knew before, why choose that day to tell Esther? Because it’s certain, however long Stella might have known, that Esther didn’t till that night, as it was obviously the shock of learning it that sent her from town in a hurry.’
‘Maybe Stella didn’t tell her,’ thought Cori. ‘Perhaps Esther found out on her own; and that would explain why she sought Stella out at the flat late that evening long after her lesson was over.’
‘God, I wish we could interview Esther this evening.’
There was a knock on the door, it opening anyway,
‘I thought I saw you creeping in here,’ said Inspector Glass. ‘Not interrupting, am I?’
‘Not at all: just discussing recently received and very sensitive information.’
‘Can I share?’
‘The girl who was seen on the stairs that night is Mars’ daughter.’
‘Then that’s it then, isn’t it? What you were talking about, the link between them, the way he found out?’
‘Is it?’ Grey was asking Cori as much as himself; she concurring in his doubt,
‘But we don’t know that they’ve even spoke since the family split.’
‘She must have done,’ answered Glass blithely, ‘on that evening. See, it’s good to share. I’ve just solved your mystery for you.’
‘We were coming to tell you all.’
‘Of course.’
‘The Three M’s are all in place,’ expounded the Superintendent once his officers were gathered around him. ‘His Method his strength, his Means the freedom he’s had to come and go unseen this week, and his Motive the emotions backed up since childhood; and now you think we’ve a way of explaining how Mars knew his mother was living at the Cedars?’
‘Well, we didn’t quite say that sir.’
‘Come on, Grey, we’ve been over this.’ Glass was agitant. ‘You told us his daughter had found out who Stella was that night.’
‘The daughter was estranged from him, sir. We can’t know anything until we speak to her tomorrow.’
‘I say we bring him in, sir, at least for questioning.’
‘And what do you say, Grey?’
‘I say wait, sir; at least until we can say for certain if anything passed between Esther and Mars that evening.’
‘In that I concur.’
‘So where does that leave us?’ asked Glass agog.
Rose explained, ‘It leaves us unable to arrest him without any way of proving he even knew his mother was at the Cedars to be able to go and attack her there — and we still haven’t the first notion of why he then went after poor old Charlie Prove. Now we’ve more than enough grounds to bring Mars in for a second interview: not least the fact that we know he’s lied to us and his alibi’s fallen through; but you all know as well as I do that timing is everything in these situations, and that bringing Mars in before we’re iron-clad can leave us running out of interview hours before we have the proof we need to charge him.’
‘So we leave a dangerous man on the loose?’
‘Not if your men are doing their jobs right, Glass.’
‘Well, you can count on that, sir.’
‘It was never in doubt.’
‘But surely, in the interests of public safety…’
‘And where’s the public safety in us finding nothing in the house, the girl being too scared to speak, he giving nothing away in interview; and twenty-four hours later having to release him, he free as a bird and knowing everything we know about him?’
Rose concluded, ‘No, I’m sorry Glass. It’s an impossible choice, but mine to have to make. Sorry also that you find yourself with this unpleasant bit of overtime ahead of you, and the pressures of what might happen if anyone slips up; but I really don’t see any other way. Grey? You’re thoughts on tomorrow?’
Grey knew his answer was important, ‘If we get the chance to speak to Esther — and she’s a vulnerable child, so it’s no way guaranteed — then I think we can then say for certain if we have a case.’
‘Very good.’
‘But I have to warn you, sir. Guilty though I believe Mars to be; from what we’ve learnt of his familial relations, and given that Esther’s mother won’t have anything to do with him, even to the point of not asking him for maintenance, then I don’t know if a daughter of his would ever want to get in touch with him, especially alone and of an evening.’
‘Even if it was only to confirm something as important as this?’
Grey had to concede the logic of that point, but couldn’t convince himself,
‘No. Sorry sir, there it is.’
‘Well, it’s all speculation anyway until tomorrow. Now we’ve a question of what to do with him. Do we acknowledge that we won’t be coming to see him this evening as he’s surely expecting (after telling us that that was when his wife was returning)? Do even tell him his wife’s here?’
Grey shook his head, ‘Any contact could enflame him when we need him calm.’
‘So could no contact,’ added his Sergeant sagely. ‘And we don’t know what he has planned for tonight: a call from us might make him delay any other attacks.’
There wasn’t one of them in the room who enjoyed this situation. Their boss considered, before answering,
‘Then let’s call him and make an appointment for him to come in at, say, noon tomorrow?’
‘And if he asks about his wife?’ asked Grey.
It was Glass who spoke, ‘He won’t: if he suspects she’s talking to us then he’ll be too scared of what she’s saying; and if he doesn’t then he’ll think she’s just ignored him and stayed in London.’
Grey was impressed with the deduction.
‘Then call him, Grey, and make the appointment.’ Rose wound things up, ‘Glass, you’ve men in place? Shifts covered?’ (The uniformed division Inspector nodded) ‘Then we reconvene tomorrow. Those that can, go home: it may be a long day.’
Chapter 19 — Night Watch
But Inspector Rase couldn’t switch off that easily. Grey followed Glass down to the mess room to where he was speaking to one of his men on the radio,
‘He’s home? He didn’t see you? Good good, then keep the cars at each end of the road and have one driving past every half hour. I’ll be down when I can.’
Glass signed off and spoke to Grey,
‘We replaced the squadcars with our own and put the team in civvies. Mansard Lane’s a long road with a dogleg, no alleyways or turnoffs: it really couldn’t be better.’
Knowing Mars was home, and knowing that to put it off would be fatal, Grey took the information sheet that the man had filled in at reception over to a desk in the corner and made his call.
‘How did it go?’ asked Cori as he replaced the receiver?
‘Fine, fine.’ He was shaking. ‘Noon it is.’
‘How did he sound?’
‘Calm; perhaps ever-so-slightly rattled, but then that might just have been me.’
‘Any sense we were on to him?’
Grey didn’t know, ‘He might just be worried about his wife.’
‘Or worried for what she could tell us.’
‘Maybe.’
‘Well, don’t start underestimating him, will you, sir. Remember how confident he was this morning, and remember what we think he might have done.’
