Dear Departed by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles

Author:Cynthia Harrod-Eagles [Harrod-Eagles, Cynthia]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TEN

Outrageous Fortune

As Slider was about to return to his own office, Porson appeared at its communicating door with the CID room, and beckoned. ‘A word,’ he said.

Slider gave him one. ‘Sir.’ Obedient to Porson’s gesture, he shut the door behind him.

‘I’ve had one Henry Cornfeld on the dog. The grand fromage of Cornfeld Chemicals. Business typhoon, baron of industry, what you will. VIP.’

‘Ah,’ said Slider.

‘You didn’t tell me the victim was one of those Cornfelds.’

‘We’ve only just worked that out, sir. The mother was not entirely frank with us. She didn’t let on who he was, and told us Chattie had nothing to do with her father. She said she didn’t know where he was living.’

Porson waved all that away. ‘He wasn’t best pleased we hadn’t told him.’

‘I ’m surprised he didn’t contact us himself. He must have seen it on the news,’ Slider countered.

‘Ah, well, he’s been out of the country for a week. Just back from the States this morning on the red-eye, and various members of his staff all thought one of the others had told him. Carpetings all round.’

‘It’s a bit much blaming us, then,’ Slider complained.

‘Oh, don’t worry, I told him the circs, identification-wise, and he understood. He’s not a raging ecomaniac out to see heads roll. Upset, more than anything, that he was out of the country. Says if he’d had any inclination anything would happen to her blah-di-blah. As if he could have stopped it – but that’s a father’s paternal feelings for you. Anyway, he wants someone to go and talk to him, and you’re it.’

‘Has he got anything useful to tell us?’

Porson rolled his eyes. ‘I don’t know. I didn’t give him the first degree over the phone.’

‘It’s just that there’s a lot to do and I don’t want to waste time hand-holding. If that’s all he wants, we can send him a PC. Preferably a female one.’

‘No bon, Slider. You’re the persona gratis,’ Porson said. ‘You don’t have to be all day about it. Look on it as thinking time. Little trip out into the country, lovely weather for it. And you never know, he might have a tale to tell.’

Slider thought, on the contrary, that he did know. Henry Cornfeld didn’t need to have a tale to tell. Like the congenial dustman, he had friends in high places.

It certainly was a lovely day, and as he headed out on the A41 Slider thought what a pity it was that Joanna was working. Her company in the car and a pub lunch – even if a snatched one – would make it all worth while. The Cornfeld mansion was in a village called Frithsden, not far from Hemel Hempstead. So Henry had returned to Stella Smart country in his ripe years, Slider thought.

He wondered at the magnate’s coming down to the country after an absence of a week rather than powering his way through his office finding dereliction on all sides. And, Slider reflected, he hadn’t threatened Porson or thrown his weight around.

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