Inspector Thomas sat on the sofa. âI donât suppose,â he said amiably to Jan, âthat youâve ever been in close contact with a murder before, have you?â
âNo, no, I havenât,â Jan replied eagerly. âItâs very exciting, isnât it?â He knelt on the footstool. âHave you got any cluesâfingerprints or bloodstains or anything?â
âYou seem very interested in blood,â the inspector observed with a friendly smile.
âOh, I am,â Jan replied, quietly and seriously. âI like blood. Itâs a beautiful colour, isnât it? That nice clear red.â He too sat down on the sofa, laughing nervously. âRichard shot things, you know, and then they used to bleed. Itâs really very funny, isnât it? I mean itâs funny that Richard, who was always shooting things, should have been shot himself. Donât you think thatâs funny?â
The inspectorâs voice was quiet, his inflection ratherdry, as he replied, âI suppose it has its humorous side.â He paused. âAre you very upset that your brotherâyour half-brother, I meanâis dead?â
âUpset?â Jan sounded surprised. âThat Richard is dead? No, why should I be?â
âWell, I thought perhaps you wereâvery fond of him,â the inspector suggested.
âFond of him!â exclaimed Jan in what sounded like genuine astonishment. âFond of Richard? Oh, no, nobody could be fond of Richard.â
âI suppose his wife was fond of him, though,â the inspector urged.
A look of surprise passed across Janâs face. âLaura?â he exclaimed. âNo, I donât think so. She was always on my side.â
âOn your side?â the inspector asked. âWhat does that mean, exactly?â
Jan suddenly looked scared. âYes. Yes,â he almost shouted, hurriedly. âWhen Richard wanted to have me sent away.â
âSent away?â the inspector prompted him gently.
âTo one of those places,â the youngster explained. âYou know, where they send you, and youâre locked up, and you canât get out. He said Laura would come and see me, perhaps, sometimes.â Jan shook a little, then rose, backed away from the inspector, and looked across at Sergeant Cadwallader. âI wouldnât like to belocked up,â he continued, his voice now tremulous. âIâd hate to be locked up.â
He stood at the french windows, looking out onto the terrace. âI like things open, always,â he called out to them. âI like my window open, and my door, so that I can be sure I can get out.â He turned back into the room. âBut nobody can lock me up now , can they?â
âNo, lad,â the inspector assured him. âI shouldnât think so.â
âNot now that Richardâs dead,â Jan added. Momentarily, he sounded almost smug.
The inspector got up and moved round the sofa. âSo Richard wanted you locked up?â he asked.
âLaura says he only said it to tease me,â Jan told him. âShe said that was all it was, and she said it was all right, and that as long as she was here sheâd make quite sure that I would never be locked up.â He went to perch on one arm of the armchair. âI love Laura,â he continued, speaking with a nervous excitement. âI love Laura a terrible lot. We have wonderful times together, you know. We look for butterflies and birdsâ eggs, and we play games together. Bezique. Do you know that game? Itâs a clever one. And Beggar-my-neighbour. Oh, itâs great fun doing things with Laura.â
The inspector went across to lean on the other arm of the chair. His voice had a kindly tone to it as heasked, âI donât suppose you remember anything about this accident that happened when you were living in Norfolk, do you? When a little boy got run over?â
âOh,