EQMM 2008-07 by Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine

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

On the following Monday, Patrick Fallon had breakfast with his wife, made solicitous enquiries about the shop, then gave her a kiss before leaving. After parking his car at the railway station, he was pleased to find that the train was on time and even more pleased when a woman in her thirties sat opposite him. She was not conventionally handsome but she had a striking figure and a face full of character. Since she was travelling first class and wearing a smart suit, he deduced that she was a businesswoman of some sort. While he read his copy of the Daily Telegraph, she leafed through some papers from her briefcase. Fallon was intrigued. Hiding behind his paper, he studied her reflection in the window. When he saw the cameo brooch in her lapel, he had his chance to open the conversation.

“Excuse me,” he said with his Irish lilt, “but would that brooch happen to be Italian?”

“It would, actually,” she replied, touching the piece. “It’s my good-luck charm. How on earth did you know where it was made?”

“I have a friend who works in the antiques trade.”

“I see.”

“From time to time, we go on buying expeditions together. You soon learn to identify certain styles. As it happens, my friend has a similar brooch on display at the shop.”

“Really?”

“And you say it’s a good-luck charm?”

“Yes,” she explained. “It’s my first day in a new job so I put it on. It never lets me down. I wore it at the interview. It helped me to secure the position.”

“Where do you work?”

“Lincoln’s Inn.”

He was impressed. “You’re a barrister?”

“No, I’m an executive director.”

“You mean, you hand out the cases to the appropriate people?”

“The clerks do that,” she said. “My role is administrative. I make sure that the chambers run smoothly, responding to individual needs of the barristers, supervising any mergers—we’ve one coming up, as it happens—and generally oiling the wheels.”

“It sounds like a high-powered job. How did you get it?”

“I was head-hunted. After five years in senior management with an insurance company, I was ready for a change. Thanks to this little chap,” she said, patting the brooch, “I was able to make one.”

The drinks trolley arrived, but she refused his offer to buy her a coffee. He was not daunted. Nor was her wedding ring a deterrent. Most of his conquests had been married women. They wanted novelty. He pumped her for as much information as he could before telling her about himself.

“The name’s Bantry, by the way,” he said. “Sean Bantry. I run the English part of a large holiday company based in Dublin. In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m Irish.”

They shared a laugh. She showed a set of perfect teeth and there was a sparkle in her eyes. Fallon slowly turned on the charm, paying her small compliments, probing for details of her private life, gaining sympathy by telling her that his wife had been killed in a car crash a year ago and that he was still recovering from the loss.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.