Breaker

'No, of course not. I've only just met them.'

'Then you've only their word that these belong to him?'

'Well, yes, I suppose so.' Harding looked uncertainly at Paul and saw the return of panic in the boy's eyes. 'Oh, come on,' he said abruptly. 'Where else could they have got them?'

'Off the beach. You said you saw the woman when you rounded Egmont Point,' he reminded Paul and Danny.

They nodded in petrified unison.

'Then why do these binoculars look as if they've fallen down a cliff? Did you find them beside the woman and decide to take them?'

The boys, growing red in the face with anxiety about their Peeping Tom act, looked guilty. Neither answered.

'Look, lighten up,' said Harding unwarily. 'It was a bit of fun, that's all. The woman was nude, so they climbed up for a better look. They didn't realize she was dead until they dropped the binoculars and went down to get them.'

'You saw all this, did you, sir?'

'No,' he admitted. 'I've already told you I was coming from St. Alban's Head.'

Ingram turned to his right to look at the distant promontory topped by its tiny Norman chapel, dedicated to St. Alban. 'You get a very good view of Egmont Bight from up there,' he said idly, 'particularly on a fine day like this.'

'Only through binoculars,' said Harding.

Ingram smiled as he looked the young man up and down. 'True,' he agreed. 'So where did you and the boys run into each other?'

Harding gestured toward the coastal path. 'They started shouting at me when they were halfway up Emmetts Hill, so I went down to meet them.'

'You seem to know the area well.'

'I do.'

'How come, when you live in London?'

'I spend a lot of time here. London can be pretty hellish in the summer.'

Ingram glanced up the steep hillside. 'This is called West Hill,' he remarked. 'Emmetts Hill is the next one along.'

Harding gave an amiable shrug. 'Okay, so I don't know it that well, but normally I come in by boat,' he said, 'and there's no mention of West Hill on the Admiralty charts. This whole escarpment is referred to as Emmetts Hill. The boys and I ran into each other approximately there.' He pointed toward a spot on the green hillside above them.

Out of the corner of his eye, Ingram noticed Paul Spender's frown of disagreement, but he didn't remark on it.

'Where's your boat now, Mr. Harding?'

'Poole. I sailed her in late last night, but as the wind's almost nonexistent and I fancied some exercise'-he favored Nick Ingram with a boyish smile-'I took to my legs.'

'What's the name of your boat, Mr. Harding?'

'Crazy Daze. It's a play on words. Daze is spelled D-A-Z-E, not D-A-Y-S.'

The tall policeman's smile was anything but boyish. 'Where's she normally berthed?'

'Lymington.'

'Did you come from Lymington yesterday?'

'Yes.'

'Alone?'

There was a tiny hesitation. 'Yes.'

Ingram held his gaze for a moment. 'Are you sailing back tonight?'

'That's the plan, although I'll probably have to motor if the wind doesn't improve.'

The constable nodded in apparent satisfaction. 'Well, thank you very much, Mr. Harding. I don't think I need detain you any longer. I'll get these boys home and check on the binoculars.'

Harding felt Paul and Danny sidle in behind him for protection. 'You will point out what a good job they've done, won't you?' he urged. 'I mean, but for these two, that poor little woman could have floated out on the next tide, and you'd never have known she was there. They deserve a medal, not aggro from their father.'

'You're very well informed, sir.'

'Trust me. I know this coast. There's a continuous south-southeasterly stream running toward St. Alban's Head, and if she'd been sucked into that, the chances of her resurfacing would have been nil. It's got one hell of a back eddy on it. My guess is she'd have been pounded to pieces on the bottom.'

Ingram smiled. 'I meant you were well informed about the woman, Mr. Harding. Anyone would think you'd seen her yourself.'