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“What do you know of it?” Mark asked suspiciously.
“Nothing, but I doubt that boss of yours would allow you anywhere near here unless he felt there was a change in the air, eh?” Sir Reginald tucked his thumbs into the pockets of his waistcoat and rocked on the balls of his feet while he waited for Mark to speak.
“There is news that I think everyone should hear,” Mark began.
“Well, come on in, come on in. We can’t all stand out in the hallway,” Gertrude murmured.
“Mother, are you quite well?” Isaac demanded.
“Why shouldn’t I be?” Gertrude lifted her thin brows at her son.
“Well, you are so, well, casual,” Isaac mumbled.
Tuppence watched a pale, and considerably thinner than normal Harriett step into the room.
“I just don’t see the point of sitting on ceremony anymore,” Gertrude murmured. “This stuffy pomposity is just exhausting.” She waved a hand to the chaise lounge. “Everyone had better take a seat or I am likely to get a crick in my neck. Be a love, dear Tuppence, and ring for a maid, would you? I think a large pot of tea is in order.”
“I think a large dose of brandy is better,” Sir Reginald countered, shuffling off for the brandy decanter.
“For you maybe,” Gertrude murmured but accepted her snifter anyway.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Once everyone had been furnished with drinks, Mark placed his glass on a side table and looked at Isaac.
“Meadows was right. Mrs Glover realised that her time was up, and that her husband had left her to face justice for him. She told us everything. I have left Detective Calger to keep questioning her, just in case she changes her story or remembers something new, but we have ascertained that it was Mr Glover who killed not only Mr Lewis but Mr Richmond as well.”
“Did Mr Glover try to frighten Tuppence too?” Gertrude asked.
“Yes,” Mark replied. “Apparently, when Mr Glover learnt of how much he was going to get for his farm, he lost interest in farming altogether. He hated the way of life and realised that there was a faster, easier way of making money.”
“He got greedy,” Gertrude interrupted.
“Quite.” Mark stood up and moved toward the fireplace so he could see everyone, but also because sitting beside his wife was just too damned distracting. He was going to start crying while begging her to let him back into her life if she didn’t forgive him soon. “Assuming that Mrs Glover isn’t lying, which I have no reason to suspect she is, Mr Glover is the killer. Apparently, he wanted to scare Tuppence away from Hilltop Farm so he could buy it from her and then sell it to Mr Richmond for double the amount. We asked Mrs Glover if her husband was on the farm the night that Mr Richmond called by to offer to purchase Hilltop Farm off Tuppence and she said he was. He probably listened to the conversation.”
“Do you think that is why Mr Richmond offered half the asking price?” Harriett interrupted. “Might Mr Richmond have somehow learnt what Mr Glover was planning?”
“I don’t know,” Mark replied softly, relieved that his wife was talking to him. “What I do know is that Mr Glover drinks a lot. He is often the last drunkard out of the tavern. He also has a temper and has been arrested twice for brawling while intoxicated. He has a history of violence toward his wife as well. Now, he is greedy as well apparently. I don’t doubt he boasted about his wealth while drunk in the tavern. I suspect Glover told a friend what he had planned for Hilltop while in the tavern one evening, and Richmond overheard him.”
“Was it Glover who chased me?” Tuppence asked.
“Yes. I doubt he would have paid anybody else to do it for him given how greedy he is. We must assume that Glover was on the farm the night you came back from shopping in town. He heard Richmond’s low offer for the farm but stuck to his plan to scare you away from the place anyway, especially once he realised that Richmond wanted the property. I have also recently learnt that Mr Lewis went to Great Tipton the day before his death. He stayed with his sister until late evening and decided to walk home. She was worried about him and wanted him to stay overnight with her, but he said he had cattle to feed and needed to get back. So, she let him walk home. He is a farmer who is used to walking through fields at night. According to Mrs Glover, Mr Lewis caught Glover skulking around at Hilltop farm. Mrs Glover said her husband told her that Mr Lewis had seen lights on in the barn late at night and went to the farm to see if Tuppence needed help or had a problem. He clashed with Glover while he was there. I doubt that Mr Lewis would have suspected Glover capable of murder. While we don’t know the exact time of their fight, we do know that Mr Lewis left his sister’s house about eight o’clock in the evening. It is a good hour’s walk to his farm, so it must have been after nine that he found Mr Glover and they fought.”
“I was outside at about nine. It was late back and had to feed the animals,” Tuppence interrupted. “It can’t have been then.”
“Maybe they met when you had gone into the house.”
“I did hear a commotion outside, a scuffling, but that was after I was chased into the house. I just assumed that it was the intruder trying to scare me again,” Tuppence replied, shocked and horrified that it might have been Mr Lewis fighting for his life.
“Mrs Glover said that her husband was covered in blood when he returned home. It wasn’t unusual given how much he brawled in the tavern whenever he got drunk. However, this time was different. Glover told his wife that he had fought with Mr Lewis, and that he had killed him. They decided that it was too dangerous to stay in Great Tipton any longer, and so returned to their farm.”
“Why did Mr Lewis end up at the end of Tuppence’s drive, though?” Isaac asked.
“Apparently, Mr Lewis challenged Mr Glover when he saw him lurking in the shadows at the back of the barn. Mr Glover whirled around to face him and gave Mr Lewis a good look at his face. Mr Glover tried to warn him to stay quiet, but Mr Lewis threatened to go to the police and report his trespassing. Apparently, there was some sort of fight. Mr Lewis escaped, and ran down the driveway
for help. Mr Glover chased him to try to stop him and there was another scuffle at the end of the driveway. I don’t know if Mr Glover intended to kill him and doubt that we will know until we can question Mr Glover. What we do know is that by the end of the scuffle, Mr Lewis was dead having been knifed to death by Mr Glover in a frenzied attack. Mr Glover left the body in Tuppence’s driveway because moving it would have left him covered in even more blood and he had to escape the area before someone saw him. Glover also knew that if the body were found on Tuppence’s farm, she would be arrested for the murder he committed.”
“Then I would have to sell because everyone would think I was a killer,” Tuppence whispered.
