Opportunity:
Plenty.
Pro:
Intensely emotional state matches risky and unpremeditated murder.
Con:
Nothing concrete. Claimed to be sorry for his father.
Action:
Temperament: fits of bad temper? Question friends.
Gladys Bradley’s murder
Motive:
He could have known she overheard row with father.
Opportunity:
Excellent, if his mother helped him.
Pro:
Sudden recognition of Gladys on Tuesday—panic—paper knife.
Con:
His mother—moderating influence/common sense. Parricide under extreme provocation—light sentence. Murder of Gladys—throw the book at him.
Action:
As above. And try bullying Lady Clark
Martin Jenkins and Lady Clark
Sir N. (Jenkins)
Motive:
Lost his temper when Sir Nicholas insulted Lady Clark—putative.
Opportunity:
Good. Lost to view for at least five minutes.
Pro:
Very little.
Con:
Nothing to gain and much to lose.
Action:
Hot temper? As for Nigel Clark.
Gladys (Lady Clark)
Motive:
Gladys heard row. Jenkins saw Gladys and told Lady C.—putative.
Opportunity:
Excellent, bar Nigel’s presence.
Pro:
Not much.
Con:
How could Jenins have recognized Gladys? Would he really ask his beloved to murder for him?
Action:
As above. And probe Jenkins-Lady C.-Nigel relationship.
Harvey Nixon
Sir N.
Motive:
Blind rage.
Opportunity:
Several minutes unaccounted for.
Pro:
Cumulative provocation. A sneering remark—the last straw—from Sir N. all too likely.
Con:
Gained nothing. Why not get Sir N. sacked in revenge?
Action:
Trace earlier instances of Sir N’s torments—any sign of consequential rage?
Gladys
Motive:
She’d certainly have recognized him, and he her. N.B. Of all the rows she might have heard, this the likeliest for reporting to her husband.
Opportunity:
Good. His office was next door and most people out to lunch.
Pro:
Obvious.
Con:
This suggests premeditation. How could he know she hadn’t already talked? Of course, she was stupid enough to tell him, but if he’d planned such an interview, wouldn’t he have planned the method as well? Do senior Cabinet Ministers notice clerical assistants’ paper-knives?
Action:
Find out if he was in the habit of hanging round socialising in Sir N’s outer office. ‘Look at what Robert brought me back from Morocco, Secretary of State…’
Richard Parkinson
Sir N.
Motive:
Sir N. had ruined his career.
Opportunity:
As good as most other suspects.
Pro:
Revenge plus improved career prospects.
Con:
Why such a risky occasion? Many better opportunities.
Action:
Check for evidence of improved career prospects in a post-Sir Nicholas world. Also for any extra provocation Monday morning.
Gladys
Motive:
Similar to Nixon’s.
Opportunity:
Reasonable. Least eminent eye-catching suspect so far—better chance of coming and going unnoticed.
Pro:
Obvious.
Con:
Same weapon problem as with Nixon. Entry/exit risky. No evidence of row with Sir N.
Action:
As above. And check as for Nixon re: socializing in outer office.
Milton stopped and sighed, lit a fat cigar whose opulence would have raised eyebrows at the Yard, and ploughed on. A weak brandy and soda after the next, perhaps.
Archibald Stafford
Sir N.
Motive:
Lost job because of Sir N’s meddling. Lady Clark heard Sir N. insulting him on telephone. Was there a post-IGGY row—perhaps started by Stafford this time?
Opportunity:
Hadn’t they all?
Pro:
Concealed the fact that Sir N. had insulted him.
Con:
Stood to gain nothing; and no sign that he knew Sir N. had fixed his waggon.
Action:
Get more from Lady Clark on that phone-call, then confront Stafford with it.
Gladys
Motive:
The usual.
Opportunity:
Minuscule. Outsider, so entry/exit require logged pass.
Pro:
Nothing.
Con:
She might have known him, but how would he know her? Risks of access. Weapon problem again.
Action:
Send a bright plain-clothesman to try slipping through the building’s security.
Anticipating the A.C.’s reaction to this last measure, Milton grinned and mixed the nightcap stronger than he’d intended. Two to go.
Alfred Shaw
Sir N.
Motive:
Didn’t like Sir N. calling him ‘Sid’. Or ma
ybe Sir N. had given him a duff tip on the St Leger.
Opportunity:
Yes. The only reason he’s on the list.
Pro:
Nothing.
Con:
Everything.
Action:
Interview him. Perhaps some totally unsuspected motive.
Gladys
Motive:
The same and only reason anyone would do for Gladys: self-protection.
Opportunity:
Negligible. A public figure, never off T.V. In through the window, maybe, or in a false beard with a forged security pass.
Pro:
Nothing.
Con:
Everything.
Action:
As above.
Milton started a fresh sheet of paper for the last in the alphabet. He was glad that this one was his favourite suspect.
William Wells
Sir N.
Motive:
Made to look silly and lost his moment of glory at IGGY. Wife alerted to his affair. Sir N’s lie about the £20 million would probably lose him his job and his seat in due course. Game, set and match.
Opportunity:
Yes.
Pro:
Known to have a bad temper.
Con:
Fancies himself shrewd. Would have had to have lost control completely to risk his future for revenge.
Action:
Grill him again. He’s been secretive.
Gladys
Motive:
Certainly. And they knew each other by sight.
Opportunity:
Fine. Same corridor.
Pro:
Obvious. And he’d be good at self-justification. How could he serve his electorate from behind bars?
Con:
As many of the above, but no more.
Action:
Grilling.
Milton rested his pen for a moment and read through what he had written. He was about ready to rule out Shaw, Stafford, Jenkins and Lady Clark. The first two he had always thought very long shots for Gladys’s murder, and even Stafford’s slightly enhanced motive for murdering Sir Nicholas couldn’t make up for the difficulty he would have in finding the unfortunate witness. Still, he would have to go through the motions of interviewing him again, as he would have to go through the motions with Shaw. He wasn’t again going to be caught neglecting routine. He would initiate the security check the following morning, and, later, send C.I.D. constables around the building with photographs of Shaw and Stafford to check that no one had seen them on Tuesday. All the other actions would go ahead, including upsetting Lady Clark, though he was morally certain that she couldn’t have connived at Gladys’s murder. The cowardly stabbing of an innocent bystander to cover up an all too understandable hot-blooded murder? Indefensible, in every sense of the word. So Nigel was probably out too.
He was back to the three favourite suspects again—Nixon, Parkinson and Wells. At least he now had in Wells a front-runner. It should be possible to convince the Assistant Commissioner that Wells’s motive was now so strong that there was hope of breaking him. Today’s new evidence should at least win him another twenty-four hours on the case.
Thursday Morning
Chapter Thirty
‘You don’t sound very optimistic, darling. Shall I cancel the Paris tickets?’
‘Put the pessimistic tone down to an overdraft on the sleep account. You know I need eight hours at least one night in three. No, hold the tickets till this evening. You never know, someone may present me with a pukka clue today. A bloodstained footprint might do the trick.’
‘You’d probably find all your suspects were wearing the same size official-issue shoes. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you anyway. See you in the Star of India tonight. I’m looking forward to meeting your mole. How will I recognize him if you’re not there?’
‘He’ll be cowering in the darkest corner swigging gin, briefcase under chair.’
Milton stuffed his scribblings of the early morning into an inside pocket and followed Ann out of the front door. The sunshine made him feel unreasonably buoyant. He was suddenly ready to take them all on. The murderer must be feeling extremely twitchy; the right sort of pressure applied at the right time and with the right force might break him down. Surely Milton had enough on Wells to reduce him to a gibbering wreck. He would find that a pleasure even on a less salubrious day. Yes, definitely the weather for illuminating the dark corners of the killer’s soul.
His first nasty shock of the day was the news that the morning meeting would be held in the Commissioner’s office. He tried to look nonchalant about this when Romford told him, but as he delivered his orders for the day half his mind was grappling with the implications of this upgrading of the investigation. It had unpleasant connotations of worry on-high.
The Commissioner was wearing that grave look which was so appropriate when he made public statements about the rising crime rate. He waved his minions to their chairs and began unpromisingly:
‘The Home Secretary tells me that the Prime Minister is gravely worried that this murder is still unsolved.’
Milton opened his mouth to protest that he’d only had two and half days on it. He caught a warning look on the Assistant Commissioner’s face and shut it again.
‘I have told him that I am entirely satisfied that this investigation has been given its due priority, and that I do not propose to neglect the other urgent work of the police force simply because a couple of politicians have found themselves mixed up in a murder case.’
Milton’s relief must have shown. The Commissioner directed a glare at him. ‘And now, Superintendent, I should be grateful for some indication that I was correct in taking up this attitude. Would you please explain to me exactly how far you have got, and what steps you propose to take to bring this case to a speedy conclusion?’
Thanks for nothing, thought Milton. How the hell was he supposed to get on with his work if he was always having to justify himself to his superiors? Still, he supposed he should be grateful to the old man for standing up for his subordinates. He could have given in meekly and promised to send in some bigger guns. Milton had no doubt that this was precisely what he would do if he wasn’t satisfied by the report he got now. He blessed his industry of the night before and got out his notes.
As he went through his analysis, he was pleased to note that the Commissioner was growing aghast, as the Assistant Commissioner grew smug. That could only mean that Milton was reinforcing the accounts the A.C. had been giving of the complexity of the case and the energy going into it. He permitted himself a few flourishes and dramatic pauses towards the end.
‘Heavens above, Sir Nicholas must have been out of his mind!’ The Commissioner’s foulest blasphemy. ‘What was he trying to do? Provoke the whole lot of them to murder him?’
Wait until he hears later today about the postcard, thought Milton to himself. If he thinks it’s a rich brew now …
They talked around it for several minutes.
The general conclusion was the one Milton had already reached; either Sir Nicholas had reached such a point of rage and despair that he was trying to hurt everyone, or, even more incredible, he was actually trying to incite one or more people to attack him. The brass favoured the more conservative view, and Milton went along with them. Until the handwriting boys had followed up his superhuman hunch, he would have to.
‘There’s no doubt about its being murder, I suppose,’ said the Commissioner. ‘He couldn’t have found some ingenious way of dropping the sculpture on his own head?’
‘No, sir. And besides, that wouldn’t explain the murder of Mrs Bradley.’
‘That could have been an unconnected event,’ said the A.C..
‘We have, of course, not ignored such a possibility, sir, but her husband is in the clear and we can’t find any reason for anyone else who knew her well to have wanted to kill her. She had no money and apparently no involvements outside her home and office. I really think we must suppose, at least for the moment, that she became a target when she chanced upon an altercation after the Monday morning meeting.’
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