"Present your muskets!" "Charge!" "Fire!" "The field is lost!" "Retreat!" "Come on, Philip." "Don't milk it." "Philip!" "Get me a doctor!" "I've been shot!" "We're here, mate." "You're back in the garage." "Time to get off." "Detective Sergeant Hathaway!" "All right?" "Yep." "I affirm the evidence I give shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth." "The attic was dark, dusty, confined." "I lifted the lid from the um... the uh... water cistern... and..." "Yeah?" "You don't remember seeing him get on the bus?" "No, but he could have got on at any stage." "There's only four stops on the route, and I usually get out to have a cuppa." "And the vehicle's not locked?" "Some of the older passengers come along for the views and prefer to stay on board." "All right." "Well, look, you have a word with Constable Nixon there." "He'll want to take a full statement from you." "Hi." "No James today?" "No." "He's in court." "Knickers off clotheslines again?" "Let's hope the judge shows leniency." "It's the Zelinsky case." "Ah." "So, what have you got for me?" "A suspicious death." "Middle-aged." "Overweight." "A smoker." "Been drinking too." "If I had a pound for every suspicious that turned out to be common or garden heart attack..." "What about the blood on his chin?" "Could have bit his tongue." "People do." "Any ID on him?" "He...found the girl, didn't he?" "Hathaway?" "He's a big lad." "Oh, you boys." "Never let anyone in." "What is that, do you suppose?" "Learned behaviour, fathers and sons?" "Monkey see, monkey do." "Seriously, has he seen anyone?" "Like who?" "A counsellor?" "He'll be all right." "Better than Dr Stephen Black." "Oh, I take it all back." "It wasn't a heart attack." "We need to establish where he joined this magical mystery tour." "Nobody saw him get on?" "Well, you know these tours." "People are busy gawping." "They don't pay heed to their fellow travellers." "I think I might notice if there was a corpse sat next to me." "There's an itinerary." "See if anybody saw him along the way." "Where will you be?" "Kidlington for starters." "Tudor Crescent, where he lived." "I'll try and find out a bit more about him." "How'd it go?" "Zelinsky changed his plea after all." "Result, then." "What?" "Remanded for sentencing pending a social report, which will probably say he had a very unhappy childhood." "And did he?" "Who didn't?" "We don't go around abducting 10-year-old girls." "Court's decision, thankfully." "We just nick 'em." "Why God created beer." "Listen..." "You didn't find her." "No." "I know." "Oh, you'll probably bump into Hooper and some of the other lads." "There was a firearms incident at one of the staging posts this morning." "Creevecoeur..." "Crevecoeur Hall." "Oh, stand to." "It's the Brains Trust." "Heard you've got a body on a bus, sarge." "And you?" "One of that lot shot one of them." "Re-enactment society, only some daft sod actually loaded his rifle." "Musket, Hooper." "Huh." "Apparently there was a battle here, back in the day." "God knows what it was about." "The divine right of kings." "English Civil War." "It wasn't a battle, it was a skirmish." "Third Siege of Oxford, May, 1646." "Graduate entry scheme, eh?" "Where would we be?" "The house is up there, if that's what you're looking for." "Can't miss it, great big ship of a place." "Never seen anything like it." "You have one message." "Stephen, it's me." "It's gone 11." "Where are you?" "'You've reached the voicemail for Frances Woodville.'" "'Please leave a message after the tone.'" "Excuse me!" "Why are there police cars all over the..." "James?" "My God!" "It's James Hathaway, isn't it?" "Hello, Scarlett." "There." "Good." "Who's that with Scarlett?" "Policeman, I expect." "How can you tell?" "Looks like a policeman." "The place is rancid with them." "If Billy will go getting shot..." "I think perhaps I should call Titus and see what the hospital says." "What do you think, darling?" "You've only just put the phone down." "I'm not asking you to do it, am I?" "I'm not sure I can quite see you as Father Hathaway." "Nor could I in the end." "What about you?" "What have you been doing with yourself?" "Me?" "I'm one of the idle rich." "Surely you read about us." "I read that you got married." "Mmm...yes, Fabio." "That was er..." "Oh, I'd almost forgotten about him." "We all make mistakes." "You?" "Mistakes?" "Plenty, I'm sure." "Of the matrimonial variety?" "No." "Perhaps we should compare notes." "Sorry." "Of course, well..." "Call me." "Or not." "I..." "I don't have your number." "You're a detective, aren't you?" "Sir?" "You're not on piecework, you know!" "'Sir.' So, progress?" "No one remembers anyone like Black at Blenheim or Woodstock." "Might have more luck if we had a snap of him, if you can find one." "'After here, I'm off to Lechlade." "' Where's here?" "Crevecoeur Hall." "What about you?" "I'm still at Tudor Crescent." "Looks like Dr Black was an academic." "In Oxford?" "Who would have thought?" "Also a crossword fiend, God help us!" "We've letters from Lonsdale College." "Is that it?" "No." "I want you to follow up a Frances Woodville." "She left a message on his answerphone." "Oh, and we're going to want Animal Welfare out." "Yes, sir?" "Detective Sergeant Hathaway, Oxford..." "Police." "Paul?" "That's correct, sir." "Hopkiss, sir." "James Hathaway." "Good heavens!" "Well, bless me." "My apologies." "I should have recognised you at once." "How nice to see you again at Crevecoeur, after all this time." "What's it been now?" "Oh, near enough 20 years." "20 years..." "Butch and Sundance ride again, sir." "Do your parents still live at the gatehouse?" "Father passed away, I'm afraid, sir, some years ago." "I'm sorry." "Thank you, sir." "Mother remarried." "Lives in Guernsey now." "Sorry, sir!" "Briony!" "I'm sorry, Mr Hopkiss!" "No, no." "Absolutely my fault." "Very kind of you to say so, sir, I'm sure." "Don't just stand there, girl." "Clear up." "Spit spot!" "If you'll come this way, sir?" "I'm afraid we're at sixes and sevens with preparations for Lady Scarlett's engagement." "Detective Sergeant Hathaway, my lord." "Hathaway?" "Well, I never!" "James..." "James!" "James the Just." "That's what we used to call you!" "I don't remember, sir." "It was a long time ago, wasn't it?" "You're here about the accident, I suppose." "I understand Philip doesn't want to press charges." "Philip, sir?" "Coleman, my late sister's boy." "He was a bit older than you." "No, my lord." "I'm trying to trace a man who may have been here, Dr Stephen Black." "Titus is back from the hospital with...with Philip." "Oh, I was just telling James he doesn't want any sort of fuss." "Please do excuse my husband." "He's terribly rude sometimes." "Selina Mortmaigne." "How do you do?" "Sergeant Hathaway is with the police, darling." "Oh." "He used to live here." "Well, on the estate, of course." "id you?" "Heavens." "What a small world." "So, are you going to come, darling?" "Well, I'm sure the sight of you alone will be sufficient to revive his spirits, my darling, but yes, I'll be along later." "It's...very nice to meet you." "You too." "So, where were we?" "Dr Black, my lord." "Ah, well, there have been a couple of thousand people here today." "You're best talking to Ralph Grahame, my estate manager." "He organises these open days." "Damn nuisance!" "But still, noblesse oblige." "He er...should be at Lodge Farm, if you can remember the way, or I can get Hop..." "I'll find my way, sir." "Thank you." "It's wonderful to see you again." "A policeman." "Your parents must be very proud of you." "Sergeant Hathaway, if you'll forgive me, I took the liberty..." "About a 15½, would you be?" "No." "Thanks, Paul." "There's no need." "You can't go about like that, sir, not on official business." "I'll get it washed and ironed and sent on." "Yes." "Pa." "How's my very best girl?" "I'm fine." "Are you all right?" "Me?" "Well, I haven't been shot, so..." "Darling girl, whatever's the matter?" "I don't know." "I..." "I saw the police, and um..." "I don't know what I thought, but you mustn't worry." "It's all going to be all right." "Of course it is." "Of course it is." "But...keep it from your intended, I think." "Don't you?" "After all, just an accident." "We carry on as if it never happened." "That's the ticket." "Help you with something?" "Mr Grahame?" "Yes." "Sergeant Hathaway, Oxford Police." "I'm trying to trace the movements of someone who was here today." "The re-enactment, is it?" "Possibly." "You wouldn't have CCTV here, would you?" "Uh...no, nothing like that." "Briony, can you walk Thimble out?" "Dad, Ti was just going to take me to town." "Well, I'm sure he won't mind waiting 10 minutes." "Will you, my lord?" "Not at all." "I'll come with you." "What about the chapel?" "Does it still have a visitors' book?" "It does, yes, though you'll need to ask at the house for a key." "Thank you." "Unless..." "The Folly's closer." "I believe Father Jasper keeps a spare." "Cheers." "I'm not sure where health and safety stand on pets." "Ah..." "Belonged to Dr Black, ma'am." "I didn't like to leave it." "That's what Animal Welfare's for." "A lorryload of hens went over on the bypass." "A bit of a flap on, you might say." "James back yet?" "He's still out at Crevecoeur Hall, boss, with some posh sort, one of the family, I think." "She knew him, anyway." "At least that was my impression." "Was it?" "Looked right at home, he did, hobnobbing with Lord and Lady Muck." "Have you got a report on the shooting?" "Yes, ma'am." "And the key was like this?" "don't touch anything." "I found this on the pew over there, today's date and Tudor Cr." "That's Tudor Crescent, Dr Black's home address." "Is this the murder weapon?" "I need a match for blood and hair, but it's not inconsistent with the injuries caused." "So he was sitting there waiting, and somebody clocked him round the back of the head." "And the killer stuffed the murder weapon into Black's briefcase." "Anything taken?" "Couldn't say." "I thought you knew the place?" "Hooper said." "Did he?" "Impression he got." "My father was the Mortmaignes' estate manager." "I lived here till I was 12 years old." "So you know them, up at the hall?" "Knew, sort of." "Me and some of the other kids here used to play with the Mortmaignes." "What?" "Nothing." "Just never had you down as one of the kids off the estate." "How far are we from the coach park?" "Half a mile." "Yeah, which begs the question, how did the killer get Black's body from the chapel to the coach park in broad daylight without anybody..." "What is that?" "That's a folly." "The present occupant is a Father Jasper." "I tried to raise him when I first arrived, but couldn't get an answer." "They do keep their spare key to the chapel in there though." "I think we'd better knock a bit harder this time, don't you?" "Oh." "It was here." "When?" "Yesterday." "The day before, possibly." "I'm not sure." "Has something happened?" "You overlook the chapel." "I do, yes." "You haven't seen anyone coming or going today?" "No." "No." "I've been at prayer." "Or at least tried to be." "With the noise of the shooting, I could barely complete my exercises." "Spiritual exercises, sir, a series of prayers and contemplations laid down by St Ignatius of Loyola." "You're a Jesuit, Father." "I am." "You haven't had cause to visit the chapel at all?" "No." "As I say, I've been here the whole time." "You wouldn't have seen this man around Crevecoeur today or..." "Father?" "No." "You sure?" "Quite." "Right." "Thanks." "We'll leave you to your..." "If you could spare time from your devotions to meditate on when you last saw the key?" "Of course." "The present Marquess Tygon the 12th is Augustus." "What does he do?" "Well, he's a marquess." "Until last year, he was chair of the family bank." "You won't have heard of it." "Naturally." "Well, it's an investment bank." "Not unless you're into stocks and shares." "Was?" "Went under." "Lost with all hands, I believe." "Augustus got out before it turned turtle, but the vast majority of shareholders..." "Caught a cold, did they?" "More like the Spanish flu." "Augustus didn't inherit until he was in his 40s." "Two children, one from each of his two wives." "Scarlett from Jacinta, who died, and Titus, the son and heir, from Selina, the present Lady Mortmaigne." "Not much chance of running into a Joan or a Doreen round Crevecoeur Hall, eh?" "Not above stairs, sir." "No." "Will this take long, gentlemen?" "I hope not, madam." "Inspector, do you mind telling us what's going on?" "You are who, sir?" "Philip Coleman, Lieutenant Colonel, Oxford Rifles." "Retired." "I'm sorry to inconvenience you, but I will need statements from each of you as to your movements today." "Our movements?" "Good heavens, that sounds terribly sinister!" "James?" "The man we spoke of, my lord, Dr Black." "We believe he was murdered here today." "At Crevecoeur?" "You're not serious!" "Very likely in your chapel." "Good God!" "You don't imagine this man's death has anything to do with us?" "It's purely procedural, but I would be grateful, sir, for a list of all your tenants." "Also any other members of staff who live out." "Oh, yes, of course." "Of course." "Um..." "Hopkiss can provide you with all you need for the staff and as for the tenants, Ralph Grahame." "He'll tell you anything you need to know." "Augustus tells me you knew my predecessor when you were a boy." "A little, yeah." "People say we look alike." "Do you think so?" "I don't remember her well enough, I'm afraid." "You and his lordship have been married..." "I was 17, and yes, before you ask, it did cause something of a stir." "That bother you?" "Not in the slightest." "When tongues wag, one must just stare back and smile, which, of course, usually annoys people all the more." "We mustered at elevenish." "Began the re-enactment at midday." "Got shot..." "That's about it." "All in all, I've had better days." "Has it been ascertained yet which of the re-enactors loaded his musket?" "I don't think anyone's going to own up to it." "I was hoping your lot might help." "But there's no one with whom you've had a falling-out?" "I hope not." "Thoroughly decent chaps, if a little mad." "Mostly culled from the estate." "I say culled - press-ganged would be closer to the truth." "Grahame, Ralph Grahame, can be a bit of a tartar, you know." "Besides, I was only pulled in at the last moment." "Oh, really?" "Yes." "Scarlett's affianced was due to do the honours, but he dropped out." "But you definitely never met Stephen Black?" "You're sure about that?" "No." "Afraid not." "How long have you been at Crevecoeur, Colonel Coleman?" "Um...six months." "Circumstances have been somewhat strained." "I say, can I have another look at that snapshot?" "Do you know, I may have seen him, down by the lake." "Today?" "No, a couple of weeks ago." "One morning when I was walking the dogs, and then later, one evening." "What was he doing?" "Just wandering up to the chase." "I took him for staff or a tenant." "I can't be sure it was him, but pretty certain." "Hopkiss will know." "Mr Hopkiss?" "Yes." "He spoke to him." "I didn't attend the re-enactment myself." "I took his lordship across, and returned to my duties here." "Did your route back take you near the chapel?" "No, sir." "I came back via the chase." "You didn't see anyone unexpected loitering about?" "No, sir." "Not a soul." "The place was as quiet as you please." "What about this man?" "Have you ever seen him around Crevecoeur at any time?" "Yes, actually." "A few weeks ago, on my way back from the summerhouse." "I saw him crossing the lawn, so I stopped and asked him his business." "What did he say?" "I'm not certain." "I think he said he was looking for Lodge Farm." "Good night." "Ma'am." "Bye now." "Present from Mr Hopkiss." "I won't ask." "So?" "Selina was due to ride out with Scarlett, but she cried off with a migraine, took some tablets and went to bed." "Anyone vouch for her?" "She says she spoke to a Professor Pelham." "Art historian." "He's looking into some of his lordship's paintings." "He's a fellow of Lonsdale." "College rooms." "What about the daughter, Scarlett?" "Er...arrived at the same time I did this afternoon." "And?" "Flying visit, apparently." "Selina said she was dropping off place cards for her engagement." "A big do the day after tomorrow." "So His Lordship said." "You don't think any of them are involved, do you?" "We'll have a clearer idea once we find out a bit more about Dr Black." "Oh, did you get on to Frances Woodville?" "Oh, sorry, sir." "I haven't had a chance." "No, it's all right." "Not to worry." "I'll track her down." "You cut along." "What about the estate manager?" "Grahame." "It's all right." "I'll take it." "You've had a long day, court and so forth." "All right..." "You know, James..." "I'll go, then, sir, if there's nothing else." "No, no." "Nothing else." "Good night." "I'll say good night here, then." "Thanks for walking me back." "Is everything all right?" "Yeah." "Why wouldn't it be?" "I don't know." "You just seemed a bit..." "I don't know, not yourself tonight." "A bit far away." "I'm all right." "I do love you, you know?" "Dad might see." "He'll be asleep by now, won't he?" "I'll see you tomorrow." "Lodge Farm." "Hang on a minute." "I'll just get him for you." "Dad?" "Dad!" "Hold on." "I'll just check the yard." "Dad?" "Dad?" "Dad..." "What's the story?" "Body was found in the barn, ma'am." "Looks like suicide, but can't be sure." "OK." "From all I've been able to get out of her," "Titus dropped her off around midnight." "She assumed her father had gone to bed, so she did the same." "Just her, is it?" "No brothers or sisters?" "Just her." "The mum walked out nine years ago." "Contact details?" "Went without a by-your-leave." "Came back one day, she'd cleared out." "Hard on the girl, I suppose." "Wouldn't have thought there was any suppose about it." "Ma'am." "Right, sir." "Just hold it there a minute." "See what he wants." "Been working him a bit hard, ma'am." "The Zelinsky case can't have helped." "I don't suppose so." "No, ma'am." "Suicide?" "'Good morning' wouldn't go amiss." "Sorry." "I should think so." "I'm a game girl, God knows, but picking through brain and bone before breakfast, I call above and beyond." "But, yes, nothing to say otherwise." "A preliminary swab for gunpowder residue suggests he'd recently discharged a firearm." "I don't suppose he left a note?" "Well, nothing in his pockets." "Time of death an hour or two before 10:00pm, if that helps." "I called in here about eight." "Couldn't raise anyone, so..." "Anyway, when you've finished, I'd like the rest of the estate swabbed." "It's a working estate, sir." "Likely as not, at least half the subjects will test positive." "Well, that would rule out the other half, wouldn't it?" "I er..." "I wouldn't read too much into the absence of a 'goodbye, cruel world', sir." "Statistically, suicide notes in Grahame's demographic are in the 12-20% range." "Where do you get this stuff?" "The back of cereal boxes." "What?" "Let's just say some days I'm grateful you're on our side." "Scarlett Mortmaigne's intended, I believe." "Who's the lucky lad?" "Tarek Shimali." "City boy." "Shimali?" "What's that?" "Saudi?" "Lebanese." "Father works in shipping." "How had your dad been recently?" "Nothing worrying him?" "I don't know...financial troubles?" "Is there anyone I can contact for you?" "An aunt?" "Uncle?" "Grandparents?" "No." "No." "It's just us." "Anyone I can notify?" "A school?" "I'm waiting to hear back on a place at music college." "That your thing, is it?" "Music?" "My mum put me to it when I was little." "We didn't have a piano then, but his lordship let me practise on the one in the summerhouse." "That's good of him." "Yeah." "He's been very kind s... since Mum..." "She used to take me down there a couple of times a week." "How old were you when she left?" "It was just before my seventh birthday." "Hey, hey, hey, hey..." "OK." "It's OK." "It's OK." "What have you done to yourself?" "It's nothing." "Excuse me." "All right..." "OK..." "We just need to clean this up a bit." "All right?" "She might not want to be found." "The girl is 16 years old." "Whatever her mother fell out with Grahame about, she has a duty to her daughter." "Find her." "Make that clear." "What's bitten His Holiness's backside?" "Same thing as will bite yours if you don't step to." "Running all the way, boss." "Hey..." "You realise what's going on there?" "Yeah, I have got eyes." "But it's not an excuse for you to go dishing it out to the troops." "Come on, what's up?" "I'm fine." "Really." "Well, this is terrible news!" "Did he leave any indication as to why?" "I rather hoped you might be able to help us with that." "Didn't his wife leave him?" "That's right." "Linda." "Yes, that's right." "He never quite recovered, poor chap." "Wasn't there talk that she'd run off with one of the labourers?" "How was that?" "We'd had some chaps working here on a Millennium Grant Project, and the rumour was that she'd become involved..." "Backstairs gossip." "I never gave it any credit myself." "Good man, Grahame." "Not many like him around." "Poor Briony." "Well, we shall see she has all she needs, of course." "That'll be a matter for social services, your grace." "Well, naturally." "I was just thinking..." "Well..." "Titus is so very fond of her." "We all are." "Mrs Grahame helped out sometimes when we were short, as Briony does now, but she was never staff." "That's for the Egyptian Room." "Make sure you change the water for the lilies." "Yes, sir." "It came as a great shock to us all when she just upped and left, sir." "There's really no need to call me sir, Paul." "It would be inappropriate for me to presume to familiarity on the basis of a childhood association." "Do you think back much, sir, to those days?" "We all used to play together." "Do you remember?" "You, me, Lady Scarlett, all the other boys and girls, down in the woods, hide and seek, in and out of all the old sheds and barns." "It was a long time ago." "Oh, yes, but... happy days, as I remember them." "Magnificent, isn't he?" "Richard Mortmaigne, 1607-1668, fourth Marquess Tygon." "Bloody Richard they called him, and not without cause." "William Dobson?" "Allegedly." "Hence yours truly." "You have a good eye." "the Oxford connection, and he was here during the war, wasn't he?" "Indeed he was, and painted most of the leading Royalists." "No signature." "The canvas may have been reframed at some point, so we'll give the old boy a wash and brush-up and see if we can't settle the attribution." "There's some doubt, is there?" "Some." "There's been additional work done." "Retouching?" "More than that." "Certain details appear to have been added." "The folly." "That's the most obvious anachronism." "It wasn't built until 100 years after this was painted." "When were they added?" "That's what I hope to ascertain." "May affect the price, you see." "Price?" "Oh, yes." "His lordship is looking to realise the value of the greater part of the Mortmaigne collection." "What are we looking for exactly?" "Anything that links Black with Ralph Grahame." "So, what else did Prof Pelham say?" "Well, he confirmed that he saw Selina yesterday around midday, and he knew Black slightly." "How was that?" "Through Lonsdale College." "As a matter of fact, he'd sent him a letter recently." "What about?" "He'd heard on the bush telegraph that Pelham was working on the Mortmaigne collection and asked if he might see his way to giving him a private viewing." "Pelham turned him down." "It's not the done thing." "What does he want with the paintings?" "James?" "We found a bunch of letters at Dr Black's home." "Love letters." "Appear to be from Linda Grahame." "Appear?" "We haven't got any writing to compare them with, but there were some snaps of her in with them, including one with Briony." "So what's the theory?" "Grahame tracks down the man his wife ran off with, gets him to Crevecoeur Hall on some pretext or other, kills him and then does himself in before you can put two and two?" "What?" "Well..." "I don't know, ma'am." "It just seems too neat, almost." "You know?" "Murder and suicide?" "Not uncommon." "No." "No." "I suppose not." "So that's that, then." "You arranged to meet Dr Black yesterday." "We found your number on his answerphone." "He called a couple of days ago, asked me to meet him at the Turl." "When he didn't turn up, well..." "You heard my message." "Now I know why." "What did he want?" "He wouldn't say." "Fond of a bit of cloak and dagger, was our Stephen." "You wouldn't happen to know what he was working on?" "By all accounts, he'd been pretty much living at the Bodleian." "The chief librarian might shed some light." "When did you last see him?" "Two months ago, at a college dinner to celebrate his appointment to the Commonwealth Chair." "How did he seem?" "Tiggerish." "He said in his rather grand way that his great work was about to reach its apotheosis." "What did you take that to mean?" "Impossible to say with Stephen, especially in his cups." "Oh, he liked a drink, did he?" "I like a drink." "Stephen, it was the real thing." "It doesn't sound like you thought a lot of him." "We had our moments." "He borrowed much of the work which underpinned my doctorate to secure the Commonwealth Chair." "Isn't that against the rules?" "Have you been in Oxford long?" "Stand us a pint and I'll give you the grisly." "Damn it!" "Where's Hopkiss?" "Here, let me." "Clumsy bear." "Thank you." "Does it hurt terribly?" "I think I'll survive." "Darling, I wonder if I can persuade you to tear yourself away from Philip for just a few moments?" "The Shimalis are getting a little weary of my company, I fear." "All right, what was Stephen like?" "That would depend on whether you mean before or after the accident." "What accident?" "About six years ago, he ran his car into a student," "Freddie Randall." "The boy's fault." "The coroner said as much." "How was that?" "The lad had been drinking." "He just stepped out in front of the car." "Nothing he could have done, but Stephen vowed never to get behind the wheel again, and he really started putting it away." "And is that why you didn't go public on his what would you call it, theft of intellectual property?" "What, a few dusty old lines on John Thurloe?" "Hardly worth going to war over." "No." "Actually, I felt sorry for him." "He'd been my tutor." "Terrible to watch a brilliant man fall apart so completely." "Sarge..." "Did he ever mention a Linda Grahame?" "No." "But, as I say, Stephen's love life was a closed book." "This work, it couldn't have anything to do with Crevecoeur Hall, could it?" "Possibly." "English Civil War 101." "By 1648, King Charles was a prisoner of the Scots." "There was always a rumour that he entrusted Richard Mortmaigne, fourth Marquess Tygon, with certain priceless treasures for safekeeping." "What sort of treasures?" "A king's ransom." "Literally." "Now, one source alleges he tried to buy his release with part of that treasury in Mortmaigne's safekeeping." "Why do I get the feeling there's a however coming?" "Because I suspect you're much smarter than you look." "It's a compliment." "Aye, backhanded!" "When word was sent to Crevecoeur, Richard Mortmaigne claimed, with much regret, that it had been lost." "Richard Mortmaigne stole the treasure?" "And concealed it somewhere on the estate." "I'm er..." "I'm not following you, honestly." "You don't have to deny it quite so vehemently." "What are you..." "Me?" "Blood Patterning." "And you?" "Housman?" "I mislaid my copy." "You know how one sometimes has a hankering?" "I couldn't remember if it was 'Happy highways where I walked', or 'went'." "Went, definitely." "Went." "It suddenly seemed the most important thing in the world." "Excuse me." "Sorry." "So, how are you?" "Since yesterday?" "It's not been the most uneventful 24 hours." "Last thing you need, with the engagement coming up." "Is there any news as to why he did it?" "I don't suppose you can say." "No." "We're still working on it." "Of course." "Well, it's um..." "Yeah." "Yeah, you too." "Scarlett!" "You left this on the counter." "Thanks." "I thought for a moment you'd chased me to declare your undying love." "Not sure men do that nowadays." "Do they?" "Perhaps they should." "Take me out somewhere." "Tonight." "Anywhere." "I don't care." "Is that wise?" "I don't want to be wise." "I want to be happy." "I want to drink too much and laugh too much, and..." "Please?" "SOCO's confirmed traces of blood in the back of Grahame's Land Rover." "Is it Black's?" "No DNA to confirm, but the blood type is the same, so now we know how he got the body from the chapel to the coach park." "How somebody did." "It's a farm vehicle." "Presumably Ralph Grahame wasn't the only one with access to the keys." "So what are we doing here?" "I'm after Dr Black's reading list." "I want you to dig out the records to an inquest into the death of a bloke called Freddie Randall." "I thought we were done with this." "Grahame kills Black, then does himself in a fit of remorse." "That's the official version, isn't it?" "Leaving Briony to fend for herself?" "He was a devoted dad by all accounts." "It doesn't sit right." "Balance of his mind." "Well, you saw him yesterday." "How did the balance of his mind seem then?" "Come along." "Spit spot." "We're all going to mass later with Father Jasper." "Perhaps you'd like to come and say a prayer?" "Would you like that?" "I didn't think that was allowed when someone..." "You know, your father was..." "wasn't himself, Briony." "He was..." "He was very unwell, do you see?" "God would never condemn someone who didn't know what they were doing." "His mercy is never-ending." "How is she?" "Oh..." "Well, yes..." "Of course." "Of course." "I thought... that Titus might take her over to the summerhouse, let her play the piano for a while, take her mind off things?" "Titus has gone into town, hasn't he?" "Oh, has he?" "Yeah." "Didn't you hear him roaring off on that damn motorbike?" "No, no." "No, I didn't." "Well, perhaps I'll run her over there." "If you think it would be a good idea?" "Music has charms." "It's very thoughtful, my love, but I think she's probably best left to rest." "Well...yes." "Yes, you're right." "Just a thought." "What's all that?" "Dr Black's reading material." "Photocopies of it at least." "What have you got there?" "Inquest into Freddie Randall." "Accidental death." "There is something you should see." "One of the witnesses, friend of Randall's, was with him when he got knocked down." "You were with Freddie Randall on the night he died, Father." "You gave evidence at the inquest." "The man who was murdered here, in this very chapel, yesterday, was Stephen Black." "Anything you'd like to tell us about that?" "What happened to Freddie was an accident." "Freddie and I were messing about, as you do when you've had too much to drink." "Push and shove." "He pushed me." "I pushed him back." "And the next thing I know, he's stumbled into the street and straight under the wheels of a car." "Stephen Black's car." "If I hold anyone to blame for Freddie's death, it's myself, not Stephen Black." "When I showed you his photograph, you denied even knowing him." "I'm sorry." "Seeing him after all these years, it... brought back too many painful memories, I'm afraid." "You and Freddie Randall had been close?" "When I entered the Church, I laid my previous life aside." "I've no wish to be reminded of it now." "But yes, we were good friends." "So he just happens to be in religious retreat in the exact place where the man who ran his friend down was murdered." "It's a hell of a coincidence." "Remind me what is it you've got against the Grahame scenario?" "The way I see it, Dr Black isn't anyone's idea of a Lothario." "The heart chooses." "All right, suppose Linda Grahame chose Stephen Black." "Where is she?" "I take it Hooper hasn't managed to track her down." "Not yet, but it was nine years ago." "Maybe it didn't work out." "Maybe he was her transition person." "Her what?" "Transition person." "Someone who gave her a way out of a situation she was unhappy with, but wasn't 'the one." "You been watching daytime TV?" "Come on, let's call in at the Turf on the way back, worry this through over a pint." "I can't tonight." "Oh, right?" "Date, is it?" "I thought you had a spring in your step." "Anyone we know?" "It's nothing like that." "Conversational Mandarin." "And I say po-ta-to." "Mandarin?" "Of course!" "What was I thinking?" "I know." "Any sign of Scarlett?" "Not yet, sir." "Will Scarlett not be joining us?" "Apparently, she's booked herself in for some sort of spa treatment." "She er...wants to look her best for the party." "In mitigation, milord, I was 17." "Pa was incandescent." "Thankfully the Holy Father saw fit to grant an annulment." "Was that important to you?" "There has to be forgiveness, doesn't there?" "Second chance." "I can't imagine you have done anything that requires absolution." "How do you know?" "I might be terribly wicked." "Are you?" "More than you can possibly imagine." "We got married." "Do you remember?" "I was about eight." "The Danver sisters were bridesmaids." "Hopkiss walked you down the aisle." "Yes." "That's right." "I'd forgotten that." "What happened to his stammer?" "I meant to ask." "Daddy sent him to get it fixed, I think." "That's nice of him." "Yes." "He's always tried to look out for his staff where he can." "Why didn't you come back?" "I don't know." "You know, um..." "life." "Stuff happens, I suppose." "That last morning you were at Crevecoeur, we threw a penny into the fountain and made a wish." "I always thought you'd come back." "Hoped, I suppose." "Did you think of us ever?" "Of you, often." "Well, the fountain's gone, I'm afraid, so I suppose all those wishes are rendered null and void." "Oi!" "I don't remember saying you could have any." "Pest." "What are we going to call you anyway?" "Monty?" "You reckon?" "You keep eating my tea, it'll be the full Monty." "Dear God, listen to me!" "Right..." "Pull yourself together, man." "Where was I?" "So why did you become a policeman?" "Don't know." "Don't you?" "I think I do." "I think something in you wants to save people." "We just pick up the pieces, try and put them back together again." "Mm-hm..." "Like Humpty." "Yeah." "How will you put Briony back together again?" "We find out why and how her father died." "It's the not knowing that eats people." "Do you know why he did it?" "I think Dr Black was the man that Grahame's wife left him for." "Really?" "What makes you think that?" "You probably oughtn't talk about this with me." "Aren't there rules on consorting with the enemy, or suspects or some such?" "Is that what we're doing?" "I'm serious!" "I wouldn't get you into trouble, compromise your integrity." "Probably a bit late for that." "I bet you say that to all the girls." "I don't, actually." "Point of fact, I don't do...any of this." "Then what do you do?" "Work." "There was a case recently..." "It was in the papers." "Zelinsky." "10-year-old girl went missing, and um..." "I found her." "Well, what was left of her." "For four days we questioned him, and four days of walking around inside the mind of this..." "You get home to your flat and you're alone, and you just go, 'Well, what's the point?" "'" "Are you lonely?" "I hadn't thought so." "Will you come in?" "You're um..." "You're getting married." "Do you love him?" "Why, then?" "You wouldn't understand." "I'm so sorry." "Scarlett..." "He's rich." "When Daddy's bank..." "We didn't come out of it quite as unscathed as people like to think." "Tarek's father helped." "Financially." "There was an understanding." "Quid pro quo." "Now you can hate me." "No." "Don't do it." "I don't have a choice." "You do." "Don't get tangled up with us, James." "Us?" "Me and the rest of my damn family." "I mean it, turn your back and run, for your own sake." "'Into my heart an air that kills" "From yon far country blows" "What are those blue remembered hills" "What spires, what farms are those?" "That is the land of lost content" "I see it shining plain" "The happy highways where I went" "And cannot come again.'" "What's all this?" "Stuff recovered from Dr Black's house." "His notebooks, charts..." "What do you want me to do with it?" "Well, there's no doubt he was interested in Crevecoeur, and the history of the Mortmaignes in particular." "I can't make head nor tail of it..." "You thought I might?" "Hoped, actually." "From what I've been able to sort out, this seems to be some sort of...cryptogram?" "Is that what it's called?" "I said you were smart." "It's a code, employed by John Thurloe's men." "Didn't you mention him in relation to your doctorate?" "I did, yes." "Who was he, John Thurloe?" "Spymaster for Oliver Cromwell." "Can you crack it?" "What's it worth?" "My undying gratitude." "Does that include dinner?" "Morning, sir." "Morning." "It could be Mum's." "I don't know." "Sorry." "Is there anything at home that might have a sample of her writing on it?" "Maybe a birthday card or a diary?" "After..." "After she left us, Dad boxed everything up, got rid of it." "Will I have to stay here longer?" "Are you unhappy here?" "I just want to go home, to my own room." "It might not be possible for you to go back to the farm just now." "I'll be taken into care?" "I just wanted to go home, but if I can't do that..." "Listen, I..." "I can't imagine half of what you're going through, but if there's anything that you want to talk to me about..." "Lady Mortmaigne thought you might care for some refreshment, sir." "I'd be grateful if you'd see to it that we're not disturbed further." "Of course, sir." "Briony." "Did my dad kill someone?" "I'm not stupid." "I know I'm only young, but that doesn't mean I don't know what's going on." "Did he?" "We don't know." "Hello." "Morning." "Oh, James." "May I introduce Scarlett's fiance, Tarek Shimali, and his parents, Soraia and er..." "Diab." "James Hathaway." "How do you do?" "How are you?" "James is with the police." "That business I was telling you about." "Oh, yes, the man who killed himself." "Yes, yes, yes." "Come along, James." "We can't keep you from your duties." "Dear boy, I'm so sorry, but, a time and a place for everything." "We wouldn't want to cast a cloud on Scarlett's happy day, would we?" "No, of course not." "Knew you'd understand." "Good man." "'Seek thou that which was lost between November and December between the horseman and the sting." "' What the hell does that mean?" "According to this notebook, Dr Black discovered the original of that in a cache of Mortmaigne papers dating back to the 17th century." "I'm not sure I'm following you." "'That which was lost.' Frances Woodville meant the king's ransom." "You're not serious?" "That's just a story to make tourists keep coming back." "Stephen Black didn't think so." "He seems to reckon that the" "Mortmaignes were leaving signposts, clues as to its location." "What sort of clues?" "I don't know, a trail of breadcrumbs, 'X marks the spot'." "What, you think he found it?" "I think he died for it." "This is the painting Stephen Black wanted to see, Inspector, though, for the life of me, I can't see why." "Sergeant Hathaway tells me that certain details of the picture had been added at a later date." "Is that correct?" "Yes, yes, it is." "There's the folly, of course, and I picked up one or two more." "There's the hayrick on the far left and the bare oak you can see just past Richard's shoulder there." "It's a visual joke, sir, the hayrick and the bare tree, summer and winter at the same time." "Just so." "Hilarious." "Does this look right to you, the sundial there?" "I mean, you've got the candle over here on the left, so you'd expect any shadow to fall to the right, wouldn't you?" "The police are back." "I thought they were done." "It would appear not." "The shadow in the painting fell between the 11 and the 12." "'Seek that which was lost between November and December,' the 11th..." "And 12th month of the year." "So, what's the next bit?" "Between the horseman and the sting." "What the hell are these?" "Astrological symbols." "The space between each crenellation depicts one of the twelve zodiacal constellations." "There you see Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces," "Aries and so on." "It's a commanding view." "It's that all right." "It's not horseman." "Why?" "'Between the horseman and the sting' is not horse man, it's horse-man." "Centaur, Sagittarius, and I'm guessing that sting is Scorpio." "So, if the riddle holds true, what we're looking for lies out there." "You won't find anything." "Maybe." "There's no maybe about it, sir." "You won't find anything." "There's nothing to find." "Trust me." "I know this place." "Not this, the folly, the sundial - none of it was here when the cryptogram was written." "So what was here?" "Well, until 2000, when they got a Millennium grant for that, a rather ugly fountain." "That's the point." "Everything's changed." "That's not what Dr Black believed." "He was wrong." "A treasure hunt ending at the Temple of Juno." "It's funny." "Funny?" "Juno and her sacred geese." "You've been had." "You're on a wild goose chase." "What's wrong with Grahame killing Black for taking his wife?" "What's wrong with this being something to do with the Mortmaignes?" "Sergeant Hathaway." "Hello again." "Inspector Lewis, this is Lady Scarlett Mortmaigne and her fiance Tarek Shimali." "We'll have the pleasure of your company after all, Scarlett says." "Until this evening." "Inspector." "I'm invited to the engagement party as Scarlett's guest." "'Conversational Mandarin.'" "There something you want to tell me?" "We're in the middle of a murder investigation and you've got yourself what, involved with one of the suspects?" "I thought the inquiry was done." "Yeah, well, it's not!" "So now what?" "God, are you out of your mind?" "If anybody gets wind of this, you could end up on a disciplinary." "Well, no one is going to." "Oh, really?" "You sure about that?" "Hooper's put it around the nick that you're cosying up to the nobility." "I'm sure it would break his heart to lay it before the superintendent and you'd be busted down to constable, or even dismissed." "I'm not sure I want to wake up in 20 years with nothing to show but a life picking over people's misery." "OK, I'll make it easy for you." "You're on leave, as of now." "Leave?" "Yeah." "You're due, aren't you?" "What about the investigation?" "No longer your concern." "I'm sorry, sir." "I didn't realise there was anyone here." "I came across to get the place tidied up." "His lordship's going to take Briony through her pieces." "Is this her?" "That's right, sir." "That's Briony and her mother, Mrs Grahame." "Do you play?" "Oh, good heavens, no, sir." "His lordship encouraged me for a while, but I wasn't a very good pupil, I'm afraid." "Chopsticks is about all I can manage these days." "You've got to have a flair, sir, haven't you?" "And Briony has a flair, does she?" "I couldn't say, sir." "But his lordship thinks she does." "I believe he does, sir." "Yes." "Speaks highly of her abilities." "Good of him to make the time." "He made time for all of us, sir, when he could." "Encouraged us to make something more of ourselves." "Why was that, do you think?" "It's not for me to say, sir, of course, but I think he'd have liked more children of his own, to leave something more of himself behind." "In a way, as I like to think of it, we're all part of his legacy." "Inspector!" "Inspector Lewis!" "I..." "I..." "All right." "Take your time." "After you left, I suddenly remembered." "The key to the chapel..." "I know who came to borrow it." "Why does one usually go to a chapel?" "You have the spare key from the folly, then?" "May I see it?" "No." "I'm afraid I don't have it." "I must have left it behind." "Why go to the folly for the spare at all?" "You keep the master key here at the hall, don't you?" "Uh-huh, but I couldn't find it." "I did ask Hopkiss if he'd seen it, but..." "Ah..." "I believe this is what you're after." "Philip..." "The key from the folly." "How did you come by it, sir?" "I er..." "I locked up after us." "I see." "Usually we'd meet at the summerhouse, but that wasn't possible." "Why not?" "Augustus was there, assisting Briony with her piano studies." "How long have you been having an affair with your uncle's wife?" "Spare me the lower-middle-class disapproval, please." "My God!" "Some time." "Selina was always too young for Augustus." "Philip..." "It's true." "He married her for one reason, to provide an heir to Crevecoeur." "After Titus was born..." "They've not shared a room in 20 years." "I love her, Inspector." "I always have." "Does Lord Mortmaigne know?" "Augustus and I have an arrangement." "Not that it's any of your business." "This is a murder, madam." "I'm afraid that makes everything my business." "Still here, Inspector?" "I was speaking with Her Ladyship." "Indeed." "Also with Colonel Coleman." "Is that so?" "She tells me that you're aware of their...relationship." "It seems you're determined to drag our failings out, Inspector, all our vulgar little secrets." "And to what end, I ask?" "That girl's self-harming." "Your protegee." "Does that not concern you?" "I'm old, Inspector, and all that matters to me is to see my daughter married, and by that, to ensure the future of Crevecoeur." "As long as that happens, any...truth you may unearth about us is of no concern to me whatsoever." "You got a minute?" "He's just not thinking straight." "The Zelinsky case?" "Well, it's partly that, but..." "There's something more, to do with Crevecoeur, going back there after all these years." "Whatever it is, it's got him all bent out of shape." "So how have you left it?" "I told him to take some time, think it over, come and tell me what he wants." "What do you want him to do?" "Me?" "It's not for me." "Why not?" "Well..." "Oh, he's an awkward sod at the best of times, God knows, but he's my awkward sod." "I don't want all the palaver of house-training another sergeant." "Have you told him?" "BLEEPING" "Duty calls, I'm afraid." "Well, thanks for..." "you know..." "listening." "Any time." "People don't know how you feel..." "unless you tell them." "HAYDN:" "String Quartet No.34 Opus 64 No.4" "Hi." "You came." "I'm glad." "I wasn't sure you would." "You're still going through with it?" "It doesn't have to change anything." "We can still..." "Don't be difficult, darling." "Not tonight." "KNOCKING" "Lord Done A Bunk about?" "If you mean Sergeant Hathaway, Hooper, bloody well say so." "Just a bit of banter, boss, between colleagues." "Graduate entry though, got to expect a bit of chaff." "How's that?" "Fast-track promotion?" "They get it handed to them on a plate." "Everything that man's got he's worked for." "Believe me." "Lay off, eh?" "If you wonder why you're 20 years older than Hathaway and still a DC, look in the mirror." "What's that mean?" "You've got a small mind and a big mouth." "You don't know when to keep one open and the other shut." "If you say so, boss." "I do say so." "When it comes to me, I'll have 'Inspector' or 'sir'." "Understood?" "Sir." "Right." "What do you want with him?" "We've had a message come through for him via relay, sir." "Must have his mobile off." "'Meet me in the summerhouse." "S.'" "Hmm..." "All right, I'll deal." "Lewis." "I've got the results back on the key from the chapel." "It's Dr Black's blood." "No surprise there, then." "Yes, but there's something else." "'The tests picked up trace elements of a polysaccharide.'" "'Basically, you're looking for a linear polymer amylose.'" "And in English, we say?" "Corn starch." "All right?" "'Must dash.'" "Hooper." "It's Hathaway." "Is Lewis there?" "Just missed him." "Tried his mobile?" "He's not answering." "'I need you to do me a favour.'" "The guv'nor's got them out on his desk, as it goes." "What am I looking for exactly?" "Good evening, sir." "You were expecting someone else, Mr Hopkiss?" "I was, sir, yes, but I expect we'll muddle through." "Take your hands off me!" "You wrote Linda Grahame's love letters to Stephen Black." "What?" "Save your breath." "Why?" "Who told you to do it?" "Paul." "Hopkiss?" "What's going on?" "Daddy, I'm so sorry." "Sorry?" "Why should you be sorry?" "I don't understand." "James, I'd like you to leave now, please." "Like all you want." "I'm a policeman, not a member of your staff." "You sent a message, 'Meet me in the summerhouse.'" "I didn't." "Don't lie." "What are you playing at?" "Nothing." "Honestly." "I never sent any message." "I've had enough of this." "Come on, Scarlett." "No." "She comes with me." "Stephen Black thought he'd cracked the great riddle of the Mortmaignes, found the last resting place of the King's ransom," "but if he'd followed that trail to its end, he'd have discovered a dead body, wouldn't he?" "That's what you wouldn't allow." "That's why you killed him, isn't it?" "Linda Grahame never did leave Crevecoeur, did she?" "Linda Grahame never had an affair, with Dr Black or anyone else." "Augustus Mortmaigne might have let her think he was interested in her, flattered her even, but his real fascination was with Briony, wasn't it?" "Piano lessons in the summerhouse?" "You'd know all about that, wouldn't you?" "Shut your dirty...m-mouth!" "Linda disappeared right around the time" "Lord Mortmaigne had this millennium project constructed, didn't she?" "Didn't she?" "Linda found out what was going on, or at least began to suspect." "Mother's intuition, maybe." "Any rate, no doubt she confronted Augustus, threatened to expose him." "His lordship?" "As if he'd have had any idea what to do." "He believed she'd run off, the same as everyone else." "Do you know what the funny thing is?" "Funny?" "It was me she came to for advice." "Linda." "To me." "Not Ralph, not her husband, all for bringing outsiders into the situation, going to the police." "I couldn't allow that." "So you killed her?" "What did you think you were doing?" "My duty, protecting my family." "His lordship would be lost without me to look out for him." "He relies on me." "His tower of strength, that's what he calls me." "His rock." "So what happens now?" "I'll think of something, sir." "Paul!" "Get off me!" "Augustus, help!" "All right?" "I'm fine." "Took a bit of a tumble, old girl." "Knocked the wind right out of me." "I'll be all right in a minute." "Philip..." "Such a pretty little thing, and I've always been weak in such matters." "Culpably weak." "She was a child, and you violated her." "I don't expect you to understand for one moment, but, to me, she was..." "..special." "And Paul Hopkiss?" "Was he special?" "Oh, yes." "I loved them, their innocence, their grace, before the world had soured them." "I loved them." "I told you I was bad." "Why?" "Why did you write the letters?" "Hopkiss said Daddy had killed Dr Black." "I had to protect him." "Why did Hopkiss have to get you involved?" "I don't think he meant to." "I just wanted to be alone, and to think, about the engagement, so I rode over to the chapel." "Walked in on him?" "Black was already dead." "Paul said if I wanted to save Daddy from being arrested, I should help." "He told me how Daddy had killed Linda Grahame, and what he..." "What could I do?" "It would all come out." "And what about you and me?" "What was that?" "Your way of getting close to the investigation?" "You didn't really think..." "You're not one of us." "No." "Black followed the trail to the statue." "His next step would have been to excavate, with or without the estate's permission." "That was something Paul Hopkiss just couldn't allow." "He lured Black to the chapel." "With a promise of more information on the king's ransom, like as not." "Whatever the pretext, it wasn't a meeting Stephen Black would leave." "And the shooting at the re-enactment?" "It was a diversion to distract people's attention from the chapel while Hopkiss moved Dr Black's body." "I reckon he loaded one or two of the muskets in the hope that somebody would have been hurt." "It's a hell of a gamble." "The whole enterprise was make do and mend, ma'am, from start to finish, ill-conceived, and poorly executed." "You never bought the love letters though, did you?" "No, ma'am." "Too neat by half." "What about the treasure?" "Gone." "Well, if it ever existed." "Ma'am." "There's remains down there right enough, sir, in amongst the footings of the old fountain." "Human, according to SOCO." "And we found this." "That looks familiar." "Linda Grahame's wearing it in one of those photos at Black's house." "Better leave it with the SOCO." "Right, sir." "Is James all right?" "He'll mend." "Tell him well done." "I'll be sure to pass that along." "I'm going to hand in my papers." "Resign?" "I compromised the investigation." "You made a mistake." "You're human." "Not good enough." "Why do you have to be better?" "What happened here..." "You're not to blame for any of it." "Not then, not now." "As for handing in your papers, if it's all the same to you..." "Between us, we make a not-bad detective." "I'm the brains, obviously." "Obviously."