The Riddle at Gipsy's Mile (An Angela Marchmont Mystery 4) by Benson Clara

Author:Benson, Clara [Benson, Clara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781291777390
Publisher: Clara Benson
Published: 2014-03-09T00:00:00+00:00

EIGHTEEN

He sat back to observe the effect of his words on the inspector. Jameson regarded him in some surprise.

‘Are you sure of this?’ he said.

‘Oh yes,’ replied Freddy. ‘I can produce a witness, in fact. He worked at the club but was sacked a week or two before Lita disappeared, although he didn’t say what for.’

‘Hmm, he may be holding a grudge, then,’ said Jameson. ‘Who is this witness, and what exactly did he tell you?’

‘His name is Cyril,’ said Freddy, ‘and he says that everybody most likely knew what was going on even if they pretended they didn’t. Apparently it’s not uncommon for young Master Chang to—er—avail himself of the services offered at his own club, although this one seemed a little more serious than the others.’

‘How did you find this chap, exactly?’ asked Jameson.

‘I have my methods, Watson,’ said Freddy mysteriously. Seeing Jameson’s expression he went on quickly, ‘I used to be rather an habitué of the Copernicus, and was pretty pally with most of the waiters. When I went to the club that night with Angela, I asked after Cyril and was told that he had left, so I tracked him down as I thought he might be prepared to talk, since he’d lost his job anyway. It turns out I was right.’

‘Yes, well, that would have been our next step,’ said Jameson with a cough, ‘but you seem to have anticipated us.’

‘Far be it from me to tell the police how to do their job,’ said Freddy sententiously, then turned suddenly serious. ‘I say, though, I do hope it’s of some help. This is a nasty business. Murder is bad enough, but then deliberately to smash the poor woman’s face in—it makes me feel rather sick, quite frankly.’

‘Yes,’ agreed the inspector, ‘it does leave an unpleasant taste in one’s mouth.’ He found himself rather liking the young man despite his affectations. ‘By the way, does Mrs. Marchmont know you are here?’

‘No, although I dare say I shall tell her sooner or later,’ said Freddy. ‘I wanted her to introduce me to you, you know, but in the end I was too impatient and decided to shift for myself.’

‘Why on earth did you want an introduction?’ asked Jameson, surprised.

‘Oh, well,’ said Freddy uncomfortably. ‘I don’t like to say it, since Mother found me the job, and I secretly rather expected them to chuck me out after the first week, but I find myself unaccountably drawn to the work, and if I’m going to make a success of it, then I shall need a tame policeman or two to give me the official angle on things. A reciprocal arrangement, of course,’ he went on hurriedly. ‘I don’t want you to think it would be all one way.’

‘Well, we shall see,’ said Inspector Jameson non-committally. ‘I don’t say we don’t occasionally make use of reporters when it suits us. But to return to this fellow Cyril—what else did he tell you? Does he know anything about Lita’s disappearance?’

‘No, I

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.