'Were you with him on Tuesday?'
'Yes sir, I was.' Peacock sent a glance at Colihan. His tongue was slow but his eyes were quick. 'That was the morning there was some trouble about the Monty horse. Phil told me to saddle him and I did, and here comes Mr Colihan, and like he told you, they mixed it some. So I went to the corral and got Teabag for Phil, and we went downriver beyond the flats. All day, we made it back just in time for supper. Phil and the Teabag horse didn't get along any too good, but I guess I'm telling you more than you want to know. Anyway I told Archie all this.'
Wolfe nodded. 'Sometimes he's careless about details. You couldn't tell me more than I want to know. Did you see Mr Brodell after supper Tuesday?'
'No sir, I didn't. He was played out and anyway I wasn't here. I was off and around.'
'The next day? Wednesday?'
'Uhuh, that was better. Phil and me left early and went upriver on two laigs apiece. He didn't get no six-pound rainbow, but he filled a big creel and it was a real good day any way you look at it. Up at the falls he slipped on a rock and got dunked, but the sun soon dried him and no bones was broke. Of course he was draggin' his ass by the time we saw the chimney smoke comin' in, and his back hadn't forgot the day he had spent on Teabag, so when I asked him what he had in mind for the next day he said the way he felt right then he might not get out of bed even for meals. But he did. Next morning Connie told me he had stowed away a stack of ulcer patches and three fish for breakfast.'
'Who is Connie?'
'She's the cook.'
'He was with you Thursday morning?'
'No sir, he wasn't. He said he was goin' to mosey over for a look at Berry Creek and I would set too fast a pace. Then after lunch he said-'
'If you please. How long was he gone in the morning?'
'I'd say two hours, maybe more. Then after-'
'Did he go up Berry Creek, or down?'
'If he said, I didn't listen. It's an easy trail over to the bend and then up or down, take your pick. I'd say he didn't go up to the pool because he didn't take tackle.'
'Did he mention meeting anyone?'
'No sir, he didn't.' Peacock tugged at a corner of the neck rag. 'You got a lot of questions, mister.'
'I once asked a woman ten thousand questions. That Thursday morning is of interest because apparently it was the only time Mr Brodell was off alone-except the afternoon. The easy trail to the creek-is it near the road at any point?'
'Uhuh. Where it circles around to miss a climb.'
'So he may not have got to the creek, if he met someone on the road. You spoke with him when he returned?'
'Not when he returned. After lunch.'
'Did you gather from what he said that he had been to the creek?'
'I don't do much gatherin' from what a man says. Now if he said he saw a fourteen-inch Dolly Varden in the pool above the bend you might say he had been to the creek, but you got to figure maybe he did and maybe he didn't. A man can say things like that just because it sounds good. Anyhow we didn't talk much after lunch. I was out by the corral trimmin' a post and he comes and says he was goin' up the ridge to get some berries. That was at five minutes after three. Connie says it was five after when he left the house, but I keep my watch right.' He looked at his wrist. 'Right now it's nine minutes to ten.
'And you didn't see him again-alive?'
'No sir, I didn't.'
'Where were you the next five hours?'
'I was around. It took a while to get that post in and then there was a loose shoe on a horse, and a saddle had to have a new cinch, and some other little things.'
'You didn't leave the premises?'
'Now that's quite a word, that 'premises.' If you mean did I go up the ridge with a gun and shoot Phil, no sir, I didn't. That wasn't on my program. Any time Connie had opened the door and yelled for me she'd 'a' got me.'
'And you saw no one with a gun?'
'That's correct. That's a fair statement. The first man I saw was Bill when he come in with Mrs Amory and I took the horses. I was in my room washin' up when Bert and his two got in. Right after supper Bill asked me again about Phil but I couldn't tell him any more than I already had. When the sun was gone we thought we'd better look around and Bill and Bert and me went up the ridge. I knew the spots Phil liked better than they did, so it was me that found him.'
Wolfe turned his head to look at me. His unasked question was, 'Has he varied any, with the others present, from what he told you, and if so, do you challenge him now?' I shook my head and said, 'Nothing to add, even with credentials.'
He sent his eyes around and told a bare-faced lie. 'I suppose I should intermit. Before proceeding beyond this preamble I must consult Mr Jessup; as he said, the inquiry is under his supervision and control. I think it quite likely that at least one of you is withholding material facts, but I doubt if prolonging this through the night would disclose them. An obvious point: you have all been placed, provisionally, for that Thursday afternoon, but where were you that morning during the two hours when Mr Brodell was off alone?'
