Foul Play Suspected by John Wyndham

Author:John Wyndham [Wyndham, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2022-07-12T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter XI

Varied Inquiries

A knock on his door caused Superintendent Warmbrook to pause in his dictation. He glanced at the clock which hung above one of the several photographs of police athletic groups which decorated the walls. He frowned. Finally he loudly ordered his visitor to come in.

Detective-Inspector Jordan entering, received only the barest nod. He stood patiently waiting while his chief finished his correspondence and dismissed the shorthand writer with instructions. The superintendent swung his chair so that his circular form became tangent to the flat-topped desk. He looked at Jordan and permitted his gaze to travel thence to the clock again. His expression was less genial than was his habit.

“Half an hour,” he remarked shortly.

“Yes, sir.”

“What happened?”

“I overslept, sir.”

The superintendent frowned.

“Jordan, when will you learn wisdom? I don’t recall that excuse being offered here before. It is usual—in this department, at any rate—to blame the state of the traffic. What was it? Brighton too much for you?”

“No, sir. I was up late last night. I’d like to speak to you about it after I’ve made this Brighton report.”

“All right. Go ahead. Chair. Now what did the Brighton people have to say about it?”

Jordan sat down, and, with the assistance of a bundle of papers from his pocket, started in. By the end of his recital his superintendent’s face had cleared. He seemed to have forgotten the missing half hour, and nodded with satisfaction.

“Smart work, Jordan. Nicely rounded off. Let me have the written report this evening.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And this other matter?”

“Yes, sir. It’s a queer business. Not much to catch hold of, but I shouldn’t be surprised if we found a fair amount behind it.”

He gave a shortened but concise résumé of the stories he had heard at Derek’s flat. The other heard him through without comment: to all appearance he might not have been listening. At the end he lifted his eyes slowly from contemplation of the desk.

“This man, Draymond. Something in the City, you say?”

“He’s reached a higher stage, sir. Well known in the City.”

“Do you know anything about him?”

“I’ve heard his name. That’s all.”

The superintendent grunted, swiveled his chair slightly and reached for the telephone. He gave an extension number and requested any information about Ferris Draymond. After a short pause he turned back.

“Nothing. These people who gave you the tale, you think they’re straight?”

“Yes, sir, sure of it.”

Warmbrook thought silently for a moment.

“But why didn’t they come to us at once? Why wait until this solicitor fellow had disappeared too?”

“You know what people are, sir. They’d no proof at all. Probably thought we should browbeat them and then laugh them out. The public has such queer ideas about us.”

“I don’t need you to tell me that,” Warmbrook put in, shortly.

“But Drawford himself had persuaded the girl to let him bring her round here yesterday afternoon,” Jordan went on. “Then he disappeared, and that woke them up. They sent for me in a hurry and I went round as soon as I got back from Brighton.”

“H’m. Well, if it’s all true, there’s certainly been some pretty high-handed work going on.

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