Free A Question of Proof by Nicholas Blake Page A

own activities. He had first examined the rumble and front seats of Gadsby’s car; there had been no sign of either having recently been occupied by a body, though that by no means eliminated Gadsby as a possible murderer. He had next interviewed the whole staff of servants at Sudeley Hall. They were now practically exempt from suspicion, having been underneath each other’s noses – if not actually tumbling over each other – either in the kitchen or the garden, during the hectic period between lunch and the sports. At this point Armstrong made a pregnant pause. Knowing his superior’s weakness for a dramatic effect, Pearson said, ‘ ‘Practically’ you were saying, sir?’
    ‘Yes. I stumbled over two curious pieces of evidence. The groundsman, Mould – he’s a bit lacking in the upper storey – but he was quite certain that a number of his sacks, full ones, had been moved since he went into his shed that morning. When he and Mr. Griffin went in, he said, he found them in a sort of lean-to position against the far wall. They were placed in such a way as to make a possible hiding-place – I got him to put them back for me as he remembered finding them after lunch.’
    Sergeant Pearson whistled in a way cunningly calculated to express both astonishment and admiration. The superintendent continued:
    ‘My other exhibit is Rosa. She is one of the maids. She was in the kitchen, helping to wash up, till just before two. Then she said she felt unwell and went up to her bedroom to lie down. We have no corroboration of her movements from then till she joined some of the other servants at a dormitory window watching the sports – soon after two-thirty. Miss Rosa is a pretty hot piece of goods, I can tell you, and what’s more, she’s frightened. I didn’t press her at all. I’m just leaving her to simmer for a bit.’
    Armstrong leaned back, took a good swig at his glass, breathed stertorously, and beamed upon the sergeant.
    ‘I got some interesting sidelights from the servants, too . Mr. Evans, it seems, is quite the gentleman but a bit standoffish. Mr. Wrench is the reverse, in both particulars. Mr. Sims gives no trouble; Mr. Tiverton a good deal – “fussy old geezer,” were the words, I think. Mr. Griffin and Mr. Gadsby are “jolly, pleasant-spoken gentlemen,” though the latter does keep whisky bottles under the bed. The Rev. Mr. Vale seems to be a holy terror, with a tongue “like I never did”; in fact, no one would stay on for a minute if it wasn’t for Mrs. Vale, who is “a real lady and ever so nice,” though “some do say as how she’s a bit flighty and who wouldn’t be with an old devil like that for a husband.” ’
    The superintendent filled up his glass and the sergeant’s before proceeding to relate the rest of his activities. After his interview with the domestic staff he had made a thorough search of the wood; result – nil. Had tested all suitable surfaces in Mould’s shed for fingerprints; result – hopeless. Had verified from several boys that Tiverton had been in and out of the day room after lunch. Had found a copy of
Mademoiselle de Maupin
in Wrench’s room, the illustrations of which caused him to amend his views about school textbooks. Had finally left the school and paid a visit to Mr. Urquhart in Staverton.
    ‘He told me, after the usual lawyer’s demurring, that Mr. Vale, as the deceased’s next-of-kin, stood to come in for a considerable sum of money; he would not like to stipulate the exact amount, etc., etc. He himself had managed the boy’s financial affairs since the parents’ death, Mr. Vale seeing to the educational side. Mr. Urquhart is the sole executor of the will, and only comes in for a small legacy himself, so he tells me.’
    Armstrong hovered again, as it were in midflight, and the sergeant gave the requisite cue.
    ‘You are not satisfied with his story, sir?’
    ‘Mark my words, young man, that fellow’s frightened of something. Half the people