Fountain disclaimed hurriedly. He supposed Amberley had his reasons, but - well, wasn't it a slight waste of time? He could not seriously suppose that Brown had had anything to do with Dawson's murder. He must say it did seem to him a bit of a forlorn hope.
Mr. Amberley smiled again and remarked that he was not the first person who had been disappointed by this, his own first move in the game.
He left Fountain looking after him rather dubiously and motored in to Upper Nettlefold to see his friend Sergeant Gubbins.
Fraser and Fountain might be disappointed, but the sergeant welcomed him with open arms and said that he had known all along that he could trust him.
"Why," he said, becoming reminiscent, "I've known you now, sir, a matter of three years and more. Twice I've cautioned you for dangerous driving, and three times I've had you up for parking your car where you hadn't ought to, and once I've worked on a case with you. So if I don't know you, I'd like to know who does. No, all along - and in spite of appearances - I've said: "You can always trust Mr. Amberley."
"Sergeant, you almost unman me," said Amberley. "And what is it all about?"
The sergeant looked very knowing. "Mark Brown, eh, sir? Now that's where you and I know a thing or two. The inspector's not at all pleased about it; not at all, he isn't. He had a lot to say about amateurs meddling in police matters which I wouldn't care to repeat. But he didn't see Albert Collins come out of Ivy Cottage." He paused and scratched his head. "Now I come to think of it, no more did I," he said. "However, you did, and that's good enough for me."
Mr. Amberley asked whether he had told the inspector that and the sergeant deliberately winked. "No, sir, I did not. Didn't happen to think of it," he said offhandedly.
Amberley smiled. "Convenient memory. Don't tell him."
"Not me, sir. Of course," he added, fixing Amberley with a stern blue eye, "if I'd actually seen it that would be a very different affair. But there's no reason why. I should report a lot of hearsay to the inspector."