The Perfect Murder Mystery by Bush Christopher

Author:Bush, Christopher
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dean Street Press
Published: 2017-10-02T00:00:00+00:00

(B)

When Franklin was shown into the office of the manageress of the Constable Hotel he was rather surprised to see how young she was. “I was going to say, ‘Are you the manageress?’” he began.

She smiled. “What is it you want to sell me?”

He looked confused for once. “I’m sorry. At least, it’s like this. I expect you’ve been worried to death by the police, but I want to worry you again. I represent a particularly interested party, and I’m after information about the T. W. Richards who stayed here from the first to the third. He registered in the usual way?”

“Yes.”

“Did he actually sleep in the hotel?”

“As far as we know, he did. There’s no rule that a chambermaid should report in the morning whether a bed has been slept in or not. He had breakfast here each morning. You can take that as certain.”

“Could I see the chambermaid?”

“There’s no need. I was present when a Scotland Yard detective questioned her in this very office. She either didn’t remember or else noticed nothing unusual.”

“At what time were the breakfasts?”

“Impossible to say. There are four hundred breakfasts in this hotel every day.”

“Any other meals?”

“None, and no extras.”

“Well, I’m very grateful to you,” said Franklin, preparing to go. “Could I speak to the porter on duty? Would you mind?”

“The one you want is not on duty, but I can tell you all you want. I think I know it all by heart.”

“There’s only one last thing,” said Franklin when she’d finished. “Could a person pop in and out of here say, to write a letter—without being detected? I mean, of course, if he were a stranger?”

“Frankly, I think he could,” was the reply.

Franklin thanked her and hurried away to the next objective. This time it was a manager whom he approached.

“May I have a word with you in confidence? I’m a detective and want to ask about a guest who recently left.”

“By all means,” was the reply. “But of course the answers will depend on the nature of the information you want.”

“I recognise that,” said Franklin. “If there’s anything you don’t feel like answering, just say so point-blank. It’s about a Mr. Richleigh who was here a few days ago.”

“Richleigh?” The name seemed familiar. “When did he leave?”

“On the 5th or about that date.”

“Just a minute,” said the manager and went to the hall desk. When he came back he had the statement in his hand. “Here we are. August 28th to October 5th, inclusive,” and he handed it to Franklin.

“I see Mr. Richleigh was here from the first of this month to the third. Is there any means of finding out if he actually slept here on those dates?”

The manager was on his dignity at once. “None whatever. It is no concern of the management whether a guest actually occupies the room he pays for. If we started inquiries of that sort we might get ourselves into serious trouble.”

“And quite right, too. I just wondered, that’s all. The dates are frightfully important.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.