L01   1 **[404 TEXT L01**]
L01   2 **[MIDDLE OF QUOTE**]
L01   3    |^*0He did well. ^He got in touch with the woman Pete was passing
L01   4 off as his mother. ^Starmouth managed to win her confidence. ^It seems
L01   5 that she was an honest enough woman, only her mind wasn't as clear as
L01   6 it could have been. ^She showed him photographs. ^He found out that
L01   7 the name of her house*- Grand Greve*- was taken from a bay in one of
L01   8 the Channel Islands. ^One of the small ones. ^Sark, that's it. ^The
L01   9 Caxtons used to have their holidays there. ^Starmouth went there. ^He
L01  10 dug out some people who remembered the family. ^In the end he pieced
L01  11 it all together.
L01  12    |^The Caxtons had two boys*- Michael and Derek. ^Pete first met
L01  13 them at school. ^It was a good school I sent him to, one of the best.
L01  14 ^He was a boarder. ^He could always turn on the charm when it suited
L01  15 him. ^The whole family came to like him. ^The real Michael*- he was
L01  16 the same age as my son*- died of pleurisy when he was eighteen. ^Soon
L01  17 after that Pete staged his drowning. ^He was always a smooth liar. ^He
L01  18 invented some plausible story or other and threw himself on the
L01  19 Caxtons' generosity. ^They accepted him as a kind of substitute for
L01  20 the boy they had lost. ^Outside the family he began to pass himself
L01  21 off as Michael Caxton. ^The father was well-off and easy-going. ^He
L01  22 was easy meat for Pete. ^He sponged off him until he died just after
L01  23 the war. ^Then Pete had to look around for some other security. ^He
L01  24 found it*- Dackson's Wharf, and Dackson's daughter.
L01  25    |^\0Mrs. Caxton's other boy, Derek, had been killed in the war.
L01  26 ^After her husband died her brain began to fade. ^At times she thought
L01  27 Pete was really her own son. ^Other times she remembered that both
L01  28 Michael and Derek were dead. ^She couldn't work it out. ^She was
L01  29 heading for a complete breakdown, Starmouth said.
L01  30    |^Then Starmouth found out that Pete was engaged to Geraldine
L01  31 Dackson.
L01  32    |^(Up to this point Jesty had told his story in a flat, though
L01  33 jerky, monotone. ^Now he grew more and more agitated.)
L01  34    |^The time for my revenge was just round the corner. ^I told
L01  35 Starmouth to keep on watching Pete.
L01  36    |^Last Monday evening*- a week ago to-day. God, only a week!*- he
L01  37 came to me. ^He had seen my son and another girl in intimacy.
L01  38    |^(Jesty's voice became shrill; his body began to twitch and jerk.)
L01  39    |^My chance had come at last. ^I had to take it. ^I was going to
L01  40 smash him as he had twice tried to smash me.
L01  41    |^(His eyes, wild and frightened, were fixed on Tong. ^Tong guessed
L01  42 that they did not see him.)
L01  43    |^I told Starmouth to go at once and report exactly what he had
L01  44 seen to Dackson and his daughter. ^He did as he was told.
L01  45    |^(There was a thin trickle of moisture at the corner of Jesty's
L01  46 lips, but his speech was parched and unsteady.)
L01  47    |^I thought that Dackson would ruin my son. ^I did not think he
L01  48 would kill him. ^I swear that I did not want Dackson to kill my son.
L01  49 ^I wasn't at the wharf at any time on Wednesday. ^That is the truth,
L01  50 so help me God.**"
L01  51 *<12*>
L01  52    |^Carol Carstairs, interviewed by Passon and Tong for the second
L01  53 time, began by agreeing that she *1could *0have been mistaken about
L01  54 the precise minute of Dackson's visit the previous Wednesday, and
L01  55 ended by admitting that he was in fact at least half an hour late for
L01  56 his appointment with her.
L01  57    |^*"There it is,**" Passon commented afterwards. ^*"She *1is *0a
L01  58 business woman. ^No doubt he paid her well for stretching the truth a
L01  59 bit. ^She was his second alibi, of course. ^The first was the
L01  60 television set*- and a daughter loyal enough, or distressed enough, to
L01  61 lie for him.**"
L01  62    |^*"I'm more sorry for Geraldine than anyone,**" Tong said.
L01  63 ^*"Unless it's Ella Marsham.**"
L01  64    |^*"When you think it over, Harry, it's difficult to imagine any
L01  65 visitor to the wharf *1other than Dackson himself *0persuading Caxton
L01  66 to step out on to the quay on such a bleak night. ^Caxton could hardly
L01  67 fail to obey his employer*- and prospective father-in-law.**"
L01  68    |^*"Pete Jesty, alias Michael Caxton,**" Tong said. ^*"Think we
L01  69 would have got the truth from his father if it hadn't been for old Sam
L01  70 Toberson?**"
L01  71    |^*"Who knows? ^At least Sam was one of the factors the commander
L01  72 didn't bargain for.**"
L01  73    |^*"Another was the body fetching up on the mooring-hook*-
L01  74 practically where it started from.**"
L01  75    |^*"And *1you *0finding out about the spy at the Marshams',**"
L01  76 Passon said.
L01  77    |^*"Just a stroke of luck, sir,**" Tong said.
L01  78    |^*"Luck or not, Harry, it was the real turning-point for us. ^Must
L01  79 be true what they say. ^*'Tong can't go wrong!**' **"
L01  80    |^Coming from Long Dick this was praise indeed. ^Tong laughed
L01  81 happily.
L01  82    |^*"I'm a good dart-player too,**" he said.
L01  83 *<13*>
L01  84    |^The long brutal winter ended at last. ^The plane trees in
L01  85 Southwark Park were wrapped in a delicate mist of bursting buds; mild
L01  86 sunlight played with the grey face of the river; the railway
L01  87 embankment along Railside Terrace was thinly carpeted with upshooting
L01  88 leaves of new weeds and grass; and a revolution had come to the
L01  89 Toberson household.
L01  90    |^When Nick returned home he found that his mother was seriously
L01  91 ill. ^She had pneumonia. ^The sight of her youngest son, the doctor
L01  92 said, was the only thing that saved her; it gave her the strength she
L01  93 needed to fight for life. ^Soon she was out of danger, but the doctor
L01  94 told Dan that she would have to remain in bed for some time and that
L01  95 thereafter it was essential that she should not have to exert herself.
L01  96 ^Dan, not knowing which way to turn, took a desperate course. ^He
L01  97 wrote to Rose beseeching her to help.
L01  98    |^The First Flower made a prompt appearance on the scene, bringing
L01  99 the baby with her. ^She announced happily that her husband, with the
L01 100 help of the eldest daughter, would be able to manage very well, and
L01 101 that there was no reason why she shouldn't stay at Railside Terrace
L01 102 indefinitely.
L01 103    |^With Grace helpless Rose set up her own autocracy. ^Her
L01 104 squeaking, querulous accents were heard without intermission. ^They
L01 105 rose over the baby's interminable howling and were directed at
L01 106 everyone in equal measure. ^She was a poor and unpunctual cook.
L01 107 ^Normally indolent, she was now and again seized with unpredictable
L01 108 bouts of energy in the grip of which she swept through the house with
L01 109 a fury that disarranged everything and left a trail of havoc behind.
L01 110 ^Only the old man's room was too much for her. ^Once she put her head
L01 111 round the door, and Sam shouted:
L01 112    |^*"You get right out of this, Rose. ^You leave me in peace.**"
L01 113    |^Rose took one breath of the stagnant air.
L01 114    |^*"You*- you polecat!**" she screeched, and retreated without
L01 115 argument.
L01 116    |^Her re*?2gime, hated alike by all the men, produced one
L01 117 extraordinary result.
L01 118    |^One day Fred met Nick at the front door as they were both about
L01 119 to enter the house. ^Fred grasped his brother's elbow.
L01 120    |^*"Nick, I can't stomach this much longer.**"
L01 121    |^*"Nor me. ^What's the answer? ^Mum's picking up, but she'll never
L01 122 be her old self again.**"
L01 123    |^*"That First Flower's driving me nuts,**" Fred said. ^*"I'm going
L01 124 to put a stop to it.**"
L01 125    |^*"What with*- arsenic?**"
L01 126    |^Fred fixed his small eyes on his brother, beckoned him to stand
L01 127 closer, and whispered into his ear the most unexpected words Nick had
L01 128 ever heard.
L01 129    |^*"I'm going to get myself married,**" Fred said.
L01 130    |^The next day he brought home a woman in her middle thirties and
L01 131 took her straight to his mother's bedside.
L01 132    |^*"Mum, this is Maggie. ^I'm going to marry her, and I'd like her
L01 133 to come and live with us.**"
L01 134    |^Maggie was plump and plain with a pleasing smile, a placid
L01 135 nature, and a slow-moving but methodical mind. ^For twenty years she
L01 136 had worked in the bottling-store at the brewery, and Grace heard with
L01 137 astonishment that Fred had known her on and off for nearly as long.
L01 138 ^Grace, well aware of the turbulence that Rose was creating, was as
L01 139 anxious as the rest of the family to find an alternative solution.
L01 140 ^She took to Maggie at once; and at once began working on the problem
L01 141 of how to accommodate Fred and a bride within the limited space
L01 142 available. ^As always, old Sam was the stumbling-block. ^It was the
L01 143 same dilemma she had to face when there was a prospect, now vanished
L01 144 for ever, of Nick marrying Ella Marsham.
L01 145    |^It was Nick who found the answer.
L01 146    |^*"Only one thing for it, Mum,**" he said, sitting on the edge of
L01 147 the bed and holding one of her hands in his. ^*"Let Fred and Mag have
L01 148 the two upstairs rooms between them. ^Sam will have to come out of his
L01 149 kennel. ^The two of us will sleep in the front room downstairs.**"
L01 150    |^*"You won't ever shift him.**"
L01 151    |^Nick patted her.
L01 152    |^*"We'll manage. ^Just you take it easy. ^We'll sort it out.**"
L01 153    |^Nick went at once to his grandfather, and found him buried in his
L01 154 bed with his head barely visible upon the pillow. ^Sam spent much of
L01 155 his time in bed these days. ^He argued that it was the only place
L01 156 where he could be safe from Rose.
L01 157    |^*"See here, Sam,**" Nick began. ^*"You know Fred's getting
L01 158 spliced.**"
L01 159    |^*"Gone soft in the head,**" Sam said. ^*"Same as I've always
L01 160 said, women rule the roost and no man's safe from 'em. ^Ought to be a
L01 161 better way of doing things. ^Take trees.**" ^He rattled on very
L01 162 happily. ^*"Trees have got the right idea. ^A tree's got more sense
L01 163 than some people think. ^A tree don't have to worry. ^Just stays put
L01 164 right where it was born.**"
L01 165    |^*"Sorry, Sam, you're no tree, and you've got to shift from this
L01 166 room.**"
L01 167    |^The old man was so incensed that after a good deal of wriggling
L01 168 and twisting he managed to get his shoulders clear of all
L01 169 restrictions. ^He propped himself on one elbow.
L01 170    |^*"You can't do it to me, Nick. ^I've worked this room up to my
L01 171 way of thinking like I'd educate a child. ^This room and me
L01 172 understands one another.**"
L01 173    |^*"Sam,**" Nick said firmly, *"either you and me share downstairs,
L01 174 and we have Mag, or you stick it out up here and we all get saddled
L01 175 with the First Flower for ever.**"
L01 176    |^Sam sank back on his pillow.
L01 177    |^*"Oh, my God! ^All right, you win!**"
L01 178    |^With that settled Fred was soon married. ^The First Flower
L01 179 snatched up her infant and departed, muttering sarcasms. ^The whole
L01 180 household listened to the dwindling screams of the baby with relief.
L01 181 ^Maggie soon proved her worth, and after a time Dan summed up the
L01 182 general approval by saying:
L01 183    |^*"She's as good a worker as you could wish for. ^She speaks our
L01 184 language. ^Mag's one of us.**"
L01 185    |^Nick and his grandfather shared their bedroom amicably. ^The old
L01 186 man, though fighting a grumbling rearguard action, permitted himself
L01 187 gradually to become a little cleaner and tidier. ^In his heart he was
L01 188 well satisfied to have Nick's company. ^When they were alone together
L01 189 he often explained all over again how shrewd he had been in
L01 190 discovering Alf Jesty's secret. ^*"Imagine it, Nick, just that bit of
L01 191 information Fred picked up about Pete Jesty always touching his nose,
L01 192 and me remembering from that snap you once showed me that this Caxton
L01 193 had some sort of a scar there. ^Just an idea to begin with, mind you*-
L01 194 then *1click*0! and I'd got it. ^That was smart work, say what you
L01 195 like.**"
L01 196    |^*"It certainly was, Sam,**" Nick would agree, and go on to say
L01 197 with a touch of self-importance: ^*"No wonder he tried to have me
L01 198 suffocated back last summer. ^Must have thought I'd rumbled him right
L01 199 from the start.**" ^By this time Nick was certain in his own mind that
L01 200 he had really seen Caxton's hand snatching at the prop holding the
L01 201 barge's hatch open, though he could never prove it, and it would not
L01 202 be of much use if he could.
L01 203 *# 2006
L02   1 **[405 TEXT L02**]
L02   2 ^*0But that was less important than the news that Sir Cedric had
L02   3 visited Haines at the flat in Jarvis Street. ^Sir Cedric had never
L02   4 spoken of such a call on the murdered man.
L02   5    |^*"Off-hand**" said Tarrant in reply to Oxenham, *"I can't think
L02   6 of any of my friends who fits that description.
L02   7    |^*"Then you suggest that the information that you were seen in the
L02   8 company of this man in Brighton is untrue?**"
L02   9    |^Tarrant was irritated by Oxenham's tone as well as frightened,
L02  10 and he made his reply as offensive as he could.
L02  11    |^*"You asked me whether I knew the man and I told you I did not
L02  12 recall anyone who tallied with that description. ^Only a perverted
L02  13 mind would say that I had suggested your informant was a liar.**"
L02  14    |^Oxenham's face flushed slightly.
L02  15    |^*"I find your remark offensive,**" he said.
L02  16    |^*"That leaves me quite indifferent,**" snapped Tarrant.
L02  17    |^Commander Rodgers felt the situation was getting out of hand.
L02  18 ^After all, he reflected, the police had nothing against Tarrant.
L02  19 ^True, he had sponsored Bianca Poravia, who had lied about her
L02  20 knowledge of Haines, but what had that to do with Tarrant? ^Also,
L02  21 Tarrant's car had been seen near Battersea Bridge, but the explanation
L02  22 offered seemed reasonable enough and could not be disproved on present
L02  23 information. ^Rodgers knew that Oxenham was merely fishing when he
L02  24 suggested that Tarrant might be the limping man who had been at
L02  25 Brighton. ^Plenty of people walked with a limp, and no link had been
L02  26 discovered between Tarrant and the white-haired man who had shown an
L02  27 interest in Haines.
L02  28    |^Rodgers decided that the questioning must be brought to a close
L02  29 immediately and he rose from his chair. ^He told himself that the only
L02  30 reason he was stopping Oxenham from probing further was that he knew
L02  31 Tarrant so well and trusted him. ^Not, Rodgers repeated, because
L02  32 Tarrant was a senior director of the Ministry who was expected to
L02  33 become the next Deputy Director General and who, even in his present
L02  34 rank, exercised influence on the department's policy towards Scotland
L02  35 Yard. ^Anyhow, he thought, it would be foolish to antagonise a man who
L02  36 could be very awkward. ^The Commissioner of Police would not thank his
L02  37 staff for precipitating a conflict with a highly respected and
L02  38 responsible official of the Ministry of Security.
L02  39    |^*"We seem to have gone off at a tangent,**" said Rodgers. ^*"If
L02  40 you should think of anything that will help us in the Haines case, I
L02  41 know you'll give me a ring.**"
L02  42    |^Tarrant gave a stiff bow and went out without a word. ^He felt
L02  43 ashamed of his behaviour. ^He knew he had made use of his position in
L02  44 the Ministry and his friendship with Rodgers to bulldoze his way
L02  45 through and that almost any other witness who had behaved so
L02  46 scandalously to the police would have been quickly pulled up. ^But he
L02  47 had to protect Sir Cedric and himself, and to find an excuse to cut
L02  48 the questioning short. ^It was no time to be tactful and considerate
L02  49 of others. ^An insulting superiority had been his best defence.
L02  50    |^The Yard, he reflected with satisfaction as he waited to cross
L02  51 the road to the Ministry, had discovered nothing about the forgery of
L02  52 Bianca Poravia's papers. ^That was a weight off his mind. ^He had been
L02  53 prepared for Rodgers to say that the police knew of the fraudulent
L02  54 application and to have the file placed before his eyes with a demand
L02  55 for an explanation. ^That danger was not yet past, but at least for
L02  56 the present no one suspected him of forgery.
L02  57    |^But did the police really believe, he wondered again, that he
L02  58 might be concerned in Haines's murder? ^Tarrant smiled*- the idea
L02  59 seemed too ridiculous. ^Yet the questions had seemed to him to
L02  60 indicate that Oxenham suspected him. ^At one time Tarrant had felt
L02  61 almost sure that the {0*2C.I.D.} *0must have learned of his meetings
L02  62 with Haines and know about the blackmail. ^He had been right to deduce
L02  63 that, if they had done so, Rodgers would not have stopped the
L02  64 questioning.
L02  65    |^It was silly to feel indignant about being a suspect, Tarrant
L02  66 reminded himself, when the truth was that he might have killed Haines.
L02  67 ^He had intended to do so, and only his own lack of courage had made
L02  68 him surrender the idea.
L02  69    |^He had found it a disagreeable experience to have to wriggle and
L02  70 be wilfully obtuse and indeed engage almost in a kind of juvenile
L02  71 brand of impertinence, but how would it have helped the investigation
L02  72 if he had told the truth? ^He could have saved the Yard trouble
L02  73 perhaps by disclosing that he was the source from which Haines had
L02  74 amassed the six hundred pounds and by identifying his father-in-law as
L02  75 the white-haired man who had enquired in Brighton about the
L02  76 blackmailer. ^But he had withheld nothing that would have assisted
L02  77 Scotland Yard in tracking down the murderer.
L02  78    |^He pondered on the significance of Sir Cedric Barker's visit to
L02  79 Haines on the evening of the murder. ^The first thing to do, Tarrant
L02  80 decided, was to warn his father-in-law. ^He could not depend on
L02  81 intercepting him when he left the British Museum, and Tarrant made up
L02  82 his mind to wait in the office until Sir Cedric would have reached
L02  83 home.
L02  84    |^Miss Paynter came in with a pile of papers when Tarrant had
L02  85 seated himself at his desk, but he pushed them aside carelessly. ^When
L02  86 he heard that Manning wanted to see him, Tarrant shook his head but
L02  87 changed his mind and told Miss Paynter to ask him to come along. ^It
L02  88 was an effort to discuss official work but Tarrant thought that he had
L02  89 hidden his perturbation. ^Manning was not very observant, too wrapped
L02  90 up in his own affairs to pay much attention to others.
L02  91    |^When Manning had gone, Tarrant sent Miss Paynter home. ^He strode
L02  92 up and down his room until it was time for Sir Cedric to have reached
L02  93 his flat. ^He was relieved when he heard his father-in-law's voice
L02  94 over the telephone. ^Another bout of probing by Lady Barker would have
L02  95 been too much to bear.
L02  96    |^Tarrant asked Sir Cedric to meet him and his father-in-law
L02  97 grudgingly agreed to have a drink in a hotel close to the Barkers'
L02  98 flat. ^When he arrived at the rendezvous, Tarrant had to wait for him.
L02  99 ^He ordered a drink and took it to a table in a secluded corner.
L02 100 ^Though he told himself it was impossible that Sir Cedric could have
L02 101 had any part in the murder, he could not dismiss the thought from his
L02 102 mind. ^Tarrant remembered how close he himself had come to killing
L02 103 Haines.
L02 104    |^When he saw Sir Cedric making his leisurely way into the hotel
L02 105 bar, his light-coloured overcoat flapping round his legs, Tarrant
L02 106 jumped up and went to meet him.
L02 107    |^*"You must get rid of that coat,**" he said urgently.
L02 108    |^Sir Cedric stroked the material of the coat affectionately.
L02 109    |^*"It's got a lot of wear in it yet,**" he said, *"and I don't
L02 110 really feel the cold.**"
L02 111    |^Tarrant helped Sir Cedric to take off the overcoat and bundled it
L02 112 on the chair, with the lining turned outwards. ^When he had brought
L02 113 another drink, Tarrant repeated at length the exchanges which had
L02 114 taken place in Scotland Yard. ^Sir Cedric sat apparently unmoved, but
L02 115 at the close of the recital, he gave a loud chuckle.
L02 116    |^*"You were a bit rough,**" he commented. ^*"I suppose it might be
L02 117 called bureaucratic licence.**"
L02 118    |^*"It seemed the easiest way to end the inquisition. ^You didn't
L02 119 tell me you had visited Haines, Cedric.**"
L02 120    |^*"I felt it better you shouldn't know,**" said Sir Cedric
L02 121 defensively. ^*"I hoped the police wouldn't question you but I foresaw
L02 122 the possibility. ^I didn't want them to get the information out of
L02 123 you, for I knew it would look suspicious.**"
L02 124    |^*"And why did you visit him on the night of the murder?**"
L02 125    |^Sir Cedric looked rather shamefaced.
L02 126    |^*"I asked him his terms for keeping quiet about your forgery.**"
L02 127    |^*"But that was senseless! ^Whatever Haines might have promised
L02 128 before he took your money, there was no way of making him keep his
L02 129 word.**"
L02 130    |^*"I wasn't quite so simple, Bob. ^I told Haines that before I
L02 131 handed over any cash, he would need to sign a statement confessing to
L02 132 a crime for which he could be prosecuted. ^Then if he ever used his
L02 133 knowledge against you, he'd know I could produce his confession and
L02 134 he'd go to gaol.**"
L02 135    |^Tarrant stared at his father-in-law unbelievingly.
L02 136    |^*"You really expected him to agree to that?**" he asked. ^*"I
L02 137 never looked on you as a romantist!**"
L02 138    |^*"I was willing to try anything to end the threat. ^You couldn't
L02 139 have gone on as you were doing, Bob. ^Even if Haines had kept quiet,
L02 140 you'd never have known any peace and you'd have broken within a few
L02 141 weeks*- I could see it. ^You remember I asked you how much you would
L02 142 give to buy his silence and you told me almost everything you
L02 143 possessed. ^Well, I thought I'd make him an offer that would tempt
L02 144 him. ^I told him he could have ten thousand pounds if he agreed to my
L02 145 terms.**"
L02 146    |^Tarrant gave a soft whistle.
L02 147    |^*"It would have been worth it,**" he said. ^*"But Haines wouldn't
L02 148 play?**"
L02 149    |^*"I think he was tempted. ^But he was eaten up with bitterness
L02 150 against you and this woman Bianca. ^He raved at me as if he were
L02 151 unbalanced.**"
L02 152    |^*"He was a bit, you know.**"
L02 153    |^Sir Cedric took a sip at his sherry.
L02 154    |^*"A pity somebody saw us at Brighton,**" he said. ^*"The police,
L02 155 though, can't be sure or they'd have clamped down on you.**"
L02 156    |^*"I felt they couldn't be certain about my being there, but they
L02 157 have your description and it isn't far out. ^That coat is dangerous,
L02 158 Cedric. ^You must get rid of it.**"
L02 159    |^Sir Cedric promised to carry the coat over his arm on the way
L02 160 home, and when he went to the British Museum on Monday. ^Then he would
L02 161 leave the coat in the Reading Room and let his wife believe it had
L02 162 been lost.
L02 163    |^*"Best place I know to hide anything,**" he pointed out. ^*"I'll
L02 164 stuff the coat behind a set of old religious sermons which no one ever
L02 165 looks at.**" ^He patted the material gently. ^*"I shouldn't like to
L02 166 part with it altogether.**"
L02 167    |^If he had been asked, Tarrant would have said at once that Haines
L02 168 could not be bribed. ^He had seen, particularly at the last meeting
L02 169 with the blackmailer, that Haines was determined on revenge. ^The idea
L02 170 that he could be induced to accept money*- even though the sum was as
L02 171 high as ten thousand pounds*- as the price of keeping quiet was based
L02 172 on a complete failure to understand Jim Haines's warped and twisted
L02 173 mind.
L02 174    |^And when Haines had rejected the proposal, what had Sir Cedric
L02 175 done? ^Had he determined to kill Haines if he could not be silenced
L02 176 otherwise, and, when the offer of money had been rejected, had he
L02 177 steeled himself to murder?
L02 178    |^Tarrant looked across at Sir Cedric on the other side of the
L02 179 table and felt a rush of affection for him. ^He realised how fantastic
L02 180 it was to imagine that his father-in-law could have had anything to do
L02 181 with so brutal a murder.
L02 182    |^*"I'd begun to suspect you, Cedric,**" he apologised.
L02 183    |^*"That was pretty obvious,**" smiled Sir Cedric, *"and I admit I
L02 184 once had doubts about you. ^The only thing that worries me is your
L02 185 forgery of the immigration papers. ^I read that someone had left a
L02 186 letter to be sent to the police two months after his death, and Haines
L02 187 may have done something of the same kind.**"
L02 188    |^*"You read the wrong sort of newspapers, Cedric,**" laughed
L02 189 Tarrant, but he felt less confident than he sounded.
L02 190 *<*2CHAPTER SEVENTEEN*>
L02 191    |^OXENHAM FELT *0incensed that Tarrant should have been treated so
L02 192 leniently and been permitted to dodge questions. ^The chief inspector
L02 193 could not argue with Commander Rodgers, but, when Tarrant had left the
L02 194 room, he showed his irritation at the way the interview had been
L02 195 conducted.
L02 196 *# 2002
L03   1 **[406 TEXT L03**]
L03   2 ^*0The nose is one of the most pain-sensitive organs in the human
L03   3 body*- and Malone was discovering the truth in scientific detail.
L03   4    |^Kennan had only seconds left. ^He jumped forward to the far limit
L03   5 of his chain, his right hand chopping edge-downwards in bone-jarring
L03   6 force. ^The blow took the writhing thug a fraction above the boney
L03   7 knob which landmarked the cervical plexus, the vital nerve-centre
L03   8 which a long-ago Marine instructor had declared the pinnacle of
L03   9 unarmed combat targets. ^The thug collapsed with a whistling moan, and
L03  10 Kennan tore the Luger from the man's suddenly limp hand. ^There was no
L03  11 time for rejoicing, but the hard, firm shape of the automatic sent a
L03  12 new confidence surging through his body.
L03  13    |^Shouts, and the clatter of feet meant Goldie and Leo Grundy were
L03  14 on their way. ^Kennan pulled the manacle chain taut, and blasted two
L03  15 shots at the link which tied him to the ring-bolt in the rock. ^The
L03  16 nine-millimetre bullets smashed the chain as if it had been plastic,
L03  17 and, free, though the chain still dangled, he threw himself across the
L03  18 floor towards the entrance.
L03  19    |^Leo Grundy materialized there at the same second, his gun
L03  20 throwing down for a target. ^Kennan squeezed trigger first, and the
L03  21 bullet, taking the other with blasting muzzle-velocity at close range,
L03  22 high in the chest, smashed him back and downwards while Grundy's shot
L03  23 bit splintering rock from the wall feet away, then whined in a double
L03  24 ricochet. ^With scrambling intensity, Kennan hurdled the man as he
L03  25 fell and was in the main gallery, looking for the last of the trio.
L03  26    |^Goldie Lord was running, back down the rock-walled corridor, past
L03  27 the tangle of camp-beds, stove, and collection of crates which marked
L03  28 their base, towards the far end of the tunnel where the lights stopped
L03  29 and a deep blackness marked the start of the way towards the surface.
L03  30 ^Kennan aimed, then lowered the gun and began sprinting instead. ^He
L03  31 couldn't, even in his present mood, shoot the man in the back. ^For
L03  32 Goldie had no gun, only the open razor held in his right hand, close
L03  33 by his side.
L03  34    |^Suddenly the other man tripped and went sprawling, one foot
L03  35 tangled in the rubber-armoured wire which snaked across the gallery
L03  36 from the midget power generator. ^The lights flickered, then held
L03  37 steady. ^Goldie lunged to his feet again, the razor flashing in a
L03  38 frantic sidestroke as his pursuer loomed over him. ^Kennan threw
L03  39 himself to one side to avoid the slicing metal, and swung the manacle
L03  40 chain like a flail, reaping a bloody swathe across his opponent's
L03  41 face, following it up with a blow from the gun-barrel which smashed
L03  42 the man's forearm, the bone fracturing with an audible click. ^He
L03  43 kicked the razor clear, then stood back, panting for breath, gesturing
L03  44 with the long black muzzle of the Luger.
L03  45    |^*'My turn ... get moving ...**' he gasped, pointing back down the
L03  46 gallery.
L03  47    |^Tears of pain in his eyes, facial muscles quivering, Goldie rose
L03  48 slowly to his feet and obeyed. ^Kennan got behind him, let him reach
L03  49 the camp area, then smartly reversed the Luger and brought the butt
L03  50 down hard on the other man's head. ^Goldie went down, jack-knifing
L03  51 across one of the camp-beds. ^Limping badly now*- the old familiar
L03  52 ache in his leg started again as the tension died*- Kennan heaved the
L03  53 man over, rummaged around the collection of boxes and crates, and
L03  54 found a length of cord. ^He used it to lash the man's hands and feet
L03  55 together, then passed a few final turns round Goldie's body and
L03  56 camp-bed frame, anchoring him securely. ^The Luger ready, he walked
L03  57 slowly back towards the little side-gallery which had been his prison.
L03  58    |^Leo Grundy was lying with his back against the rock wall, barely
L03  59 conscious, his face suddenly younger and frightened, breath coming in
L03  60 wheezing gulps. ^Kennan stepped over him, collecting the man's gun on
L03  61 the way, and knelt beside Cutter Malone.
L03  62    |^The knifeman thug was dead.
L03  63    |^It was a moment or two before Kennan understood. ^The crushing
L03  64 blow he had landed on the man's neck, paralysing the vital nerve
L03  65 centre, by fluke chance had also been hard and accurate enough to
L03  66 damage the delicate nervous lacework which controlled life's
L03  67 respiratory action. ^Unconscious, Malone had died from lack of oxygen,
L03  68 just as surely as if he had been strangled.
L03  69    |^He felt sick. ^But there were other things to do than crouch over
L03  70 the probably unlamented remains of Cutter Malone. ^Kennan went back to
L03  71 where Leo Grundy was slumped, and eased the man back into a more
L03  72 comfortable position. ^Grundy's eyes, wide and bright with fear,
L03  73 followed every move he made.
L03  74    |^The handcuff key was still in the twenty-year-old's trouser
L03  75 pocket. ^With a sigh of relief, Kennan loosened the metal jaws, and
L03  76 massaged his red-wealed wrist.
L03  77    |^Now, however, he had another problem: What to do with the two
L03  78 surviving crooks. ^Goldie? ^He could be discounted for some time, and
L03  79 his bonds should hold until he was collected by MacTaggart's men. ^But
L03  80 Leo Grundy*- he bent low over the younger man again. ^Leo was as
L03  81 vicious as they came*- but in a way he was sorry it had been he who'd
L03  82 stopped a bullet. ^Whatever his record, and Kennan had no illusions on
L03  83 that score, Leo had been the most humane of the trio towards him.
L03  84    |^*'I'm going to lift you and get you on to one of the beds.
L03  85 ^Understand?**'
L03  86    |^Grundy coughed, and gave a faint mumble of acknowledgement.
L03  87    |^He wasn't heavy. ^Kennan carried him over, and laid him down on
L03  88 the nearest camp-bed, a pillow under his head. ^A two-gallon
L03  89 water-can, made of bright-red plastic, was lying near by. ^He poured
L03  90 some into a cup, and let the wounded man sip the liquid.
L03  91    |^The eyes showed something akin to gratitude. ^But the red stain
L03  92 on the front of Grundy's red woollen cardigan was spreading. ^Kennan's
L03  93 fingertips were stained the same colour as he unbuttoned the garment
L03  94 and loosened the shirt beneath. ^The Luger slug had made a neat round
L03  95 entry just below the collarbone. ^Easing him up, Kennan found the
L03  96 bullet's exit point, a more ragged wound, in from the shoulder-blade.
L03  97 ^Grundy would live. ^His lung was probably nicked, but with no sign
L03  98 yet of blood in his mouth he seemed to have been lucky.
L03  99    |^*'I'm going to give you it straight,**' said Kennan. ^*'I'll pad
L03 100 up the wound, and send help as soon as I get out. ^If you stay still,
L03 101 you've a chance. ^Try getting away, and you'll haemorrhage within a
L03 102 hundred yards**'
L03 103    |^Grundy nodded.
L03 104    |^He found a clean shirt in a small suitcase, tore it into strips,
L03 105 and used the resultant rags as bandages. ^Grundy was too weak from
L03 106 shock and his wound to do more than watch. ^When it was done, he
L03 107 settled back with a sigh.
L03 108    |^*'Answer me some questions.**' ^Kennan sat on the edge of the
L03 109 bed, the Luger on his lap. ^*'How far are we from the Polley-Bland
L03 110 plant?**'
L03 111    |^Grundy swallowed, and mumbled a reply so low and hoarse that
L03 112 Kennan had to strain to hear.
L03 113    |^*'About ... about forty miles. ^We're in South ... Ayrshire.
L03 114 ^Takes about an hour, maybe more, to ... Glasgow.**'
L03 115    |^*'The inside man at the plant. ^He's an American?**'
L03 116    |^A nod.
L03 117    |^*'His name?**'
L03 118    |^Grundy tried to turn his head away. ^But he couldn't escape. ^He
L03 119 swallowed again. ^*'Spence ... that's what Vince Benson calls him.**'
L03 120    |^Gene. ^Since he'd lain chained to the rock, Kennan had realized
L03 121 that there was no other choice. ^But somehow he'd kept hoping he could
L03 122 be wrong. ^Now, he had to face facts, and concentrate on the other
L03 123 important task still on hand, saving Big Betsy, the crucial item of
L03 124 equipment on which the Polley-Bland contract and so much more
L03 125 depended.
L03 126    |^He lit a cigarette, and put his final question. ^*'How are they
L03 127 going to do it? ^How do they knock out the transformer?**'
L03 128    |^The fear of death was large in Grundy's eyes. ^He knew that
L03 129 Kennan was his only hope of getting medical attention, and by his
L03 130 standards it seemed logical enough that there was an unspoken threat
L03 131 as to the consequence of failure to answer.
L03 132    |^*'Spence ... Spence didn't tell us. ^Vince knows, but he wouldn't
L03 133 talk either.**' ^Grundy licked his lips, face white and desperate.
L03 134 ^*'All I know is the time ... eleven {0a.m.} ^Hell, Kennan, I ... I'd
L03 135 tell you if I could.**'
L03 136    |^Kennan tried again. ^But, his voice hoarse and weak, coupling his
L03 137 words with a plea for a doctor, the little crook persisted that the
L03 138 exact method to be used was a secret Gene Spence had refused to
L03 139 reveal.
L03 140    |^It was eight-thirty*- only half an hour since the brooch and fish
L03 141 hook trap had sprung. ^Time enough, Kennan knew, but leaving nothing
L03 142 to spare. ^There was a storm lantern lying among the clutter of
L03 143 stores, and he picked it up, took a last look around the underground
L03 144 gallery, sniffing the faint odour of gunsmoke still lingering in the
L03 145 air, then headed towards the black of the tunnel to the surface.
L03 146    |^Compared with the main gallery, the ventilation tunnel was
L03 147 smaller and narrow. ^Even with the wavering beam of the storm light,
L03 148 he more than once bumped his head on the two hundred yard trip along
L03 149 the shaft's rough, rising surface towards ground level. ^The last
L03 150 fifty yards or so was at an upward angle of almost forty-five degrees.
L03 151 ^Then he was at the heavy door at the shaft entrance. ^For a moment,
L03 152 staring at it, he thought he'd have to go back and try to find a key.
L03 153 ^But Benson had obviously decided he'd never be locked in from the
L03 154 inside. ^There was a simple handle mechanism which governed the
L03 155 massive lock.
L03 156    |^The door swung wide, and he was free, in the open, standing in
L03 157 the clean fresh air, the sun shining above, the soft, still dew-moist
L03 158 grass springy underfoot. ^A curlew rose from a patch of heather only
L03 159 feet away and soared skywards, giving its distinctive *'pee-wit**'
L03 160 cry. ^He felt like laughing and crying, both at the same time. ^And in
L03 161 the middle distance, the narrow tarmac ribbon of a road cut across the
L03 162 dark green of the moorland.
L03 163    |^Kennan dragged a heavy boulder over to the shaft doorway, placing
L03 164 it in such a way that the door couldn't swing shut. ^Then, shoving the
L03 165 Luger into the waistband of his trousers, he set off for the road.
L03 166    |^Half a mile along the road, after tossing a coin and electing to
L03 167 take the left-hand direction, he managed to thumb a lift. ^The driver
L03 168 of the farm tractor had taken some convincing when he first saw the
L03 169 ragged, blood-stained tramp waving from the roadside. ^But Kennan
L03 170 still had his wallet, and money.
L03 171    |^The tractor, its fare-paying passenger perched precariously
L03 172 behind the driver, roared along the country highway at full throttle,
L03 173 and after about a mile swung into a small plantation of fir trees.
L03 174 ^The farmhouse was in the middle. ^More explanations, considerably
L03 175 complicated by the fact that he had to explain the gun in his
L03 176 waistband while the farmer's wife held an old-fashioned
L03 177 single-barrelled shotgun pointed at his midriff, finally ended with
L03 178 him being allowed to use the farmhouse phone.
L03 179    |^While he waited for the operator at police head-quarters in
L03 180 Glasgow to locate Superintendent MacTaggart, Kennan asked his
L03 181 audience: ^*'What's the name of this place?**'
L03 182    |^The farmer's wife, the shotgun now laid against the table but
L03 183 still near at hand, told him. ^*'Aultdonald. ^About three miles out o'
L03 184 Cumnock, mister.**' ^In her broad Ayrshire dialect she demanded in
L03 185 turn, *'are you one of them Americans from the air base at
L03 186 Prestwick?**'
L03 187    |^He shook his head, and turned back to the phone as MacTaggart's
L03 188 voice crackled over the wire.
L03 189    |^*'Where the hell have you been, Kennan?**' barked the policeman.
L03 190 ^*'I've had a full scale search going on for you for almost
L03 191 twenty-four hours now. ^The American Embassy's been howling that
L03 192 you've got to be found, the Home Office joining in the chorus, and
L03 193 I've been left holding the baby. ^What happened?**'
L03 194    |^Kennan told him as crisply as possible, conscious of the
L03 195 open-mouth attention of the two other people in the farmhouse kitchen.
L03 196 *# 2012
L04   1 **[407 TEXT L04**]
L04   2    |^*0*'Well, what do *1you *0think?**' she scoffed, her brilliant
L04   3 eyes challenging him.
L04   4    |^He made no answer. ^There was nothing to be said. ^He lifted his
L04   5 glass and drained it, feeling the sweat breaking out on the palms of
L04   6 his hands.
L04   7    |^When at last he looked up she was standing right in front of him,
L04   8 smiling as if nothing had happened! ^He could hardly believe it and
L04   9 blinked several times.
L04  10    |^*'Well, don't I get a drink tonight?**' she asked boldly.
L04  11    |^*'Of course... anything you like**', he murmured, relief flooding
L04  12 over him. ^*'Kitty... I'm sorry....**' ^His throat went tight and
L04  13 words failed him.
L04  14    |^*'Aw, forget it**', she said cheerfully. ^*'I'll sting you for a
L04  15 double for being a naughty boy. ^How about the telly tomorrow
L04  16 afternoon?**'
L04  17    |^He felt a glow of happiness steal over him. ^Everything was all
L04  18 right now, thank God. ^She wasn't going to break with him, after all.
L04  19 ^For the moment it was the only thing in the world that mattered.
L04  20    |^*'Of course, Kitty**', he said fervently, his eyes misty behind
L04  21 their thick lenses. ^*'Well, I'll be off now. ^See you tomorrow... and
L04  22 thank you....**'
L04  23    |^*'So long, Bob**', she said, waving her hand to him.
L04  24    |^Harry followed him to the door, opened it for him and stood
L04  25 outside on the step, looking up at the sky, where a few pale stars
L04  26 shone between puffs of light cumulus cloud.
L04  27    |^*'Nice night**', he remarked affably. ^*'But they forecast rain
L04  28 for tomorrow.**'
L04  29    |^*'Do they?**' ^Bone glanced up at the sky, his thoughts
L04  30 elsewhere. ^Personally, he didn't care if it rained cats and dogs and
L04  31 he knew that Harry didn't either. ^He waited, pulling on his gloves
L04  32 and adjusting his hat.
L04  33    |^*'Look, Bob,**' Harry began, after a brief silence, *'I don't
L04  34 mean to butt in, but if you take my advice you'll 'ave no more truck
L04  35 with 'er.**' ^He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. ^*'That girl's
L04  36 nothing but a load of trouble, I'm warning you.**'
L04  37    |^*'Kitty's all right**', Bone contradicted flatly. ^*'It's her
L04  38 boy-friend that's the trouble. ^If we could get rid of *1him*0...**'
L04  39    |^Harry nodded his grizzled head like an old hound.
L04  40    |^*'You're right there, Bob**', he muttered. ^*'But it's easier
L04  41 said than done. ^Kitty encourages him, too. ^No work, no background,
L04  42 no regular money so far as I can make out. ^Probably on the crook.
L04  43 ^But there you are, the girl's wild and headstrong. ^I can't do
L04  44 nothing with 'er.**'
L04  45    |^*'Don't worry, Harry**', the other said quietly. ^*'I won't make
L04  46 a fool of myself. ^Kitty needs a good friend and I'll always be
L04  47 that.**' ^He paused, hatred of Stevie Hewitt rising like gall in his
L04  48 throat. ^*'And I'll find a way of getting rid of that chap, Hewitt,
L04  49 too. ^Leave it to me.**'
L04  50    |^*'{0O.K.}, Bob, but watch your step. ^He's a tough customer,
L04  51 mark my words**', Harry said in a low voice.
L04  52    |^Bone half smiled in the darkness.
L04  53    |^*'I'll remember**', he said. ^*'Good night, Harry.**'
L04  54    |^*'Good night, Bob.**'
L04  55    |^Bone walked down the road, his cre*?5pe-soled shoes making no
L04  56 sound on the asphalt surface. ^As he walked he concentrated on the
L04  57 problem of Stevie Hewitt. ^By comparison with the manner in which he
L04  58 had dispatched Henry Mansell the elimination of a little spiv from
L04  59 Brighton seemed an easy undertaking... once he'd set his mind to it.
L04  60    |^Back at the cottage he prepared his supper and ate it beside the
L04  61 fire in the living-room, his thoughts once more on Kitty. ^If she was
L04  62 really in love with Stevie Hewitt it was madness to go on worrying
L04  63 about her, he told himself moodily. ^Yet it was not as clear-cut as
L04  64 that. ^He not only felt his need of her but was equally aware of the
L04  65 necessity to help and protect her, even against her will.
L04  66    |^Tonight, for the first time, he had abandoned all pretence and
L04  67 shown her the honest desperation of his feeling for her. ^She had
L04  68 neither encouraged nor completely rejected him. ^In some perverse way
L04  69 their brief quarrel had forged a bond between them. ^No doubt she had
L04  70 every intention of keeping both of them on a string. ^On the whole he
L04  71 probably had a slight advantage over the young man, inasmuch as he had
L04  72 money to spend and she was a girl who had a healthy respect for the
L04  73 material things of life.
L04  74    |^Towards eleven o'clock he locked up, turned out the light in the
L04  75 sitting-room, and went up to his bedroom.
L04  76    |^For several minutes he stared at his reflection in the oval
L04  77 mirror on the top of the chest.
L04  78    |^The toupe*?2e undoubtedly improved his appearance and made him
L04  79 look ten years younger. ^His skin was a healthier colour and he had
L04  80 put on half a stone in the last few months, filling out the hollows in
L04  81 his cheeks and giving him a more rounded appearance. ^But he was still
L04  82 no sort of match for a young and virile competitor and he knew it.
L04  83    |^He turned away and begun to undress, shivering with the cold.
L04  84    |^His eye automatically glanced towards the panel which concealed
L04  85 the hiding-place of his secret treasure. ^For an instant he stood
L04  86 transfixed to the floor, his eyes unwavering as they riveted
L04  87 themselves on the wall. ^Was it his imagination or was the panel
L04  88 slightly lop-sided?
L04  89    |^Leaping forward with a choked sound he grasped the oblong panel
L04  90 and pulled it out. ^The black tin box was exactly as he had left it.
L04  91 ^With heavily beating heart he reached out and lifted the lid.
L04  92 ^Everything was intact and he gasped with relief.
L04  93    |^He lifted out the heavy bundles of notes and knelt on the floor
L04  94 to count them. ^Of course, he remembered being in a great hurry to get
L04  95 that fifty pounds for Kitty! ^Obviously he had been careless in
L04  96 replacing the panel, but the possibility of anyone having discovered
L04  97 his hiding-place gave him something of a shock. ^As he replaced the
L04  98 bundles of notes, he withdrew the tin box from its hiding-place and
L04  99 locked it inside the cupboard. ^It would be safer under lock and key
L04 100 for the time being than behind a piece of panelling which did not fit
L04 101 very securely. ^Tomorrow he would buy a heavy padlock for the box and
L04 102 search for a new hiding-place.
L04 103    |^He lay in bed, cold and uneasy, unable to account for an
L04 104 instinctive sense of danger.
L04 105    |^When he closed his eyes it was Henry Mansell's face he saw,
L04 106 hovering above his head like a hideous caricature. ^The parrot nose
L04 107 and straight line of the mouth, the pitiless blue eyes that seemed to
L04 108 strip him right down to his abjectly quaking bones. ^The mouldering
L04 109 horror that had once been Henry Mansell taunted him now in the silent
L04 110 darkness.
L04 111 *<2*>
L04 112    |^In a corner of the saloon bar of the Six Bells at Hawkeshurst
L04 113 that Friday night Hugh Mansell and Roddy Dowell drank their beer and
L04 114 waited.
L04 115    |^*'It's too damn busy in here. ^We can't expect him to leave his
L04 116 customers**', Hugh said morosely.
L04 117    |^*'Give him a chance, old chap. ^He'll be over. ^Jim's a most
L04 118 reliable chap when it comes to picking up a small tip.**'
L04 119    |^*'{0O.K.}, Roddy, whatever you say.**' ^Hugh drained his glass
L04 120 and ordered two more beers. ^*'I'm really beginning to feel it's all a
L04 121 bit of a waste of time, anyway. ^I've been collecting scraps of
L04 122 evidence and piecing them together for four months now, and the whole
L04 123 lot still doesn't amount to anything one could call concrete.**'
L04 124    |^Roddy puffed at his pipe, his eyes fixed on the white-coated
L04 125 barman.
L04 126    |^*'Oh, I think it does, Hugh. ^That's why I want you to meet this
L04 127 bird. ^I think he fills in an important part of the background.
L04 128 ^Furthermore, dear boy, it confirms what we already know of your
L04 129 father's intention to leave the country on the night of October
L04 130 14th.**'
L04 131    |^Hugh nodded. ^His face wore the melancholy expression that was
L04 132 habitual to him but his eyes showed his inner excitement.
L04 133    |^*'I know, but from the moment he walked out of here we haven't a
L04 134 shred of evidence to prove what happened. ^Obviously he met someone,
L04 135 either by chance or by arrangement. ^Whichever way it was, that person
L04 136 had a gun and he managed to persuade Father to drive along that quiet
L04 137 stretch of road....**'
L04 138    |^*'Miles off his proper route to Dover or the airport at Lydd**',
L04 139 Roddy interposed quickly. ^*'And once there he was shot at close range
L04 140 and his money smartly filched. ^You know, whoever it was might have
L04 141 known of the existence of the suicide letter... providing him with an
L04 142 almost unshakable alibi.**'
L04 143    |^Hugh was thinking of his uncle, but said nothing. ^After all,
L04 144 Julian had acted very strangely since the tragedy, always secretive,
L04 145 always reluctant to discuss his brother's death. ^It was impossible to
L04 146 associate him in one's mind with a cold-blooded murder but, in fact,
L04 147 Henry Mansell's death had saved the firm and Julian's future.
L04 148 ^Moreover he might well have been aware of his brother's intention to
L04 149 skip out of the country and passed on the information.
L04 150    |^*'I'm sure you're right**', Hugh said thoughtfully. ^*'But
L04 151 whoever did it got clean away without being spotted.**'
L04 152    |^*'Easy enough along that stretch of coast road in winter, believe
L04 153 me**', Roddy affirmed solemnly. ^*'He probably caught the next boat
L04 154 across the channel and has been lying low with the money somewhere.**'
L04 155    |^Hugh nodded. ^*'I realized that after my talk with \0Mrs.
L04 156 Lawford. ^There are a dozen countries where a man could easily hide up
L04 157 and change the money without danger. ^Unless we can get a definite
L04 158 line on him it's hopeless....**'
L04 159    |^*'Something will turn up one day, you'll see**', Roddy said
L04 160 confidently. ^*'If we plug away at the leads we have....**'
L04 161    |^*'If only the *1police *0would do something...**' Hugh cried out
L04 162 in exasperation. ^*'I've put everything I know before them....**'
L04 163    |^*'No dice, Hugh.**' ^Roddy shook his sandy head. ^*'They're bound
L04 164 to want pretty solid new evidence before they'll agree to reopen the
L04 165 case. ^From their point of view the evidence for suicide is
L04 166 overwhelming. ^I spoke to a chap from the office of the Director of
L04 167 Public Prosecutions I know pretty well, and he agreed that the missing
L04 168 cash is a hell of a mystery. ^But as he quite reasonably pointed out
L04 169 the money could have been disposed of in London before your father
L04 170 left that evening. ^It wouldn't be unnatural for a man in his position
L04 171 to make provision for an unknown dependent or settle what he regarded
L04 172 as particular debts of honour before taking his own life. ^Also,
L04 173 logically, there's nothing to show the money couldn't have been
L04 174 pinched by someone passing the car *1after *0your father was dead.
L04 175 ^Stealing from cars is about the commonest kind of crime in the book.
L04 176 ^There's nothing that absolutely ties the missing money to the
L04 177 circumstances of your father's death, that's the point. ^Same with the
L04 178 passport. ^It's gone and that's that. ^It may turn up in a dustbin
L04 179 somewhere or at the back of a drawer. ^As far as the police are
L04 180 concerned there's nothing to go on. ^In our own minds we may be pretty
L04 181 sure what happened, but that's not good enough for them. ^That suicide
L04 182 letter did the trick*- definite proof that your father took his life,
L04 183 backed by medical evidence and the fingerprint chaps.**'
L04 184    |^A little man with thin brown hair and a ruddy complexion came
L04 185 over and greeted them. ^He wore a short white coat.
L04 186    |^Hugh ordered drinks.
L04 187    |^*'I was sorry to read about your dad in the paper**', the man
L04 188 said to Hugh in a thick voice which bore traces of a cockney accent.
L04 189 ^*'I was telling your friend how he come **[SIC**] in here the very
L04 190 night he passed away.**'
L04 191    |^Hugh wasn't impressed with this ingratiating barman whom Roddy
L04 192 had raked up. ^He was seedy and middle-aged with small black eyes set
L04 193 close together beneath heavily marked brows and a sly, crafty
L04 194 expression that failed to inspire confidence.
L04 195    |^*'He was hitting the bottle pretty hard, sir...**' the man said
L04 196 in a loud whisper. ^*'Meaning no offence**', he added, looking at
L04 197 Hugh.
L04 198 *# 2000
L05   1 **[408 TEXT L05**]
L05   2    |^*0What had he really wanted to see? ^A copy of Hilary's will?
L05   3 ^That wasn't impossible, though unpleasant to contemplate. ^A young
L05   4 man of his ideas might feel he was entitled to know what provision had
L05   5 been made for Hilary's daughter, in the event of Hilary's death. ^Now
L05   6 that Rose was dead, the picture had changed substantially. ^There
L05   7 would be no one to share the vast fortune with Lisabelle. ^She would
L05   8 be the sole beneficiary, in the normal course of events, which would
L05   9 make her a very rich young woman indeed.
L05  10    |^*"Sorry I was so long,**" Peter's voice made Mary jump guiltily.
L05  11 ^*"I tried my hand at that cheese concoction I remembered you liked.
L05  12 ^And heated up some soup. ^You deserve better than a cold snack.**"
L05  13    |^He placed an appetizingly set tray on the cleared end of the long
L05  14 table. ^He had not only taken a great deal of trouble on her behalf,
L05  15 but had foreseen exactly the kind of food that would appeal to her.
L05  16 ^Beyond this there was such charming friendliness in his manner, he
L05  17 was such an attractive looking fair-haired young man, his eyes so blue
L05  18 in his tanned face, it was difficult to steel herself against him.
L05  19 ^But charm and good looks and attentiveness in small ways were
L05  20 qualities essential to the fortune hunter. ^They bore no relation to
L05  21 trustworthiness or character. ^Nor did Peter's gift for companionable
L05  22 silence, grateful though she was not to be forced to make
L05  23 conversation.
L05  24    |^She heard the door open, heard the rustle of silk just as Peter
L05  25 picked up the tray with the empty dishes.
L05  26    |^He stood quite still.
L05  27    |^When he spoke it was with an eloquent, far-from-Old-World,
L05  28 ~*"Wow!**"
L05  29    |^Lisabelle's cheeks were almost the colour of the watermelon pink
L05  30 silk as she presented herself for Mary's inspection. ^The dress
L05  31 itself, the unusual care she'd taken to arrange her smooth black hair,
L05  32 the lipstick and powder she'd put on with surprising skill had
L05  33 transformed her. ^She had become a beauty.
L05  34    |^She knew it, and the knowledge transformed her.
L05  35    |^*"I didn't dream clothes could make so much difference,**" she
L05  36 said. ^*"You'll have to buy all my clothes for me! ^Although,**" she
L05  37 added ruefully, *"I don't know where I'd wear them. ^Where I'll even
L05  38 wear this.**"
L05  39    |^*"In New York, when you're staying with me.**" ^The opportunity
L05  40 was Heaven-sent. ^*"Look, Lisabelle, you're to go back with me next
L05  41 week, I'll guarantee you'll have a good time.**"
L05  42    |^*"I'd adore to go.**" ^Lisabelle's eyes shone like stars.
L05  43    |^*"Then we're all set. ^The job here ought to be finished in a
L05  44 matter of days. ^We'll ring up the airport in the morning and get our
L05  45 reservations. ^Luckily I have a guest room in my apartment*- a tiny
L05  46 one, but you won't mind.**"
L05  47    |^*"*'Mind**'? ^It would be bliss.**"
L05  48    |^Then the sparkle in her green eyes vanished. ^The excitement
L05  49 ebbed. ^She said with the quiet of despair, ^*"But I can't leave
L05  50 Dad.**"
L05  51    |^Peter moved resolutely off with the tray.
L05  52    |^Mary picked up a cigarette and lighted it, without speaking.
L05  53    |^Lisabelle glanced appealing down at her. ^*"You do understand,
L05  54 don't you?**"
L05  55    |^*"Of course I understand, lambie,**" Mary said. ^She raised her
L05  56 arms, and for the first time Lisabelle leaned down and gave her a real
L05  57 kiss.
L05  58 *<*5Chapter 29*>
L05  59    |^*2SUNDAY *0was another golden day of sunshine. ^A day when every
L05  60 instinct rebelled against staying indoors.
L05  61    |^The chances were, she wouldn't get the telephone call until
L05  62 tomorrow, at the earliest, Mary thought. ^But there was a dynamic
L05  63 quality about James Danford that made anything possible. ^At 10
L05  64 o'clock Mary reluctantly rose from the canvas chair outside her door,
L05  65 where she'd been basking in the sun, and went across the court garden
L05  66 to the living-room.
L05  67    |^She found that the last person in the world with whom she would
L05  68 willingly have shared this tense period of waiting was ensconced
L05  69 there.
L05  70    |^Dora May was settled in a comfortable upholstered chair, Sunday
L05  71 newspapers strewn all around her on the floor. ^Her feet, in
L05  72 high-heeled pink linen sandals, were resting on an upholstered stool.
L05  73 ^She was dressed entirely in pink. ^The black of mourning for Rose had
L05  74 been quickly discarded, but not the air of importance that had been
L05  75 imparted by the legacy Rose had left her.
L05  76    |^*"I'm waiting to see Cousin Hilary,**" she said. ^*"I brought out
L05  77 the mail while I was about it. ^There are four letters for you. ^They
L05  78 don't look very exciting, though.**"
L05  79    |^Mary sat down in the desk chair, her back turned to Dora May's
L05  80 gaze, while she opened the letters.
L05  81    |^They were not, as she'd judged, very exciting. ^Mary was reading
L05  82 the one from her assistant a second time, when Dora May's flat nasal
L05  83 voice broke in.
L05  84    |^*"A little bird told me you had a real long visit with Manuel
L05  85 night before last.**"
L05  86    |^Mary put all her letters into her purse, rose without haste and
L05  87 moved towards the fireplace. ^Despite the warmth outside it was cool
L05  88 in here and the fire was welcome. ^She tossed the envelopes onto the
L05  89 blaze, stood watching them a moment.
L05  90    |^Somehow she must manage to cope with this wretched creature with
L05  91 the tight blonde curls, whose every word and gesture irritated her
L05  92 almost beyond endurance. ^There was no hope of dislodging her; she was
L05  93 rooted here. ^Nor could any power on earth stop her from talking.
L05  94 ^Mary realized that the part of wisdom was to accept the situation
L05  95 without further protest, and, if possible, extract some benefit from
L05  96 it.
L05  97    |^After all, Dora May had been a member of this household for a
L05  98 good many years. ^She must possess information that would be of value.
L05  99 ^Even the least observant person would have learned a vast amount; and
L05 100 she possessed abnormal curiosity.
L05 101    |^The difficulty was not in getting her to talk, Heaven knew, but
L05 102 in diverting her talk into channels of potential usefulness.
L05 103    |^*"There's no knowing when Hilary will be back,**" Mary said.
L05 104 ^*"There is nothing for me to do but loaf and wait for a long distance
L05 105 call about some materials I need.**" ^It seemed sensible to slip this
L05 106 in. ^*"So, if I could be of any help?**"
L05 107    |^*"I don't see how. ^What I want is for Cousin Hilary to advance
L05 108 me the money Rose left me in her will.**"
L05 109    |^*"No, I could hardly do that. ^Twenty-five thousand dollars is a
L05 110 large sum. ^Although to Hilary, of course, it's peanuts.**"
L05 111    |^*"That's what you think.**"
L05 112    |^The glint in Dora May's cold blue eyes was a signpost the least
L05 113 discerning could follow.
L05 114    |^*"I'm positive,**" Mary said firmly, *"that twenty-five thousand
L05 115 dollars doesn't mean any more to Hilary than twenty-five cents would
L05 116 to me.**"
L05 117    |^*"Then why has he mortgaged this ranch?**" ^Dora May's voice was
L05 118 shrill with triumph. ^*"Borrowed every penny he could get against the
L05 119 land, and the cattle and equipment, too? ^Just tell me that, if you
L05 120 know so much about his affairs.**"
L05 121    |^*"I don't need to know much about Hilary's affairs to know he's
L05 122 one of the richest men in the state,**" Mary said. ^*"You must have
L05 123 been misinformed about his borrowing money.**"
L05 124    |^She sat down on the sofa as if dismissing the whole subject,
L05 125 picked up one of the papers from the floor and pretended interest in
L05 126 its headlines.
L05 127    |^Dora May rose to the bait. ^*"Hilary's lawyer's secretary is a
L05 128 close personal friend of mine. ^I guess she's not misinformed about
L05 129 documents she drew up herself! ^And came out here with the notary and
L05 130 signed as witness, the very afternoon of Rose's funeral.**"
L05 131    |^*"More trouble in Africa.**" ^Mary kept her eyes on the
L05 132 newspaper. ^*"Oh, sorry, Dora May ... you said something about
L05 133 documents?**" ^She looked up, thinking, with wicked amusement, I
L05 134 couldn't blame her if she slapped me! then shrank within herself for a
L05 135 moment, as the wrath in Dora May's voice made that outcome not
L05 136 impossible.
L05 137    |^*"You needn't high-hat me! ^I'm trying to tell you something for
L05 138 your own good*- if you ever want to get paid for what you're doing
L05 139 here! ^And I'll tell you something else. ^You can put it in your pipe
L05 140 and smoke it. ^So long as Rose was alive Hilary couldn't have
L05 141 mortgaged everything he owned without her consent. ^And she wouldn't
L05 142 have given it ... ^Maybe she'd be alive today if she'd been willing
L05 143 to.**"
L05 144    |^*"That's crazy!**" Mary declared, but she couldn't hide her sense
L05 145 of shock.
L05 146    |^Dora May was gratified. ^*"You know as well as I do Rose didn't
L05 147 kill herself. ^Why did you go to \0Dr. Summersby's office and ask him
L05 148 about those pain-killers of Hilary's if you didn't suspicion
L05 149 something?**"
L05 150    |^On guard now, Mary resorted to counter-attack.
L05 151    |^*"Oh, I remember. ^You said once that \0Dr. Summersby's nurse is
L05 152 a friend of yours, too,**"
L05 153    |^*"We went to school together.**"
L05 154    |^*"And the good doctor tells her everything?**"
L05 155    |^*"Well, no. ^Not exactly. ^He has one of those dictaphone things
L05 156 so she can keep a record of what his patients say. ^I guess he forgot
L05 157 to turn it off when you were there.**"
L05 158    |^Mary's mind flashed back to her interview with \0Dr. Summersby.
L05 159 ^Just what had she said in the so-called privacy of his office? ^She'd
L05 160 asked for the English valet's address, asked if she could go to the
L05 161 hospital to see Manuel. ^Spoken of Hilary's plans for a festive
L05 162 wedding for Manuel and Sarita. ^What else that Dora May's bird-brain
L05 163 could fasten on? ^Or, *1was *0it such a bird-brain? ^Was she inventing
L05 164 this fantasy of Hilary's desperate need for money? ^The details had
L05 165 sounded disturbingly convincing. ^Hilary was no niggardly gambler. ^It
L05 166 could easily be all or nothing with him. ^It was possible that the
L05 167 notary might have come out the afternoon of the funeral. ^Lisabelle
L05 168 and Peter and she had been riding and away from the house for hours.
L05 169    |^*"I certainly couldn't have given \0Dr. Summersby the impression
L05 170 that I thought Hilary had anything to do with Rose's death,**" Mary
L05 171 said. ^*"The question that bothered me was why she should have taken
L05 172 her own life, if she did take it deliberately, when she had so much to
L05 173 look forward to. ^I know all about the man in Dallas. ^I think she
L05 174 would have been very happy if eventually she'd married him. ^As she
L05 175 deserved to be happy.**"
L05 176    |^Dora May looked up. ^Again she astonished Mary. ^There were tears
L05 177 in her eyes. ^They were, however, tears of self-pity, ^*"She was the
L05 178 only friend I had at the ranch. ^She knew what it was to be an
L05 179 outsider ...
L05 180    |^*"I'm sure Rose knew that Hilary was going bankrupt,**" she said,
L05 181 with another startling shift of mood. ^*"I think that's why she left
L05 182 her jewellery to Lisabelle. ^Not that I mean to complain. ^Not little
L05 183 old me. ^I just don't understand it, that's all.**"
L05 184    |^She swung her pink sandals off the footrest, got to her feet;
L05 185 elaborately smoothing the pink linen over her rounded hips, patting
L05 186 her tight blonde curls.
L05 187    |^*"If Rose had made that will after we had words, I wouldn't have
L05 188 blamed her. ^But she didn't. ^She made it while everything was fine
L05 189 between us.**"
L05 190    |^So Dora May had quarrelled with Rose! ^This was a new angle to be
L05 191 explored. ^Had Dora May tried to blackmail her?
L05 192    |^Mary took a chance. ^*"She probably didn't think you'd really
L05 193 tell Hilary about the man in Dallas.**"
L05 194    |^Dora May pressed her lips, making a small red pucker in her
L05 195 over-powdered face. ^Her eyes were wary. ^Obviously she was wondering
L05 196 whether denial would do any good, since she had no way of knowing
L05 197 whether or not Hilary had confided in Mary.
L05 198    |^Never had Mary thought the day would come when Dora May's silence
L05 199 would be unwelcome. ^Now, as she remained silent, Mary could have
L05 200 shaken her.
L05 201    |^*"Is it your considered opinion,**" she said at last, *"that
L05 202 Hilary was responsible for Rose's death?**"
L05 203    |^*"Goodness gracious no! ^And don't you dare put words into my
L05 204 mouth.**"
L05 205    |^*"I don't know how else to interpret what you said,**" Mary kept
L05 206 her voice calmly reasonable. ^*"You claim Rose would never have
L05 207 consented to Hilary's borrowing the money he needed. ^You said that if
L05 208 Rose would have consented, she might be alive today. ^What other
L05 209 construction can I put on it?**"
L05 210 *# 2008
L06   1 **[409 TEXT L06**]
L06   2 ^*0People weren't enemies. ^They wanted to help.
L06   3    |^When they'd reached the house she'd been swept inside to meet a
L06   4 circle of faces and eyes and reaching hands, but it hadn't been for
L06   5 her. ^She'd stood there, invisible. ^The eyes and the hands and the
L06   6 quick voices had all been for the baby.
L06   7    |^That was how it had been, and afterwards, too. ^Someone had
L06   8 brought her up and gone straight away again, to the room next door.
L06   9 ^Where the baby was. ^She'd heard voices in there for a long time.
L06  10 ^Even now, if she went close to the communicating door, she could hear
L06  11 faint voices the other side.
L06  12    |^She wanted desperately to turn the flower-painted china knob on
L06  13 the apple-green door, and go through, but somehow she couldn't. ^She
L06  14 had a dreadful feeling that if she did she'd find she was really and
L06  15 truly invisible; that eyes would look through her, and steps go past
L06  16 and no one would see or hear her at all.
L06  17    |^She thought desperately, I'm going crazy, then turned sharply
L06  18 towards the other door*- the one leading out to the wide,
L06  19 white-painted corridor. ^She called, ~*"Come in**" and the door
L06  20 opened, to release bright electric light into the twilighted room. ^It
L06  21 bounced in, scattering gay colour into the carpeted floor. ^A grey
L06  22 ghost followed it.
L06  23    |^That was what the figure looked like. ^Grey and blurred. ^Hastily
L06  24 Lea groped for her glasses again, and the ghost became a plump,
L06  25 grey-haired woman in a grey pleated skirt and grey jumper. ^One of the
L06  26 people who'd been downstairs in the hall. ^She didn't know which one.
L06  27 ^All the names and distinctions had been jumbled up in her mind.
L06  28    |^The grey woman seemed to know that, because she explained now,
L06  29 ^*"I'm Abby Paladrey*- Mort's sister, just in case you didn't get
L06  30 things clear when we were introduced.**"
L06  31    |^*"How... how do you do?**" ^Lea rose stiffly, jerkily from the
L06  32 window seat, striving to brush some of the creases from the cheap blue
L06  33 linen of her skirt. ^She wished that she'd started to tidy up and
L06  34 hadn't been found like this*- a mess. ^She knew that was how she
L06  35 appeared. ^She'd seen herself in the mirror coming up the stairs and
L06  36 she'd looked terrible. ^All eyes and white hollow face and cheap,
L06  37 crumpled clothes.
L06  38    |^*"Are you comfortable?**" Abby Paladrey asked, her bright gaze
L06  39 going from Lea to the shabby suitcase by the bed. ^*"Not unpacked?
L06  40 ^I'll send Edith up to help you then. ^That's Edith Camm. ^Our
L06  41 housemaid. ^A good worker, even if she *1is *0silly about boys, or
L06  42 rather just one boy. ^She's determined to get married and leave, young
L06  43 as she is. ^They're all too independent these days. ^\0Mrs. Stewart
L06  44 too. ^That's our daily, Rita Stewart. ^She's a widow.**"
L06  45    |^She hesitated, as though expecting that Lea would break her
L06  46 silence. ^When she didn't, she went on in her brisk, clackety voice,
L06  47 that reminded Lea of nothing so much as a childhood memory of the boy
L06  48 next door playing with a morse set. ^Clack, clack, clackety, clack.
L06  49 ^It was just the same.
L06  50    |^*"It's not like the old days at all. ^In a place like this there
L06  51 would have been two housemaids at least and a cook and a girl for the
L06  52 kitchen and maybe more, but now it's get what you can and be thankful
L06  53 for that. ^Why, I remember, even at home when I was small there was a
L06  54 woman full time and another for the washing and the rough work and we
L06  55 never had money or much, but even in Wales it's all changed.**"
L06  56    |^The words had been flowing over Lea. ^Like the sea. ^Going in and
L06  57 out. ^Softly, pleasantly. ^Lulling her. ^Then there was the big wave
L06  58 of surprise and she jerked. ^*"Wales! ^I thought you were
L06  59 Americans.**"
L06  60    |^Miss Paladrey looked equally surprised. ^Her rosebud mouth went
L06  61 into a perfect crumpled O. ^She answered, ^*"No. ^That is, Babby is,
L06  62 of course, and Honor. ^And Eddie was.**" ^Her plump bosom went up, and
L06  63 down, just like a billowing wave, before she went on explaining,
L06  64 ^*"They all came from America. ^Babba married when she was sixteen,
L06  65 which was worse than Edith, but there*- they all seem to do it over
L06  66 there. ^That was to Ed Anwood, but he died years back and then came
L06  67 the day young Eddie got his draft papers, as they call them. ^He
L06  68 should have had them before, only he hurt his shoulder at football or
L06  69 somesuch and there was a long time spent in treatment, so it was all
L06  70 deferred, but finally he went. ^Into the Air Force, that was, and next
L06  71 thing they sent him over here to work out his spell of duty. ^So Babba
L06  72 packed up and followed. ^Of course she came to see Ian and his father.
L06  73 ^The old gentleman was dying then and when Babba made him an offer he
L06  74 said yes.**"
L06  75    |^*"An offer?**" ^Lea was beginning to feel dizzy.
L06  76    |^*"For the place. ^You've no idea, looking at it now, what it was
L06  77 like then. ^So Babby says, anyway. ^Even when we came it was different
L06  78 to now. ^Babba's just poured money into it.**"
L06  79    |^She was suddenly silent. ^Lea saw with surprise that the rosebudy
L06  80 **[SIC**] mouth was no longer a bud. ^It was thin and straight and
L06  81 tight. ^Then abruptly it relaxed. ^The bright little eyes looked into
L06  82 hers and the clackety-clack continued as though the break had never
L06  83 been.
L06  84    |^*"Ian had to agree to the sale because it was the only thing to
L06  85 do, things being as they were. ^So Babba moved in and Ian took over
L06  86 managing the place for her.
L06  87    |^*"And that was when Mort and I came into the picture. ^As I said,
L06  88 we were brought up in Wales. ^Our father was a songster. ^Lloyd
L06  89 Paladrey.**"
L06  90    |^She was silent again; expectant. ^Lea said with embarrassment,
L06  91 ^*"I don't know much about music.**"
L06  92    |^*"Oh well,**" Abby didn't seem discouraged, *"he was too much of
L06  93 a dreamer ever to do any good. ^People used him as they liked and he
L06  94 never seemed to get more than a penny or two out of it. ^Later on Mort
L06  95 and I came to London and he made a good little packet for himself. ^I
L06  96 kept house for him and things were just perfect, \0Mrs. Beverly. ^Then
L06  97 we went for a touring holiday. ^A coach trip, all over the place, with
L06  98 a group, and one day we finished up at a castle. ^Babba was there,
L06  99 sight-seeing with Eddie, who was on leave. ^She'd bought this place by
L06 100 then and had settled in and she asked us to come and see it. ^She made
L06 101 a lot of jokes about it being an ancient monument she'd restored for
L06 102 England.
L06 103    |^*"Well Mort fell for her and that was that.**" ^She made a little
L06 104 gesture of her plump hands, and the pouter bosom billowed again.
L06 105    |^Lea thought, she said things had been perfect. ^She didn't add it
L06 106 to present events. ^She looked into the bright eyes, but they were
L06 107 expressionless.
L06 108    |^Almost apologetically, Abby added, ^*"I seem to have talked
L06 109 enough, but I wanted to put you straight about everyone in the house.
L06 110 ^You looked dazed down there in the hall, as though things were too
L06 111 much to take in.**"
L06 112    |^Lea thought warmly, so I wasn't invisible to one person anyway.
L06 113 ^She felt swift gratitude towards the plump, chattering woman.
L06 114    |^*"I *1was *0dazed,**" she admitted.
L06 115    |^Abby nodded vehemently, ^*"Just like a Ferris Wheel, I should
L06 116 think. ^Honor made me go on one once at a fair and I've never
L06 117 forgotten. ^Up and down and round and round and never getting to any
L06 118 place and then leaving you that dizzy...**"
L06 119    |^Lea repeated dully, ~*"A Ferris Wheel,**" and shivered;
L06 120 remembered a long-ago scene. ^She'd been tiny then. ^Her parents had
L06 121 taken her to a fair and there had been a wheel, a great sparred
L06 122 skeleton of bright red against the evening sky. ^It had gone round and
L06 123 round and then people had been screaming and the wheel had come slowly
L06 124 apart and had...
L06 125    |^Crash! ^She was back in the nightmare. ^She came out tearingly,
L06 126 to hear Abby saying brightly, ^*"But you'll be all right now.**"
L06 127    |^Will I? ^Lea wondered. ^I doubt it. ^Unconsciously her gaze went
L06 128 to the other door. ^Everything now seemed silent beyond it.
L06 129    |^Abby hadn't followed the direction of the girl's gaze. ^She was
L06 130 saying, ^*"So do you know who everyone is now? ^Honor was the tall
L06 131 fair girl and you know Ian, and...**"
L06 132    |^Lea spoke without thinking. ^She asked, ^*"What does Ian think of
L06 133 being just a servant here now*- in his old home?**"
L06 134    |^Abby seemed to answer without thought, too. ^She said, ^*"Oh he
L06 135 hates it, and us.**"
L06 136 *<*2CHAPTER FOUR*>
L06 137    |^*0Lea woke to the certain knowledge that something unpleasant was
L06 138 to be faced. ^She lay still, staring upwards at the ceiling. ^There
L06 139 was a shadow on it just over her head. ^She tried to make out what it
L06 140 was, then rolled over and sat up, reaching for her glasses. ^The
L06 141 shadow resolved itself into a large brown moth. ^It looked alien in
L06 142 the carefully decorated pastel bedroom.
L06 143    |^Like I do, Lea thought and glanced across at the communicating
L06 144 door. ^She slid softly from the bed, padding over the thick carpet,
L06 145 hesitating, then turned the china door-knob and went into the other
L06 146 room, a too-thin figure in the fragile blue nylon nightgown.
L06 147    |^The baby was still asleep. ^As always, when she looked at him,
L06 148 she tried to trace some resemblance to herself in his tiny features,
L06 149 but there was nothing.
L06 150    |^Standing there, she told herself she had much to be glad for.
L06 151 ^She had warmth and shelter and food and comfort. ^And apparent
L06 152 friendship. ^At dinner the previous evening Babba had been friendly;
L06 153 had striven to make the stranger a part of the household. ^So had
L06 154 Abby, with her constant stream of chatter, about the dairy herd of Fen
L06 155 House, about the Fens themselves, about their neighbours.
L06 156    |^Lea remembered that Mort Paladrey had put an end to that, when
L06 157 he'd interrupted one cheerfully scandalous anecdote with a terse,
L06 158 ^*"That's libel. ^Isn't so. ^You're a mean-minded gossiping old
L06 159 woman.**"
L06 160    |^Abby's putty-blob of a nose had turned red. ^For a moment Lea had
L06 161 feared a scene, then Abby had laughed; had turned the talk to
L06 162 something else.
L06 163    |^Lea was not sure of Mort Paladrey. ^Short and rotund, with
L06 164 thinning grey hair and ruddy face, out of which two surprisingly blue
L06 165 eyes stared at the world about him, he hadn't said much and nothing at
L06 166 all to Lea*- not after the first greeting and later, when Babba had
L06 167 shooed her upstairs, he'd said goodnight.
L06 168    |^Ian had said very little and Honor had just sat there, eating a
L06 169 little, smoking a lot, never even seeming to gaze at the guest, but
L06 170 always, when Lea looked away from her, she had the impression that
L06 171 Honor's grey eyes went straight to her face.
L06 172    |^That had been one of the uncomfortable things. ^Another had been
L06 173 Jean McLone's firm, ^*"The baby's asleep, \0Mrs. Beverly. ^I wouldn't
L06 174 go into his room now.**"
L06 175    |^Lea knew she should have held her ground. ^Gone in. ^But she
L06 176 hadn't. ^Something inside her had curled up in panic and she'd said
L06 177 something vague and gone to bed without seeing the baby at all. ^That
L06 178 had been wrong and she'd wondered if downstairs they would comment on
L06 179 it and say she didn't seem to love the baby.
L06 180    |^She wondered if they wouldn't be right. ^She was acting
L06 181 selfishly, denying the baby a name*- but perhaps she was giving him
L06 182 more than a name. ^He had security, comfort, for a little at least.
L06 183 ^Far more than ever she could hope to give him. ^She didn't dare think
L06 184 ahead, to the day when she would have to tell about Arthur, confess
L06 185 she'd preyed on these people, for the sake of a few months of comfort.
L06 186 ^She'd been mad to come and yet...
L06 187    |^There'd been one more uncomfortable thing, too, before she'd
L06 188 fallen asleep. ^Edith Camm coming into the bedroom just after Lea had
L06 189 slipped between the sheets*- apple-green sheets that matched the walls
L06 190 and had made Lea feel as though she was part of a great apple-green
L06 191 meringue.
L06 192 *# 2024
L07   1 **[410 TEXT L07**]
L07   2    |^*"*0I'm very grateful to you.**"
L07   3    |^*"You needn't be. ^I told you, I'm glad to do it.**"
L07   4    |^I was touched and flattered by his manner, which was most
L07   5 attractive in its friendliness. ^As I said, I do not make friends
L07   6 easily; my defences go up at the first sign of intimacy and when
L07   7 people realise this, they withdraw. ^This young man was ignoring the
L07   8 defences and I liked him for it. ^It did not occur to me until a long
L07   9 time afterwards that he was, perhaps, a shade too friendly.
L07  10    |^Now all I had to do was to tell Max and that, I knew, was going
L07  11 to be difficult. ^He called for me soon after I got back to the flat
L07  12 and I made him wait until I had a quick bath and changed into a white
L07  13 linen dress. ^There must have been something about my appearance that
L07  14 he found disturbing because he looked at me as though seeing me for
L07  15 the first time.
L07  16    |^*"That was worth waiting for,**" he said. ^*"You must be the
L07  17 freshest thing in London.**"
L07  18    |^*"The water was cold,**" I told him. ^*"It nearly always is.**"
L07  19    |^His fingers lightly brushed something*- powder perhaps*- from my
L07  20 cheek. ^*"Cold water suits you. ^Don't complain.**"
L07  21    |^*"I wasn't going to,**" I said. ^*"I shan't be here much
L07  22 longer.**"
L07  23    |^*"I know. ^You're coming to Greece with me.**"
L07  24    |^I moved away. ^*"No, Max. ^At least not yet. ^There's something
L07  25 I've got to do first.**"
L07  26    |^*"Of course, the trousseau.**" ^He was refusing to take me
L07  27 seriously. ^*"Tell me about it while we eat.**"
L07  28    |^He chose a Greek restaurant in Soho, to get me used to the food,
L07  29 he said. ^It was a quiet place and I was glad; I needed to be able to
L07  30 talk. ^As soon as the meal was ordered I said: ^*"I went back to
L07  31 Bletcham today.**"
L07  32    |^*"To *1Bletcham*0?**" ^The word was heavily underlined with
L07  33 surprise. ^*"I thought we'd finished with all that.**"
L07  34    |^*"I was afraid you'd think so, but I've only just started. ^I'm
L07  35 going to buy a boat and moor it near Hardy's house,**" I rushed on.
L07  36 ^*"I'm going to find out everything I can about him.**"
L07  37    |^*"Why?**"
L07  38    |^The question took me by surprise. ^*"Because,**" I said
L07  39 impatiently, *"he may be the man who murdered Alice.**"
L07  40    |^*"And what if he is? ^He'll be tried*- if you can prove
L07  41 anything*- and you'll be a witness. ^You surely don't want to drag the
L07  42 whole thing up again.**"
L07  43    |^*"If he's guilty I'll go through anything to get him
L07  44 convicted.**"
L07  45    |^*"Why?**" he asked again. ^*"I can tell by your voice that it
L07  46 means a lot to you, but I'm damned if I can see the reason. ^It's not
L07  47 as if you were all that fond of Alice.**" ^He was interrupted by the
L07  48 arrival of the food and wine. ^When the pouring ritual was over he
L07  49 went on: ^*"I'm as keen as the next man on justice being done and all
L07  50 the rest of it, but I'd rather see you happy.**"
L07  51    |^*"There won't be any happiness for me until I can prove him
L07  52 guilty.**"
L07  53    |^*"You're already certain that he did it, aren't you?**"
L07  54    |^*"Not quite. ^Well*- yes, perhaps I am,**" I admitted. ^*"I have
L07  55 to be. ^If he didn't do it it must have been*-**"
L07  56    |^*"Must have been who?**" Max prompted.
L07  57    |^I looked into his eyes and longed with all my heart to tell him,
L07  58 but I could not do it. ^As long as my suspicion remained in my head I
L07  59 could pretend to myself, in moments of optimism, that it was not true.
L07  60 ^If I told Max he might agree with me and then I could no longer
L07  61 pretend.
L07  62    |^*"It could have been anyone,**" I said lamely.
L07  63    |^*"So you're going to live in this boat, though you know nothing
L07  64 about boats, and try to prove Hardy's guilt so we can be quite sure
L07  65 that *'anyone**'*-**" there was a glint of humour in his eyes as he
L07  66 said the word*- *"that *'anyone**' was innocent. ^If you're right, you
L07  67 may be in serious danger from Hardy. ^Even if you're wrong you'll most
L07  68 certainly be in danger when you start handling a boat.**" ^He picked
L07  69 up his glass and held it in both hands, looking at me thoughtfully
L07  70 over the top of it. ^*"No,**" he said at last. ^*"I can't allow it.**"
L07  71    |^*"You can't very well stop me.**"
L07  72    |^*"I can do better than that. ^If we were to get married now I
L07  73 could come with you.**"
L07  74    |^I looked down at my plate, not daring to let him see how much the
L07  75 idea appealed to me, reminding myself that he could only have said
L07  76 such a thing because he did not know the whole truth. ^*"And I can't
L07  77 allow that,**" I said.
L07  78    |^*"Deadlock,**" said Max.
L07  79    |^*"No, it isn't. ^I'm determined to go, and by myself, whatever
L07  80 you say.**"
L07  81    |^*"I was afraid of that.**" ^He sounded resigned but none the less
L07  82 hopeful. ^*"You're a very wilful woman but I'll change your mind for
L07  83 you one of these days. ^The thing is: when? ^I can't wait for ever,
L07  84 you know.**"
L07  85    |^*"I know. ^Just give me a little time, Max, say three months. ^If
L07  86 I haven't discovered anything by then I'll give up trying.**"
L07  87    |^*"And marry me?**"
L07  88    |^*"And marry you.**"
L07  89 *<*2CHAPTER SIX*>
L07  90    |^THE MAN *0from the newspaper office rang up two days later. ^He
L07  91 gave his name as Clive Mortimer and pronounced favourably on the boat,
L07  92 which was moored two miles up the river from Bletcham. ^*"You can see
L07  93 it any time you like,**" he told me. ^*"The sooner the better. ^If you
L07  94 can get to Bletcham this evening I'll run you up there in the car.**"
L07  95    |^*"That's very nice of you.**"
L07  96    |^*"Nice, nothing. ^I told you, I'm mad about boats. ^Seven thirty
L07  97 do you? ^I could meet you at the bus station.**"
L07  98    |^*"No,**" I said, *"outside your office.**" ^I could not endure
L07  99 the thought of another wait at the bus station.
L07 100    |^He was there punctually. ^Dressed in a loud tartan shirt and
L07 101 abbreviated shorts he looked hardly more than a boy, a cheerful,
L07 102 good-natured boy. ^He settled me into the car with touching care and
L07 103 then drove like a fiend along the river road. ^Ten minutes later he
L07 104 stopped in a lane and helped me out with the same careful courtesy.
L07 105    |^*"What sort of boat is it?**" I asked.
L07 106    |^*"She,**" he corrected. ^*"She's a converted life-boat. ^Not a
L07 107 very good one, but she's sound enough and the engine's fine.**"
L07 108    |^We walked down to the river's edge. ^There were a lot of boats
L07 109 moored there and he pointed to the one I was already beginning to
L07 110 think of as mine.
L07 111    |^*"That's her,**" he said. ^*"*1Sandpiper.*0**"
L07 112    |^She was not an eye-catching craft. ^Years ago in her
L07 113 white-painted infancy she must have hung presentably on the deck of
L07 114 some luxury liner but now she looked like a gaudy ark, with a
L07 115 top-heavy cabin streaked with layers of red and green and black paint.
L07 116 ^Inside, she was untidy and grubby but roomy enough and well lit by
L07 117 two rows of good-sized windows. ^It was a long time before I got used
L07 118 to calling them portholes.
L07 119    |^The owner was a middle-aged man whose family had tired of the
L07 120 limited excitement of the river and now had their eyes on a seagoing
L07 121 boat. ^Clive*- he insisted on being called Clive*- haggled with him
L07 122 and within half an hour *1Sandpiper *0was mine for three hundred and
L07 123 fifty pounds. ^When all the business details had been settled and the
L07 124 owner had departed with my cheque in his pocket, Clive started the
L07 125 engine and gave me my first lesson in manoeuvring up and down the
L07 126 river and in and out of the other boats. ^It was a warm, still
L07 127 evening; the plop of fish and the gentle putter of the engine were
L07 128 infinitely soothing after city noises, and I began to look forward to
L07 129 my life on the water. ^At last he pronounced me riverworthy and wanted
L07 130 to know when I would be moving in.
L07 131    |^*"At the end of next week,**" I told him. ^*"I shall have to give
L07 132 a week's notice at the flat.**"
L07 133    |^*"I suppose you'll be mooring her nearer the sea.**"
L07 134    |^*"Not much. ^There's a place just below Bletcham, near the
L07 135 footbridge.**"
L07 136    |^*"I know it.**" ^He looked doubtful. ^*"There are better
L07 137 places,**" he commented.
L07 138    |^*"I know, but that's where I'm going.**"
L07 139    |^He stroked *1Sandpiper's *0wheel lovingly. ^*"Take her down there
L07 140 for you if you like.**"
L07 141    |^He looked so like a small boy longing to play with someone else's
L07 142 toy that I laughed. ^*"No, thank you, Clive. ^I shall be able to
L07 143 manage.**"
L07 144    |^There was a pub in the lane where the car was parked; to soften
L07 145 the blow and also to thank him for his trouble I gave him a drink.
L07 146 ^Afterwards he drove me back to Bletcham and we parted like old
L07 147 friends. ^He suggested another meeting, but I refused; the boat was
L07 148 such an attraction that I was afraid, if he came near it again, that I
L07 149 should never see the last of him.
L07 150    |^The following Friday I moved out of my flat, and Max, who was
L07 151 still*- justifiably*- doubtful of my ability to manage a boat, came to
L07 152 help. ^We piled all my things into his car and drove down to that part
L07 153 of the river where the boat was moored.
L07 154    |^The moment he saw *1Sandpiper *0I knew by the look on his face
L07 155 that he had not much faith in her.
L07 156    |^*"That fellow Mortimer,**" he said, *"wants his head seeing to.
L07 157 ^This must be the original ark.**"
L07 158    |^*"I thought so too, at first, but it's quite nice inside. ^Come
L07 159 and have a look.**"
L07 160    |^We climbed aboard and he eased his wiry frame through the cabin
L07 161 door and wandered about inside, opening everything that would open. ^I
L07 162 guessed he was looking for leaks and waited anxiously for him to say
L07 163 he had found one, but his only comment was: ~*"Plenty of room in here
L07 164 for two,**" a remark it seemed safer to ignore. ^Like Clive, he was
L07 165 enthusiastic about the engine and decided, apparently on the strength
L07 166 of its efficiency, that *1Sandpiper *0was fit to live in.
L07 167    |^I was more than thankful for his help when we had installed my
L07 168 things and the boat began to move. ^The river was crowded with flocks
L07 169 of sailing boats which swirled round us like gulls and there were two
L07 170 locks to negotiate, but Max seemed to know exactly what to do and at
L07 171 the same time kept me supplied with important bits of information that
L07 172 Clive had forgotten to mention, such as keeping to starboard and
L07 173 giving way to sail.
L07 174    |^*"How on earth do you know all this?**" I asked him.
L07 175    |^*"I used to play about in these things when I was a kid. ^And
L07 176 then I acted as guide on a river boat one summer, to keep myself going
L07 177 between terms at college.**"
L07 178    |^It was the first I had heard of it, but that's one of the things
L07 179 I like about Max. ^He has done so many things that there is always
L07 180 something new and exciting to discover about him.
L07 181    |^*"You're wonderful,**" I said, meaning it.
L07 182    |^He pressed the tip of my nose with one finger. ^*"That makes two
L07 183 of us.**"
L07 184    |^It was about eight o'clock in the evening when we tied up almost
L07 185 exactly opposite Hardy's garden and went up on to the roof of the
L07 186 cabin to see what we could see. ^From this side, Rivermead was less
L07 187 forbidding; it stood a long way back from the water at the end of a
L07 188 velvety lawn flanked with flowering trees and shrubs. ^To the right of
L07 189 the lawn, close to the water's edge, stood an ancient boathouse
L07 190 shrouded in wistaria; it was built across a narrow backwater and there
L07 191 was a delicate iron staircase climbing the outer wall to a room above.
L07 192    |^*"You won't see anyone tonight, it's too late,**" Max said and
L07 193 turned to go.
L07 194    |^*"No*- wait,**" I put out a hand to stop him. ^The sun was no
L07 195 longer shining and it was dark across there by the trees, but I
L07 196 thought I had seen something move.
L07 197 *# 2016
L08   1 **[411 TEXT L08**]
L08   2    |^*0*"Madam, Madam, I beg of you*- you mustn't do that!**" Andrea
L08   3 implored her. ^*"You must help me to go! ^To*- to beguile a man I
L08   4 don't love in order to trap him*- it's shameless, horrible! ^I will
L08   5 not do it!**"
L08   6    |^*"You will*- because you must!**" Madam told her inflexibly. ^And
L08   7 then, impatiently: ^*"Heavens, girl, what a to-do! ^The man is
L08   8 presentable enough*- and if you marry him, you will get what you want.
L08   9 ^You will be Mistress of Galleon House. ^What more do you want?**"
L08  10    |^*"More*- much more!**" ^Andrea was hardly aware of what she was
L08  11 saying.
L08  12    |^*"Love, I suppose?**" Madam asked resignedly. ^*"It is the way
L08  13 with all young people, but it is an illusion*- a mirage. ^You will do
L08  14 very well without it. ^Or who knows, you may fall in love with
L08  15 Simon.**"
L08  16    |^*"Never!**" Andrea declared passionately. ^*"Never! ^He has
L08  17 robbed me*-**"
L08  18    |^*"And here is your chance to make him pay back!**" Madam
L08  19 interrupted. ^*"Now go away and think over what I have said, for it is
L08  20 the best advice that I or anyone else could give you.**"
L08  21    |^She shut her eyes resolutely, and because Andrea knew that it was
L08  22 purposeless to stay, she went to her own room.
L08  23    |^As Madam's door closed, she opened her eyes and one thin hand
L08  24 picked nervously at the sheet.
L08  25    |^Had she been wise? ^Ought she to have hinted at what she knew to
L08  26 be the truth*- that Simon had fallen in love with the girl at first
L08  27 sight?
L08  28    |^*"No!**" she said aloud. ^*"I doubt if she would have believed
L08  29 it! ^And there is Simon to be considered. ^With his absurd chivalry,
L08  30 he will need a little encouragement. ^And when the child has thought
L08  31 it over, she will give it. ^It will all work out as Leo planned*-**"
L08  32    |^The tired eyes closed and Madam drifted into the brief, easy
L08  33 sleep of age.
L08  34    |
L08  35    |^And Simon, sitting at Leo's desk in the tower room, what did he
L08  36 feel about it all?
L08  37    |^As Andrea herself had done, he had taken it for granted that Leo
L08  38 would have left everything to her. ^His first reaction, when he heard
L08  39 that he was Leo's heir, was to refuse his inheritance. ^Not only was
L08  40 it grossly unfair to Andrea to do anything else, but, if he accepted
L08  41 it, he was also accepting banishment from his own country and the home
L08  42 he had known all his life.
L08  43    |^And yet*- and yet*- which was home? ^That far-off, sun-filled
L08  44 house with its glorious views of pasture and distant mountains? ^Or
L08  45 this grim, sturdy house that was practically a fortress? ^From the
L08  46 moment of his arrival it had been as if he had known this place
L08  47 before. ^It was like coming home, and yet, before very long, he had
L08  48 been conscious of a feeling of unreality about it all. ^But that was
L08  49 not because of the House. ^It was the people who lived in it. ^He
L08  50 remembered having thought that they were fantastic, people left over
L08  51 from an earlier age who defied the passing of time. ^Leo, who should
L08  52 have been an adventurer. ^Madam, one of those rare, magnificent woman
L08  53 who, no matter what their age, have the ability to attract and hold
L08  54 the devotion and loyalty of men. ^And Andrea? ^What was she? ^A
L08  55 younger version of Madam? ^In some ways, perhaps. ^As far as loyalty
L08  56 and courage were concerned, without doubt. ^But as yet unsure of
L08  57 herself, as Madam, he was convinced, had never been unsure.
L08  58    |^Andrea. ^It all came back to her. ^Whatever he decided to do must
L08  59 serve her best interests. ^That being so, on the face of it, it would
L08  60 seem that he must somehow pass his inheritance on to her. ^But there
L08  61 was more to it than that. ^Luke, for one thing. ^And for another, the
L08  62 secret of Galleon House which he believed he had all but solved. ^An
L08  63 odd word here and there, a look of amusement in Leo's eyes*- the
L08  64 amusement of a man who has always enjoyed playing with fire. ^And, now
L08  65 and again, a sudden feeling of tension in the air.
L08  66    |^There were other things too, some so nebulous as to make them
L08  67 impossible to grasp, some insignificant in themselves, but adding up,
L08  68 surely, to give substance to an incredible conviction.
L08  69    |^Yes, convincing to himself but lacking actual proof. ^And that he
L08  70 was determined to have before he went to Madam and demanded the truth,
L08  71 as he fully intended doing.
L08  72    |^Already he knew that he would not find that proof among Leo's
L08  73 papers. ^Sitting in this quiet room with an unpleasant feeling of
L08  74 guilt, he had gone through every cupboard, every drawer, every file.
L08  75 ^All dealt with the normal business of the estate. ^And all were in
L08  76 apple-pie order. ^Leo had been a good man of business as well as*-
L08  77 everything else.
L08  78    |^There was the safe too. ^That yielded up a certain amount of
L08  79 jewellery, though none of very great value, a list of Leo's
L08  80 investments, a statement showing at which bank they were deposited and
L08  81 various certificates and statements from the same bank. ^These last
L08  82 Simon went through carefully. ^For a good many years past Leo had been
L08  83 paying in large sums from time to time*- twice or three times a year
L08  84 at the outside. ^One had been made very recently, and Simon recognised
L08  85 it as being approximately the amount that the diamond necklace and
L08  86 bracelet had fetched. ^Surely, all clear and above board! ^And yet he
L08  87 was not satisfied.
L08  88    |^But for days past he had had the growing conviction that there
L08  89 was one place where he would find the information he wanted.
L08  90    |^That story, which Leo had confirmed, about the Trevaine treasure
L08  91 buried beneath the House itself, had always fired his imagination.
L08  92 ^His grandfather had told him stories about it that, to his boyish
L08  93 mind, had held the very essence of romance. ^And though he had never
L08  94 mentioned the fact to Leo, he knew where the entry to the hidden
L08  95 chamber was. ^What was more, he himself had taken the key on its
L08  96 slender chain from around his dead cousin's neck and had worn it round
L08  97 his own neck ever since.
L08  98    |^No one had asked him about it, but he thought Madam knew where it
L08  99 was since he had made no secret of what he was doing with it and she
L08 100 had doubtless been told.
L08 101    |^Now he slipped it off and looked at it intently. ^It was a modern
L08 102 key, beautifully made and engraved with the name of a famous firm of
L08 103 safe-makers. ^That further confirmed his suspicions. ^His grandfather
L08 104 had spoken of a massive oak door, studded with steel bosses and
L08 105 strengthened with steel bars*- strong enough, no doubt, in the days
L08 106 when it was put there, but evidently not strong enough to please Leo.
L08 107 ^Well, he would go and see what it was all about, for only when he
L08 108 knew the whole story could he decide*-
L08 109    |^He went to his bedroom for an electric torch into which he had
L08 110 recently put a new battery and made his way to Leo's bedroom*- a room
L08 111 which, in fact, he could claim for his own now if he wished since it
L08 112 was always used by the owner of the House. ^This, however, he had no
L08 113 desire to do, but at least the fact gave him the feeling that he was
L08 114 not trespassing. ^When one generation succeeded another over so many
L08 115 years as was the case here, some rooms, at least, acquired an almost
L08 116 impersonal quality.
L08 117    |^It was so here. ^Presumably Madam had given orders for the room
L08 118 to be entirely cleared of all of Leo's personal property. ^It was
L08 119 simply a bedroom, swept and garnished for its next occupant*- himself.
L08 120    |^Like many of the other rooms in the House, this was panelled. ^By
L08 121 one side of the fireplace was a door which looked as if it might lead
L08 122 to another room. ^Simon knew better. ^Carefully locking the door
L08 123 through which he had just come, he opened the second door and flashed
L08 124 on his torch. ^At right angles to the door and in the thickness of the
L08 125 massive wall a flight of stone steps ran down and at the bottom was a
L08 126 heavy oak door*- the one his grandfather had told him about. ^As he
L08 127 went down, he counted the steps and estimated that they must have
L08 128 brought him just about to ground level.
L08 129    |^It did not surprise him very much to find that the door opened on
L08 130 the latch, for it was so old and worn that it offered little security.
L08 131 ^Beyond it Simon found more steps which suddenly took a turn, so that
L08 132 he knew the old story was true; the Trevaine treasure was buried right
L08 133 under the house itself.
L08 134    |^It did not surprise him to find that now, instead of the walls
L08 135 and steps being of stone, they were hewn out of solid rock, and then,
L08 136 at the bottom of the further flight, he found a new door. ^It was
L08 137 painted a dull grey, but as Simon laid his hand on it, he knew from
L08 138 the coldness of it that it was made of steel. ^He pursed his lips in a
L08 139 whistle as he flashed the torch over it. ^Set in the rock itself, it
L08 140 presented a formidable barrier*- and it must have been no easy task
L08 141 getting it into place. ^All the same, it opened easily at the turn of
L08 142 Leo's key and Simon pushed it open. ^Eager though he was to get on
L08 143 with his discoveries, he examined the edge of the thick door and its
L08 144 interior carefully before letting go of it. ^He had no wish to take
L08 145 part in a latter-day Mistletoe Bough story! ^It looked safe enough to
L08 146 him to let go of the door, but just in case, he looked round for
L08 147 something to prop against it so that it could not shut, and then, for
L08 148 the first time, he realised that he was actually in the treasure
L08 149 chamber. ^Neatly ranged against the rock walls were all manner of
L08 150 chests and trunks. ^Some were comparatively modern, some, Simon
L08 151 thought, Captain Jeremy might well have brought home full of plunder.
L08 152 ^He found a good, solid metal one that was not too heavy to lift and
L08 153 set it between the door and its frame. ^Then he began his search.
L08 154    |^It would have been tempting to investigate the contents of the
L08 155 chests, but there was something else which intrigued Simon even more
L08 156 than they did. ^Sunk right into the rock so that only its door showed
L08 157 was a modern safe, and a glance showed that it had a combination lock.
L08 158    |^So, after all, he could not find out what he wanted to know
L08 159 without taking someone into his confidence, he thought wryly. ^Madam,
L08 160 presumably, would know the word that unlocked the safe, but the last
L08 161 thing he wanted to do was ask her for it. ^Well, at least he could
L08 162 have a shot*- he did not know much about such locks, but he did know
L08 163 that you could tell the number of letters in the word by the number of
L08 164 dials. ^This was a six-letter word.
L08 165    |^Six letters*- and it might be any word in the world! ^But it was
L08 166 worth while trying words which had some connection with Galleon House.
L08 167 ^Andrea*- that had the right number of letters, but he quickly found
L08 168 it was not the right one. ^Galleon*- no, seven. ^Trevaine, much too
L08 169 long. ^Well, how about*- he looked about himself for inspiration*-
L08 170 Jeremy*- or pirate? ^He tried each in turn without success. ^Feeling
L08 171 considerably discouraged, he tried other family names. ^Cherry, Leo's
L08 172 mother. ^Esther, his grandfather's sister. ^Two other surnames
L08 173 connected with the family*- Penlee and Polwyn*- though with little
L08 174 hope over the last. ^Leo, he felt, would hardly use the name of a man
L08 175 he despised so heartily.
L08 176    |^He thought deeply. ^What else was there to try? ^Poldean, on the
L08 177 other side of the estuary, was too long. ^So was \0St. Finbar*-
L08 178 although Finbar alone*- suddenly he gave a shout of laughter that
L08 179 echoed oddly in the confined space.
L08 180 *# 2006
L09   1 **[412 TEXT L09**]
L09   2 ^*0She couldn't understand that any woman could resist for a moment
L09   3 the prospect of an association*- any sort of association*- with the
L09   4 wonderful, the handsome, the fascinating Connor Winslow.
L09   5    |^And Con? ^Well, as far as I could judge, Con thought exactly the
L09   6 same.
L09   7    |^Fatted calf or no fatted calf, Annabel's homecoming would
L09   8 certainly be a riot.
L09   9 *<*2CHAPTER *=5*>
L09  10 **[BEGIN INDENTATION**]
L09  11 **[BEGIN QUOTE**]
L09  12    |^*1Oh, the oak and the ash, and the \2bonny ivy tree,
L09  13    |They are all growing so green in the North Country.
L09  14 **[END QUOTE**]
L09  15 **[END INDENTATION**]
L09  16    |^Traditional.
L09  17    |^*2THE *0approach to Whitescar was down a narrow gravelled track
L09  18 edged with hawthorns. ^There was no gate. ^On the right of the gap
L09  19 where the track left the main road, stood a dilapidated signpost which
L09  20 had once said, *1Private Road to Forrest Hall. ^*0On the left was a
L09  21 new and solid-looking stand for milk-churns, which bore a
L09  22 beautifully-painted legend, *2WHITESCAR. ^*0Between these symbols the
L09  23 lane curled off between its high hawthorns, and out of sight.
L09  24    |^I had come an hour too early, and no one was there to meet the
L09  25 bus. ^I had only two cases with me, and carrying these I set off down
L09  26 the lane.
L09  27    |^Round the first bend there was a quarry, disused now and
L09  28 overgrown, and here, behind a thicket of brambles, I left my cases.
L09  29 ^They would be safe enough, and could be collected later. ^Meanwhile I
L09  30 was anxious to make my first reconnaissance alone.
L09  31    |^The lane skirted the quarry, leading downhill for perhaps another
L09  32 two hundred yards before the hedges gave way on the one side to a high
L09  33 wall, and on the other*- the left*- to a fence which allowed a view
L09  34 across the territory that Lisa had been at such pains to picture for
L09  35 me.
L09  36    |^I stood, leaning on the top bar of the fence, and looked at the
L09  37 scene below me.
L09  38    |^Whitescar was about eight miles, as the crow flies, from
L09  39 Bellingham. ^There the river, meandering down its valley, doubles
L09  40 round leisurely on itself in a great loop, all but enclosing the
L09  41 rolling, well-timbered lands of Forrest Park. ^At the narrow part of
L09  42 the loop the bends of the river are barely two hundred yards apart,
L09  43 forming a sort of narrow isthmus through which ran the track on which
L09  44 I stood. ^This was the only road to the Hall, and it divided at the
L09  45 lodge gates for Whitescar and the West Lodge which lay the other side
L09  46 of the park.
L09  47    |^The main road, along which my bus had come, lay some way above
L09  48 the level of the river, and the drop past the quarry to the Hall gates
L09  49 was fairly steep. ^From where I stood you could see the whole
L09  50 near-island laid out below you in the circling arm of the river, with
L09  51 its woods and its water meadows and the chimneys glimpsed among the
L09  52 green.
L09  53    |^To the east lay Forrest Hall itself, set in what remained of its
L09  54 once formal gardens and timbered walks, the grounds girdled on two
L09  55 sides by the curving river, and on two by a mile-long wall and a belt
L09  56 of thick trees. ^Except for a wooded path along the river, the only
L09  57 entrance was through the big pillared gates where the main lodge had
L09  58 stood. ^This, I knew, had long since been allowed to crumble gently
L09  59 into ruin. ^I couldn't see it from where I was, but the tracks to
L09  60 Whitescar and West Lodge branched off there, and I could see the
L09  61 latter clearly, cutting across the park from east to west, between the
L09  62 orderly rows of planted conifers. ^At the distant edge of the river, I
L09  63 caught a glimpse of roofs and chimneys, and the quick glitter of glass
L09  64 that marked the hot-houses in the old walled garden that had belonged
L09  65 to the Hall. ^There, too, lay the stables, and the house called West
L09  66 Lodge, and a footbridge spanning the river to serve a track which
L09  67 climbed through the far trees and across the moors to Nether Shields
L09  68 farm, and, eventually, to Whitescar.
L09  69    |^The Whitescar property, lying along the river-bank at the very
L09  70 centre of its loops, and stretching back to the junction of the roads
L09  71 at the Hall gates, was like a healthy bite taken out of the circle of
L09  72 Forrest territory. ^Lying neatly between the Hall and West Lodge, it
L09  73 was screened now from my sight by a rise in the land that only allowed
L09  74 me to see its chimneys, and the tops of the trees.
L09  75    |^I left my view-point, and went on down the track, not hurrying.
L09  76 ^Behind the wall to my right now loomed the Forrest woods, the huge
L09  77 trees full out, except for the late, lacy boughs of ash. ^The ditch at
L09  78 the wall's foot was frilled with cow-parsley. ^The wall was in poor
L09  79 repair; I saw a blackbird's nest stuffed into a hole in the coping,
L09  80 and there were tangles of campion and toad-flax bunching from gaps
L09  81 between the stones.
L09  82    |^At the Hall entrance, the lane ended in a kind of {6cul-de-sac},
L09  83 bounded by three gateways. ^On the left, a brand-new oak gate guarded
L09  84 the Forestry Commission's fir plantations and the road to West Lodge.
L09  85 ^To the right lay the pillars of the Hall entrance. ^Ahead was a
L09  86 solid, five-barred gate, painted white, with the familiar *2WHITESCAR
L09  87 *0blazoning the top bar. ^Beyond this, the track lifted itself up a
L09  88 gentle rise of pasture, and vanished over a ridge. ^From here, not
L09  89 even the chimney-tops of Whitescar were visible; only the smooth sunny
L09  90 prospect of green pastures and dry-stone walling sharp with blue
L09  91 shadows, and, in a hollow beyond the rise somewhere, the tops of some
L09  92 tall trees.
L09  93    |^But the gateway to the right might have been the entrance to
L09  94 another sort of world.
L09  95    |^Where the big gates of the Hall should have hung between their
L09  96 massive pillars, there was simply a gap giving on to a driveway, green
L09  97 and mossy, its twin tracks no longer worn by wheels, but matted over
L09  98 by the discs of plaintain **[SIC**] and hawkweed, rings of weed
L09  99 spreading and overlapping like the rings that grow and ripple over
L09 100 each other when a handful of gravel is thrown into water. ^At the
L09 101 edges of the drive the taller weeds began, hedge-parsley and campion,
L09 102 and forget-me-not gone wild, all frothing under the ranks of the
L09 103 rhododendrons, whose flowers showed like pale, symmetrical lamps above
L09 104 their splayed leaves. ^Overhead hung the shadowy, enormous trees.
L09 105    |^There had been a lodge once, tucked deep in the trees beside the
L09 106 gate. ^A damp, dismal place it must have been to live in; the walls
L09 107 were almost roofless now, and half drifted over with nettles. ^The
L09 108 chimney-stacks stuck up like bones from a broken limb. ^All that had
L09 109 survived of the little garden was a rank plantation of rhubarb, and
L09 110 the old blush rambler that ran riot through the gaping windows.
L09 111    |^There was no legend here of *2FORREST *0to guide the visitor.
L09 112 ^For those wise in the right lores there were some heraldic beasts on
L09 113 top of the pillars, rampant, and holding shields where some carving
L09 114 made cushions under the moss. ^From the pillars, to either side,
L09 115 stretched the high wall that had once marked the boundaries. ^This was
L09 116 cracked and crumbling in many places, and the copings were off, but it
L09 117 was still a barrier, save in one place not far from the pillar on the
L09 118 lodge side of the gate. ^Here a giant oak stood. ^It had been
L09 119 originally on the inside of the wall, but with the years it had grown
L09 120 and spread, pressing closer and ever closer to the masonry, until its
L09 121 vast flank had bent and finally broken the wall, which here lay in a
L09 122 mere pile of tumbled and weedy stone. ^But the power of the oak would
L09 123 be its undoing, for the wall had been clothed in ivy, and the ivy had
L09 124 reached for the tree, crept up it, engulfed it, till now the trunk was
L09 125 one towering mass of the dark gleaming leaves, and only the tree's
L09 126 upper branches managed to thrust the young gold leaves of early summer
L09 127 through the strangling curtain. ^Eventually the ivy would kill it.
L09 128 ^Already, through the tracery of the ivy-stems, some of the oak-boughs
L09 129 showed dead, and one great lower limb, long since broken off, had left
L09 130 a gap where rotten wood yawned, in holes deep enough for owls to nest
L09 131 in.
L09 132    |^I looked up at it for a long time, and then along the neat sunny
L09 133 track that led out of the shadow of the trees towards Whitescar.
L09 134    |^Somewhere a ring-dove purred and intoned, and a wood-warbler
L09 135 stuttered into its long trill, and fell silent. ^I found that I had
L09 136 moved, without realising it, through the gateway, and a yard or two up
L09 137 the drive into the wood. ^I stood there in the shade, looking out at
L09 138 the wide fields and the cupped valley, and the white-painted gate
L09 139 gleaming in the sun. ^I realised that I was braced as if for the start
L09 140 of a race, my mouth dry, and the muscles of my throat taut and aching.
L09 141    |^I swallowed a couple of times, breathed deeply and slowly to calm
L09 142 myself, repeating the now often-used formula of *1what was there to go
L09 143 wrong, after all*0? ^I was Annabel. ^I was coming home. ^I had never
L09 144 been anyone else. ^All that must be forgotten. ^Mary Grey need never
L09 145 appear again, except, perhaps, to Con and Lisa. ^Meanwhile, I would
L09 146 forget her, even in my thoughts. ^I was Annabel Winslow, coming home.
L09 147    |^I walked quickly out between the crumbling pillars, and pushed
L09 148 open the white gate.
L09 149    |^It didn't even creak. ^It swung quietly open on sleek, well-oiled
L09 150 hinges, and came to behind me with a smooth click that said *1money.
L09 151    |^*0Well, that was what had brought me, wasn't it?
L09 152    |^I walked quickly out of the shade of the Forrest trees, and up
L09 153 the sunny track towards Whitescar.
L09 154    |
L09 155    |^In the bright afternoon stillness the farm looked clean in its
L09 156 orderly whitewash, like a toy. ^From the top of the rise I could see
L09 157 it all laid out, in plan exactly like the maps that Lisa Dermott had
L09 158 drawn for me so carefully, and led me through in imagination so many
L09 159 times.
L09 160    |^The house was long and low, two-storied, with big modern windows
L09 161 cut into the old thick walls. ^Unlike the rest of the group of
L09 162 buildings, it was not whitewashed, but built of sandstone, green-gold
L09 163 with age. ^The lichens on the roof showed, even at that distance, like
L09 164 patens of copper laid along the soft blue slates.
L09 165    |^It faced on to a strip of garden*- grass and flower-borders and a
L09 166 lilac tree*- whose lower wall edged the river. ^From the garden, a
L09 167 white wicket-gate gave on a wooden footbridge. ^The river was fairly
L09 168 wide here, lying under the low, tree-hung cliffs of its further bank
L09 169 with that still gleam that means depth. ^It reflected the bridge, the
L09 170 trees, and the banked tangles of elder and honeysuckle, in layers of
L09 171 deepening colour as rich as a Flemish painter's palette.
L09 172    |^On the nearer side of house and garden lay the farm; a
L09 173 courtyard*- even at this distance I could see its clean baked
L09 174 concrete, and the freshness of the paint on doors and gates*-
L09 175 surrounded by byres and stables and sheds, with the red roof of the
L09 176 big Dutch barn conspicuous beside the remains of last year's straw
L09 177 stacks, and a dark knot of Scotch pines.
L09 178    |^I had been so absorbed in the picture laid out before me, that I
L09 179 hadn't noticed the man approaching, some thirty yards away, until the
L09 180 clang of his nailed boots on the iron of the cattle-grid startled me.
L09 181    |^He was a burly, middle-aged man in rough farm clothes, and he was
L09 182 staring at me in undisguised interest as he approached. ^He came at a
L09 183 pace that, without seeming to, carried him over the distance between
L09 184 us at a speed that left me no time to think at all.
L09 185    |^I did have time to wonder briefly if my venture alone into the
L09 186 Winslow den was going to prove my undoing, but at least there was no
L09 187 possibility now of turning tail.
L09 188 *# 2015
L10   1 **[413 TEXT L10**]
L10   2 *<*2CHAPTER NINE*>
L10   3    |^*0The pale April sunshine filtered into the back court of a
L10   4 Glasgow slum, throwing its soft radiance on grimy windows, blistering
L10   5 the already ravaged paintwork and casting long shadows across the
L10   6 broken masonry of the dirty evil-smelling hovels. ^This was Utah
L10   7 Street, and Utah Street was a cancerous growth in the flesh of a great
L10   8 city.
L10   9    |^The sunlight struggled over a thick layer of dirt on a window at
L10  10 ground level and lightened the interior of a room that was no better
L10  11 and no worse than the majority of its neighbours. ^An old-fashioned
L10  12 range, yellowed by rust, housed the dying embers of a fire that made
L10  13 the airless kitchen a veritable oven of unpleasant odours. ^At the
L10  14 table, littered with a motley collection of articles, ranging from
L10  15 empty beer bottles to discarded articles of clothing, sat the man
L10  16 known only by the appellation of Gaffer. ^Among this wreckage of human
L10  17 society, Gaffer was probably the most defeated of all the wretched
L10  18 inhabitants who called Utah Street *"home**". ^Gaffer was an alien in
L10  19 their midst, but the ways of a bully soon make their mark and he
L10  20 swiftly earned a reputation for himself as a man who could defend his
L10  21 chosen way of life. ^In five short years he was not only accepted but
L10  22 had become a leading light in a rapidly dying empire of squalor and
L10  23 decay.
L10  24    |^Gaffer bent his head over the newspaper bearing the day's racing
L10  25 forecast, oblivious of the sun, the advent of spring and the murmur of
L10  26 voices from the pontoon school in the corner of the yard. ^His
L10  27 forefinger travelled slowly down the list of probable starters for the
L10  28 three-thirty at Newmarket. ^Thoughtfully he tapped his teeth with a
L10  29 pencil as he deliberated over the rival merits of the two horses of
L10  30 his choice. ^Nothing in it as regards the starting prices. ^It was
L10  31 simply a matter of choosing the right horse. ^He smiled to himself as
L10  32 he fingered the five one-pound notes lying before him on the table. ^A
L10  33 couple of good winners today and he could live it up for a week or so.
L10  34 ^Might even go away for a couple of days. ^Reaching for the Form Book
L10  35 he thumbed through its battered pages in search of the information he
L10  36 required. ^When he had made his choice he rose and strode to the door.
L10  37 ^He crossed the narrow close and planted a savage foot on the panel of
L10  38 the opposite door. ^A small shrivelled creature craned a startled head
L10  39 round the jamb, the cadaverous features creased into a nervous smirk.
L10  40    |^*"A'right, Gaffer. ^I'm coming.**" ^He jerked on his threadbare
L10  41 jacket and shuffled after the other back to the stuffy humidity of the
L10  42 kitchen. ^*"You wantin' somethin', Gaffer?**"
L10  43    |^*"You don't think I enjoy your scintillating company, do you?**"
L10  44 ^Gaffer scribbled on a slip of paper and tucked the banknotes into its
L10  45 fold. ^*"Nip round to Sammy and give him this. ^Wait until the race is
L10  46 over.**" ^A slow grin revealed his perfect teeth. ^*"I'm expecting
L10  47 thirty quid back.**"
L10  48    |^*"You floppin' five quid on one horse?**"
L10  49    |^*"What's that got to do with you?**"
L10  50    |^*"Nothin', Gaffer, nothin'. ^I just thought it's a bit risky,
L10  51 that's a'.**"
L10  52    |^*"And who asked you to do the thinking around here?**" ^Gaffer's
L10  53 lip curled in disgust. ^*"Go on, beat it, and if you get nicked, I'll
L10  54 paper the walls with you.**"
L10  55    |^Glad to make his escape Lofty scuttled off down the close,
L10  56 grateful that the other was in such a mellow mood. ^Less than forty
L10  57 minutes later he returned bearing in a shaking hand thirty one-pound
L10  58 notes. ^Goggle-eyed, he watched Gaffer count his winnings. ^He
L10  59 separated three from the pile and contemptuously threw them on the
L10  60 floor. ^*"Go on, buy yourself a Rolls-Royce,**" he sneered. ^A jerk of
L10  61 his head signalled dismissal. ^*"Don't go away. ^I might want you
L10  62 later on.**" ^*"Sure, Gaffer. I'll be next door.**"
L10  63    |^Gaffer returned to his study of his newspaper. ^This was his day.
L10  64 ^He could feel it. ^Swiftly he scanned the sheet for the greyhound
L10  65 runners. ^Yes, he was sure Dosser had said he was running The Slob
L10  66 tonight. ^Tentatively, he fingered his winnings. ^Should he risk it
L10  67 all in one fell swoop? ^Yes, he decided at last, why not, it was time
L10  68 he had a run of luck in any case. ^He rose and moved to the broken
L10  69 triangle of mirror hanging above the sink. ^He studied his image with
L10  70 petulant concentration. ^Always a victim of his over-developed
L10  71 imagination he thought himself a luckless individual for whom nothing
L10  72 ever went right. ^He possessed a persecution complex that frequently
L10  73 reduced him to a maudlin hulk of self-pity whenever opposition reared
L10  74 its ugly head, but Gaffer, the supreme egotist, saw none of this as he
L10  75 examined the face looking back at him through that distorted glass.
L10  76 ^Spruced up and clean-shaven, he wasn't a bad-looking man, he decided.
L10  77 ^His jawline was firm and there was no surplus flesh gathering on his
L10  78 tall frame. ^The mouth curled sardonically as he smoothed back his
L10  79 thick dark hair revealing again a glimpse of his teeth, strong and
L10  80 white as blanched almonds. ^He drew in a deep breath and was on the
L10  81 point of turning back to his newspaper when his eye fell on an
L10  82 out-of-date magazine lying on the floor. ^A photograph taken at a
L10  83 recent film \6*1premie*?3re *0held his attention. ^Slowly he stooped
L10  84 to lift the magazine and an idea began to ferment in his quick brain.
L10  85 ^An idea so daring and yet so audaciously tempting that a shiver of
L10  86 excitement quivered through him. ^He studied the photograph for a long
L10  87 time before throwing aside the book and returning to his study of the
L10  88 racing column, but this time his concentration was fired by the flame
L10  89 of incentive.
L10  90    |^A sharp rap on the door brought a frown of impatience to his face
L10  91 and with a low growl he gave permission to enter. ^The panel swung
L10  92 open to admit a narrow-shouldered man in a black sue*?3de zipper
L10  93 jerkin and tight Italian trousers.
L10  94    |^*"'Lo Gaffer. ^Heard you'd a bit of luck on the three-thirty.
L10  95 ^Want a certainty for the dogs tonight?**" ^*"Such as?**" sneered
L10  96 Gaffer.
L10  97    |^*"Hurly Burly. ^That dog's jet propelled.**" ^Cuddy Gallagher
L10  98 winked. ^*"\2Over'n above that, I happen to know he's been got at by
L10  99 the boys.**"
L10 100    |^Gaffer's eyes narrowed. ^*"That a sure thing?**"
L10 101    |^*"Sure as death.**" ^Cuddy's sleek head jerked in the direction
L10 102 of the table. ^*"Want me to lay some of that lot on for you?**"
L10 103    |^Gaffer lifted the money and slipped two notes into his pocket.
L10 104 ^*"There's twenty-five quid there. ^Lose it and I'll kill you. ^I'll
L10 105 be at Joe's place tonight but don't let anyone see you flash my money
L10 106 around.**"
L10 107    |^Cuddy peeled off five notes before stowing the remainder away.
L10 108 ^*"Commission,**" he laconically explained. ^*"Well, I'm away. ^See
L10 109 you later.**"
L10 110    |^*"Tell The Wop I want to see him.**"
L10 111    |^*"I \2havenae time to look for that \2wee greaser,**" Cuddy
L10 112 objected. ^*"If you want this lot on in time it'll need to be done
L10 113 right away. ^Sent Lofty to do your dirty work.**"
L10 114    |^*"Look,**" a dangerous glint appeared in Gaffer's bright eyes,
L10 115 ^*"I'll decide who does what. ^You get that money on first then look
L10 116 for The Wop. ^Tonight I'm going to clean up so you'd better warn Sammy
L10 117 to keep plenty of the ready by him. ^I want a hundred nicker off him
L10 118 before I'm finished.**"
L10 119    |^Cuddy emitted a low soundless whistle. ^*"That's a lot of
L10 120 change.**"
L10 121    |^*"Yes, but I'll get it.**"
L10 122    |^*"You'll be lucky.**"
L10 123    |^*"You bet I am. ^I'm on the right streak tonight, I can feel
L10 124 it.**"
L10 125    |^Cuddy saw the look of fanaticism on the other's face. ^He did not
L10 126 recognize it as such, but it was sufficient to tell him that this was
L10 127 not the moment to argue. ^*"{0O.K.}, so you're lucky,**" he swiftly
L10 128 placated. ^*"Have it your own way.**"
L10 129    |^Gaffer lifted the half-empty whisky bottle from the sink-board
L10 130 and sloshed a liberal quantity into a tumbler. ^*"Here's to your
L10 131 information being correct, Cuddy, because if it isn't...**" ^His arm
L10 132 flashed out and grabbed hold of a handful of sue*?3de jacket, *"you'd
L10 133 better not show your face back here, unless you want me to work on it
L10 134 with a razor.**"
L10 135    |^Hate rose in Cuddy like mercury in a thermometer but fear stifled
L10 136 his reply as the grip on his throat tightened. ^*"Listen, Gaffer,**"
L10 137 he whispered in desperation, *"even if that dog wins, you'll no' get a
L10 138 hundred quid back.**" ^He swallowed with difficulty. ^*"It's only
L10 139 runnin' at even money.**"
L10 140    |^*"When you get the winnings, put it on The Slob in the
L10 141 eight-fifteen.**"
L10 142    |^*"What, all of it?**"
L10 143    |^*"All of it.**" ^Gaffer threw him away and wiped his hand on the
L10 144 seat of his trousers. ^*"If Sammy runs out of cash lay the second bet
L10 145 with Kruger. ^Now get out of my sight before I...**" ^He grinned as he
L10 146 realized he was talking to himself. ^He was well aware of the fact
L10 147 that he was taking a chance in giving Cuddy a free hand with so much
L10 148 at stake, but he was fairly confident of his hold over the
L10 149 craven-hearted little tout. ^Some thirty minutes later he was still
L10 150 avidly studying the photograph that seemed to fascinate him, when
L10 151 Louie Morri sidled into the room. ^It did not take Gaffer long to
L10 152 explain what he wanted the Italian to do. ^*"Well,**" he concluded,
L10 153 *"what about it? ^Can you do it?**"
L10 154    |^Louis looked worried. ^{3*"Sure, I think so, Gaffer, but it'sa
L10 155 no' easy.**"} ^His big dark eyes swivelled upwards uneasily.
L10 156 ^{3*"It'sa goin' to costa lota money, Gaffer. ^I needa special stuffa
L10 157 from up-town an' it'sa no' easy to geta.**"} ^His podgy hands turned
L10 158 palm upwards. ^{3*"You see how it is. ^It'sa no' easy.**"}
L10 159    |^*"If you say that once more, I'll ram your teeth down your
L10 160 throat.**" ^Gaffer leaned menacingly nearer. ^*"Now listen, Wop, and
L10 161 listen well. ^You're going to do this job for me without any more
L10 162 argument. ^If you do it right, you'll get paid right. ^If not, then
L10 163 I'm afraid I'll have to get rough.**" ^His breath fanned the little
L10 164 man's face. ^*"You wouldn't like that, Louie. ^Maria wouldn't like it
L10 165 either, so you'd better find out a nice easy way of doing it or you're
L10 166 liable to be up to your fat neck in trouble, Louie boy.**"
L10 167    |^Stark fear turned the Italian's skin yellow. ^{3*"I do it. ^I do
L10 168 it. ^No' to worry, Gaffer, I do it.**"}
L10 169    |^*"That's better. ^I don't like when people argue, Louie. ^You
L10 170 ought to know that by this time.**" ^He swung round on the ball of his
L10 171 foot as the other winced and moved out of range. ^He smiled. ^*"It's
L10 172 all right, Louie, I'm not going to hurt you... yet. ^I don't think I
L10 173 have to tell you to keep your mouth shut, do I? ^One cheep out of you
L10 174 and Maria will be putting down an instalment on a nice marble
L10 175 headstone. ^You understand, Louie.**"
L10 176    |^Louie's head rocked back and forward like a hinged flap.
L10 177 ^{3*"It'sa a'right, Gaffer. ^I no' open my moutha.**"}
L10 178    |^*"I wouldn't, Louie, not if I were you,**" Gaffer advised.
L10 179 ^*"Just you keep thinking that way and everything will be all
L10 180 right.**" ^He escorted his nervous visitor to the door. ^*"You go back
L10 181 to the shop and I'll send Cuddy down when he comes in. ^You can make
L10 182 out a list of the stuff you need and I'll get it for you. ^How long
L10 183 would it take?**"
L10 184    |^Louie thought carefully. ^{3*"No' very longa. ^A couple of weeks
L10 185 I think.**"}
L10 186    |^*"{0O.K.} ^See you later.**" ^His finger poked belligerently in
L10 187 the other's face. ^*"Now, remember, keep your mouth shut about this,
L10 188 or...**" ^He made an expressive gesture with his forefinger.
L10 189    |^{3*"I keep my moutha shut,**"} Louie promised fervently.
L10 190 *<*2CHAPTER TEN*>
L10 191    |^MARK'S *0feet made no sound on the smooth turf as he walked
L10 192 slowly towards the chestnut tree. ^Christiane was sitting with her
L10 193 back to him, her fair head bent over a book. ^He stood motionless for
L10 194 a moment, watching her, his look gravely compassionate as he noted the
L10 195 rug draped over her legs.
L10 196 *# 2009
L11   1 **[414 TEXT L11**]
L11   2    |^*"*0Yes, quite.**"
L11   3    |^Maureen, afraid he might think she had asked too many questions,
L11   4 said nothing for several minutes. ^They had turned the bend in the
L11   5 road and were walking along with Loch Eighe on their left.
L11   6    |^*"There's a road on the other side,**" MacLeod said.
L11   7    |^*"Have you been about at all since you've been here?**"
L11   8    |^*"A few miles yesterday*- to Dalloch and round that way, that's
L11   9 all. ^Is there a ferry across the loch?**"
L11  10    |^*"Not for cars. ^It only goes when it's wanted. ^I shouldn't
L11  11 think that's very often.**" ^He pointed to the far shore of the loch
L11  12 where it met Loch Onaig. ^*"That's the ferryman's house there.**"
L11  13    |^Maureen was just able to make out a croft.
L11  14    |^*"Can we go across some time?**" she asked. ^*"I love ferries.**"
L11  15    |^*"If you'd like to.**"
L11  16    |^*"Please.**" ^Rather diffidently she added, ^*"I'm sorry, perhaps
L11  17 you'd rather ...**"
L11  18    |^*"I'd like to,**" MacLeod assured her. ^*"The shore's rather fine
L11  19 along there, there are a lot of birches and bracken.**"
L11  20    |^They walked a little farther, then he said, ^*"We'd better turn
L11  21 back if we're going to have that drink. ^And you'll be getting
L11  22 cold.**"
L11  23    |^As they retraced their steps he wondered what Maureen's fiance*?2
L11  24 had been like. ^He had been a policeman too long to judge people too
L11  25 swiftly but he would have thought most men would have been more than
L11  26 happy to marry the girl beside him. ^Perhaps it had really been her
L11  27 who had broken off the engagement.
L11  28    |^They reached the jetty. ^Maureen crossed the yard or two of grass
L11  29 and stood on the beach, looking up Loch Onaig to the mountains rising
L11  30 round its head. ^MacLeod joined her.
L11  31    |^*"Isn't it lovely?**" she said. ^*"I feel I never want to go
L11  32 back.**"
L11  33    |^*"An hour ago you were telling me you should never have come.**"
L11  34    |^*"Yes. ^I don't feel like that any more.**"
L11  35    |^She picked up a stone and tossed it into the water. ^It fell with
L11  36 a dull plop and they watched the ripples spreading.
L11  37    |^*"How did you come?**" she asked.
L11  38    |^*"Train.**"
L11  39    |^She turned and walked back to the road. ^MacLeod followed her.
L11  40    |^They talked little on the way back to the hotel, walking slowly,
L11  41 each thinking. ^Arrived there, Maureen went up to her room while
L11  42 MacLeod entered the bar. ^Since his last stay there Alan had had it
L11  43 redecorated to suit the taste of his English patrons. ^The couple who
L11  44 had arrived that afternoon were sitting on a low couch against one
L11  45 wall. ^The contemporary furnishings seemed a more appropriate setting
L11  46 for them than the bright sunlight and sparser surroundings of the
L11  47 dining-room.
L11  48    |^The only other occupant apart from the barman, James, was a
L11  49 shortish, slightly-built man of about MacLeod's age. ^He had rather
L11  50 small eyes and thinning fair hair and he was wearing a tweed sports
L11  51 jacket that somehow did not look quite right on him. ^He was leaning
L11  52 against the end of the bar and when MacLeod came up to it he eyed him
L11  53 as a man will in such circumstances when he had nothing better to do.
L11  54    |^*"A gin and lime and an Export, please, James,**" MacLeod said.
L11  55    |^Still eyeing him the other man asked, ^*"Is \0Mr. Ferguson in,
L11  56 James?**"
L11  57    |^The barman, busy with MacLeod's order, answered over his
L11  58 shoulder.
L11  59    |^*"No, \0Mr. Martin, he's out just now.**"
L11  60    |^Martin, MacLeod reflected. ^He had heard that name somewhere
L11  61 recently. ^But where? ^In what connection? ^Moreover, something about
L11  62 the man seemed vaguely familiar though he could not remember seeing
L11  63 him before. ^Probably it was nothing more than a chance resemblance to
L11  64 someone else.
L11  65    |^*"It's been a grand day again,**" he remarked.
L11  66    |^*"Damned hot,**" Martin agreed. ^MacLeod thought he looked
L11  67 worried.
L11  68    |^*"It was hot in the glen this morning,**" he said.
L11  69    |^Martin looked sideways at him.
L11  70    |^*"You were there this morning?**" he demanded.
L11  71    |^*"Yes.**"
L11  72    |^*"Did you go far?**"
L11  73    |^The barman put two glasses down on the counter. ^MacLeod paid
L11  74 him. ^Martin, he felt, was waiting impatiently for his answer.
L11  75    |^*"Nearly to the top,**" he replied lightly. ^*"Why?**"
L11  76    |^The other did not answer at once.
L11  77    |^*"There are some birds up there,**" he explained after a moment.
L11  78 ^*"I've been hoping no-one would disturb them.**"
L11  79    |^*"What sort of birds?**" MacLeod asked curiously.
L11  80    |^*"Capercaillies.**"
L11  81    |^The barman looked surprised.
L11  82    |^*"In Glen Onaig, \0Mr. Martin?**" he enquired. ^*"I've been here
L11  83 all my life and I've never known any round here before.**"
L11  84    |^*"Well, they're here now,**" Martin said shortly.
L11  85    |^MacLeod eyed him.
L11  86    |^*"They're those big birds with a piercing cry, aren't they?**" he
L11  87 asked.
L11  88    |^*"Yes,**" Martin agreed without much grace.
L11  89    |^Out of the corner of his eye MacLeod noticed that James looked
L11  90 surprised.
L11  91    |^*"I promise I won't scare them,**" he said. ^*"I don't suppose I
L11  92 shall go up the glen again while I'm here.**"
L11  93    |^Martin looked relieved.
L11  94    |^*"It's just the top part beyond the fall,**" he explained.
L11  95    |^*"So many rare birds are driven away nowadays.**"
L11  96    |^*"Like the ospreys?**" MacLeod suggested.
L11  97    |^*"Yes.**"
L11  98    |^Over Martin's shoulder he saw Maureen come in. ^The woman sitting
L11  99 on the couch glanced up and eyed her with an almost insolent
L11 100 condescension as she crossed to join him.
L11 101    |^*"Will you ask \0Mr. Ferguson to give me a ring when he comes
L11 102 in?**" Martin asked James.
L11 103    |^*"\2Ay, I will, \0Mr. Martin.**"
L11 104    |^With a curt nod to MacLeod the other went out.
L11 105    |^Maureen picked up her glass.
L11 106    |^*"Good luck,**" she said. ^*"Shall we sit down?**"
L11 107    |^MacLeod dragged his thought back from the wild idea that had been
L11 108 forming in his mind.
L11 109    |^*"Yes, of course,**" he agreed.
L11 110    |^*"Had something happened before I came in?**" Maureen asked when
L11 111 they were seated on the second of the two couches.
L11 112    |^*"No. ^Why?**"
L11 113    |^*"I thought there was a bit of an atmosphere.**"
L11 114    |^*"We were talking about capercaillies.**"
L11 115    |^*"What on earth are they?**"
L11 116    |^*"Large birds found in the Highlands.**"
L11 117    |^*"Oh.**"
L11 118    |^When they had finished their drinks MacLeod asked, ^*"Will you
L11 119 have another one?**"
L11 120    |^*"On condition you'll let me pay.**"
L11 121    |^*"Certainly not.**"
L11 122    |^*"Then no, thank you.**"
L11 123    |^Maureen smiled sweetly.
L11 124    |^*"Look here,**" he began.
L11 125    |^*"Please.**"
L11 126    |^She looked so serious that he smiled.
L11 127    |^*"All right,**" he agreed. ^*"If you really mean you'd rather.**"
L11 128    |^*"I do.**"
L11 129    |^He crossed to the bar. ^While James was pouring the drinks he
L11 130 asked him, ^*"Was that the \0Mr. Martin who's taken the Lodge?**"
L11 131    |^*"\2Ay, that was him.**"
L11 132    |^*"\0Mr. Ferguson said something about him being a
L11 133 bird-watcher.**"
L11 134    |^*"He talks a great deal about them,**" James assented, managing
L11 135 to convey an impression of fine contempt.
L11 136    |^He put the glasses down on the bar.
L11 137    |^*"Do you know where he comes from?**" MacLeod asked.
L11 138    |^*"No, I do not. ^It is somewhere down south, I'd be thinking.**"
L11 139    |^*"I've a feeling I've seen him somewhere before.**"
L11 140    |^*"\0Mr. Ferguson might be able to tell you,**" James volunteered.
L11 141 ^*"He knows him well.**"
L11 142    |^*"I'll have to ask him. ^What do the people here think of
L11 143 Martin?**"
L11 144    |^*"\2Och, it's little enough they've seen of him. ^He's not been
L11 145 here more than a few days altogether. ^They don't mind him, he's a
L11 146 harmless enough \2wee man.**"
L11 147    |^*"Which might be perfectly true,**" MacLeod reflected. ^On the
L11 148 other hand...
L11 149    |^As he turned away Alan Ferguson came through the door behind the
L11 150 bar.
L11 151    |^*"Did you have a good walk this morning?**" he enquired.
L11 152    |^*"\2Ay, it's been a grand day again.**"
L11 153    |^Alan grinned broadly.
L11 154    |^*"Man, you belong up here!**" he exclaimed. ^*"You've been back
L11 155 twenty-four hours and already you're forgetting your heathen English
L11 156 speech.**"
L11 157    |^MacLeod, grinning and not displeased returned to Maureen.
L11 158    |^*"\0Mr. Martin was in just now,**" the barman told Alan. ^*"He
L11 159 seemed kind of nervy. ^He wants you to phone him.**"
L11 160    |^Alan stiffened slightly.
L11 161    |^*"What the devil does he want?**" he muttered.
L11 162    |^MacLeod, hearing him, wondered if Martin was a nuisance.
L11 163 ^Certainly Alan did not look pleased.
L11 164 *<*4*=6*>
L11 165    |^*0During the night the weather broke. ^When MacLeod looked out of
L11 166 the window the next morning he found that it was drizzling steadily.
L11 167 ^Dark grey clouds hung low over the loch and the hills on the other
L11 168 shore.
L11 169    |^It would probably last until the evening, he thought as he
L11 170 shaved. ^Even if it did not there was little hope of its clearing
L11 171 before the afternoon. ^Oh well, he would be happy enough in the lounge
L11 172 with a novel.
L11 173    |^He took his time over dressing and when he entered the
L11 174 dining-room it was empty. ^He had almost finished breakfast when
L11 175 Maureen came in. ^She was wearing a white raincoat belted tightly
L11 176 round her waist. ^A scarf was tied round her head but the rebellious
L11 177 curl had escaped and hung damply over her left eye. ^She pushed it
L11 178 back.
L11 179    |^*"It's pouring,**" she announced, perching on the edge of the
L11 180 chair facing him.
L11 181    |^*"I know.**"
L11 182    |^*"I hadn't anything to read and I finished all the Scottish
L11 183 Fields in the lounge on Sunday so I went to buy a paper.**" ^She
L11 184 pulled it out of her pocket and laid it on the table. ^*"It's
L11 185 yesterday's.**"
L11 186    |^*"It would be,**" he agreed.
L11 187    |^*"Yes, I suppose so. ^I hadn't thought.**" ^She watched him
L11 188 eating for a moment. ^*"I wondered if we might take the car and find
L11 189 somewhere where it's drier.**"
L11 190    |^He looked at her. ^For a moment she met his eye, then, flushing
L11 191 very slightly, she looked down at the table.
L11 192    |^*"I'm sorry. ^Perhaps you'd rather stay here.**"
L11 193    |^*"No, it sounds a good idea.**"
L11 194    |^*"You want to go?**" ^There was no mistaking the pleasure in her
L11 195 voice and MacLeod felt suddenly cheered. ^Perhaps after all he had not
L11 196 been really looking forward to spending the morning cooped up in the
L11 197 lounge. ^*"I don't like staying in when I'm on holiday,**" she said
L11 198 with a hint of defiance. ^*"It seems such a waste.**"
L11 199    |^*"Shall we take lunch or eat in style?**"
L11 200    |^*"In style, I should think.**" ^She smiled. ^*"We might not be
L11 201 lucky and it's only a Morris Minor, there's not all that much room.**"
L11 202    |^*"There's something I want to do before we go,**" MacLeod told
L11 203 her. ^*"Will twenty minutes be all right for you?**"
L11 204    |^*"Fine.**"
L11 205    |^She stood up. ^He watched her walk to the door, her slim figure
L11 206 moving gracefully between the tables.
L11 207    |^When he had finished his coffee he went in search of Alan
L11 208 Ferguson. ^He found him in his office dealing with the day's
L11 209 correspondence. ^When MacLeod appeared in the doorway he was frowning
L11 210 over a letter. ^Suddenly he swore and stuffed it into a pocket of his
L11 211 jacket. ^Then he saw the other and grinned.
L11 212    |^*"You're not thinking of walking up the glen this morning?**" he
L11 213 enquired. ^*"The path will be more like a river.**"
L11 214    |^*"No, I'm going for a drive.**"
L11 215    |^*"A drive?**" ^Alan stared.
L11 216    |^*"With Miss Forrester.**"
L11 217    |^*"Oh, are you now? ^Ah well, you'll not be seeing the sun here
L11 218 today.**"
L11 219    |^*"I was wondering if you've a book on birds I could borrow,**"
L11 220 MacLeod explained.
L11 221    |^*"Birds? ^\2Ay, I believe there is one somewhere about.**"
L11 222    |^Alan rose to his feet.
L11 223    |^*"I was talking to Martin last night and there was something he
L11 224 mentioned I wanted to look up.**"
L11 225    |^The other stopped.
L11 226    |^*"You were talking to him about birds?**" he asked.
L11 227    |^*"Yes. ^He said there were capercaillies in the glen.**"
L11 228    |^*"He may be right at that.**"
L11 229    |^They climbed the back stairs to Alan's quarters. ^He had a
L11 230 bedroom and a small sitting-room at the end of the building. ^While
L11 231 MacLeod stood at the door of the latter Alan looked through the scanty
L11 232 collection of books on his shelves.
L11 233    |^*"It's not here,**" he announced. ^*"I maybe lent it to someone
L11 234 and they haven't returned it.**"
L11 235    |^*"Thanks, anyway,**" MacLeod said.
L11 236    |^He made his way to his own room and collected the things he
L11 237 wanted to take with him, his camera, a cap he wore only on holiday and
L11 238 then only when it rained and a pair of powerful binoculars he had
L11 239 bought second-hand years before.
L11 240    |^Maureen was waiting for him in the hall. ^Her car was already
L11 241 outside the door.
L11 242    |^*"You'd rather drive,**" she said.
L11 243    |^*"Wouldn't you?**"
L11 244    |^*"No.**" ^She shook her head and walked round to the other side.
L11 245    |^He drove down the road, only to pull up outside the post office.
L11 246 ^Maureen looked at him enquiringly.
L11 247    |^*"Do you mind waiting?**" he asked. ^*"I won't be a minute.**"
L11 248 *# 2001
L12   1 **[415 TEXT L12**]
L12   2 ^*0Through a mist of tears she went on smiling*- the most wonderful
L12   3 smile I'd ever seen.
L12   4    |^She whispered, ^*"Oh, my dear, my dear...**" ^Then she offered me
L12   5 her mouth in complete surrender.
L12   6    |^Maybe she thought she could trust me. ^Maybe she didn't care.
L12   7    |^As always, I had to fight the temptation to take what she
L12   8 willingly offered. ^And it was a lost battle from the start. ^When she
L12   9 murmured against my lips, ~*"Hold me tight... don't ever leave
L12  10 me...**" I could fight no longer.
L12  11    |^Her body was soft and yielding, her tender hands drew me down
L12  12 into forgetfulness. ^Soon she quickened under my caresses as though
L12  13 the touch of my hands brought to life something that had lain dormant
L12  14 with her until this moment. ^When I unfastened her coat, she shrugged
L12  15 it off with fierce impatience and then her lips sought mine again.
L12  16    |^All around us people slept. ^Outside in the windy darkness snow
L12  17 blanketed the sound of distant traffic. ^Our world belonged to Sonia
L12  18 and me*- a world created for us alone out of suffering and loneliness
L12  19 and heartbreak.
L12  20    |^Dimly I wondered if this night would spoil all the other nights
L12  21 yet to come. ^She wasn't just another woman. ^We'd get married... and
L12  22 have kids... and live like other folks.
L12  23    |^A voice in my head began whining: ^*"...*1You're trying to
L12  24 reassure yourself because you know all this has happened before. ^What
L12  25 kind of mother will she make, anyway? ^She's told you herself what she
L12  26 used to be...**"
L12  27    |^*0I called myself a louse. ^Swell husband I'd make! ^She trusted
L12  28 me no matter what I'd been... and I was eaten up with hatred for all
L12  29 the other men she'd given herself to. ^Maybe to her I was no
L12  30 different...
L12  31    |^But to-night was mine. ^To-night would wipe the slate clean.
L12  32 ^To-morrow, Sonia and I would be just two people who'd met and fallen
L12  33 in love.
L12  34    |^I reached out and switched off the light. ^Then I picked her up
L12  35 and carried her into the bedroom.
L12  36    |^Her skin was smooth and cool as velvet, her hunger as great as
L12  37 mine. ^With a little crooning sound in her throat she drew me close to
L12  38 her.
L12  39    |^Once, she roused and asked in a sleepy whisper, ^*"Do you love
L12  40 me*- really love me?**"
L12  41    |^I said, ^*"Sure, honey. ^Sure I love you.**"
L12  42    |^I meant it, too. ^But another man lay on the bed beside us. ^I
L12  43 could hear his sneering laughter as her arms carried me off through
L12  44 the fire of oblivion. ^I can hear it yet.
L12  45    |
L12  46    |^Picking up a cab wasn't easy. ^But we got one at last.
L12  47    |^She kissed me good night before she climbed in*- a kiss that was
L12  48 just the barest touch of her lips. ^Her eyes were like stars. ^I've
L12  49 never known anyone quite as beautiful as Sonia Rakosi.
L12  50    |^When the cab was out of sight in the swirling snow I walked back
L12  51 to my rooming house and went upstairs with my head filled with
L12  52 conflicting thoughts. ^Maybe I was too old to fall in love. ^Maybe
L12  53 that was why I had a pain in my mind that wouldn't let me decide
L12  54 whether I was happy or sad.
L12  55    |^As I opened the door I could smell her perfume. ^In the bedroom
L12  56 there was the scent of the powder she'd used when I left her alone to
L12  57 make up her face and tidy her hair.
L12  58    |^Thinking only made me more confused. ^So I had a small drink and
L12  59 then I plugged in the coffee percolator. ^While it was warming up I
L12  60 began remaking the bed.
L12  61    |^Bitter-sweet thoughts kept me company. ^Behind them loomed a
L12  62 shadowy picture of Jakob Kadar, his lumpy face dark with suspicion.
L12  63    |^Everything pointed to him. ^Someone in the organisation was a
L12  64 traitor. ^That fitted the circumstances better than the idea that Zuck
L12  65 had been followed the day he ordered a music-box from a store on Fifth
L12  66 Avenue.
L12  67    |^There was nothing against the theory that he had been followed,
L12  68 but it had been done by somebody who knew his normal daily routine,
L12  69 somebody who'd only been waiting for the right moment. ^If it had not
L12  70 been the music-box, it would've been something else.
L12  71    |^Kadar had had the opportunity. ^Kadar was the one member who'd
L12  72 left the meeting just before ten o'clock. ^Yet... he could've had no
L12  73 hand in the switching of the valises. ^That was the last thing he'd
L12  74 have wanted to happen.
L12  75    |^So it had been chance that saved the organisation. ^If Rickie
L12  76 Oppenheimer hadn't picked up the wrong valise...
L12  77    |^But Rickie shouldn't have been carrying a brief-case that
L12  78 morning. ^Every other time he'd left it in the office at the Blue
L12  79 Bottle Club. ^Monday night he'd broken a long-standing habit.
L12  80    |^When he'd got no reply at Schultz's apartment he'd gone away.
L12  81 ^Some time between then and eight-thirty next morning he'd disposed of
L12  82 twenty thousand dollars. ^The question was*- how?
L12  83    |^Zuck hadn't been lying. ^There had been no money in the
L12  84 substitute valise. ^Which meant that Rickie had given it to someone.
L12  85 ^And he'd seen only one person that night so far as I knew*- Paula.
L12  86 ^But why give it to her?
L12  87    |^I'd finished making the bed by then. ^As I pushed it back against
L12  88 the wall I heard something drop on the floor.
L12  89    |^That was when the percolator in the living-room started making
L12  90 bubbling noises. ^There was nothing on the floor that I could see. ^I
L12  91 told myself it must've fallen down between the bed and the wall.
L12  92    |^...Wasn't urgent anyway. ^Maybe my cigarette-case... or Sonia's
L12  93 powder compact... ^I'd look for it later.
L12  94    |^So I got up from my hands and knees, went into the living-room
L12  95 and fixed myself a cup of coffee. ^While I was drinking it I wondered
L12  96 what Peter Rakosi would say when I told him I wanted to marry his
L12  97 daughter.
L12  98    |^Did he know the life she'd lived in Budapest*- or was I the only
L12  99 person in whom she'd ever confided? ^What difference did it make? ^She
L12 100 wasn't that kind of a woman, now. ^The past was dead. ^Why did I have
L12 101 to go on tormenting myself? ^If only I could learn to accept, it would
L12 102 be easy...
L12 103    |^There I had a new thought that drove everything else from my
L12 104 mind. ^It couldn't have been my cigarette-case that had fallen on the
L12 105 floor. ^I had it in my pocket. ^And Sonia had used her powder compact
L12 106 just before she left. ^I remembered seeing her open it and glance in
L12 107 the mirror for a moment or two before we went out.
L12 108    |^On stiff, unwilling legs I walked back into the bedroom and got
L12 109 down again on my hands and knees. ^By the light of a match I saw the
L12 110 thing that had fallen under the bed.
L12 111    |^It was a small metal box, maybe six inches by four and an inch
L12 112 and a half deep*- the kind of box that a well-known maker used for
L12 113 packaging pipe tobacco. ^They advertised it on television and in all
L12 114 the glossy magazines.
L12 115    |^Every muscle in my body froze so that I couldn't move. ^I'd never
L12 116 had a box like that: I wasn't a pipe smoker. ^Neither was anyone who'd
L12 117 visited with me in weeks. ^And it hadn't been in or on my bed that
L12 118 morning.
L12 119    |^Sheer blind terror held me rigid as if I'd been stricken with
L12 120 paralysis. ^All I could think of was a newspaper report. ^*"...*1One
L12 121 arm blown off... his head and the whole of the upper part of his body
L12 122 a shambles... he had no face...**"
L12 123    |^*0The same kind of death had been planned for me. ^Any moment
L12 124 that innocent-looking tobacco box was due to go off. ^Even as I stared
L12 125 at it with my skin crawling it was counting off my last moments.
L12 126    |^Judging from the spot where it lay it had been planted between
L12 127 the underside of the mattress and one of the cross-supports. ^If I
L12 128 hadn't re-made the bed... if Sonia and I hadn't made love...
L12 129    |^Sonia. ^Nothing else accounted for the presence of that hellish
L12 130 box. ^I'd left her alone in the bedroom when we awoke from the brief
L12 131 sleep of exhaustion.
L12 132    |^...She'd given herself to me... then she'd asked me to leave her
L12 133 so that she could dress and fix her hair. ^While I was in the
L12 134 living-room she'd had time to plant the booby-trap...
L12 135    |^That's how it had to be. ^Behind all the kissing and caressing
L12 136 she'd been planning my death. ^I'd become a menace that had to be
L12 137 removed. ^So she had appointed herself my executioner.
L12 138    |^Then the match went out. ^I could still see the small metal box
L12 139 under the bed. ^If I'd had the power of movement I could've reached
L12 140 out and touched it. ^But I'd lost the will to do anything but kneel
L12 141 there and sweat, my bones like rubber, my wits gyrating like a
L12 142 carousel inside my head.
L12 143    |^...If I got up and ran people would be burned to death in their
L12 144 sleep when the thing went off... ^The old building would blaze like
L12 145 tinder. ^Maybe I'd have time to rouse everybody and get them out
L12 146 before it was too late... but not if they put up an argument, not if
L12 147 they refused to believe me and demanded explanations...
L12 148    |^How long would it be before the bomb detonated? ^My watch said
L12 149 the time was a few minutes off midnight. ^Whoever had set the fuse
L12 150 would have had to allow for the possibility that I might come home
L12 151 late.
L12 152    |^So much depended on how long Sonia Rakosi had waited for me to
L12 153 return. ^She hadn't been in any hurry to leave.
L12 154    |^So there must've been an ample time allowance. ^Probably it was
L12 155 meant to explode at three or four o'clock in the morning when they
L12 156 could be sure I was in bed and asleep.
L12 157    |^But there was always the chance that I was wrong. ^Any way I
L12 158 looked at it I had to take that chance.
L12 159    |^With sweat on my hands I groped under the bed and took hold of
L12 160 the metal box. ^Slowly and stiffly I stood up and walked into the
L12 161 living-room. ^I've never been so scared in all my life.
L12 162    |^Putting on my coat meant transferring the box from one hand to
L12 163 the other. ^I wondered stupidly what would happen if I dropped it.
L12 164 ^Maybe nothing. ^Maybe it didn't matter. ^If I'd miscalculated nothing
L12 165 mattered.
L12 166    |^I left the light on and went out and down the stairs, the box
L12 167 held in both hands. ^Outside it was blowing a blizzard. ^I had to
L12 168 watch where I put my feet in case I fell. ^I had to force myself to
L12 169 think. ^The one thing I knew with absolute certainty was that I had to
L12 170 keep going.
L12 171    |^The streets were empty. ^Snow blanketed everything beyond a few
L12 172 yards ahead. ^With the metal box hugged against my chest I went on.
L12 173    |^My hands became numbed with cold and I had only a vague idea
L12 174 where I was. ^Somewhere a clock struck the hour. ^By then I was in a
L12 175 daze. ^Time no longer counted, time existed only inside the thing I
L12 176 carried.
L12 177    |^Above the noise of the wind I thought I could hear the ticking of
L12 178 a clock. ^It grew louder and louder with every step I took.
L12 179 *<*2CHAPTER *=12*>
L12 180    |^EVEN NOW *0I don't know where I thought I was going or what I
L12 181 meant to do when I got there. ^All I remember is walking on and on,
L12 182 seeking a place where I could rid myself of the metal box*- a place
L12 183 that I knew only too well I might never reach.
L12 184    |^To leave the time bomb lying in the street was one thing I
L12 185 couldn't do. ^It had been created for me. ^No one else must die
L12 186 because I'd been a fool. ^No innocent passer-by must pay the price of
L12 187 my stupidity.
L12 188    |^So I walked on in my own private hell, listening to the ticking
L12 189 noise that I knew was inside my head, cringing in my stomach from the
L12 190 holocaust that the metal box might unleash at any moment.
L12 191 *# 2003
L13   1 **[416 TEXT L13**]
L13   2    |^*"*0One thing I forgot, sir. ^About what they told Murray at the
L13   3 pub. ^The only other inhabitant's a girl. ^A niece, she's thought to
L13   4 be.**"
L13   5    |^*"Miss Kipper, in fact?**"
L13   6    |^*"That may well be, sir.**"
L13   7    |^*"Splendid. ^This affair is going to offer one sheerly aesthetic
L13   8 moment, at least. ^I look forward to it.**"
L13   9    |^And Appleby walked on.
L13  10    |
L13  11    |^The drive was completely untended. ^It passed between ragged
L13  12 shrubberies and skirted a garden which was a wilderness. ^But even
L13  13 this hardly prepared one for the spectacle that the house itself
L13  14 presented on a closer view. ^It stood, as it were, knee-deep in
L13  15 weeds*- like some forlorn prehistoric creature in an inedible pasture.
L13  16 ^Its grey surfaces were flaked and cracked; its woodwork was denuded
L13  17 of paint; many of the lower windows showed tattered curtains pulled
L13  18 awry, and some of the upper ones lacked entire panes of glass. ^The
L13  19 effect was the more shocking because the house carried its breeding on
L13  20 its ruined face. ^If challenged to date it, Appleby would have said
L13  21 1718; if challenged to name the builder, he would have said James
L13  22 Gibbs. ^But now it spoke either of madness*- which, indeed, was what
L13  23 was attributed to its owner*- or of penury. ^Perhaps it spoke of both.
L13  24 ^Appleby found himself wondering how the false Astarte had risen to a
L13  25 decent coat and skirt when she had presented herself to Gulliver and
L13  26 Heffer on that fateful occasion. ^For this was Astarte's home.
L13  27 ^Mysteriously, but finally, Appleby hadn't the slightest doubt of it.
L13  28    |^He glanced at Heffer's car. ^It told him that Heffer was either a
L13  29 man of unassuming tastes or possessed of only a very modest private
L13  30 income indeed. ^He glanced at the other car, which Parker had supposed
L13  31 to be a doctor's. ^There was a brief-case on the back seat*- and,
L13  32 neatly stacked beside it, a sheaf of documents tied with narrow pink
L13  33 tape. ^Not a doctor, then. ^A solicitor. ^This discovery was a relief.
L13  34    |^Appleby mounted half a dozen steps to the front door. ^As he did
L13  35 so, he recalled Sir Gabriel Gulliver's guess at Astarte Oakes's
L13  36 background: the ponies and the spaniels in decay, and a garden boy
L13  37 beginning to feel entitled to a rise in wages. ^Genteel poverty among
L13  38 the descendants of a Colonial Governor. ^Well, that looked as if it
L13  39 had been a near miss. ^The poverty was here, all right. ^But it didn't
L13  40 seem as if there were a garden boy. ^Appleby rang the bell.
L13  41    |^Or, rather, he went through the motion of doing this. ^But the
L13  42 bell-pull went limp in his hand. ^It might have been the limb of an
L13  43 infant corpse*- he suddenly and ghoulishly thought*- before {6*1rigor
L13  44 mortis} *0set in. ^Then he remembered a story of a man who had pulled
L13  45 at a broken bell like this so vigorously that yards of wire had shot
L13  46 out and strangled him. ^Veere House, he decided, didn't conduce to a
L13  47 healthy state of mind. ^He clenched his fist and knocked vigorously on
L13  48 the door. ^After a pause, he knocked again. ^There was every reason to
L13  49 suppose that the effect in the interior must be considerable. ^But
L13  50 nothing happened. ^Perhaps he ought to begin shouting an injunction to
L13  51 open in the name of the law. ^But that was more in Parker's line. ^He
L13  52 tried the door and found that it wasn't locked. ^So he opened it and
L13  53 walked in. ^Trespass, perhaps. ^But not house-breaking or burglary.
L13  54    |^He was confirmed at once in his impression that here had been a
L13  55 dwelling of some elegance. ^In front of him was a circular hall of
L13  56 moderate dimensions, rising to a cupola and lantern, and clothed in a
L13  57 plain honeycoloured marble which was relieved by engaged pilasters in
L13  58 the same stone. ^Ahead was an archway beyond which a branching
L13  59 staircase rose beneath a second cupola. ^On either side were open
L13  60 doorways, giving on large rooms.
L13  61    |^The hall was quite empty. ^It could have done with a vigorous
L13  62 wash down, but apart from this it retained the dignity of the day on
L13  63 which it was built. ^Contrastingly, both the rooms leading off it gave
L13  64 an immediate impression of being disgraced. ^And the reason was
L13  65 obvious. ^Not only were the carpets and curtains in the last stages of
L13  66 decay. ^The rooms were crowded*- and crowded with junk. ^It wouldn't
L13  67 all be junk, indeed, if transported to a junk-shop. ^But it was junk
L13  68 here.
L13  69    |^Appleby concentrated on the room on his right. ^There was a
L13  70 further open door at the other side of it, through which it was
L13  71 possible to see part of another room beyond. ^This seemed to be
L13  72 crowded in the same way. ^And neither room was furnished with the
L13  73 slightest attempt at individual character or even specific function.
L13  74 ^There were beds and there were sideboards. ^There were desks which
L13  75 looked as if they had come from massive Victorian offices, and there
L13  76 were dressing-tables which looked as if they had come from penurious
L13  77 Victorian servants' dormitories. ^The walls were covered with
L13  78 pictures*- oils, water-colours and steel-engravings side by side.
L13  79 ^There were bags of golf-clubs and bundles of tennis-rackets. ^There
L13  80 was a vaulting horse and a croquet-box and a stuffed bear and a
L13  81 harmonium. ^And in the disposition of all these crowded objects there
L13  82 was only one principle to be observed. ^It was a principle, however,
L13  83 that struck Appleby as a notable one. ^Nothing was entirely concealed
L13  84 behind anything else.
L13  85    |^In the minute which it took Appleby to absorb all this, Veere
L13  86 House was as soundless as the tomb. ^If the false Astarte were really
L13  87 here, it must surely be in the character of a Sleeping Beauty. ^In
L13  88 which case, Jimmy Heffer had certainly taken on the ro*?5le of Prince
L13  89 Charming. ^But whether his plan for arousing the lady was at all
L13  90 moral*- whether, indeed, they mightn't both wake up to find themselves
L13  91 in gaol*- was a different matter. ^Anyway, they must now be hunted
L13  92 out. ^Appleby was about to address himself to this task when he became
L13  93 aware that the deathly stillness of the place had been broken. ^It had
L13  94 been broken by a light, firm tapping from*- he judged*- some distant
L13  95 part of the ground floor on which he stood.
L13  96    |^The tapping came nearer. ^You didn't have to remember *1Treasure
L13  97 Island *0and the blind pirate to be a little unnerved by it. ^Appleby,
L13  98 who had fought for his life in thieves' kitchens almost as often as
L13  99 Sexton Blake, felt a momentary tingling of the scalp. ^And then*- at
L13 100 the far end of the farther room at which he had been glancing*- the
L13 101 occasion of the tapping appeared.
L13 102    |^It was an old woman. ^She came from the shadow of some remoter
L13 103 corridor into a shaft of afternoon sunshine falling through the
L13 104 farthest of a series of windows which extended between Appleby and
L13 105 herself. ^As she did so, the sound of her stick*- for the tapping did
L13 106 proceed from a stick*- was muted but still irrationally alarming. ^She
L13 107 had passed from a tiled floor to a carpeted one.
L13 108    |^It was a quick tapping*- so that it suggested itself as indeed
L13 109 produced by a blind person rather than a lame one. ^But this was
L13 110 delusive. ^The old woman had eyes that could see. ^That she was using
L13 111 them was almost the first impression you had of her. ^She was
L13 112 advancing towards Appleby with her head turned steadily to her left.
L13 113 ^Her stick was in her right hand. ^With her left hand*- its
L13 114 index-finger extended*- she was making spasmodic but purposeful
L13 115 movements as she advanced.
L13 116    |^She was very old. ^She was in black. ^The black was relieved by a
L13 117 white collar and a white cap. ^And this, of course, was what made her
L13 118 uncanny*- uncanny as she advanced through this decorous house, a house
L13 119 of the kind in which the successors of Sir Christopher Wren had
L13 120 tactfully refined upon the Dutch taste of William and Mary. ^The old
L13 121 woman was like an old woman by Rembrandt. ^That was it.
L13 122    |^Of course it didn't make sense. ^\0Mrs Kipper was not,
L13 123 presumably, a Kipper. ^Very probably she had been a Miss Smith or a
L13 124 Miss Jones. ^But perhaps she had grown into the place... ^Now she had
L13 125 passed into the shadow between two windows*- and now she was in clear
L13 126 faint sunlight again. ^She was nearer. ^And she wasn't*- Appleby saw*-
L13 127 a Rembrandt, after all. ^She was just a Frans Hals. ^She hadn't*- that
L13 128 was to say*- grown out of the flesh with age. ^She was an ordinary
L13 129 acquisitive old woman.
L13 130    |^But no*- she wasn't quite ordinary, either. ^She was behaving in
L13 131 too extraordinary a way. ^For he could see, now, what that left
L13 132 index-finger was doing. ^It was ticking things off. ^It was ticking
L13 133 off all those rubbishing material possessions, no one among which
L13 134 quite concealed any other.
L13 135    |
L13 136    |^The pathological old miser*- for that, of course, was what she
L13 137 was*- advanced steadily towards Appleby. ^She looked at him, and
L13 138 frowned. ^He ought not to have been there to be counted. ^She stopped,
L13 139 and spoke sharply.
L13 140    |^*"Young man,**" she said, *"are you Richardson's clerk?**"
L13 141    |^It certainly wasn't that she was purblind. ^A glance from her
L13 142 eyes told you that she saw everything. ^So Appleby felt rejuvenated.
L13 143 ^Whether he was a young man was, after all, a relative matter. ^On the
L13 144 other hand, he certainly wasn't Richardson's clerk. ^So he had better
L13 145 say so.
L13 146    |^*"No,**" he replied. ^*"My name is Appleby, and I have come to
L13 147 call on your niece. ^You must forgive me for walking in. ^I seemed to
L13 148 have some difficulty with the bell at the front door.**"
L13 149    |^\0Mrs Kipper*- as she must be presumed to be*- ignored this. ^She
L13 150 had come to a halt for a moment, but now she walked on*- crossing her
L13 151 elegant hall and entering the first of the rooms on its farther side.
L13 152 ^At the same time, she signed to Appleby to accompany her. ^She gave
L13 153 the impression of being prepared to listen to him, provided this did
L13 154 not distract her from the more important task of checking over her
L13 155 property. ^This still took place entirely on her left hand. ^No doubt
L13 156 there was going to be a return journey.
L13 157    |^*"I asked**"*- \0Mrs Kipper said*- *"because Richardson is in the
L13 158 house now. ^I heard his voice as he went upstairs. ^He has no business
L13 159 here. ^I have a good mind to turn him out of the place.**"
L13 160    |^*"Isn't \0Mr Richardson your solicitor?**" ^Appleby asked this
L13 161 very much at a venture.
L13 162    |^*"Certainly not. ^My solicitor is \0Mr Wiggins of Gray's Inn. ^I
L13 163 went up to see him only a few days ago. ^Richardson is a local man,
L13 164 who did business for my late brother-in-law, Joseph Kipper. ^Most
L13 165 mistakenly and unnecessarily, Joseph left a sum of money in trust for
L13 166 the education of my niece. ^Richardson administered it. ^But that is
L13 167 all over. ^The money has been spent and the trust discharged. ^The
L13 168 girl may send for him as she pleases. ^But he hasn't a penny left to
L13 169 give her, all the same. ^Unless out of his own pocket.**"
L13 170    |^*"Your niece Astarte?**"
L13 171    |^\0Mrs Kipper had now nearly reached the far end of the room. ^And
L13 172 she took time off the more serious business of her peregrination to
L13 173 look sharply at Appleby.
L13 174    |^*"Astarte? ^Stuff and nonsense! ^My niece's name is plain
L13 175 Jane.**"
L13 176    |^*"Plain Jane, I am told, is one of the loveliest girls in
L13 177 England.**" ^It was again in an experimental spirit that Appleby
L13 178 offered this. ^What it produced from \0Mrs Kipper was a cackle of
L13 179 highly disagreeable laughter.
L13 180    |^*"Lovely? ^All the more reason why she should marry Charles
L13 181 Onions. ^They will cancel each other out, so far as looks go. ^\0Mr
L13 182 Onions is a revoltingly ugly man.**"
L13 183    |^*"I see.**" ^And indeed Appleby was beginning to see what might
L13 184 be called the archetypal simplicity of the situation at Veere House.
L13 185 ^*"Your niece has no wish to marry this revoltingly ugly man. ^But she
L13 186 is penniless. ^And he is the match that you design for her.**"
L13 187    |^*"You express it very clearly,**" \0Mrs Kipper said. ^And she
L13 188 walked on. ^*"The announcement,**" she said presently, *"would look
L13 189 well in *1The Times*- *0supposing one were to waste money in that way.
L13 190 **[MIDDLE OF QUOTE**]
L13 191 *# 2013
L14   1 **[417 TEXT L14**]
L14   2    |^*0*"Very interesting indeed,**" Miss Hocking murmured when he
L14   3 ended. ^*"But I'm afraid I can't enlighten you. ^Not at all. ^\0Mrs.
L14   4 Pritchard frequently marked books, made little annotations on passages
L14   5 that interested her.**"
L14   6    |^*"Oh, lots of people do that, I know. ^But this mention of a
L14   7 neighbour's name*- and his suspecting something*- and the sentence not
L14   8 finished*- and the book on the floor when she died. ^Come now, Miss
L14   9 Hocking, you can't tell me you don't think that adds up to
L14  10 something.**"
L14  11    |^She didn't answer, just looked down, her eyes moving slightly
L14  12 behind lowered lids.
L14  13    |^Satisfied that he had silenced her, he said: ^*"This message*- do
L14  14 you reckon it could've been for \0Mrs. McEvoy, warning her that her
L14  15 husband suspected her of using the boatshed as a place of
L14  16 assignation?**"
L14  17    |^*"I've told you I have no idea who this warning could have been
L14  18 for. ^If it was a warning.**"
L14  19    |^*"Did anyone turn up at her place,**" he probed patiently, *"soon
L14  20 after she was dead?**"
L14  21    |^*"Everyone. ^The news spread quickly, and everyone came in to see
L14  22 if there was anything they could do.**"
L14  23    |^Grogan turned to Stephen. ^*"What were the grounds for your and
L14  24 \0Mrs. McEvoy's divorce?**" he asked.
L14  25    |^*"Desertion,**" Stephen said promptly, and flicked on a lighter
L14  26 and lighted a cigarette.
L14  27    |^*"On whose part?**"
L14  28    |^*"Mine. ^On our return from Singapore things weren't too happy
L14  29 between us, and I left her and she divorced me.**"
L14  30    |^And that was that, Grogan thought. ^A nice clean decent
L14  31 desertion, and she never so much as turned her eyes on any other
L14  32 bloke! ^No! ^A brick wall here every bit as thick as the old girl was
L14  33 putting up.
L14  34    |^Pointedly, Miss Hocking reached over and took Stephen's cup, and
L14  35 put it back on the tray and straightened the things on it as though to
L14  36 say, Good morning, Inspector, and I hope you're satisfied with what
L14  37 you haven't learnt.
L14  38    |^Forestalling her, Grogan got up, took his hat off the chair and
L14  39 stood a moment turning the brim round in his hands. ^*"By the way,**"
L14  40 he said, and kept his eyes steadily on her face, *"about where McEvoy
L14  41 was shot.**"
L14  42    |^*"Yes?**" she said, as he paused.
L14  43    |^*"We find now that it didn't happen down by the fowlyard and him
L14  44 carried indoors. ^He was shot in the bedroom, as it first appeared.
L14  45 ^So it doesn't have to be a strong man after all.**"
L14  46    |^Miss Hocking's expression was admirably impassive under his
L14  47 stare. ^But the blood that rises to or drains away from the face at
L14  48 certain moments is under no one's control.
L14  49    |
L14  50    |^In the shade of a tree on one of the stones that enclosed his
L14  51 small domain, Jeffrey Cornwall was sitting filling a mid-morning pipe.
L14  52 ^To the tune of *1Cherry Ripe *0droned several tones flat he rolled
L14  53 the tobacco round and round in his palms. ^Round and round and round,
L14  54 while meditatively, as a cow chewing the cud, he let his eyes rest on
L14  55 the flat water ahead of him. ^The near-to-overhead sun seemed to
L14  56 flatten it still further so that hardly a ripple stirred its surface.
L14  57 ^The shadow of a bird flying low was a black cloud, a small fish
L14  58 leaping was an explosion.
L14  59    |^*"H'm...h'm...h'm... ^Ripe I cry, Full **[SIC**] and fair ones
L14  60 come and buy.**" ^Round and round and round...
L14  61    |^Grogan, leaving Miss Hocking's, stopped to have a word with him.
L14  62    |^Leaning up against the tree, taking out a cigarette and lighting
L14  63 it, the inspector said there were worse occupations than what \0Mr.
L14  64 Cornwall was engaged on! ^That himself he wasn't half looking forward
L14  65 to the day when he'd sit in the shade and smoke his pipe and give the
L14  66 job away.
L14  67    |^Cornwall agreed heartily. ^He'd always said, ^Retire while you've
L14  68 got the health to enjoy your leisure, cultivate your mind instead of
L14  69 an ulcer. ^Then, talking of jobs, he wanted to know whether the police
L14  70 had got any nearer to solving the crime.
L14  71    |^Grogan said that there had been several small developments. ^For
L14  72 instance*- and he brought Cornwall up to date about the warning
L14  73 message written by old \0Mrs. Pritchard in the book.
L14  74    |^Cornwall listened, blew a cloud of fragrant smoke, and pressed
L14  75 the tobacco down with his thumb.
L14  76    |^*"Would you think,**" Grogan asked, *"that McEvoy suspected his
L14  77 wife of meeting a \2feller in the boatshed?**"
L14  78    |^*"What fellow?**" Cornwall wanted to know in exchange, with an
L14  79 upward squint of the eye.
L14  80    |^*"Say, \0Mr. Pritchard.**"
L14  81    |^Cornwall gave a soundless whistle. ^*"Well... I don't know
L14  82 anything about that. ^Everyone admires the girl, of course. ^But I
L14  83 haven't seen any signs of her carrying on with anyone. ^But then, more
L14  84 than likely, I wouldn't have seen it if it'd been right under my nose.
L14  85 ^I've got beyond the stage, thank God, of being interested in love
L14  86 affairs, wouldn't give a damn even if it was my own. ^And frankly I
L14  87 don't think Boris would've cared two hoots if she'd had a dozen men in
L14  88 the boatshed.**"
L14  89    |^*"No? ^How say he wanted to divorce her and was snooping around
L14  90 for evidence?**"
L14  91    |^Cornwall rejected this, too, with a shake of his long, thick
L14  92 head. ^*"No...**" ^He enveloped a passing fly in a cloud of smoke.
L14  93 ^*"No. ^Divorces cost money.**"
L14  94    |^*"Well, he had a bit, hadn't he? ^Didn't have to work, seemed
L14  95 comfortable enough.**"
L14  96    |^*"Yes, but he didn't like to spend it. ^Not in getting rid of a
L14  97 wife when all he had to say was*- if he wanted to, that is*- ^*'I know
L14  98 what you're up to, beat it**'.**"
L14  99    |^*"Look, if you can prove adultery against a wife you don't have
L14 100 to keep her. ^If you haven't got the evidence but just turn her out on
L14 101 suspicion, she can force you to support her. ^Maybe it wouldn't've
L14 102 suited her to clear out with nothing, even if it wasn't much of a
L14 103 match for a girl as young and pretty as that.**"
L14 104    |^*"You may have something there,**" Cornwall nodded.
L14 105    |^*"For Dal's sake, too, she might've wanted to stay with him.
L14 106 ^However, I wouldn't know. ^All that side of life*- I'm not concerned
L14 107 with it.**"
L14 108    |^Grogan, looking down at him thought, ^Not a bad looking old cove.
L14 109 ^Upright and well-preserved, hair still dark and thick. ^Was he a bit
L14 110 too emphatic about how little interest he had in the other sex?
L14 111    |^He said suddenly: ^*"By the way, \0Mr. Cornwall, about that gun
L14 112 of yours.**"
L14 113    |^*"By jove, yes. ^When am I going to get it back?**"
L14 114    |^*"Chatting with \0Mrs. McEvoy, she says again that she never saw
L14 115 her husband fire a gun, or speak of shooting.**"
L14 116    |^*"Doesn't mean a thing. ^He was an odd sort of chap. ^He'd plant
L14 117 vegetables and forget to water them, yet he'd wage war on anything
L14 118 that took a nibble at them.**"
L14 119    |^*"His wife says he didn't give a damn for the vegetables.**"
L14 120    |^*"He didn't give a damn till somebody else wanted them*- even if
L14 121 it was only a rabbit. ^He was like that about a lot of things. ^He
L14 122 didn't give a damn for a lot of his old records but he'd hit the roof
L14 123 if young Dal Owen touched them.**"
L14 124    |^*"You'd say, then, McEvoy wasn't too fond of his brother-in-law?
L14 125 ^I thought that might be why he came down here to your place to
L14 126 sleep.**"
L14 127    |^*"Look, Inspector, I wouldn't know. ^Don't quote me,**" Cornwall
L14 128 said hastily.
L14 129    |^No, Grogan thought as he nodded and passed on his way, ^Don't
L14 130 quote me*- don't expect any opinion*- don't expect any help. ^Don't
L14 131 help the police if there's a dozen murderers loose in the community.
L14 132 ^Stand on the sidelines and cheer on anyone out to down the cops.
L14 133 ^Well, he'd forget 'em all if he could just get one bit more on the
L14 134 old girl.
L14 135    |^Half-way up the hill, he met Manning coming down it.
L14 136    |^Grudgingly, Manning admitted that the other's guess had not been
L14 137 too bad a one. ^He'd just been talking to the Fordham police, and this
L14 138 was the way it was...
L14 139 *<*2CHAPTER *=15*>
L14 140    |^THE FRYS WERE HOME BY MIDDAY. ^*0There had been no nice little
L14 141 lunch out, no trip to the pictures; instead, the hire car deposited
L14 142 them at the top, and they came down the hill even more slowly than
L14 143 they had gone up it. ^Edward's face was still more pale and drawn, and
L14 144 Jane's manner more determinedly cheerful than when they had set out.
L14 145    |^Walking ahead, as earlier, she quickly opened the door with her
L14 146 key so as to have it wide before he reached it, and hurried into the
L14 147 living-room, lowered the blinds half-way, arranged cushions on the
L14 148 sofa, and went out to the refrigerator to get him a cool drink. ^She
L14 149 sat and watched him as he sipped the milk and soda; and now one more
L14 150 fear was added to all the others in Jane's eyes. ^One fear worse than
L14 151 the others, worse than the hateful children in class, the birds in the
L14 152 morning, the frogs in the night.
L14 153    |^Edward had voiced the fear several times in the car on the drive
L14 154 home; and each time, with dry mouth and a faith that she was far from
L14 155 feeling, Jane had said:
L14 156    |^*"Don't worry, Eddie. ^It's like the confessional.**"
L14 157    |^*"Should be, but is it?**"
L14 158    |^*"Of course it is. ^Of course it is.**"
L14 159    |^Even now, when steps sounded on the veranda, she said, with
L14 160 last-ditch courage; ~*"That'll be Vetch's boy,**" though the steps
L14 161 were clearly of four feet, not two, and Vetch's boy never came to the
L14 162 front door.
L14 163    |^The entry of Grogan and Manning, following on Manning's
L14 164 information to Grogan, left no room for further ostrich tactics on
L14 165 Jane's part.
L14 166    |^The Frys greeted the visitors with no small talk. ^Jane, having
L14 167 brought them in, murmured: ~*"The police, Eddie,**" and went back to
L14 168 her chair and they sat looking at the two detectives with their
L14 169 habitual air of resigned anxiety.
L14 170    |^The room was as trim and orderly as the Frys themselves. ^From
L14 171 year to year not the smallest thing in it was ever changed. ^Jane
L14 172 dusted it once a day, and put each object back in its allotted place.
L14 173    |^Grogan wasn't long in explaining the reason for their call: the
L14 174 Frys' visit to a doctor's surgery, their visit to a chemist near by,
L14 175 the purchase of surgical lint, bandages and antiseptics. ^The damning
L14 176 facts gathered by a police constable in Fordham couldn't be denied,
L14 177 nor could the deductions to be drawn from them.
L14 178    |^Yes*- yes*- and yes, Edward admitted. ^It was his blood that had
L14 179 spattered the stones in the yard outside Boris McEvoy's fowl-run.
L14 180    |^Edward, his legs along the sofa, reached out and put his glass
L14 181 down on a table. ^Jane, her eyes filled with burning intensity, seemed
L14 182 not to breathe now. ^It would have been hard to say just what the Frys
L14 183 were clinging to with such tenacity, life in the austere house seemed
L14 184 so joyless, its barrenness so little different from that of that
L14 185 *"fine and private place**", the grave.
L14 186    |^*"Where were you wounded, \0Mr. Fry?**" Grogan asked when the
L14 187 facts had been stated and admitted.
L14 188    |^*"In the calf of the leg, a flesh wound,**" Edward rapped out.
L14 189 ^*"The bullet ricocheted off a stone. ^My wife thought it had begun to
L14 190 look more than slightly angry today, and I was persuaded to see a
L14 191 doctor. ^Otherwise, we could have been able to keep the whole
L14 192 miserable incident to ourselves. ^Or, even, if I could have relied on
L14 193 this much-vaunted medical etiquette I might have maintained that the
L14 194 things I bought at the chemist's were for some minor injury that had
L14 195 nothing to do with McEvoy's death.**"
L14 196    |^*"Who fired the shot?**"
L14 197    |^*"Boris McEvoy. ^I've lived in this locality for three years, and
L14 198 all I ask is to be left in peace to*-**"
L14 199    |^*"Was it deliberate?**"
L14 200    |^*"Kindly allow me to tell the story in my own fashion,**" Edward
L14 201 rasped at him. ^The stern schoolmaster's glance was turned on the
L14 202 inspector. ^Edward would be in control of the class and none other,
L14 203 and interrupters would be promptly dealt with. ^His injured leg up on
L14 204 the sofa did little to lessen his air of authority; his uplifted hand
L14 205 commanded it, and the sharp turn of his head and the snap of his eyes.
L14 206 *# 2016
L15   1 **[418 TEXT L15**]
L15   2    |^*0I was alone at the moment, though we were two in the household.
L15   3 ^My younger brother Tom shared our holding of some two hundred acres,
L15   4 but he'd gone out to see about the barn door which was banging in the
L15   5 wind, so if anyone had concluded that we two bachelors were also
L15   6 wealthy, here was I **[SIC**] another such opportunity for murder. ^It
L15   7 was fancy I know, but its possibility made me nervous. ^Tom was a man
L15   8 you could never be sure of. ^He was eccentric, moody, and shrewd,
L15   9 secretive to a fault, fond of company and very fond of liquor. ^He
L15  10 made every trifling incident an excuse for a *'celebration**', as he
L15  11 called it, though he was steady enough when it suited him to be. ^But
L15  12 as I said, he was most unreliable. ^I was the eldest of the surviving
L15  13 sons, and three years Tom's senior. ^I had a different temperament; I
L15  14 was always one to count the costs beforehand, I seldom smoked, I'd no
L15  15 taste for it, and as to strong drink, well it didn't appeal to me,
L15  16 though I took it when I considered it to be in my interests to do so,
L15  17 otherwise I looked on it as a sheer waste of good money. ^I enjoyed
L15  18 work for work's sake; a violin well played, or a well told story. ^Tom
L15  19 was the reverse of my tastes, though good at heart. ^He was
L15  20 thoughtless, more than selfish; an unknown quantity would I think best
L15  21 describe him.
L15  22    |^As I sat there musing and waiting his return, a sudden and
L15  23 powerful gust of wind shook the entire cottage, which trembled
L15  24 violently and was accompanied by a sound of tearing, which terminated
L15  25 in a dull thud in an adjacent room.
L15  26    |^At this I jumped to my feet in alarm, as I'd not have been at all
L15  27 surprised if the entire roof had collapsed. ^It was very old and in
L15  28 need of repair. ^However nothing further happened and I became curious
L15  29 as to what had apparently fallen. ^Taking the lamp from the table I
L15  30 went to investigate, but no sooner had I opened the room door than my
L15  31 lamp was nigh extinguished by a violent draught. ^I was able to see
L15  32 that the gable end of the roof had been ripped off and swept away.
L15  33 ^Luckily it was a fine though windy night, or we would certainly have
L15  34 been flooded. ^It was a room seldom used however, so things might have
L15  35 been worse. ^The room contained little furniture*- in fact I knew its
L15  36 contents by heart, so that when I saw an unfamiliar parcel lying on
L15  37 the floor I was mystified, and before another gust of wind came I had
L15  38 hurriedly lifted up that loosely tied parcel and returned to my room
L15  39 as I was fearful of my lamp's chimney being destroyed by the draught.
L15  40    |^The parcel was of a light though rustly nature, and appeared to
L15  41 have been carelessly packed. ^Its cord was useless in effect, so I'd
L15  42 no trouble in its removal, on doing so I was dumbfounded by its
L15  43 unexpected contents. ^I must have stood some time motionless in awe.
L15  44 ^On examination I found it contained about twenty bundles of one pound
L15  45 notes, which I later discovered amounted to *+2,010 in all.
L15  46    |^When my sudden excitement had subsided, I found I was becoming
L15  47 very nervous, which later developed into anxiety as to what I ought to
L15  48 do. ^I felt I could not consult anyone for advice, and I was equally
L15  49 uncertain if I should even tell Tom my brother, for if we did share it
L15  50 he might talk in his cups, or indeed drink its entirety, and if I kept
L15  51 it secret, I could not use it without he in time asking awkward
L15  52 questions as to where I had obtained all the money. ^To lodge it in
L15  53 the bank might also make for embarrassment so I thought at the time.
L15  54 ^Now I know better. ^There was only one alternative and that was to
L15  55 inform the police. ^I didn't relish that. ^As a final solution I was
L15  56 undecided. ^Its destruction by fire, although I was loath to destroy
L15  57 wealth. ^Before however I had made up my mind as to what I would do
L15  58 with it, the room door unexpectedly opened and Tom entered, sober and
L15  59 silently. ^I'd been so engrossed in my thoughts that I never heard his
L15  60 step above the high winds.
L15  61    |^When he saw the pile of notes, he rushed over and picked up a
L15  62 bundle in silence examining it thoroughly as if to see if they were
L15  63 real. ^Then he spoke hoarsely to me, saying ^*'Where did you get
L15  64 these? ^Are they yours, and were you counting your wealth in my
L15  65 absence? ^Or maybe you've stolen them, Eh?**' ^His eyes were staring
L15  66 at me wildly as if he'd not hesitate to do me an injury if I gave him
L15  67 what he might think was a false explanation. ^I could see that he had
L15  68 already made himself a satisfactory answer. ^That had always been his
L15  69 piggish way*- judgment before, and in spite of, any evidence.
L15  70    |^I replied at once. ^To have hesitated would have meant suspicion,
L15  71 and he had a tinge of that already. ^I told him that I'd found the
L15  72 money, relating in detail all I've said before. ^He kept watching me
L15  73 all the time incredulously. ^I could quite understand this. ^It did
L15  74 appear fantastic and almost improbable. ^But when I'd ceased talking
L15  75 he said, ^*'Well Jim I believe you, I don't like it**'.
L15  76    |^I agreed it certainly was unpleasant and peculiar. ^Suddenly he
L15  77 pressed down the brown paper wrapper and said ^*'Look there! ^See it
L15  78 has poor old David Tuns' name written on it**'.
L15  79    |^I followed his pointing finger, and sure enough the name and
L15  80 address was there, showing also a cancelled revenue stamp. ^A thought
L15  81 flashed through my mind, but before I could give it expression Tom
L15  82 banged his fist down on the table and exclaimed ^*'It's surely blood
L15  83 money and will bring bad luck on us! ^\2'Tis plain that the murderer
L15  84 wrapped his ill-gotten gains in the first thing that he could find and
L15  85 placed it in our thatch. ^But why didn't he ever return? ^Was it to
L15  86 throw suspicion on us two lone men?**' ^Again he eyed me*- I thought
L15  87 suspiciously as if he thought \2'twas I who had done the deed and hid
L15  88 the money, but as I could give no explanation, I said so. ^I was
L15  89 always a man to speak out my mind straight, asking him what we'd do
L15  90 with the money now that it was here. ^He paused long at that. ^Then he
L15  91 said ^*'Perhaps it were a bank robbery, and if so the number of the
L15  92 notes would be known**'.
L15  93    |^It was possible, though hardly probable, I said, ^*'Yet the late
L15  94 David was not believed to have been a man of means, so it was,**' I
L15  95 added, *'quite possible that \2'twas never his and the wrapper a mere
L15  96 coincidence**'. ^I was quite convinced and Tom agreed, that David had
L15  97 never hidden it in our thatch with his address on it, though some
L15  98 people are queer, and \2'twould have saved him income tax to have done
L15  99 so.
L15 100    |^We could form no conclusion as to its origin, but had to face the
L15 101 fact of its disposal.
L15 102    |^When I suggested the police, Tom would not even listen to me, so
L15 103 after a long debate far into the night we decided to leave it till
L15 104 morning and then decide. ^Next morning however he was up earlier than
L15 105 usual and was attending the live stock when I came into the room at my
L15 106 customary time. ^When I'd finished breakfast and went to find him I
L15 107 did so, **[SIC**] and commenced to repair our damaged roof, as the
L15 108 wind had ceased although it was still overcast. ^I questioned him as
L15 109 to why he hadn't asked Hattie, our local expert thatcher to do the
L15 110 job. ^He muttered something about not wanting strangers about our home
L15 111 as they knew too much of others **[SIC**] domestic affairs already. ^I
L15 112 could perceive that he was in a very sour mood, so decided not to
L15 113 pursue the matter, nor indeed to refer to our agreement of the
L15 114 previous night about the disposal of my find. ^There was no hurry
L15 115 anyway, I thought.
L15 116    |^It seems hard to believe now, but it was not till five months
L15 117 later that I brought up the subject in desperation. ^Tom made no
L15 118 reference ever to it, and it was early Spring, with a lot of urgent
L15 119 improvements due on our farm. ^Extra money could be usefully spent on
L15 120 it, and if it was a thing that Tom agreed, I'd decided to spend a
L15 121 discreet figure on this objective, so as not to arouse local
L15 122 suspicions or talk. ^To make a big outlay was to start the busybody
L15 123 neighbours **[SIC**] tongues with Jim Kogh's sudden wealth, and
L15 124 indeed*- ~*'Where did he get it?**'*- \2'twas easily started, but
L15 125 mighty hard to stop.
L15 126    |^Mid-February then it was, when I again approached Tom asking him
L15 127 why it was that he didn't help me to decide our windfall of over five
L15 128 months ago. ^He said that he'd been waiting for me, and so I saw that
L15 129 one was waiting for the other, in some kind of awkward fear. ^It was
L15 130 that **[SIC**] he eventually agreed with me that, barring telling
L15 131 either the police, or any of our neighbours, we were quite within our
L15 132 rights in equally dividing it, as \2'twas found unclaimed on our
L15 133 premises, and so it was that we had a mutual share out of the *+2,010.
L15 134 ^He took it without a murmur, but turned as he made to leave the room.
L15 135 ^At the door he said: ^*'I hope this does not get me into any
L15 136 trouble**'.
L15 137    |^I don't pretend to know what he meant by saying it, but it again
L15 138 entered my mind that he might spend it recklessly on drink, and give
L15 139 our secret away, for he was, as I've already said, a very intemperate
L15 140 man when it suited him. ^I replied that I hoped it would not, unless
L15 141 he ran the way of trouble. ^I thought my hint would be sufficient, but
L15 142 he only looked at me and said that there were more ways of getting
L15 143 into troubles than drink, and money was one of them, especially as it
L15 144 had been queerly come by. ^With that he went out. ^I couldn't
L15 145 understand him at all. ^He appeared to be both nervous and vexed, but
L15 146 why, I couldn't even imagine.
L15 147    |^Sometime later*- \2'twould be at least eighteen months I'd say*-
L15 148 to my great surprise I saw Tom emerging from the delapidated old house
L15 149 of the late Dave Tuns, the neighbour whom I've already referred to who
L15 150 had been found murdered and whose house was still unoccupied and a
L15 151 ruin. ^We locals wouldn't enter it. ^It was the late owner's property
L15 152 and he had died without issue or relatives. ^It could not therefore be
L15 153 legally disposed of, though Tom and I had acquired the adjacent lands
L15 154 by local authority. ^I saw Tom coming out of this dreaded house one
L15 155 day, but I refrained from mentioning it to him for a time, as \2'twas
L15 156 really none of my business. ^About a month later than this, he told me
L15 157 one morning that he had had several bad dreams about the late David
L15 158 and that he was going to have him prayed for, and to put a stone or
L15 159 suchlike to his memory.
L15 160    |^Why he should decide to do this was beyond me. ^David was no
L15 161 relation of ours, and a long time dead, but I didn't pursue this.
L15 162 ^Nevertheless I was mystified as to why Tom took a sudden interest
L15 163 after such a lapse of time as eighteen years. ^I was equally surprised
L15 164 that he was not drinking. ^This was contrary indeed to my
L15 165 expectations, for he was not one to hold money, much or little.
L15 166    |^Later I heard in a roundabout way that he was visiting a nearby
L15 167 widow and her daughter, both considered to be well off in property and
L15 168 gilt-edged investments, and above criticism.
L15 169 *# 2015
L16   1 **[419 TEXT L16**]
L16   2    |^*0Farland sat waiting in the lounge. ^He'd yet to meet \0Dr.
L16   3 Halset, who'd arrived just after dinner. ^Following a telephone call,
L16   4 a little earlier, Winter had said, ^*"I'd like an opportunity of
L16   5 explaining you to Halset before he sees you. ^Would you mind very
L16   6 much? ^You can stay in the dining room, or...**"
L16   7    |^*"I'll be in my bedroom,**" Farland had told him. ^*"There's
L16   8 every comfort, and I've a letter to write.**"
L16   9    |^*"So glad you understand. ^You'll hear us come upstairs. ^He's
L16  10 certain to want Wally to retire early and will probably give him a
L16  11 stronger sedative. ^When we're through we'll join you in the
L16  12 lounge.**"
L16  13    |^*"How much will you tell \0Dr. Halset about the reasons for my
L16  14 being here?**" Farland had asked.
L16  15    |^*"I'll tell him as little as possible. ^He will, of course, have
L16  16 to know about your rescuing Wally from the cliffs last night. ^That
L16  17 falls into the medical picture. ^But the local gossip and other
L16  18 troubles are outside his province. ^You'll be able to take your cue
L16  19 from me.**"
L16  20    |^While he was waiting for them, Farland reviewed his own decision
L16  21 to say nothing of what he'd learned during the day. ^For one thing, he
L16  22 was reluctant to reveal the source of his information. ^He was
L16  23 prepared to believe Susie Bowers, but Winter might feel very
L16  24 differently. ^It wouldn't suit Farland's plans to have the girl banned
L16  25 from the house on the grounds that she was an irresponsible gossip.
L16  26 ^He'd other valid reasons for silence. ^So far there was no proof, no
L16  27 confirmation, and there was still much to be discovered. ^He strongly
L16  28 suspected that Smail was one of the men who'd been watching the house
L16  29 at night; but the evidence of the chewing-gum was circumstantial.
L16  30 ^Considered objectively it only proved that one of the intruders could
L16  31 have been Smail. ^The identification of the second man as either
L16  32 Harker or Beddoes was even flimsier.
L16  33    |^This was a lead. ^No more. ^He'd have to watch them; and if the
L16  34 suspicions were proved right, then he'd have to discover who was
L16  35 employing them. ^And had the same unknown person induced Bowers to
L16  36 start the talk in the village? ^Or was that fortuitous?
L16  37    |^Farland summed up. ^Quite fair to hold out on Winter. ^It seems
L16  38 he's keeping things back. ^If he knows about the knife... ^And if he
L16  39 knows that Wally did attack the girl...
L16  40    |^There were voices in the hall and Winter entered with the
L16  41 visitor. ^He effected introductions. ^Halset was not at all as Farland
L16  42 had pictured. ^He was a shortish man of slight build. ^The nose was
L16  43 the predominant feature of his face. ^It was long and beakish, coming
L16  44 out so far that one felt the tip must intrude in his vision whenever
L16  45 he glanced downwards. ^He was almost bald, the remaining hair tufting
L16  46 at the sides and tending to curl at the back.
L16  47    |^He looked a mournful man and his handshake was loose; but his
L16  48 voice was well modulated and, Farland imagined, could be soothing.
L16  49    |^*"\0Mr. Farland, I've heard how magnificently you behaved last
L16  50 night. ^I'm thankful you were here and averted what would certainly
L16  51 have been a tragedy.**"
L16  52    |^*"I did what I could,**" Farland murmured. ^He glanced at Rufus
L16  53 Winter. ^*"It was a situation that called for somebody pretty
L16  54 athletic.**"
L16  55    |^*"I'd not the nerve*- let alone the body,**" Winter said
L16  56 candidly. ^*"Let me get you a drink. ^How very fortunate, doctor, that
L16  57 you should happen to be coming down this way. ^It's not often you
L16  58 leave town.**"
L16  59    |^*"I escape too rarely,**" Halset said. ^*"I prescribe rest for
L16  60 myself; but I never manage to take it. ^However*- there was this
L16  61 long-standing invitation and I suddenly found myself with a number of
L16  62 cancelled appointments. ^My secretary managed some re-arranging of the
L16  63 remaining ones and*- well*- here I am.**"
L16  64    |^*"Taking on an extra fifty miles of driving and a bit more
L16  65 work,**" Winter commented. ^*"I appreciate it.**"
L16  66    |^*"Don't worry. ^I don't mind driving. ^In fact, I do so little
L16  67 these days that I welcome it.**"
L16  68    |^When they were sitting comfortably, a drink at hand, Winter said:
L16  69 ^*"You can talk freely to Farland. ^I've told him very little*-
L16  70 largely because I don't sufficiently understand your methods.**"
L16  71    |^*"Hypnosis,**" Halset said. ^He moved a little in his chair so
L16  72 that he was facing Farland. ^*"I expect you know that it's possible*-
L16  73 with the right subject*- to virtually turn back the clock.
L16  74 ^Fortunately for him, Waldo Sutton's a good subject. ^I can put him
L16  75 into a hypnotic sleep very quickly. ^It took longer at first and the
L16  76 results were no more than encouraging; but now we've reached the stage
L16  77 where he falls into a trance in response to a simple word formula.
L16  78 ^While he's in this condition I can take him back, make him relive
L16  79 portions of the past. ^In particular that night of the air-crash. ^You
L16  80 know of the disaster?**"
L16  81    |^Farland nodded.
L16  82    |^Halset continued, ^*"The value of hypnotic treatment lies in the
L16  83 increased suggestibility of the patient and also what we call
L16  84 abreaction*- bringing repressed material back to consciousness. ^It's
L16  85 a complex matter, not easy to explain in a few words.**"
L16  86    |^*"I think I get the general idea,**" Farland said. ^*"Do you give
L16  87 this hypnotic treatment to all your patients?**"
L16  88    |^*"Indeed, no. ^It's only possible in certain cases. ^And it's
L16  89 only one among many methods of treatment.**"
L16  90    |^Winter said, ^*"You always have a soothing effect on Wally. ^We
L16  91 shouldn't have any more trouble for the time being.**"
L16  92    |^*"I hope not,**" Halset said. ^He didn't sound so confident as
L16  93 Winter. ^In fact it seemed to Farland, who'd been watching closely,
L16  94 that Halset was not entirely at ease. ^He gave the impression of being
L16  95 a worried man and once or twice, during the explanation of the
L16  96 treatment being given to Wally, he'd glanced at Winter as though for
L16  97 support. ^Or is it just, Farland wondered, that I'm not too favourably
L16  98 impressed?
L16  99    |^He wanted to study the psychiatrist more closely. ^He couldn't be
L16 100 professionally critical but he might evaluate the man. ^However there
L16 101 was no chance, for Halset looked at his watch and announced he must be
L16 102 on his way.
L16 103    |^Winter, at Farland's shoulder, said quietly, ^*"I hesitate to
L16 104 suggest you should run any risk; but I'd like to be sure our unknown
L16 105 friends aren't watching.**"
L16 106    |^*"Leave it to me,**" Farland assured him.
L16 107    |^Halset had not risen from his seat. ^Winter said, ^*"You'll
L16 108 excuse Farland? ^He's a man of habit*- likes his evening exercise.**"
L16 109    |^*"Of course,**" Halset said. ^He accompanied the loose handshake
L16 110 with a murmured hope that they might meet again sometime. ^Farland
L16 111 left the house by a back door, just behind the garage, and here he
L16 112 paused thoughtfully. ^Did it matter if the men who watched the house
L16 113 saw Halset's car leave? ^Did Winter have a genuine reason, or was it
L16 114 just a smooth dismissal? ^Remembering that Halset had remained seated
L16 115 Farland favoured this explanation.
L16 116    |^He thought, Halset sees me*- and then they get me out of the way.
L16 117 ^Could be worth checking.
L16 118    |^Moving with cautious silence he reached the terrace and
L16 119 approached the windows. ^One of them, at the side of the doors, was
L16 120 open at the top. ^He moved a small garden bench nearer to the wall and
L16 121 stepped up on it, leaning towards the window.
L16 122    |^Halset was talking. ^*"I still don't like it. ^I don't like the
L16 123 risk. ^We should have kept...**"
L16 124    |^*"Nonsense!**" Winter interrupted briskly. ^*"I know this is
L16 125 complicated; but I can handle it. ^We won't fail.**"
L16 126    |^*"I wish you'd never...**" ^Halset lowered his voice, or was
L16 127 moving farther from the window. ^Farland could hear no more; not even
L16 128 Winter's reply. ^He guessed the two men must be leaving the lounge.
L16 129    |^He jumped down and replaced the bench. ^He went back to the
L16 130 garage and stood there waiting. ^Within five minutes there was the
L16 131 unmistakable slam of a car door. ^As the car drove off he made his way
L16 132 along the hedge. ^Winter might stroll round the house or come out on
L16 133 the terrace and Farland was anxious to give him no cause for
L16 134 suspicion.
L16 135    |^Why was Halset uneasy and what was the risk he'd mentioned? ^Were
L16 136 they discussing some aspect of the treatment Wally was undergoing? ^Or
L16 137 was that last private conversation in no way connected with Wally?
L16 138 ^Winter had business interests*- or so he claimed. ^It wasn't
L16 139 impossible for Halset to be financially involved. ^Investments,
L16 140 perhaps. ^He'd presumably come to know Winter quite well. ^Certainly
L16 141 it sounded as though Winter was making the decisions, and this rather
L16 142 ruled out medical matters. ^That sentence interrupted by Winter might
L16 143 have been: ^We should have kept to the original investments. ^Winter
L16 144 might be playing the market. ^That could be complicated; but he'd
L16 145 probably feel himself competent to handle it.
L16 146    |^Farland thought, ^If money's the answer it's nothing to do with
L16 147 me, and politely pushing me off was justified. ^But *1was *0money the
L16 148 answer? ^Farland tried to connect the words with the whispering
L16 149 campaign against Wally, ignoring Winter's assurance that Halset would
L16 150 not be told of this. ^The result was unsatisfactory.
L16 151    |^By this time he was nearing the bushes, so he dismissed the
L16 152 overheard conversation from his mind. ^He needed to have his wits
L16 153 about him. ^He'd no intention of being caught as he had on the
L16 154 previous night.
L16 155    |^He came to a sudden stop, hearing a slight rustling ahead. ^The
L16 156 sounds became more definite and he had a glimpse of someone running
L16 157 across a gap between bushes, heading towards the orchard. ^He swore
L16 158 under his breath. ^By some ill-fortune he'd been spotted first. ^He
L16 159 plunged forward in pursuit but still using caution, remembering there
L16 160 might well be two men.
L16 161    |^By the time he reached the orchard, though, it seemed certain
L16 162 there was only one intruder, who was gaining ground. ^Thanks to
L16 163 Susie's guidance earlier in the day he knew his quarry was making for
L16 164 the cliff path; but this was of no particular value, for the man
L16 165 obviously knew the layout much more intimately.
L16 166    |^Racing along the narrow path by the allotments Farland at last
L16 167 had a clear view of the man he was after and there was no mistaking
L16 168 the tall, gangling figure. ^It was Smail. ^Within seconds a bend in
L16 169 the track hid him from view and Farland didn't see him again.
L16 170    |^When he joined the wider cliff path Farland stopped. ^Smail was
L16 171 too cunning to keep to the path; he'd be making his way under cover of
L16 172 bushes and stretches of hedge. ^Which *1was *0his way? ^To the
L16 173 village? ^To Brigantine Cove, where the *1Diana *0might be lying? ^It
L16 174 had to be a guess and even if he made the right choice everything was
L16 175 in Smail's favour. ^There were hundreds of places where he could hide.
L16 176    |^Farland accepted defeat. ^He regained his breath, listening hard,
L16 177 but there were no betraying sounds. ^He lit a cigarette and began to
L16 178 retrace his steps. ^Alongside one of the allotments was a fence and
L16 179 here he rested for a short while.
L16 180    |^It was a warm night and he was tempted to stay longer, but he'd
L16 181 still quite a distance to cover and he'd the thought that Winter would
L16 182 be anxious. ^So he moved on, walking briskly.
L16 183    |^When he finally came to the garden and had a clear view of the
L16 184 house he could see the french windows were open and Winter was pacing
L16 185 the terrace. ^Farland hurried across the overgrown lawn and Winter,
L16 186 seeing him, came hurrying down the terrace steps. ^*"Thank heaven
L16 187 you're back, Farland. ^I've been so worried! ^I was trying to screw up
L16 188 sufficient courage to come and look for you. ^Scared after last
L16 189 night*- I have to confess it. ^You're not hurt?**" ^He sounded
L16 190 anxious.
L16 191    |^*"No. ^Someone was spying, but unfortunately he saw me before I
L16 192 spotted him. ^Chased him as far as the cliff path*- and then lost
L16 193 him.**"
L16 194    |^*"Did you get a good look at him?**" Winter asked eagerly.
L16 195    |^Farland's hesitation was brief. ^*"The chap had too big a start*-
L16 196 plus the advantage of being on familiar ground.**" ^There was little
L16 197 to be gained by identifying the intruder as Smail, he felt.
L16 198 *# 2007
L17   1 **[420 TEXT L17**]
L17   2    |^*0*'You got my message through the flower-seller?**'
L17   3    |^*'What message and what flower-seller?**'
L17   4    |^*'Please yourself. ^There's other talent for hire.**' ^Loddon
L17   5 began to signal the waiter.
L17   6    |^*'All right, no need to go off half-cocked. ^You might be a
L17   7 flick.**'
L17   8    |^*'Do I look like one?**'
L17   9    |^*'No...**'
L17  10    |^*'Okay. ^Anywhere we can talk?**'
L17  11    |^*'I'll leave in a moment; you go out the entrance where they come
L17  12 in from Coventry Street. ^I'll probably be around.**' ^The man got up
L17  13 and left, pausing a moment at the door where the porter wanted to know
L17  14 why he had no bill.
L17  15    |^Loddon paid his own account, finished his cigarette and got up.
L17  16 ^He looked about him, wondering if Sergeant Leinster was in the room.
L17  17 ^If so, he was not visible.
L17  18    |^In Coventry Street the reporter halted outside the doors of the
L17  19 Corner House, waiting. ^His table companion appeared, touching his arm
L17  20 and making a head jerk towards Rupert Street. ^They walked in silence,
L17  21 turning into a wide court half-way up on the right where, half-way
L17  22 along it, the man stopped.
L17  23    |^*'Now friend, what's the job?**'
L17  24    |^*'Your name Light?**'
L17  25    |^*'What's that got to do with it?**' ^His tone was wary.
L17  26    |^*'I never talk to men without names.**'
L17  27    |^*'Choosey, aren't you? ^Call me Shiner. ^If you've got any funny
L17  28 ideas about anything, forget them.**' ^He touched his left arm that
L17  29 Loddon had noticed was carried slightly away from his body, the
L17  30 sign-manual of the man habitually used to a shoulder-holster.
L17  31    |^*'I'm never funny when I'm out on business. ^But I'm damned if
L17  32 I'm going to talk in a place like this. ^Know anywhere private?**'
L17  33    |^*'I might do, if you give me a lead on something interesting, for
L17  34 example.**'
L17  35    |^Loddon did not say anything, fumbling in the left-hand pocket of
L17  36 his trench-coat. ^He half grinned when he saw Light's hand begin to
L17  37 move towards his left armpit. ^When the reporter's hand reappeared, it
L17  38 contained a thick packet. ^He flicked the top fold, revealing
L17  39 five-pound notes in what was a very large collection of them.
L17  40    |^*'This good enough? ^Plenty more where these came from.**'
L17  41    |^Light's quick look was expert.
L17  42    |^*'Looks about seventy of them in that lot.**'
L17  43    |^*'Eighty, to be precise.**'
L17  44    |^*'Good enough. ^We'll get a cab. ^Got any objection if I ask you
L17  45 to hold your hat over your eyes on the journey, friend? ^I don't
L17  46 advertise my home.**'
L17  47    |^Loddon was amused at Light's caution, but impressed by it when he
L17  48 stopped a cab in Wardour Street and held out a card to the man,
L17  49 telling him to drive to the address it bore.
L17  50    |^From behind the shelter of his hat Loddon, whose knowledge of
L17  51 London is almost as good as Superintendent Shott's, knew when they
L17  52 turned left in Shaftesbury Avenue. ^From Piccadilly Circus, following
L17  53 the curious angle round Hyde Park Corner, it was fairly easy and, by
L17  54 the slight left hand sway of the cab, Brompton Road was identified.
L17  55 ^Then Loddon got confused, but he had an idea they turned round the
L17  56 Albert Hall and began to twist in a multitude of small streets,
L17  57 halting at last. ^If he could not guess the address, he had a shrewd
L17  58 idea of its whereabouts. ^When he got out it was in a short,
L17  59 ill-lighted mews.
L17  60    |^The cab driver was paid off. ^Light led the way to a door beside
L17  61 a closed garage. ^He took a key out of a pocket, smiling without
L17  62 humour when he saw Loddon looking round.
L17  63    |^*'Don't worry, friend. ^You'll never guess it in a thousand
L17  64 years.**'
L17  65    |^Loddon nodded in a baffled fashion, not bothering to add that a
L17  66 small sign in the distance, caught by a trick of light from a badly
L17  67 curtained window, said: *'Hickliff*- Coals**'. ^He knew he would have
L17  68 no trouble in finding the mews when he wanted to come again.
L17  69    |^There was darkness behind the door that opened. ^Not until Loddon
L17  70 had reached the top was a button touched, and he saw a door on his
L17  71 right.
L17  72    |^*'Go on in; it's not locked.**'
L17  73    |^The door gave access to a tidily furnished sitting-room where
L17  74 chintz and Japanese oak predominated. ^At one end was a large
L17  75 record-player with, on the facing side of the room, a television set.
L17  76    |^*'Make yourself at home.**' ^Light threw his coat and hat on a
L17  77 chair. ^Loddon retained his own.
L17  78    |^*'Thanks, I'm not staying long. ^Only take a few minutes.**'
L17  79    |^*'Sounds like something easy. ^Drink?**' ^Light moved over to a
L17  80 table spread with bottles.
L17  81    |^*'Whisky; if not, beer.**'
L17  82    |^*'Easy.**' ^He filled two glasses and brought them across,
L17  83 sitting on a low couch facing Loddon. ^*'Health.**'
L17  84    |^*'And yours.**' ^The reporter sipped the drink, setting down the
L17  85 glass unusually slowly. ^He was trying to find an angle, not so much
L17  86 for the purpose of framing a proposition but in the hope of getting
L17  87 Light to unwittingly give him a slant on the facts he was seeking.
L17  88 ^*'Now look*-**' then he paused. ^The door he had noticed on the far
L17  89 side of the room was opened, and a big man with an extremely ugly face
L17  90 entered. ^He was yawning and stretching as if he had just woken from
L17  91 sleep. ^He stopped, and stared.
L17  92    |^*'This the prospect?**' ^His voice was soft, almost urbane.
L17  93    |^*'That's right, Eeky. ^We was just getting down to business.
L17  94 ^He's willing to pay*-**'
L17  95    |^Eeky Morris went slowly to a table near the wall, took something
L17  96 out of it, and turned, a long-barrelled Smith & Wesson Service pistol
L17  97 in one hand. ^He made a face at Light's expression of surprise.
L17  98    |^*'Sucker, aren't you, Shiner? ^Seen this chap more than once.
L17  99 ^Name's Loddon. ^He's a reporter.**'
L17 100    |^The pale blue eyes became narrowed and bitter.
L17 101    |^*'You sure?**'
L17 102    |^*'Sure I'm sure! ^Seen him at a \2coupla trials, and his picture
L17 103 in the *1Daily Report, *0once. ^And you brought him here!**'
L17 104    |^*'His message came through the pillar-box.**'
L17 105    |^*'That damned flower-merchant!**' ^Morris's voice was sour.
L17 106 ^*'Probably got the lead from one of the boys. ^I always told you it's
L17 107 asking for trouble relying on that old fool.**'
L17 108    |^*'I'm here, too,**' Loddon said; he disliked being ignored, even
L17 109 if the party was scarcely in his favour. ^*'I'm a reporter. ^Okay.
L17 110 ^And what the hell do you propose to do about it?**'
L17 111    |^Light was on his toes again. ^One hand sneaked out and the
L17 112 reporter's face became white then scarlet where the violence of an
L17 113 open palm hit it.
L17 114    |^*'That's what, friend.**' ^He half turned to Morris. ^*'I'll take
L17 115 him, Eeky?**'
L17 116    |^*'Please yourself. ^I'll cover him while you frisk him.**'
L17 117    |^Loddon submitted meekly to the search, his blue eyes so intently
L17 118 angry that Light was outstared, completing the search with rough
L17 119 hands. ^He swore gently.
L17 120    |^*'Precisely nothing to identify him. ^And*-**' he swore again.
L17 121 ^*'Two fivers covering a bundle of scrap cut the same size. ^You busy
L17 122 little fellow!**' ^His hand took Loddon on the other cheek, then he
L17 123 began to remove his jacket. ^*'This is something I'm going to enjoy,
L17 124 friend.**'
L17 125    |^Loddon glanced at Morris's gun, guessed at the proximity of
L17 126 neighbours, and decided to chance it. ^Light had only half removed his
L17 127 jacket, he went forward as if he had jumped. ^One ready fist came up
L17 128 from the ground in an almost classic haymaker. ^Light's head snicked
L17 129 back; he folded up as if he had suddenly gone boneless, and lay still.
L17 130    |^Morris said something wicked under his breath.
L17 131    |^*'Clever bastard! ^Stay where you are, unless*-**'
L17 132    |^*'Unless nothing!**' ^Loddon leapt at him, the comforting zeal
L17 133 for battle rising with the swift urgency he knew well. ^*'You wouldn't
L17 134 use that thing here, and you know it!**' ^He dodged the downward lash
L17 135 of an attempted pistol-whipping, and one fist smacked on Morris's ear
L17 136 with a comforting thud.
L17 137    |^But Morris was both larger and tougher than his partner. ^He
L17 138 threw away the gun, ignoring what must have been a painful blow, and
L17 139 stepped forward. ^If he was big, Loddon was not short, if with far
L17 140 less weight. ^The two of them stood toe to toe and traded blows with
L17 141 the efficient economy of men who knew how to fight.
L17 142    |^Loddon realized his weight was just not good enough when Morris
L17 143 began driving him back. ^He gave hurriedly, leapt over the chair he
L17 144 had been sitting on, and before Morris could understand the manoeuvre,
L17 145 vaulted back again with the help of a shortened handspring. ^Both his
L17 146 feet in mid-air hit Morris on the chest.
L17 147    |^The action brought Loddon over, but it was on top of the
L17 148 partially winded Morris. ^They began rolling over and over, hands at
L17 149 throats and eyes, crashing into the silent Shiner Light on the way.
L17 150 ^The table of drink bottles came down. ^They ended against the
L17 151 record-player which tottered but did not fall, releasing a confetti of
L17 152 gramophone discs on them.
L17 153    |^Loddon did not think he had the stamina of the other man. ^He
L17 154 forced the attack to try and win the fight before he was exhausted,
L17 155 both of them gouging and punching with a sort of envenomed hate,
L17 156 grunting and cursing at each other.
L17 157    |^The pleasant sitting-room was becoming a chaos and neither of
L17 158 them paid any attention to knockings on the wall, the protests of
L17 159 alarmed and irritated neighbours.
L17 160    |^Morris, pounding steadily at Loddon, seemed determined to take
L17 161 all the punishment going so long as he could prevail in the end. ^With
L17 162 his physique it seemed highly probable he would. ^He hit the reporter
L17 163 in the chest with the force of controlled fury.
L17 164    |^But he telegraphed the blow, and Loddon was already moving away.
L17 165 ^He grunted, went head over heels and came up against a table behind
L17 166 the fallen table of drinks. ^He hurled himself backwards over it,
L17 167 sliding across and dropping to the far side. ^Morris angling himself
L17 168 forward almost simultaneously, got the impact of the table thrust at
L17 169 him. ^It was followed by Loddon in a headlong dive over the top.
L17 170    |^They went down with a violence that shook the floor, entangled
L17 171 themselves and began methodically to try and pound the life out of
L17 172 each other. ^It was bitter and merciless, and might have gone on until
L17 173 the gasping Loddon was finished. ^But Light's voice came like the lash
L17 174 of a whip:
L17 175    |^*'All right, friend; stick 'em up. ^I'm perfectly ready to use
L17 176 this thing.**'
L17 177    |^Loddon paused, half turning. ^He saw Light on his knees, holding
L17 178 Morris's gun, then folded up as Morris's fist drove into his wind with
L17 179 deliberate savagery.
L17 180    |^It seemed hours before Loddon came out of the wrenching of agony
L17 181 inside him. ^It felt as if he would never breathe again, but, somehow,
L17 182 with little gasps he slowly came to a doubtful normality.
L17 183    |^When Light dug him in the back with the gun, he tried to get up,
L17 184 failed, and tried again. ^This time he got to his feet, and stood
L17 185 there. ^His hands bunched and he tensed himself to jump at the jeering
L17 186 Eeky Morris. ^Light thrust the gun, and Loddon paused.
L17 187    |^*'All right, guts. ^If I can't risk firing this thing, I can
L17 188 still club it, so nark it if you don't want a sore head. ^Eeky, I want
L17 189 to know what this chap knows*- it'd pay to take it to certain people,
L17 190 eh?**'
L17 191    |^*'Yes,**' Morris, breathing heavily and dabbing at the blood
L17 192 pouring from a cut ear, looked as if he was going to enjoy the party
L17 193 after all. ^*'How?**'
L17 194    |^*'Ask him. ^If he doesn't feel like answering, I can handle
L17 195 him.**' ^Light looked as if any refusal to answer would suit him; he
L17 196 stared at Loddon with an intent expression. ^*'Now, friend.**'
L17 197    |^A battered, still gasping Loddon grinned crookedly at him.
L17 198    |^*'Melodrama in A Flat!**' ^It was a poor jest but it seemed funny
L17 199 enough to laugh at outright, then Loddon's lips curled in agony. ^The
L17 200 butt of the Smith & Wesson was slapped viciously against the side of
L17 201 his knee.
L17 202    |^*'That'll do to start off with.**' ^Light moved back, waiting
L17 203 until Loddon's involuntary tears of agony had stopped. ^*'Feel like
L17 204 being civil, friend?**'
L17 205    |^*'If you put that gun down*-**'
L17 206    |^*'I'm taking you*-**'
L17 207    |^*'I think not.**' ^The voice from the door brought round the
L17 208 heads of the three men.
L17 209 *# 2002
L18   1 **[421 TEXT L18**]
L18   2    |^*0Shevlin said, ^*"I've got more information for you.**"
L18   3    |^*"Yeah? ^What?**"
L18   4    |^*"A scream from the Slaytons' living-room can be heard at the
L18   5 Weeks' if the French doors are open. ^It can't if they're closed.**"
L18   6    |^*"You tested it?**"
L18   7    |^*"That was my experiment this morning.**"
L18   8    |^Willis said, ^*"Good going, Shevlin. ^That's important.**"
L18   9    |^If Shevlin expected a pat on the back from Camp, he didn't get
L18  10 it. ^*"Yeah,**" said the chief, *"except he might've been smarter to
L18  11 find out how loud a scream sounds in Star's bedroom.**"
L18  12 *<*2CHAPTER NINE*>
L18  13    |^*0The papers Tuesday night spread the murder all over the front
L18  14 pages. ^*2CHAUFFEUR HELD IN SOCIALITE SLAYING *0were the headlines and
L18  15 they contained all the nuances of sin and sex that readers ate up. ^It
L18  16 was the kind of case the papers loved. ^There were people in high
L18  17 places, a beautiful and almost naked woman, and the possibility that
L18  18 under the bright light of police investigation all sorts of scandals
L18  19 would be uncovered. ^It was the dream case and editors had spared no
L18  20 pains in their effort to give colour to the facts. ^One enterprising
L18  21 reporter had dug up an old publicity photo of Phyllis taken when she
L18  22 was pounding on the doors of show-business and that helped the cause
L18  23 for it showed her as a ravishing beauty taken, as it had been, under
L18  24 the best conditions and eleven years before. ^Phyllis' career on
L18  25 Broadway was played up; the fact that she had been the prote*?2ge*?2
L18  26 of a big-name director and that she had, for two years, been married
L18  27 to Hans Meredith who had since become a prominent playwright. ^There
L18  28 were even statements from Meredith and the director in which they both
L18  29 said flattering things about Phyllis and regretted her untimely death.
L18  30    |^Phyllis was glorified by the articles but her husband fared less
L18  31 well. ^In mentioning his five years of marriage, they didn't overlook
L18  32 the fact that he had divorced an earlier wife who had run off with
L18  33 another man. ^It wasn't the sort of material that helped the head of a
L18  34 hospital and one of the top heart surgeons in the east.
L18  35    |^Wednesday morning's papers took a slightly different approach.
L18  36 ^With few developments in the investigation, they turned to interviews
L18  37 and speculation and the picture they ran was of Ralph, not Phyllis.
L18  38 ^It showed him, head lowered, coming out of the Griswold Funeral
L18  39 Parlour with Harry and May Wilson, and Phyllis' father and mother. ^He
L18  40 was wearing a black suit and a black hat and dark glasses and he
L18  41 didn't look happy. ^The questions that the articles raised were: ^Why
L18  42 was Phyllis Slayton dressed as she was (overlooking the perfectly
L18  43 plausible possibility that she was getting ready for bed), ^Why was
L18  44 nobody at home that particular night, and ^Who had parked a big car
L18  45 behind the bushes and gone to see her? ^The amateur detectives of the
L18  46 press dismissed the hidden tea service as merely a plant, an attempt
L18  47 to disguise the real motive for the murder.
L18  48    |^Wednesday was the day of the inquest and the crowds came early.
L18  49 ^There were fifty people on the town hall steps at seven-thirty in the
L18  50 morning and when the auditorium doors were opened at nine, a double
L18  51 line of people extended across the street and all around the green in
L18  52 front. ^The auditorium had eight hundred seats but more than twice
L18  53 that number were waiting outside and fifteen minutes after the line
L18  54 started moving, there wasn't a seat to be had outside of the section
L18  55 reserved for principals and officials. ^Phyllis Slayton was packing
L18  56 them in as she never had on Broadway and hundreds had turned out the
L18  57 night before to file by her bier in the funeral parlour even though
L18  58 the lid was closed.
L18  59    |^Judge Mansfield, with a flair for the dramatic, strode on to the
L18  60 platform in a swirl of robes at precisely ten o'clock and the buzz of
L18  61 the crowd turned into dead silence. ^He sat behind a table near the
L18  62 front of the stage beside which an empty chair for witnesses faced the
L18  63 audience. ^The inquest was conducted by Town Prosecutor Robert Herring
L18  64 and \0Dr. Allen was the first man called.
L18  65    |^Herring spent twenty minutes questioning him with \0Dr. Allen
L18  66 answering in a soft voice that people strained to hear. ^He described
L18  67 the position and condition of the body and the means by which he
L18  68 determined the time of death. ^Then Herring asked him pointedly about
L18  69 the matter of sexual attack and it was obvious from Herring's manner
L18  70 that he strongly doubted the claim that there had been none. ^It
L18  71 seemed to Herring and all the other people in the hall that no woman,
L18  72 clad only in a filmy ne*?2glige*?2e, could possibly be strangled
L18  73 without being attacked, but Allen knew what he knew and he wouldn't be
L18  74 swayed. ^There had been no attack.
L18  75    |^After \0Dr. Allen stepped down, \0Dr. Slayton took the stand and
L18  76 the questioning was brief. ^He told how he had gone to the board
L18  77 meeting, stopped for a couple of drinks at Phaedo's and come home to
L18  78 find his wife had been killed. ^Slayton was obviously suffering on the
L18  79 stand and Herring was gentle with him.
L18  80    |^\0Lt. Willis was next and he explained what had been done. ^The
L18  81 victim's robe, dust from the scene, and fingerprints from all over the
L18  82 house had been sent to the laboratory in Hartford. ^No clues had been
L18  83 found in the robe or the dust and the fingerprints were still being
L18  84 sorted. ^Further than that, extensive interviews had been conducted
L18  85 and over seventy-five people had been questioned, not only those
L18  86 acquainted or related to the deceased but all known criminals,
L18  87 perverts, and sex-offenders in the area, everyone who had ever been
L18  88 called to the attention of the police. ^Nothing conclusive had been
L18  89 uncovered.
L18  90    |^Star Slayton was at the inquest with her father, as was everyone
L18  91 else on Terrace Lane, but she wasn't called upon for testimony about
L18  92 the grey-haired man who looked like Joe Morgan and no mention was made
L18  93 of a chauffeur named Gary James, nor of his pink smudged handkerchief.
L18  94 ^Herring conducted the whole affair in as general a way as possible so
L18  95 that the only statements definitely made revolved around the time,
L18  96 place, cause, and victim of death. ^Anything to do with the
L18  97 perpetration was left wide open so that Judge Mansfield could
L18  98 pronounce the broadest decision of the court, to wit: ^*"The court
L18  99 finds that Phyllis Slayton, ne*?2e Wilson, was strangled to death by
L18 100 hands and by sash in the living-room of her home on Terrace Lane
L18 101 between the hours of nine and ten-thirty on the evening of August
L18 102 third, nineteen hundred and fifty-nine, such death being at the hand
L18 103 of person or persons unknown.**" ^Then he adjourned the inquest and
L18 104 went into his chambers to pose for pictures with Herring.
L18 105    |^As the crowd filed out of the torrid and stuffy auditorium, Camp
L18 106 and Willis went back to the basement headquarters. ^The chief was
L18 107 perspiring freely and he was grumbling, as he always grumbled, at such
L18 108 red-tape phases of law-and-order as inquests.
L18 109    |^A supernumerary was holding down the desk because all regular
L18 110 patrolmen had been ordered to attend the inquest. ^He held up an
L18 111 envelope and said, ^*"This came while you were upstairs.**"
L18 112    |^It was a special delivery letter, made of an ordinary three-cent
L18 113 stamped envelope with the fourth cent for first class mail and the
L18 114 price of a special delivery made up by additional three cent stamps
L18 115 with extra for good measure. ^It bore a Marshton postmark with the
L18 116 time 9 {0a.m.}, and was addressed to: Chief of Police, Police
L18 117 Headquarters, Marshton, \0Conn.
L18 118    |^The address and the words *"special delivery**" had been typed on
L18 119 the envelope by a battered old machine that had a piece missing from
L18 120 the *"L**" and a badly worn and unaligned *"E**".
L18 121    |^Camp looked the envelope over briefly, then ripped it open and
L18 122 pulled out the sheet inside. ^He unfolded it carefully, as though by
L18 123 instinct not touching it with more than his fingertips.
L18 124    |^Inside was a four-word sentence which read: ^*"Ralph Slayton
L18 125 killed Phyllis.**"
L18 126 *<*2CHAPTER TEN*>
L18 127    |^CAMP *0read the note and frowned. ^Then, holding it by the
L18 128 corners, he showed it to Willis and Shevlin. ^The lieutenant whistled
L18 129 but Shevlin shook his head. ^*"There's one in every crowd,**" he said.
L18 130    |^*"One what?**"
L18 131    |^*"It sounds like a crank note.**"
L18 132    |^Camp grinned. ^*"Kind of a funny note for a crank. ^Notice it
L18 133 doesn't suggest Ralph might have killed his wife as a poison pen
L18 134 writer usually does. ^This says he did kill his wife. ^The writer
L18 135 talks as if he knew something we don't. ^He talks as if he'd seen it
L18 136 happen.**"
L18 137    |^*"And,**" Willis agreed, *"as if he was afraid we were going to
L18 138 send James up for it.**"
L18 139    |^Shevlin stood alone. ^He said, ^*"I don't think Slayton did
L18 140 it.**"
L18 141    |^*"Give me a reason,**" said Camp.
L18 142    |^*"He's alibied.**"
L18 143    |^*"It's an alibi we haven't checked yet. ^The writer of this note
L18 144 might have been afraid we wouldn't check it.**"
L18 145    |^Willis said, ^*"He doesn't know the State Police.**"
L18 146    |^*"Hell,**" said Camp. ^*"He doesn't even know the local force.
L18 147 ^Here,**" he told the supernumerary. ^*"Go find a board and some
L18 148 thumbtacks. ^I want Lieutenant Willis to take this to the lab.**"
L18 149    |^The officer went out in search of the materials and Shevlin said,
L18 150 ^*"Ralph went to a board meeting and stopped at a bar. ^He didn't get
L18 151 home until twenty minutes past eleven and Phyllis wasn't killed any
L18 152 later than ten-thirty. ^How's he going to lie about a thing like
L18 153 that?**"
L18 154    |^*"It's funny about that bar,**" Camp said musingly. ^He sat down
L18 155 at his desk and pulled out a black and acrid cigar from his shirt
L18 156 pocket. ^He stared at it thoughtfully. ^*"Slayton didn't usually stop
L18 157 at bars after meetings. ^Interesting that he happened to do so this
L18 158 particular night.**"
L18 159    |^*"That's easy. ^He'd had a fight with his wife. ^He didn't want
L18 160 to go right home.**"
L18 161    |^*"A violent fight,**" Willis put in. ^*"Very violent. ^It might
L18 162 have picked up again after he returned.**"
L18 163    |^*"At eleven-twenty?**" Shevlin retorted. ^*"An hour after she was
L18 164 dead?**"
L18 165    |^Camp lighted his cigar. ^*"The good thing about your growing up
L18 166 in this town is you have background,**" he said. ^*"The bad thing is
L18 167 that it makes you prejudiced. ^Forget the time element, Shevlin.
L18 168 ^Forget that for a minute.**" ^He puffed on the cigar in enjoyment.
L18 169 ^*"A fight with Ralph could explain what she was doing in the
L18 170 living-room.**"
L18 171    |^Shevlin shook his head. ^*"Not from the way she was killed.**"
L18 172    |^*"Are you going to try to tell me that because Ralph Slayton
L18 173 operates on hearts he couldn't strangle anybody?**"
L18 174    |^*"Not that way. ^Not from the arguments you give. ^Ralph might
L18 175 strike Phyllis in a rage, or throttle her, or even kill her. ^But to
L18 176 half throttle her and then knot a sash around her neck to finish the
L18 177 job, that's not just rage.**"
L18 178    |^Camp paused with his cigar in mid-air. ^He looked steadfastly at
L18 179 Shevlin for a long moment. ^Finally he said to Willis, ^*"You know? ^I
L18 180 thought the men I had to make into cops in this place were pretty
L18 181 hopeless, but I take it back. ^I think the boy has a spark. ^I think
L18 182 in time we might make him into a real detective.**"
L18 183    |^It was about the first compliment Shevlin had got from Camp and
L18 184 he couldn't help feeling flattered. ^*"Don't tell me I win a point?**"
L18 185    |^*"Hell, no,**" Camp said, lowering the boom. ^*"Don't go getting
L18 186 a swelled head. ^One swallow doesn't make a drink. ^You come up with
L18 187 one vague intangible in Slayton's favour and you think it eliminates
L18 188 him as a suspect.**"
L18 189    |^*"He wasn't even a suspect until you got that note.**"
L18 190    |^*"Wasn't he?**" ^Camp grinned at Willis. ^*"We can spot
L18 191 intangibles too, Shevlin. ^Don't you think the fact he and his wife
L18 192 had a fight makes us perk up our ears? ^Don't you think we pay
L18 193 attention when it's stated they fought all the time? ^Don't you think
L18 194 we notice he never thinks his daughter might have been killed too?
L18 195 **[MIDDLE OF QUOTE**]
L18 196 *# 2000
L19   1 **[422 TEXT L19**]
L19   2    |^*0*"You went down to the theatre to meet Ellam, and that puts you
L19   3 right there, on the scene of the crime.**"
L19   4    |^He smiled at her, and she saw his smile, and her eyes filled with
L19   5 horror.
L19   6    |^*"No! ^It wasn't like that. ^I didn't go to the theatre*- I can
L19   7 prove it.**"
L19   8    |^She was really frightened now, as she hadn't been before.
L19   9    |^*"I knew Roger was going to meet Susan, because I'd met her
L19  10 myself that same morning, and she told me all about it.**"
L19  11    |^*"Didn't that make you wild?**"
L19  12    |^*"No, because Roger had often spoken to me about marrying her.**"
L19  13    |^*"For her money?**"
L19  14    |^She drooped her head and looked at the wine glass, turning it
L19  15 round in her fingers and letting it reflect the light. ^She said: ^*"I
L19  16 wasn't wild, just miserable. ^I felt sort of helpless and perhaps a
L19  17 little jealous. ^I decided to go for a walk to shake the feeling off.
L19  18 ^I passed the end of the theatre drive, but I swear I didn't go in.
L19  19 ^Roger was waiting there. ^He told me about his date with Susan, that
L19  20 everything depended on it, and told me to keep away from the
L19  21 theatre.**"
L19  22    |^*"He didn't say why?**"
L19  23    |^*"He just said it was dangerous, and might ruin everything.**"
L19  24    |^She broke suddenly, and kept repeating that she didn't go inside
L19  25 the theatre, in a sort of moaning voice.
L19  26    |^We left without another word. ^At the door I looked back. ^She
L19  27 was still playing with the wine glass and staring at the hearth.
L19  28 ^Somebody should have painted her, just like that.
L19  29 *<*1Chapter Twenty-Six*>
L19  30    |^*4T*2HE THEATRE *0building looked just as square and just as
L19  31 plain as the first time, and the same shadows from trees swayed over
L19  32 the brickwork like curious fingers. ^There was the same spring scent
L19  33 of earth and woods, and the same feeling of remoteness, though one or
L19  34 two people were about. ^A few boys drifted up the drive, the little
L19  35 ones frisky and excited, the big ones with a certain condescending
L19  36 tolerance. ^And the sight of them had the same effect on Shale it
L19  37 always had*- a kind of cynical contempt for the system that moulded
L19  38 them.
L19  39    |^Lights were on inside the theatre, and the windows curtained, but
L19  40 after the warm evening, it was like going into a colder place. ^The
L19  41 hall was about two-thirds full of boys. ^They kept bobbing up in their
L19  42 seats, chewing. ^There was a happy anticipatory drone.
L19  43    |^A prefect ushered us to our seats in the second row, and the
L19  44 school orchestra in front began teetering nervously on their violins.
L19  45 ^An amateurish air hung over the place like a pleasant infection.
L19  46    |^From the cover of my programme, I saw we were in for what is
L19  47 affectionately known as English middle-class comedy. ^I sat down and
L19  48 studied the people in the front row.
L19  49    |^Wylie's head was just to my right, and at close quarters, his
L19  50 little grey waves looked thinner, like flimsy sponges on a pink sea
L19  51 bed. ^His wife was wearing a hat I was glad I wasn't sitting behind.
L19  52 ^She had played a gleam of triumph steadily on Shale as we came up the
L19  53 row to our seats. ^When we sat down, her head snapped round to the
L19  54 front. ^Wylie acknowledged us with a curt nod and a faint drawing in
L19  55 of the eyebrows. ^He was rather subdued. ^It made him more human.
L19  56    |^Miss Teale looked almost soft and yielding, not so prim. ^She had
L19  57 a new defiance, and her eyes wandered round the hall confidently. ^She
L19  58 was wearing her hair long, and it made her look younger. ^Her gaze
L19  59 rested often on Carter, who was sitting with a bright smile next to my
L19  60 uncle. ^He leaned across affably and said in a whisper, ^*"I say,
L19  61 they've been looking for Ellam all evening. ^Apparently he's nowhere
L19  62 to be found. ^Looks pretty mysterious don't you think?**"
L19  63    |^I passed it on to Shale. ^He was reading his programme, and I
L19  64 suddenly felt him nudge me. ^He was pointing out the names of the cast
L19  65 and his finger was half way down the page. ^I read:
L19  66    |^*"Laura Thistledown, the manager's secretary... played by William
L19  67 Barlow, *=6 A.**"
L19  68    |^He kept his finger there for my benefit and I saw what he meant.
L19  69 ^The Christian name*- *"Laura**". ^It should have signified something
L19  70 but my mind wouldn't grasp it. ^I gave him a puzzled glance, but he
L19  71 was settled back in his seat, staring at the top of the stage. ^He was
L19  72 sitting like that when the prefect shuffled up the row and whispered
L19  73 in his ear. ^*"Willant wants a word with me,**" Shale said, and we all
L19  74 went out. ^Heads turned, and there was a polite air of interest in the
L19  75 front row.
L19  76    |^Willant was in the entrance, a study of indecision.
L19  77    |^*"Ellam's nowhere to be found,**" he said. ^*"Nowhere in the
L19  78 school.**"
L19  79    |^His fingers strayed to his waistcoat, and he tugged nervously
L19  80 like a man with a tricky point to make that was embarrassing him.
L19  81    |^He said: ^*"In view of his behaviour this afternoon, I'm not
L19  82 quite sure what I ought to do.**"
L19  83    |^Shale said: ^*"You could tell the police.**"
L19  84    |^*"But as it's only two hours ago since he was here, it might look
L19  85 premature to say he's disappeared. ^He might return. ^After all, he
L19  86 was suffering from*- perhaps a nervous breakdown*- it might be unwise
L19  87 to draw attention to it*-**" ^He stopped, at a loss.
L19  88    |^*"It might be better to wait.**" Ambrose said, with the air of a
L19  89 tactician who'd weighed everything up.
L19  90    |^*"You were pretty worried about him a while back, doctor,**"
L19  91 Shale said. ^*"*'Desperate**' I think was the word you used. ^You
L19  92 should tell the police.**"
L19  93    |^*"No doubt you're right,**" Willant said weakly. ^*"But first I
L19  94 must start the play, we're late as it is*- so many things to think
L19  95 of*-**"
L19  96    |^He made for the door in the hall, and stepped back as Forster
L19  97 came the other way. ^Forster was wearing a stage-hand's smock. ^His
L19  98 face was shining, and happier than I'd ever seen it. ^He looked
L19  99 harassed when he saw us, but recovered, and said to Willant: ^*"No
L19 100 sign of \0Mr. Ellam yet, headmaster. ^I really think we ought to
L19 101 start.**"
L19 102    |^Willant took off his glasses and rubbed them. ^He gave a sigh.
L19 103 ^*"Very well, \0Mr. Forster. ^I'll just say a few words first.**" ^He
L19 104 went in impulsively, glad to get away. ^Forster turned to follow him,
L19 105 but Shale said, ^*"One thing before you go, \0Mr. Forster. ^The
L19 106 character Laura Thistledown. ^Who was to play her the last time*-
L19 107 young Burnage?**"
L19 108    |^Forster nodded, and began to look worried. ^*"That was all,**"
L19 109 Shale said gently. ^*"You can start the revels now.**"
L19 110    |^We went back to our seats, and Willant, who'd been talking to
L19 111 Wylie moved to the front of the stage and held up his hands for
L19 112 silence. ^The shuffling died away and he spoke his piece without any
L19 113 trouble. ^He managed to sound informal and light-hearted, like a vicar
L19 114 at a whist drive. ^When he'd finished, he walked down the hall and I
L19 115 saw him go through the door at the back. ^I felt a certain admiration
L19 116 for the way he was keeping going.
L19 117    |^There was some polite applause, then the lights went out except
L19 118 for a glow beneath the curtain, and blobs of light on the orchestra's
L19 119 music stands. ^The overture was brief and chronic. ^Shale lit a
L19 120 cigarette and relaxed, staring at the roof. ^The curtain opened on an
L19 121 amateurish set with a french window looking out on to a cardboard
L19 122 garden.
L19 123    |^It was slow getting underway, and the actors were elocution
L19 124 conscious, but it went down well with the audience. ^There was a lot
L19 125 of laughter, most of it at the expense of the actors, especially
L19 126 Currie playing a middle-aged matron with a large lop-sided bosom.
L19 127    |^The first act lasted some twenty minutes, and in the interval I
L19 128 watched the reactions of the staff. ^Miss Teale's eyes were shining
L19 129 happily. ^Once she flashed me a smile*- quite a becoming smile. ^Wylie
L19 130 had unbent a little, and was trying to give the impression of a stern
L19 131 man reflecting that a little nonsense was all right once in a while
L19 132 for boys. ^His wife was telling someone in a loud voice that so-and-so
L19 133 was good, and so-and-so wasn't quite so good. ^Her standards were
L19 134 absolute. ^Carter was frankly in tucks about the whole thing.
L19 135    |^Shale seemed half asleep. ^Once, during the scene, he had watched
L19 136 Miss Teale for a long time, but his eyes had mostly been examining the
L19 137 top of the curtain, as if he were looking beyond, and trying to
L19 138 picture the dust and the gallery and the wooden platform.
L19 139    |^The lights went down again, and I saw Willant come back. ^I
L19 140 wondered if he had informed the police.
L19 141    |^A sudden gasp of hilarious delight made me look at the stage.
L19 142 ^The character Laura Thistledown had made her first entrance. ^She was
L19 143 meant to be pert and pretty, and something of a charmer. ^The boy
L19 144 playing the part wore a slim black costume, a dinky hat, and wobbled
L19 145 slightly on four-inch heels. ^He had a wig of blonde curls, and that
L19 146 made me think of the wig that was still missing, and that made me
L19 147 think of the green costume that was also missing, and I looked at
L19 148 Shale. ^He was sitting forward, watching the play intently. ^I felt a
L19 149 rise of excitement.
L19 150    |^There was some by-play going on on the stage. ^The idea seemed to
L19 151 be that *"Laura Thistledown**" was vamping the goofy nephew of the
L19 152 local aristocracy*- a part played with gusto by a boy having trouble
L19 153 with a pencil-line moustache. ^Suddenly this young blood took the
L19 154 secretary in his arms, and said in an anguish of embarrassment: ^*"Oh,
L19 155 Laura! ^You're exactly like the other girl.**"
L19 156    |^The audience twittered with delight. ^I felt Shale stiffen and
L19 157 then relax, very slowly. ^He gripped my arm, and began to write
L19 158 something on the back of his programme. ^It couldn't have been easy in
L19 159 the dark, but he wrote quickly. ^On the stage they were still fooling
L19 160 about, and the audience was making happy noises, but I wasn't with
L19 161 them any more.
L19 162    |^Shale spoke in a low voice. ^*"Read it outside*- three important
L19 163 questions there. ^Go right away in the car, and put them to the
L19 164 servant, \0Mrs. Olroyd. ^Got it?**"
L19 165    |^I went as quietly as I could, but it seemed to me I made a lot of
L19 166 noise. ^Ambrose looked annoyed as I squeezed past him, but I didn't
L19 167 stop to explain.
L19 168    |^Outside I sat in the car, put a cigarette in my mouth, and read
L19 169 the programme in the falling light.
L19 170    |^It wasn't easy to make out, some of Shale's writing had run
L19 171 across the print, but I finally got it. ^Three questions, that was
L19 172 all. ^Just three questions. ^Put them to a nice old servant who had
L19 173 done her job well until one day she'd been sacked, and you would get
L19 174 three answers. ^You had to get three answers because there could only
L19 175 be three answers and they would make sense of everything.
L19 176    |^I lit the cigarette, and sat there and smelt the scents from the
L19 177 wood, and watched the branches sway in the breeze, and listened to the
L19 178 evening song of a solitary bird, and everything was suddenly clear.
L19 179 ^The green costume and everything.
L19 180    |^I reached for the starter and checked my hand. ^Someone had just
L19 181 come from the theatre. ^I heard steps hurrying down the drive. ^I
L19 182 listened until they crunched away into silence, then I started the
L19 183 car. ^I thought I'd see who it was as I passed, but there was nobody
L19 184 on the drive. ^Whoever it was must have taken to the woods.
L19 185    |^It took me half an hour or so to get there, and she was in with
L19 186 the old lady. ^I put the questions, and she answered them placidly.
L19 187 ^It didn't mean much to her, and I was neither relieved nor excited*-
L19 188 I just knew what she would say.
L19 189    |^It was nearly dark when I got back to the Curlew.
L19 190 *# 2008
L20   1 **[423 TEXT L20**]
L20   2 *<*41*>
L20   3 *<*0FOLLOW THE TOFF*>
L20   4    |^*6I*0T was not the first time that the Honourable Richard
L20   5 Rollison had been followed. ^It would not be the last. ^It had
L20   6 happened in many cities, and more than once before in this fair city
L20   7 of Paris in the Spring. ^It had happened by day and by night, on land,
L20   8 on sea and in the air. ^Rollison himself, if challenged, would have
L20   9 said that he believed that every possible variation of the theme had
L20  10 been developed, yet on this day in May he knew that he had been wrong.
L20  11    |^It was the first time that such beauty had followed him.
L20  12    |^The beauty was undoubtedly English, although he had not yet heard
L20  13 her speak. ^She had that curiously indefinable quality, perhaps more
L20  14 rightly air, about her. ^It was not only the supreme simplicity of her
L20  15 black and white check suit, the coat short-waisted, the skirt just
L20  16 long enough to be in fashion, and to show most of the shapeliness of
L20  17 her legs. ^Nor was it those long, slim legs, or her height*- five feet
L20  18 eight or nine he judged*- or her complexion, although undoubtedly her
L20  19 complexion had something to do with it.
L20  20    |^It was a little bit of everything.
L20  21    |^She had followed him from the {Cafe*?2 de Paris}, of which it
L20  22 was said that if one sat long enough one would meet all the rest of
L20  23 the world; in fact at the {Cafe*?2 de Paris} he had first realised
L20  24 that she had been interested in him. ^She had walked past the long
L20  25 lines of wicker tables and chairs, most of them empty. ^The glass
L20  26 screens of winter had been whisked away and the spring sunshine not
L20  27 only made life serene but almost made it possible to forget the
L20  28 surging traffic, the growl and snarl of engines, the bark and clatter
L20  29 of taxis, the all-pervading stench of petrol fumes mingling with even
L20  30 worse from diesel oil. ^As Rollison had sat over late {*1petit
L20  31 de*?2jeuner}, *0wondering why the French who made the world's worst
L20  32 coffee had a reputation for making it so well, and why the English,
L20  33 who made the world's best, were supposed to make the worst, the woman
L20  34 had walked past. ^She had looked at him and then walked quickly away.
L20  35 ^He had not been in a hurry, however; such grace and slenderness and
L20  36 beauty were all too rare. ^He watched her go, a little pensive because
L20  37 he doubted whether he would ever have an excuse to meet her, perhaps
L20  38 not even to see her again. ^But soon she had turned back from the
L20  39 corner by the {Place de l'Ope*?2ra}. ^That in itself had not been
L20  40 unusual; people often walked as far as that, and then turned back.
L20  41 ^This time Rollison pretended to take no notice of her, but observed
L20  42 that she stared intently at him, and looked back at him several times.
L20  43    |^By then, Rollison's interest had become much stronger. For one
L20  44 thing, he realised just how remarkable the woman was to look at, and
L20  45 remarkable women could usually make his heart beat a little faster.
L20  46 ^For another thing, he was beginning to feel sure that she had
L20  47 recognised him and wanted to talk but could not summon up the
L20  48 courage*- if courage was the word.
L20  49    |^He could make it easy for her, or make it comparatively hard. ^He
L20  50 would have made it easy but for the little man.
L20  51    |^This little man was almost certainly the man who had swindled
L20  52 Alice Day, who was now on her way to Australia. ^He fitted Mike's
L20  53 description to a T, and he spent some time at stations, outside
L20  54 night-clubs and other tourist haunts, offering money at a good rate of
L20  55 exchange. ^Only a few people seemed to deal with him, and Rollison
L20  56 planned to catch him red-handed with forged notes. ^Now this same man
L20  57 was following the Englishwoman, and Rollison did not try to guess
L20  58 whether she knew it or not. ^If she knew, she was taking no notice*-
L20  59 unless, of course, awareness of the surveillance of the little man
L20  60 kept her from approaching Rollison boldly.
L20  61    |^It was a mildly intriguing situation, and quite entertaining; it
L20  62 would have been amusing but for the woman's obvious anxiety. ^Beauty
L20  63 in distress was never even remotely comic. ^An ordinary man, assessing
L20  64 the situation as Rollison assessed it, would almost certainly have
L20  65 found an excuse to talk to the woman, and might possibly have tried to
L20  66 shoo the little man off. ^There were times when Rollison*- known as
L20  67 the Toff to the police of seven continents and to the criminals of
L20  68 six, would have taken such direct action, but this was not one of
L20  69 them. ^He had two reasons for being intrigued: his Aunt Gloria's two
L20  70 hundred pounds, and this beauty.
L20  71    |^At ten minutes to eleven the woman was some way along the
L20  72 {Boulevard des Capucines} in the direction of the Madeleine, and the
L20  73 little man was fifty yards behind her. ^Every motor car in Paris
L20  74 seemed to be crammed into the road which had seemed wide in the days
L20  75 of horse carriages.
L20  76    |^Rollison called for his bill, paid, and allowed himself to be
L20  77 swept across the road with a surge of human beings all racing to make
L20  78 sure that they reached the opposite pavement before the roaring
L20  79 monsters of iron and steel were unleashed at the whirl of a gendarme's
L20  80 white baton or a trill on his hidden whistle. ^Once on the far side,
L20  81 Rollison watched the woman, and he was tall enough to see and be seen
L20  82 without difficulty. ^When he was sure that she had spotted him, he
L20  83 discontinued a tentative interest in a window which exhibited every
L20  84 refinement of feminine foundation in black, pink, and pale mauve silk,
L20  85 and strolled towards the Madeleine. ^The woman walked in the same
L20  86 direction on the other side of the road. ^She followed him along the
L20  87 street opposite the church of the mammoth pillars towards the arid
L20  88 wastes of the {Place de la Concorde}, and then by devious dangerous
L20  89 routes towards the Seine. ^Now and again Rollison made sure that not
L20  90 only the woman but the little man was behind him. ^Then, as if at a
L20  91 loose end, he crossed to the {Rue de Rivoli} and became one of the
L20  92 thousands of tourists promenading beneath the arches and seduced by a
L20  93 million model Eiffel Towers and a thousand Joan of Arcs. ^The woman
L20  94 drew closer. ^Rollison dawdled. ^He thought that this time she would
L20  95 speak, for she actually passed within a yard of him. ^He imagined that
L20  96 he could hear her breathing agitatedly*- but she passed without
L20  97 stopping.
L20  98    |^Rollison continued to study a window resplendent in Arab
L20  99 leatherwork and Moroccan silver, as the little man drew nearer.
L20 100    |^This little man was quite remarkable too. ^The task of following
L20 101 an individual through a city the size of Paris is not easy even for
L20 102 those people physically adapted to it, but he was only about five feet
L20 103 two inches high. ^Heads and shoulders of all sizes, chests and bosoms
L20 104 of all shapes, arms and even hands got in his way, but doggedly he
L20 105 kept on the trail. ^He wasn't remarkable in any other way; in fact he
L20 106 was the type who could easily get lost in a crowd. ^Rollison judged
L20 107 him to be French, not only because he was blue-jowled and wore a
L20 108 slightly faded beret, but because he chain-smoked Skol cigarettes;
L20 109 only a Frenchman could have such hardihood and courage. ^He had a
L20 110 pinched nose which looked as if it had been pushed to one side, and a
L20 111 little bloodless mouth, a surprisingly square and thrusting chin, and
L20 112 a well cut brown suit; the beret did not quite match up to this. ^He
L20 113 wore suede shoes too of dark brown, a shade darker than the brown of
L20 114 his suit. ^All of this Mike had described very well.
L20 115    |^The woman had gone by. ^The little Frenchman was following.
L20 116 ^Rollison judged his moment, and stepped into the little man's path.
L20 117 ^There was a ridiculous contretemps of dither and dart, as if each man
L20 118 was trying to give way to the other, but in fact Rollison did not mean
L20 119 to give way until the moment was right. ^So they collided. ^A woman
L20 120 gasped: ~*"Oo!**" as only someone born in Blackpool could. ^The little
L20 121 man reeled back, as if dazed. ^Rollison gave a dazzling smile and
L20 122 apologised, and allowed the man to pass. ^Then, watched by at least a
L20 123 dozen people, he darted his left hand towards the inside of his coat
L20 124 pocket. ^Every Method school of acting would have approved his
L20 125 performance. ^He looked startled, aghast, appalled, angry, and finally
L20 126 vengeful. ^Then in the clearest and loudest of English he called:
L20 127    |^*1*"Stop thief!**"
L20 128    |^*0Fifty people looked round, mostly English and American all
L20 129 open-mouthed, some ready to fling themselves forward with great
L20 130 courage, most trying to make sure that they could get out of the way.
L20 131 ^*"*1Stop thief!**" *0cried Rollison again, and moved with astonishing
L20 132 rapidity through the crowd towards the little Frenchman, who had not
L20 133 hurried and had not looked round. ^The Englishwoman was now staring at
L20 134 those massed gilt models of the Eiffel Tower, the Notre Dame, and Joan
L20 135 of Arc on a gilded statue, the original of which was only a hundred
L20 136 yards away.
L20 137    |^Rollison pounced on him, gripped his shoulder, and spun him
L20 138 round. ^The man gaped. ^A gendarme standing in the roadway trilled on
L20 139 his whistle, swung his baton and charged forward. ^A crowd collected,
L20 140 most of them people at a safe distance, but one sturdy Yorkshireman
L20 141 and his wife came to Rollison's support.
L20 142    |^*"Is that \2reet?**" the Yorkshireman demanded. *"Did he take
L20 143 \2summat out of \2thy pocket?**"
L20 144    |^*"The scoundrel stole my wallet,**" asserted Rollison, and as he
L20 145 spoke the gendarme came up and rested a hand on the butt of his
L20 146 revolver, warningly, and machine-gunned a dozen questions.
L20 147    |^*"I don't understand a word you're saying,**" lied Rollison
L20 148 hotly. ^*"This man pretended to collide with me just now, and stole my
L20 149 wallet.**"
L20 150    |^*"That is not so,**" declared the little man, in highly accented
L20 151 English. ^{3*"Eet is the big lie.**"}
L20 152    |^The gendarme demanded, in French, to know what exactly had
L20 153 happened. ^Rollison tapped his pocket, thrust his hand inside, drew it
L20 154 out empty, and declared:
L20 155    |^*"*1He*- stole*- my*- wallet.**"
L20 156    |^{3That*- ees*- the*- lie.**"}
L20 157    |^{*"M'sieu, je demande que vous parlez Francais.**"}
L20 158    |^*"*0He stole*- **"
L20 159    |^The little man turned to the gendarme and poured out an earnest,
L20 160 even an impassioned denial*- he had not touched Rollison's wallet, he
L20 161 had not touched Rollison. ^He was a law-abiding citizen, he was not to
L20 162 be insulted, he*-
L20 163    |^*"*1He stole my wallet!**" *0roared Rollison.
L20 164    |^*"Eeeh, lad, better leave it to me,**" said the Yorkshireman and
L20 165 began to talk in surprisingly colloquial French in spite of an
L20 166 unbelievable admixture of Yorkshire accent. ^Even the little man was
L20 167 silenced, and the gendarme appeared to begin to understand. ^As the
L20 168 Yorkshireman finished, the gendarme held his baton at the ready and
L20 169 spoke with the air of a Solomon:
L20 170    |^*"If this man stole your wallet, he will have it with him now.**"
L20 171    |^Rollison just saved himself from agreeing in French and asked the
L20 172 Yorkshireman:
L20 173    |^*"What's all the blathering about?**"
L20 174    |^*"He says that if this man stole \2tha wallet he'd still have it
L20 175 on him.*"
L20 176    |^*"Fair enough,**" agreed Rollison. ^*"So why not search him?**"
L20 177    |^{3*"You look, you see*- *1nothing,**"} *0declared the little
L20 178 Frenchman. ^He gripped the edges of his coat, and flung it open at
L20 179 arms' length, as if he hoped to be able to take off and fly with these
L20 180 homemade wings. ^He was undoubtedly convinced that the wallet was not
L20 181 there, perhaps because he had never met Rollison before. ^The gendarme
L20 182 stared, the Yorkshireman gaped and glanced with earthy satisfaction at
L20 183 Rollison. ^A dozen other people craned forward to see Rollison's
L20 184 crocodile leather wallet showing fully an inch above the Frenchman's
L20 185 pocket.
L20 186    |^*"Eeeh, lad,**" said the Yorkshireman, *"\2tha'd best leave
L20 187 talking to me. ^Just tell me where \2thou \2'rt staying and I'll talk
L20 188 to copper for \2thee.**"
L20 189    |^*"I don't know what I would have done without you,**" said
L20 190 Rollison warmly.
L20 191 *# 2006
L21   1 **[424 TEXT L21**]
L21   2 *<*4Concluding chapters of a great mystery novel*>
L21   3 *<That long wet summer*>
L21   4 *<by *6JOAN AIKEN*>
L21   5    |^*4They told her their insane plan*- gloating and triumphant*-
L21   6 trying to force her hand...
L21   7 *<*4The story so far:*>
L21   8    |^*2JANE DRUMMOND *0was trying to keep her marriage together*- for
L21   9 the sake of her children, *2CAROLINE *0and *2DONALD. ^*0Her architect
L21  10 husband, *2GRAHAM, *0was selfish and self-centred, living above his
L21  11 income to *"keep up appearances.**" ^He encouraged her to return to
L21  12 work while *2MYFANWY MACGREGOR *0was engaged to look after the
L21  13 children. ^Myfanwy and her husband *2TIM, *0seemed to have some hold
L21  14 over Graham.
L21  15    |^Living near the Drummonds was *2TOM ROLAND, *0a {0TV} celebrity
L21  16 Jane once met at a party, whom Graham tried to cultivate because Tom
L21  17 was famous. ^Jane was driven home from the station each night by Tom
L21  18 and their friendship grew. ^She suspected that \0Mrs. MacGregor*- whom
L21  19 she was beginning to detest*- could not read or write and was
L21  20 horrified when she found an anonymous letter in Caroline's
L21  21 handwriting. ^The note was for Graham and read: ^*2YOUR WIFE IS
L21  22 CARRYING ON WITH \0MR. ROLAND.
L21  23    |^*0Between the MacGregors and her strained relationship with
L21  24 Graham, Jane's life became unbearable. ^She was pleased when her old
L21  25 friend, *2ELLIE *0came to stay*- but surprised to see that Ellie and
L21  26 Tom obviously knew each other, though neither admitted this.
L21  27    |^Then Ellie*- a scatter-brained blonde*- told Jane she was
L21  28 pregnant. ^Jane promised to help all she could*- and to adopt the
L21  29 child. ^Tim MacGregor tried to kiss Jane*- and for a second she
L21  30 mistook him for Graham.
L21  31    |^Later, in their bedroom, she told Graham the MacGregors must go.
L21  32 ^*"I'm terrified of them,**" she said. ^*"*1You're *0terrified?**"
L21  33 Graham answered. ^*"What do you think *1I *0am? ^Jane, do you know who
L21  34 that man is?**"
L21  35    |^*4Now read on:
L21  36    |
L21  37    |^*"*6N*2O, *0of course I don't know who MacGregor is,**" Jane
L21  38 said, trembling. ^*"How could I? ^Who is he?**"
L21  39    |^*"He's my cousin,**" Graham said.
L21  40    |^*"Your *1cousin? ^*0Then that's why*-**"
L21  41    |^*"He used to live in Tangier,**" Graham went on, ignoring her.
L21  42 ^*"It was he who suggested I should go out there. ^He had a factory*-
L21  43 a makeshift hole, in a tin shed, making plastic doorknobs,**" he added
L21  44 with a sour smile, seeing Jane's look of incredulity. ^*"But for all
L21  45 that, Tim's a clever chap. ^Doorknobs weren't his main line. ^He had
L21  46 quite a nice sideline in penicillin and black market machine oil.**"
L21  47    |^Things began to fall into place in Jane's mind.
L21  48    |^*"And you helped him?**"
L21  49    |^*"Only occasionally.**" ^Graham's voice was angry, defensive.
L21  50 ^*"Only when clients weren't biting. ^At first it was all okay. ^Then
L21  51 there was a bit of trouble.**"
L21  52    |^The curtain blew in above Jane's head and she heard a volley of
L21  53 rain spatter on the window-sill. ^I ought to get up and shut the
L21  54 window, she thought, and lay still, thinking of how she had first met
L21  55 Graham in Tangier*- the hot sun, the white roofs, the charming things
L21  56 he had said. ^Now it seemed like some twopence-coloured fairy-tale.
L21  57    |^*"I was helping him at that time,**" Graham said. ^*"The profits
L21  58 were going to be rather good. ^But someone had used a batch of Tim's
L21  59 oil for making salad cream or something, and a lot of people had died.
L21  60 ^Things had been tightened up and they were on the lookout. ^We were
L21  61 followed into Spanish Morocco and we had to get away fast from the
L21  62 rendezvous. ^There was a bit of shooting and Tim got hit. ^We*- I
L21  63 thought he was killed. ^There wasn't time to make sure.**"
L21  64    |^*"What happened to him?**"
L21  65    |^*"We had to leave him behind and he was picked up. ^He was sent
L21  66 to jail for three years. ^Quite a short sentence really. ^So I decided
L21  67 the game wasn't worth the risk. ^It was rather a murky business,**"
L21  68 Graham said with a flicker of his normal self-righteousness. ^*"And it
L21  69 was just after that I met you, so I opted out and decided to come home
L21  70 and set up as a law-abiding citizen.**"
L21  71    |^*"I see.**" ^Jane turned away from him, willing herself to ask
L21  72 the next question.
L21  73    |^*"Graham, that legacy from your uncle in Scotland*-**"
L21  74    |^*"Well?**" ^His voice was wary.
L21  75    |^*"Was it really the profits from that*- that consignment?**" ^His
L21  76 silence said yes.
L21  77    |^*"Why did you lie to me about it?**"
L21  78    |^*"Well, damn it, I hardly knew you. ^I couldn't very well have
L21  79 told you a thing like that *1then.**" ^*0He was injured. ^*"You
L21  80 thought the world of me.**"
L21  81    |^And so you did of me, Jane thought, with a sudden,
L21  82 uncharacteristically hard perception. ^I was broke and in a dreary
L21  83 job; just the same, Daddy and I had something you hadn't got that you
L21  84 needed on your climb up the ladder. ^Needed as much as a new house, or
L21  85 a gardener, or Tom Roland's mower.
L21  86    |^*"And MacGregor*- what happened to his share of the profit?**"
L21  87 Jane asked.
L21  88    |^*"For the Lord's sake, Jane, must we go over all this? ^It's
L21  89 ancient history now and I'm tired, I want to go to sleep. ^I've got
L21  90 enough to worry about; all I ask is that you don't antagonize Tim and
L21  91 his wife.**"
L21  92    |^*"You took his share, is that it?**"
L21  93    |^*"Well, what else could I do?**" said Graham sulkily. ^*"It
L21  94 didn't amount to much, anyway, and there was no one to leave it with.
L21  95 ^Naturally, I thought when he came out I'd have done well enough to
L21  96 pay him back. ^It was just bad luck I couldn't.**"
L21  97    |^*"Where was his wife while he was in prison?**"
L21  98    |^*"In Wales with her family.**"
L21  99    |^Jane knew that she ought to feel pity for the MacGregors, but she
L21 100 thought of Tim's cunning sidelong look, his wife's hostile air of
L21 101 concealed knowledge, and could find nothing but loathing.
L21 102    |^*"We'll have to sell the house,**" she said. ^*"Sell it and pay
L21 103 him what he thinks you owe him and move away from here.**"
L21 104    |^*"Are you mad?**" Graham said with violence. ^*"Sell this place?
L21 105 ^Just when I've got it finished? ^Just when we're making some useful
L21 106 friends? ^I'll pay Tim off somehow; it's just a matter of time. ^All
L21 107 we have to do is keep him quiet for a bit. ^He can't really do
L21 108 anything.**"
L21 109    |^He spoke with the old confidence that had once sounded so
L21 110 reassuring to Jane. ^Now she knew how much it was worth.
L21 111    |^*"But Graham*-**"
L21 112    |^*"Stop nagging, stop nagging,**" he said with passionate
L21 113 irritation, and turned towards her, holding her in a tense, nervous
L21 114 grip. ^His voice changed. ^*"Just let's forget about it all, shall
L21 115 we?**" ^Jane was used to these sudden exigencies of Graham's desire
L21 116 when the world had gone against him. ^Long after he was sleeping, one
L21 117 arm flung possessively across her, she lay awake, staring at the
L21 118 greying sky, while slow, cold tears trickled backwards into the roots
L21 119 of her hair.
L21 120    |
L21 121    |^*6J*2ANE *0made Ellie stay in bed until after lunch next day,
L21 122 hoping an affectionate smile and the Sunday papers would serve as
L21 123 sufficient evidence of sympathy until she had gathered herself
L21 124 together. ^To listen with constructive attention to Ellie's problem
L21 125 was more than she could manage just yet.
L21 126    |^Graham went out immediately after breakfast and was absent all
L21 127 morning. ^When Jane collected Ellie's tray after lunch, Caroline went
L21 128 with her and stayed chatting to Ellie while she dressed. ^Ellie was
L21 129 devoted to the children and began brushing Caroline's hair and tying
L21 130 it in ribbons. ^Then she offered to take Caroline and Donald for a
L21 131 walk.
L21 132    |^Jane thankfully accepted, put the baby in his pram and saw them
L21 133 off. ^She thought she would go to church; that might clear her
L21 134 thoughts and bring her to a decision.
L21 135    |^Graham, who had come back just before lunch and been completely
L21 136 silent through the meal, walked into their bedroom as she was putting
L21 137 on a hat.
L21 138    |^*"I want Ellie out of here by tonight,**" he said.
L21 139    |^*"She's not going.**" ^Jane's tone was firm, light; she stooped
L21 140 over a drawer, rummaging for gloves. ^Graham was obviously at a loss
L21 141 before her unexpected mood. ^At last, angry and irresolute*- ^*"You'll
L21 142 be sorry for this...**" he muttered and turned on his heel. ^She could
L21 143 hear his steps, heavy and defeated, dragging down the stairs.
L21 144    |^Something made her look out of the window. ^MacGregor had arrived
L21 145 and was wheeling the mower out on to the lawn. ^His wife had installed
L21 146 herself on a rug with Susan.
L21 147    |^The active force of her own hate startled Jane.
L21 148    |^She went into the garden. ^MacGregor had paused to say something
L21 149 to his wife and Jane was able to address them both.
L21 150    |^*"I understand I've been doing you an injustice,**" she said
L21 151 coldly. ^*"Naturally, if I'd realized that my husband owed you money
L21 152 it would have been different. ^However, now I *1have *0found out it
L21 153 makes it easier to say this. ^I don't want ever to see either of you
L21 154 again. ^I shall get a full-time job and pay you back myself, if
L21 155 necessary. ^But if you pester Graham or send any more anonymous
L21 156 messages about me I shall go straight to the police.
L21 157    |^*"I'm going to afternoon service now and when I come back I shall
L21 158 expect to find that you've packed up your things and gone.**"
L21 159    |^She walked on without waiting for an answer, leaving four
L21 160 malevolent eyes fixed on her back. ^A feeble sun was trying to shine.
L21 161 ^Little Susan, sitting in a patch of sand on the drive, raised an
L21 162 indifferent, vacant face to her, and Jane shuddered, seeing suddenly a
L21 163 resemblance to Caroline. ^This child was her cousin!
L21 164    |^There were few people in the church. ^Jane, at first hardly able
L21 165 to follow the service, presently found herself calmer.
L21 166    |^The office will take me on full time, she decided hopefully, and
L21 167 I'm sure Ellie can be persuaded to look after the children for a bit.
L21 168 ^If I contribute all my salary to pay the MacGregors, Graham will
L21 169 surely agree.
L21 170    |^She ignored a small warning voice that said: ^Leave Graham. ^Take
L21 171 the children and get away while you can, before you get dragged in any
L21 172 deeper.
L21 173    |^For a brief moment she considered asking advice of the vicar, the
L21 174 kind old man who had christened Donald. ^But the story was not hers
L21 175 alone. ^It was Graham's, MacGregor's, even Ellie's. ^The MacGregors
L21 176 might be a repellent pair, but they had a right to the money Graham
L21 177 owed them; it was not for her to be sanctimonious about how they had
L21 178 come by it. ^And Ellie*- she had promised to help Ellie and would not
L21 179 run out on her now.
L21 180    |^Tom, she thought. ^If only I could have asked Tom's advice. ^But
L21 181 now it's too late for that.
L21 182    |
L21 183    |^*6W*2HEN *0she walked home after the service, it was raining
L21 184 hard. ^She had no coat with her, and hurried up the village street,
L21 185 head bent against the cold, driving gusts.
L21 186    |^*"Ellie!**" she called, as soon as she was inside the house.
L21 187 ^*"Shut the bathroom window, will you? ^The rain always comes in on
L21 188 that side.**"
L21 189    |^There was no answer. ^Were Ellie and the children not back from
L21 190 their walk yet? ^They would be soaked.
L21 191    |^She went into the sitting-room*- and stopped short. ^The
L21 192 MacGregors were there, Tim lounging on the piano stool, Susan on the
L21 193 floor, \0Mrs. MacGregor upright and expressionless on the sofa.
L21 194    |^*"I told you to leave this house,**" Jane said.
L21 195    |^*"Oh, madam,**" Tim said softly, *"you wouldn't expect us to
L21 196 leave in this rain, would you?**" ^His narrow black eyes slid past
L21 197 her, rested on his wife, came back to Jane again.
L21 198    |^*"Graham!**" Jane called. ^There was no reply. ^Apart from
L21 199 herself and the MacGregors, the house appeared to be empty. ^A fear
L21 200 began to take hold of Jane. ^*"Graham!**" she called again.
L21 201    |^*"He was out sunbathing,**" MacGregor said, smiling. ^*"Very keen
L21 202 he is on getting brown. ^He went out to get a good tan. ^I shouldn't
L21 203 wonder but what he's still there. ^Asleep maybe.**"
L21 204    |^He nodded down the garden, and Jane's disbelieving eyes saw
L21 205 something on the sloping lawn*- a round blob*- Graham's head? ^Was he
L21 206 lying on the grass in the pelting rain? ^She flung open the french
L21 207 windows and ran over the sodden grass, calling frantically, ^*"Graham!
L21 208 ^Graham!**"
L21 209 *# 2010
L22   1 **[425 TEXT L22**]
L22   2 *<*7WHISPERING TONGUES BLAMED HER*>
L22   3    |^*6W*2HEN BOB ARCHER'S *0wife *2ANNE, *0disappears, the police
L22   4 believe it is because she is guilty of poisoning Bob's mother.
L22   5 ^Actually, however, she is being held prisoner by *2VERA CORBETT,
L22   6 *0\0Mrs *2ARCHER'S *0ex-maid. ^It was Vera who killed Bob's mother and
L22   7 she knows Anne can give her away. ^*2ARTHUR HEDLEY, *0Vera's
L22   8 boy-friend, also knows of her guilt, but he is too deeply involved to
L22   9 back out.
L22  10    |^It is a shock to Vera when she discovers that the old house where
L22  11 she is keeping Anne is not uninhabited, as she believed, but is
L22  12 occupied by an old man and his housekeeper. ^And the grounds are
L22  13 guarded by a pair of fierce dogs, so there is no escape. ^Luckily,
L22  14 however, the old man seldom comes near the wing where Vera is hiding
L22  15 Anne and has no idea they are there.
L22  16    |^One day when he does come he leaves behind a local paper.
L22  17 ^Studying it casually Vera sees she has been left *+2000 in \0Mrs
L22  18 Archer's will.
L22  19    |^*"Two thousand pounds!**" she gasps turning to look down at Anne.
L22  20 ^*"It's a fortune! ^I'm getting out of here, no matter what happens to
L22  21 you!**"
L22  22    |^*1Now Read On.
L22  23    |
L22  24    |^*6V*2ERA *0stared at the paper, her brain reeling. ^Two thousand
L22  25 pounds!
L22  26    |^Already her mind was racing. ^When you came to think of it, what
L22  27 was there to stop her turning up to claim the money? ^The police had
L22  28 nothing on her, especially now Anne was out of the way.
L22  29    |^There were all sorts of difficulties to overcome, of course.
L22  30 ^First, there was the problem of getting out of the house. ^Second,
L22  31 the question of what she could do with Anne. ^Finally, how was she
L22  32 going to explain to the police why she had disappeared?
L22  33    |^The second and third snags she pushed aside for the moment. ^She
L22  34 would find some way round them when the time came. ^She'd come back
L22  35 for Anne and hide her somewhere else. ^She'd think of some story to
L22  36 tell the police.
L22  37    |^But getting out of the house unseen*- that baffled her. ^Those
L22  38 two bull terriers were never out of the garden and it was easy to see
L22  39 how savage they were. ^Why, whenever a tradesman called at the door,
L22  40 look how they raced round, snarling and barking until he went away
L22  41 again.
L22  42    |^Then suddenly Vera caught her breath. ^That was her answer!
L22  43    |^Next time a tradesman came!
L22  44    |^Sometimes he would be there for three or four minutes. ^If she
L22  45 was quick, if she opened a downstairs window the moment the dogs
L22  46 rushed round to snarl at the tradesman, if she ran as fast as she
L22  47 could to the railway embankment, she might do it!
L22  48    |^With sudden decision she began to bind and gag Anne.
L22  49    |^*"I'll be back for you*- later.**" ^She gave a mirthless laugh.
L22  50 ^*"You won't be very comfortable, but you'll be safe enough for
L22  51 twenty-four hours.**"
L22  52    |^In her dull, dazed way, Anne didn't even try to struggle.
L22  53    |^Without a backward glance, Vera tiptoed downstairs to wait. ^When
L22  54 it came to the bit, every second would count.
L22  55    |^She slipped the catch off one window and stood waiting
L22  56 impatiently.
L22  57    |^It seemed hours before her chance came. ^The dogs began to bark
L22  58 furiously, but the sound died away as they raced round to the other
L22  59 side of the house. ^Vera threw up the window and scrambled out, racing
L22  60 blindly towards the fence at the foot of the garden.
L22  61    |^Seconds later, panting, her coat torn and her hands bleeding, she
L22  62 tumbled to safety on the other side.
L22  63    |^She lay for a full minute, getting her breath back. ^But there
L22  64 was triumph in her heart. ^She'd made it!
L22  65    |^She straightened presently and dusted herself down. ^Then she
L22  66 stumbled along the embankment till she reached a point right beside
L22  67 the main Mardsley road. ^There she caught a bus that would take her
L22  68 right into Mardsley.
L22  69    |^It was later than Vera had realised*- nearly midday*- but that
L22  70 suited her well enough. ^Before she went to the police station she
L22  71 wanted to have a word with Arthur Hedley. ^Then, if the police did
L22  72 hold her for questioning, Arthur could do something about getting Anne
L22  73 away from that house.
L22  74    |^The bus dropped her almost opposite the factory where Arthur
L22  75 worked. ^The rest was easy, just a matter of waiting in the shadow of
L22  76 a doorway until the men began to trickle out.
L22  77    |^Presently Arthur came out. ^He was alone.
L22  78    |^*"Arthur.**" ^She spoke his name very quietly.
L22  79    |^He spun round. ^*"Vera!**" ^His eyes darted uneasily up and down
L22  80 the street. ^*"Cross over, quick!**" he muttered.
L22  81    |
L22  82    |^*4It must come now*- the showdown between Anne Vardon and her
L22  83 greatest enemy.
L22  84    |
L22  85    |^*0*"We'll go to Church Walk*- there won't be anyone about.**"
L22  86    |^They walked quickly, not speaking until they got to the deserted
L22  87 lane. ^Then Arthur wheeled on her sharply.
L22  88    |^*"Why have you come here? ^How did*-?**"
L22  89    |^*"Take it easy. ^I had to come back when I discovered about the
L22  90 money.**"
L22  91    |^*"You know that?**" he gasped. ^*"But how?**"
L22  92    |^*"Never mind that just now. ^Just listen carefully. ^I told you
L22  93 where Anne and I were hiding. ^Well, I got out, but I had to leave her
L22  94 behind. ^But we've got to get her away to some other place as soon as
L22  95 we can.**"
L22  96    |^*"But what about the dogs? ^You said*-**"
L22  97    |^*"We can throw them some poisoned meat. ^But there's just one
L22  98 thing. ^You'll have to go alone if the police hold me for
L22  99 questioning.**"
L22 100    |^*"The police!**"
L22 101    |^*"Don't be a fool, Arthur!**" she said sharply. ^*"I can't claim
L22 102 the money without seeing the police. ^I'm on my way there now.**"
L22 103    |^He stared at her. ^*"You'll never get away with it!**"
L22 104    |^*"Why not?**" she asked coolly. ^*"The police haven't anything on
L22 105 me. ^The only danger is if you lose your head and do anything silly.
L22 106 ^Now off you go. ^If the police don't keep me I'll be waiting for you
L22 107 when you finish tonight.**"
L22 108    |
L22 109    |^*6V*2ERA CORBETT *0knew now just what she was going to tell the
L22 110 police. ^It was gloriously simple with Anne out of the way and unable
L22 111 to contradict her.
L22 112    |^All the same, her heart was beating a little faster with
L22 113 nervousness as she walked up the steps of the police station.
L22 114    |^As it happened, Detective-Sergeant Willis was with the desk
L22 115 sergeant when she went in. ^He glanced idly round and stiffened
L22 116 sharply.
L22 117    |^*"You!**" he gasped. ^Then he recovered himself a little.
L22 118 ^*"Would you mind stepping into my room?**"
L22 119    |^Apparently completely at ease, she watched him close the door
L22 120 carefully behind them.
L22 121    |^*"Now then.**" ^He turned to face her. ^*"Where have you been?
L22 122 ^Why did you go away?**"
L22 123    |^*"I've been in London.**" ^She gave him the address where she
L22 124 really had stayed. ^*"But if you want to know why I went there, you'll
L22 125 have to ask Anne Archer. ^It was her idea.**"
L22 126    |^The detective frowned. ^*"Her idea? ^What are you driving at?**"
L22 127    |^*"She paid me to go and live there under another name. ^Don't ask
L22 128 me why. ^She was paying good money, so I didn't ask too many
L22 129 questions. ^Besides, there was no reason why I shouldn't go. ^I'd
L22 130 quarrelled with my boy friend, and I wasn't happy at home. ^So I just
L22 131 went like she asked me to, and told nobody.**"
L22 132    |^He was staggered. ^*"But*- good heavens, you must have some idea
L22 133 why she asked you to do a thing like that!**"
L22 134    |^She shook her head. ^*"I tell you I didn't ask many questions.**"
L22 135    |^It was such an incredible story that it rang completely true*-
L22 136 because Willis thought he knew the answer to his own question. ^All
L22 137 the same...
L22 138    |^*"I suppose it never occurred to you that you were reported
L22 139 missing?**" he said sharply. ^*"Didn't you read the papers?**"
L22 140    |^She shrugged. ^*"I've never been one for reading newspapers. ^I
L22 141 mean, the London ones. ^It's different with local ones.**"
L22 142    |^He swore softly under his breath. ^*"What brought you back,
L22 143 then?**"
L22 144    |^*"Anne Archer stopped sending me money, so I decided to come and
L22 145 see her.**"
L22 146    |^*"Anne Archer stopped sending you money? ^That's why you came
L22 147 back? ^When did she stop?**" ^He shot the questions at her.
L22 148    |^*"About a week ago.**"
L22 149    |^He nodded slowly. ^It all fitted. ^*"But why come to me?**" he
L22 150 asked sharply.
L22 151    |^*"When I got here I bought a local paper. ^I read how old \0Mrs
L22 152 Archer had died and left me some money.**" ^She smiled at him
L22 153 innocently. ^*"I couldn't believe my eyes at first. ^But I thought the
L22 154 best thing to do was come and see you. ^I knew you'd tell me what to
L22 155 do.**"
L22 156    |^He was silent a moment. ^*"Did you know that Anne Archer accused
L22 157 you of trying to poison her mother-in-law?**"
L22 158    |^*"Me?**" ^Vera pretended to be completely staggered. ^Then anger
L22 159 came into her face. ^*"What a dreadful thing to say! ^How could she!
L22 160 ^What possible reason could I have?**"
L22 161    |^*"There's the money \0Mrs Archer left you in her will,**" he
L22 162 pointed out sharply.
L22 163    |^*"Don't be silly! ^That will wasn't made until after I'd gone
L22 164 away!**"
L22 165    |^Willis fairly pounced on that. ^*"How do you know?**"
L22 166    |^*"Because I witnessed all the other wills she ever made,**" Vera
L22 167 said simply. ^*"And I read them all.**" ^Her face darkened again.
L22 168 ^*"Just wait till I see Anne Archer! ^She can't get away with saying
L22 169 things like that!**"
L22 170    |^*"Anne Archer has disappeared,**" he said quietly.
L22 171    |^*"Disappeared!**" ^Once again she looked staggered. ^*"But why on
L22 172 earth*-**" ^And then she broke off, catching her breath. ^*"Don't you
L22 173 see?**" she breathed. ^*"It all fits in! ^She sent me to London so she
L22 174 could accuse me of trying to kill the old lady! ^Then for some reason
L22 175 she got the wind up and cleared out.**"
L22 176    |^That was exactly what Willis had been thinking, too.
L22 177    |^*"Very well.**" ^His voice was a little weary. ^*"You can go, but
L22 178 I'll want you again.**"
L22 179    |^*"I can go?**" Vera echoed indignantly. ^*"What do you mean? ^I
L22 180 came here of my own free will, and don't you forget it. ^I told you I
L22 181 came to ask you what I should do about claiming the money.**"
L22 182    |^Briefly he explained what she must do, then saw her out.
L22 183    |^Vera walked down the street more confident than ever.
L22 184    |
L22 185    |^*6W*2ILLIS *0had said nothing to her about going to see Bob
L22 186 Archer. ^But the first place she made for was his home. ^She reasoned
L22 187 that it would be the natural thing for her to do if she really had
L22 188 been innocent.
L22 189    |^Bob gasped when he saw her. ^*"Vera! ^Where on earth have you
L22 190 come from?**"
L22 191    |^*"I heard about your trouble, \0Mr Archer,**" she said quietly.
L22 192 ^*"I mean about your mother's death and the way your wife has
L22 193 disappeared. ^I*- I just thought I'd like to say how sorry I am.**"
L22 194    |^He looked at her sharply. ^*"But where have you been? ^What made
L22 195 you come back? ^Did you read about my mother leaving you money?**"
L22 196    |^She shook her head. ^*"Not till I got back to Mardsley!**"
L22 197    |^*"Then why *1did *0you come?**"
L22 198    |^She hesitated. ^*"I*- I don't really like to tell you,**" she
L22 199 said reluctantly. ^*"It was easier to tell the police.**"
L22 200    |^But she did tell him all the same. ^Bob listened in silence, his
L22 201 face strained. ^But when she finished his eyes were hard.
L22 202    |^*"These are very grave accusations you're making, Vera,
L22 203 especially as my wife isn't here to defend herself!**"
L22 204    |^*"I don't care!**" Vera said hotly. ^*"How dare she accuse me of
L22 205 poisoning your mother?**" ^Her voice softened. ^*"Oh, \0Mr Archer, I
L22 206 don't want to hurt your feelings at a time like this, but there's a
L22 207 lot I could tell you.**" ^She pursed her lips. ^*"She's a bad one.
L22 208 ^Look at the names she called your mother*- the things she even said
L22 209 about you behind your back. ^You'd never believe*-**"
L22 210    |^*"That's enough!**" he cut in harshly.
L22 211    |^*"I don't care!**" Vera repeated angrily. ^*"I know Anne Vardon
L22 212 better than you do, even if she *1is *0your wife. ^Don't forget who
L22 213 she is! ^Remember what her father was!**"
L22 214    |^Bob's jaw tightened. ^*"I think you've said quite enough,**" he
L22 215 said harshly. ^*"You'd better go now.**"
L22 216    |^She shrugged and turned on her heel.
L22 217 *# 2000
L23   1 **[426 TEXT L23**]
L23   2 *<*4Short Story by *6HUMPHREY \*4ap *6EVANS*>
L23   3 *<*4The Assessor*>
L23   4    |^*"Y*2ES,**" *0said \0Mr. Ridley, taking off a pair of very thick
L23   5 rimless glasses and wiping them over with a monogrammed handkerchief.
L23   6 ^*"You have to be a student of human nature to be any good as an
L23   7 Assessor*- any good to the Company, that is,**" he added. ^*"Without
L23   8 appearing to be unhelpful or hard-hearted, you've just got to cut the
L23   9 claims as low as you can.**"
L23  10    |^He replaced his glasses, turning them upside down and swivelling
L23  11 the earpieces round.
L23  12    |^*"Of course I've been in this a long time now,**" he went on,
L23  13 *"and although I know there's a lot of rot talked about a sixth sense
L23  14 and all that, I think I *1have *0got something that helps me size a
L23  15 thing up pretty well. ^Not every case who comes before you is trying
L23  16 it on, you know, but most of them are out for what they can get. ^And
L23  17 who wouldn't be?**" he asked, turning round and looking me full in the
L23  18 face, through his upside down glasses. ^His eyes appeared enormous
L23  19 when one looked back at him, like watery amoeba in a microscope. ^I
L23  20 began to feel a bit amoebic myself, almost as if it were I who had
L23  21 been found *"trying it on.**"
L23  22    |^*"Yes, of course,**" I agreed hurriedly. ^*"But many of your
L23  23 cases must be really deserving ones, aren't they? ^I mean,
L23  24 bread-winners disabled with mouths to feed, and all that sort of
L23  25 thing?**"
L23  26    |^*"Ah, yes, there is a bit of that, of course,**" he said, *"But
L23  27 we usually have some confidential reports beforehand which give a good
L23  28 idea. ^I'm a medical man myself though: I used to be a {0G.P.} in
L23  29 the Midlands before I went over whole time as Claims Assessor. ^They
L23  30 don't know I'm a medico when they come up before me. ^I get some yarns
L23  31 spun me sometimes, *1I *0can tell you.**"
L23  32    |^He chuckled moistly, clouding his reversible glasses which had to
L23  33 be removed again for demisting.
L23  34    |^*"You take this case this afternoon, that I've come up about. ^If
L23  35 this chap's shoulder*- his right shoulder, too*- if it's as bad as he
L23  36 says, then of course he won't be able to work at all with his right
L23  37 hand or arm*- perhaps never again, which is a serious thing for a
L23  38 family man with seven young children.
L23  39    |^*"I can't go making mistakes, can I? ^His employers have been
L23  40 sued for *+10,000*- loss of potential earnings, inconvenience,
L23  41 suffering*- all the usual claims trotted out.
L23  42    |^*"It's a bit easier when you've got a chap with something you can
L23  43 actually see that's wrong. ^It's these fellows with *'loss of
L23  44 concentration**' or *'intermittent headaches**' or *'recurrent
L23  45 depression**' that are the most difficult. ^How can you prove *'loss
L23  46 of concentration**'? ^He doesn't have to prove he ever could
L23  47 concentrate. ^That's one of the little problems I have to sort out.
L23  48 ^Headaches are the same*- nothing to go on or prove either way. ^A bad
L23  49 headache's a rotten thing, of course, if you really have one.**"
L23  50    |^*"What about the *'recurrent depressions**'?**" I said.
L23  51    |^*"Well,**" he replied, *"That's difficult too. ^It's easy to go
L23  52 about with a long face saying how terrible everything is, and who's to
L23  53 say he doesn't really feel perfectly all right?**"
L23  54    |^We pondered this situation for a moment or two in silence. ^As a
L23  55 new member of this Department of Insurance, I was being sent round by
L23  56 the Company to have a first-hand look at the way the Assessor worked.
L23  57 ^\0Mr. Ridley was reckoned a wizard at the job. ^They said he saved
L23  58 the firm tens of thousands of pounds a year, but nobody knew just how
L23  59 he managed it.
L23  60    |^I was looking forward to seeing him in action. ^I had heard a lot
L23  61 about his *'Psychology**' angle, but could not see how this would help
L23  62 in most of the cases.
L23  63    |^The *'case**' up that afternoon had claimed that because the
L23  64 management had not allowed a wide enough passageway between two
L23  65 machines he had banged against one of them, seriously affecting his
L23  66 whole nervous system down the right side of his body. ^He could, he
L23  67 claimed, only raise his right arm to elbow level very slowly and with
L23  68 great difficulty, and higher than his elbow, it would not go at all.
L23  69 ^He had already been off work for a month, and the arm had not
L23  70 *'responded to treatment,**' much to the surprise of the doctors.
L23  71    |^It had in fact got gradually worse, according to the man himself.
L23  72 ^He needed help to put on his clothes, and had been obliged to learn
L23  73 to do all manner of things with his left hand when he was not the
L23  74 least bit left-handed, naturally. ^His wife would have to give up her
L23  75 evening work to look after him: that meant a regular allowance out of
L23  76 the Insurance to compensate her. ^He would need some form of electric
L23  77 tricycle to get him about, and a small garage built to house it. ^The
L23  78 injury, he had been told by a friend, might easily spread to his legs,
L23  79 and in view of the worry about this, the sum of *+10,000 would
L23  80 probably be quite inadequate.
L23  81    |^His *"statement of basis of claim**" ran to three sides of
L23  82 foolscap *"dictated by me and written by my wife, owing to the injury
L23  83 what prevents my writing.**"
L23  84    |^\0Mr. Ridley was unperturbed by this voluminous evidence of the
L23  85 state of the man's injuries.
L23  86    |^*"I'm afraid it doesn't seem quite right to me somehow,**" he
L23  87 said, pulling off the glasses yet again. ^It was a very irritating
L23  88 gesture: perhaps, I thought, he did it deliberately to put his cases
L23  89 off their guard, to take their minds off themselves and to give
L23  90 themselves away.
L23  91    |^*"You see, if he really is as bad as he says, the sensitivity of
L23  92 some nerves would be bound to be affected at the finger extremities
L23  93 even supposing there has been no bruising of tissue. ^The doctors
L23  94 apparently can find nothing actually wrong. ^It's only that he
L23  95 maintains he cannot raise his arm. ^When it was raised up quickly by a
L23  96 doctor when he wasn't expecting it, he let out such a scream that the
L23  97 wretched doctor thought he had torn the arm right off! ^After that,
L23  98 they have been a bit chary about wrenching it up and down.
L23  99    |^*"However,**" he added after a minute or two, *"I think it's time
L23 100 we went over and saw for ourselves. ^Come along with me.**"
L23 101    |^We walked across to the Assessment Office and up into \0Mr.
L23 102 Ridley's room. ^There was nothing particular about it. ^Just the usual
L23 103 desk (back to the light of course), a couple of chairs, a reading
L23 104 chart on the wall, and a bookcase about six feet tall with a few
L23 105 papers and other oddments on it.
L23 106    |^\0Mr. Ridley spoke to the attendant: ^*"Send \0Mr. Alton in now,
L23 107 would you please?**"
L23 108    |^A few moments passed. ^Then there was a shuffling outside on the
L23 109 linoleum, and the door opened. ^\0Mr. Alton's left hand pushed at the
L23 110 handle, for his right arm was hanging dejectedly at his side, patently
L23 111 useless and perhaps even causing pain.
L23 112    |^*"Ah, \0Mr. Alton, come in, how do you do?**" smiled \0Mr. Ridley
L23 113 holding out a hand. ^The limp right arm quivered, but quick as a flash
L23 114 the sturdy remaining left hand took its place for a brave handshake.
L23 115    |^*"I've been thinking your case over,**" said \0Mr. Ridley,
L23 116 sitting down at once at his desk, leaving \0Mr. Alton standing without
L23 117 a chair. ^*"It is certainly one of the most unfortunate I have come
L23 118 across and our hearts go out to you and your family in this serious
L23 119 blow. ^I think *+15,000 is the least we can reasonably offer in
L23 120 compensation, and if you are agreeable to this, I am authorized to
L23 121 write you a cheque this very minute in full settlement, without
L23 122 ado.**"
L23 123    |^After rubbing his glasses as usual, \0Mr. Ridley pulled out a
L23 124 fountain pen, took the cap off and briskly prepared to write.
L23 125    |^\0Mr. Alton evidently could hardly believe his ears, mercifully
L23 126 unaffected by his injury. ^He could only nod his agreement. ^*"Yes, I
L23 127 think that would do very well,**" he managed after a moment when power
L23 128 of speech returned.
L23 129    |^*"Right then,**" said \0Mr. Ridley, pen at the ready. ^*"Just
L23 130 hand me down my cheque book from that bookcase, will you, and we'll
L23 131 get it cleared up.**"
L23 132    |^Alas for poor \0Mr. Alton. ^I did feel a little sorry for him.
L23 133    |^The bookcase was on his right. ^From the top, the bright blue
L23 134 cheque book was plainly visible. ^A step forward, and \0Mr. Alton's
L23 135 arm*- his right arm, that poor injured right arm upon whose failing
L23 136 strength a wife and many small children had depended for their daily
L23 137 bread*- swung up as easily and quickly as that of a policeman on point
L23 138 duty. ^Rapid fingers closed upon the beckoning cheque book with new
L23 139 found health.
L23 140    |^He was halfway to \0Mr. Ridley's desk before the awful
L23 141 implication of his action dawned upon \0Mr. Alton.
L23 142    |^His face went scarlet, then drained. ^Tiny beads of sweat
L23 143 appeared. ^He turned and left the room without a word.
L23 144    |^*"You see what I mean,**" said \0Mr. Ridley, as he put the cap
L23 145 back on his unused pen. ^*"The study of human nature is a great help
L23 146 in this profession.**"
L23 147 *<*4Short story by *6NAT EASTON*>
L23 148 *<*4The way of escape*>
L23 149    |^T*2HE *0wind had slapped the notice so hard and often you had to
L23 150 lean with it to read the faded letters, *1Unfit For Motorists. ^*0I
L23 151 smiled, patting the weather-roughened wood. ^I slipped the car off the
L23 152 track onto the moor, left it behind the V-shaped ruin of an old stone
L23 153 barn*- pointing back the way I'd come.
L23 154    |^Light hearted, sure of myself somehow in my completely new
L23 155 outfit, I walked to the edge of the great heather brow and looked down
L23 156 its tumbling slopes to the sea below. ^For several minutes I stood
L23 157 there, just wishing and willing, and taking in the spread of land and
L23 158 ocean, then I slithered into the scoured out track and plunged
L23 159 downwards eagerly.
L23 160    |^The banks were high, the surface like a forgotten river bed*-
L23 161 dry, bread-coloured mud and stones the years had smoothed but not
L23 162 budged. ^About halfway down, a path of bare, trodden soil led to a
L23 163 gate in a high privet hedge. ^I stopped, looking over at it,
L23 164 pep-talking myself, then braced up and went forward.
L23 165    |^The bungalow was as neat a piece of transplanted suburbia as a
L23 166 man could imagine. ^The path was concrete, straight as a railway line.
L23 167 ^On each side there was a shaved square of lawn the size of a blanket
L23 168 with a round bed of roses in the middle of it, slap in the middle.
L23 169 ^Each lawn was overlooked by a bay window, one packed with red
L23 170 geraniums. ^A wire basket of flowers hung over the front door. ^The
L23 171 glass of the windows and the leaded door panel shone as though the
L23 172 leather had just left it. ^The green and cream paintwork took a bath
L23 173 regularly.
L23 174    |^I poked a gloved finger into the copper letter box and raised the
L23 175 flap. ^The corridor hall was laid with polished orange and brown
L23 176 linoleum, covered down the middle with a runner of plain beige carpet,
L23 177 like a continuation of the path. ^The hall-stand held one umbrella,
L23 178 impeccably furled, one horn-handled walking-stick, a heavy raincoat on
L23 179 a hanger, a series of crisp trilbies and a check cap. ^Beyond that the
L23 180 shadows took over.
L23 181    |^I lowered the flap gently and side-stepped to the bay window on
L23 182 the left. ^Squinting through the geraniums I saw a green three-piece
L23 183 suite, a bureau, dining table and chairs of dark oak, a red leather
L23 184 tufty, and one of those modern cut-down pianos. ^The empty fireplace
L23 185 was shielded by a blue hydrangea in a pot that had been painted green.
L23 186 ^Above the tobacco jar on the chimney-piece six pipes hung from a
L23 187 rack. ^The seventh slot was vacant.
L23 188    |^There were two letters in the middle of the table, one under a
L23 189 heavy glass paper-weight.
L23 190 *# 2002
L24   1 **[427 TEXT L24**]
L24   2    |^*0The outline of the case which follows will, I hope, be
L24   3 sufficient to secure a withdrawal of the questions. ^If this fails, I
L24   4 shall of course be glad to offer the Members concerned a full and free
L24   5 opportunity to question me, as well as the officers who have conducted
L24   6 the investigation, in whatever fashion they think fit.
L24   7    |^Their suspicions are the more ironical in that Gillian was
L24   8 actually arrested yesterday morning, on my personal instructions.
L24   9 ^Since the Department of Public Prosecutions regards the evidence
L24  10 against him as insufficient, the arrest was made without a warrant;
L24  11 and within a couple of hours Gillian was inevitably once again a free
L24  12 man.
L24  13    |^My action did, however, succeed in its intended purpose: Gillian
L24  14 and \0Mrs Wynter had planned to be married yesterday afternoon; as a
L24  15 result of the scene that occurred in my office the marriage will not
L24  16 now take place.
L24  17    |^You will say, and rightly, that it is no business of the police
L24  18 to discourage people who wish to marry murderers. ^Nonetheless, when
L24  19 one partner is completely unsuspicious, there is, I believe, a good
L24  20 deal to be said on humane grounds for at least dropping a hint. ^In
L24  21 fact, the simple ruse we employed succeeded handsomely, thereby
L24  22 confirming the theory we had formed as to the only possible method by
L24  23 which this perplexing murder can have been committed.
L24  24    |^Gillian's arrest was so contrived that \0Mrs. Wynter would be
L24  25 with him at the time; she was *"allowed**" to accompany him to
L24  26 Scotland Yard, and on arrival both of them were brought to my office.
L24  27 ^Also present were Superintendent Colleano (in charge of the case),
L24  28 Detective-Inspector Pugh (who made the arrest), and a shorthand writer
L24  29 ({0P. C.} Clements). ^Despite \0Mrs. Wynter's urgings, Gillian
L24  30 declined to send for a solicitor; his attitude was fatalistic
L24  31 throughout and he looked ill.
L24  32    |^I need hardly say that if Gillian's arrest had been anything
L24  33 other than a trick there would have been no question of my confronting
L24  34 him personally. ^As it was, I was able to use our previous
L24  35 acquaintance as a pretext for the meeting. ^I told him, quite
L24  36 untruthfully, that I had just returned from leave, and was anxious for
L24  37 old times' sake to hear an account of the circumstances which had
L24  38 resulted in the Deputy {0A.C.}'s ordering his arrest, and to look
L24  39 into the matter in person; and it is the measure of the queer,
L24  40 apathetic state he was in that he apparently swallowed this
L24  41 preposterous tale without turning a hair.
L24  42    |^The proceedings opened with Colleano's giving me a summary of the
L24  43 case. ^From our point of view this was mere camouflage; but it is
L24  44 necessary to repeat it here for the purpose of clarifying what
L24  45 happened subsequently.
L24  46    |^Approximately two years ago, \0Dr. Harold Wynter, a general
L24  47 practitioner working in the Somerset town of Midcastle, was tried for,
L24  48 and convicted of, the manslaughter of a patient through gross
L24  49 negligence. ^The evidence against him was by no means decisive, but
L24  50 both judge and jury seem to have been influenced by the fact that the
L24  51 doctor himself was a morphine addict. ^He was adjudged guilty and
L24  52 sentenced to imprisonment for three years.
L24  53    |^At Nottsville Prison*- to which Gillian had a year previously
L24  54 been appointed governor*- Wynter's first few weeks were spent in the
L24  55 infirmary, where he was weaned of his addiction before being
L24  56 transferred to the cells. ^Very shortly afterwards, however, he began
L24  57 to suffer from attacks of {6angina pectoris}. ^Accordingly, he was
L24  58 excused from all serious exertion; and in addition*- since he proved a
L24  59 model prisoner*- was allowed a cell to himself, so that he mingled
L24  60 with the other prisoners only on the occasions when he took light
L24  61 exercise in the yard.
L24  62    |^His wife, Ellen Wynter, wrote to him regularly and seems to have
L24  63 visited him as often as she could; these visits were, however,
L24  64 restricted in number owing to the fact that for financial reasons she
L24  65 had been obliged to take a job some considerable distance away.
L24  66    |^In the ordinary course of things*- taking into account remissions
L24  67 for good conduct*- Wynter would have been released in October of this
L24  68 year.
L24  69    |^On April 23rd he died in his cell.
L24  70    |^This was discovered when luncheon was brought to him at noon on
L24  71 that day. ^In the absence of contra-indications, the death was
L24  72 ascribed to the angina*- for although a man suffering from this
L24  73 complaint may, and often does, live on for a great many years, there
L24  74 is no guarantee that any single attack may not finish him. ^As with
L24  75 all prison deaths, however, an inquest was held. ^But there was no
L24  76 {6post mortem}, since none seemed to be called for, and on April 27th
L24  77 Wynter was buried in the prison cemetery, his death being certified as
L24  78 due to his heart disease.
L24  79    |^There the matter might well have rested. ^Three days later,
L24  80 however, we received here at Scotland Yard an anonymous letter which
L24  81 accused Gillian of having poisoned Wynter with a plant spray
L24  82 containing nicotine; Gillian's motive, the writer added, was
L24  83 infatuation with Wynter's wife.
L24  84    |^I myself ordered that this accusation be investigated, and there
L24  85 proved to be sufficient plausibility in it to justify us in exhuming
L24  86 Wynter's body. ^The stomach was shown to contain a small but
L24  87 sufficiently lethal quantity of nicotine; in consequence of this, a
L24  88 full-scale examination of the circumstances was at once put in hand.
L24  89    |^The writer of the anonymous letter was traced easily enough. ^He
L24  90 was a warder at Nottsville named Parker, who conceived himself to have
L24  91 a grudge against the Governor, and who purely by chance had come to
L24  92 hear of the irregular association which did in fact exist between
L24  93 Gillian and \0Mrs. Wynter; the nicotine, he said, was only a guess,
L24  94 based on the fact that he knew this type of plant spray was used
L24  95 occasionally on the Governor's shrubbery.
L24  96    |^It was a suspiciously good guess, and Superintendent Colleano
L24  97 devoted plenty of time and energy to investigating whether Parker
L24  98 himself had opportunity or motive for poisoning Wynter. ^In the end,
L24  99 however, it was established that he had neither. ^A second possibility
L24 100 was that Wynter's death had some connection with the death of the
L24 101 patient he was alleged to have neglected; but this again proved
L24 102 unlikely, if not impossible.
L24 103    |^To cut a long story short, the closest checking and
L24 104 counter-checking failed to establish a motive for Wynter's death in
L24 105 any of the prison staff*- except Gillian.
L24 106    |^Gillian's motive, however, was undeniably a strong one: he was in
L24 107 love with \0Mrs. Wynter. ^There is no doubt, by the way, that Wynter
L24 108 was devoted to his wife, to the extent that*- in her view*- he would
L24 109 never have agreed to divorce her; and in spite of his illness he might
L24 110 well have lived for many years after his release from Nottsville.
L24 111    |^As to the manner in which Gillian and \0Mrs. Wynter became
L24 112 acquainted, that, I think, calls for no detailed description here. ^It
L24 113 is worth noting, however, that Gillian's obsession with the woman was
L24 114 by no means a happy one. ^The husband was a prisoner in his personal
L24 115 charge, undergoing a relatively savage sentence for a crime of which
L24 116 he may quite possibly have been innocent; moreover, Wynter loved his
L24 117 wife; and finally, he was an incurable invalid.
L24 118    |^To a man with Gillian's record for probity these considerations
L24 119 may well have been horribly distressing; he himself has said that they
L24 120 worried him deeply*- and his anxiety was naturally compounded by the
L24 121 fact that from the official point of view his surreptitious
L24 122 relationship with \0Mrs. Wynter was an unforgivable offence for which
L24 123 his resignation would certainly be demanded as soon as the truth
L24 124 became known. ^As you are aware, that resignation was tendered, and
L24 125 accepted, a fortnight ago.
L24 126    |^Since Gillian is a wealthy man in his own right, his financial
L24 127 position will not be affected; at the same time, for a man with his
L24 128 long and devoted connection with the penal service, the wrench must
L24 129 have been considerable.
L24 130    |^Was Gillian's passion for \0Mrs. Wynter sufficiently strong to
L24 131 override all these considerations? ^Unquestionably it was; and if so,
L24 132 we may not unreasonably assume that it was strong enough to impel him
L24 133 to the act of murder. ^He had motive, he had means.
L24 134    |^Unfortunately, what he seems quite definitely not to have had was
L24 135 opportunity.
L24 136    |^The medical evidence as to the time of Wynter's death, and how
L24 137 long he took to die, is regrettably uncertain; but there is a definite
L24 138 consensus of opinion to the effect that Wynter could not have ingested
L24 139 the poison earlier than breakfast time*- that is to say, 7.30
L24 140 {0a.m.} on the day of his death. ^It seems equally certain, however,
L24 141 that the nicotine was not in Wynter's breakfast; two warders
L24 142 (perfectly reputable men) were concerned in the serving of this, and
L24 143 moreover they were, as it happened, accompanied on this occasion by
L24 144 one of {0H.M.} Inspectors of Prisons, who had been staying in
L24 145 Nottsville overnight; without going into the matter in detail, I can
L24 146 assure you that short of a conspiracy among these three it is
L24 147 absolutely impossible for the poison to have been administered in
L24 148 Wynter's breakfast.
L24 149    |^But if not at this time, when? ^On the morning of his death
L24 150 Wynter did not, as it chanced, require fresh materials for the work he
L24 151 performed in his cell; and the result of this was that the next visit
L24 152 paid to him was at lunch-time*- when his dead body was discovered. ^It
L24 153 is certain that between 7.30 and noon Wynter was alone in his cell in
L24 154 E block, and that during this period he came in contact with no one*-
L24 155 neither with Gillian nor with anyone else.
L24 156    |^These circumstances would seem to point either to suicide or to
L24 157 murder by trickery*- for example, Wynter might previously have been
L24 158 given a preparation of nicotine under the guise of medicine, and have
L24 159 consumed it of his own volition some time on the morning of his death.
L24 160 ^There exists, however, an insuperable objection to both assumptions:
L24 161 before breakfast on that particular morning a snap search of the cells
L24 162 in E block was carried out. ^These searches are routine, but they are
L24 163 nevertheless thorough; and because of the recent suicide of Pickering
L24 164 at Tawton Prison, special attention is currently being paid to the
L24 165 possibility of concealed poison.
L24 166    |^The upshot, as it applies to Wynter, you will guess: no pills or
L24 167 powders or capsules or fluids were found in his cell other than the
L24 168 small supply of trinitrini tablets which he was allowed to keep by him
L24 169 in case of an angina attack. ^Of these, at the time of the search,
L24 170 there were three, in a sealed container; and there is irrefutable
L24 171 evidence to prove that this same container was still there, still
L24 172 sealed and intact, when Wynter's body was discovered (it was, of
L24 173 course, noticed particularly for the reason that at the time Wynter's
L24 174 death was assumed to be the result of an angina attack sufficiently
L24 175 disabling to have prevented him from getting at the tablets).
L24 176    |^Now, Gillian's last direct encounter with Wynter had taken place
L24 177 more than a week before the death; and on that occasion, as always,
L24 178 another member of the prison staff was present*- this precaution is so
L24 179 invariable in dealing with convicts that if Gillian had at any time
L24 180 departed from it in his dealings with Wynter, the fact must inevitably
L24 181 have become known to us.
L24 182    |^How, then, can Gillian possibly have committed this murder?
L24 183    |^Or if it was suicide, how can Gillian or anyone else possibly
L24 184 have supplied Wynter with the means?
L24 185    |^The three warders who conducted the search on the morning of the
L24 186 death might conceivably have conspired together to make Wynter a
L24 187 present of poison; but in view of their excellent record this was not
L24 188 a possibility which Colleano felt able to accept so long as another,
L24 189 and likelier, explanation of the circumstances remained open to him.
L24 190    |^And such an explanation did exist.
L24 191    |^Despite the external appearances of what thriller-writers
L24 192 describe as an *"impossible murder**" or a *"locked-room mystery,**"
L24 193 the ingenious yet simple way in which Wynter had been murdered was
L24 194 easily deduced from the facts I have given above.
L24 195 *# 2018
        **[END**]