Inside, the place was dimly lit by a single gas lamp, but there was a delicious smell of fried eggs, rashers of bacon, herrings, black pudding, slices of beef and hot muffins. Most of the polished dark oak tables were occupied by toffs on their way to work, each with a starched white napkin tucked under his chin, but there was one table empty in a dark corner near to the fire.
Mutsy discreetly disappeared under the table while Alfie sat down and took up a menu card.
‘Yes?’ The waiter didn’t look too happy. But then he noticed the silver shilling that Alfie had carefully placed in the centre of the table. ‘Yes, sir?’ he said more respectfully. ‘See something you fancy, sir?’
Alfie scanned the long list and then put the card down. ‘I’ll have two of everything on the breakfast menu,’ he said. ‘I need to keep my strength up with the job that I have.’ From under the table, against his bare leg, he could feel an emphatic wag from a hairy tail.
‘Oh, and one of them napkins,’ he added as the waiter moved away. He sat up very straight, feeling the warmth of Mutsy’s head on his bare feet. He fancied the life of those toffs with the napkins, he thought. Perhaps he would be a toff himself one day. Start off as an ordinary copper, work his way up to Scotland Yard, wear a smart suit, have breakfast in the Racquet and Handle, carry a pistol in his back pocket.
And wherever he went, everyone would call him ‘sir’.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Many thanks to my agent Peter Buckman of Ampersand Agency and to my editor Anne Clark, both of whom have helped me to tighten up the narrative of this, the fifth ‘Alfie’ book.
Thanks are also due to the team at Piccadilly and to family and friends.
The police must move fast to catch the killer of wealthy Mr Montgomery. They need an insider, someone streetwise, cunning, bold . . . someone like Alfie. When Inspector Denham makes him an offer, Alfie and his gang must sift clues, shadow suspects and negotiate a sinister world of double-dealing and danger.
A man’s body lies in the burnt-out wreckage of the Ragged School.
The police say the fire was just an accident – but Alfie suspects foul play.
Determined to find out the truth, Alfie and his gang must follow up each clue, investigate every suspect and risk their lives on the dangerous streets of Victorian London – until the ruthless murderer is caught.
A scream rings out through the theatre. The man on stage is dead! Who killed him? Alfie has a few suspects in his sights. But when the spotlight turns on Alfie himself, the search for the murderer becomes a fight for his own survival.
Alfie knew who it was the moment he saw the body under the gas lamp. Joe the chimney sweep.
No one else seems to care about the death of a poor boy, but Alfie has reason to believe that Joe was murdered. So he and his gang will risk their lives on the rooftops of London and brave the dark, dangerous world of the chimney sweeps, until they uncover the deadly truth.
Coming soon
Alfie and his gang are on a dangerous mission.
Spying on a Russian secret agent, they must be quick, clever and totally invisible. It’s a thrilling game, until the Russian is found murdered, and Alfie faces the greatest threat of his life . . .
Be the sleuth yourself and crack all the cases!
In each story Saxby Smart – schoolboy detective – gives you, the reader, clues which help solve the mystery. Are you ‘smart’ enough to find the answers?
A mysterious curse, suspicious sabotage of a school competition, and a very unpleasant relative all conspire to puzzle Saxby Smart, schoolboy private detective.
Stories include: The Curse of the Ancient Mask, The Mark of the Purple Homework and The Clasp of Doom.
A terrifying visit to the Hangman’s Lair to recover stolen money, a serious threat of blackmail, and a mystery surrounding a stranger’s unearthly powers test Saxby to the limit in this set of case files!
Stories include: The Hangman’s Lair, Diary of Fear and Whispers from the Dead.
www.saxbysmart.co.uk
www.piccadillypress.co.uk/londonmurdermysteries
Head online to find out more about Alfie’s world!
The Body in the Fog Page 12