“What is at the back of the property?” Sir Reginald asked. “At Mrs Girdling’s house that is.”
“An alley between the two rows of houses, one on Reyland Road, which is where Mrs Girdling lives, and one on Main Street.”
“Are there any alleys that run off it and cut through to Main Street?” Sir Reginald asked.
“Plenty, so the killer could have cut through any of them relatively unobserved and blended in with the pedestrians on the main street in the early morning. I doubt there would be many people out and about that early in the morning, but if the killer is a local, nobody would notice anything unusual about his appearance,” Mark informed them.
“It has to be a local; a villager who can blend in and move amongst everyone unnoticed.” Mark was nodding before Isaac had finished.
“Tell me.” Gertrude edged forward in her seat a little. “Would someone take note of Tuppence walking down the Main Street at that hour of the morning?”
Mark had asked the locals, but nobody had seen her. “Yes. She rarely comes into the village. When she does, she usually goes to the tea toom to take tea with Harriett. If people see Tuppence in the village outside of her normal routine, they are often curious and want to know why she is there and if there is a problem.”
Gertrude nodded and eased back in her seat again.
“Whoever is up and about at that time in the morning will probably have noticed someone unusual hanging about; newcomers and the like.” Isaac lifted a brow and watched Mark nod.
“Do you know who might be able to tell you about the regulars he or she sees every morning?” Sir Reginald asked.
“I can think of one or two people,” Mark replied.
“Go and find out who they saw,” Sir Reginald ordered, even though it wasn’t his place to give Mark his orders.
“I would like to come with you,” Isaac asked, bracing himself for Mark to object.
“I think you should,” Sir Reginald murmured before Mark could reply. “I will stay with the women. It might be best if you make it clear to the locals that everyone on Main Street is under suspicion for the murder of Mrs Girdling seeing as Tuppence was under close guard at the time the latest victim was murdered. That should be enough to rattle a few cages and make people suspect each other. If the killer is a local, he is unlikely to be able to go about his business unnoticed from now on. Everyone will be watching each other, and that is going to create witnesses and plenty of them.”
Mark smiled his first genuine smile in several days. “I have my assistant up in arms over this. I know he will be glad of your help,” he said to Isaac. His smile was an offer of friendship, but it did little to thaw the distance now lying between them. While Mark wanted to believe that their friendship could be saved in time, h
e had doubts. But if working with Isaac to find the real killer helped heal things over a little then he was more than happy to do it.
“Well, let’s go,” Isaac snapped impatiently, stalking to the door without bothering to see if there was anything else Mark wanted to ask of them. He fetched his coat and yanked the front door open and promptly left.
Mark barely had the time to say ‘goodbye’ to Gertrude and Sir Reginald before he had to race to join Isaac. He caught up with him just as his friend was climbing into his carriage, which was parked directly outside the front door.
“Do we start with Mrs Girdling’s neighbour, or on Main Street?” Isaac asked.
Mark clambered aboard and picked up the reins. “We need to start with some of the owners of the shops on Main Street. They go about their business at the crack of dawn every morning and will know who regularly walks down the main street to go to work. They will be able to tell us if they saw someone unusual up and about so early.”
“We may never find out who the killer is.” It wasn’t really a question. Isaac had no idea why he felt the need to make such a statement, but he did and waited patiently for Mark to answer.
“We are going to have to fight to find the real culprit and brace ourselves for a few surprises when the truth comes out about who has been targeting Tuppence. It will shock you, and undoubtedly her, but the truth must come out so the real murderer faces justice. No lies remain hidden forever. As soon as we have arrested the real culprit, the truth of who has committed the murders will become public knowledge and people will understand the wider role you played in making sure that an innocent person didn’t go to prison for crimes she didn’t commit. There will always be people who will still suspect Tuppence, and won’t accept the facts of the case when it is presented in court, but if they are vocal with their judgement they can be arrested for it. Tuppence is innocent in all of this. We just have to prove it.”
“But you are still eager to put her behind bars.”
Mark pulled the carriage over to the side of the road and turned to look his friend in the eye. He eased his jacket away from his hip to show Isaac the gun he carried. “There is no safe place for her right now. I know you are happy to try to protect her but even you should realise that your determination to keep her safe has now put your mother and Sir Reginald in danger, together with your staff.”
Isaac was forced to admit that Mark was right.
“The problem is, Isaac, because Davies wants Tuppence arrested for murder now, the cells in the station aren’t all that safe for her now either,” Mark sighed.
“Why do you think the murderer wants Hilltop Farm so desperately?”
“I have no idea. The place has been falling into ruin for years. Tuppence’s brother drank a lot. I think he resented having to live on a farm. Tuppence did most of the chores even before he died. I don’t think her life was all that much different once her brother was dead to be honest.”
“Why did Harriett never go and see her on the farm?” Isaac interrupted. “Why did she always insist on Tuppence calling to see her?”
Mark slid him a rueful look. “Harriett has always hated how isolated Tuppence is up there. She has tried to lure Tuppence into the village to be with people and get away from the place for a while. If she didn’t, Tuppence would have lived in complete and absolute isolation with only the occasional visitor for company. Getting her to the village forced her to socialise. Once Harriett had managed to persuade Tuppence to venture into the village, other villagers would sit and talk to her and keep her in the village far longer that Tuppence planned. Even if it kept her away from the farm for half a day, being in the tearoom was at least giving Tuppence the opportunity to enjoy other people’s company. It gave her a change of scene while making her feel included in the village’s activities. Tuppence kept up with all the gossip and was treated like a villager.”