Chapter 10 #2
“As far as we know, none of the five had any specific reason to detest DeLancey. They were annoyed that his teasing of Bott made them lose the race, and disgusted with his treatment of Bott afterwards. Any of them might have gone down to the boat-house to check the fours boat, but only Fosdyke was personally concerned with the fours race.”
“So he’s more likely to’ve gone, Chief, as well as sharing DeLancey’s room and putting him to bed when he was in a state.”
“Yes. The others shared two bedrooms, so if one went out in the middle of the night, the other might have heard.” But Alec recalled that Daisy had crept out without disturbing her cousin.
No squeaky floors or door-hinges in that well-conducted house.
“Dammit, I need to talk to them all. Where the dickens is Lord DeLancey?”
“I ’spect the butler took his time,” Piper suggested. “Sent the slowest footman, I bet. He didn’t approve of us.”
“Butlers never approve of police in the house,” Alec said dryly.
Lord DeLancey came in a few minutes later. He was red-faced, apparently from heat and hurry as drops of perspiration glistened on his brow, less extensive than Tring’s but equally bedewed.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, Chief Inspector,” he said somewhat breathlessly as the two detectives rose to their feet. “The river is a quarter-mile or so from the house.”
For a moment, Alec wondered why his lordship had decided to be affable, but of course he must be anxious to see his brother’s killer caught. He had been in a state of shock at their last encounter, Alec reminded himself.
“We’ve not been here long, sir,” he said. “This is Detective Constable Piper, who will take notes. As I told you, I have a number of questions to ask you. My apologies for disrupting your afternoon.”
Lord DeLancey, whose colour had receded somewhat, reddened again. “You must think it odd that I should attend the Regatta when Basil … . The fact is, I have told no one. I didn’t wish to ruin the occasion for my host and hostess and the other guests.”
“Most understandable, sir. Most considerate. Won’t you take a seat?”
They all sat down. Ernie produced his notebook and one of the pocketful of well-sharpened pencils he always carried, even now after his hurried departure from home. Proud of the shorthand which had helped him become a detective, he had never yet been caught unprepared.
Alec asked when Lord DeLancey had last seen his brother alive.
“Yesterday, around noon.”
“And was his conduct then in any way out of the ordinary?”
“You may have heard … something of a contretemps … a lamentable show of temper, I’m afraid.”
“So I understand. We’ll get to that in a minute. He didn’t seem confused or incoherent, didn’t complain of a headache, weakness, dizziness, or anything of the sort?”
Lord DeLancey shook his head. “No. He had just rowed a race—if you can call it that when the cox was taken ill in the middle. Since the result was a foregone conclusion, the crew didn’t force the pace and Basil wasn’t even winded when they came in, as they usually are.
He was the picture of health when we parted. ”
“I realise it will be painful, sir, but please describe the scene when the Ambrose College boat came in.”
“You can find plenty of witnesses,” his lordship said testily.
True enough. Alec decided to let it pass. Before he had formulated a tactful way to phrase his next question, Lord DeLancey continued, “Basil was in a filthy temper and he behaved like a fool. I stopped him as soon as I reached him.”
“Did Mr. DeLancey often—er—fly off the handle like that?”
“Is this really necessary, Chief Inspector?”
“The character of a victim is often extremely significant in explaining the motive of the murderer, which frequently points to who he is. I’m sure you can see that in this case …”
“Yes, yes, I see. I’m sorry to say my brother was abominably overindulged. Basil is—was—the baby of the family, the youngest by several years, the darling of the mater and our sisters,” Lord DeLancey said sourly.
Once again Daisy had hit the nail on the head! “And Lord Bicester?” Alec asked.
“The pater always spent a great deal of time in London as a member of the Government or an active member of the Opposition. He brought business home with him as often as not, and I’m afraid he did little to correct the faults in my brother’s upbringing.”
“In other words, Mr. DeLancey tended to be governed by his impulses?”
“He never learnt to control them.”
“So he would act with little or no consideration of the feelings of others.”
“None!” Lord DeLancey’s bitterness suggested this was not the first time he had suffered from his brother’s shortcomings.
“And he would be unlikely to heed advice?”
“He always did exactly as he pleased.”
“Then it would not surprise you,” Alec suggested, “if he kept vigil in the boat-house at Bulawayo last night in spite of your prohibition?”
Lord DeLancey suddenly turned wary. “I’ve no reason to suppose he did. Is that”—he moistened his lips—“Is that where you think he was struck down?”
“It’s possible. You confirm that he proposed to spend the night there?”
“Yes. He said something to that effect. I didn’t take it very seriously. Basil liked his comforts and a night in a boat-house hardly qualifies.”
“Far from it,” Alec agreed. “I assume you knew why he considered keeping guard over the boat. Were you present when the threat was made against it?”
“Yes, it was just as I persuaded him to leave that the cox swore to get his own back. But he threatened Basil, not the boat. I can’t imagine why Basil decided the fellow was likely to damage the boat.
I’d have expected him—Basil, that is—to think better of it pretty quickly since it meant an uncomfortable night. ”
“But when you last spoke to him, he was still intending to keep guard?”
“When I spoke to him on the … .” DeLancey stopped and swallowed, perhaps recalling his last contact with his living brother. He pulled himself together and started again. “When I spoke to him on the telephone?”
Alec pricked up his ears. “When was that?”
“Oh, yesterday evening.”
“What time?”
“About a quarter to eleven. I was playing bridge. When I was dealt the dummy, I realised I wasn’t sure what time Ambrose’s race was this morning, so I called him up. Neither of us mentioned his ridiculous plan.”
“How did he sound? Normal?”
“His voice was a bit slurred. I assumed he’d had a whisky or two. You don’t suppose he had already been hit?”
“I’ve no idea at present, sir. Did your brother answer the ’phone himself?”
DeLancey gave him a condescending look. “Lady Cheringham’s butler answered, naturally.”
“Did you receive an impression as to whether anyone else was still up and about?”
“I couldn’t tell you. I believe the crew generally go to bed quite early during the races, but of course four of them—five with the cox—had no race today. Was it the cox who did it?”
“I haven’t enough information to begin to decide, sir. As far as you know, did anyone else have reason to bear him a grudge?”
“A great many people, I dare say. Basil had a damned nasty tongue and he wasn’t shy of using it. It must have been one of the crew, though, don’t you think?”
“They certainly had the best opportunity,” Alec said cautiously. He stood up. “Well, thank you for your cooperation, Lord DeLancey. I mustn’t keep you from your friends any longer.”
With a grimace, his lordship said, “I suppose I’d better tell them about Basil.”
“It’s bound to be in the evening papers, I’m afraid.”
“The papers!” Groaning, Cedric DeLancey buried his head in his hands. “Somehow I’d managed to put the Press out of my mind. Trust Basil to make as much trouble dead as alive!”