The Death-Cap Dancers

‘That doesn’t prove it wasn’t my car which killed her.’

That there was considerable substance in this remark was proved in the middle of the next morning. Apart from some necessary shopping which was done at the little shop near the warden’s office, nobody felt inclined for an outing and, after what had been said the night before, nobody was surprised when a detective-inspector and a sergeant turned up, just after the mid-morning coffee and biscuits had been cleared away, and asked for an interview.

Erica, as usual, answered the door.

‘Good morning, miss. Detective-Inspector Ribble and Sergeant Nene. May we come in?’

‘Of course.’

‘Thank you, miss. Just one or two points and then we would like you to accompany us to your carpark. You were the driver, I believe you told the superintendent, miss.’

‘Yes, I was. Won’t you sit down?’

‘Thank you, miss. Would you repeat what you reported yesterday about the route you took?’ Erica repeated the information she had supplied at the police station. ‘So you did not pass through Gledge End on your return?’

‘Only on our outward journey. We went there to locate the church hall where there is to be an entertainment for which we have tickets.’

‘Then you went on to —’ he looked at the sergeant, who turned to his notebook and read aloud.

‘That’s right,’ said Erica, when he had finished.

‘So you were almost home when you saw the bicycle. I suppose it was getting near dusk by that time?’

‘Oh, no, there was plenty of daylight left.’

‘So you hadn’t switched on the car lights?’

‘It wasn’t necessary.’

‘Well, not in your opinion, anyway. I would like you to accompany me to the carpark. You were the driver when the bicycle came into view?’

‘Yes, I drove the whole time until after we found the body. I was shaken up and thought I’d better not drive after that.’

‘I took over,’ said Hermione, ‘and there is something I ought to tell you before you inspect the car.’

‘Oh, yes, miss? What would that be?’

‘I scratched the paint, I think, when the car skidded.’

‘Oh, it skidded, did it?’

‘Yes, on some slippery fallen leaves. I corrected the skid, but I think in doing so I slightly bumped a tree.’

‘You — or somebody else — certainly bumped something, miss. We have already looked at the car.’

‘In that case,’ said Erica, ‘why do you want me to look at it?’

‘The car is marked, miss. Whether by a tree or a bicycle we don’t yet know.’

‘Oh, look here!’ said Isobel. ‘Our car never touched that bicycle!’

Erica returned from the carpark unaccompanied by the police, but she was looking worried.

‘The car is marked all right,’ she said. ‘They don’t exactly say they don’t believe me, and it was good of you, Hermy, to speak up the way you did, but I’m afraid I’m for it. That policeman has got it all worked out, I think. He believes we ran down that girl and realised what we’d done — I mean that we’d killed her. He thinks we panicked and tried to hide the body and then thought again and decided to report it. He also thinks we concocted that story Hermy told about the skid just to account for the marks on the car.’

‘Oh, dear, what a mess!’ wailed Tamsin.

‘But, look,’ said Isobel, ‘if the tree made marks on the car, the car must have made marks on the tree. Hermy, you probably know more or less whereabouts you were when you had the skid. The road ought to show some signs of it, and then all we have to do is to find the tree. Besides, surely their forensic experts, or whoever delves into these police things, can spot the difference between marks made by hitting a bike and marks made by bashing into a tree.’

‘I didn’t bash into it. I only sort of skimmed it. There might not be any recognisable marks on the tree at all.’

‘But if the car is marked?’ said Tamsin.

‘That’s the worst of this cheap paint they put on cars nowadays,’ said Isobel. ‘Come on, Hermy. Let’s go and see if we can spot this tree of yours. Mind you watch your step ! There may be a copper behind every bush keeping a suspicious eye on us.’

‘I’ll tell you what else I’m going to do,’ said Hermione, when they were outside the cabin. ‘Do you know what I think? I think the police have some reason for not suspecting that convict.’

‘Picked him up before the girl was killed?’

‘It’s more than likely.’

‘I hadn’t thought of that. If that’s so, then we, and especially poor old Erica, really are in the cart. So what’s your idea?’

‘To go straight to the telephone before we begin looking for trees and skidmarks and call up my great-aunt, only hoping she is free and at home. She will get us out of this mess if anybody can and a good old mess I think it’s going to be.’

‘Your great-aunt? Not Laura Gavin’s boss? Not the great Dame Beatrice?’

‘Yes, of course; and, if she can’t help us, my Uncle Ferdinand will.’

‘Who’s he? What could he do?’

‘He is Sir Ferdinand Lestrange, Q.C. Appearing for the defence is his main line of country. He loves getting people off, whether they’ve done it or not.’

‘I don’t call that ethical.’

‘When did ethics have anything to do with the law?’

‘Be that as it may, how very well connected you are!’

‘We may be glad of it, especially me. I only hope my great-aunt is at home.’

The telephone call was taken by Dame Beatrice herself, for Laura was still in Scotland and not expected back for a day or two. Hermione recognised at once the beautiful voice and said, ‘Oh, darling! Thank goodness it’s you. Great-aunt, I’m in trouble.’

‘What have you done — burnt down the woodland nook of which Laura speaks so highly?’

‘Much worse than that. The police think we knocked a girl cyclist down with our car and not only left her dead, but tried to hide the body.’

‘Dear me! Is there any substance at all in the story?’

‘Of course there isn’t. We’ve never knocked anybody down, let alone killed her. We even went straight to the police and reported finding the body. We should hardly have done that if we were guilty, would we?’

‘Conscience doth make cowards of us all.’

‘That’s what the police think. They think that, after we’d hidden the body, we panicked and went racing off to them to unburden ourselves.’

‘Do they suspect simply because you reported the accident?’

‘We didn’t have any accident. The whole thing was nothing to do with us at all.’

‘But the police must have some good reason for suspecting you.’

‘That’s the worst of it. When I was on my way through the woods to park the car that evening, it skidded and hit a tree.’

‘Misfortunes never come singly. You marked the car, I suppose.’

‘Yes, not much, but of course it’s given the police something to take hold of. Oh, darling, do please come and support us! You couldn’t manage to get here by Monday, could you?’

‘You may expect me on Sunday afternoon. I shall have George to drive me down. Book two rooms at the hotel nearest to where you are staying and when we meet you must tell me the whole story in detail. Did you yourself see the body?’

‘No. The two older ones left Tamsin and me in the car while they went over to look at the bicycle. Then they cast around on the moor in case the girl had wandered off.’

‘Why did they think of that?’