‘Did you get a look at him, sir?’ asked Swifty.
‘No. I only saw his general build as he ran away. Very slim and quite short, about five seven, at a guess. Wore dark clothes, looked like jeans and some kind of zipped-up jacket — you know, one of those light nylon sports jobs. Oh, and a beanie hat pulled down to his eyebrows.’ He stopped at the sound of an approaching vehicle. ‘That’ll be Liz come to collect me.’
An anxious-looking Liz hurried towards them. Swifty smiled at her. ‘Sarge! Good to see you!’ He pulled a face. ‘Pity it had to be like this. Our Matt has had a nasty bang on the head, and he refuses to go and get it checked out.’
Matt rolled his eyes. ‘Thanks, Swifty. Now I’ll have Liz nagging me, as well as you two! Can we just finish the interrogation so I can go home to bed?’
With an exasperated glance at Liz, Swifty continued. ‘Age?’
‘No idea. I’d say youngish, but he could have been a wiry type. Certainly ran like the wind. Um . . .’ Matt paused. ‘He must be a local, because he veered off into the marsh, and not on a footpath either. It had to be someone who knows the area really well.’
‘Or a total idiot who doesn’t realise how dangerous it is out there,’ said Debbie.
Matt had to agree, but when he recalled the way the man had dashed off, it was as if he knew exactly where he was going.
‘We’ll take a run down to Gerald Grove’s place and ask him if he’s seen or heard anything — not that he’d tell us if he had. I reckon the bloke’s long gone.’ Swifty lifted his cap and scratched his head. ‘Still, we have the petrol can. I couldn’t see anything else round the back, but we might see something in the daylight. Why don’t you get off home now, sir? We’ll talk to you again tomorrow, you can make a statement then, and don’t worry, we’ll go over this place with a fine-tooth comb in the morning.’
‘I’ll need to notify Mrs Swain. Oh, and ring Will — he was coming down to take over from me just before dawn.’
‘We can ring Mrs Swain, sir.’
‘I’d rather Liz or I talked to her first, Swifty. I’ve got the number of where she’s staying back at home. I’ll give it to you when I make my statement.’
‘Of course, sir.’
‘And I’ve already contacted Will,’ added Liz, ‘on my way here.’
‘And, sir,’ Jack Fleet said, regarding him anxiously. ‘Back off now, please. I know you’re trying to help the old lady, but attempted arson and assault are in a slightly different league to daubing someone’s house with graffiti and a spot of extreme gardening. You’ve already had a clout for your troubles . . .’
This was no time for a discussion, so Matt raised his hands. ‘You’re right, and I’m sensing that Liz here is keen for me to get home. Do you want me to come to the station tomorrow?’
Debbie Hume shook her head. ‘We’ll be back here at first light, so we can call in on you. Any particular time suit you?’
‘Whenever you want. We’ll be there.’
As Matt turned to walk away, Debbie Hume took his arm. ‘Sorry, sir, you still look pretty groggy to me. You can change your mind about going to the hospital if you want?’
‘Liz will drive me home, and I’ll get to bed.’ He smiled. ‘But thank you for your concern.’
He climbed into Liz’s car, his already aching head reverberating with unanswered questions. Something was lurking in the corner of his mind, and it was ringing alarm bells.
‘Home, James, and could we leave that bollocking until I’ve had a few hours’ sleep?’ Matt asked.
‘Well, just this once. It’s more than you deserve, though. Pull another stunt like that again and all hell will break loose, I promise you,’ Liz said.
‘Sorry, Liz,’ he mumbled. ‘That was really stupid, a proper rookie mistake. I deserved a bang on the head for being such a plank.’
‘Well, I’m not going to argue with that,’ Liz said, ‘although if I’m honest, I’d have probably done the same.’
‘I’m just pig sick the bastard got away. Jesus, he could have burnt the place down.’
* * *
Back at Cannon Farm, Liz sent him straight to bed. He lay with his head throbbing mercilessly. At midnight, he awoke feeling sick, but it passed, and he drifted back to sleep.
At just after seven o’clock, he awoke and sat up, but giddiness forced him to sink back on to the pillows. After a while, he tried again, this time considerably more slowly. The throbbing in his head had reduced to a steady thud. He slid his legs over the edge of the bed and sat up tentatively, considering himself quite fortunate to have got away with just a headache. His sight was unaffected, and he hadn’t been sick. All good signs, he told himself.
‘Hey, back into bed, you!’ Liz stood in the doorway and glared at him over a breakfast tray. ‘Nurse’s orders.’
She placed the tray on his lap — hot buttered toast and marmalade, and a cafetière of freshly ground coffee.
‘This is wonderful. I must remember to get thumped more often.’
Liz leant over, touched his temple gently and kissed it. ‘There is no bruising.’
‘It’s really tender, though. Feels as though it should be black and blue. Still, I’ve had worse.’ He looked up at her. ‘What on earth is going on at that cottage?’
‘I have no idea. I mean, why try to burn it down? If you want something from it or need the old lady out of the way for some reason, you don’t torch the place. It’s bizarre.’
‘I’m so glad this happened on my shift and not yours, or Will’s for that matter. I think my skull’s probably the thickest.’
Liz raised her eyebrows. ‘Now, will you be alright if I go and grab a shower? And I suggest you get one as soon as you’ve eaten. I have no idea when our colleagues will be calling in to see you. I’ve got a couple of errands to run this morning, so I might not be here when they arrive.’
* * *
The police car drew up outside at nine thirty. Matt was relieved to see Swifty climb out. It was so much easier talking to someone you knew well and trusted.
Over mugs of tea, Matt duly gave his official statement.
Swifty collected up the paperwork, put it into a folder and leant back in his chair. ‘I don’t like this business. We found a bloody great lump of sawn-off fence post in the back garden. Looks like that was what you got clobbered with. Your assailant wasn’t mucking around either, I reckon he wanted you out of the picture for a while. Lucky you’ve got such a bleedin’ hard head! Most people would have been stretched out in the hospital after that.’
‘I wasn’t far off. Your PC Hume did all she could to get me down to A & E, and at one point I nearly agreed, but to be honest, I was worried for Liz. With all these weird goings-on, I didn’t want to leave her alone out here.’
‘Well, I can understand that.’ Swifty looked worried. ‘We went down to that Grove character’s cottage after you left but it was in darkness. If he was there, he certainly wasn’t showing himself.’
‘Well, it wasn’t him last night. Wrong build, wrong height, wrong everything.’ Matt looked seriously at his old friend. ‘Swifty, there is something I’m missing. Something came to me last night when I was talking to Debbie Hume, but it’s gone again. You know that “just out of reach” feeling? I’ve been struggling with it since I got up.’