Page 115 of Fire Must Burn

‘We should. Rather quickly, in fact.’

He asked no questions, nevertheless wondering at her expression and flushed appearance. She watched out the rear window as they drove away. It wasn’t until they reached the end of the driveway that she turned forwards, taking a deep breath.

‘Are you all right?’ he asked.

‘I am now,’ she said. ‘I had an unexpected conversation with Lord Cater.’

‘Is he our firebomber?’

‘No,’ she said. ‘He didn’t even know Tony was back in England.’

‘How can you be sure if he was telling the truth? Did you use your cold-reading skills on him?’

‘No,’ she replied. ‘I used a different method. Much more satisfying, although I probably shouldn’t make a habit of it.’

‘It’s too bad we came all this way for nothing,’ said Sally.

‘It’s all right,’ said Gwen grimly. ‘I found what I needed to know. Let’s go and see Iris.’

Sally pulled up by theCeciliaat six thirty. Iris opened the door as they crossed the gangplank.

‘Oh, good, you’re back,’ she said, motioning them inside. ‘Any luck?’

‘A good working theory,’ said Gwen as she came in. ‘The Caters believe Tony talked Bruce into going to Spain, so they blame him for his death. It wasn’t vengeance for Nancy that led to the attack. It was vengeance for Bruce. Only Lord and Lady Cater didn’t know he had returned.’

‘So it wasn’t them?’

‘No,’ said Gwen. ‘But Bruce had siblings. A younger brother and a little sister who worshipped him. They were only children when he died, which would explain why they didn’t take action when Tony came back from Spain.’

‘But they would be adults now,’ mused Iris. ‘So we need to find them next.’

‘No, we don’t,’ said Gwen. ‘One of them found us. His little sister, Charlotte. She’s Evelyn Lowle.’

Iris stared at her for a moment. Then a smile spread slowly across her face.

‘Perfect,’ she said. ‘That’s the piece that explains everything.’

FOURTEEN

The three of them sat around the small dining table in the narrowboat’s saloon.

‘How do you know that Evelyn Lowle is Charlotte Cater?’ asked Iris.

‘Charlotte went to Manchester for university,’ said Gwen. ‘Her mother said she was expert at doing the Mancunian accent.’

‘That isn’t enough,’ said Sally.

‘I also saw a few family pictures in Lord Cater’s study,’ said Gwen. ‘Charlotte had a younger version of Evelyn’s face, although she was brunette then.’

‘Hah!’ cried Iris. ‘I knew she wasn’t a real blonde!’

‘In any case, she couldn’t have been more than twelve or thirteen when Bruce was killed in ’37,’ continued Gwen, ‘which would explain why it would be unlikely for her to try to kill Tony when he came back from Spain in ’38. But that was nine years ago, which means that Charlotte—’

‘Is now old enough to be a killer,’ said Iris.

‘The problem is how do you prove they are the same person?’ asked Sally.

‘The Brigadier would know Lowle’s true name,’ said Gwen, looking at Iris.