“No,” confessed Hannasyde. “I haven't. It always seemed to me that he was enjoying himself at my expense, for one thing, and for another - if he killed Arnold Vereker, why the stocks?”
“You gave up your first idea of a practical joke? Yes, that was what made me sure it wasn't Kenneth, and must have been a woman. The more I thought about it the more certain I felt that the stocks had an important bearing on the case. Whoever stabbed Arnold wanted to get him in a helpless position - in case, I suppose, the first blow didn't kill him. That pointed to a woman. Whether the stocks were a premeditated feature I suppose we shall never know. I'm inclined to think not. Perhaps Arnold's tyre burst occurred in the village, and Violet got the idea of using the stocks while she was waiting for him to change the wheel. Or perhaps - since it was a moonlit night — she caught sight of them when they were driving through Ashleigh Green, and got him to stop then, on the spur of the moment. It must have occurred to her that it would be safer to kill him in the open than to wait until they reached the cottage.”
Hannasyde did not speak for a moment or two. Then he said: “What a case! I apologise for not taking your amateur efforts seriously, Mr Carrington. You ought to be in the CID. That pistol, by the way, had been recently oiled. There should be traces of oil on the gloves that Violet Williams wore, or in her hand-bag, where I suppose she carried it. What a fool she was to use Miss Vereker's gun! Suspicion was bound to fall on young Vereker.”
“Yes, but she thought he was provided with a safe alibi,” Giles reminded him. “I don't suppose, either, that she could lay her hands on any other pistol. Nor is she a clever woman by any means. I grant you that she planned the first murder neatly, but it was quite easy to kill Arnold and leave no trace. When it came to staging a suicide it was far more difficult. There were no clues to destroy in the first place, several in the second.”
“A thoroughly diabolical young woman!” Hannasyde said roundly. “Now, Mr Carrington, if you'll let me have the names and addresses of your witnesses - ?”
“Yes, certainly,” Giles said, smothering a yawn. “And then perhaps you'll release my client.”
Hannasyde said seriously: “I'm sorry for that boy. This'll be a bad business for him.”
“I expect he'll get over it,” Giles answered. “It wouldn't surprise me if, when he's had time to recover from the shock of it all, he and Leslie Rivers made a match of it.”
“I hope they will,” said Hannasyde, glancing sideways at Giles. “And does Miss Vereker mean to marry Mesurier - er - soon?”
Giles smiled. “No, that's off. Miss Vereker has become engaged for the third and last time.”