Death of a Busybody by George Bellairs

Author:George Bellairs [Bellairs, George]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press, Inc.
Published: 2017-03-13T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter IX

The Bag of Bluff

Concealed behind a thick hedge of privet, mounted atop a roughcast wall, Holly Bank reveals little of itself to passers-by, but once past the gate, Littlejohn was surprised at the primness of the place. The garden was a model of neatness and order. Although the countryside was showing signs of autumn, there was not a stray leaf on the paths, all the dead flowers had been removed and the bedding plants still seemed in their prime. Late roses flourished, large clumps of Michaelmas daisies made masses of colour, and in beds set in the lawns, geraniums sprouted pink and scarlet. The grass was well rolled and finely cut and resembled a costly, even carpet.

The house itself was as orderly as the grounds. Its paintwork was prim and clean, its stuccoed walls freshly creamwashed and its green shutters trim and business-like. The place resembled the villa of a well-to-do Frenchman of the Midi. A neat, good-looking young maid took Littlejohn’s card and asked him to wait in the drawing-room. The place was light and airy and furnished in good taste. A thick green carpet yielded luxuriously beneath the feet. The furniture was well made, costly and comfortable. On the walls a few pleasing etchings and over the fireplace a picture which Littlejohn greatly admired. It was a genuine Corot, although the detective could not be sure about it.

Mr. Lorrimer joined his visitor almost at once. A middle-sized, dapper man in a well-made suit of dark tweed, with a fresh, clean-shaven face, tight, thin lips, prominent, pointed nose and a large, bald, dome-shaped head surrounded by a fringe of thin brown hair. Deep-set grey eyes, slightly bulging, behind rimless spectacles, with thin, straw-coloured eyebrows. Fastidiousness, neatness, cleanliness, seemed the prominent features of his make-up. Littlejohn particularly noticed the man’s hands, which were rather large, but scrupulously well kept. The handshake Mr. Lorrimer gave the detective was strong and firm and reminded Littlejohn that the vicar had mentioned that the tenant of Holly Bank was a well-known local pianist, who practised several hours a day for his own amusement and never gave any public exhibition of his talent.

Lorrimer waved his visitor to a chair.

“Now, Inspector. I suppose you have called to see me about something or other in connection with this horrible murder business. I don’t know how I can assist, but I am willing to co-operate, of course. Fire away.”

“It’s just one point I wanted your help about, Mr. Lorrimer. Miss Tither’s maid tells me that, after church last Sunday, you gave Miss Tither some information which greatly distressed her and as her almost immediate reaction when she reached home, was to write to her cousin, Mr. Wynyard, and arrange a rendezvous to discuss his work in the missionary field, I wonder if it concerned him.”

“Yes, it did, Inspector. I simply told Miss Tither something I’d heard concerning her relative and his goings-on. You see, he’s been lecturing about the place lately—gave a well-attended address at Evingdon,

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