The Riddle at Gipsy's Mile (An Angela Marchmont Mystery 4) (18 page)

‘
You seem to know all about it,
’
said the inspector dryly.
‘
But tell me, are you here to try and find ou
t more
—
in which case, you needn
’
t bother, or are you here to help?
’

‘
Oh, the latter,
’
Freddy assured him.

‘
Then would you mind getting to the point?
’

Freddy sat up. His affected carelessness was gone now, and he seemed rather pleased with himself.

‘
All rig
ht,
’
he said.
‘
I shall. I have done a little digging on my own account and found out all about the man Lita was seeing.
’

‘
Oh yes?
’
said the inspector, suddenly alert.
‘
Who is he? Do you have a name?
’

‘
Yes,
’
said Freddy,
‘
and it
’
s one you know. His name is
Johnny Chang.
’

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
t
his 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 Coper
nicus, 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 tu
r
ns 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 arrange
m
ent, 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 fello
w Cyril
—
what else did he tell you? Does he know anything about Lita
’
s disappearance?
’

‘
No, I told you
—
he left before she did,
’
said Freddy,
‘
but he said he had begun to wonder whether she wasn
’
t rather tiring of Johnny. There was nothing definite, he said,
but things did seem to have cooled a little between them. If you ask me, Cyril was sweet on Lita
—
at least, he certainly seems to have paid a good deal of attention to her personal affairs, but as it happens, that makes him rather a useful witness, don
’
t
y
ou think?
’

‘
Always assuming that he is telling the truth, and that his judgment has not been clouded by his feelings,
’
said Jameson practically. He saw Freddy
’
s face fall, and said,
‘
We see it a lot in this line of work, I
’
m afraid. Very few people are abl
e to give a completely objective account of things. Everyone has their own opinion, or their own view of an affair. That doesn
’
t mean everything this chap says is wrong, but we will do well to take it with a grain of salt and seek confirmation elsewhere.
’

‘
Oh, but I
’
m sure he was telling the truth,
’
said Freddy.
‘
I
’
m rather good at spotting when people are lying.
’

‘
I don
’
t doubt it for a moment,
’
said Jameson,
‘
but perspicacity is not enough when one has to make a case before a judge. It
’
s not sufficient to
say “
I know he was telling the truth”—
one has to demonstrate it beyond reasonable doubt, and that is not always so easy. I can
’
t tell you the number of guilty men I have seen allowed to go free because their guilt could not be proved.
’

‘
Well, I shall give
you Cyril
’
s address and you shall judge for yourself,
’
said Freddy, scribbling something down and handing it to the inspector.
‘
Perhaps you will find someone who can confirm what he says
—
I can
’
t believe he is the only person ever to have been sacked by t
h
e Changs. Or perhaps someone who works there now can be persuaded to talk.
’

‘
Hmph,
’
said Jameson.
‘
We haven
’
t had much success so far. Even when Mrs. Marchmont spoke to one of the dance hostesses the girl denied all knowledge of any men-friends. They know
how to keep their mouths shut in that world, right enough.
’

‘
That
’
s why you need me, inspector,
’
said Freddy.
‘
I can wriggle into confidences that would be denied to a mere policeman.
’

‘
Well, then, let
’
s see what you
’
re made of,
’
said Jameson.
‘
I shall go
and pay this Cyril chap a visit. If he really is prepared to give up the goods on Johnny Chang and can be shown to be a reliable witness, then this may well prove to be a big step forward in the case.
’

‘
I should jolly well hope so,
’
said Freddy.
‘
I should
hate to think I was wasting my efforts.
’
He stood up, seeing that the interview was over.
‘
You will let me know what comes of it, won
’
t you, inspector? I should like to be the first to get the story
—
when I
’
m allowed to write it.
’

‘
I
’
ll see what I can do,
’
said Jameson,
‘
and thanks for the tip-off. If you find out any other information do give me a call.
’

He got rid of Freddy and called for Sergeant Willis, and they went out in search of the sacked waiter, hoping that they might be getting somewhere at last.
To Jameson
’
s mild surprise, Freddy
’
s witness turned out to be a good one. Cyril was a mischievous young man who had been sacked for larking about when he ought to have been working, as well as for being over-familiar with the customers. He freely admitte
d
it was all his own fault, and insisted that he bore no grudge against the club or against the Changs. He was now engaged to be married, he said, and was working hard in his new job to save up for the wedding. He came across as honest enough, in Jameson
’
s
view.

According to Cyril, Johnny Chang was often seen out and about with one or other of the girls from the Copernicus Club, although he generally picked the prettiest ones. There was never anything serious in it
—
the girls were given generous gifts and Joh
nny got to display himself to advantage about the town, and everyone was happy. The thing with Lita had been going on for a bit longer, though, and Cyril had on occasion wondered whether Johnny hadn
’
t been rather soft on her, although as far as Cyril coul
d
tell, it was never a big thing to Lita
—
as a matter of fact, he rather thought she had tired of Johnny. He
’
d heard them having a row once. No, he didn
’
t know what it was about: he wasn
’
t the type to eavesdrop on other people
’
s arguments, but he did see he
r
storm off, and heard Johnny shout after her that she would regret it.

Inspector Jameson made a note here.

‘
He said she would regret it?
’
he repeated.
‘
Did he say anything more specific than that? Did he say why she would regret it?
’

‘
No,
’
said Cyril.
‘
It
didn
’
t sound like he meant anything much by it. It was just the kind of thing one might say during a row. I
’
ve probably said it myself, before.
’

‘
Did anybody else see this argument?
’
asked Jameson.

‘
Oh yes,
’
said Cyril.
‘
There were other people there at the time. I can
’
t remember who, though.
’

The two policemen thanked him and returned to Scotland Yard.

‘
It looks as though the only thing for it is to go back to the Copernicus and its unhelpful staff,
’
said Jameson with an
exasperated sigh.
‘
Are you ready to beat your head against a brick wall again, Willis?
’

‘
I don
’
t see why not,
’
said the sergeant.
‘
My head
’
s taken enough knocks over the years. I
’
m sure it can take a few more.
’

They were just about to leave when the teleph
one-bell rang. Jameson answered it. He spoke in short syllables, but his face gradually took on a look of excitement as he listened to the person at the other end, who evidently had something of interest to report. Eventually, he put down the phone and tu
r
ned to Willis.