Twenty-four INSPECTOR¹ NARRACOTT DISCUSSES THE CASE

“I am not entirely² happy about it, sir,” said Inspector Narracott.
The Chief Constable³ looked at him inquiringly.
“No,” said Inspector Narracott. “I’m not nearly as happy about it as Iwas.”
“You don’t think we’ve got the right man?”
“I’m not satisfied. You see, to start with, everything pointed⁴ the one waybut now—it’s different.”
“The evidence against Pearson remains⁵ the same.”
“Yes, but there’s a good deal of further evidence come to light, sir.
There’s the other Pearson—Brian. Feeling that we had no further to look Iaccepted the statement that he was in Australia. Now, it turns out that hewas in England all the time. It seems he arrived back in England twomonths ago — travelled on the same boat as these Willetts apparently⁶.
Looks as though he had got sweet on the girl on the voyage. Anyway, forwhatever reason he didn’t communicate with any of his family. Neitherhis sister nor his brother had any idea he was in England. On Thursday oflast week he left the Ormsby Hotel in Russell Square and drove to Pad-dington. From there until Tuesday night, when Enderby ran across him,he refuses to account for his movements in any way.”
“You pointed out to him the gravity of such a course of action?”
“Said he didn’t give a damn. He had had nothing to do with the murderand it was up to us to prove he had. The way he had employed his timewas his own business and none of ours, and he declined definitely to statewhere he had been and what he had been doing.”
“Most extraordinary,” said the Chief Constable.
“Yes, sir. It’s an extraordinary case. You see, there’s no use getting awayfrom the facts, this man’s far more the type than the other. There’s some-thing incongruous about James Pearson hitting an old man on the headwith a sandbag—but in a manner of speaking it might be all in the day’swork to Brian Pearson. He’s a hot-tempered, high-handed young man—and he profits to exactly the same extent, remember?”

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