Chapter 20 #2
“Babs came in—she’d been herding the children upstairs—and took Jack’s part.
Then Mother arrived, some busybody having told her about the row, and Addie appealed to her, and she said she was afraid Jack was probably quite right.
I think it must be worse having thoroughly badly behaved grandchildren than children, don’t you?
You have little or no control over their upbringing, and you want to love them and perhaps you just can’t.
Anyway, Addie decided to look for Father. She thought he’d support her.”
“Had she any justification for such a hope?”
“Well, he’d never ragged on the boys, but only because he’d never seen their bad side.
They were afraid of him, and none of us ever told tales.
It must seem odd to an outsider, when he—if anyone—was quite capable of correcting them, but when one is accustomed to not telling a person anything that might upset him, the habit is difficult to break.
Jack had reached that point, though. He went tearing after Addie, saying he’d tell Father himself. ”
Daisy contradicted her. “No. Now I come to think of it, he went striding off and Addie ran after him. If it makes any difference.”
Alec gave her a look. “Where did they go to search?” he asked Gwen.
“To the drawing room and hall, of course, where everyone had gone to eat. But he wasn’t there, so they came back—No, Jack came back without Addie.
She was probably relieved not to find Father.
I said maybe he’d popped into the gun room to show off the antiques.
Jack glanced in but he wasn’t there, so I said he’d better check upstairs. How I wish I hadn’t!”
“I’m afraid it wouldn’t have changed anything,” Alec said sympathetically, “and from my point of view, it’s lucky he was found while the doctor and the Chief Constable were here.”
And even Struwwelpeter, Daisy thought, since it was he who had advised his CC to beg for Alec’s help.
“I suppose it was,” conceded Gwen. “We’d have had to send for Dr. Prentice anyway.”
“Go on.”
“Jack came back, white as a sheet, and said Father had shot Mrs. Gooch and himself.” Gwen was herself nearly as white as a sheet.
Daisy took her hand. “That was bad enough, heaven knows, but at least it was over, finished with, apart from the scandal. This—not knowing what happened or who . . . it’s an endless nightmare! ”
Daisy simply couldn’t think of anything comforting to say.
The Tyndalls’ nightmare could end only with an arrest, and then a different sort of nightmare would begin.
Unless she was wrong about Gooch. Was it possible he had committed a double murder and then come to fill his plate looking mildly worried and fussing about his food?
Set him against Jack, bursting into the room in a state of high agitation, and there was no contest for the more likely murderer.
Alec continued asking questions. His gentle tone suggested to Daisy that he had moved Gwen, with or without Miller as her conspirator, to the bottom of his list. He came at last to Mrs. Gooch’s letters.
“Martin came to Father’s dressing room and told me. Jack asked him to. Jack told him the letter was very affecting, but I think it was positively wicked.”
Alec’s raised eyebrows encouraged her to elaborate.
“I can understand, if it’s true, that she might want to see her child and make sure he’s well and happy, but to push herself in, to disrupt everyone’s lives, that was wicked! Just look what it led to.”
“Do you think she was telling the truth?”
“I haven’t the faintest idea. At first I thought it was utter rubbish.
It’s difficult to imagine one’s father having a .
. .a mistress. But if he did, that’s exactly how he might have acted, riding roughshod over Mother for the sake of having a male heir.
It doesn’t really matter—Jack’s my brother no matter what. ”
“Do you remember Lady Tyndall being away from home at about the time he was born?”
“No. I was six. I remember being told I had a baby brother and being excited and happy. I wasn’t going to be the youngest any longer, and I suppose I thought of him as a sort of living doll at first. I remember dressing him up, playing mother.
Babs and Addie weren’t particularly interested and Mother was often ill.
He was a nice little boy, and a nice schoolboy, and a nice young man.
Nothing, nothing, will make me believe he shot Father and Mrs. Gooch! ” Gwen concluded, fiercely vehement.
“Most understandable,” said Alec gravely. “That’s all for now. Thank you for your cooperation.”
“Gwen, do go and lie down for a bit. You’ve had an exhausting day.”
Gwen smiled with an effort. “I may do just that. But first I’ll just pop down and make sure Mother is all right and the nurse has everything she needs.”
“Would you mind asking Lady Tyndall when it will be convenient for me to see her?”
“Must you? I suppose you must. All right.”
She left, and Alec turned to Daisy. “What else have you not told me?” he asked resignedly.
“Darling, last night you were in a rush to find out what had happened and to see everyone, and today I’ve hardly had a chance to talk to you at all, except about Babs and Lady Tyndall’s trip abroad. Else besides what?”
“Besides Gooch being with you in the dining room. I’d better hear your version of what went on last night, from the Gooches’ arrival at the party. Try to stick to the essential points, love?”
“I’ll try,” Daisy promised. “First, I happened to be watching when the Gooches arrived. I wasn’t close enough to hear what was said, but as the Gooches continued into the hall, I saw Sir Harold and Lady Tyndall turn and look after them with horrified expressions.”
“Both Tyndalls?”
“Both. I thought—”
“Just the facts, Daisy.”
“Yes, but you mustn’t jump to the conclusion that they recognized Mrs. Gooch. It might just have been the prospect of Gooch’s Australian accent mingling with the august company.”
“I’ll take that into account.”
“You must, honestly. Martin Miller has hardly any accent, but it’s enough to make them eye him askance.
He was very helpful, incidentally. I wanted to go down and see the merrymaking at the bonfire in the meadow, where the villagers gathered, and he drove me down.
We went just after the Gooches got here, and got back to the house as people started to move out to the terrace, so I didn’t see anything that happened indoors in between. ”
“Pity. I’d give a good deal to know what Sir Harold said to Mrs. Gooch and vice versa, or at least in what spirit it was said.”
“Sorry, can’t help. I can tell you, though, that she didn’t go outside with her husband. I did. I had an idea for an article . . . but you don’t want to hear about that, and it’s dead as the dodo now anyway.”
“How long did you talk to him?”
“Just a couple of minutes. As soon as the fireworks started, everyone moved forward and I lost him. Let’s see, who was next?
Babs, I think. She collared the Yarborough boys as they were about to disappear down the steps.
Obviously her prohibition didn’t have a lasting effect.
Later I had a word with Addie’s mama-in-law, and lastly Jack, for just a moment before he disappeared down the steps.
That was just as the final grand spectacle started. ”
“I don’t suppose you noticed what direction he came from.”
“Not a hope. It was dark, darling, except for the weird light of the fireworks, and people kept moving around. I didn’t see anyone heading for the house until after the grand finale. I would have told you right away.”
“Yes, of course.” Alec sighed. “Go on. If Jack did the shooting, it must have been before you saw him?”
“I should think so. No time afterwards, not if the fireworks covered the sound of the shots, which they must have, mustn’t they?”
“That’s our assumption. How did he behave?”
“I didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. At least, he looked as normal as one can with a blue face. The missing rockets—or rather, the ones that didn’t go missing—showered down green and blue sparks to represent rain, to make the tree—”
“Great Scott, Daisy!”
“Sorry. What was I . . .Oh yes, Jack sounded normal. But he said only a few words before he noticed something wrong with the rockets and got upset and went down.”
“So the missing rockets could have been a very convenient excuse to cover the real reason for his being in a state of nerves.”
“I suppose so,” Daisy admitted reluctantly.
“I gather you were one of the last to return to the house.”
“I’d seen the supper buffet earlier and knew they weren’t going to run out of food, so I stayed to watch the bonfire blaze up.
I sort of assumed at the time, without really thinking about it, that Gooch and Miller hung back because they weren’t entirely comfortable with the company.
But Gooch was probably hoping to see his wife as she went in, and Miller may have been waiting till Gwen finished helping Babs hand out sparklers to the children.
Anyway, we all went in together and we were at the end of the line. By then, I was—”
“Ravenous.”
“I was going to say ‘famished,’ ” Daisy said with dignity. “And my toes were getting frostbitten. I know you don’t want to hear about my toes, but every little bit helps me remember exactly what happened. You’re always saying any detail may prove significant.”
“It may. I don’t want to rush you. It’s just that I can’t recall an investigation when I’ve had so many interviews cut short in the middle, and I was hoping we might get through the whole story before we’re interrupted. But you’re right. Tell it your own way, love.”
As if on cue, there came a knock on the door.
“Come in!” called Alec, exasperated.
A maid peeked nervously around the door. “Telephone, sir, if you please, sir.”
“Who is it?”
“Mr. Jennings didn’t say, sir, just that it’s for you, sir.”