you agree that that is the only sensible way to set about it?’
Jimmy stared at him, then he said:
‘Are you serious about this business, Luke?’
‘Absolutely.’
‘Suppose the whole thing’s a mare’s nest?’
‘That would be the best thing that could happen.’
‘Yes, of course …’ Jimmy frowned. ‘But you don’t think it is, do you?’
‘My dear fellow, I’m keeping an open mind.’
Jimmy was silent for a minute or two. Then he said:
‘Got any plan? I mean, you’ll have to have some reason for suddenly arriving in this place.’
‘Yes, I suppose I shall.’
‘No “suppose” about it. Do you realize what a small English country town is like? Anyone new sticks out a mile!’
‘I shall have to adopt a disguise,’ said Luke with a sudden grin. ‘What do you suggest? Artist? Hardly—I can’t draw, let alone paint.’
‘You could be a modern artist,’ suggested Jimmy. ‘Then that wouldn’t matter.’
But Luke was intent on the matter in hand.
‘An author? Do authors go to strange country inns to write? They might, I suppose. A fisherman, perhaps—but I’ll have to find out if there’s a handy river. An invalid ordered country air? I don’t look the part, and anyway everyone goes to a nursing home nowadays. I might be looking for a house in the neighbourhood. But that’s not very good. Hang it all, Jimmy, there must be some plausible reason for a hearty stranger to descend upon an English village?’
Jimmy said:
‘Wait a sec—give me that paper again.’
Taking it, he gave it a cursory glance and announced triumphantly:
‘I thought so! Luke, old boy—to put it in a nutshell—I’ll fix you OK. Everything’s as easy as winking!’
Luke wheeled round.
‘What?’
Jimmy was continuing with modest pride:
‘I thought something struck a chord! Wychwood-under-Ashe. Of course! The very place!’
‘Have you, by any chance, a pal who knows the coroner there?’
‘Not this time. Better than that, my boy. Nature, as you know, has endowed me plentifully with aunts and cousins—my father having been one of a family of thirteen. Now listen to this: I have a cousin in Wychwood-under-Ashe.’
‘Jimmy, you’re a blinking marvel.’
‘It is pretty good, isn’t it?’ said Jimmy modestly.
‘Tell me about him.’
‘It’s a her. Her name’s Bridget Conway. For the last two years she’s been secretary to Lord Whitfield.’
‘The man who owns those nasty little weekly papers?’
‘That’s right. Rather a nasty little man too! Pompous! He was born in Wychwood-under-Ashe, and being the kind of snob who rams his birth and breeding down your throat and glories in being self-made, he has returned to his home village, bought up the only big house in the neighbourhood (it belonged to Bridget’s family originally, by the way) and is busy making the place into a “model estate”.’
‘And your cousin is his secretary?’
‘She was,’ said Jimmy darkly. ‘Now she’s gone one better! She’s engaged to him!’
‘Oh,’ said Luke, rather taken aback.
‘He’s a catch, of course,’ said Jimmy. ‘Rolling in money. Bridget took rather a toss over some fellow—it pretty well knocked the romance out of her. I dare say this will pan out very well. She’ll probably be kind but firm with him and he’ll eat out of her hand.’
‘And where do I come in?’
Jimmy replied promptly.
‘You go down there to stay—you’d better be another cousin. Bridget’s got so many that one more or less won’t matter. I’ll fix that up with her all right. She and I have always been pals. Now for your reason for going there—witchcraft, my boy.’
‘Witchcraft?’
‘Folklore, local superstitions—all that sort of thing. Wychwood-under-Ashe has got rather a reputation that way. One of the last places where they had a Witches’ Sabbath—witches were still burnt there in the last century—all sorts of traditions. You’re writing a book, see? Correlating the customs of the Mayang Straits and old English folklore—points of resemblance, etc. You know the sort of stuff. Go round with a notebook and interview the oldest inhabitant about local superstitions and customs. They’re quite used to that sort of thing down there, and if you’re staying at Ashe Manor it vouches for you.’
‘What about Lord Whitfield?’
‘He’ll be all right. He’s quite uneducated and completely credulous—actually believes things he reads in his own papers. Anyway Bridget will fix him. Bridget’s all right. I’ll answer for her.’
Luke drew a deep breath.
‘Jimmy, old scout, it looks as though the thing is going to be easy. You’re a wonder. If you can really fix me up with your cousin—’
‘That will be absolutely OK. Leave it to me.’
‘I’m no end grateful to you.’
Jimmy said:
‘All I ask is, if you’re hunting down a homicidal murderer, let me be in at the death!’
He added sharply:
‘What is it?’
Luke said slowly:
‘Just something I remembered my old lady saying to me. I’d said to her that it was a bit thick to do a lot of murders and get away with it, and she answered that I was wrong—that it was very easy to kill …’ He stopped, and then said slowly, ‘I wonder if that’s true, Jimmy? I wonder if it is—’
‘What?’
‘Easy to kill …’
