The Corpse at the Crystal Palace by Carola Dunn

Author:Carola Dunn
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Press

SEVENTEEN

“Thank you for the lift, darling,” said Daisy, as Alec let in the clutch and the Austin Twelve moved smoothly away from the curb, “but if you think I don’t realise you just wanted to get me away from Angela, you’ve got another think coming.”

“I know you far too well to suppose anything of the sort. However, I was sorry to see how disconsolate she was to lose your company, and I’m not at all sure there’s any need to keep you apart, though we do need to check her alibi.”

“It looks good, doesn’t it?”

“Excellent. In any case, that was not my sole motive. I’m quite certain you haven’t wasted your day. Tell me what you’ve been up to, besides beating me to Angela.”

“I do have quite a bit of news.” Daisy frowned in thought, casting back her mind. “Where shall I start?”

“Only you can decide.”

“I’d better tell you about Mrs. Gilpin first.”

Alec’s relaxed grip on the steering wheel tightened. “She remembers?”

“No, and don’t get your hopes up. Dr. Ransome still says it’s quite possible she never will.”

“Damn!”

“She’s worrying about it, which doesn’t help and may hinder, for all he knows. He thinks she should go away for a rest, so I wrote to her sister, to see if she could go there for a week or two. What do you think?”

“If we haven’t solved this by other means in a week…! It can’t hurt. She’s no help as she is. Yes, let her go, assuming she’s willing.”

“I haven’t asked her yet. I wanted to hear from her sister before I suggest it. I hope she’s not going to make a fuss about leaving the twins with Bertha.”

“She can hardly do that, when she left them to Bertha at the Crystal Palace.”

“I wish I knew why! Well, never mind. I went out to lunch with Sakari.”

“She said in a portentous voice. Where?”

“The Café Royal. We met friends of Sakari’s there. You know her thirst for knowledge. She likes to talk to artists and writers.”

“And there’s nothing writers and artists like better than to talk about themselves. Did they also talk about Teddy Devenish?”

“Only briefly. Someone came in with a newspaper that gave the identity of the ‘Crystal Palace Corpse.’ No one had heard before who it was.”

“No, we didn’t release it to the press till just in time for the noon editions.”

“Several people made comments on the lines of ‘good riddance to bad rubbish,’ though not quite so crassly. We were all crammed together at a large table so I’m afraid I couldn’t very well ask Sakari who they were. The only person I recognised was a would-be sculptor called Purdue, who was a neighbour when Lucy and I lived in Chelsea. I don’t think he said anything at that point. He was too busy arguing with another chap.”

“That’s a fat lot of use! Whence the portentous tone?”

“Patience, darling, patience. You’re always telling me to start at the beginning and not to wander.”

“Also to cut the cackle and come to the horses.

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