Murder at Standing Stone Manor by Eric Brown

Author:Eric Brown [Eric Brown]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Severn House
Published: 2021-05-14T22:00:00+00:00

THIRTEEN

‘Let’s get this straight,’ Detective Inspector Montgomery said. ‘You say Professor Robertshaw here was knocking off his ex-wife?’

‘That’s one way of putting it, yes,’ Langham said.

‘You have this on good authority?’

‘My wife saw the professor and Deirdre dining together in the Midland Hotel on Monday, and Professor Robertshaw admitted it to me yesterday. According to Nancy, the professor’s niece, it’s been going on for a few months.’

‘I understand the professor was married?’

‘That’s right.’ He told Montgomery about Xandra’s illness. ‘She had tuberculosis a few years ago and was badly affected by the treatment. She’s largely bedridden and hardly gets out.’

Montgomery lit another cigarette and stared down at the corpse. ‘So the professor sought solace in the arms of his former wife,’ he grunted. ‘Do you know if this woman, this Deirdre, ever remarried?’

‘According to the professor, she left him for someone else twenty years ago—’

‘Open-and-shut case, then,’ Montgomery interrupted. ‘Jealous hubby doesn’t like his wife playing fast and loose with a previous husband, and bang.’

‘The only flaw in that argument,’ Langham said, ‘is that Deirdre’s second husband died a few years ago.’

‘Dammit,’ Montgomery said. ‘How about this, then – Xandra finds out about the professor and Deirdre, takes exception and shoots him?’

‘Or it might be any of another dozen people,’ Langham said. ‘The professor had a way of annoying people. He was a cantankerous old duffer who assumed he was always in the right.’

‘How well did you know him?’

‘Not that well at all. He called me in because he wanted my professional help.’

‘He was writing a book?’

‘No, he was being blackmailed.’

Montgomery stroked his straggling moustache. ‘Right. This is getting interesting.’

Langham explained about the first note, then the arrival of the second missive along with the leather valise. ‘I advised him to see you chaps, but he wasn’t having any of it.’

‘No, you’d be surprised how many people on the end of blackmail threats prefer to handle it themselves. Often with dire consequences. What happened?’

‘When he elected not to go to the police, I said he should follow the blackmailer’s instructions and I’d stake out the drop-off point.’

He went on to describe, not without misgivings, the events of the previous day in the park.

His fears that Montgomery would enjoy his failure were not without grounds. Wide-eyed, the little detective stared at him. ‘A dog?’ he said. ‘A bleeding dog snatched the valise and gave you the slip?’

‘That’s the long and short of it, yes.’

‘Oh, that’s ripe! That’s precious! I can just picture the scene. Dog with case in its jaw and desperate man in pursuit! You must have looked a rare sight, Langham! Were there witnesses?’

‘Not that I noticed. It was a raw day.’

‘So you say this mutt jumped into a car, a Ford Pop, and off it shot?’

‘I gave chase, but it was too late. They gave me the slip to the south of the town.’

‘And you returned home with your tail between your legs? Sorry. It’s just the image … Wait till I tell the boys back at the station!’

‘If you could omit my name from the story, Montgomery, I’d be grateful.

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