* * *
Millicent had just driven home around seven thirty that evening when Tommy Hammond rang her.
"Hampshire," she said into her mobile as she filled the electric kettle.
"Tommy Hammond here. I've had another call from Tanya Grant and it's about a coincidence you won't like."
"Go on?" Millicent sounded interested.
"There's a fire. It wasn't reported to us, because nobody knew we were interested. Fortunately Tanya Grant saw the whole thing."
"Where?"
"That's the coincidence you won't like. 27 Stanstead Walk."
"You're right I don't like it and it doesn't sound like a coincidence. Meet Tanya somewhere and meet me outside number 27."
V
There was no difficulty whatever in finding the place. Two fire engines and an ambulance stood outside in the main road, lights flashing and smoke still came from an upper window, though the worst of the fire appeared over. As DI Hampshire pulled up by the phone box she saw Tommy Hammond and Tanya Grant.
"Ambulance," Hampshire said crisply as she got out. "Who's injured?"
"Miss Braithwaite," said Tommy.
"Burns I suppose. Is it serious?"
"No, not burns" a deep voice boomed. Millicent turned in surprise at the sound of Tobias N'Dibe's voice. "The young lady saw her trip over a cat as she came out of the door."
"She tripped over the nasty one," Tanya said. "It sort of dived between her legs. It was almost like it tripped her up on purpose."
"It was exactly as if she was tripped deliberately," N'Dibe corrected her.
"What are you doing here?" Millicent asked him.
"I came to talk with Miss Braithwaite."
"I didn't know you knew her," the detective remarked. She was puzzled but amiable. "What is your connection with her?"
"Connection?" the big black man said. "I am in no way connected with the lady."
"How do you know her, then?" Millicent asked.
"I don't want to be unnecessarily pedantic," N'Dibe said, "but whether I 'know' her at all rather depends on what you mean by 'know'. I 'know' who she is and I 'know' her by reputation, which is why I came here this evening. I have, however, never actually met her. Not to speak to."
The ambulance pulled out from behind the fire engines and headed off, siren sounding and blue light flashing, in the direction of Witchmoor General Hospital.
DI Hampshire strode towards the house, where a couple of firemen were emerging. She picked out the watch commander and flashed her warrant card. "Any word yet on how it started?" she asked.
"So the police are interested," the man remarked. "No explanation yet, but it started in the back bedroom. What's your interest?"
"It's just a very strange coincidence I don't quite like," Hampshire told him. "We had reports of two break-ins here and Miss Braithwaite denied they had happened. I'd like to give the place a once over when you declare it safe."
"No problem," he said. "The fire's out, but we have to do some damping down and I want to have some idea what happened myself."
"I'll have the place secured when you finish tonight and we'll have a look in daylight." Hampshire turned to walk back to Hammond, Tanya and N'Dibe.
The large cat with a vicious streak was sitting in the garden looking very self satisfied. Millicent broke stride and watched it for a moment assuming that was the creature Tommy Hammond had meant, before the cat turned towards her and snarled. She continued to walk away. The cat suddenly dashed across the lawn and dived between her feet. Millicent, however, saw it and avoided a fall.
It stood in front of the detective bristling and snarling. Neither Millicent nor the cat saw N'Dibe's hand sweep down. He snatched it up by the scruff of the neck and it hung there twisting and snapping. N'Dibe held it out and shook it.
"My friend," said, addressing the animal, "I don't think you realise your delicate position. You've lost your home and food supply. You're too unpleasant for any decent human to want you, so now you'll have to dodge the dogs and find your own food."
"It looks like you've got a little tiger by the tail," Millicent observed. "I don't think you can put it down."
The cat was still writhing in an attempt to scratch him, so N'Dibe dropped it over the hedge of number 25 Stanstead Walk. A vicious fit of barking erupted and a hitherto unseen Doberman dived after something grey flashing through into the next garden.
"Nothing like a Doberman to see off an intruder," N'Dibe remarked complacently.
"Who discovered the fire and what was the sequence of events" DI Hampshire asked.
"I arrived to look into Miss Braithwaite and the little matter you raised and found this young lady among the crowd watching the evening's entertainment," N"Dibe said.
"By that time Tanya had already telephoned me and I'd called you," said Tommy Hammond. "I arrived to find N"Dibe and Tanya together."
"I didn't know you two were acquainted?" Millicent said.
"We are now," N'Dibe said cryptically.
"He's nice," said Tanya. "He believes my story."
"Neither of us disbelieves it either," Millicent said. "We just don't understand it."
"The police have to be sceptical and open minded my dear," N'Dibe observed to Tanya. He turned to Millicent. "However," he said, "This young lady is thinking that 'believe' and 'not disbelieve' are somewhat different propositions, and she is correct."
Hampshire decided that she had better start with statements from both Tanya and N'Dibe. She was thinking that there were unanswered question by the score. Nevertheless, she felt that neither the elderly black civil servant nor the mixed race teenager had any direct responsibility for events. "DC Hammond, you can take a trip to Witchmoor General, see how Miss Braithwaite is and take a statement from her if she's fit to give one."
VI
"So," Millicent said to N'Dibe, as DC. Hammond climbed into his car. "What do you know about Miss Braithwaite?"
The big man made a vague gesture. "I asked around," he said. "Your odd story two nights ago suggested to me that the three missing gentlemen in question had annoyed somebody best not annoyed, so I made enquiries as to who would fit the bill."
"That might explain why you were interested in her, but it doesn't tell me why you came her."
"I was curious to meet her."
"And you didn't know about the fire?"
"I'm afraid," N'Dibe admitted, "That I had no expectation of the conflagration. A most unusual circumstance, I will say, especially such a mishap is much the easiest kind of misadventure to predict, but I had no forewarning. A glimpse of events past, yes, but that particular aspect of the future, no."
Tommy Hammond's car was already pulling out from the kerb as Millicent Hampshire led Tanya and N'Dibe back to her own car.