Five Dead Canaries

therefore aware of the fact that the key to the outhouse could easily be borrowed from its hook.’

Keedy spread his arms. ‘What more evidence do we need?’

‘Herbert Wylie,’ said Hubbard, grinding his teeth. ‘I didn’t realise he was such a scheming little runt.’

‘We’re assuming that he acted alone.’

‘In his mind,’ said Marmion, ‘he probably saw it as a crime of passion.’

‘That’s not how I see it, Inspector. It was premeditated murder. Either way,’ said Keedy, ‘he’ll face an appointment with the public executioner.’

‘Let’s not prejudge him. He has to be considered innocent until proven guilty.’

‘What was this about him knowing one of those women?’ asked Hubbard.

‘He was rebuffed by the young lady. That may have given him a motive.’

‘Oh, I see. That’s all it takes, is it? Because some girl won’t let him put a hand up her jumper, he thinks it’s all right for him to kill her and her friends then destroy part of my pub into the bargain.’

The sight of the detectives brought neighbours out of their houses in search of information about the latest developments in the case. Marmion and Keedy didn’t even get the chance to repeat the news because Hubbard did it for them. Accepting Wylie’s guilt as proven fact, the landlord launched into a long denunciation of him and wished that he’d had the forethought to poison the man’s beer. The knot of people grew into a small crowd. Seeing no reason to linger, the detectives moved to the car. The landlord hurried after them.

‘Hang on a moment,’ he said. ‘I have to pass on a message.’

‘Who gave it to you?’ asked Marmion.

‘Royston Liddle.’

‘What’s his problem?’

‘He’s been the victim of a terrible crime, Inspector.’

‘Oh?’

‘Someone’s stolen his rabbits.’

‘With respect to Mr Liddle, we can’t marshal the full force of Scotland Yard in a search for missing rabbits. I think you’ll agree that the murder of five innocent young women must take priority.’

‘Don’t forget the damage to my property.’

‘I don’t think you’ll ever let us forget it, sir,’ said Keedy, ‘and you’re right to do so. As for the rabbits, whoever stole them has probably had them in a stew by now. You can’t charge someone with a crime when the evidence has been eaten.’

The sense of injustice festered inside Royston Liddle. He had a number of chores to complete throughout the day and he did them in a daze. All that he could think about was the atrocity in the rabbit hutch. The culprit was obviously Alan Suggs. He’d not only sworn to get back at Liddle, he knew just how much the rabbits meant to him. Stealing them would cause lasting pain to their owner. Suggs had been a friend once and Liddle had got both amusement and excitement out of watching him with a naked woman in the outhouse. It was Liddle who’d made that tryst possible and this was his reward. He tried to think of an appropriate act of revenge but he knew that he was too law-abiding to inflict it on Suggs. The crime had to be solved by the police.

As he trudged home after a day’s work in various places, he was bereft. The rabbits were far more than pets. They were part of the family. Instead of letting himself into the house by the front door, he went to the back entrance. As he came into the garden, he had a strange feeling that his rabbits had come back. Suggs had either relented or been overcome with guilt. Liddle was thrilled. Rushing to the hutch, he pulled the door open and looked inside. The rabbits were indeed there but not in their entirety. All that remained of them were their heads.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Because he’d never even made it past the front door on his previous visit, Marmion paid a second call on Reuben Harte. He was hoping to find the man in a slightly more hospitable frame of mind. Fortune favoured the detective. As he approached the house, Marmion was spotted through the window by Brian Ingles. Identified by him, he was allowed in by Harte and ushered into the living room. Sensing that the visitor might have brought news about the investigation, both men were markedly more welcoming than they had previously been towards him. With an apologetic smile, Ingles was quick to explain away his behaviour at the earlier meeting with Marmion.

‘You caught me at a difficult time, Inspector,’ he said.

‘I appreciate that, sir.’

‘Only someone whose child has been murdered could understand the pulverising effect that the news can have. It leaves you utterly bewildered.’

‘Brian is right,’ said Harte. ‘I felt exactly the same. Losing a loved one knocks you for six. I’m still stunned.’

‘And so was I,’ said Marmion, seizing the opportunity to show them that he’d been through a similar experience. ‘It shook me to the core. My father was killed while on duty as a policeman, you see. It took me days to accept the awful truth. When I did that, other feelings took over. I had this overpowering urge to go after the man who’d committed the murder. That led in time to my joining the police force.’

The information had a different effect on the two men. While Ingles had more respect for Marmion after the revelation that he’d been through the same horror, Harte was both annoyed and hurt, as if the inspector had somehow reduced his status as a father mourning a murder victim. Ingles was more open but Harte came close to sulking.

‘I’m glad to find the both of you together,’ Marmion began.

‘I was just on the point of winning an argument,’ explained Ingles. ‘I daresay that you can guess what it was about.’

‘Was it the offer made by Mr Kennett?’

‘Indeed, it was.’

‘I’ve agreed to nothing,’ said Harte, stonily.

‘But you were at least listening to sense at last,’ said Ingles. ‘And now that four of us are in agreement, you’re feeling uneasy at being isolated.’

‘You don’t know how I feel, Brian.’

Ingles was tactful. ‘Then I’ll not press you on the matter. In any case,’ he went on, ‘I’m sure that the inspector didn’t come here to join in the discussion.’

‘That’s true,’ said Marmion.

‘What news do you have for us?’

‘We’ve identified a suspect.’

Harte perked up immediately. ‘Who is he?’

‘It’s a man by the name of Herbert Wylie.’

‘I’ve never heard of him.’

‘No more have I,’ said Ingles.

‘He worked at the munitions factory,’ Marmion told them. ‘At least, he did until the day of the explosion. After that, he seems to have packed his bags and vanished. We’ve released his name to the press and there’ll be a nationwide search for Wylie. We’re very anxious to speak to him.’

‘When police use that phrase, it usually means that they think a particular person is almost certainly guilty. Am I right, Inspector?’

‘You can deduce what you wish, sir. We need to find this individual as a matter of urgency but there’s no absolute guarantee that he’s our man.’

‘What can you tell us about him?’

‘Simply that he was in the right place at the right time,’ said Marmion. ‘He knew the pub in question and seems to have had a thwarted passion for one of the young women attending that party. Neither of your daughters, I hasten to say,’ he added, ‘was the person in question. They had the misfortune to be there when this man — as the evidence suggests — took his revenge.’

‘How did you find all this out?’ asked Ingles.