‘And you obliged by passing on the message?’
‘I? Oh, no. I wasn’t her errand boy. Karen used to make the enquiries for her, I believe.’
‘Ah, yes, of course, Mrs Clancy had had the Italian maid for some time before Miss Schumann’s death.’
‘As a matter of fact, now I come to think of it, I remember that Karen did approach Mrs Clancy about buying a dog, because the bungalow she lived in was so isolated, but Mrs Clancy said she was never alone in the place.’
‘And when Mrs Castle came on to the school staff, did you mention her to Mrs Schumann?’
‘No.’
‘Then how did they come to be acquainted?’
‘I had no idea that they were acquainted. That is news to me. I was not aware that they had ever met. All I know is that Mrs Schumann said to me that she supposed the school would have to find someone to fill Karen’s place, as, of course, was obvious. We could not, at a comprehensive school, do without a teacher of modern languages.’
‘Did the two young ladies who lodged with Miss Schumann and, later, with Mrs Castle, have any connection with Mrs Schumann?’
‘I believe Karen sometimes asked them to Saturday tea at the cottage, if you call that having a connection.’
‘But you know of no connection between Mrs Castle and Mrs Schumann?’
‘You are putting a very strange and unpalatable idea into my head, Inspector.’
‘Surely not,’ said Maisry, in his gentle voice. ‘I think the strange and unpalatable idea has been in your head for some time, Mr James.’
(2)
It was arranged that Phillips should make the arrest. A warrant was obtained and he drove over to Mrs Schumann’s cottage to discharge it, only to find the place empty. He first knocked several times, and then hammered on the door. As these actions provoked no response, he peered in at each window in turn. Everything was tidy and in place. He found a ladder in an outhouse and climbed it to look in at the bedroom windows, but there was nobody at home. He came again in the afternoon and at six o’clock on the following morning. Still unable to gain admittance by fair means, he broke a window and climbed into the kitchen. From here he made a tour and a search of the whole cottage. The absence of any article of clothing and of any form of luggage indicated that the occupant had flown. The barking of the dogs made him think of feeding them, but there was nothing to be found but a quantity of dog-biscuit, so he gave them that and some water and let them out into the yard for exercise.
There were only five of them, a clumber spaniel bitch, two dogs of the same breed, and a wolfhound dog and bitch. There was at first no sign of any puppies, but, strolling around while the dogs were loose in their paddock, he came upon a small pond, and what had happened to the puppies was obvious. He raked out the little bodies and buried them, then he went back to the paddock and shut the dogs up again in their new and expensive quarters.
‘I don’t know what we can do about them,’ he said to Dame Beatrice and Laura. ‘We’ve put a dragnet out for Mrs Schumann, of course. I suppose James tipped her off that we were on her trail. It’s a nuisance, but we’re bound to find her sooner or later. The fact that she’s taken all her clothes doesn’t make it look as though she’s contemplating taking her own life. We shall continue to watch the cottage, of course, but I think it’s a case of locking the stable door after the horse has been stolen. The car is still there, but I’m surprised, though, at her leaving the dogs like that, although I suppose she couldn’t have taken five of them with her.’
‘They’d have been rather a give-away, apart from anything else,’ said Laura. ‘It’s beastly about the puppies, but if she hadn’t drowned them they might have starved, which would have been even worse.’
‘Or the dogs, if nobody fed them, might have eaten them,’ said Phillips.
‘Well, I’ll feed the dogs,’ said Laura. ‘I’ll drive over every day. It can only be once a day, but they’ll manage if I make it a substantial meal, I think.’
‘You’ll look out for yourself, then, Mrs Gavin, won’t you? If she should turn up again, she’ll likely be a very dangerous customer.’ Phillips looked at Dame Beatrice, but she said nothing. ‘You’ll take Fergus with you, I hope.’
‘Hardly!’ said Laura. ‘Considering that she lured him away from me after her daughter’s death, he isn’t likely to take my part against her.’
‘We will both feed the dogs,’ said Dame Beatrice suddenly. ‘Fergus cultivates my friendship and I think he might ally himself with me, even against his former owner.’
‘The thing is,’ said Laura, ‘will he ally himself with the other dogs, or will they go for him? If we keep him with us we run the risk of having him mauled, and if we shut him in the car he’s no use to us as a guard.’
‘Then we will leave him at home,’ said Dame Beatrice. ‘It is in the highest degree unlikely that Mrs Schumann will return to the cottage if she has decamped with all her personal effects, and, even if she does, I think Laura and I, between us, can manage her.’
‘Well, as I say, we shall keep watch on the cottage,’ said Phillips, ‘so you should be all right. If you’re willing to feed the poor beasts, that’s fine.’
(3)
The drag-net put out by the
