Ashworth Hall - Anne Perry [145]
“How long ago did you see this dynamite, Gracie?”
She did not look at him. “About two hours,” she whispered.
He did not need to tell her that she should have reported it to him straightaway. She knew it already.
“I see. Then I had better go and speak to him about it. You stay here with Mrs. Pitt. And that’s an order, Gracie.”
“Yes sir.” Still she did not look up.
“Gracie …”
“Yeah …”
“He might have hidden it, because he knew you’d seen it, but he can’t have taken it off the premises.”
She looked up slowly.
He smiled at her.
Her eyes filled with tears which spilled over down her cheeks.
He put his hand on her shoulder very gently. “I know it’s hard,” he said. “But you did the only thing you could.”
She nodded and sniffed.
He patted her, wishing he could do more, and went out to find Tellman.
Charlotte looked at him inquiringly.
“I think we have to arrest Finn Hennessey,” he said almost under his breath. “I wish I didn’t.”
Her face crumpled with sorrow, and she turned to the bathroom to go immediately to Gracie.
“Come on.” Pitt strode ahead along the corridor, leaving Tellman to follow behind, torn whether to stay or go, hating every step of it.
At the top of the main stairs they found Wheeler looking surprisingly cheerful. For a man whose employer had just been murdered and who therefore was about to be without a position, his general air of well-being was extraordinary. He seemed to glow with some inner secret which buoyed him up and filled him with joy.
“Do you know where Hennessey is?” Pitt asked him.
“Yes sir,” Wheeler said instantly. “He is in the stable yard talking to one of the grooms. Seems to have made friends. Poor young man has nothing much to do now that Mr. McGinley is dead.”
“Rather like yourself,” Pitt observed.
Wheeler looked faintly surprised. “Why yes, I suppose it is.” He did not seem greatly perturbed by it, and having ascertained that that was all he could do to be of assistance, he continued on his way.
“What’s wrong with him?” Tellman demanded angrily, catching up with Pitt to walk side by side with him along the passageway towards the side door. “He looks like he ate the cream instead of a man without a job.”
“I don’t know,” Pitt replied. “I would guess it has something to do with Doll Evans. I hope so.” He shot Tellman a dazzling smile, then went out of the door and strode across the ground towards the stable gates, leaving Tellman to follow after.
Finn Hennessey was standing in the yard talking to a groom who was lounging against the stable door. They were sheltered from the wind and it was quite mild out there in the late afternoon. Pitt dropped his pace to an amble. He did not want Finn to run, and then have to chase him in an unpleasant scene. It would all be painful enough. He saw Tellman walk past and go to the far side of the yard, as if he intended going through the gates and into the drive.
“Mr. Hennessey,” Pitt said, stopping in front of him.
Finn looked around and straightened up, throwing away the straw he had been chewing. The groom seemed unaware of anything untoward.
“Yes?” Finn said, then saw something in Pitt’s eyes, in his face, or even the tension in his body. For a second of prickling silence he stood poised on the edge of flight, panic in his face. Then he realized there was nowhere to run to, and he relaxed. A curious rigidity took hold of him. His body stiffened as though in anticipation of a blow, and a veil came over the directness of his eyes. “Yes?” he said again.
Pitt had seen that look before. He had not really expected Hennessey to tell him anything, but the faint hope of it died that moment.
“Finn Hennessey, I would like to question you about the dynamite placed in Mr. Radley’s study and exploded by Mr. McGinley, we assume, in an attempt to make it safe. Do you know where that dynamite came from?”
“No,” Finn said with a faint smile.
“I have reason to believe there may still be some in your room,” Pitt said grimly. “I intend to go and