Thank God, rumbled around in the back of his mind but Isaac didn’t say it aloud.
“So, get out, Bosville,” Isaac snarled. “You aren’t welcome in my house any longer.”
“I have been sent to arrest Tuppence and I can’t leave until I do.”
“Well, Tuppence’s legal counsel demands evidence that leads you to suspect that she is the killer, and credible evidence at that. If you cannot come up with cold hard facts, don’t come around here,” Isaac challenged.
“I warn you that should you get a warrant, I will challenge the judge who issues it in court if necessary. By forcing your way into this house today, you are breaking the law, Bosville, and will be sued by me for false imprisonment and wrongful arrest if you even attempt to take Tuppence with you when you leave,” Sir Reginald warned darkly. “I know that Tuppence has been under constant guard and could not possibly be responsible for Richmond’s murderer. If you wish to question my authority on the matter, I shall see you in court.”
“Richmond was found at Hilltop Farm,” Mark announced flatly before Sir Reginald could issue any more threats. “He was found at the rear of the farmhouse, in the ditch at the end of Tuppence’s garden. The fields beyond that border Mr Lewis’s farm. On the night that Richmond was last seen alive, he told his wife that he was going to see Tuppence. Mrs Richmond objected because she said it was late, but he claimed that he wanted to get the matter resolved sooner rather than later, and so left. That was the last time Mrs Richmond saw her husband alive. It appears that Mr Richmond didn’t leave Hilltop Farm alive. He was possibly murdered the same night that Tuppence refused his offer to buy the farm.”
Isaac forced himself to keep his face impassive. He daren’t betray any hint of emotion with Mark’s astute gaze riveted on him like it was. “Then you have a killer in your midst,” Isaac replied calmly yet firmly. “The killer has already claimed two lives and tried to take a third today.”
“And it wasn’t Tuppence?” Mark pressed.
Isaac really struggled not to punch him. “Tuppence was inside this house and the gunman was outside in the trees.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Yes, I am sure,” Isaac snapped. “As soon as I reached the house, I ran upstairs to her in her bedroom. It isn’t physically possible to get from the woods to her bedroom on the opposite side of the house in the time it took for me to run into the house, up the stairs, and to her room. Tuppence was busy putting her clothing in the dresser when I found her and had no idea what had been going on. It wasn’t Tuppence firing at me and it isn’t Tuppence who killed Mr Lewis, or Angus Richmond, so don’t you dare even suggest it.”
“After the incident with the gunman in the trees, it appears that my client and nephew are the killer’s new targets. Rather than threatening them, you need to decide what you are going to do to protect them, Bosville. You will look like a bloody incompetent fool if either of them is murdered after you have tried to arrest them.”
“I am not here to arrest Isaac,” Mark protested.
“Just Tuppence, eh?” Sir Reginald shook his head in disgust.
Mark slid a worried look at Isaac. “The gunman is one reason why Tuppence would be safer behind bars.”
“Why would you expect Tuppence, an innocent young woman who has done nothing to harm you or anybody else, to be willing to sit in a dank, cold, horrible cell just because you cannot do your job properly? If you think it is so pleasant to sit in one of those places, go and sit in a cell yourself and see how long you can stand it. As far as I am concerned, it will be a long cold day in Hades before you drag Tuppence there without good reason.”
“It is false imprisonment for you to try to force her,” Sir Reginald repeated. “It is worth suing Great Tipton Police if you try it.”
“Tuppence stays here with me,” Isaac confirmed.
“I suppose-”
“We aren’t asking you,” Sir Reginald interrupted, pointing a warning finger at Mark.
Mark looked from Isaac to Sir Reginald. “Look, I don’t want to upset either of you.”
“Then don’t,” Isaac snapped. “Now, if you have quite finished, I have work to do. Like my uncle said, don’t come back here without firm proof to support your suspicion that Tuppence is involved in any crimes. Meantime, rest assured that we will make sure that Tuppence is protected while she is here.” Isaac yanked the front door open and glared at Mark.
Their eyes met.
Mark opened his mouth to try to have a few private words with his friend but the icy glare in Isaac’s eyes thwarted him. For the first time since meeting Isaac, Mark was aware of his lowly status. He knew that Isaac had friends in London in some enormously powerful places because Isaac had told him who they were. In their various positions of power, the men Isaac called friends had the ability to destroy lives, and they didn’t need to murder people to do it.
“I will go, for now at least, but my boss may send someone else out to arrest her,” Mark warned.
“And they will be sent away empty handed too,” Isaac promised.
“Tell your boss from me that I am preparing the legal documentation to bring a case against Great Tipton Police for wrongful arrest,” Sir Reginald warned. “I expect all of Great Tipton Police to remain professional at all times from now on, and work within the constraints of the law at all times, especially when dealing with Tuppence.”
Isaac caught a brief glimpse of the startled look on Mark’s face before Sir Reginald slammed the door in his face.
“What do you make of that?” Isaac asked once he was alone with his uncle.
“I think they are trying to appease the locals by arresting Tuppence. It hasn’t occurred to them yet that it will unsettle the locals more by having an innocent person arrested, especially when another villager is murdered. The truth of the police’s incompetence will come out eventually.”