Gardener and Cragg sat, and Reilly joined them. The room was clean and pleasant, with large windows affording a good view of Old Bramfield Road. On the walls hung prints of the town from bygone days. The cleaner had placed a couple of dishes of potpourri on the window ledges.
“What do you know about tarot cards, Sean?” asked Gardener.
“Not as much as Laura.”
Laura was Sean’s wife, and Gardener had almost as much respect for her as he had for his partner. She was a terrifically independent woman, and had probably been as much help to Gardener as his sergeant following the death of his own wife, Sarah.
“And you know what she’s like,” continued Reilly. “She can talk for Ireland.”
“And you can’t?” replied Gardener.
“Yes, but all my conversations make sense.”
“That’s a matter of opinion.”
Reilly scoffed. “You used to be such a wise man.”
Gardener laughed. “That was before I started working with you.”
“Anyway,” replied Reilly, having the good grace to know when he was beaten. “I described the card in detail.”
“And?”
“The tarot is a set of cards used for divination. They give an insight into the unknown, predicting the future.”
“So we could add clairvoyants to our list of suspects?”
“Maybe. Laura explained that there are different sets of cards. There’s Major Arcana, which is what we have, and Minor Arcana, which look like playing cards. They all have meanings, either upright or reversed. Though what our suspect had in mind, I’m not sure.”
Gardener sipped his tea. “We might find that out when we know Wilson a little better.”
Reilly continued. “The upright meaning signifies beginnings, most probably of journeys. Could be mental, physical, or spiritual.”
“Judging by what Wilson has gone through, I’d say it was all three,” replied Gardener. “And the reversed meaning?”
Reilly referred to his notepad. “Impulsive action, ill-advised risks, rash decisions. Foolishness, gambling... the
list seems endless.”
“All of which describes Alex Wilson,” offered Cragg.
Gardener thought for a moment. “So, could we be looking for someone who knew the victim, and is pointing out problems he’s had with Wilson’s personality? Maybe he’s justifying his actions – to himself – for something that happened in the past? An incident that involved a bad decision Wilson made, in keeping with the card’s meaning?”
“Probably,” replied Reilly. “Once we know what’s going on, we might find the card fits Wilson perfectly.”
Gardener stood up, put his hands in his pockets and stared at the second card on the board, ‘Inspector Catcher’.
“What about that one?”
Reilly joined Gardener. “I’ve no idea, boss. I haven’t seen anything like that before.”
“Looks like a card from a board game to me,” said Gardener.
“That card up there isn’t from any board game I’ve ever seen,” said Cragg, “and I’ve seen most.”
Gardener turned to face the desk sergeant. “But how many board games are there on the market?”
“Nothing that’s new, boss,” Reilly replied. “Most games are electronic these days, and usually online.”