‘Can you spare a minute? I’ve orders from Mr Mowbray,’ he said. The young men straightened their backs. ‘He wants the names of the two young ladies you have been in the habit of dating since you’ve been here. We have the name of the pub you frequent.’
‘Oh, Lord! Dame Beatrice has blown the gaff on us!’ said Tom. ‘Look here, Virginia and Sarah had nothing whatever to do with this rotten business. They’ve never so much as met anybody here except ourselves. You are not going to badger them.’
‘Far from it, I assure you, sir. The top brass are just clearing the dead wood out of the case. Our only concern is to make sure of your alibi for the time of the murder. You see, so far as our information goes, you and these young ladies were the only persons actually here at the castle at the time of Professor Veryan’s death. Mr and Mrs Saltergate were in the village, but not, of course, at the castle. All we need is confirmation that you and the ladies were actually in the caravan on that Sunday night. Once that has been established, we can eliminate you from our list of suspects. Have they surnames?’
‘We didn’t bother about surnames. We knew them as Virginia and Sarah.’
‘Nor they, sir?’
‘They knew us as Tom and Bonamy. No names, no packdrill. It was just one of these holiday pick-ups, you know.’
‘And enjoyed by all, I have no doubt, sir. I envy you.’
‘Why? Think of Starsky and Hutch. Look at that Greek Romeo Kojak. The police have all the opportunities.’
‘I have nothing to learn from American police methods, sir. So far as my duties are concerned, stuffed shirt is my middle name.’
‘OK, so no muscling in on our preserves,’ said Tom, eyeing the handsome young sergeant with little favour.
‘No such luck, sir.’
The landlord of the public house in Stint Magna knew Harrow and greeted the sergeant with resignation.
‘Don’t tell me my ladies have been getting into mischief,’ he said.
‘You’ve read about the death of Professor Veryan at Holdy Castle, I suppose, Sam?’
‘Very unfortunate, that. Shows how careful people ought to be, climbing about on ruins.’
‘Yes. Did your ladies sleep here on that Sunday night?’
‘No, nor on the Friday and Saturday neither. Paid their bills – I charge by the week – on the Friday morning, told me they wouldn’t be back till the Monday and had a midday snack and a drink with two young fellers been coming here regular, and then went gallivantin’ off with them. Not much call to ask how they spent the weekend, I reckon. Lady students they may be, but larky as they come. Oh, well, you’re only young once.’
‘Where are they now?’
‘Sunbathin’ and studyin’ out on my back lawn. It ain’t overlooked and we gives ’em warning of opening time so’s they can get their shorts and shirts on over their bikinis and come respectable into the bar.’
‘Call them in now.’
‘It wants half an hour.’
‘I haven’t got half an hour to mess about. Besides, I want to talk to them before those young fellows get here.’
‘That won’t be yet awhile. What’s the big idea?’
‘Orders from up top. That’s all I know.’
‘OK. Get ’em in the back way, Dilly. Tell ’em it’s the police and they better look slippy.’
Virginia and Sarah proved to be long-legged, attractive hoydens, well up to the exacting standards which Tom, at any rate, set for the women of his fancy. They eyed the sergeant with approval.
‘The fuzz gets scrummier and scrummier,’ said Virginia, when she had introduced herself by this name.
‘And crumbier and crumbier,’ said Sarah. ‘Just look at this innocent boy!’
‘You’re welcome to do that as long as you want,’ said Harrow, ‘but, while you’re doing it, I have to ask you a few questions concerning the death at Holdy Castle.’
‘Not guilty, me lud,’ said Virginia.
‘You were in a caravan parked just below the ruins of Holdy Castle when the death occurred, and two young men whom you knew as Bonamy and Tom were with you.’
‘But the two boys weren’t. We spent Friday afternoon and Saturday and Sunday all day together, but when it came to bedtime they chickened out on us, even though we assured them we were on the pill.’
‘Look, ladies, this is a very serious matter. The inquest has been adjourned because there is some evidence – not much, but some – that Professor Veryan was murdered. I do ask you, for your own sakes, not to play games. Do you swear that you were alone in the caravan on the nights in question?’
‘Yes,’ said Virginia. ‘They done us wrong – in reverse.’
‘We was stood up,’ said Sarah, copying her friend’s flippant tone; then she caught Harrow’s eye and became serious. ‘It wasn’t very flattering,’ she said.
‘But you yourselves definitely were in the caravan on that Sunday night?’
‘We were hardly likely to have crawled back here to Uncle Sam and Aunt Dilly and ask for our beds back because our favours had been rejected,’ said Virginia. ‘The boys brought us back first thing on Monday morning, as promised, and our wounded feelings could not survive in the face of their contrition for having let us down.’
