Mr. Pinkerton and Inspector Bull : A New Scotland Yard Omnibus by David Frome

Author:David Frome
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: New York : Farrar & Rinehart
Published: 1934-03-15T08:00:00+00:00

'You both are in a position to have given Mrs. Ripley that poison.

THE White Hart in Richmond High Street caters to few breakfasters of the orange juice and coffee variety; it believes in the old-time breakfast that has made England what it is. Inspector Bull and Inspector Welty sat down therefore to a fine bit of kipper, with bacon and eggs, grilled sweet English tomatoes, and fine strong tea, followed by racks of toast and home-made marmalade.

"They do you well here," Inspector Welty remarked, finishing off the toast and marmalade. Bull nodded. It was nearly eight o'clock, and Mr. Pinkerton, always an early riser, had not showed up. The little Welshman, furthermore, would be extremely unlikely, Bull would have thought, to miss the chance to be in on an investigation. He glanced again at his watch, and peered out the window at the bus from town that was emptying its passengers just opposite. The bus moved on, and Mr. Pinkerton was not on it. It was of course the letter from Mrs. Bull at Margate that Bull was interested in. Mr. Pinkerton at that moment was only a means to a pleasant end.

"Ready?" said Welty.

"Right," Bull said, with a quick glance at another bus that had pulled up. He was a little puzzled, and as he followed Welty out of the dining-room he had a momen-

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tary misgiving that something might have happened to the little grey chap. He might be ill somewhere.

"If you can get anything out of the Ripley cook, you're a better man than I am," Inspector Welty said as they crossed the road and headed towards the bottom.

"I'll have a go at it," Bull said. "You might go over and have a look at Coburn-Smith's private stock of weed killer."

"Right you are," Inspector Welty agreed cheerfully.

Hugh Ripley opened the door at Bull's smart rap-rap on the polished knocker. He was dressed in a well-cut dark lounge suit, and was smoking a cigarette in rapid jerky puffs. He was so much more nervous and upset than before that Bull looked at him curiously.

"Morning," Hugh Ripley said shortly. "I suppose you want to come in."

"That's right, sir," Bull said amiably. "I understood you were at Mr. Paget's."

"I was, last night. And I'm here now. For a few minutes anyway."

A twisted smile came to his lips. "You follow us right about, don't you, Inspector."

"We have to do it, Mr. Ripley. Where are you going when you leave here, please?"

"That happens to be my affair," Hugh Ripley said bitterly.

Inspector Bull put his hat on the hall table.

"I'd like to see your servants, please," he said.

"They're my sister's servants, Inspector. They're not mine. My sister's not up yet, if that makes any difference to you."

"None, I'm afraid," Bull said cheerfully. "And I'll have to ask you not to leave for wherever you're bound for until I'm through here. I've several questions to ask you, if you don't mind."

Hugh Ripley flattened his cigarette against the green majolica umbrella stand.

"I'll be outside," he said curtly.

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