“I’ve had ‘em under observation all the time. We let ‘em go back to their allotment, and had a man in concealment down there.”
“Splendid. What did they do?”
“Just dug a bit and mucked around. I wouldn’t put it past that girl she knows she’s being watched.”
“No. Nor should I. She does not love the police force. She has some intelligence. Isn’t that sad? However. You’d better have the Blunts brought here. We shall want ‘em.”
“Right, sir.” The inspector’s hostility was mollified. “I thought you’d come back to them.” He bustled out to give orders.
“One of our rougher diamonds, what?” Reggie murmured.
“He is a bit surly,” Bell apologised. “One of the dogged sort. Not a bad chap. You do rather pull his leg, Mr. Fortune. He don’t understand that.”
“No. So I gathered. Hard head and thick skin. Or thick head and hard skin. Qualities often mixed.”
“Our job don’t soften men much,” said Bell.
The inspector came back with a brusque, complacent question. “So you got something out of your bloodstains, Mr. Fortune?”
“Oh, yes. Yes. That was inevitable. Results quite clear. Blood on crazy paving of house; blood on coconut matting in hut; blood on bandage taken from Blunt’s thumb - all of same group, which is group two. Moreover, blood on paving and blood on the matting shed by the owner at approximately the same time - late Sunday night or early Monday morning. Those are the solid facts. Our first solid facts. And very disheartening.”
“What?” the inspector cried. “They’re all right. They mean Blunt did the job.”
Reggie gave a dreary glance at Bell, and turned back to the inspector’s exultation. “Oh, no. No. Don’t mean anything like that. Merely mean Blunt might have done it, and so might all the thousands of other people who have blood of group two. Speakin’ practically, they mean nothing at all. The one hope from them was that they would prove Blunt didn’t do it. Then we might have got on. Now the only hope is gone. Case remains merely a nasty mess.”
“I don’t follow.” The inspector glared at him. “Sounds to me as if you were trying to get Blunt off.”
“My poor chap. Oh, my poor chap,” Reggie moaned. “I didn’t say it wasn’t Blunt. I want to know something about the Blunts.”
A detective came in. “Oh, they’re here, are they? Have Blunt in first. And what about holdin’ your tongue?”
Blunt was brought. He stood before them, shabby and bent; his vague, unhappy blue eyes would not look at any of them. “Good morning, sir,” he cringed to the inspector, and his hands made the motion of washing themselves. “What can I do for you?” Reggie gave him a chair. He made a nervous humble gesture of refusal, and was put into it, and sat on the edge holding his knees. “That right knee bothering you?” Reggie asked.
“It’s much better, sir, thank you, sir. Just a touch of rheumatism. I’m subject to it in the cold weather. Nothing of any consequence, thank you.” He looked past Reggie at the wall, as if he saw things far away.
“Well, we’re still worrying about this burglary. You say you didn’t see anybody by Goldschild’s house on Sunday night?”
“I beg your pardon, sir. I didn’t say that. I said I wasn’t in Mr. Goldschild’s road on Sunday night. My daughter and me, we went to church; and after church we took a turn on the common and went home.”
“Not very good for a rheumatic knee, walking the common on a freezing March night.”
“We like a breath of air, sir; and they do tell me exercise is good for it.”
“Well, well.” Reggie sighed. “And after the burglary, when did you go to your allotment next?”
“Not till the Tuesday. I was tidying up for Mrs. Brown on Monday.”
“I see. About that cut on your thumb - did you do that on the allotment?”
“Oh, no, sir; that was chopping wood at home.”
“It never bled down in the allotment?”
“Not to notice. I couldn’t say for sure.” The vague eyes stared. “Never anything, though.”
“So that’s that. Have you ever had any trouble with the police before?”
There was a contortion of the bearded face. “I had my bit of trouble years ago, sir.” Blunt looked furtively at the inspector. “You’ll have heard of that. I hope there’s no complaints since.”
