‘Yes. He lives in a bivouac sort of shelter on the moor about three miles from our house.’
Between them, the sisters described the location of Adams’ shack.
‘Am I likely to find him at home at about midday tomorrow?’ asked Dame Beatrice. ‘I should like to hear what he has to say. Of course, he may not have been the cause of the visit from the police.’
‘He will be in the Crozier Arms at midday tomorrow,’ said Bryony. ‘He goes there most days when he has any money.’
‘Excellent. My chauffeur shall waylay him there. Meanwhile, I think I ought to talk with your kennel-maid. I heard what she had to say at the inquest, but I may gain a pointer or two in private conversation. Will she still be at Crozier Lodge if we set off immediately?’
‘I doubt it. If we are not there, she won’t stay once she has shut the hounds in the stable yard.’
‘Then we will have tea and I will visit her tomorrow after I have heard from George whether the poacher has anything to say. How is George to identify him at the Crozier Arms?’
‘He is always accompanied by a lurcher bitch when he goes to the pub. If he gets into an argument it is handy to have her with him, I suppose. She bit my father once, when father lanced a boil on Adams’ neck,’ said Morpeth.
‘Will you lunch with us tomorrow?’ asked Bryony, after a pause during which she had caught her sister’s eye and telegraphed a message.
‘Thank you, no. While George is talking to Adams, we shall pay a visit to the Headlands hotel and lunch there, while we make some enquiries about Mr Goodfellow. You have heard no more of him, I suppose?’
‘Not a thing,’ replied Bryony.
‘Unless he was our prowler,’ said Morpeth. Her sister glanced at her. ‘Well, he was dotty enough to come tapping on windows when it was nearly bedtime,’ Morpeth went on, looking at Dame Beatrice for support.
‘If you ask me, he wasn’t dotty at all,’ said Laura. ‘I put him down as a right villain. All those quotations and the king of kings stuff!’
‘When he asked for a doctor and you brought him to me,’ said Dame Beatrice, ‘did he give any indication that he was surprised at the length of the journey? I agree with Laura that he was not mentally deranged as the layman understands the term, so he must have realised that there were doctors much nearer to Abbots Crozier than the Stone House.’
‘First, I suggested Dr Mortlake, but he said he had been treated by him some time before and did not care for it to happen again. Then, I’m afraid I lied and mentioned Lambridge.’
‘So, if he knew Dr Mortlake, he had been in the neighbourhood before.’
‘Well, he certainly knew Dr Mortlake’s name. After that, I just drove on, intending, as I had done from the first, to land him on to you. I think he knew what I was doing because he pointed out the road sign to Brockenhurst and asked me if that wasn’t the way.’
‘Interesting. Do go on.’
‘When I told him at Crozier Lodge that I would take him to a doctor, his behaviour became even more extravagant and extraordinary than it had been at first. Morpeth asked whether she should come with me. I told her to put one of the Nile gods in the back of the car. She knew what I meant, of course. Osiris, Anubis, Horus and Amon are like lambs in the ordinary course of events, but I should be very sorry if anybody turned awkward towards one of us when they were about.
‘Ozymandias asked whether it was necessary to take Osiris with us. He said he was allergic to dogs. I said that they enjoyed a ride in a car, but liked people to be nice and quiet when they were about. Well, that calmed him down and, most of the journey he seemed to be asleep.’
‘But he didn’t miss the road signs to Brockenhurst,’ said Laura. “Well, Wandles Parva isn’t far off from there.’
‘No. Well, he didn’t begin acting up again until we were in sight of your windows. I had to reassure Osiris and tell him it was all right.’
‘I wouldn’t touch her, mate,’ said Adams to George when they had met and were fraternising in the Crozier Arms next day. George had paid for the beer and was making overtures towards the lurcher. ‘She’s obliged for the sausage you give her, but she’s kind of awkward in her manners with strangers.’ He stirred the crossbred affectionately with his foot and applied himself to the pint for which George had paid. ‘Don’t do for me to keep the dog too friendly with folks, living alone as I do and every man’s hand agin me, as you might say.’
‘But not the hand of the ladies at Crozier Lodge,’ said George, ‘or so you were telling me.’
‘Oh, them! Born innocent and never got over it.’
‘I heard the police had been there. That doesn’t sound much like innocence. What have they been up to?’
‘Well, that’s a funny kind of a tale, that is.’
‘Let’s have a snack and another drink. I’m on a newspaper, so I can do with a funny kind of tale.’
‘A noospaper? Any dough attached?’
‘Depends on the story. If the story is worth anything to me, the paper might go as far as a tenner.’
‘I thought noospapers paid thousands.’
‘Only for a real scoop, and then it’s got to be in one of the big dailies. Anyway, please yourself.’ He ordered pasties and another couple of pints and led the way to a small table.
Adams picked up a clean beer-mat and put it in his pocket.
‘Different to last week,’ he said. ‘I got quite a collection. Shall flog it when I gets the right bid for it. Bound to be somebody interested, with all this holiday lot about.’
