[Redmond and Haze 12] - Murder Among the Dead by Irina Shapiro

Author:Irina Shapiro [Shapiro, Irina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mystery, Historical
Amazon: B0C665LHFX
Goodreads: 160824846
Publisher: Merlin Press LLC
Published: 2023-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 21

The police wagon was met at the entrance to the Charing Cross Hotel by none other than the manager, Mr. Crosby, who directed Constable Napier to drive the conveyance around the back and find an unobtrusive spot behind the kitchen to avoid the sort of negative attention any respectable hotel would wish to avoid. Mr. Crosby then asked Jason to accompany him inside. The manager was a man in his mid-to-late forties with carefully oiled sandy hair, a neatly trimmed beard, and anxious blue eyes. He was smartly dressed and had an enviable posture that conveyed self-assurance and rigid discipline.

Mr. Crosby invited Jason into his office on the ground floor and firmly shut the door before coming around to settle behind his desk. The few items on the surface were arranged with military precision, and the polished surface gleamed in the morning sun, not a stray speck of dust to be seen or it would probably be instantly vanquished by the desk’s owner.

“Do sit down, Inspector,” Mr. Crosby said, and smiled, but the gesture did nothing to soften the tension in his face.

Jason was about to tell Mr. Crosby that he wasn’t really an inspector of the police but then decided not to bother with unnecessary explanations. He had been given leave to investigate the case, and to undermine his own authority would serve no purpose.

Mr. Crosby clasped his hands and took a deep breath, all the while taking Jason’s measure. In his position as manager, the ability to read people was necessary, and he was probably proficient in figuring out how to handle any difficult situation. Having settled on an approach with a barely perceptible nod, he began.

“Inspector, I know you have a job to do, but so do I. And my job is to make sure that our guests feel safe and comfortable and will consider staying with us again should they find themselves in London. Knowing that a brutal murder had taken place while they were at their most vulnerable will not only spread panic but ruin the reputation of the hotel and put respectable guests off, possibly forever. I implore you to go about your business with the utmost discretion.” He gave Jason an apologetic look. “I’m afraid I turned the police photographer away. I can’t allow him in the building.”

“Mr. Crosby, it is not my purpose here to either undermine the reputation of your hotel or terrify the guests. You may have one of your employees bring up Constable Napier, and Inspector Haze when he arrives, by the servants’ stairs, and I will interview the staff in a place of your choosing. No one need know, unless there’s a threat to public safety, in which case I won’t hesitate to issue an alert.”

Since Jason had no idea which photographer had been sent or where he had gone, he decided not to worry about photographing the crime scene at present.

“Do you believe there is a threat?” Mr. Crosby asked. Given his shock, Jason realized that the thought had not occurred to him, and he had assumed this was an isolated incident.

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