The Sleeping Island: An Inspector Knollis Mystery (The Inspector Knollis Mysteries Book 8) by Francis Vivian

Author:Francis Vivian [Vivian, Francis]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Dean Street Press
Published: 2018-10-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER X

The Theories of Jennings

Twenty-Seven years of police work had provided Knollis with a deep fund of experience on which to draw, and he had not accepted Paul Murray’s story so easily and completely as Murray might have wished or expected. He was inclined to agree with Barnard that Murray was not responsible for his wife’s death; beyond that point he suspected him of lies and evasions in the interests of some obscure personal reason.

“You see,” he explained to Barnard at police headquarters that Sunday afternoon, “he tells of being a considerate and chivalrous husband, and that clashes with Mrs. Fairfax’s story of the woman’s body being bruised, and the explanation given to her by Mrs. Murray. Murray’s covering-up seems to indicate a connection with the Dickinson girl—and if that seems so obvious as to be elementary I’ll apologise for mentioning it!”

“I still don’t get it,” said Barnard.

Knollis clicked his tongue with impatience at Barnard’s not-unexpected failure to see into the depths of his mind.

“Suppose Dickinson refuses to say he was with her?” Knollis suggested. “That leaves him without an alibi—and that he does really believe he’s suspected is indicated by his manner. His refusal to admit that he was at the flat may still be part of his plan. We’ll see as we progress!”

Barnard chewed on the stem of his pipe. “You know, Knollis, we can’t do much at all until we’ve broken Palmer down, until we know exactly what he overheard as he crouched under the window, and we can’t do that until we find the shoes and prove they belong to him, and that he was wearing them on Friday evening.”

Knollis considered him through veiled eyes, and nodded slowly. “Fairfax has them, of course. He’s a peculiar mixture of the clever and the naive. He tends to confuse the functions of strategy and tactics, and that’s where he helps us even when attempting to hinder us. Scroggey calls on Fairfax to check the casts, and it would be obvious to Fairfax after what he’d already told us that Scroggey would then go on to see Palmer. Scroggey has established the fact that Palmer was fetched out by a telephone message. Where to? Where else but to Fairfax’s house, so that he would be out when Scroggey called. And when Scroggey does contact him he’s wearing shoes—boots—which apparently do not belong to him. We’ve two good lads on our hands! Both Murray and Fairfax may be innocent, but are trying to conceal some fact or shield some person.”

“I wonder how much Fairfax knows about our work, about police procedure?” Barnard pondered. “Does he understand search warrants?”

“I should imagine so,” Knollis answered. “Most people who read crime novels know something of them, and I regard Fairfax as above normal where intelligence is concerned. What have you in mind?”

“There are two things Fairfax could do with the shoes once he was in possession of them,” Barnard went on reflectively.

Knollis raised his eyebrows in a silent question.

“Destroy them is one,” said Barnard.

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