Paul Temple and the Madison Case

by Francis Durbridge

  “It’ll be all right,” Temple assured him. “The fewer there are of us the better. Another three hundred yards, Foster. The gates are on the left. Can you see with sidelights?”

  The driver slowed and switched off his headlamps. There was diffused moonlight seeping through a thin layer of clouds. The wrought iron gates were just discernible as a break in the wall. The driver swung in, using a high gear to reduce noise. The sidelights showed up only the boles of the trees lining the avenue. By the time they reached the lake the three men’s eyes had grown accustomed to the dark. They could see its surface gleaming dully as the car glided past.

  Then the house came in view, standing at the top of the slope. Its windows were in total darkness. There was no sign of any car on the driveway.

  Still at Temple’s suggestion the police car was parked out of sight under an ancient yew tree behind the house. Forbes and James took up position on a level with the front steps. A sheltered bench made them invisible to anyone coming up the drive, but no one could enter the house without being seen by them.

  Temple had decided that he would keep watch down at the boat-house. Steve had categorically refused to be separated from him. James was not happy about the situation at all and kept muttering about the dozen police marksmen he would have deployed as a reception committee for Greene.

  “Have you a gun?” Steve asked as they went down the path towards the lake.

  “Yes, but I shan’t need it. Don’t talk any more, just in case he’s here already.”

  Steve put her arm into Paul’s. Her shivering was as much fright as cold. She simply could not understand why he was prepared to expose himself in this way.

  The moonlight was stronger now and the surface of the lake had a lambent sheen. The silence was absolute, no birds stirred at the water’s edge and even the lapping of waves was stilled.

  They followed the path round the lake’s edge, going in the opposite direction to that walk they had taken the afternoon they had been Hubert Greene’s guests. They were walking in the footsteps of George Kelly when he had tried to plant the bogus evidence of the diamond clip, and in the footsteps of Greene as he had led his wife to her death.

  Temple freed his arm from Steve as they approached the boat-house. He stood for several minutes, just listening, before he approached it.

  The boat lay silently inside, its oars shipped, the blades dry.

  “We’re on time,” he whispered.

  “What do we do now?” she breathed in reply.

  “We climb up there and wait.”

  There was a ladder giving access to the space below the pitched roof, which was used as a store for boating gear. Temple went first and then helped Steve up. The roof space gave cover from rain but the gable at each end was open. They looked down onto the path at one end and overlooked the lake at the other. At the same time Temple could watch the door to the boat-house through the hatch they had come up by.

  They made themselves reasonably comfortable on tarpaulins and boat cushions and settled down to wait. The silence closed around them and they began to pick up tiny noises that had been inaudible before - the gentle stirring of the boat, a tiny creature rustling dry leaves, the pad of a night predator stalking its prey.

  The loudest sound was the clock in the tower of a nearby church. They heard it strike 11 … 11.15… 11.30 …

  Temple was waiting for the quarter before midnight to strike when he saw the brief flash of a torch. Someone was on the path, approaching from the opposite direction.

  Greene must have left whatever vehicle he had come in near the entrance to the avenue.

  Temple squeezed Steve’s arm to warn her. He held his breath and peered through the hatch.

  The first sound he heard was Greene’s breathing, the quick breathing of a man under stress. Then a shadow flitted across his field of vision.

  Greene was below them in the boat-house.

  They could hear his movements as he untied the painter, stepped shakily into the boat, took up an oar to push it out onto the lake. Interspersed with the panting were incoherent mutterings. “I kissed the… I kissed the …”

  “Paul,” Steve whispered. “What’s he …”

  “Sh.”

  Greene was using an oar and a hand to propel the boat out onto the lake. A short jetty protruded twelve feet beyond the boat-house. When he was clear of that, he fitted both oars into the rowlocks, began to pull for the open water. The thump of the oars on the gunwales and the splash of the blades in the water carried clearly across the water. From up at the house came the grunt of a voice, then footsteps on the gravel.

  “Damn!” Temple uncoiled his legs. He began to climb down the ladder. “No, Steve, you stay up here.”

  He had reached the small jetty when suddenly the whole lake was illuminated by two sets of car headlamps. One pair of beams was coming up from near the house, the other from half way along the avenue. They transfixed Greene with a light as if on a double spit.

  “Greene!” James’ voice boomed out, amplified by a loud hailer. “You are surrounded. Throw your weapon into the stern of the boat.”

  Greene had stopped rowing. He let the oars flop into the water. Slowly and unsteadily he rose to his feet. The smart, double-breasted grey suit gleaming in the white light was eerily incongruous.

  Then Greene reached into the shoulder holster. He pulled out the black automatic. The metal sent out glinting reflections.

  Temple called out, “Greene!” Greene swung to face this new threat. Temple was etched as clearly as he was by the merciless light. “Don’t do it.”

  “Is that Temple?”

  “Yes. Throw the gun down like he said.”

  For answer, Greene seized the automatic with both hands in a marksman’s grip. He raised it high and then brought it down pointing at Temple. Dazzled by the light, all Temple could hear was the sound of feet running down the path from the house.

  “Temple?”

  “Yes.”

  “ ‘An honourable murderer’ if you like.”

  Then Greene turned the automatic towards his head and fired. Behind him Temple heard Steve’s scream of horror. He did not wait to see the body topple into the water. He dashed along the jetty towards his wife and caught her as she swayed with eyes tight closed.

  Forbes and James found them three minutes later. Temple still holding Steve in his arms.

  “You were right, Temple,” Forbes exclaimed. “But why were you so sure he would come here?”

  Temple slowly released Steve, making sure that she was steady on her feet.

  “Greene had once been a Shakespearian actor. I realised he was identifying with Othello when he said, ‘Behold, I have a weapon’. I recognised the quotation. I knew then that he was bent on his own suicide. You heard his last words. That was a quote from Othello’s speech before he kills himself.”

  “Yes, of course,” said James. “I remember now!”

  Steve had a worried look on her face as she gazed towards the empty boat, rocking on the lake. The first ripples had only just reached the opposite bank. Finally, she turned and looked at Temple. He smiled.

  “A penny for your thoughts, Steve …”

  Note about Paul Temple & Steve

  Debonair detective Paul Temple and his wife Steve Trent (a highly successful journalist he meets in Send for Paul Temple) is really a bestselling novelist. They live in London‘s fashionable Mayfair and also own a country house in the Vale of Evesham. They are what has been called ‘graciously middle class’, and spend their lives in elegant luxury as there is also inherited wealth behind contemporary high earnings. A manservant completes the household.

  Temple investigates as part of his research and of course Steve looks forward to an exclusive story. Most of the cases he takes on - for which, incidentally, Sir Graham Forbes, of Scotland Yard should be eternally grateful - have plots that are intricate and involved, with a mastermind very often in the background. No matter what the hazard, or adventure, Steve is invar
iably at Temple‘s side, or occasionally in danger herself.

  Paul Temple is certainly cerebral, and his adventures usually lead to cliff-hanger endings, albeit more verbal then physical, whilst Steve is essentially his perfect partner - inherently glamorous, supportive and with a sharp mind of her own.

  Order of ‘Paul Temple’ Series Titles

  These titles can be read as a series, or randomly as stand-alone novels

  1. Send for Paul Temple 1938

  2. Paul Temple & The Front Page Men 1939

  3. News of Paul Temple 1940

  4. Paul temple Intervenes 1944

  5. Send for Paul Temple Again! 1948

  6. Paul Temple & The Lawrence Affair 1956

  7. Paul Temple and The Madison Case 1959

  8. Paul Temple & The Harkdale Robbery 1970

  9. Paul Temple & The Kelby Affair 1970

  10. The Geneva Mystery 1971

  11. The Curzon Case 1972

  12. Paul Temple & The Margo Mystery 1986

  13. Paul Temple & The Madison Case 1988

  14. Paul Temple & The Conrad Case 1989

  Synopses of Francis Durbridge Titles

  Published by House of Stratus

  The Curzon Case

  An aeroplane crashes on the cliffs of Dulworth Bay, whilst two boys disappear from a public school. Are these events connected? There follows a gripping story of kidnapping, intrigue and death. And just who is Curzon? Another boy disappears and a murder follows - Paul Temple must urgently determine Curzon‘s identity and put an end to his terrible deeds.

  East of Algiers

  Paul Temple is asked to do a simple favour for Steve; deliver a package to David Foster in Tunis. However, the events that follow this are truly out of proportion as a series of mysterious killings, including one where the victim is found in a rubbish bag in Paris, require a solution. The series of strange occurrences are tailor made for Paul Temple‘s grit and acumen to reconcile and ensure justice prevails. ‘Paul Temple and The Madison Case’ is a novelisation of the original radio drama ‘Paul Temple and the Sullivan Mystery’.

  The Geneva Mystery

  Swinging between London and Geneva, Paul Temple and Steve are involved in a case that involves finding the answer to one vital question: is Carl Milbourne, thought to have perished in a car accident, still alive? A Hollywood film producer and a famous actress believe he is, but there are others who are determined to stop the Temples discovering the truth. There are deep mysteries to uncover and plenty of action and suspense which might even involve the death of Paul Temple, unless he can act quickly …

  News of Paul Temple

  Paul Temple agrees to write a play for actress Iris Archer. However, shortly before the play is due to open, she pulls out. Then after telling everyone she is off to France, she turns up at the Temple‘s Scottish holiday hotel. The mystery deepens as Temple is asked by a young man to act as postmaster in delivering a letter. Meanwhile someone acting under the codename of Z4 seems to have control of events. Could this be Doctor Steiner and just who is he? It is all up to Temple ….

  Paul Temple & The Conrad Case

  Betty, the daughter of Dr Conrad, disappears from her finishing school in Bavaria. Unable to solve the mystery, the police invite inveterate investigator Paul Temple to help trace the missing schoolgirl. The only clue to her whereabouts is a cocktail stick found in her bedroom. How on earth can Temple work from just that? The police have faith in him, but does he? All is revealed in yet another of Francis Durbridge‘s masterful mystery adventures.

  Paul Temple & ‘The Front Page Men’

  A detective novel ‘The Front Page Men’ is a best seller. It is a double mystery, however, as no one knows the true identity of the author, named as Andrea Fortune, and before long the puzzle deepens as cards bearing the title of the book are left at the scene of two robberies. A connection is made between these and certain kidnapping cases, which in turn are linked to murder. Paul Temple must unravel the evidence and find the mastermind behind these crimes, as the police are stalled and in any event Steve‘s life is put in danger. Can he succeed before it is too late… ?

  Paul Temple & The Harkdale Robbery

  The bank robbers were caught straight away, but in the bag there was a ‘Concise Oxford Dictionary’ instead of money. Moreover, in Paul Temple‘s garage was the body of one of the robbers. So commences one of the strangest cases of Paul temple‘s career. Before it is done he comes face to face with deeply hidden underworld figures, including the ‘Master Mind’.

  Paul Temple & The Kelby Affair

  A senior statesman‘s mistress decides to publish a diary she has been keeping. Someone wants the diary and is prepared to kill Kelby in order to get it. What starts out as a seemingly innocuous decision becomes complicated and a highly complex mystery is left for Paul Temple to solve, with many a political skeleton falling out of the cupboard in the meantime.

  Paul Temple & The Madison Case

  Sam Portland is on board a luxury trans-Atlantic liner, as are Paul Temple and Steve. An innocent introduction involves the Temples in a case in which murder, blackmail and terror feature as the pace quickens, taking the story to an English mansion house, Amsterdam, and a houseboat on the River Thames. The secret is what happened to Sam Portland‘s lost years. But who is Madison?

  Paul Temple & The Margo Mystery

  Expensive Margo ‘designer’ coats; an industrialist; a pop star who is obviously frightened; and a psychiatrist with a very strange secretary all have something in common - they are somehow connected to a mysterious warning received from a fairground, and a terrifying case that Paul Temple and Steve have to solve.

  Paul Temple Intervenes

  Sir Graham Forbes, of Scotland Yard, often needs Paul‘s help with his latest tricky case. Myron Harwood, an American, is found dead in a country lane. Further celebrity murders follow. A common factor is that a note is left with each victim on a small piece of cardboard. On it is the inscription: ‘The Marquis’. A private investigator named Rita Cartwright who is investigating the murders also ends up as a victim. It is time for Paul Temple to intervene after requests from both Sir Graham Forbes, of Scotland Yard, and the Home Secretary. But what can he do?

  Send for Paul Temple

  After a series of robberies, Scotland Yard are mystified. In the latest a night watchman is attacked, and in his last breath manages to gasp out ‘The Green Finger’. This is not the first time the phrase has come to the attention of the Yard; it was also said by a man who was wanted in connection with another robbery as he died from drowning. Who or what is the ‘Green Finger’? The public are alarmed and the press demand that the Yard ‘Send for Paul Temple!’ Aided by a young, pretty, reporter known as Steve Trent, Paul is faced with solving a deepening and widening mystery.

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