o
Harry paused. It was the first time Fry had seen him hesitate
57
unintentionally. He was thinking back over his last words, as if surprised by what he had said. Then he shrugged.
‘I mean a stoat or a blackbird. A squirrel once. If they’re fresh dead and not been marked too bad, there’s a bloke over at Hathersage will have ‘em for his freezer.”
‘What?’
‘He stuffs ‘em,’ said Harry. ‘All legal. He’s got a licence and everything.’
‘A taxidermist,’ said Hitchens.
Fry could see Tailby frown. Harry puffed on his pipe with extra vigour, as if he had just won a minor victory.
O ‘ J J
‘But today, Mr Dickinson?’ said Tailby.
‘Ah, today. Today, Jess brought me something else. She went off, rooting about in the bracken and that. I wasn’t paying much attention, just sitting. Then she came up to me, with something in her mouth. I couldn’t make out what it was at first. But it was that shoe.’
‘Did you see where the dog got it from?’
‘No, I told you. She was out of sight. 1 took the shoe off her. I remembered this lass you lot were looking for, the Mount girl. It looked the sort of object she would wear, that lass. So I brought it back. And my granddaughter phoned.’
‘You knew Laura Vernon?’
‘I reckon I know everybody in the village,’ said Harry. ‘It isn’t exactly Buxton here, you know. I’ve seen her all right.’
‘When did you last see her, Mr Dickinson?’ asked Tailby.
‘Ah. Couldn’t say that.’
‘It might be very important.’
‘Mmm?’
‘If she was in the habit of going on to the Baulk, where you walk your dog regularly, Mr Dickinson, you may have seen her earlier.’
‘You may also have seen her killer,’ said Hitchens.
‘Doubt it,’ said Harry. The don’t see anyone.’
‘Surely —’
‘I don’t see anyone.’
Harry glared at Hitchens, suddenly aggressive. The DI saw it and bridled immediately.
58
‘This is a murder enquiry, Harry. Don’t forget that. We expect full cooperation.’
The old man pursed his lips. The skin around his mouth puckered and wrinkled, but his eyes remained hard and cool. ‘I reckon I’ve done my bit. I’m getting a bit fed up of you
^ O O I ^
iot now.’
‘Tough. We’re not messing about here. Harry. We’re not
O O ‘ .
slaving games, like von throwing sticks for your dog to fetch.
l,OO-^ O O
This is a serious business, and we need all the answers you can give us.’
‘Have you seen anybody else on the Baulk, Mr Dickinson?’ said Tailby gently.
‘If I had,’ said Harry, ‘I’d remember, wouldn’t I?’
Hitchens snorted and stirred angrily in his chair. ‘Crap.’
‘Hold on, Paul,’ said Tailby automatically.
‘Right. I’ll not have that in my house,’ said Harry. ‘It’s high time you were off somewhere else, the lot of you, doing some good.’ He pointed the stem of his pipe towards Fry and her notebook. ‘And make sure you take the secretary lass with you. She’s making a mucky mark on my wall.’
‘Detective Constable Fry will have to stay to take your statement.’
‘She’ll have to wake me up first.’
Tailbv and Hitchens stood up, straightening their backs from
^ 1 ‘ O O
the hard chairs. The DCI looked too tall for the room. The house had been built at a time when very few people stood more than six foot. He must have had to stoop to get through the door, though Fry hadn’t noticed it.
