EQMM 2006-03-04 by Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine

Author:Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine [Magazine, Ellery Queen’s Mystery]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dell Magazines
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Blackmail wasn't something Charles Crennel would ever have considered in the normal course of events, but desperate situations call for desperate measures. When he'd called Sir Maxwell to request a meeting, the developer had agreed reluctantly, saying that if Charles was going to make another plea for the development to be halted, he was wasting his breath.

But Charles had to try.

They met at Sir Maxwell's lavish South Kensington home, but the developer seemed determined to show his architect no hospitality whatsoever. Charles found himself trying to talk over the din of Sir Maxwell's home cinema system as Lady Tring—the fourth of that name—watched the Titanic sink beneath the cold Atlantic waves for the umpteenth time. She didn't acknowledge Charles's arrival, and when he asked for a private word, raising his voice to make himself heard over the film's sweeping theme, she turned and scowled. She was dark—whereas her predecessors had been blond—and half Sir Maxwell's age. He had no children: His succession of wives—all considerably younger than himself—had been more interested in manicures than motherhood.

Charles studied the fourth Lady Tring and asked himself how Cassy could have thought she could compete. Perhaps she had hoped Max might learn to prefer brains to beauty. She hadn't realised that she'd only been a pawn in his power games: Bedding his architect's wife was his way of letting Charles know who was the alpha male. And Cassy had fallen for it.

Sir Maxwell gave his wife an irritated glance before leading Charles to his study, a haven of dark leather and masculinity.

"I'll come straight to the point,” Charles said as he sank down into a soft armchair. “The police have been called in, but they don't seem to have a clue, and I'm not prepared to risk my daughter's life. The Semchester development can't go ahead. And if you don't care about my daughter...” He swallowed hard. “Perhaps you care about your marriage."

He hesitated, watching Sir Maxwell's face. But the man was giving nothing away.

"If you don't agree to stop the development, I'll tell your wife about the affair you had with Cassy."

Sir Maxwell smiled indulgently, as though Charles was some naive child. “I expect she knows already. You'll have to come up with something better than that, Charlie. The development's going ahead. Those lunatics who claim to have your daughter won't do her any harm. Let the police deal with them. That's their job."

Charles's heart was beating fast. This was his last throw of the dice, but he had to take the gamble. “I didn't want to have to bring this up, but if the press were told about Mrs. Shrewsbury..."

The smile disappeared from Sir Maxwell's lips.

"I did some research into your past when we started working together on the project. I'm sure the press would be interested to know that in nineteen ninety-four you were knocking down houses for a new development and your bully boys got rather carried away when they were evicting an old lady from her home. Mrs. Shrewsbury died of her injuries.

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