Original Sin (60 page)

And now he was down again, and this time he didn't rise. Frances thought she could see the glitter of the moonlight on the surface of the pool. It seemed to her that almost all his body was submerged. But she could no longer see him clearly. He was just one more dark low hump amongst all the tussocks of this sodden wasteland. They waited in silence, but there was no movement. He had become part of the marshland and of the night. Now Daniel released her and she moved and stood a little apart. The silence was absolute. And at last she thought she could hear the sea, a faint susurration, less a sound than a pulse beat on the quiet air.

They were turning towards the house when the night vibrated

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with a harsh metallic groan which grew rapidly into a rattle. Over-head were the twin lights of a helicopter. They watched as it circled three times then landed on the field beside Othona House. Frances thought, so they have found Clatidia's body. James must have got tired of waiting for her and in the end gone back to Innocent House to search.

She stood on the edge of the field, still a little apart from the others and saw the three figures running crouched under the great blades, then standing upright and moving towards her, over the gritty field and the wind-torn grass, Commander Dalgliesh, Inspector Miskin and James. Etienne moved forward to meet them. They stood in a group talking together. She thought, let Etienne tell them. I shall wait.

Then Dalgliesh detached himself and came up to her. He didn't touch her but he bent from his tall height and looked intently into her face.

'Are you all right?'

'I am now,'

He smiled and said: 'We'll talk very soon. De Witt insisted on coming with us. It was less trouble to let him have his way.'

He walked on to join Etienne and Kate and together they went towards Othona House.

Frances thought, 'I am myself at last. I have something worth giving him.' She didn't run towards the waiting figure. She didn't call out to him. It was slowly, but with all the intensity of her being, that she walked over the windswept grass and into his waiting arms.

Daniel heard the approach of the helicopter but he didn't move. He stood on the narrow ridge of rock still looking out over the saltings to the sea. He waited in solitary patience until he heard the approaching

footsteps and Dalgliesh was at his side.

He said: 'Was he under arrest?'

'No, sir. I didn't come to arrest him, I came to warn him. I didn't caution him. I did speak but they weren't the words you would have spoken. I let him go.'

'ou let him go deliberately? He didn't break free?'

'No, sir. He didn't break free.' He added, so softly that he doubted whether Dalgliesh heard the words: 'But he's free now.'

Dalgliesh turned away and went back to the house. He had learned what he needed to know. No one else came near. Daniel felt isolated in a moral quarantine, standing on the edge of the marshes, on the

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edge of the world. He thought he saw a trembling light, bright as phosphorous, burning and darting among the humps of marram grass and the black pools of stagnant water. He couldn't see the small breaking waves but he could hear the sea, a soft eternal moaning like a universal grief. And then the clouds moved and the moon with its shaved side, so nearly full, shed its cold light on the marsh and on that distant fallen figure. He sensed a shadow at his side. Turning he saw that it was Kate. It was with astonishment and pity that he realized her face was wet with tears.

He said: 'I wasn't trying to help him escape. I knew that there could be no escape. But I couldn't bear to see him handcuffed, in the dock, in prison. I wanted to give him the chance to take his own path home.'

She said: 'Daniel, you fool. You bloody fool.'

He turned to her and said: fiNhat will he do?'

'AD? What do you think he'll do? Oh God, Daniel, you could have been so good, you were so good.'

He said: 'Etienne couldn't even remember their names. He could hardly remember what he'd done. He felt no guilt, no remorse. A mother and two small children. They didn't exist. They weren't human. He would have given more thought to putting down a dog. He didn't think of them as people. They were expendable. They didn't count. They were Jews.'

She cried: 'And Esm Carling? Old, plain, childless, alone. Not a very good writer. Was she expendable? All right, she didn't have a lot. A flat, someone else's kid to spend the evenings with, a few photographs, her books. What right had he to decide that her life didn't count?'

He said bitterly: 'You're so confident, aren't you, Kate. So certain you know what's right. It must be comforting, never having to face a moral dilemma. The criminal law and police regulations: they provide all you need, don't they?'

She said: 'I'm certain about some things. I'm certain about murder. How could I be a police officer if I weren't?'

Dalgliesh came over to them. He said in a voice as ordinary as if they were companionably together in that Wapping incident room: 'The Essex Police won't attempt to recover the body until daylight. I want you to drive Kate back to London. Do you feel able to do that?'

'Yes, sir. I'm perfectly fit to drive.'

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'If you aren't, .Kate will take over. de lVitt and Miss Peverell will come with me in the helicopter. Tley'll Want to get back as soon as possible. I'll see you both later toniglt at Whpping., He stood with [-