Todd, Charles - Ian Rutledge 20 - The Gate Keeper by Todd Charles

Author:Todd, Charles [Todd, Charles]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Amazon: B0713W4784
Publisher: William Morrow
Published: 2018-02-06T06:00:00+00:00

Rutledge read the letter again, this time aloud. Then he looked at Mrs. Cox.

“Was Mr. Templeton accustomed to receiving such letters from strangers, asking for his advice?”

“I wouldn’t know, sir. I can tell you that he was often willing to advise people. And he knew Mr. Davies quite well. He would have been happy to do a favor for him.”

The advertisement wasn’t in the envelope, but after shuffling through the papers again, Rutledge found it. It seemed genuine enough, with a sepia-tone photograph of the bull. He was to be auctioned to the highest bidder at ten o’clock this morning.

“Do you know how to reach Mr. Davies?” he asked, looking up from the advertisement to Mrs. Cox. “We shall have to speak to him, in order to locate Mr. Young.”

She nodded toward the top of the desk. “That box, sir. It’s where he keeps cards on all his friends and acquaintances.”

Rutledge took it down. Inside were cards filed alphabetically, each with names, directions, and a few notes about a person or firm Templeton had dealt with.

He looked first for young, but there was nothing under Y. Then he looked for davies and found that under the D’s. He took the card out, read it, then pocketed it.

“Here,” Mrs. Cox said, moving as if to stop him.

“I shall return it, I promise. But at the moment I need to borrow it.” He gave a final glance at the desk, then said, “Who must we notify regarding Mr. Templeton’s death?”

“I expect that would be his solicitor, Mr. Blake. Constable here can tell you how to find him.”

Rutledge nodded, and then said, apparently out of the blue, “And you never heard the gunshot last evening?”

Surprised, she stared at him. “The staff was downstairs, clearing away from dinner. I doubt anyone could have heard. But there’s only the five of us,” she added. “And with Mr. Templeton away, we were all there. Cook, a kitchen maid, two housemaids, and myself. The gardener and his son have a cottage at the bottom of the garden. I can’t think they heard anything—no one came up to the kitchen to inquire.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Cox, you’ve been most helpful. Constable, will you speak to the staff? I’ll see Dr. Brent back to Wolfpit, and Martin as well. They’ll give you a statement about this afternoon.”

Penny was about to argue, then thought better of it. “You’ll see to notifying Inspector Reed, sir?”

“In due course,” Rutledge said.

“What about Mr. Davies?”

“I’ll see that he reports to you as soon as possible to give his own statement.”

He was ushering Mrs. Cox and the Constable out the door of the study as he spoke, and shut it firmly before asking for the key to lock it. Again Mrs. Cox protested, but he smiled, assuring her that this was what had to be done.

Once he’d seen the housekeeper and Constable Penny to the kitchen stairs, he went out to find Dr. Brent and the farmer.

It was arranged that Rutledge would send out the undertaker,

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