Death under Palm Trees by Carmen Radtke

Author:Carmen Radtke [Radtke, Carmen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Adamantine Books
Published: 2021-10-03T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

‘I wish we had more observers in the house.’ Fitzpatrick lit another cigarette from the stub of the first one, before he offered Jack and Aunt Mildred his case. That was the only outward sign that he was shaken.

His trip to the morgue had ended soon after the two had arrived. Colette had taken them up to his room. She had dropped her frivolous mask from the night at the Palais de Jetee completely. A neat suit and a stenographer’s pad reminded Jack of her double role.

‘Are you going to send someone else down to the villa?’ Aunt Mildred asked. ‘Under different circumstances I could invite your niece.’

‘No.’ Fitzpatrick took a deep drag. ‘I don’t want to tip our hand. I’m afraid our set-up remains unchanged.’

‘Have you seen the bruise on the body?’ Jack knocked the ash off his cigarette.

‘You’re a good observer. The doctor – one we’ve worked with before in an official capacity, not the one who came out to the villa – confirmed that Onslow was knocked unconscious, before he had his neck broken. The fact that there was barely a trickle of blood from a huge gash is additional proof, and there were marks on his collar that corresponded with faint marks on his skin, from a hand.’

Colette swallowed hard. Aunt Mildred touched her arm in a gesture of comfort. ‘It is not a pleasant thought.’

‘It’s a ghastly picture.’ The young woman shivered.

‘The storm made the accident plausible enough,’ Jack said. ‘I wouldn’t be too hard on Dr Durand. He had no reason to be suspicious.’

‘Luckily.’ Fitzpatrick stubbed out his cigarette and steepled his hands under his chin. ‘Having all and sundry know we are dealing with a murder is the last thing we want.’

A knock on the door interrupted them. Colette went to open and returned with a small parcel. ‘Your film rolls.’

Jack held out his hands. They had telephoned ahead, to warn Fitzpatrick, or rather Colette, what they needed. The original roll was already in a dark room with an unspecified government agent. Jack wondered how many men the British government had at their disposal here in the South of France, but they would likely have arrangements to help each other on an official or rather unofficial level.

Another two or three hours, and they should see results. If the film roll was unused, they would have known by now. Which meant, Onslow had left them at least one photograph. As soon as they returned, Jack intended to replace the film roll and keep the other one, in case they needed it as additional bait.

Colette puzzled over the notebook. She faithfully copied every letter and symbol which would be passed on to an encryption specialist.

‘Can I have a copy?’ Jack felt something stirring at the back of his mind, the longer he perused Colette’s scribbles.

Fitzpatrick sat silent for a moment. ‘I can’t see why not, if you are sure it is possible to keep it safe,’ he said. ‘Onslow took that notebook along for a reason, and I don’t want whatever he wrote to fall into the wrong hands.

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