They asked him to empty his pockets, give them his belt and his tie and his watch, and then they wrote out a careful receipt for him. There were holding cells in the back of the police station, and as he was escorted there, Rutledge had the impression they’d been dug out of the bedrock, because they were windowless, and he could feel the dampness emanating from them. There were four of them, and they looked, in fact, more like a dungeon than prison cells. There was no natural light, no fresh air, and they were too small to contemplate. And before he was quite ready to face it, the iron-barred door was swinging shut behind him, and the two constables were walking away, leaving him there.

He tried to think why he should have been arrested on a charge of attempted murder, and then realized that if anything had happened to Mrs. Farrell-Smith, the Hastings police might wish to question him. But an arrest?

It would have required the approval of the Yard to send the Kent police looking for him. Had they been to Melinda Crawford’s house, asking for him? Or had they been scouring the county for him, and had just had the good fortune to spot him on his way to London?

He refused to consider where he was, he refused to look at the dimensions of the cell, the walls, the furnishings. He hated confinement, and this was the ultimate of that. He kept his eyes on the floor, and wished for his watch. It wouldn’t be long before someone came for him. He couldn’t remain here for very long. He could already feel panic rising.

He waited what he estimated to be half an hour, his temper nearly getting the best of him, before Inspector Norman came back to the holding cells and said, “I’ll not handcuff you. Call it professional courtesy, one officer to another. But you’ll have to give me your word that you’ll not cause me any trouble while I take you to my office for questioning. They’re sending someone down from the Yard, but this is my patch, and I’ll do my own questioning, thank you very much.”

“I give you my word,” Rutledge said through clenched teeth, and the cell door was opened. Without looking back, he followed Inspector Norman to his office and took the chair indicated. “What are the charges against me? I’ve a right to hear them.”