‘Is his car nearby?’ Windsor asked.
‘Not that we know of.’
Isaac took hold of the letter and left the house with Larry. They both removed their protective clothing on leaving.
The old man, who had a smug look, was standing in the middle of the mews. Larry moved over closer to him.
‘Rum do,’ the man said. The excitement appeared to have perked him up, and he was not leaning so heavily on his walking stick.
‘There must have been some noise,’ Larry said.
‘Amelia had one of her parties a couple of nights ago. If he had done it then, nobody would have heard.’
‘Yet you suspected something?’
‘I keep a watch on what goes on here, not like some.’
‘What does that mean?’
‘Amelia cares, not that she’s here all the time. But some of the others, they’re here during the week, and then at the weekend they’re off somewhere or other.’
‘People live busy lives,’ Larry said. He knew the old man was a busybody, but he was a decent person, and according to what Amelia had told Wendy, he was well-liked by his neighbours, never complaining if there was a party, as long as he got an invite, the chance for one or two drinks.
‘You’re right, but I’m here all the time. If people look after their places, then that’s fine. We had a rogue down the other end of the mews, a couple of years back now, who was dealing in drugs. The police picked him up soon enough.’
‘Did you report him?’
‘He caused no trouble, and the only times I saw him, he was extremely polite. You never know who people are really, do you?’
‘Not really,’ Larry agreed. ‘You’ve still not explained why you phoned us to come to Pembridge Mews urgently.’
‘I was right, wasn’t I?’
‘Lucky guess, or is there more to it?’
‘What do you know about me, Inspector Hill?’
‘What you told me and what we’ve checked on since.’
‘SAS, Special Air Service when I was younger, behind enemy lines. I wasn’t always an old man. You’ll not find any reference to my full military record on any website, no matter how hard you try. And it’s confidential, so don’t go putting it into any report.’
‘I need to report what I see and hear, you know that.’
‘I prefer to live my life in cold reflection of what I saw and did, not to become involved in a police investigation.’
‘But you have.’
‘I’ve acted as a responsible citizen, that’s all. Pembridge Mews is important to me, so are the people who live here. I missed picking up on Matilda, but I wasn’t looking for clues then. I’m trained to observe and to remember, more of a subconscious reaction nowadays. I saw her father going into the house, I never saw him come out.’
‘Did he have a rope when he went in?’
‘He was carrying a bag with him. There could have been a rope in there.’
‘Why did you believe we’d find him dead?’
‘I’m trained to observe, I told you that, to ascertain a person’s frame of mind. Whether they’re cheerful or sad, and if their body language contradicts how they appear. A subtle art, and no doubt I could teach you a thing or two about it.’
‘Once this is over, maybe you could,’ Larry said. He had to feel admiration for the man who was maintaining his wish to live out his remaining years in tranquillity, not interfering, just observing, helping where he could. Larry realised that the man had trusted him with privileged information. He would respect his wishes, although in confidence he would need to tell his DCI.
‘I can give you a few pointers. The father goes into the house, he’s carrying a heavy bag. I can see his face. It’s not the face of a contented man. I can see the lines etched into his forehead, the drawn expression, the obvious signs that he’s not been eating properly for some time, and that he’s been drinking.’
‘You can tell all that?’
‘If you’re behind enemy lines, you need to be able to judge quickly. Is the man standing in front of you ready to shoot or is he just a local peasant trying to feed his family, not interested in getting involved in petty squabbles and violence?’
‘Afghanistan?’
‘Other countries, not there. My time with the military was over before that became a war zone. Don’t ask too many questions. Not everyone understands or agrees with what we had to do.’
‘Do you agree, on reflection?’
‘I was a soldier, following orders. And besides, we’re talking about Stanley Montgomery.’
‘Sorry for diverging. It sounds interesting.’
‘It was bloody and dirty and sometimes boring. We did things that no man should ever be forced to do, experienced things that I don’t need to talk about.’
‘The limp?’
‘A bullet in the leg, but mainly it’s old age.’
‘My apologies for resurrecting the past.’
‘Sometimes it’s good to talk. Coming back to Montgomery. He enters the house, closing the door behind him. He moves through to the kitchen at the rear, and opens the fridge.’
‘You could see this?’
‘Through a gap in the curtains. I’m suspicious, not because I’m interested in what he’s up to, but as I said, I’ve seen the man’s face.’
‘Then what?’
‘A group of Amelia’s friends appear, and they beckon me over.’
‘A couple of drinks and you no longer took any interest in Montgomery?’
‘That’s it. I couldn’t have known what his ultimate intent was. Maybe he didn’t either.’
‘But he had a rope.’
‘Having and doing are two different things. And I’m not the Samaritans. If the man’s intention had been clearer, then I’d have probably knocked on the door and had a chat to him, but it wasn’t. I liked Matilda, even her brother, so I can understand the father being upset. Most people deal with it
