The Framingham Fiend by Gregory Harris

Author:Gregory Harris [Harris, Gregory]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 2018-03-09T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 24

If I had imagined that Jacklyn Unter might be relieved to finally share what she knew of her friend’s murder, I was sorely mistaken. She made it clear with the instantaneous pucker on her face and drooping of her shoulders that she was not pleased in the least to see either Inspector Evans or me. Just the same, she pulled the door to her room open and allowed us entry.

“You’d better not be ’ere ta drag me down ta that blasted Yard again,” she said at once. “People will be gettin’ the wrong idea about me if ya don’t stop pesterin’ me.”

“If you cooperate,” the inspector informed her, just as he had with Rex Alford, “then there will be little reason for us to keep coming around. But if you continue to play games . . .”

She stared at him a moment before turning her gaze on me, and to her credit, I could see she understood that her lies had been laid bare. “You can sit down if ya want,” she invited with a distinct lack of enthusiasm.

I waved the inspector to the room’s sole chair, which looked woefully unused in a corner behind the door, before seating myself on the tufted ottoman shoved in front of a dilapidated desk that she clearly used as a dressing table. “We shall not stay long,” I assured her.

“’At’s good. ’Cause I got a meetin’ at the Crow’s Nest round the corner with some a the other ladies t’night. Since you Yard-ers ain’t doin’ shite about this madman, we’re goin’ ta look after ourselves.” Her tone was exasperated as she stood in front of us, hands on hips, looking as if she had accorded us every assistance and still we had let her down.

“I am not an employee of Scotland Yard,” I shot back with perhaps a touch more ire than was called for. “No offense to you, Inspector. And I would suggest you start being truthful with us before you try playing the woebegone maiden, Miss Unter.”

Her hands fell from her hips at last, and she plopped back onto a corner of her bed. “Mr. Alford told ya wot ’appened, did ’e?”

“We gave him a very compelling argument,” the inspector answered before I could. “And you would be wise to follow his lead. I wonder how your friends at the Crow’s Nest would feel if they knew you had been keeping potentially vital information from Scotland Yard.”

“There ain’t no reason ta start talkin’ like that. I only ’eld me tongue ’cause ’e told me to. ’E’s a good customer, ya know. And they only stay good customers when ya do as they say. A girl’s gotta make a livin’.”

“Let us save that particular conversation for another day,” I spoke up. “For the moment, the greater use of our time can be spent by your telling us exactly what happened the night Miss Materly was murdered.”

She looked at me a moment before turning her gaze on the inspector, appearing to be searching his face for something.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.