Blackstone Fell by Martin Edwards

Author:Martin Edwards [Edwards, Martin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781801100236
Publisher: Head of Zeus

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‘My father slept badly last night,’ Denzil Sambrook said as he closed the door to the professor’s room. ‘He’s suffered from insomnia for many years. Let me take you to see my sister. She is our deputy matron. A courtesy title, frankly. Her job is to look after administrative matters. She will explain whether we can accommodate an additional patient.’

‘How many patients do you have at any one time?’ Trueman asked.

Denzil paused before replying. ‘We are highly selective. Our courses of treatment are demanding. Increasingly, we concentrate, so to speak, on quality rather than quantity.’

‘I understand.’

Trueman wiped a line of sweat off his brow. By nature he was a man of action, accustomed to relying on his strength and determination. Rachel had placed her faith in him, but he couldn’t help wondering if he’d bitten off more than he could chew.

‘Sorry, this whole affair is such a strain…’

‘We are accustomed to the most difficult cases.’

‘They don’t come much more difficult than my father-in-law, I can tell you.’

Denzil Sambrook led him down the short corridor, halting in front of a door marked with his sister’s name. He repeated his double knock, and a woman’s voice told them to come in.

Daphne’s room was much smaller than her father’s. Vivid abstract paintings hung on the wall rather than framed scrolls. The extravagant shapes and patterns seemed to Trueman like representations of a disordered mind. He suspected that Rachel, whose love of modern art he’d never understood, might be taken with them.

The woman behind the desk lacked the high intellectual brow of the male Sambrooks; hers was disfigured by the scar. Her haircut and plain, shapeless dress seemed to emphasise that she didn’t care about her looks.

Denzil performed the introductions. ‘I mentioned Hugh to you this morning. The patient is his father-in-law. Appears to be suffering from paranoid delusions, triggered by the death of his daughter. He is under the mistaken impression that Hugh wants to do away with him.’

‘How did you hear about the sanatorium, Mr Mann?’

Rachel had anticipated this question. She and Trueman had discussed how, as a car dealer with murder on his mind, he ought to respond. If nothing untoward was happening here, his answer didn’t matter. On the other hand, if the Sambrooks were somehow concerned with disposing of inconvenient individuals such as Ursula Baker, a great deal hinged on what he said.

‘Someone mentioned this place to me. Said it would be worth my while to take a trip to Blackstone Fell.’

‘Really? And who was that, may I ask?’

Daphne’s manner was polite and enquiring. Her brother’s expression made Trueman feel like a specimen under the microscope. In his head, Trueman heard Rachel’s words of warning.

‘Don’t prevaricate. Be discreet, but not defensive. People believe what they want to believe. It’s extraordinary what they will swallow if you speak with sufficient confidence.’

He beamed. ‘Chap I met in a pub.’

Daphne frowned. ‘A pub?’

‘It was down in London. In my job, I get around the country, you know.’

‘Naturally. Whereabouts in London?’

‘Covent Garden.’

‘And the chap’s name?’

Trueman rubbed his nose.

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