A Dangerous Fortune(119)

“I realize that, and I don’t doubt that Micky would bend a lot of rules to achieve his aims. But he’s not a killer.”

“Yes, he is,” Tonio said.

“Come on.”

“I know it for sure. I haven’t always acted as if I knew—in fact I’ve been a damn fool about Miranda. But that’s because he has a devilish charm. For a while he made me think he was my friend. The truth is that he’s evil through and through and I’ve known it since school.”

“How could you?”

Tonio shifted in the bed. “I know what really happened thirteen years ago, the afternoon Peter Middleton drowned in the swimming hole at Bishop’s Wood.”

Hugh was electrified. He had been wondering about this for years. Peter Middleton had been a strong swimmer: it was most unlikely that he had died by accident. Hugh had long been convinced that there had been some kind of foul play. Perhaps at last he was going to learn the truth. “Go on, man,” he said. “I can’t wait to hear this.”

Tonio hesitated. “Could you give me a little wine?” he said. There was a bottle of Madeira on the floor beside the bed. Hugh poured some into a glass. While Tonio sipped it, Hugh recalled the heat of that day, the stillness of the air in Bishop’s Wood, the scarred rock walls of the swimming hole, and the cold, cold water.

“The coroner was told that Peter was in difficulty in the pool. He was never told that Edward was ducking him repeatedly.”

“I knew that much,” Hugh interrupted. “I had a letter from Hump Cammel in the Cape Colony. He was watching from the far side of the pool. But he didn’t stay to see the end.”

“That’s right. You escaped and Hump ran away. That left me, Peter, Edward and Micky.”

“What happened after I left?” Hugh said impatiently.

“I got out and threw a stone at Edward. It was a lucky shot: it hit him square in the middle of the forehead, and drew blood. It caused him to leave off tormenting Peter and come after me. I scrambled up the side of the quarry, trying to get away from him.”

“Edward was never light on his feet, even then,” Hugh observed.

“That’s right. I got well ahead of him, then halfway up I looked back. Micky was continuing to bully Peter. Peter had swum to the side and was trying to get out of the water, but Micky kept pushing his head under. I only glanced at them for a moment, but I could see very clearly what was going on. Then I continued to climb.”

He took another sip of the wine. “When I got to the rim of the quarry I looked back again. Edward was still coming after me but he was a long way behind and I had time to catch my breath.” Tonio paused, and an expression of revulsion crossed his scarred face. “By this time Micky was in the water with Peter. What I saw—perfectly clearly, and I can see it in my memory now as if it were yesterday—was Micky holding Peter under the water. Peter was thrashing about, but Micky had Peter’s head under his arm and Peter couldn’t break the hold. Micky was drowning him. There is absolutely no doubt about it. It was straightforward murder.”

“Dear God,” Hugh breathed.

Tonio nodded. “It makes me feel ill to think of it even now. I stared at them for I don’t know how long. Edward almost caught me. Peter had stopped thrashing about, and was just struggling feebly, when Edward reached the rim of the quarry and I had to run away.”

“So that’s how Peter died.” Hugh was stunned and horrified.

“Edward followed me through the woods a little way, but he was puffed out and I shook him off. Then I found you.”

Hugh remembered the thirteen-year-old Tonio wandering through Bishop’s Wood, naked, wet, carrying his clothes and sobbing. The memory brought back the shock and pain he had suffered later that same day, when he learned that his father was dead. “But why did you never tell anyone what you had seen?”

“I was afraid of Micky—afraid he’d do to me what he did to Peter. I’m still afraid of Micky—look at me now! You should be afraid of him too.”

“I am, don’t worry.” Hugh was thoughtful. “You know, I don’t believe Edward and his mother know the truth about this.”

“What makes you say so?”

“They had no reason to cover up for Micky.”

Tonio looked dubious. “Edward might have, out of friendship.”

“Perhaps—although I doubt he could have kept the secret more than a day or two. Anyway, Augusta knew that the story they told, about Edward trying to rescue Peter, was a lie.”

“How did she know that?”

“My mother told her, and I told my mother. Which means that Augusta was involved in covering up the truth. Now, I can believe that Augusta would tell any amount of lies for the sake of her son—but not for Micky. In those days she didn’t even know him.”

“So what do you think happened?”

Hugh frowned. “Imagine this. Edward gives up chasing you and goes back to the swimming hole. He finds Micky dragging Peter’s body out of the water. As Edward arrives, Micky says: ‘You fool, you’ve killed him!’ Remember, Edward hasn’t seen Micky holding Peter’s head under. Micky pretends that Peter was so exhausted by Edward’s ducking that he could swim no longer and he just drowned. ‘What am I going to do?’ says Edward. Micky says: ‘Don’t worry. We’ll say it was an accident. In fact, we’ll say you jumped in and tried to rescue him.’ Micky thereby covers up his own crime and earns the undying gratitude of both Edward and Augusta. Does that make sense?”