Sidney Chambers and the Perils of the Night by James Runcie

Author:James Runcie [Runcie, James]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Mystery
ISBN: 9781408834114
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Published: 2013-05-09T04:00:00+00:00

It was not clear how soon Keating’s ‘watch’ on G staircase would begin and Sidney asked Hildegard whether they should warn Orlando Richards that a surveillance operation was about to commence. She reminded Sidney that, despite his undoubted charms, the Professor of Music had still not been ruled out as a suspect. What exactly were his motives in planting coded messages within his compositions? Could their implementation simply be explained as some kind of donnish exhibitionism and was there anything that had been overlooked? Why, for example, had the professor so willingly vacated his rooms to Hildegard, and was there anything significant in the choice of Peterhouse as his place of refuge? Had he either suspected that some foul play was in the air or even been the perpetrator?

Sidney walked across New Court and climbed to the first floor of G staircase. Cade’s rooms were closed but the Professor of Music was not only sporting his oak; the inner doorway was ajar. On pushing it open Sidney could see Edward Todd in the far corner of the room in a kneeling position behind Orlando’s two-bar fire. He was fiddling with the back and rummaging around by the socket. After Sidney had expressed surprise at finding the dean of the college in another man’s rooms he asked what was going on.

‘This is my fire. I am collecting it. Professor Richards has failed to return it to me.’

‘Then why do you not simply unplug it?’

‘That is what I was doing.’

‘I don’t think you need a screwdriver to do that.’ Sidney had noticed the thin metal object in his hands. ‘What are you doing in his rooms in any case?’

‘I might ask the same question of you.’

‘Professor Richards has invited me in for a drink. He will be along shortly,’ Sidney lied.

‘I wanted to get my fire back.’

‘How did you know Professor Richards had it?’

‘The porters asked me. It was meant as a temporary measure. It was an act of goodwill on my part, if you must know. Not that this is any of your business.’

‘And are you aware of Professor Richards’s routine?’

‘What do you mean?’

‘You know that he plunges his hands into warm water before playing?’

‘No.’

‘And you are aware of the dangerous combination between water and electricity?’

‘Of course.’

‘Then you will not mind if I examine the plug that is affixed to his fire.’

‘Why would you want to do that?’

‘Because I believe you have hard-wired the fire to the mains. A man touching it with damp hands would receive a severe, possibly fatal, electric shock.’

‘That is nonsense.’

‘There is a basin in the room behind you. Perhaps you would like to wash your hands and touch the fire yourself.’

‘Don’t be absurd.’

‘Touch it.’

‘I will not.’

‘Touch it.’

‘For God’s sake.’

Edward Todd made a quick, and potentially fatal, decision. He advanced with the screwdriver in his hands, the metal tip raised as a weapon. Sidney took a step back and realised that he was either going to have to dodge his assailant’s approach, enter into some kind of fight, or retreat through the door as quickly as he could.

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