A House On The Hill.

Chapter 8

Smart met Isabel on his way down the hill. He warned her away from the house and told her to go and fetch the police as quickly as she could. As she hurried away, the Detective Inspector slowed his walk, so soon Isabel was out of his sight.

"Your friend's wrong about you, you know" he said quietly. "He's too protective. You can look after yourself better than he could, probably. Although this incident would have to be an exception." He sighed, as he continued to slowly walk down the hill.

"So how much do you know?" he then asked. "What's going on in that beautiful little head of yours? You know more than me, I'll admit that. If you didn't, then how would you know where to find your friend? Doubtless you'll have some sort of crazy scheme cooked up in there, since that's the sort of girl you are, really, isn't it? I'm sure your friend won't approve of it, whatever you're planning. He doesn't seem the type to really understand people like us. We always have the whole thing planned out from beginning to end, don't we? Nothing is ever left to chance, with us, is there?" He sighed again.

"I say us like we're something special, don't I? Well, I don't know about me, really. With you, it's beyond question. There'll never be another Alianna Winter, will there?"

There was a pause, as he reached the bottom of the hill and started along the track.

"You know, you're nothing like Barnes described" Smart carried on. "He portrayed you as a right little madam. I suppose he had to, really, since you humiliated him so many times. You're nothing like that, though, really, Alianna. I've never met anyone like you, and I don't think I ever will again."

Smart looked up, and saw Newham, Isabel and a whole group of policemen hurrying along the road. As they met, Newham let fly a torrent of questions, and Smart patiently waited for him to finish, before ignoring them completely.

"She'll be alright" he said, looking down at me, now resting almost peacefully in his arms. "She's just in shock. I'm not sure she was quite expecting what she saw up at the house."

"She was wrong, then?" Isabel asked. Smart shook his head instantly.

"She was absolutely spot on" he replied, a little defensively. "It's just I don't think she realized the full horror of the situation before she arrived."

"What did she see? Did you see it?" Newham asked, making to take me out of Smart's arms. Smart let him, and I was passed over between the two men gently.

"I saw it all right" Smart sighed grimly. "It'll stay with me for the rest of my life. It'll probably stay with her, too."

"What was it?" Isabel asked timidly. Smart hesitated before replying.

"Pansy Price has been hung from the front balcony of Farthing House" Smart announced, raising his voice so the gathered policemen would hear.

Isabel gasped, looking at Newham in horror, and taking my hand in hers tightly. Newham himself looked down at me, still sleeping, tired out from the shock. There was worry and fear in his eyes. He then looked up at Smart, who was also watching me carefully.

"What do you suppose we do, Detective Inspector?" he asked tightly. Smart did what he did best, and took charge.

"I'll sort out everything up at the house. You won't have to help. Just get A... Miss Winter inside and get her safe. She'll wake up in her own time. If she seems out of sorts, call a doctor. She's had a nasty shock."

Smart beckoned to the policemen around him, and turned away. Newham and Isabel began to turn also, the former with a bit of a chilly look over his shoulder.

"One more thing" Smart called. Newham turned and fixed the other man with a steely glare.

"In my divine opinion, I would be classing any mention of the murders a surefire sign Miss Winter is back to her old self."

It was a knife-edge blow, and both men knew it. Newham nodded an icy thanks before turning away. Smart wondered what on earth had possessed him to say something like that.

Newham carried me into Pansy's house, up the stairs and into my room. Isabel followed, propping up the pillows and pulling back  the sheets so Newham could lay me down on the bed.

"That Detective Inspector's got nerve" Newham muttered grimly.

"There wasn't much else he could have done, if he'd found her like that" Isabel said democratically. "Besides" she added. "Don't talk about it in here, in case Allie wakes up. We'll talk about it downstairs, if you really want to."

"I wouldn't mind having a quick discussion" Newham muttered grumpily. They went downstairs, and I was left alone in my room. I couldn't remember anything that had gone on, really, the earliest memory I had was just opening my eyes and being back in my bedroom. My first thought was that it had all been just a dream, but then I realised I wasn't in my nightgown, so it had to be true. Pan was dead. I knew it wasn't my fault, and that even if I hadn't been around it still would have occurred, but I still felt like I should have twigged on to why she was all dressed up and going out at that time of night. I knew I would regret that lack of focus for the rest of my life. To make matters worse, although I now knew who the murderer was, and why he killed Pan, Jake Bentley and Mr. Waters, I didn't have any proof. Which meant, if I was going to catch the murderer red-handed, or dead-handed, whichever it came to, I was going to have to do something very rash and very stupid. One way or the other, I decided, the truth would have to come out, and whether that truth was coupled with my murder was a debatable fact. I was going to try to stay alive, obviously, but it wasn't going to be easy. I had to plan out everything, every possible eventuality that could occur if I was to be sure I was going to be safe. This was going to take a while. Fortunately,  I had a lot of time on my hands.