A Nice Class of Corpse by Simon Brett

Author:Simon Brett
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9789085241522
Publisher: For the Benefit of Mr. Kite
Published: 1985-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

24

As Mrs Pargeter was making her way from the Schooner Bar back to the Seaview Lounge, she was stopped in her tracks by the sound of raised voices behind the closed Office door. Discovering a sudden interest in the Beaulieu Motor Museum and the Chalk Pits at Amberley, she moved across to the hall table on which such leaflets were always kept, and found that she was able to hear the voices much more clearly.

She quickly identified the speakers as Miss Naismith and Mr Holland. The solicitor was resorting to bluster, the customary weapon of a weak man trying to get his point across.

“…and I don’t see how we can possibly keep it quiet any longer,” he was saying. “Our agreement was that we should only suppress the information for twenty-four hours, anyway. That time has passed, more than passed. And now, under these new circumstances, I think the police just have to be told.”

“I would really rather we kept the matter confidential.” Miss Naismith’s voice was frosted with authority. “The police are here to conduct an enquiry into the death of Mrs Mendlingham. I’m sure they will not wish to be confused by information about another possible crime.”

“Miss Naismith, I don’t think we can any longer pretend we are talking about a ‘possible’ crime. My client’s jewellery disappeared on the night after her death, and there has been no sign of it since. That sounds to me like a classic definition of a robbery, and I have a nasty feeling that the longer we leave the robbery uninvestigated, the less chance we have of ever seeing the missing property again.”

“Surely the jewellery was insured?”

But Mr Holland was not to be side-tracked by this irrelevance. “That is even more reason why the theft should be reported. No insurance company is going to pay up unless the crime has been reported to the police within a very short period. They are not charitable institutions, you know.”

“I still find the idea of accusing my guests of theft acutely distasteful.”

In the Hall, Mrs Pargeter smiled grimly.

“You realise what will happen?” Miss Naismith’s voice continued. “All my residents’ bedrooms will be searched, they will be questioned about their movements at certain relevant periods, they may even have their backgrounds investigated…”

“That sounds an excellent idea to me,” said Mr Holland, belatedly assertive. “Then perhaps we will stand a chance of recovering the stolen property.” With surprising self-knowledge, he added, “I was extremely weak-willed not to insist on that course immediately after the theft was discovered.”

“As I say, I’m sure these gentlemen from the police will not be interested. They probably represent a different department.”

“I’m sure they will be interested. They’re bound to want to get as full a background as possible when they’re investigating a suspicious death.”

“I wish you wouldn’t refer to it as that.” Miss Naismith sounded pained.

“I know no other way to refer to it. That is what it is. And I am absolutely convinced that we should tell the police about the robbery of Mrs Selsby’s jewels.

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