Murder at Paddington by Anita Davison

Author:Anita Davison [Davison, Anita]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Head of Zeus
Published: 2018-10-17T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

Flora was several feet from the motor car when Ed poked his head out of the window. ‘Well?’ he demanded. ‘Did you find out anything?’

‘You could at least let me get inside first before questioning me.’ She slid into the seat beside him and waited for Timms to close the door; an automatic reaction but a redundant one. Their chauffeur knew almost as much as they did. ‘Nothing we didn’t know.’ She adjusted her hat in her reflection in the window. ‘The Colonel is charming, although he’s adamant his son Leonard is alive, well and living at The Dahlia Hotel in Bloomsbury. I might call on Inspector Maddox to see if he’s found out anything more about the man on the train.’

‘Oh, I wouldn’t do that. I’d rather go straight home if it’s all the same to you.’ He eased his collar away from his throat, swallowing. ‘We don’t want your inspector knowing I left the house without permission. Besides, don’t you and Bunny have a wedding to go to later this afternoon?’

‘Oh yes, I almost forgot you are under house arrest, and we do indeed have a wedding, but there’s plenty of time as the ceremony isn’t until later. And he isn’t my inspector.’ Flora tapped the chauffeur lightly on his shoulder. ‘You heard his lordship, Timms. Back to Eaton Place.’

‘As you wish, madam.’ Timms pulled into the heavy traffic moving towards Hyde Park Corner, the silence in the motor car broken by the chunter of the engine and clatter of hooves from carriages and tradesmen’s carts that crowded the road.

‘Albany is a strang… er, unique place isn’t it?’ She could do without insulting Arnold’s home when he had been so obliging. ‘Though I wish you’d told me about that odd rule of silence regarding other residents.’

‘I’d forgotten it actually. But it turned out all right didn’t it? What did you think of Arnie?’

‘I really liked him.’ She fully intended to raise the subject of the photograph again, while they were inside the car so he couldn’t avoid answering. ‘What an intelligent young man he is, and so talented. Those photographs he took are excellent. The one of the cross-country race presentation particularly interested me. Strange that you weren’t in it. I remember distinctly your mother telling me how hard you trained for it all through the Easter holidays.’ She sneaked a look at him but he continued to stare straight ahead, his profile impassive.

‘Um, Flora,’ He tugged his collar away from his throat but still did not look at her. ‘Before we, or rather you, do anything else, there’s something I need to tell you.’

‘Go on, I’m listening.’ Her senses prickled, the motor car swaying as Timms manoeuvred into the traffic flowing swiftly past Green Park.

‘I wanted to tell you before, but—’ His gaze slid to the windshield and widened. His lower jaw went slack, his eyes widening as he yelled, ‘Look out, Timms!’

A Harrods delivery van had taken a sharp turn and cut right across their path.

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