Detective Chief Inspector Hare was standing on the doorstep and knew at once that something was wrong. The usually calm and easy-mannered doctor was clearly upset, and not just because there were so many representatives of the law invading his home.

‘Yes?’

‘I’m very sorry to interrupt you, Dr Collins, but I wonder if your brother-in-law is in?’

There was something about the question that seemed to amuse the doctor. The shadow of a smile passed across his face. ‘Algernon? Yes. I was just talking to him.’

‘We’d like to do the same, if you don’t mind.’

‘You’re not arresting him by any chance?’

‘You’ll forgive me if I don’t share that information with you, sir.’

‘Of course. Come in. He’s in the kitchen … ’

The two uniformed men stood outside the entrance. After what had happened at Clarence Keep, Hare was taking no chances. He and Pünd followed Dr Collins into the hallway. As they arrived, Algernon March strolled nonchalantly out of the kitchen.

‘Detective Inspector! Mr Pünd! What a pleasure to see you. Are you here to speak to me or to my brother-in-law? I’m sure Leonard has got quite a few things to tell you.’

‘Actually, Mr Marsh, it’s you I’ve come to see.’

Algernon’s face fell, although the smile was still pinned in place. ‘This is all becoming a bit tedious, Detective Inspector.’

‘That may be the case but I have to do my job.’ Hare turned to the doctor. ‘Is there somewhere private we can go, sir?’

‘You can use my study if you like.’

Pünd had said nothing throughout all this but he had heard the jibe that Algernon Marsh had thrown in the direction of his brother-in-law. Dr Collins had a story to tell and Algernon knew what it was. Did it relate to Melissa James? Almost certainly.

‘I’ll see you later, Leonard,’ Algernon said. ‘You can have a think about what we were talking about.’

Pünd’s suspicions were confirmed. There was definitely bad blood between the two men.

Dr Collins showed them into the study, which he also used as a surgery, with an examination couch in one corner and a curtain hanging from a rail. Pünd sat down to one side. Hare and Algernon Marsh faced each other across the desk.

‘I’d like to talk to you about a company that you own,’ Hare began. ‘Sun Trap Holdings.’

‘What’s that got to do with anything?’ Algernon half laughed. ‘Do you want to invest, Detective Inspector?’

‘It’s Detective Chief Inspector, and I think I should warn you, Mr Marsh, that this is no laughing matter.’ Hare paused. ‘A great many people seem to have invested in this company. Would you like to explain to me what it actually does?’

‘Certainly. It develops property in the South of France: hotels, villas, that sort of thing. It’s like the gold rush over there. Cannes, Nice, St-Tropez – you may not have heard of them now but quite soon these are places the whole world is going to want to visit.’

‘I believe that Melissa James was one of your investors.’

Algernon’s face darkened. ‘Who told you that?’ He collected himself. ‘Melissa had invested a small amount. Yes.’

‘Ninety-six thousand pounds is hardly a small amount, Mr Marsh.’

‘This is my private business. Who exactly have you been talking to?’

‘Her bank manager. We have traced three separate cheques made out to Sun Trap Holdings by Miss James.’

‘It’s a small amount in comparison to the returns she would have made once the developments were complete.’

‘And how many hotels and villas have you actually completed?’

‘You’re out of your depth, Detective Chief Inspector. It’s more complicated than that.’

‘It is actually very simple,’ Pünd cut in. ‘The system was invented thirty years ago by an Italian gentleman by the name of Charles Ponzi. He induced investors to put their savings into a scheme that would never in fact pay them anything. But he used the money of later investors to pay dividends to the earlier ones, making them believe that all was well. Meanwhile, he took everything for himself.’

‘I’ve done nothing illegal!’

‘That may not be the case, sir,’ Hare said. ‘The Larceny Act of 1916, Section 32, explicitly prohibits the obtaining of money by false pretences with the intent to defraud. It carries with it a prison sentence of five years.’

‘I wasn’t defrauding anyone!’ Algernon had shrunk into his seat, his early bluster replaced by a whining defensiveness. ‘Melissa knew exactly what she was doing. I kept her fully informed.’

‘And what exactly was your relationship with Miss James?’

‘We were friends.’

‘Close friends?’

‘Yes!’

‘Were you and Miss James sleeping together?’

Algernon gaped at the detective. ‘I have to say, you’re very direct, Chief Inspector. And I don’t see why I should answer your question. It’s none of your damn business.’

Hare was unabashed. He produced the letter that had been found at Clarence Keep and showed it to Algernon. ‘Was this addressed to you?’

Algernon took the letter and stared at it for some time. Pünd watched him carefully. Algernon Marsh was a calculated liar in the true sense that he calculated everything he said and only spoke the truth when it suited him. Even now he was weighing up the different possibilities. At last, he came to a decision.

‘All right,’ he said. His shoulders had slumped. He tossed the letter back on the table. ‘Yes. “Darling darling”. That’s how she always wrote to me. And that stuff about running away together. We talked about it all the time.’

‘So the two of you were in a relationship.’

‘Yes. The fact is she was crazy about me. She knew that Francis was a mistake. He couldn’t give her what she wanted.’

‘And what was that?’

‘Excitement. Challenge. Sex. What every woman wants. It began in London and I used to look in on her whenever I came to Tawleigh. Actually, it was the main reason I ever came to this dreary little place.’ He glanced at the letter. ‘Where did you get that?’

‘We believe Francis Pendleton may have found it … ’

‘And killed her? Is that what you’re saying? That’s a nasty thought, but then he was entirely inadequate both as a husband and as a lover. It’s hardly surprising she turned to me – and for what it’s worth, I never did her any harm.’

‘Apart, that is, from stealing from her.’

‘Steady on, Detective Chief Inspector. That’s a bit strong.’

‘It’s my impression, Mr Marsh, that you ran your business with the mentality of a hit-and-run driver. You had no sense of shame, no morality. You just did what you did and moved on.’

Again, Pünd saw it: the fear creeping back into Algernon’s eyes as he played back what Hare had just said.

‘I’ve done nothing wrong,’ Algernon muttered.

‘Mr Henry Dickson would disagree.’

‘Henry Dickson? I’ve never heard of him.’

‘He’s an opera singer, currently in hospital in Barnstaple in a serious but stable condition. He was struck by a car on the Braunton Road earlier this week. The driver did not stop.’

‘I hope you’re not suggesting … ’ Algernon’s voice gave him away. The knowledge of his guilt was there in every word.

‘Can you explain how the front of your Peugeot was damaged, Mr Marsh?’

‘I can’t. I didn’t … ’

‘Your car was noticed by another driver who went past the scene of the accident. We have this … ’ Hare produced a second evidence bag with a half-smoked cigarette, the paper brown, damaged by the rain. ‘We also know how much alcohol you had consumed at the Saunton Golf Club and have good reason to believe you were driving under the influence of drink.’

Hare waited for him to speak. But Algernon didn’t need to say anything more. He knew he was finished.

‘Algernon Marsh, I am arresting you on various offences under the 1930 Road Traffic Act and the Larceny Act of 1916. You do not have to say anything but I must warn you that anything you do say may be taken down and used in evidence against you. Is there anything you wish to say?’

‘Actually, there is one thing.’

‘And what is that?’

Algernon wasn’t afraid. He had already worked it all out. ‘I was in love with Melissa James and she was in love with me. That’s all that matters to me right now, Detective Chief Inspector. You can arrest me if you really want to, but you’ll never take that away from me.’

He was still smiling as they led him out of the house.

FIFTEEN

THE GIRL ON THE BRIDGE

They had intended to escort Algernon Marsh to the police station in Barnstaple but when they reached Bideford Long Bridge they were stopped by an unexpected traffic jam. Detective Chief Inspector Hare knew at once that something unusual must have happened. It was the middle of the afternoon and there could be no obvious reason for ten or twenty cars to come to a standstill on each side of the river. Many of the drivers had got out and were looking at something in the very centre of the bridge. Leaving Algernon with the two policemen in the car behind, Hare and Pünd went to investigate. As they made their way forward, they heard some of the comments being made by the crowd.

‘Poor girl!’

‘Someone should do something.’

‘Has anyone called the police?’