she was over the moon when I invited her. I told her we’d pick up Barbara on the way. She put on some face and a pretty dress and we were on the road inside the hour.”
“And when you got to Gifford Farm?”
Harry took off his glasses and wiped them, remembering. “There was a holiday atmosphere, not for Thanksgiving but for the cider pressing. They were on the last load of apples, and the machine was going like a steam hammer. Old man Lockwood had treated everyone to extra cider and given the farmhands an early finish. Mrs. Lockwood was offering hot scones and cream, but we wanted to ask Barbara to the party first, so she could get ready.”
“You told the Lockwoods about the party?”
“No need. We had Sally with us in a pink chiffon dress.”
“She must have been cold.”
“Sitting on my lap? You’re kidding. To answer your question, we told them about the party and they raised no objection, so Duke and I went off to find Barbara. She should be milking, they told us. She wasn’t. She hadn’t been. The cows were still waiting with their udders straining. We went back to see if anyone had a better idea. No dice.” Harry stopped and jerked his head in my direction. “He can tell you the rest.”
Alice wasn’t letting him off. “I’ve had his account,” she told Harry in a firm, no-nonsense voice. “I came here for yours.”
“The works?”
“All of it. Everything.”
“You’re going to be disappointed,” he warned her.
“Try me,” said Alice.
Hearing all this, I was veering between anger and admiration. She’d handled Harry brilliantly, keeping control without seeming to antagonize him. Her grasp of the disjointed and highly subjective story I’d unfolded the previous evening was rock-sure. What’s more, she’d sorted it into its proper sequence. She’d match any computer in processing information. Believe me, I was smarting from the rebukes she’d dealt me, and peeved that she didn’t challenge some of Harry’s wrongheaded assertions, yet I’m forced to admit that she got more from him than I would have done.
And for all his denials, some of the most interesting details came at the end.
“I was just a bystander,” he insisted. “I heard about the rape from Sally, and she got it from Mrs. Lockwood.”
“Aren’t we jumping forward here?” said Alice. “You left us with the cows not milked and no sign of Barbara.”
Harry put back his glasses and blinked in a puzzled way. “But you know what happened. The boy found Cliff Morton in the act of raping Barbara and ran out to tell the first person he saw, who was Duke.”
“No,” said Alice serenely. “i’m not asking that. I want to know what
Silence.
He shifted in his chair. “Well, I, em…
“Where did you search?”
“The cowsheds. Took me some time. All those stalls.”
“And, of course, you found nothing. Did you hear anything?”
Harry considered the question. “The cider mill was still grinding.”
“So you heard that. Anything else?”
“No.”
“You searched the cowshed, and then?”
“Back to the house.”
“You crossed the yard, then?”
“Sure.”
“See anyone?”
“Barbara, with her mother. They were ahead of me, moving towards the kitchen door. Great, I thought, we found her. All we need now is Duke, so he can invite her to the party. I was about to go find him when I sensed something wrong. I took another look at the two women. I just had a back view of them, and they were almost through the door by this time. Mrs. Lockwood had her hands on Barbara’s shoulders… like this. Barbara’s hair was loose, and her head was right back and shaking, like she was hysterical.”
“Screaming?”
Harry shrugged. “The damn machine was still going. Far as I could tell, Mrs. Lockwood was holding her upright. They went inside.?m standing there scratching my head when out comes Sally.”
“From the kitchen?”
“Yeah. She runs over to me and tells me Barbara was attacked. I ask her who did it and she doesn’t know. She’s pretty upset herself, and she asks me to take her home. I ask her where Duke is. She shakes her head and tries to pull me towards the jeep. She says leave him. Just take me home. I’m telling her I can’t do that when Duke comes around the side of the cider house and says let’s go. He gets in the jeep and starts up.”
“How was he looking?” asked Alice.
“Kind of solemn. Tight-lipped.”
“His appearance. Blood on his clothes? Any sign of violence?”
“Not that I saw.”
“He was in uniform, I expect?”
“Sure.”
“Blouse and pants? The buttons all fixed as usual?”
“I guess I’d have noticed if not.”
“And how was his behavior?”
“A little erratic,” Harry admitted. “That’s how it seemed at the time. I asked if he knew what happened to Barbara. He said, as if he knew all about it, there’s nothing we can do. I said for Christ’s sake, Duke, there’s plenty we can do. For a start, we can find the creep who attacked her. Duke said leave it. He told me to get in the jeep. He spoke with a kind of authority. Sally was already aboard, yelling at me to get in for God’s sake. So I did.”
Alice had listened in rapt concentration. She was standing with her two hands on my stick, holding it forward like a divining rod. “I want to get this straight,” she told Harry. “Were these Duke’s exact words: There’s nothing we can do. Leave it. Get in the jeep’?”
“Jeez, it was a long time ago,” pleaded Harry.
“Think.”
“I’m ninety percent sure. He may have thrown in a stronger word.”
“But the rest stands?”
“Sure.”
She paused for thought, staring up the the stuccoed ceiling: Presently she nodded at Harry. “And then?”
“We drove off.”
“Where to?”
Harry’s face showed the strain as he wrestled with a memory. A new set of creases branched out from his eyes and mouth. “I told you Duke was at the wheel. At the crossroads he turned in the Shepton Mallet direction and put his foot on the gas. He didn’t give a thought to Sally. She was in the backseat with me. She says to me where the heck are we going? I can’t go to the party after what happened to my friend. So I stuck my hand on Duke’s shoulder and asked him to stop.”
“And did he?”
“Not before we were halfway to Shepton Mallet, and then he refused to turn the jeep.”
“Why?”
Harry sighed. “How do I know? I can’t say what had gotten into him. He started giving me the needle. He said what’s with you two? You got it made. You don’t really need Barbara or me to have a good time. Make hay. Have a ball.”
“Couldn’t he see that Sally was upset?”
“I just couldn’t get through to him.”
