The Affair of the Mutilated Mink (19 page)

Wilkins, on whose face had appeared an expression closely resembling that on Lord Burford's when he had met Rex Ransom, cleared his throat nervously. 'That's me, sir.'

Allgood stared. 'You? Oh, I didn't realise. Don't exactly look the part, do you?' He chuckled, revealing a great many large and very white teeth. 'Wilkins, is that right?'

'Yes, sir.'

'Right. Where can we talk?'

'Well, his lordship has kindly given us the use of the small music room.'

'Excellent.' He turned back to the Earl. 'I'll talk to you in due course, Burford. And the rest of your household.'

'Oh, yes, of course. If there's anything you want . . . ?'

'Yes, tea; China, please. And muffins.' He addressed his driver: 'Chalky, bring my cases in and take them up to my room.'

'Yes, guv.' Chalky hurried out.

Lord Burford looked a bit taken aback. 'Oh, er, you stayin'?'

Allgood turned slowly to face him again. 'I thought that was understood. It's the usual thing in cases like this. Much more convenient. Means the trouble gets cleared up far quicker. Only be for a couple of nights. Of course, if it's not possible, I suppose there's a hostelry of some sort in the village.'

'No, no, that'll be quite all right - pleasure and all that.'

'Good. What time do you dine?'

'Eight, as a rule.'

'Better make it a bit later tonight - nine, say. I'll dine in my room. Right, Williams, lead the way.'

* * *

In the music room Allgood threw himself down into the only comfortable arm chair and put his feet on a pouf. 'Very well, fire away, Chief Inspector,' he said.

'I'd like to say first, sir, what a privilege it's going to be to assist you on this case.'

'Yes, you should learn quite a lot. I must congratulate you, though.'

'What for, sir?'

'Knowing your limitations. I was told you were all in favour of your C.C. calling me in. It's refreshing to find a man who knows when he's out of his depth and it's time to call in the expert. It's disgraceful the way some of these provincials cling to cases they haven't got a dog's chance of solving. And you won't lose by your attitude. I have no intention of grabbing all the glory. I'll see you get full credit with everybody, just as though we were equal partners. Now, tell me everything you know about this case. And I mean what you
know
. I want facts, and facts
only
!

'Very good, sir.' Wilkins perched himself on the edge of an upright chair and took a deep breath. He had been mentally rehearsing this moment, and he was able to give a clear yet concise account of the events leading up to the murder. Then he picked up a briefcase from the floor and extracted from it a cardboard folder.

'As to the crime itself, sir, I have here a list of all the occupants of the house; a sketch map showing where everyone was sleeping; the reports of the officers who were first on the scene, including statements from Lord and Lady Burford and all their guests; ballistics and medical reports, etc. And a transcript of the statement made at the station this morning by Carter. Perhaps you'd better read them.'

Allgood snatched the folder from him and began casting his eyes over its contents at an enormous speed. While he was doing so a footman entered, wheeling a tea trolley. Without looking up, Allgood said, 'Thank you, my man, we can serve ourselves.'

The footman departed. 'Pour me a cup of tea, Wilton,' Allgood said. 'And butter me two muffins.'

'Oh, yes, sir.'

By the time Wilkins had completed this task and was wiping his fingers on his handkerchief, Allgood had come to the last page of the folder. He threw it down on the table, picked up a white linen napkin, shook it open, spread it on his knees, took the plate which Wilkins proffered him, and began devouring muffins hungrily.

'That's all right, as far as it goes,' he said. 'Now let's have your personal report.'

'Well, sir, first I had an interview with his lordship.'

'Tell me exactly what he said.'

Wilkins complied to the best of his ability. When he'd finished, Allgood said, 'Is that all you got out of him?'

'Just about, sir.'

'Hm. I'm sure that's not all he can tell us. Who else have you spoken to?'

'Well, Carter, of course. Lady Geraldine - though that wasn't a formal interview. And the servants.'

'The servants? Couldn't you have let your sergeant deal with them?'

'Well, sir—'

'Never mind. Tell me what you learnt from the servants.'

'Nothing of any great significance. I'm sure they're OK.'

'Of course they are! Once it was always the butler who did it, but not these days. That's very old hat.'

'For what it's worth, one of them - the third footman, William - confirms that the deceased did go straight up to her room last night. He was on a sort of patrol they've organised, since the burglar alarm is out of order at the moment. He came up the stairs at the far end of the eastern corridor at five past one, and she was just coming round the corner at the near end. They passed each other about halfway along. He looked back just before he turned into the main corridor, and saw her go into her room and close the door after her. That's all I got from the resident servants. I did have hopes of learning something about Signorina Lorenzo from her French maid, Eloise. But no luck. She'd only been with her mistress four weeks, and knew hardly anything of her private life. All she was really able to tell me is that nothing is missing, apart from that mink coat. She's struck up a friendship with Lady Geraldine's maid, a very reliable French girl called Marie, who's been with Lady Geraldine six years. They sat up very late chatting in Marie's room last night. Were together from about midnight till two-thirty, when they were told about the murder. Except, that is, for a few minutes at about twelve-thirty, when Eloise went along to her mistress's room to make the fire up. So she wasn't really much help at all.'

Wilkins paused for breath. Allgood swallowed his last portion of muffin. 'Well, go on, man.'

'Oh, right, sir. What else is there? Let me see. Ah, yes. I telephoned the signorina's London agent and told him what had happened. She'd been going to visit him at his home today.'

'What did he have to say?'

'He was naturally terribly shocked, but he couldn't tell me anything important. He hadn't seen her since she'd arrived in London on Wednesday. She booked into the Savoy and phoned him on Thursday morning, saying she was coming to Alderley to see Mr Cyrus Haggermeir, the film producer. She'd be back in London on Saturday and would call at his home and tell him all about it. The only odd thing is that late last night it seems she tried to phone him, only the line here was down. She told Lady Burford that she wanted to inform him what time she'd be arriving today, and she also mentioned that he kept late hours. Well, firstly, he says he told her that he'd be in all day today, and she could visit any time. Secondly, he does
not
keep late hours — he's invariably in bed by eleven. So it seems—'

'—that the ostensible reason for the phone call last night was false, that she had something important she wanted to tell him. Interesting.' Allgood sipped his tea ruminatively. Then he said, 'This mink coat: if nobody's left the house, and you reject the idea that Carter threw it out of the window to a confederate, it must be still here.

Have you had a search made for it?'

'No, sir.'

'What about that telegram, the one which brought Signorina Lorenzo here? Made any inquiries about that at the Post Office?'

'Not yet, sir.' Wilkins took a sip of tea, grimaced, and quickly put the cup down.

'Hm. What about the other guests? What can you tell me about them?'

'Very little, really, sir.'

'Just the ones you've interviewed.'

'I haven't actually interviewed any of them.'

'None of them?'

'No, sir.'

'I see.' Allgood was silent for a moment before saying, 'Wilkins, I'm baffled.'

'Are you, sir? I'm sorry. Still, I'm sure you won't be for long. You must have cracked tougher cases than this one.'

'No, man. Not by the case. By you.'

'Me, sir?'

'Yes. A murder is committed. A man is found standing by the body, a gun in his hand. He runs away, then later gives himself up. You interview him, and then release him. From those reports I just can't see why. I have to regard him as the chief suspect. But - all right. That was your privilege. What I can't understand is, having concluded Carter is innocent, you then do virtually nothing. You believe a murderer is at large, yet apart from a fifteen-minute interview with the Earl and five minutes with his daughter, you waste a couple of hours questioning the servants - something that a sergeant or constable could do quite well. You don't institute a search for the missing coat, make no inquiries about the telegram, and don't question the other people who were staying here. Surely you must realise that
if
as you believe, Carter is innocent, he was cleverly framed — and plainly by one of the other guests. Yet you haven't spoken to any of them. Haven't exactly covered yourself with glory, have you?'

'Probably not, sir. But then I never expect to. As to the mink, well, Alderley's a big place. A fur coat would roll up very small, and I haven't had men here. An exhaustive search would take an age. Besides, if I might just explain my theory about that business, the matter of the telegram, and what you said about Carter being framed, I—'

'No, Wilkins, you may not. I don't want to be cluttered up with other people's theories. They're almost invariably wrong, and I'm quite capable of formulating my own. So I'm not interested in what you
think
. Only in what you know. Clear?'

'As you wish, sir. But about interviewing the guests. Frankly, I'm not very good at interrogating the gentry — uneasy, as it were. I knew you'd do that much better than I could.'

'Naturally. All the same . . . Oh well, perhaps you're wise not to attempt too much.' Allgood spoke in a more kindly tone. 'And I don't suppose any great harm's been done by the delay.'

'Very good of you to say so, sir.'

Allgood put down his empty cup and wiped his mouth. 'However, what I must do now is find out about all these people: what they're like, what their relationships are to each other, just what's been happening here for the past two days. I need an objective account of things.'

'Where will you get that, sir?'

'Well, I won't get a completely objective one, of course. But the nearest thing to one will certainly come from their host and hostess. I take it you have no grounds for suspecting either of them of complicity in this crime?'

'Oh, no, sir.' Wilkins sounded quite shocked.

'Well, we're agreed on something. Not that it would have been the first murder committed by either an Earl or a Countess, but certainly neither Lord nor Lady Burford would murder a guest under their own roof. So we can rely on their testimony. They may not tell us everything they know, of course. But they won't lie. We'll get the truth and nothing but the truth, though maybe not the whole truth.'

'You'll see Carter first, I expect, though, sir, as you consider him the chief suspect?'

'No. Before I tackle him I need more information, more background. Otherwise I'm not likely to get any more out of him than you did. So go and find the Earl, give him my compliments, and ask him to come along here, will you?'

'Very good, sir.' Wilkins left the room.

Chapter Sixteen

Lord Burford came into the room a minute or so later, accompanied by Wilkins.

'Ah, Burford, come in,' Allgood said.

'Er, what can I do for you?'

'Just sit down and tell us all about this house party.' He indicated the armchair, which he'd vacated in favour of an upright chair he'd placed behind the room's only table.

The Earl blinked.
All
about it?'

'As much as you can remember: the reason for it, how this particular combination of guests came about, anything you can tell us about them - especially, of course, every conceivable thing you know of Laura Lorenzo - any unusual incidents, conversations, and so on. Anything at all.'

'Good gad. Could take hours.'

'No matter. That's why I'm here.'

'Don't quite know where to begin.'

'Suppose we start off by my asking questions?'

Immediately he began interrogating the Earl. Allgood's manner became quite different from what it had been until now. He was less formidable, gentler and quieter, drawing the Earl out bit by bit, seeming almost to mesmerise him into remembering details he thought he'd completely forgotten. After three quarters of an hour nothing of significance which had happened in Lord Burford's purview since his guests had arrived was not also known to Allgood and Wilkins. He left the room in somewhat of a daze, promising to ask the Countess to step in.

Anything particularly strike you, sir?' Wilkins asked.

A number of things. Chiefly that business of the broken window in Ransom's room. Had the effect of putting the alarm out of action, which meant the windows could be opened at night — more than the inch or two they could otherwise have been raised. If the mink
was
thrown out, that accident was highly convenient. It might, as you said, roll up small, but not small enough to go easily through that sort of gap.'

Just then Lady Burford entered.

With the Countess Allgood's style was again subtly different. Exquisitely polite, he was however rather more incisive: sharper and quicker in putting his questions. Lady Burford had entered the room determined to say the bare minimum she could get away with. Her attitude was that the crime was nothing to do with her. None of her family or relations was involved, and
she
had not invited Laura, nor any of the other guests (apart from her cousin Cecily and her husband), to Alderley. If a member of the house party, other than Paul, was guilty, then it was plainly one of the film people. She had had little to do with any of them and so could not help in any way.