Murder at the Savoy: a 1920s cozy historical mystery (A Ginger Gold Mystery Book 18) by Lee Strauss

Author:Lee Strauss [Strauss, Lee]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781774091975
Publisher: La Plume Press
Published: 2022-03-28T16:00:00+00:00

19

Basil left the offices at Scotland Yard in a very troubled mood. He had only just begun his investigation and had already identified the main culprit in a series of dastardly business frauds. But his quarry had already realised he was being pursued and seemed to look forward to it. That The Griffin had got this information so quickly was very disconcerting, to say the least, as was the boldness of the action itself. Roland Wilcox and Cecil Lawrence were the only people outside Scotland Yard’s upper ranks who knew about the investigation.

But what about Mortimer Sharp? Who were his allies? How had he and his gang—for surely a group of men were needed to pull off these crimes—evaded conscription? Was he currently involved in criminal activity, or was he merely hiding from the military, writing his letter to Scotland Yard by candlelight in some rented room in an obscure corner of London? What kind of man invites, even dares, the police to go after him anyway?

Basil mused as he walked briskly towards the nearest underground station. Jack the Ripper had allegedly sent a letter to London’s Central News Agency in 1888, the famous “Dear Boss” letter, taunting the police and causing a sensation in the headlines. However, that letter was thought by many to be inauthentic and written by one of the journalists to garner more subscriptions to the newspaper.

The Griffin’s missive wasn’t sent to the press and was directed at Basil. Whoever he was, the intention was personal and not for gain of notoriety. This alone made it more likely to be authentic.

Basil’s jaw muscles clenched. He wouldn’t rest until this Griffin man was brought to justice.

He spent most of the day visiting each business on the list that Roland Wilcox had given him. Besides Roland Wilcox, there was a steel manufacturer, a textile importer, a supplier of suspension parts for motorcars, and a leather merchant. All the businesses were successful, the owners captains of commerce in their own right, even during these trying times. And every one of them told similar stories about the man they were convinced had swindled them.

According to the description the business owners gave Basil, Mortimer Sharp was a man in his thirties, tall and slim, with a high forehead and slicked-back sand-coloured hair. His eyes were described as brown and beady, and he wore no moustache or beard. The textile importer described him as someone with a formidable presence who carried himself with great confidence. The leather manufacturer, an excitable man, described him as resembling an eagle, with a long, hooked nose and hooded eyes that seemed to know more about you than they should.

Whoever he was, The Griffin seemed to be one who left an impression on people.

Hopefully, Basil thought as he dodged a horse and carriage, his pride would prove to be the unscrupulous man’s downfall.

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