A figure came across the road towards the car and shouted to Amberley, who looked quickly round.
"Is that you, sir? Well, I never! I was just going to get off to telephone you, like you said I was to. Well, of all the coincidences!" He caught sight of the sergeant's helmet and added: 'Lumme, is that a bobby?"
"You come here and tell us what you seen, my man," commanded the sergeant sternly.
It struck him that under his tan Mr. Amberley was very pale. Amberley's eyes were fixed on the longshoreman's face. "Be quick; let me have it."
"Well, there's someone gorn off in the motorboat," said the man. "gorn off this very minute. Ah, and he 'ad something with 'im, wot he carried over 'is shoulder. Well, I thought to myself, taking your luggage with you, are you? It might ha' been a sack. Well, sir, "e come down to that there landing-stage and 'e chucks this 'ere sack, or whatnot, into the dinghy wot's been tied up to the jetty, like you saw when you was down 'ere; and 'e gets out 'is oars and off 'e rows up the creek, me follering this side unbeknownst, and 'e comes alongside 'is motorboat and gets aboard with the luggage. Well, I thought, wot might you be up to now? - me not being able to see clear-like. Then I seen wot it was 'e was so busy with. banged if 'e weren't hitching the dinghy on to the motorboat. Then 'e starts 'er up and off 'e goes, "eading for the sea, the dinghy bobbing be'ind 'im. And wot 'e wants to take it along for fair beats me."
It beat the sergeant too, but he did not say so. He was looking sympathetically at Amberley, whose hand, lying on the door of the car, had gripped till the knuckles shone white. The longshoreman's description had convinced the sergeant that Shirley Brown had been done to death already. He did not wonder that Mr. Amberley stood there as though he'd been turned to stone. He wished he could have thought of something kind to say, but only managed to murmur gruffly: "Fraid we're too late, sir."
Amberley's eyes turned towards him; behind their blankness his brain was working desperately. "The dinghy," he said. "The dinghy. That means something. God, why can't I think?" He smote his hand down on the car in an impotent gesture.
"I must say, I don't see it myself, sir," said the sergeant. "What did he want it for when he had the motorboat?"
"To come back in!" Amberley said. "What other reason? Think, man, think!"
The sergeant did his best. "I don't hardly know, sir. He wouldn't hardly send the - the body out to sea in it, would he? He'll throw… I should say, he'd be more likely to throw it over… Well, what I mean is…' He broke off in embarrassment and was startled to find Amberley staring at him with a dreadful look in his face.