Five Dead Canaries by Edward Marston

Author:Edward Marston [Marston, Edward]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: War & Military, Mystery & Detective, General, Historical, Fiction
ISBN: 9780749013370
Google: CSmKAgAAQBAJ
Amazon: B00E2584DE
Barnesnoble: B00E2584DE
Goodreads: 17605385
Publisher: Allison & Busby
Published: 2013-10-27T13:00:00+00:00

In telling her to avoid confrontation with a senior officer, Joe Keedy had given Alice Marmion sound advice. It was, however, easier to accept than to follow. Though she did her best to evade Inspector Gale, she couldn’t disobey a summons to meet her. Before she went into the office, she made sure that she smartened her uniform. Her tap on the door was met with a curt command so she went in. Thelma Gale was studying a report. Without even looking up, she beckoned Alice towards her then kept her standing there for several minutes. It was a deliberate means of humiliating her but Alice didn’t complain, even though she could see that the inspector was not actually reading the words in front of her. When she finally sat back and looked up at Alice, the other woman was disappointed not to be able to find fault with her appearance.

‘I’m going to send you out on patrol,’ she said, crisply. ‘Your introduction to the police service has been far too cosy.’

Being rapped over the knuckles every day was not what Alice would have called ‘cosy’ but she didn’t respond. Getting out of the building would be a boon to her. Apart from anything else, it took her well beyond the inspector’s reach.

‘Too many girls are being drawn into prostitution,’ said Thelma, ‘and they need to be warned about the risks to their health and – in some cases – to their lives. We’ve had some of them so badly beaten that they’re disfigured for life. There have also been two murders.’

‘The war is partly to blame, Inspector,’ suggested Alice. ‘Soldiers have had a dreadful time at the front. They’ve seen friends die all around them. When they come back on leave, they’re desperate for some female company and – if they have no wife or girlfriend – they’re more than ready to pay for it. Sometimes, they get carried away and don’t realise how violent they’re being.’

‘You seem remarkably well informed. Have you been talking to Daddy?’

‘No, Inspector – it’s common knowledge.’

‘And how knowledgeable are you about the services these girls provide?’

‘On that score, I’d have to admit that I’m rather ignorant.’

‘Then patrolling the streets will be an education for you,’ said Thelma. ‘It will open your eyes to the ways of the world and take your mind off this major crime that you’re helping your father to solve.’

‘I’m doing nothing of the kind,’ retorted Alice.

‘Don’t take that tone with me, young lady!’ snapped the other.

‘I’m sorry, Inspector.’

‘I’m entitled to obedience and respect, or didn’t your father tell you that?’

Alice bit back a rejoinder. ‘You’re right,’ she said at length.

‘If he didn’t, then Sergeant Keedy should have done so. He’s been here long enough to appreciate the structure of command.’ Thelma narrowed her eyelids. ‘Has he been telling you how the case is proceeding?’

‘We see very little of each other, Inspector.’

‘What do you think he’ll say to this latest assignment of yours?’

‘Sergeant Keedy knows that I’ll do what I’m told and that it’s the essence of police work to take orders and act on them promptly.

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