‘There’s no hope.’
‘Can you get out of the country?’ Fortescue asked.
‘Not a chance, and I don’t want to. I’ve my businesses and my family here.’
‘But you’ll be arrested.’
‘How about you, Miles?’
‘The same as you. I can’t leave, can’t stay. We’re doomed because we trusted Keith.’
‘It’s hindsight. What can we do?’
‘Nothing, just nothing.’
Chapter 20
The housekeeper’s cottage, located close to the main house, was warm when the two policemen arrived there. Mrs Townsend, the housekeeper, a middle-aged woman, kept the humble abode meticulously clean. ‘It’s so sad,’ she said.
Isaac could see she had been crying. ‘We have a few questions,’ he said.
‘Warm yourself by the fire while I fetch some tea.’ Even though the woman was obviously distraught, she was still able to deal with the basics.
The two men stood in front of the blaze for two minutes until it became too hot.
‘One thing his Lordship appreciated was an open fire. Mind you, it can be perishing cold up in the big house. For me, I’d rather be here, snug and cosy.’
Both men sat down and enjoyed a respite from the investigation.
A uniformed officer came in. ‘The three boys are ready in the other room,’ he said.
‘Thanks,’ Isaac said. ‘Are they okay?’
‘They’re fine now. Their parents are here as well.’
‘Fine,’ Donaldson said. ‘We’ll interview all three at the same time.’
Five minutes later, the boys entered accompanied by two of the parents. Mrs Townsend brought another pot of tea for the police officers and the two parents, hot chocolate for the boys.
‘I’m Detective Chief Inspector Isaac Cook and this is Detective Chief Inspector Len Donaldson,’ Isaac said as both men shook hands with the three boys. The parents sat to one side.
‘I’m Billy Smith, this here is Frank Fogarty,’ the first boy said. The third boy, younger than the other two, introduced himself as Terry Smith.
‘He’s my brother,’ Billy said.
All three boys were dressed in clothes designed for the weather: jeans, heavy jackets, and sturdy hiking shoes. Isaac knew he was not.
‘It’s warm in here,’ Billy said as he removed his jacket. The other two boys followed his example.
‘According to Inspector Corker, you all saw the incident when his Lordship’s car went into the quarry.’
‘Uncle Trevor. He’s our uncle,’ Terry Smith said. He did not seem to recognise the seriousness of the matter.
‘Very well,’ Isaac said. ‘According to your uncle, you saw what happened.’
‘We were up here hiking.’
‘Do you do that often?’
‘Sometimes. There’s not much else to do around here.’
‘Tell us what you saw. Billy, maybe you can tell us first, and then after, Frank and Terry can add in anything you missed.’
Billy and Frank acknowledged their understanding of how the interview was to proceed. Young Terry looked out of the window.
‘He’s not all there, our Terry,’ Billy said. Isaac could see that the youngest of the three was drifting. At best, he was an unreliable witness, whereas Billy and Frank seemed to be focussed.
‘Billy, please start.’
‘We were walking up here on a track off to the side of the road. It’s hidden by bushes so no one could see us from the road.’
‘What were you doing up here?’ Donaldson asked.
‘Just walking.’
Donaldson, who had grown up in the country, knew that was not the truth. They were up to mischief. He let it pass. They had bigger issues to deal with.
‘Continue, Billy,’ Isaac said. ‘We’ll not interrupt again,’ giving a subtle hit to Len Donaldson to keep quiet.
‘We’d seen the Land Rover, but we took no notice. Anyway, we carried on up the hill. We could see Lord Allerton coming up the hill in his car, so we ducked down low. We didn’t want him to see us. He slows down to enter his place, and the Land Rover comes out from a track nearby and rams the car. We rushed up the hill to get a closer look.’
‘Did anyone see you?’ Isaac asked. He deemed it was a relevant question to interrupt the young boy.
‘Lord Allerton may have, but the man in the Land Rover didn’t.’
‘I saw him,’ Terry Smith said.
‘Who?’ Isaac asked.
‘The man in the Land Rover.’
‘Don’t listen to him,’ his elder brother said. ‘He makes up stories.’
‘I still need to hear it,’ Isaac said.
‘He was a little man.’
‘Anything else?’
‘He had tattoos on his arms. I could see that, even if Billy thinks I’m lying. Mister, I’m telling the truth.’
‘I believe you,’ Isaac said, the description suspiciously similar to a prime suspect.
‘He had a gun,’ Frank Fogarty said.
‘Could you identify it?’ Isaac asked.
‘No. We only heard it being fired.’
‘That correlates with what they found at the crime scene,’ Donaldson said.
‘Then what happened?’ Isaac asked.
‘The Land Rover pushes Lord Allerton’s car off the side of the road,’ Frank Fogarty said.
‘We could see the man shouting,’ Billy Smith added.
‘Who?’
‘Lord Allerton.’
‘Then what?’
‘We rushed up here and phoned the police.’
‘Is there any more you can tell us?’ Isaac asked.
‘Nothing. The Land Rover drove off, that’s all,’
‘Did you get a registration number?’
‘No, I didn’t.’
‘I did,’ Terry Smith said.
‘What was it?’
‘Is there a reward?’ the young boy asked. Isaac realised he had probably been fed a diet of American cop shows on the television.
‘We’ll arrange something,’ Isaac said. He’d let Uncle Trevor deal with that.
‘HDE 59F,’ Terry blurted out. Isaac had to admit if the boy was a little slow for his age, at least his ability to remember car registrations was unbeatable.
Isaac picked up his phone and dialled Bridget back in Challis Street. He then called his DI and his sergeant to follow up on the car and its occupant.
***
