Lord Foxbridge Butts In by Manners Robert

Author:Manners, Robert [Manners, Robert]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2013-07-29T00:00:00+00:00

The police arrived in increments of two: the first pair of patrol constables in helmets popped up as soon as I’d finished my call to Scotland Yard in the little tobacconist’s shop at the mouth of the Mews (where I’d left Gabriel in the tender care of the tobacconist’s wife, while I stood sentry at the street door to the lodging house); the second pair wore peaked caps and came in a car, driving it into the Mews and blocking the archway; they had to move it when the medical examiner showed up with his assistant in a van; and finally the detectives showed up in another car.

I gasped when I recognized the craggy profile of Chief Inspector Brigham, then blushed scarlet when Sergeant Paget followed him out of the car.

“I swear I didn’t call for you specifically,” I rushed to explain when Twister walked up to me.

“I know you didn’t,” he grinned ruefully at me, “You just have the damnedest luck.”

“Finding corpses all over the place? Or always drawing you out of the hat when I do?”

“Both, I suppose,” he laughed, then pulled his trusty notebook and pencil out of his pocket, “What can you tell me about all this?”

“I can tell you a lot, if you can keep it off the record.”

“You know that’s not how it works,” he scolded gently.

“Well then, let me tell you everything I know off the record, as a friend; and then you can decide which of it you’ll need to put in the record, as a detective.”

“What’s all the mystery? More of your ‘exceptional circumstances’?”

“Well, yes. There are people involved who would be harmed if they were officially involved, so it would be unfair and unkind to involve them unless it’s really necessary. It’s a situation where discretion is by far the better part of valour, if you see what I mean.”

“All right,” he conceded, putting away his notebook and folding his arms expectantly, “Spread out your wares, and I’ll pick over the pieces I want.”

In a low voice so as not to be overheard, I related the entire saga, from the Baron collaring me at dinner to my late-evening meeting with Gabriel; and putting a great deal of trust in Twister, I also related the mystery of the missing paper knife redeemed from the pawn shop just hours before it turned up in Mike Baker’s carotid artery, as well as spotting the Baron and his manservant on Wardour Street when I was in the pub. I wrapped up with a very lucid account of how I found the body, what Gabriel’s reactions had been, and what I did between finding the body and talking to Twister.

“So I’ve got a boy prostitute on one end and a foreign diplomat on the other end, with a pawnbroker and a bookie in between,” Twister shook his head in dismay, “You’re right, the harm done to their livelihoods from being officially investigated by the police would be tangible, not just a matter of delicate feelings.

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