retied the string and returned them to his pocket.

“Have you any idea what they’re worth? Where did you find them?”

“Not a clue. He had a secret pocket sewn into the lining of his jacket—all his jackets, I expect. Dealers in gemstones often choose to carry their merchandise on their persons when travelling, rather than trust an unknown safe. I assume Edgar has a safe I can lock these in?”

“Father did. I doubt he’s got rid of it. Do you think Raymond could have been the target of a thief? It was rather a public place for robbery.”