Free Sky High by Michael Gilbert Page B

these steps, Mrs. Artside – there was an opened packet of it in the bottom drawer of the desk. And another thing, all the letters and words which had been used to make it up came out of a local paper – the Bramshott and Alderham Reporter – it’s an unusual type-case you see, so they were able to identify it for us at once. MacMorris was one of the people who took it – after you, Mrs. Artside – and so it did occur to us to wonder whether, for some reason – we shall never know just why – he might have rigged it up himself.’
    ‘Lots of people take the Reporter ,’ said Tim. ‘We do.’
    The Inspector swivelled his faded eye on him.
    ‘Why would anyone do a thing like that?’ asked Liz.
    ‘It’s not unknown for a certain type of person to send themselves anonymous communications. I’m afraid we often have cases like that reported to us.’
    ‘”Faire l’importance”,’ said Liz. ‘Yes. It’s possible. I shouldn’t have thought he was quite the type. Is there any other reason to suppose that’s what he did?’
    ‘Well,’ said the Inspector cautiously, ‘there haven’t been any other complaints round the neighbourhood lately. Once these anonymous writers get going they don’t often confine themselves to one victim. Particularly if he doesn’t seem to take any notice of them.’
    ‘Something in that,’ said Liz.
    In spite of the Inspector’s impeccable manner she was not at ease. She had never been very fond of Inspector Luck. His seedy bonhomie hid, she felt, an essentially vicious mind. She was fair enough to admit that he had given her absolutely no grounds for such feelings. Her two previous encounters had been when she had given away the prizes at a police Fete which Luck had been organising, and the occasion, some years since, when there had been some irregularity over Anna’s status as an alien, which he had dealt with efficiently and courteously.
    ‘Now, about Wednesday night,’ said the Inspector, turning on Tim. ‘Would you mind telling us about that?’
    ‘Of course not,’ said Tim.
    When he had finished the Inspector said, ‘About this noise you both heard—’
    ‘He said he heard it. Me, I’m not sure.’
    ‘Yes. Well, suppose for a moment there was a noise—’
    From the way in which he said it, Tim felt some doubt as to whether he was being offensive or not. He decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. ‘Suppose it wasn’t the cat, or something like that. Did you happen to spot any way anyone could have got into the house without your knowing?’
    Tim considered.
    ‘It wouldn’t have been impossible,’ he said. ‘Whilst we were talking in the living-room there’s no real reason why someone, being a bit careful, shouldn’t have got in at one of the ground floor windows and gone up the stairs. They don’t creak much. I noticed that when I went up them myself, later. Or else, perhaps easier, he could have put a ladder up to a first storey window and got in that way.’
    ‘Without being seen?’
    ‘Oh, yes. I think so. It’s the end house. And anyway, the next one’s empty.’
    ‘And you suggest he might have got out the same way before you went up to look for him. Which would account for your not finding anyone.’
    ‘I’m not suggesting anything,’ said Tim.
    ‘Very properly,’ said the Inspector smoothly. ‘But you thought you heard a noise, and as a result of this you searched the house – quite thoroughly.’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘And you didn’t find anybody.’
    ‘No.’
    ‘Or anything suspicious.’
    ‘I’m not sure that I know what you mean.’
    The Inspector searched about, pulled a buff paper out of the litter on his desk, looked at it, and said,
    ‘Well, you know, there was quite a lot of explosive in the house somewhere.’
    ‘Is that the report?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘Can I look at it?’
    The Inspector’s hesitation was momentary, but both Tim and Liz noted it. Then he pushed the paper across.
    Tim scanned it quickly.
    ‘Yes,’