all right as far as we can trace,’ replied Lathom. ‘He’s been over here since 1933 – quite respectable.’
Wyatt leaned back against his desk and looked at his visitors speculatively.
‘I can see I shall have to start reading the papers more closely again,’ he murmured. ‘I’ll be very interested to follow this case, and I’m sure I wish you luck. Now, if you’d like a basket of strawberries to take back with you …’
‘Just a minute, Wyatt,’ interposed Sir James. ‘You don’t seriously think we’ve delayed getting back to Town by two hours just to come down here and talk over old times.’
Wyatt could not repress a smile.
‘It was good of you to look in and warn me that my old friend Ariman’s on the warpath again,’ he said pleasantly. ‘But I don’t think he’ll have any time to worry about me now I’m no longer getting under his feet. He never bothered very much about small fry. All the same, I’ll be on my guard, and I’ll give Fred Porter the tip – you know he’s working here?’
He got to his feet.
‘I won’t detain you any longer, Sir James, if you want to get moving. I can see the inspector is bursting to get back on the scent.’
Sir James made no move to go.
‘Sit down a minute, Wyatt,’ he said somewhat brusquely. ‘I didn’t come down here to warn you; I know you are quite capable of looking after yourself. I came here to make a suggestion.’
‘I beg your pardon, sir,’ apologized Wyatt. ‘If I can help in any way to trace Mildred Gillow … though I’m a bit out of touch lately. She writes to Sally at Christmas I think …’
Sir James stubbed out his cigarette.
‘Mildred Gillow is only one aspect of this case,’ he replied abruptly. ‘If it’s really this fellow Ariman back on the job, we’ll need all our biggest guns. And that includes you, Wyatt. I’d like you to come back on the strength as long as Ariman is at large.’
Wyatt shook his head slowly.
‘That wants thinking over, Sir James. I appreciate your offer, but I’d have to discuss it with Sally.’
‘Where is she?’ demanded Perivale impatiently. ‘I’ll talk to her. We can use her, too – she’ll be very useful …’
‘I’d sooner put it to her myself, if you don’t mind, Sir James,’ replied Wyatt, who was more than a little impressed by the note of urgency in his superior’s tone. ‘She’s out shopping in Faversham, but I’ll put it to her the minute she gets back. Of course, we can’t really leave this place, but perhaps I could get some help from the Agricultural Committee.’
‘I might be able to pull some weight there,’ nodded Sir James thoughtfully. ‘How d’you feel about getting back into harness?’
Wyatt gave a slight shrug.
‘Maybe you won’t want me when you’ve got me. I’m a bit of a crock these days, you know, sir.’
‘It’s your brain we need; not your legs,’ Sir James told him.
‘And what about Chief Inspector Lathom?’ queried Wyatt. ‘How would he feel about having a stranger barging in on his case?’
Lathom’s inscrutable features gave no hint as to how he felt, and before he could reply Sir James said:
‘You can play a lone hand as much as you like, Wyatt. Or ask for help whenever you feel you need it. It won’t be a case of your butting in; Lathom will remain in charge and look after the desk work and keep you au fait with the latest developments. We’d like to think we’ve got you up our sleeve as a master card when things get hot.’
‘I’ll telephone you as soon as I’ve had a talk with Sally,’ promised Wyatt, and Sir James levered himself somewhat reluctantly out of his armchair.
‘Are you sure you won’t stay to tea?’ asked Wyatt. ‘It won’t take Fred ten minutes to lay everything on …’
‘No, thanks, Wyatt. We must get back at once. There are a lot of things to follow up at that end. I’ll expect you to telephone me before this time tomorrow, then we can decide on some plans for you if you care to take on this job. I’m relying on you to talk Sally into it.’
Wyatt accompanied his visitors out to their car, enquiring after one or two of his former colleagues at the Yard, and welcoming this rare opportunity to talk shop, which was not often vouchsafed to him nowadays, for Sally hardly ever referred to the old days. She always believed in living in the present, and all her energies seemed to be absorbed in running the smallholding.
When he had waved goodbye to them, he limped back to the front porch and sank into a deck-chair. He had forgotten all about the form that was waiting to be filled up; instead, his brain was awhirl with the recollections of the Ariman case. He was still sitting there when their ancient but solid coupé drew up outside, and Sally flung open the door.
‘Hi there!’ she called. ‘Wake up and give me a hand with the parcels!’
He got up and went slowly towards the car, taking in her trim figure, with neat blue shirt open at the neck, which somehow made her look amazingly cool even after a six-mile drive and two hours’ shopping on a warm afternoon.
‘Hallo, Sally … you’re back,’ he murmured lamely. ‘Have a good time?’
‘Nothing special.’ She smiled at him … it was a frank, welcoming smile that shone from the depths of her unusual grey eyes, and was reserved only for her husband.
‘What have you been up to?’ she wanted to know. ‘I hope you filled in that form, and wrote that letter to the poultry food people …’
‘I’ve had visitors,’ he interposed. ‘An old friend of yours.’
‘So you’ve done nothing except snooze in a deck-chair. Didn’t they stay for tea? And who was this old friend?’
‘Sir James Perivale, no less. He had to get back to Town in a hurry.’
Sally puckered her shapely lips into a low whistle of surprise. ‘Whatever brought him here?’ she wanted to know.
‘He was down at Sittingbourne, and thought he’d like to see how we’re getting on,’ replied her husband evasively, as he gathered up an armful of parcels.
‘I’d like to have seen the Chief again,’ said Sally. ‘How was he?’
‘He looked quite fit. Said he was very sorry to miss you, but he had to rush off. The old boy’s absolutely tireless. He’s busy on a case that Mildred’s mixed up in.’
Sally paused in the act of collecting her shopping basket from the back of the car.
‘Mildred? I haven’t heard from her for some time. What’s she up to nowadays?’
‘Nobody seems to know,’ replied Wyatt. ‘You see, she happens to have disappeared. Let’s go in and have
