Chapter 7

“I am of the same opinion,” said Reg. “Our conclusion was that a person, who we have tentatively identified as a relative of the owner, fired a Very pistol or similar flare pistol into the basement through the coal shute, and started the blaze. We have worked out that the physics of the flare cartridge’s trajectory would mean that it would bounce around inside the basement until it lost momentum and burnt out on the floor. The arsonist probably went in to clear the floor so that he could remove any signs of the burnt-out flare. Our technical opinion is that the flare would have left traces on the walls where it hit them, so that a fire investigator with sensitive equipment and a knowledge of what residues the flare would leave, should be able to discover the proof you need. Has the investigator done that yet?”

“I think he is doing that this morning. I showed him your report and he was impressed, particularly with the chemistry you postulated might be involved. He told me he knows what to do now, and is keen to test the walls. As the residue will be coated with soot from the fire, it becomes more difficult to discover small quantities unless you know exactly what you are looking for, but he now does.”

“Excellent. When do you expect him to report back to you?”

“Some time this afternoon, all being well. Is there any way we can take this arsonist to court? You said you identified him.”

“We already knew of the man’s previous activities. When we found that he was a relative of the owner, we asked the police if there had been a search of his possessions. There was, and that included a flare gun, which had no business being with him, so that turned our minds as to how a flare gun could be used without harming the arsonist or lighting up the night. Firing it into the opened coal shute was the answer. The owner had to have unbolted and opened the hatch from the inside to allow the flare to be fired in, so that makes him culpable. Showing that the relative with the flare gun was there at the time and did the dastardly deed is well nigh impossible to prove in court, so he will get away with that one, I am afraid.”

“Fascinating. I will not ask you how you got the police to admit the relative had a flare gun, as long as you can prove it should that fact be deemed essential.”

“Oh, it is a provable fact, I assure you. We have a reputation to uphold, so we do not state something unless we can prove it to be true. That is why we get referrals from satisfied clients.”

“Thank you then, Mr Robertson. Looking at your company name, do you actually offer to recover items thought to be stolen?”

Reg hesitated before replying. “I shall be honest with you. The Board has considered taking on such tasks, without making a final decision, but so far we have not been asked to accomplish a recovery such as you describe. Mostly we look into companies and organisation who have unexpected financial losses, and find the answer. As with other clients, we will not take on a task unless we judge it to be possible, as our basic fee is £50,000, and we do not take money for doing nothing. The Board feels strongly about that point, which is why they have been reticent about cases such as you postulate.”

“I shall pass that information along to our investigations team, in case they may have an interest in obtaining your services for particularly questionable major claims which are awkward to dispute with the claimant.”

Reg told him, “I am most grateful for that, sir. As soon as we can confirm payment for our current efforts, we will be in the market for new work from your company at a suitable date.”

“Thank you, Mr Robertson. Stay in touch. Goodbye.”

Reg relaxed as he closed his phone. He didn’t even feel nauseous or headachy so far. That was encouraging.

Half an hour later, Maryam was back with a printout of her set of principles. That surprised Reg.

“Maryam, that was very quick. I expected it would take you much longer to think it over and write it out, then type it into the computer.”

“I didn’t do that, Reg. I am not good with computers, so I asked Sidra for help. I dictated what I wanted to say, and got her to type it into her word processing program. We went over it for typos and other amendments. I added a little more, then we printed it out.”

She handed the printout to Reg, and he started perusing it, using the speed-reading facility that he had learned. Finishing this first read-through, he marvelled at how well she had done, and started re-reading to get a deeper understanding of her words. This was done at a slower pace, but there were only a couple of pages of text, so it did not take long.

“This is good, Maryam. There is nothing I would actively disagree with here, though I would like to see certain aspects nuanced slightly. I don’t think you need my input after all. Go ahead and use it with all four girls, to get their reactions. It should be interesting to hear what they have to say.”

Later in the day, he got a call from Sergeant Phillips.

“Reg, just a quick call to apprise you of the activities of a certain husband who shall be nameless but whose wife recently fled the marital home. You get me?”

“I do.”

“He has got his lawyer digging into all sorts of places where his wife might be hiding. At times, the lawyer appears to be overstepping the bounds of what he can legally do, and we suspect he is being bribed to act beyond his official duties. The police in some forces have been receiving complaints about these activities, and with us having jurisdiction in the man’s home turf, the stories have come back to us, and thereafter to me, to do something about it.

A little bird has advised me that one of your ladies has an ‘in’ with a top legal man in London. Is that true?”

“It is true, Terence. Is there some action you would like to see?”

“If this lawyer is breaching his professional standards, someone should have him investigated. Would you agree that such action is warranted?”

“That sounds as if some action ought to be taken, Terence. Care to leave that thought with me, along with the lawyer’s name?”

Terence passed on that information, adding, “I always know that you will do the right thing, Reg. Farewell for now.”

Reg thought about this matter for a little while, then went back to his textbook about early man. The statements that he was reading, about the transition from hunter-gatherers to farmers seemed more a matter of modern academic assumptions rather than proper examination of evidence. The book assumed that some hunter-gatherers gradually switched to a static way of life in an area of high levels of nearby game, fruits and berries, or even fish, and later such settled people took up farming to produce high levels of food for expansion.

It was a straight-forward assumption, and on the face of it was a valid assumption, but Reg was also aware of the propensity of humans to want to take control and dictate to other humans how they should live.

It was that darker view that Reg was considering in relation to such a move from one lifestyle to another. There were certain facts that disturbed him. One was that while farming gave a higher yield of food, it required a high expenditure of energy and toil to achieve such results. The other factor was the discovery that contrary to expectations, the hunter-gatherer lifestyle provided a higher calorific food value than farming, and a more varied diet than farming could offer.

Basically, moving to a static encampment was a retrograde step for most hunter-gatherers, so why should they make such a move? If farming was already established, there might be an argument, but the book presupposed a permanent encampment long before farming started.

There might be other advantages to a settled lifestyle, such as not having to carry everything from one site to another and not having to leave your sick, elderly and younger children back at the old camp while you transition to the new one. These were only temporary setbacks, so initially there was no other incentive towards a settled lifestyle.

Reg’s darker vision saw the static encampment as a place where the less desirable members of your tribe could be constrained with little effort. The young teen boys could be given the responsibility of perimeter defence against marauding animals and humans. Beyond the permanent encampment there could be an elite warrior lurking out of sight, and occasionally within sight, so that forced residents would not risk going far beyond the encampment.

If you have what is in effect a captive group, they can be set to producing stuff for the elite hunters – weapons, clothes and equipment; pottery and other cooking essentials, and a reliable source of stored food at any time it was required.

In addition, if the tribe encountered another tribe and ended up with male captives, these could be put to work at the permanent encampment, threatened with death if they were found attempting to escape. It would not take many older men with weapons to keep an eye on them.

Female captives taken on raids could be added to the camp and be put to work sewing clothes, cooking food, and producing more children for the tribe. It all did its part to ensure the future of the tribe, which was what mattered.

That perverse scenario had just as much validity as that proposed by the textbook with its assumption of non-violent interaction all the time; a general condition of amity. Pacifism was not what Reg envisaged, based on his reading of human history throughout the world.

Hunting and foraging areas had potential flashpoints on meeting other tribes, based on thousands of years of human experience, in Reg’s mind-picture. It may smack of concentration camps of the 19th and 20th centuries, but its intentions were ultimately benign. The tribe was merely structuring its activities towards long-term survival. Farming and construction were by-products of that social reorganisation; things they could make happen because of that static camp.

For a while, hunter-gathering from the locality would support the inhabitants, but there would be an eventual need for a year-round food supply. Grains offered that option, as they stored well in pots or lined pits in the ground. Instead of gathering the grain from the wild countryside, you ‘persuaded’ it to grow in and around your camp, and this started the farming process. They would have already noted that gourds and nuts would keep well and remain edible for a long time. Certain nutritious green-leaved vegetables would continue to grow as long as grazing animals were kept away, and that would supply another plant element for the human food range.

The drawback of an entirely agricultural style of life was the arrival of scurvy and rickets because of solely grain-based food sources, and body damage arising from repetitive labour.

The essential element of this new society was the initial establishment of a year-round camp, and that new institution would early on be supplied by the hunter-gatherers who ultimately controlled what happened at the encampment. Once the two lifestyles failed to link together, health of the settled group began to suffer. Those who retained the hunter-gatherer lifestyle were unaffected, and could move on if the game moved on. The settled group had to forage near the camp for meat, until they domesticated meat animals like sheep and goats.

Over lunch, Hermione reported on the business enquiries they had received. Most were not suited to the company, so Reg authorised the “Sorry, but unfortunately...” replies to be sent. The other quieries looked more interesting, so he asked Hermione to seek additional information before the company could commit itself one way or the other.

The idea of a bank asking them to investigate a failing company was unexpected. Presumably the bank suspected chicanery of some kind, and wanted to see if they could recover the cash they had loaned the firm. That could be complicated, as it would mean assessing the market for the company’s products, and estimate why the company was failing: pricing too high, bad customer service, or criminal activity of some kind.

Reg told Hermione, “For that one, ask for an overview of the failing company and the bank’s own view of the market for their products.”

Hermione made a careful note of this instruction, as she guessed it might be a proposal worth a punt by R.E.G.

At last, the girls arrived from university, and clattered into the house, a few calling for tea or coffee, declaring themselves parched. Others headed instead for their husband, to kiss him as evidence of their continuing love. The thirsty ones had no less love, but wanted their drinks before they greeted their man. Maryam was in the corridor and was almost run over by the five girls who simply greeted her, “Hi, Maryam!” before charging on.

Reg accepted the kisses and asked, “No-one has morning sickness now?”

Frances reported, “No, we are all fine for now. There is no guarantee it won’t return, but it is normally only during the first month or two of pregnancy. Did you not read up on this, Reg?”

“I did, but it was made clear in the advice that there is no such thing as a ‘normal’ pregnancy. They are all different.”

Frances revealed, “Talking of which, the midwife is due again tomorrow morning, before we leave for our classes. Will you hang around while she is checking us over? You have avoided your responsibilities recently, and I want you there tomorrow, so she manages to recognise what you look like!”

Reg knew the reply he had to give: “Yes, dear.”

“Right. Now, how are things with Maryam and her daughters, and is Jessica improving?”

“I got her to write down a set of principles of general religious and moral behaviour that children should learn and abide by. She did so, and I approved it, so she has taken it to the four girls for discussion. I have not heard back on that. Perhaps you could find out, Frances?”

“That is unusual. I must get on to that immediately, for I want to see what she has come up with. What did Jessica say?”

“Oops! I forgot to speak to Jessica about it. Would you take Maryam to her bedroom and talk it over together?”

“Reginald Robertson! It is you who ought to have done that, but I can see how embarrassing it would be for you at this stage, so I will give Jessica your abject apologies, and let you off the hook.”

“Thank you, my love. Blame it on my emotional shock symptoms, though I have to tell you I felt much improved today.”

“You have? Excellent; long may it continue, though don’t jump back to full-time study just yet. This may be a temporary respite. I want to see you properly back to normal, Reg.” She ran her hand lovingly round his cheek, showing that she had his best interests at heart.

“I will go see Jessica right away.”

Once she had gone, Reg only had time to lift his book and find his place before several other wives barged in to question him about his health. He patiently answered their queries, and they left to attend to essays, etc. allocated by their professors.

When Freda arrived to check his condition, he was reminded of his legal question.

“Freda my love, do you think it is possible to badger your father again, or am I being a bit of a nuisance to him?”

“Reg darling, it depends on what you are asking. If it is important, I will add my bit of pressure, and Daddy will act for us.”

“It is Maryam’s husband that she is escaping from. My spies tell me that he has his lawyer badgering organisations up and down the country, trying to locate Maryam. The vibes I am getting is that the lawyer is overstepping the bounds of his authority as a lawyer, and that perhaps an investigation into his activities by the Law Society might be in order. I have been given his name – John Jepson, so he should be readily identifiable. Do you think your father could instigate an inquiry into the man’s practices, on the basis of a public complaint?”

“That sounds perfectly reasonable. Have you got specifics that can be pointed to?”

“Not without revealing that my informant is a policeman, and I don’t want to let that be known. I have no evidence of my own; only what information has been passed to me. Can we arrange for the name to be given to your father as an anonymous complaint and tip-off?”

“I think that is do-able. I can tell Daddy that he will be getting an anonymous tip-off that a lawyer is exceeding his remit and should be checked out smartish; than I’ll get one of the girls to phone in the anonymous information on the name. I’ll give Daddy’s business phone number to Jemima, and she can be the anonymous informant. This could be fun!”

Reg cautioned her, “As long as he doesn’t get attacked afterwards, like last time, Freda. I respect your father and would not like him to be hurt because of us.”

“I know, my darling. You worry about everyone, even though you don’t need to. Most of us can take care of ourselves, except in an emergency; and you will either be there to help, or you won’t, and that will not make a blind bit of difference to the situation. As the Americans like to say, ‘Shit happens!’, so live with it, my dear.”

“Freda, you are going to be a great lawyer, for you can explain your point very succinctly. Thanks, now go see about your father, love.”

Finally getting back to his textbook, Reg settled down again. Reading about the poor health of early urban dwellers of ten thousand years ago, Reg wondered at this data from old bones. It implied that the settled population was dependent on a grain-based food supply. What could have happened to the link with the hunter-gatherers, who should be supplying wild game, fish, honey, fruit and nuts and so on, to supplement the farm-raised foods? One would expect there to be trading between the two social groups: grain for game, etc., just like two countries would trade to the benefit of both.

It was if the two cultures had turned to segregation instead of cooperation. Otherwise, why would there not be a plentiful supply of food from the surrounding countryside to supplement the staple grain products? Was the supply limited, and reserved for the elite in the village? Was the population outgrowing the food supply from the countryside? Were the poorer section of the village society being deprived of good food for economic reasons or being socially ostracised?