Shattered Clues (Inspector Drewes Book 1) by Mel Hodgkinson

Author:Mel Hodgkinson [Hodgkinson, Mel]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Lume Books
Published: 2013-04-29T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 9.

“Now that is strange” I muttered as Withers and I stepped out onto Henshawe Street, it being more convenient to exit via the smoking room and the courtyard. “Why should Smythe have said ‘oh’ like that?”

“Maybe it wasn’t quite as Elsie described it, sir.”

“Even so, a man doesn’t say ‘oh’ when he’s meeting someone for a business proposition. Just isn’t done. Even if the chap was a long standing friend, you’d say ‘hullo’ and if it’s a more formal meeting you would utter ‘good day Mr …’ or some similar greeting. Etiquette demands it, Withers and someone who is trying to strike a good trade is going to use that etiquette to his advantage.”

“Perhaps a wasp flew towards his face, sir. There are a lot of them about at this time of year. That might cause him to cry out.”

“But if that were the case the maid would have at least heard the wasp and even if she had not, Smythe would have stepped backwards, or waved his hands. No, Smythe was surprised to see the man there. And the reason he was surprised is because he recognised him.”

“I thought, sir, that he already did know the man. After all, he was going to meet him.”

“No, Mrs Downes seemed to think that this was to be a meeting to sort out a new supply of wines. It wasn’t one of Smythe’s regular vendors, I’m pretty certain of that. If I’m assuming correctly, when he went into that smoking room he saw someone he already knew.”

“Did that man kill Stanston, sir?”

“We’re speculating at the moment, Withers. It would explain Smythe’s odd behaviour afterwards. If that was the case, however, Stanston must have been known to the killer. You don’t break off from meeting with one chap to nip down and smash another man’s head to pieces. No, Stanston must have heard of the meeting and gone there himself.”

“Why should he do that, sir?”

“Because whatever Smythe and the other man were talking about, I’d wager a hefty sum that it was nothing to do with wines. When we get back to the station, ask Sergeant Jones and Constable Cranby to come up to my office. The three of you are going to go through all of Smythe’s and Stanston’s acquaintances and you are going to have a link between them. Talk to the gambling houses that Smythe went to, look at his suppliers, ask around Stanston’s friends. Go back and talk to Weddingburgh, see if he has any more information. We find this man, Withers, and we’ve found our murderer.”

“Do you think there is just one murderer, sir?”

I nodded. “Yes. The methods of killing are too similar. I think that Stanston came to the coaching inn. He must have been familiar with its layout and knew that the smoking room overlooked the courtyard and so could be accessed through Henshawe Street. Smythe and the stranger are talking, when Stanston enters the room. Maybe he blackmails them. The stranger is furious. There is a struggle and the would-be-blackmailer is knocked insensible.

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