A Fatal Crossing by Tom Hindle

Author:Tom Hindle [Hindle, Tom]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781529156300
Publisher: Cornerstone

23

Without a moment’s hesitation, Temple sprang to his feet, snatched his fedora from the table and swept from the restaurant. I murmured a few hurried words of thanks to Harry Webber, who looked just as surprised by the detective’s sudden burst of action as I was, and scrambled to follow. Brushing past a disgruntled-looking Robert Evans, we marched together in the direction of the officers’ quarters.

Temple’s sudden energy was infectious and for a brief, shining moment, all thoughts of Winston Parker, the shaven-headed man and the woman from the cargo hold were gone. To track down Beatrice Walker – Beatrice Green, I should say – and discover exactly what role she might have played in the theft of Arthur Blake’s painting was a tantalising prospect.

We barged into the office and lifted the ship’s ledger from the shelf. Spreading it open on the desk, Temple scanned the pages, running a finger down the list of names until, at last, he reached M. and B. Green.

I breathed a sigh of relief. ‘We have her. That’s a first-class cabin.’

A small, satisfied smile formed on Temple’s lips. ‘Good,’ he said. ‘Lead the way.’

We replaced the ledger and set off, my excitement building with every step.

‘I have something else for you,’ I said. ‘Before we met Mr Webber, Mrs Hewitt came looking for us in the officers’ quarters. We spoke with her husband yesterday.’

Temple nodded. ‘I remember.’

‘It seems that Mr Hewitt wasn’t entirely honest with us.’ I was speaking quickly, sure that my report would only add to his good mood. ‘Mrs Hewitt says that they did hear something when they returned to their cabin from the restaurant. The porthole was closed and the rain was coming down hard, but she’s convinced she heard two people arguing outside.’

Temple stopped dead in his tracks. We had reached the Great Staircase and he had already climbed the first two steps, so he was looking down on me as he spoke.

‘Arguing?’

‘So she says.’

‘What time was this?’

‘Sometime between half-past ten and eleven o’clock. At the time, Mrs Hewitt thought that she’d heard something heavy being dropped on the ground. But now, she thinks that it’s possible she might actually have heard Dupont …’ I paused, my enthusiasm fading as the reality of what I was describing took hold. ‘She believes she heard him falling.’

‘Or being pushed …’ Temple stared into space, lost in thought as he mentally filed and cross-referenced this new detail. Then, his eyes narrowed. ‘I see you’ve been speaking to more witnesses.’

‘She came to me,’ I protested. ‘I could hardly send her away and you told me yourself not to follow you into third-class.’

‘You could at least have shared this straight away.’

‘Mr Webber arrived before I had a chance.’

‘Is that right? And what, exactly, prevented you from telling me the full extent of your conversation last night with Mrs Webber? I suppose she was the one who told you that her parents were unaware of their marriage?’

‘She was. But I failed to see how it could be relevant.

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