‘Is that really necessary?’

‘Yes,’ Cardilini tried to sound reasonable but at the same time asked himself why he was acting so bloody minded. Why risk my and Paul’s future?

*

A troubled Cardilini and Salt entered Edmund’s room unescorted. Cardilini took off his coat and moved a chair to the window and sat.

‘Take off your jacket if you want, Salt.’

‘Yes, sir,’ Salt replied and remained standing, unmoving.

‘So, what do you make of all that?’ Cardilini asked.

‘I’m not sure.’

‘Let me know when you are,’ Cardilini said, taking out a cigarette.

‘Everything he said is perfectly plausible.’

‘Perfectly. So how would you proceed from here, Salt?’ Cardilini shifted his chair so he could look out the window.

‘I’m not sure what we’re investigating, sir.’

‘Neither am I. Wasn’t that in your lessons, Salt?’

‘Not that I recall. Are we still doubtful the shot came from across the river, sir?’

‘Who’s asking?’ Cardilini asked turning to Salt. Salt averted his eyes. ‘Difficult, isn’t it, playing both sides, Salt?’

‘Yes, sir,’ Salt answered non-committedly.

‘They’ve thought of everything.’

‘Or, they are simply stating the truth,’ Salt replied.

‘Or that. But it would be nice to find that out for ourselves. Don’t you think?’

Salt contemplated before asking. ‘Don’t you believe what they’ve told us, sir?’

‘No. Do you?’

Salt looked out the window then back to Cardilini before replying, ‘Yes.’

‘How handy. Please, tell me what’s so convincing.’

‘The alternative is that someone intentionally shot Captain Edmund,’ Salt said flatly.

‘That’s right, exactly.’

‘What would be the motive?’ Salt asked.

‘Were you in the cadets, Salt?’ Cardilini asked ignoring Salt’s question.

‘No, sir.’

‘Neither was I. Mind you, they didn’t have cadets at the school I attended. And I couldn’t swear they had teachers either.’

‘Yes, sir.’

‘The boarding master on duty the night of the shooting and the students, Carmody and Mossop, that’s who we’re going to talk to.’ Cardilini instructed.

Salt made an entry in his notebook.

‘And we’ll have a look for the keys while we’re here,’ Cardilini gestured Salt towards the desk.

‘Yes, sir.’ Salt started going through the drawers. ‘Would it be worth going to the armoury?’ he asked.

‘Yes. And why would we do that, Salt?’

‘To examine any signs of a forced entry.’

‘Yes, that should be interesting. We’ll get that deputy to show us, I think. But keys first.’ After a while Cardilini stood and stretched, ‘Any luck?’

‘No, sir.’

*

Oppressive heat greeted them as they crossed the quadrangle with Deputy Principal Robson.

‘In for a storm,’ Robson said.

On the other side of the quadrangle they walked down to the basement level of the buildings behind the dining block. A series of roller doors were raised to reveal a manual arts workshop. Further along was a canteen with similar roller doors also raised.

‘That’s the woodwork room and that’s the canteen. One of the roller doors on the canteen had been pried open,’ Robson said before turning right and going to a timber door boarded with iron strips. He pointed to the door, ‘The armoury.’