Spider Light(117)

The caller did not look particularly suspicious; he looked impatient. He was a dark-haired man in his late thirties and he introduced himself as Jonathan Saxon and wanted to know if they could throw any light on the fact that Antonia Weston, whom he had come to see by prior arrangement, was missing. And that Charity Cottage was in darkness, its doors locked, and Dr Weston’s car was nowhere to be seen.

Godfrey was thrown into such a dither by this that he was grateful to Oliver for saying, quite coolly, ‘How do you do. Is it Doctor Saxon, by the way?’

‘It is.’

‘I thought it must be. You were Miss Weston’s boss at her hospital?’

‘I was. Where is she?’

‘I’m afraid I haven’t the remotest idea. I’m Oliver Remus, by the way. This is my colleague, Dr Toy. Has Miss Weston been in touch with you in the last twenty-four hours, Dr Saxon? I mean, to tell you what happened here last night?’

‘I haven’t spoken to Antonia since the day before yesterday, but I know she’s been the victim of some appallingly cruel tricks since she got here. I haven’t come to fight any battles for her, because she’s perfectly capable of fighting her own battles–I’m here because it sounded as if she needed a friend.’

Clearly he did not think Antonia was likely to have many friends in Amberwood, and equally clearly he did not know what had happened last night. Godfrey could not even begin to think how they would explain, and he was extremely relieved when Oliver said, ‘I think, Dr Saxon, that you’d better come in.’

They sat in Oliver’s big comfortable sitting room, and Oliver explained, briefly and succinctly, about Greg Foster’s death.

‘I’m extremely sorry about that,’ said Jonathan Saxon. ‘But it doesn’t explain Antonia’s disappearance.’

‘No, it doesn’t. That’s why I’m about to phone Inspector Curran,’ said Oliver, already dialling the number.

Inspector Curran arrived within ten minutes, and listened carefully to the story of Antonia’s call to Dr Saxon.

‘I suggested I drove up here for a day or so,’ said Jonathan. ‘And Antonia booked me in somewhere–the Rose and Crown I think she said. That’s in case any of you were thinking a different arrangement might apply.’

‘Oh no,’ said Oliver politely, and Godfrey glanced at him uneasily.

‘I don’t care who sleeps in whose bed,’ said the inspector, ‘but I do care about finding Miss Weston. We’ve tried her phone, but it’s switched off–although that might not mean anything. Her car’s gone and, as Dr Saxon says, the cottage is in darkness.’ He frowned. ‘Normally we wouldn’t concern ourselves with a lady who ducked out of a dinner date, but given the circumstances we’d better search the cottage. Have any of you got a key.’

‘No,’ said Godfrey.

‘Your sergeant asked that when Miss Weston reported that business of the rope,’ said Oliver. ‘We didn’t have one then, and we haven’t got one now.’

‘Dr Saxon?’

‘No, I haven’t got a key. Dr Weston isn’t, so far as I know, in the habit of giving people her door key. But if you’re going into the cottage, I’ll come with you.’

‘So will I,’ said Oliver at once.

‘I’d like to have someone from the Quire Trust anyway,’ said Curran equably. ‘We’ll do it now, shall we? Best not to waste any time.’

‘Then you do think something’s happened to her?’

‘I’m reserving judgement, Professor Remus. But we’ve had a violent death here and we don’t know who’s responsible for it. We’re putting out calls to the nearby railway stations–Chester’s the main one, of course–but if Miss Weston’s gone anywhere of her own free will, she’s gone in her own car. And on that basis, we’ve also notified motorway service stations.’

‘You’ve got the car’s registration, have you?’ This was Oliver.

‘Oh yes,’ said the inspector. ‘We’ve had that all along. It’ll be quicker if we drive to the cottage, I think, and my car’s just outside. Dr Toy, will you stay here?’

Godfrey, appalled at the thought of remaining in the house on his own, said, ‘Well, I thought—’

‘It’s mostly in case Miss Weston turns up here. Or telephones.’

‘Yes, of course I’ll stay,’ said Godfrey, and sat down to plan how they would welcome Antonia back when she was found. Because of course she would be found, perfectly safe and well. Anything else was too dreadful to contemplate.



Inspector Curran broke the kitchen window of the cottage, and Jonathan climbed through and unlatched the rear door. But the cottage yielded no clues at all. There were no signs of a struggle, and no notes left.

‘Would either of you know if any of her clothes have gone?’ said Inspector Curran, surveying the wardrobe in the bedroom.

‘I wouldn’t. I remember she was wearing that jacket when I happened to meet her in the library a few days ago,’ said Oliver. ‘But other than that, I can’t help.’

‘Dr Saxon?’

‘I can’t help either.’

‘Her phone doesn’t seem to be around, which is a nuisance,’ said Curran. ‘I’ll get Blackburn to make a proper search, though, and we’ll get on to the main cell-phone networks and try to find out what calls she made or received in the last twenty-four hours. That might give us something to work on. Oh, and there’s a laptop downstairs–did she have an email account?’