‘We’ll only need one fingerprint to confirm that Captain Ralph Neville is in fact Miles Faulkner,’ said William. ‘But what I want to know is why he dumped the car here.’
‘That might be the reason,’ said Ross, pointing to a bus stop.
‘Well spotted,’ said William. They crossed the road and examined the timetable inside the shelter. ‘There was a bus to Sevenoaks at two twenty on Saturday,’ said William.
‘That would fit in with the timing,’ said Ross, as Danny joined them.
‘Inspector Thomas is on his way, and a tow truck will follow shortly. What next, guv?’
‘Seal this in an evidence bag,’ said William, handing over the chauffeur’s hat, before he checked the timetable once again. ‘I’ll take the next bus to Sevenoaks and meet you both there, at the last stop. Ross, when you get there, try to see everything through Faulkner’s eyes. That might help us work out what he did next. I’ll do the same while I’m on the bus.’
William watched as the two of them climbed back into the car and sped away. He sat down in the shelter and waited for the next bus to appear.
CHAPTER 10
THE LOCAL BUS TRUNDLED SLOWLY over the hill and juddered to a halt at the stop. A solitary passenger climbed aboard and took a seat near the front.
‘Where to?’ asked the ticket collector.
‘Sevenoaks,’ said William.
‘Sixty pence.’
William took out his warrant card and asked, ‘Were you working this run yesterday afternoon, around twelve, one o’clock?’
‘No, sir, that’s Rose’s shift. She’s off today, doesn’t work Sundays.’
‘Rose?’
‘Rose Prescott. Been on this run for years,’ he said with a chuckle.
‘Thank you,’ said William, then sat back and looked out of the window at the passing countryside, wondering if it was possible that Faulkner was still in England. His thoughts were interrupted by a siren, as a police car shot past them on the other side of the road. He made a mental note to call Inspector Thomas and thank him.
Although the bus made several stops on its slow interrupted journey to Sevenoaks, William saw nothing to make him think Faulkner would have got off before the final stop.
He checked his watch as a police pickup truck lumbered by. He wasn’t confident there would be any of Faulkner’s dabs on the Mercedes, but the chauffeur’s hat? Ross was waiting for him when the bus reached its final stop, and he clearly hadn’t wasted his time.
‘The first thing Faulkner would have seen when he got off the bus,’ Ross said, ‘was the railway station and the cab rank directly opposite, on the other side of the road. Danny’s already checking the station. So far I haven’t had any luck with the cabbies. None of them recognized the photograph of Ralph Neville, but they told me quite a few of the regulars prefer working afternoons.’
‘Then you’ll have to keep on asking, while I pay a visit to Mrs Rose Prescott.’
‘Who’s she?’
‘To be revealed later,’ said William, as he left Ross to return to the taxi rank, while he walked across to the terminus.
‘Rose,’ said the supervisor, once he’d checked the Chief Inspector’s warrant card. ‘She hasn’t done anything wrong, I hope.’
‘No, nothing. I’m just hoping she’ll remember a passenger who was on her bus yesterday afternoon.’
‘On that route they’re almost all regulars who she’d know personally.’ He began to turn the pages of a large folder. ‘She lives at number twenty-three Castle Drive.’ Checking his watch, he added, ‘She should be back from church by now.’
When William emerged from the terminus, he spotted Ross showing another taxi driver the blown-up photo of Neville, but the cabbie was shaking his head as William joined them.
‘It’s an outside chance,’ admitted William, ‘but don’t let the odds put you off.’
Ross mumbled something unintelligible, as William climbed into the back of the cab and gave the driver an address in Castle Drive. As the taxi moved off, he asked, ‘You didn’t recognize the man in the photograph my colleague showed you?’
‘No, guv. Yesterday afternoon I was watching Arsenal being stitched up by Chelsea.’
Now there’s a surprise, William wanted to say, but decided not to reveal his true colours in case the cabbie decided not to speak to him again. He sat back and began to think about the questions he needed to ask Mrs Prescott, who he felt he already knew.