The Main chance

31

Tweed was walking up the main drive to the manor with Paula and Marler. It had been his decision to return by this route. He'd wanted to conceal from the inhabitants the fact that he had left by the arched gate and visited the chalk pit. `I've changed my mind,' he told them as they mounted the steps. 'We'll let Calouste stew a few hours. Harry is going to Shooter's Lodge to keep an eye on developments.'

He had just spoken when they heard Harry, who had run ahead of them start up his motorcycle behind the manor. He appeared on his machine, sped down the drive. Glancing back,Tweed saw the gates swinging open again. It did not surprise him when Lavinia opened the door. Her reactions were impressive. She had opened the gates for him before he'd used the speaker-phone. The gates had closed automatically once they were inside. Now she'd immediately reopened them to let Harry out. `Harry's off to Gladworth to fetch some things,' he told her. `Welcome back,' she greeted him with a smile. 'And the sun has come out again. That's for your benefit.' `You got here to open the gates twice,' he remarked. `Where is Snape?' `The idiot saw you coming, said he'd got something cooking on his stove and rushed off to the cabin.' `Lavinia, excuse me, I've got to attend to something.'

Tweed tore off out of the hall, down a corridor, followed by a puzzled Paula and Marler. He was rushing through the kitchen when Mrs Grandy glowered at them. `If you want a late lunch you'll have to ask me nicely.' `Yes, please,' Tweed replied over his shoulder. `Ravenous.'

He dived through the open back door and hurtled along the path leading to the cabin. Both Paula and Marler had trouble keeping up with him. He slowed his pace, held up a hand to warn his companions. He crept up to the cabin door.

Paula peered over his shoulder. Snape was standing by the table with his back to them. He had a mobile phone pressed to his ear. They could hear every word. `Capricorn reporting. Tweed is alive. `Yes, you heard me correctly. I've just seen him `I promise you I have, sir. `No, no, sir. It was only a few minutes ago. I thought you said he'd be dead this morning… `No, sir, I can't help that. No, he wasn't wounded. He was walking briskly. Even hurrying. Hello? Hello? Are you still there? Damn him, he always does that.'

Snape slipped his mobile into a side pocket, turned round. His expression of surprise and horror when he saw Tweed was quite a picture. `Don't worry. We heard every word. How is Calouste?'

Who?… Who did you say?' Snape blustered. `Handcuff him, Marler,' Tweed snapped. He advanced on Snape as Marler forced the butler's hands behind his back and cuffed his wrists tightly. 'You are under arrest,' Tweed said, his voice grim, 'for obstructing the course of justice in a major murder investigation. Anything you say may be taken-' `I took down every word he said,' Paula reported, waving her notebook. `Well,' sneered the butler, 'your lady friend who also-'

Tweed slapped his face hard before he could utter the obscenity. He stared at Snape with detestation. `We have three witnesses to your treachery. I doubt whether any barrister will be keen to defend you. I predict the judge will send you down for ten years without the option of parole.' He turned away. 'Paula, could you search his cabin for any more evidence while we're all still here.'

Marler had been searching Snape. Inside one pocket he found a bunch of keys, handed them to Paula. She examined them carefully. She inserted one of the cheap keys into the lock of the gun cupboard. It opened the door. `Not much security for all those weapons,' she observed. `And that shotgun,' Marler added, 'is a very ugly brute.'

Paula moved swiftly round the room, ignoring the flimsy locks. During her training at Medfords she had learned a lot about locks. She stood, staring round the room, then put on latex gloves and felt underneath the table. `Ah,' she said to herself, bending down. There was a secret drawer out of sight, about six inches beyond the table edge. She inserted the Banham key, opened the drawer, brought out a long, wide fat envelope.

Laying it on the table top, she extracted a large bundle of high-denomination Swiss banknotes. She looked at Snape, who couldn't meet her gaze. `The wages of treachery,' Tweed remarked. 'He's going behind bars for a very long time. Paula, when we get back to the manor please call Buchanan, tell him what we have found, ask him to send a two-man police car down quickly to pick up Snape. Marler, I suggest you take him back to the kitchen, tell Mrs Grandy he's a spy and is not to be given anything to eat. As much water as he needs.'

`Next,' Tweed told Paula as they walked back to the manor, 'I want to interrogate Warner Chance intensively. He was short on answers the last time I interviewed him..

While Paula went into the downstairs library to make her call to Buchanan, Tweed ran up the stairs, heading for the smaller library. At the top of the second flight he met Lavinia.

Would you mind giving me a hand?' he suggested. `At any time, day – or night,' she replied with a Mona Lisa smile. `This box of tricks Bella used to summon people,' Tweed began as they stood by the murdered woman's desk. 'It's far more sophisticated than I'd realized. I came up on my own and fiddled with it. There's a system which records all calls she made and the response of the person she was calling inside the manor. In addition it records the exact time of the conversation' He pressed a small lever.

Bella's request to Marshal to come and see her at 10 p.m. came over.

He glanced at Lavinia, who had placed a hand against her throat. `I don't often show emotion,' she apologized. `Sorry, my fault, I should have warned you.. He stopped talking as they heard Marshal's agreement to be there by 10 p.m. Tweed pointed to a clock sunk into the desk which showed the timing of both people. 8 p.m. for Marshal answering. `Which shows what happened took place between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. Tweed remarked. Now I'll want to speak to Warner Chance. So which of the numbered buttons is he?' `Number two.' `Thank you' `And now I'll give you privacy to talk to him,' Lavinia said and left, carefully closing the door.

Tweed hauled two armchairs close together so they faced each other. He was curious to see which door Warner would use to enter the study as he settled in one of them. The secret door slid back and Warner entered, walking behind Bella's chair. He wore a velvet jacket and velvet trousers, looking very smart but not best pleased. He sat in the chair facing Tweed, very erect. `What is it now?' he growled. 'And I hear Snape has been arrested. You've caught your murderer?'

Not yet, but I'm getting close. Snape is just a greedy sneak.' `I always thought that about the fellow.' `Mrs Bella Main was murdered between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. We know that definitely now. You say you were in your apartment then. Surely someone must have come to say good night, or you had a phone call.' `Do you mind if I light a cigar? Thank you'

He produced a morocco-bound case, took out a cigar, a pair of clippers. He took his time slicing off the end of the cigar, then more time lighting it with a match. Time for him to decide what to say, Tweed thought, but the blank grey eyes in the large head never left Tweed's. `No one came to see me. I received no phone calls. So no alibi. But I gather all the main members of both families also have no alibis.'

A defensive note was creeping into Warner's voice, Tweed noted from his fresh remarks. `When Bella died she left a will appointing you and your brother as co-directors of a fabulously rich bank. Should something fatal happen to Marshal the whole business would fall into your lap.' `Now listen to me, Tweed.' Another whiff of brandy floated into Tweed's nostrils. He had been drinking and this was increasing the ferocity in his voice. 'You may make a major assumption there – that another will would hand over everything to me. There is Lavinia, an enormously capable lady whom Bella admired – and who is in charge of the assets in her position as Chief Accountant.'

Now a new manoeuvre, Tweed thought – the casting of suspicion on someone else. `You do have a most desirable motive,' Tweed insisted.

Warner was puffing furiously on his cigar. He stood up. 'I challenge you to charge me with murder on the basis of no evidence whatsoever. I've had enough of you. Any more of this and I shall complain to Commander Buchanan that you are harassing me. Good night to you, sir.'

Warner stormed out, this time using the main door into the library. Typical of Warner, Tweed thought, to use the device of threatening him to escape the interrogation. Had he been feeling the heat?

Walking into the library he met Harry rushing in. His face was damp. He was also breathless and it took him a minute to burst out with the news. `He's gone!' `Take it easy, Harry. Who has gone?' `That swine, Calouste. I've really messed up this one.' `I doubt that, Harry. Would you like a beer? Plenty in the drinks cupboard' `No thanks. I arrived at Shooter's Lodge, took me a while to hide my motorbike in some brambles. Then I walked a bit further, found a good hiding place from where I could see the lodge. No sign of life at all. No lights on in the place. Then, after a little while, it happened.' `What did, Harry?' `A bloody great black car with tinted windows comes from the back somewhere. Roars straight out into the road and drives off towards London. Uniformed chauffeur driving, with one passenger in the back. Couldn't see who it was.'

Calouste has eluded me again, Tweed said to himself. This is the result of Snape's phone call to him. He rested a hand on Harry's shoulder as he sat hunched in a chair. `Come and join us for dinner. Tomorrow is another day.'

When he said that Tweed had no inkling that the following morning everything was going to explode.