“There’s a good chance Preston saw the killer between getting out of the Lexus and walking to his car, you mean?” asked Gus.
“We might get lucky, guv,” said Alex.
Gus tucked into his extra-large slice of fruit loaf and looked around the room. Serena Campbell wasn’t working this afternoon. Gus tried to think what they’d forgotten to ask her. The untraceable senior police officer was a nuisance. Gus put that part of the enquiry on hold until they homed in on the major prize. The person who murdered Marion Reeves.
“The guy just walking into the café could be our tree surgeon,” said Alex.
“I never met Graham Street,” said Gus. “Tough to tell whether there’s a likeness between Ralph Tucker and his father. Can you see anything in the three men we’ve identified as Street’s children to suggest they were related?”
“Martyn Street is much taller than the man I’m looking at, guv, but physically they’re similar. We haven’t met Derek Preston yet, except for a brief sighting of him munching on a sandwich in the van.”
“I’m in the right place, aren’t I?” said Ralph Tucker. “You two are the police officers I’m supposed to meet.”
“Sit down, Mr Tucker,” said Gus. “I’m Gus Freeman, and this is DS Alex Hardy from Wiltshire Police. We have several questions for you relating to Marion Reeves and Martyn Street.”
“I remember Marion Reeves,” said Ralph, shaking his head. “Nasty business, that. You didn’t find who did it, did you?”
“We haven’t given up hope yet,” said Gus. “We’re getting closer every day. When did Sonya, your mother, tell you about your father?”
“I don’t understand what that has to do with anything,” said Ralph. “But when I reached sixteen and left school, I told her I’d decided I wanted to work in forestry. Climbing trees in the open air every day appealed to me. My mother never mentioned my father’s name before that day. I hoped to take a full-time course and aim for Level Three qualifications, but my mother said she couldn’t afford to support me. I had to start work straight away. Graham Street had never acknowledged me as his son. He wouldn’t give her a penny to help. So, I started at the bottom until I could get enough wiggle room to work four days a week and set one aside for college.”
“You made it to the top with no help from Graham Street,” said Gus.
“It took me ten years longer than it should have,” said Ralph.
“So, when Martyn Street started working here, you decided to get your own back on a lad you discovered was another of Graham Street’s children. That was what was behind the bullying.”
“I couldn’t understand why Martyn had Street’s name. I did some digging and learned that Marion used to be married to my father. Graham Street couldn’t bring himself to marry my mother. What was wrong with her? Then I heard a rumour Martyn had money waiting for him from his father as part of the divorce settlement. I wasn’t happy and took it out on the lad.”
“Martyn fought back, though, didn’t he?” said Alex.
“Doesn’t realise his own strength, that one,” said Ralph.
“Arthur Jackson told me one of Martyn’s favourite jobs was helping you. He enjoys clearing the debris from the ground as you clamber in the upper branches with your chainsaw. A job the two of you carry out in the Spring to allow the mowing season to begin.”
“Martyn said that?” said Ralph. “Well, I never. I misjudged him. Many people make that mistake because they think he’s backward. He’s slow on the uptake, not stupid.”
“What vehicle do you drive, Mr Tucker,” asked Gus.
“A Chevrolet truck, Mr Freeman. It’s a large unit with huge tyres.”
“A lady who works here, Serena Campbell, described it as a monster truck,” said Gus.
“I wish,” said Ralph. “My truck’s big, but not that big. It’s ideal for the work I do.”
“Do you take Martyn in your truck to carry out this Spring clean operation?” asked Gus.
Ralph Tucker roared with laughter.
“I thought you were detectives,” he said. “Any of the ground staff who need to be in that part of the estate make their own way. Often they need to ferry heavy equipment to the far corners of the estate. Arthur Jackson’s team has six quad bikes at their disposal, plus several Ifor Williams Trailers for their gear and any rubbish they take back to base. Arthur keeps in contact with them by walkie-talkie. Is that news to you as well?”
“No, we heard how Arthur kept tabs on where everyone was,” said Gus. “When we spoke to Theo Reeves, he said Martyn walked everywhere because he couldn’t pass the theory element of the driving test.”
“That’s what I mean about misjudging the lad,” said Ralph. “Martyn would never pass a test to get a licence to drive on public roads, but he can bomb around the wide-open spaces of the grassland and forest on a quad bike. I doubt Arthur has seen him. There’s plenty Arthur doesn’t see these days. He’s happy to sit in his office, checking where everyone is on his two-way radio. Arthur moves his crew around a map on the wall like moving chess pieces.”
“Where were you on the day of Marion Reeves’s murder?” asked Gus.
“Steeple Langford,” said Ralph. “A village six miles from here. A farmer had a couple of ash trees that needed felling. They were infected with this ash dieback fungus. The farmer wanted to leave them alone, but they stood on a public footpath. I spent Monday and Tuesday there. I can give you the farmer’s details if you want to check.”
“We may need to check later, Mr Tucker,” said Gus. “When you were digging around for information on Martyn Street, did you discover any other children Graham Street fathered?”
“You think I’ve got more half-brothers
