“Oh, you want me to go in that way?”
“Yes. Everything you did that night, I want to see.”
“Right.”
Shapman was a big man, but he was agile, and he hopped onto the stone and then up onto the sill very nimbly. Pulling open the window, he climbed inside. It was a bit of a squeeze, but he managed it without getting stuck or tearing any clothing. Michael followed him through and swiftly opened the door to the kitchen. The dogs rushed in, tongues lolling, sniffing suspiciously at Michael, Sandy and Luce. Shapman, however, laughed and knelt down to fondle their heads.
“How are you, you daft creatures? Yes, I’m pleased to see you, too.”
“They know you well, then?” Michael said.
“Aye, I’ve fixed a lot of windows and doors here, and I often get a meal in the kitchen afterwards. I love dogs, don’t you? Wish I had one of my own.”
“Stairs, Mr Shapman,” Michael said.
“This way.”
He led the way to the service stairs, and up to the main floor, then out into the great hall. Pettigrew Willerton-Forbes was just passing through, but he stopped when he saw them.
“Mr Shapman is just describing how he murdered Mr Nicholson,” Michael said blandly.
“How interesting,” Pettigrew said, in the same conversational tone. “Pray continue, Mr Shapman.”
For the first time, Shapman seemed disconcerted. “Oh… well… right. Stairs.”
“Do lead the way, sir,” Pettigrew said, smiling benignly at him.
With a nervous glance, Shapman crossed the tiled floor and took the stairs to the half-landing.
“Is this where you found the axe?” Michael said.
“Aye. So I took that, and—”
“Show me precisely how it was positioned.”
“It was in the vase thing… that one.”
“In… theurn?”Michael said, astonished. “How did you know it was there?”
“I put it there, of course. I’d been working on the attic door, came down the stairs, saw the axe and thought it might be useful. So I put it in the vase… urn.”
“Sandy, put the axe in there.” Michael reached in, but his arms were not long enough to reach for the handle. “Shapman, lift it out again. Hmm. Sandy, can you reach it, too? So, only a tall person. Luce, can you reach it? A very good hiding place, Mr Shapman. Would you be so good as to put the axe in its original position on the display? The place from where you removed it?”
Shapman frowned, gazing at the display. But then his face resumed its expressionless appearance. “I don’t remember. I was in a rush.”
“Do you remember if the belt here was broken?”
“Can’t say that I do, sir.”
“Very well. You have retrieved the axe, so now what?”
“Up the stairs to Mr Nicholson’s room.”
Again, he unerringly turned the right way and went directly to the door. He was able to describe the layout of the room, glossing over the actual murder with the laconic remark, “You know what I did in there,” and then described how he left the castle by the same route.
“And did you see anyone? Hear anything?”
“No, nothing.”
