see Mrs. Vale after lunch, did you?’
‘I think she came out by the garden gate once or twice, to see about the seating accommodation.’
‘Anyone else about?’
‘No, I don’t think so. Oh, yes, Sims walked up and down the path for a bit. Came out as we were bringing hurdles in. And, I was forgetting. Just before that Evans walked along, from the direction of the wood. That’s all.’
‘Then I won’t trouble you any further. Can you send me Mr. Wrench?’
Armstrong beamed upon Wrench as he sat down. If he noticed the nervous tic in the master’s left eyelid, and the way his hands gripped the arms of his chair, he certainly did not betray the fact.
‘Now, sir, I expect you younger gentlemen know some things about the boys that the older ones don’t. Perhaps you may be able to give me some suggestion as to why anyone should want to kill this lad?’
‘Oh, really, I’ve no idea. Of course he wasn’t popular with the boys, though some of them played up to him because of his money; or with the staff, either, for that matter.’
‘How do you mean?’
‘Well, he ragged anyone if he thought he could get away with it; in a nasty, malicious way, too.’
‘I see. Though I don’t imagine, from what I’ve seen of your colleagues, that he would get much rope from any of them.’
‘Good Lord, he twisted Gadsby round his finger, and as for Sims –’ Wrench broke off in some confusion.
‘I quite understand your hesitation, sir. Very natural under the circumstances. But, of course, even we policemen are not so stupid as to suppose that anyone would commit murder from such a motive. All I’m trying to do is to get an idea of the psychology of the victim. It often gives one a line on the murderer, you know.’
‘Oh, well, if that’s all,’ said Wrench, still rather uneasily, ‘I suppose there’s no harm in telling you that Wemyss did his best to make Sims’ life a hell for him.’
Armstrong elicited some circumstantial evidence for this; then, feeling Wrench to be ‘ripe,’ as he put it, moved to the attack.
‘All I want now, sir, is an account of your own movements between lunch and two-thirty.’
Wrench visibly braced himself in his chair, and began to finger his pink tie. Armstrong noticed a slight coarsening in his accent as he began to speak.
‘Aow. I was in the school – mucking about, you know.’
‘You must try to be more explicit, sir.’
‘Well, after lunch I went up to my bedroom, and lay down for a bit; feeling rather seedy. Then I felt better and thought I’d read. I remembered I’d left my book in the common room and went down to fetch it. Tiverton was there, and –’
‘May I ask what was the book, sir?’
Wrench looked up quickly, blushing. ‘I really don’t see what – it was a French book, if you want to know,
Mademoiselle de Maupin
,’ he spoke defiantly.
‘I see. A school textbook. They didn’t teach us French when I was at school. And then?’
‘Then I read for a bit, and changed, and came down.’
‘You were late for the first race, weren’t you, sir?’
‘Late? No. Who put that in your head?’
‘Oh, I’m sorry, sir. Some mistake. I understood that you were not with the other masters at the beginning of the sports.’
‘No more I was. I was talking with a parent.’
‘Who was that, sir?’
‘Funny thing, I don’t know,’ said Wrench slowly. ‘Tall, blue-eyed chap, in a brown suit. He came up and asked me how ‘Tom’ was getting on. Hadn’t an earthly who he was, but I told him ‘Tom’ was doing all right. That often happens at these beanos. Parents come up to you and expect you to know who they are and all about their boys.’
‘Very difficult it must be, sir. Well, that is all I need ask you. Thank you. Good evening, sir.’
V
Obverse and Reverse
EVENING OF THE next day. They have cleared supper away in the common room. Tiverton, Evans and Griffin have congregated in the former’s sitting-room; Wrench is on duty; Gadsby and
‘I think she came out by the garden gate once or twice, to see about the seating accommodation.’
‘Anyone else about?’
‘No, I don’t think so. Oh, yes, Sims walked up and down the path for a bit. Came out as we were bringing hurdles in. And, I was forgetting. Just before that Evans walked along, from the direction of the wood. That’s all.’
‘Then I won’t trouble you any further. Can you send me Mr. Wrench?’
Armstrong beamed upon Wrench as he sat down. If he noticed the nervous tic in the master’s left eyelid, and the way his hands gripped the arms of his chair, he certainly did not betray the fact.
‘Now, sir, I expect you younger gentlemen know some things about the boys that the older ones don’t. Perhaps you may be able to give me some suggestion as to why anyone should want to kill this lad?’
‘Oh, really, I’ve no idea. Of course he wasn’t popular with the boys, though some of them played up to him because of his money; or with the staff, either, for that matter.’
‘How do you mean?’
‘Well, he ragged anyone if he thought he could get away with it; in a nasty, malicious way, too.’
‘I see. Though I don’t imagine, from what I’ve seen of your colleagues, that he would get much rope from any of them.’
‘Good Lord, he twisted Gadsby round his finger, and as for Sims –’ Wrench broke off in some confusion.
‘I quite understand your hesitation, sir. Very natural under the circumstances. But, of course, even we policemen are not so stupid as to suppose that anyone would commit murder from such a motive. All I’m trying to do is to get an idea of the psychology of the victim. It often gives one a line on the murderer, you know.’
‘Oh, well, if that’s all,’ said Wrench, still rather uneasily, ‘I suppose there’s no harm in telling you that Wemyss did his best to make Sims’ life a hell for him.’
Armstrong elicited some circumstantial evidence for this; then, feeling Wrench to be ‘ripe,’ as he put it, moved to the attack.
‘All I want now, sir, is an account of your own movements between lunch and two-thirty.’
Wrench visibly braced himself in his chair, and began to finger his pink tie. Armstrong noticed a slight coarsening in his accent as he began to speak.
‘Aow. I was in the school – mucking about, you know.’
‘You must try to be more explicit, sir.’
‘Well, after lunch I went up to my bedroom, and lay down for a bit; feeling rather seedy. Then I felt better and thought I’d read. I remembered I’d left my book in the common room and went down to fetch it. Tiverton was there, and –’
‘May I ask what was the book, sir?’
Wrench looked up quickly, blushing. ‘I really don’t see what – it was a French book, if you want to know,
Mademoiselle de Maupin
,’ he spoke defiantly.
‘I see. A school textbook. They didn’t teach us French when I was at school. And then?’
‘Then I read for a bit, and changed, and came down.’
‘You were late for the first race, weren’t you, sir?’
‘Late? No. Who put that in your head?’
‘Oh, I’m sorry, sir. Some mistake. I understood that you were not with the other masters at the beginning of the sports.’
‘No more I was. I was talking with a parent.’
‘Who was that, sir?’
‘Funny thing, I don’t know,’ said Wrench slowly. ‘Tall, blue-eyed chap, in a brown suit. He came up and asked me how ‘Tom’ was getting on. Hadn’t an earthly who he was, but I told him ‘Tom’ was doing all right. That often happens at these beanos. Parents come up to you and expect you to know who they are and all about their boys.’
‘Very difficult it must be, sir. Well, that is all I need ask you. Thank you. Good evening, sir.’
V
Obverse and Reverse
EVENING OF THE next day. They have cleared supper away in the common room. Tiverton, Evans and Griffin have congregated in the former’s sitting-room; Wrench is on duty; Gadsby and
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