The Dog Who Came In From The Cold

Chapter 73: Chipping Campden

Everything was now in place for the second stage of Berthea’s plan. Once inside the house, Terence, still pale from the shock of seeing the Green Man in the rhododendrons, sat himself down in the kitchen. “I swear I saw him, Berthy,” he said breathlessly. “You know me – I don’t make things up.”

Berthea knew him as well as any sister might be expected to know a brother, and she knew there were no discernible limits to Terence’s gullibility and imaginative capability. “Of course not,” she said. “The eye tricks us very easily. I quite understand how one might imagine that one has seen the Green Man when there are all those leaves moving about.”

Terence shook his head vigorously, becoming quite agitated. “It’s not a trick of the eye,” he said. “The Green Man was right there – in the flesh. I promise you, Berthy – cross my heart – he was standing right there, as real as anything. I promise you.”

Berthea spoke calmingly, “Well, we’ll see, won’t we? If the Green Man is frequenting your garden, then I’m sure we’ll see him again some time.”

Terence appeared mollified. “I hope so. I really enjoyed our conversation. He gave me a warning, you know.”

Berthea, pouring boiling water into the teapot, affected nonchalance. “Oh, did he? About what?”

Terence looked at her sideways. “About somebody in the house who was a danger to me. A traitor, I assume.”

Berthea glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and saw that he was staring at her. His manner, it seemed, was suspicious. He thinks it’s me, she thought with horror. He’s got the wrong end of things again.

She quickly served her brother his tea and left the room. In the drawing room she telephoned Lennie Marchbanks and told him to come round immediately. “Remember,” she said. “Crop circles.”

About ten minutes later, while Terence was still drinking his tea in the kitchen – pondering the Green Man, Berthea imagined – Lennie Marchbanks drove up to the house in his ancient silver Volvo. Terence noticed his arrival. “I must tell Lennie about the Green Man,” he said, rising to his feet. “He’s very interested in these things.”

Lennie came to the door and was admitted to the kitchen. “Great news, Mr Moongrove,” he said. “More crop circles!”

In the excitement of this news, the Green Man was quite forgotten. Terence listened entranced as Lennie explained that two new crop circles had been spotted in a field about five miles away. “I wanted to take you to see them,” he said. “Sometimes the crops spring up before you have the chance to appreciate them.”

Terence required no persuasion. “You’re very kind, Mr Marchbanks.”

Lennie glanced at Berthea. “We’ll go in my Volvo,” he said. “I know the way.”

Berthea watched them drive away before going up to the room occupied by Roger and Claire. They had installed desks in the room and she supposed that they would be sitting there reading or working on Roger’s magnum opus, which proved to be the case.

“I’m terribly sorry to disturb you,” she said. “But Terence has had to go off with a friend. He asked me to ask you, though, whether you could possibly meet him for lunch at the Cotswold House Hotel in Chipping Campden.”

Roger looked at her suspiciously. “Chipping Campden? Why?”

“He mentioned something about wanting to sign some papers,” said Berthea vaguely. “He hoped that you could all do it over lunch.”

Roger turned and looked at Claire. The mention of signing papers had animated him. “Of course,” he said. “We’ll be very happy to do that, won’t we, Claire?” He turned back to Berthea. “But how will we get out there?”

“He said that you should take his car,” Berthea answered. “His Porsche. The keys are in the kitchen. He said go out there and wait for him. He hasn’t booked a table but he thinks it will be all right.”

Roger and Claire got up from their seats and began to prepare for their departure, ignoring Berthea’s presence. Berthea went downstairs and looked at her watch. She had asked Lennie Marchbanks to make sure that he was away a good half hour. That would give Roger and Claire time to get ready and then drive off in the Porsche.

They left twenty minutes later, and precisely ten minutes after that Lennie Marchbanks’ silver Volvo drew up outside the house.

“We were too late,” said Terence as he came into the kitchen with the garagiste. “The stalks of the oats or whatever had all sprung up again. So disappointing.”

“The spacecraft must have nipped in and out,” said Lennie.

Berthea noticed that his voice was slurred, and she suddenly remembered that his teeth were still in the pocket of her coat, which was hanging on the back of the kitchen door. She signalled to the mechanic, who frowned as he tried to make out what she meant. Then he realised. “My teeth!” he exclaimed. “You’ve still got them, haven’t you?”

Terence looked astonished. “Why have you got Mr Marchbanks’ teeth, Berthy?” he asked. “Did he drop them?”

“Yes,” said Berthea. And Lennie Marchbanks at the same time answered, “No.”

Terence looked at Mr Marchbanks. “What happened to your teeth, Mr Marchbanks?”

“Your sister cleaned them for me.”

“He dropped them and I cleaned them,” said Berthea.

Terence seemed satisfied with this explanation and returned to the topic of crop circles. “I wonder what shape they were,” he said. “Roger and Claire have a book which has some of the main patterns.”

Berthea took her cue. “I wonder where they are …?” She paused. “I’ve just remembered something, Terence. I heard the sound of your car about fifteen minutes ago. I thought nothing of it because I’d forgotten that you had gone out with Mr Marchbanks.”

“My Porsche?”

“Yes.”

“Did you tell them they could take it?” asked Lennie Marchbanks.

“Certainly not,” said Terence.

“Then they must have stolen it,” said Lennie. “Just think.”

Terence was silent. “The Green Man said …” he began.

“Green Man?” asked Lennie Marchbanks.

“It’s rather complicated,” Terence explained. “I was given a warning, you see, and …”

Berthea stopped him. “Where would they have gone, do you think, Mr Marchbanks?” she asked.

Lennie Marchbanks, who had fitted the false teeth now returned to him by Berthea, answered quickly, “Chipping Campden, I expect. There’s a well-known car fence near there. That’s where all the stolen cars end up.”

“Then we should go there,” said Berthea. “We might still catch up with them.”

“It’s really bad of them to steal my Porsche,” said Terence. “And if we catch up with them, I’m jolly well going to tell them that.”

“Steal your Porsche?” muttered Berthea. “Not only that. They want to steal your house. The Green Man was right, you know.”

She spoke quietly, but Terence heard.