In the Still of the Night

properties she owned. They both agreed that the small income didn’t justify extensive repairs and she’d be better off selling them as they were and reinvesting the cash. When he’d attended to all the sales, she announced that she was going to use the money for a nice long trip. He was so annoyed with this stupidity that he told her to find another attorney and he hasn’t heard from her since then,“ Mr. Prinney said.
    “So we know nothing about her except that she had three unidentifiable sources of income. Maybe blackmail. Maybe just house rentals or something else perfectly legal.“
    “I’m afraid so. I did my best.“
    “I know you did, and I’m grateful.”
    Howard got up from the guest chair and stretched. “I’m going to have breakfast and then go see if Henry’s awake yet. I think I’ll take Robert along. Henry’s more likely to talk freely to him than to me.”
    Before leaving, Robert and Howard went back to where Henry had been found. As Walker had predicted, there was no evidence of significance at the scene. And if there had been, it had been trampled. There were half a dozen fallen limbs about, any one of which might have been the weapon. None of them showed any noticeable traces of blood and even if they had, Walker said it would prove nothing except that Henry had been hit with it.
    “Oh, for a bloody baseball bat with a nice smooth handle with fingerprints,“ Robert lamented. All they did find was Henry’s leather satchel and a strange metal instrument.

    Henry was speaking, but it wasn’t much help. He had no idea what had happened to him. No memory of being struck down and tied up.
    Walker tried to lead him up to it gently. “Start with the last thing you do remember,“ he said.
    Henry screwed up his face, trying to recall. He had a big white bandage wrapped around his head, hair sticking out every which way, and looked idiotic. “I had this gadget to measure the age of trees. I wanted to try out it.“
    “And did you?“
    “I don’t know. Did anybody bring it along with me? I’d hate to lose it without knowing whether it works.“
    “Yes, Robert and I picked it up this morning and left it at Grace and Favor. In the kitchen, I think. A hollow tube with four hooks and a cranking mechanism?“
    “Yes, that’s it. Was there a core of wood in the tube?“
    “I don’t think so,“ Walker said.
    “Then I must not have attached it to the tree yet.”
    “We found a leather satchel, too. Was that yours?”
    Henry nodded. The effort made him wince. “Should there have been anything else in the satchel?“ Robert asked. “It was empty when we found it.“
    “No, the tree coring thing was all I had along, I think.“
    “How did you pick out which tree to sample?“ Walker asked, hoping to encourage Henry’s memory.
    “I don’t remember. But I want to go home.”
    “We’ll take you back to Grace and Favor, Henry,“ Robert said. “And look after you until your parents can come fetch you. You shouldn’t be driving for a while.“
    “I could drive perfectly well. I learned that long before I got smacked in the head.“
    “Lily has hidden your keys,“ Robert improvised. “And you don’t want to argue with her, do you?”

Chapter 23

    Henry slept most of the way back to Grace and Favor, but woke as the Duesie pulled up to the front door. He got quite a reception. Phoebe had just returned from church and was talking with Lily in the doorway. Mrs. Prinney came out to greet him with offers of a really hearty lunch that would put him right. “We were waiting until you returned to serve it,“ she said, not adding that they were also waiting for Phoebe to return.
    “Poor Henry,“ Phoebe said, looking at his bandaged head.
    “Don’t you need to rest a bit?“ Lily asked.
    Henry wasn’t used to this sort of attention and got embarrassed. Mostly when people paid attention to him, it was to laugh. “I would like some food,“ he said modestly.
    Luncheon was a few leftovers, cleverly disguised, a huge salad, cold cuts and homemade rye bread. There was a steaming soup tureen full of leeks, potatoes and onions in a cream base. Everyone was hungry and there was little conversation.
    But Howard Walker noticed that Henry kept casting quick glances at Julian West, as though he were perplexed about something.
    As West patted his mouth with a napkin and rose from the table, he looked at Walker for a long, angry moment and said, “My train is at two-thirty. I shall be