At length night fell, and Inspector Norman and his men arrived in Eastfield in the sunset’s afterglow, that soft light that was always slow to fade. They went directly to St. Mary’s Church, as agreed, where they were not as likely to draw attention to themselves. He had brought a sergeant, Constable Petty, and two other constables whom Rutledge hadn’t encountered before this. Both were sizeable and quiet.

At Rutledge’s request, Mrs. Farrell-Smith had spent her afternoon sketching maps of the school and marking the exits clearly. After each man was assigned to guard a specific door, Constable Walker explained how to reach their posts unseen, carefully describing landmarks to help them find their way in the dark. The main door was the most difficult to reach, even using the shadows for cover. It was decided to leave that to the last, once the other men were in position.

“You’ll have only a few minutes to reach your destination. I want you in place by the time it’s completely dark. Mark me, don’t go inside the school, no matter what happens. The point is to bottle him up. I’ll do the rest,” Rutledge told them. “This is a dangerous man. You’re not to take any chances if he comes your way. Use your truncheons to stop him if need be. Here are your signals. One long blast of your whistle if he comes your way. Two short if you need help. One short and one long if you see he’s got out of the building. Understood? Good. Any questions?”

Rutledge led them outside to the apse of the church, to accustom their vision to the gathering dark, then saw them off. He turned to Inspector Norman, who was taking the main door. “I’m going in that side door I showed you on the map, because I know my way there. Your task is to back up anyone who gets in trouble. But stay outside. If anything moves in that building, I’ll be assuming it’s the killer. You don’t want to get in the way.”

“You ought to be armed.”

Rutledge said grimly, “I am.”

He watched Inspector Norman disappear into the dark shadows of the churchyard and then heard the squeak of the rectory gate as he passed through it.

There was nothing to do now but wait until his men were in position. Five minutes passed. It was time for him to move.

The squeak of the gate reached his ears again. It stopped almost at once.

Hamish said, “ ’Ware!”

There was no reason for Norman or his men to come back to the church.