he did well . he got in touch with the woman Pete was passing off as his mother . Starmouth managed to win her confidence . it seems that she was an honest enough woman , only her mind was n&apos;t as clear as it could have been . she showed him photographs . he found out that the name of her house - Grand Greve - was taken from a bay in one of the Channel Islands . one of the small ones . Sark , that &apos;s it . the Caxtons used to have their holidays there . Starmouth went there . he dug out some people who remembered the family . in the end he pieced it all together . the Caxtons had two boys - Michael and Derek . Pete first met them at school . it was a good school I sent him to , one of the best . he was a boarder . he could always turn on the charm when it suited him . the whole family came to like him . the real Michael - he was the same age as my son - died of pleurisy when he was eighteen . soon after that Pete staged his drowning . he was always a smooth liar . he invented some plausible story or other and threw himself on the Caxtons &apos; generosity . they accepted him as a kind of substitute for the boy they had lost . outside the family he began to pass himself off as Michael Caxton . the father was well-off and easy-going . he was easy meat for Pete . he sponged off him until he died just after the war . then Pete had to look around for some other security . he found it - Dackson &apos;s wharf , and Dackson &apos;s daughter . Mrs Caxton &apos;s other boy , Derek , had been killed in the war . after her husband died her brain began to fade . at times she thought Pete was really her own son . other times she remembered that both Michael and Derek were dead . she could n&apos;t work it out . she was heading for a complete breakdown , Starmouth said . then Starmouth found out that Pete was engaged to Geraldine Dackson . ( up to this point Jesty had told his story in a flat , though jerky , monotone . now he grew more and more agitated . ) the time for my revenge was just round the corner . I told Starmouth to keep on watching Pete . last Monday evening - a week ago to-day . God , only a week ! - he came to me . he had seen my son and another girl in intimacy . ( Jesty &apos;s voice became shrill ; his body began to twitch and jerk . ) my chance had come at last . I had to take it . I was going to smash him as he had twice tried to smash me . ( his eyes , wild and frightened , were fixed on Tong . Tong guessed that they did not see him . ) I told Starmouth to go at once and report exactly what he had seen to Dackson and his daughter . he did as he was told . ( there was a thin trickle of moisture at the corner of Jesty &apos;s lips , but his speech was parched and unsteady . ) I thought that Dackson would ruin my son . I did not think he would kill him . I swear that I did not want Dackson to kill my son . I was n&apos;t at the wharf at any time on Wednesday . that is the truth , so help me God . 12 . Carol Carstairs , interviewed by Passon and Tong for the second time , began by agreeing that she could have been mistaken about the precise minute of Dackson &apos;s visit the previous Wednesday , and ended by admitting that he was in fact at least half an hour late for his appointment with her . there it is , Passon commented afterwards . she is a business woman . no doubt he paid her well for stretching the truth a bit . she was his second alibi , of course . the first was the television set - and a daughter loyal enough , or distressed enough , to lie for him . I &apos;m more sorry for Geraldine than anyone , Tong said . unless it &apos;s Ella Marsham . when you think it over , Harry , it &apos;s difficult to imagine any visitor to the wharf other than Dackson himself persuading Caxton to step out on to the quay on such a bleak night . Caxton could hardly fail to obey his employer - and prospective father-in-law . Pete Jesty , alias Michael Caxton , Tong said . think we would have got the truth from his father if it had n&apos;t been for old Sam Toberson ? who knows ? at least Sam was one of the factors the commander did n&apos;t bargain for . another was the body fetching up on the mooring-hook - practically where it started from . and you finding out about the spy at the Marshams &apos; , Passon said . just a stroke of luck , sir , Tong said . luck or not , Harry , it was the real turning-point for us . must be true what they say . Tong can n&apos;t go wrong ! coming from Long Dick this was praise indeed . Tong laughed happily . I &apos;m a good dart-player too , he said . 13 . the long brutal winter ended at last . the plane trees in Southwark Park were wrapped in a delicate mist of bursting buds ; mild sunlight played with the grey face of the river ; the railway embankment along Railside Terrace was thinly carpeted with upshooting leaves of new weeds and grass ; and a revolution had come to the Toberson household . when Nick returned home he found that his mother was seriously ill . she had pneumonia . the sight of her youngest son , the doctor said , was the only thing that saved her ; it gave her the strength she needed to fight for life . soon she was out of danger , but the doctor told Dan that she would have to remain in bed for some time and that thereafter it was essential that she should not have to exert herself . Dan , not knowing which way to turn , took a desperate course . he wrote to Rose beseeching her to help . the first flower made a prompt appearance on the scene , bringing the baby with her . she announced happily that her husband , with the help of the eldest daughter , would be able to manage very well , and that there was no reason why she should n&apos;t stay at Railside Terrace indefinitely . with Grace helpless Rose set up her own autocracy . her squeaking , querulous accents were heard without intermission . they rose over the baby &apos;s interminable howling and were directed at everyone in equal measure . she was a poor and unpunctual cook . normally indolent , she was now and again seized with unpredictable bouts of energy in the grip of which she swept through the house with a fury that disarranged everything and left a trail of havoc behind . only the old man &apos;s room was too much for her . once she put her head round the door , and Sam shouted : you get right out of this , Rose . you leave me in peace . Rose took one breath of the stagnant air . you - you polecat ! she screeched , and retreated without argument . her r&amp;eacute;gime , hated alike by all the men , produced one extraordinary result . one day Fred met Nick at the front door as they were both about to enter the house . Fred grasped his brother &apos;s elbow . Nick , I can n&apos;t stomach this much longer . nor me . what &apos;s the answer ? Mum &apos;s picking up , but she &apos;ll never be her old self again . that first flower &apos;s driving me nuts , Fred said . I &apos;m going to put a stop to it . what with - arsenic ? Fred fixed his small eyes on his brother , beckoned him to stand closer , and whispered into his ear the most unexpected words Nick had ever heard . I &apos;m going to get myself married , Fred said . the next day he brought home a woman in her middle thirties and took her straight to his mother &apos;s bedside . Mum , this is Maggie . I &apos;m going to marry her , and I &apos;d like her to come and live with us . Maggie was plump and plain with a pleasing smile , a placid nature , and a slow-moving but methodical mind . for twenty years she had worked in the bottling-store at the brewery , and Grace heard with astonishment that Fred had known her on and off for nearly as long . Grace , well aware of the turbulence that Rose was creating , was as anxious as the rest of the family to find an alternative solution . she took to Maggie at once ; and at once began working on the problem of how to accommodate Fred and a bride within the limited space available . as always , old Sam was the stumbling-block . it was the same dilemma she had to face when there was a prospect , now vanished for ever , of Nick marrying Ella Marsham . it was Nick who found the answer . only one thing for it , Mum , he said , sitting on the edge of the bed and holding one of her hands in his . let Fred and Mag have the two upstairs rooms between them . Sam will have to come out of his kennel . the two of us will sleep in the front room downstairs . you will n&apos;t ever shift him . Nick patted her . we &apos;ll manage . just you take it easy . we &apos;ll sort it out . Nick went at once to his grandfather , and found him buried in his bed with his head barely visible upon the pillow . Sam spent much of his time in bed these days . he argued that it was the only place where he could be safe from Rose . see here , Sam , Nick began . you know Fred &apos;s getting spliced . gone soft in the head , Sam said . same as I &apos;ve always said , women rule the roost and no man &apos;s safe from &apos;em . ought to be a better way of doing things . take trees . he rattled on very happily . trees have got the right idea . a tree &apos;s got more sense than some people think . a tree do n&apos;t have to worry . just stays put right where it was born . sorry , Sam , you &apos;re no tree , and you &apos;ve got to shift from this room . the old man was so incensed that after a good deal of wriggling and twisting he managed to get his shoulders clear of all restrictions . he propped himself on one elbow . you can n&apos;t do it to me , Nick . I &apos;ve worked this room up to my way of thinking like I &apos;d educate a child . this room and me understands one another . Sam , Nick said firmly , either you and me share downstairs , and we have Mag , or you stick it out up here and we all get saddled with the first flower for ever . Sam sank back on his pillow . oh , my God ! all right , you win ! with that settled Fred was soon married . the first flower snatched up her infant and departed , muttering sarcasms . the whole household listened to the dwindling screams of the baby with relief . Maggie soon proved her worth , and after a time Dan summed up the general approval by saying : she &apos;s as good a worker as you could wish for . she speaks our language . Mag &apos;s one of us . Nick and his grandfather shared their bedroom amicably . the old man , though fighting a grumbling rearguard action , permitted himself gradually to become a little cleaner and tidier . in his heart he was well satisfied to have Nick &apos;s company . when they were alone together he often explained all over again how shrewd he had been in discovering Alf Jesty &apos;s secret . imagine it , Nick , just that bit of information Fred picked up about Pete Jesty always touching his nose , and me remembering from that snap you once showed me that this Caxton had some sort of a scar there . just an idea to begin with , mind you - then click ! and I &apos;d got it . that was smart work , say what you like . it certainly was , Sam , Nick would agree , and go on to say with a touch of self-importance : no wonder he tried to have me suffocated back last summer . must have thought I &apos;d rumbled him right from the start . by this time Nick was certain in his own mind that he had really seen Caxton &apos;s hand snatching at the prop holding the barge &apos;s hatch open , though he could never prove it , and it would not be of much use if he could . 