“You wouldn’t have done that.”
It came out very certain. After a second he added, more hesitantly, “Would you?”
“If he came at you with a sword? Of course I would. Or I would have tried, at any rate.”
“Well, he didn’t,” Christopher said. “This threat was a lot less direct than that. And anyway, that—what you said—would have been a big risk. You might have met someone as you ran through the house. Someone could have seen you.”
That was true. “Tidwell was about. I saw him later, after we’d gone upstairs. He was turning out the lights in the foyer when I went past the top of the stairs. It was most likely him who opened the door to the conservatory while I was in there, too. And locked it for the night.”
Christopher nodded.
“Although, you know, I wouldn’t have had to go through the house. I could have gone out the conservatory door, too, after you’d gone into the garden. While you made your way into the formal garden, I could have stayed close to the side of the Hall until I got to the back, and from there I could have gone into the maze. That might have been even faster, and I wouldn’t have had to worry that anyone would see me.”
Christopher squinted at me. “I’m not sure I like the way you’re talking, Pippa. You’re making this seem reasonable.”
I shrugged. “We both know I didn’t. I stayed in the corner of the conservatory until you came back. But no one else knows that. And since we’re both without proper alibis, perhaps we should consider remedying it.”
He looked at me. “Lie, you mean?”
“Just a very small white lie. We went outside together for some fresh air before bed. Not because of Grimsby at all—I don’t think we should mention being blackmailed by Grimsby; it just makes us look guilty for no reason.”
“I don’t know, Pippa…” Christopher said. “What if they find out?”
“How would they find out? Do you think someone else is going to admit to being blackmailed?”
I waited, but when he didn’t say anything—because, after all, who would admit to having been blackmailed by a recent murder victim?—I continued. “It would solve the problem. I know you didn’t shoot him, and I hope you know I didn’t.”
He nodded.
“This way, everyone else knows we can’t have done it.”
“Yes,” Christopher agreed reluctantly. “But I don’t want to drag you into it if I don’t have to.”
“I’m already in it, Christopher. When he decided to blackmail you, he blackmailed both of us. Besides, I was down there with you. I might as well have been outside as inside the conservatory.”
I waited, but again he said nothing, just looked pensive.
“And,” I added, “there’s nothing you can do to stop me from saying I was with you, you know. You can’t put your hand over my mouth to keep me from speaking. That would look very odd. So you could just say thank you and be grateful that I’m willing to lie for you.”
“I just don’t think you should have to do it,” Christopher said.
I shrugged. “If it’s between a small, white lie and the possibility that they’ll try to pin this murder on you, I’d much rather tell the small, white lie. You had a very good reason for wanting him gone, you know. If they find out about it, and that you have no alibi, you’ll be the prime suspect.”
“But I wouldn’t have killed him over it!” Christopher protested. “I’d find the money somewhere. Even if I’d had to beg my mother for help. Or eat beans on toast for a year. Or—God forbid—move back home. At least Grandfather can’t throw his weight around anymore.”
“I know you would have,” I said. “ButIknow you. Scotland Yard doesn’t.”
“Tom does.”
True. And he also seemed inclined to want to keep Christopher out of trouble, or at least out of jail, as far as it was possible.
“In that case,” I said, “perhaps we don’t have anything to worry about. But just in case this becomes an issue, I’d like you to have the strongest alibi possible. Because to be honest, Christopher, your motive is outstanding, too.”
Christopher grimaced. “Thank you. I think.”
“Don’t mention it,” I said. “Really.”
We sat in silence for a few moments after that.
