Why Not Murder

7. What the Servants Said

7. What the Servants Said

Maya explained that the investigative procedure required that they be interviewed individually. So while she conversed with one at a time, the others could go back to their work until she was ready for them.

The older gardener spoke first and Maya took notes after instructing to provide full name and current address. "Conrad Conner," and he gave an address in town. "We both left here together about 8:30 in the evening after we'd supped in the kitchen, that is, Jim, the other gardener, and I. Mr. Laymuir was out. I park outside the property near the back gate so that my vehicle doesn't sully the collection in the front of the house. We'd driven about twenty minutes it seemed, when suddenly I saw something rush out of the forest on our side of the road. There was a loud thump. I swerved and we ended up in the ditch. When we got out of the car, we saw that I'd hit a fox and the remains were a bloody mess. The front of my vehicle was smeared with the poor creature's blood and guts. We heard whining and then saw a young fox whimpering, partially hidden by the bush. We only saw one. Poor little thing had zero chance of survival at that age without its mother. Jim took the meat out of a sandwich in the car and held it out to the straggly skinny thing. At first it drew back suspiciously and then it lunged and bit into the meat. Fortunately, Jim had put his thick protective gardening gloves on. Anyway at that point he grabbed the little beast. Then some vicious growling caught my attention and I saw why the mother had fled out into the road. The mean eyes of a big lone wolf were on us. As Jim got back into the car with the fox cub, I grabbed a big branch that was on the ground and began waving it around in an angry threatening manner. The only reason the wolf did not attack us was because we were two. I continued to behave like a mad sasquatch until I got into the car. We were safe there. The wolf kept its distance. We waited quite a while until we were certain the wolf had gone and then we pushed and pulled my car out of the ditch. We named the fox Lucky. He curled up between us, and we continued our way home. We both rent rooms in the same house, owned by a retired school teacher who actually had taught both of us at different times. We showed her Lucky and she fell in love with him. Gerry, her German Shepherd, had produced a litter of three a few weeks prior and she put Lucky down with them while they were nursing. Gerry immediately licked and soothed Lucky and let him nurse with the other pups. It was a miracle to behold. It doesn't always happen that way. The other pups accepted Lucky and now he's one of them. Sandy, who rarely leaves her room, she's also a tenant, altogether there are us three tenants and Clara, our landlady, living in the house. Sandy's a writer and penniless and as far as I can tell, lives in her imagination more than in reality, she was amazed too. Good and evil are intricately and inseparably linked she says and this was certainly an example confirming that."

"Did you see any other vehicles on the road while all this was happening?" Maya asked.

"I may have, but I can't give a sure yes or no," Conrad replied, "Certainly not while I was driving."

"How long have you been working for Hudson Laymuir?"

"Some time before he married Mrs. Laymuir," Conrad replied, "Never thought about it so I don't know exactly how long. After about six months I got Jim to work with me and the Mr was fine with that. I split my earnings with Jim because Mr. Laymuir is not willing to pay more than that. That's fine with me. The food is excellent. Actually Jim is my nephew and I couldn't get the job done on my own. Mrs. Laymuir oversees us and is forever stipulating when she wants such and such done otherwise she gets bad-tempered."

"Was anyone, besides you, Jim, the other servants and Mr. and Mrs. Laymuir at the property the night the car was stolen," Maya asked.

"Not that I was aware, but we left around 8:30 and I don't know after that. I ignore the girls' gossip." Conrad answered. Maya said that was all for now. Conrad went back to clearing the yard of storm debris and Jim came for his interview.