‘It’s not your fault, Matt. You could hardly camp out in the garden. She’s my next-door neighbour — you’d have thought we would have heard something, given the damage they did.’ Will pointed to Emilia’s cold frame. The vandal had picked up a heavy stone bird bath and hurled it into the glass lid of the frame, smashing the glass and buckling the metal framework.
‘Next-door neighbour, but certainly not close. You can’t even see Little Anchor from your house.’ Matt shook his head. ‘No, we let her down, and I’m damned well going to see to it that whoever did this faces a bloody judge.’
Will had never seen Matt so upset. ‘What time did you come out here last night?’ he asked.
‘Around nine, and then again just after midnight. We even waited a while, about half an hour, but the place was deserted and quiet. I’m guessing this was done just before dawn.’ He bent down and picked up the broken branch of some flowering shrub. ‘Look, it’s a recent break. The stem is still oozing sap.’
Kate must have driven past on her way to the town. She had to have noticed it. So why didn’t she stop and ring him, or come back to the house and tell him herself? You couldn’t not notice, the old woman’s garden looked like a warzone.
He heard a car approaching. ‘We have company.’
Matt nodded. ‘DC Bryn Owen. We are honoured — we have a detective, no less!’
Will smiled. ‘I’m not surprised, considering it was Fenfleet’s former DCI who rang them.’
Bryn greeted his old boss warmly. ‘Didn’t expect to see you again so soon, sir. How are you?’
Matt accepted the outstretched hand. ‘I’m fine, Bryn, and it’s not “sir” any more. I’m just plain Matt now.’
‘Sorry, but you’ll always be the guv’nor to me.’ The young Welshman looked around. ‘Good Lord! What on earth happened here? A runaway JCB?’
‘No, lad,’ Matt growled. ‘Some vindictive little bastard, and I can’t wait to lay my hands on him.’
‘Okay, what’s the background?’ Bryn took out his detective’s notebook.
Matt told him everything that had happened.
Bryn pulled a face. ‘Any ideas? You two know her. Has she said anything to give you some clue as to what is going on?’
Matt shrugged. ‘We actually don’t know her that well. She seems like a strong and capable woman. She keeps her place nice and her garden was a work of art.’ He grimaced. ‘Was.’
‘You said she’s foreign. Where is she from?’
‘Her parents were German Jews, but she’s lived in Lincolnshire most of her life, so I’d say she counts as a local by now. She hasn’t spoken much about her parents, or her childhood. I had some dealings with her late husband when his business was broken into, and he intimated that her father was on our side during the war.’
Bryn absentmindedly picked up the overturned bird table. ‘Doesn’t sound as if it’s an anti-German thing, then. The war’s been over a long time now. Mind you, I do know that the Nottingham police have been having a bit of trouble recently with some really nasty fascist group targeting people with Jewish connections. It’s unlikely but I’d hate to think they had a cell in our area. In any case, I think it would be a good idea if she went to stay with someone for a while. This has been done with considerable venom, and if they could slit the cat’s throat . . .’ Bryn pulled a face. ‘That’s gross.’
‘I totally agree, but even though she’s upset right now, getting her to move out could be tricky,’ Will ventured.
‘And another thing,’ added Matt. ‘She owns a brand new Volvo, less than a week old.’
‘Oh shit, sir. I can see the paint-stripper eating into some superb bodywork as we speak.’
‘So can we.’ Matt groaned. ‘We were supposed to be looking after this place for her, and the scrote managed all this! That car stands no chance, even if we are doing a regular drive-by.’
‘Well, apart from sitting in her coal-shed twenty-four hours a day, what can you do? Oh, and security cameras, maybe? Have you suggested that to her, sir?’
Matt nodded. ‘First thing we did. She held back initially, but we managed to convince her just before she went away. They’re already ordered — should be here today, although it’s looking a little like shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted.’
‘Good. I’ll report this as criminal damage, especially as her shed was broken into and a threat was made.’ Bryn made some more notes. ‘I’ll get uniform to do a regular drive-by and also keep their ears and eyes open on the streets. Some little toe-rag may just start mouthing off in the pub when he’s had a few bevvies. It’s about the best we can hope for — unless he takes it a step further, of course.’ He frowned. ‘But that threatening note does bother me. I’ll make sure this doesn’t get swept under the carpet, sir, but as you will appreciate, it doesn’t warrant a forensic sweep, what with the budget and all that.’
‘I realise that, Bryn, but do you mind if we take look around? There might be something. Someone has expended a terrific amount of energy doing all this — he could have dropped something or left some nice clear footprints. Liz and I are treating this as a private investigation. Not that we’ll be charging Mrs Swain.’
‘Be my guest, sir. I’ll even leave you some evidence bags. Just in case. And if you are as successful with this as you were with your first private case, we’ll be slamming a door on him in no time.’ The young police detective’s smile faded, and he suddenly looked sad. ‘If I had my way, I’d do more for the poor old soul. These bastards want the book throwing at them, terrorising an old lady like this.’ He kicked at a broken flowerpot and swore. ‘Anyway, must get back. I’ll do all I can. Nice to see you again, boss, and you too, sir.’ Giving Will a little salute, he went back to his car to fetch the bags.
As soon as he had gone, Will and Matt took a careful look around. For half an hour they searched unsuccessfully for anything that might give them a clue as to who the vandal was.
The only thing that Will found was a tiny scrap of creamy white linen. Matt found the broken tip of an old scythe, but that could well have already been in the ground. They bagged it and the cloth, although he did not believe either would be of any help.
‘I reckon we’re wasting our time,’ said Matt after a while. ‘I guess I’d better get back and fill Liz in on what Bryn said, and try to convince your neighbour that the time has come to take a little break away from Whisper Fen.’
Will reached out and touched Matt’s arm. ‘Before you go, have you got just a few minutes? I really need to talk to you.’
Matt looked at him shrewdly. ‘Of course, mate. I’ll just ring Liz and put her in the picture, then I’m all yours.’
Will felt an overwhelming desire to cry.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Matt had never seen Will look so distraught. They walked back to Holland House so that Will could check on Kate. She was still asleep, so they went out on to the new patio and sat down.
Will seemed at a loss as to how to begin, but then the words tumbled out in a torrent. Matt had a hard job to make sense of it all. The Will he knew was a tough, level-headed DI, down to earth and practical. The man sitting opposite him was almost a stranger.