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Authors: Harriet Smart
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accidental?”
“Or she could have been pushed,” said Felix.
“Or held down under the water in the shallows. Drowned by the father of the child.”
“Is that what you are thinking?”
“Come and look at this cave. But mind your step as you go.”
Felix followed him round the narrow path and across the rattling bridge over the water.
“This is not my idea of a garden,” he remarked as they went into the cave and looking around him.
“No, nor mine,” said Major Vernon. “But it is well done, you must concede.”
“We are lucky to have those lights in the ceiling,” said Felix.
“And I have some candles,” said Major Vernon, producing two from his pocket, along with a box of lucifers. He handed one to Felix and struck a lucifer to light it. “Now, what are we looking for? Blood?”
“Blood,” Felix said and together they began to examine the walls of the cave.
“Mr Carswell,” called the Major, “Is this not ..?”
Felix took his hand lens from his trouser pocket and went to look at what the Major had discovered. A patch of dark, dried matter was staining the rubble wall, at about the height of the victim’s head.
“Yes, possibly blood,” said Felix, handing his candle to the Major. He needed his hands free to get a knife and take a sample, which he could examine under the microscope. “And do we have spatters?” he went on, glancing to the right and left of the stain. “Yes, we do. Look sir, there – that might be consistent with the back of the head cracking against the rock with some force.”
“Not a fall then,” said Major. “Someone, in a quarrel, accidentally pushing her back, so that she collided with the wall, or, more deliberately taking her by the shoulders and smashing her head. Which is quite a different matter. What we can establish is that, with reasonable certainty, she was not alone. She could not have sustained such an injury alone.”
“No,” said Felix. “There is too much force involved. I need to make a record of those spatter patterns and get this sample.”
“There is shell in the mortar here,” Major Vernon remarked. “Just like the white shell you found. You’d better get a sample of that too.”
Felix nodded and set to work. Although Major Vernon was ostensibly only holding the candles, Felix could tell his mind was deeply occupied with the possibilities of what might have happened in there.
Chapter Six
After Felix had recorded as much of the evidence in the cave as he could, they retraced their steps through the Italian maze to the dairy. He wanted to look again at the head injury in the light of what they had seen, but as they passed under the faux-Gothic arch, they were met by the sight of a covered stretcher being loaded into a hearse.
“What the –?” he said, turning to Major Vernon.
“That will be on Mr Haine’s, the coroner’s, instructions. How regrettably efficient of them.”
“I haven’t even begun –” Felix said. He would have sprinted over to stop them, but Major Vernon laid his hand on his arm.
“Let’s go and present our credentials civilly – that will help your cause. If I’m not mistaken, that is Mr Haines and Sir Arthur in the barouche.”
Felix nodded. Major Vernon had a way of getting what he wanted in the most unpromising circumstances – it was best to trust to his judgement on such occasions.
“It’s a shame we look so dusty,” Major Vernon said with a smile, putting his coat back on. They had been working in their shirtsleeves in the cave. “Holt will be ashamed of me.” Felix hauled his own coat on and they set out to tackle the two gentlemen in the barouche.
“Major Vernon,” said one of them, a gentleman with iron-coloured hair and the ruddy complexion of a countryman. “Thank you for your communications. It was fortunate that you were to hand in the first instance. I did not know that you were a guest at Holbrook.”
“I am not, sir. I am staying at Stanegate,” Major Vernon
“Or she could have been pushed,” said Felix.
“Or held down under the water in the shallows. Drowned by the father of the child.”
“Is that what you are thinking?”
“Come and look at this cave. But mind your step as you go.”
Felix followed him round the narrow path and across the rattling bridge over the water.
“This is not my idea of a garden,” he remarked as they went into the cave and looking around him.
“No, nor mine,” said Major Vernon. “But it is well done, you must concede.”
“We are lucky to have those lights in the ceiling,” said Felix.
“And I have some candles,” said Major Vernon, producing two from his pocket, along with a box of lucifers. He handed one to Felix and struck a lucifer to light it. “Now, what are we looking for? Blood?”
“Blood,” Felix said and together they began to examine the walls of the cave.
“Mr Carswell,” called the Major, “Is this not ..?”
Felix took his hand lens from his trouser pocket and went to look at what the Major had discovered. A patch of dark, dried matter was staining the rubble wall, at about the height of the victim’s head.
“Yes, possibly blood,” said Felix, handing his candle to the Major. He needed his hands free to get a knife and take a sample, which he could examine under the microscope. “And do we have spatters?” he went on, glancing to the right and left of the stain. “Yes, we do. Look sir, there – that might be consistent with the back of the head cracking against the rock with some force.”
“Not a fall then,” said Major. “Someone, in a quarrel, accidentally pushing her back, so that she collided with the wall, or, more deliberately taking her by the shoulders and smashing her head. Which is quite a different matter. What we can establish is that, with reasonable certainty, she was not alone. She could not have sustained such an injury alone.”
“No,” said Felix. “There is too much force involved. I need to make a record of those spatter patterns and get this sample.”
“There is shell in the mortar here,” Major Vernon remarked. “Just like the white shell you found. You’d better get a sample of that too.”
Felix nodded and set to work. Although Major Vernon was ostensibly only holding the candles, Felix could tell his mind was deeply occupied with the possibilities of what might have happened in there.
Chapter Six
After Felix had recorded as much of the evidence in the cave as he could, they retraced their steps through the Italian maze to the dairy. He wanted to look again at the head injury in the light of what they had seen, but as they passed under the faux-Gothic arch, they were met by the sight of a covered stretcher being loaded into a hearse.
“What the –?” he said, turning to Major Vernon.
“That will be on Mr Haine’s, the coroner’s, instructions. How regrettably efficient of them.”
“I haven’t even begun –” Felix said. He would have sprinted over to stop them, but Major Vernon laid his hand on his arm.
“Let’s go and present our credentials civilly – that will help your cause. If I’m not mistaken, that is Mr Haines and Sir Arthur in the barouche.”
Felix nodded. Major Vernon had a way of getting what he wanted in the most unpromising circumstances – it was best to trust to his judgement on such occasions.
“It’s a shame we look so dusty,” Major Vernon said with a smile, putting his coat back on. They had been working in their shirtsleeves in the cave. “Holt will be ashamed of me.” Felix hauled his own coat on and they set out to tackle the two gentlemen in the barouche.
“Major Vernon,” said one of them, a gentleman with iron-coloured hair and the ruddy complexion of a countryman. “Thank you for your communications. It was fortunate that you were to hand in the first instance. I did not know that you were a guest at Holbrook.”
“I am not, sir. I am staying at Stanegate,” Major Vernon
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