by L. A. Nisula
Mr. Langley took the letter and slipped it into his jacket pocket. “I’ll be more careful with it in the future.”
“More locks on the doors should help.” Professor Brookwald put a cup of tea in front of me. “So the inspector doesn’t need to know about it?”
“I think he’s aware that it exists, but since it has nothing to do with the case, he’s not going to ask for details.”
“That’s a relief.”
I helped myself to more scones. “What are your plans?”
“Robert found a doctor at one of the other colleges who’s working on some Eastern exercises for therapy. I’ve been trying some, so I’m hopeful I’ll be able to resume my trips to Greece in the near future. And then half the department will have to be re-hired. Professor Armstrong has agreed to pay back the money, so no one is pressing charges. With all of the other crimes going on, it didn't seem so bad, I suppose.”
“Not that his wife is pleased with it. There's been some discussion that we will hire her on as his assistant to help him make restitution.”
“And that was received almost as warmly as the news that there'd be no more trips to Paris until the money is paid back. I’m trying to convince Robert here to apply for a teaching post, now that I have a reliable typist I can call upon.”
“But if I do that, how will I be able to go to Athens with you next year?”
“We’ll work something out, I’m sure. If nothing else, I’ll scare away all of my new assistants, and you won’t have any choice but to accompany me.”
~*~*~
After visiting with Professor Brookwald and Mr. Langley, it seemed prudent to return to the guest house to get my things and check out before there could be any question of staying to lunch.
I was settling my bill with Mrs. Eggleston when Constable Winters entered.
“Good morning, Miss Pengear. Inspector Burrows sent me with a cart to bring your luggage to the train station.”
“That was thoughtful of him.”
“And he’d like you to go down to the station. I think he has some loose ends he wants you to tie up.”
I was surprised, but I nodded. Normally, getting information on the conclusion of a case took more than a little persuasion and reminding Inspector Burrows that we were friends as well as colleagues, which inevitably lead to him saying we were not colleagues, and me biting my tongue in an effort to meet him halfway if that was where the information was. “I’d be happy to.” I waited until Mrs. Eggleston had left to put the money I’d given her away to ask, “How is everything at the station?”
Constable Winters understood what I was asking. “Much better, thank you. Not only is Inspector Crawley getting his office back, but I ran into him on my way to arrest Mr. Graham at the steamworks, so he was able to make the arrest himself, and get credit. I believe it has made the in-law situation more bearable, although now they are complaining that their trip will be spoiled by the publicity. Some people simply cannot be pleased.”
“I suppose not. Did you ever find out whose coat you had?”
“I did, by process of elimination. Mine had to be Professor Headly’s, and the one in lost and found was Professor Graham’s. We found some notes in the lining, just as you thought. I think it might be time for me to get a new one, though. Now, if you don’t mind walking to the police station, I’ll meet you there with your things. Unless you were staying to lunch. I think I see Mrs. Eggleston preparing the dining room.”
Not when I was so close to an escape. And since I trusted Constable Winters with my things, I held out my room key. “Thank you.”
The police station was much as I’d left it. There was no one at Constable Winters’s desk, but the door to the back office was open so I let myself through. I found Inspector Burrows clearing away the last of his things from his makeshift office. Inspector Crawley was leaning on his desk, watching him while pretending to make tea with a cold kettle. Inspector Burrows wasn’t buying it, and Inspector Crawley wasn’t trying to hide that he didn’t care.
“Miss Pengear. You got my message then. I didn’t know if it would reach you before you left.”
“Yes, I did. But I thought we agreed I would type up my statement and send it to you. Did you need something?”
He pulled a box from his chair. “As we have the killer and none of it was related to Professor Headly's blackmail, these are no longer evidence, so they need to be disposed of. I thought you could toss them on your way out.”
I took the box and glanced inside. The blackmail materials. “I know exactly how to dispose of them, yes.”
“Wonderful. And the notes from this case.” He put a folder on the box. “If you’d start typing them up, I’ll get the payment paperwork started as soon as I get back to the Yard.”
I glanced in the folder he gave me. The first page was a list of the names and addresses of the blackmail victims. So I’d read him right; he wanted me to send the materials back to their rightful owners. If he merely destroyed them, the owners wouldn’t know the threat was over or might think Scotland Yard was going to act on their petty crimes. “I’ll begin as soon as I return to London.”
Inspector Crawley peeled himself away from the teakettle and glanced in the box. “Is there anything on Professor Brookwald in there?”
Inspector Burrows and I looked at each other. He answered first. “I did not see anything when I opened the secret drawer.”
“Oh.” Inspector Crawley looked disappointed. “Are you sure you got everything?”
“Everything that was there.” Inspector Burrows took a good look at Inspector Crawley’s face. “If there was anything, it was lost between the time Miss Pengear found the drawer and I got there.”
“Lost?” He turned to look at me. “That’s why... Oh, I see. So it’s been properly lost, then? Very good. If I’d known that was why you... But never mind. All’s well that ends well. I hope to meet you again, Inspector Burrows.” He held out his hand.
“And I you. Sorry for stepping on your investigative toes. It seemed like the right thing at the time.”
“I quite understand. At least I do now.” He turned to me. “Would you like some help getting all that to the train?”
“Constable Winters is coming with a cart and my things. I’ll be fine.”
“I’ll keep a watch out for him, then.”
As he went to wait for Constable Winters, I kept an eye on Inspector Burrows. “You don’t seem quite as pleased about solving this case as I would have thought.”
He rubbed his forehead. “Just tired, I suppose. I have other cases waiting for me back in London.”
I nodded but stayed put. Something was bothering him, and I wanted to give him the chance to tell me.
I was considering asking again when he said, “Was there a reason you settled in London rather than somewhere smaller?”
I wasn’t sure how this was getting us to what was bothering him, but I shrugged and answered. “My cousin was there when I came across. I liked it, so I stayed after she left. Why do you stay?”
I expected him to say something about working for the Yard, but he answered, “Privacy. In a small town, even one as large as this, everyone knows everyone’s past.”
I could tell there was more, so I waited quietly.
“It’s nice for Professor Brookwald and Mr. Langley to have friends here to rally around them, though.”
I rested my hand on his shoulder. “You have friends in London.”
He smiled. “I know. Just not so many who’d rally.” He patted my hand then slid his chair away and went back to packing away his folders. “You said you had errands to run before the train?”
So he wanted to be alone. “Yes, and they won’t run themselves. I’ll see you when you get back to London.” I gathered up the box and started for the door. I paused with my hand on the knob. “One more question. What were you going to say to me the day you asked for the letter?”
“Oh, that. Just that I had Constable Lipson watching the tr
ain station, so I knew perfectly well that you had not been back to London since you arrived. And you never would have trusted a letter like that to the post. Now I think I heard Constable Winters arrive.”
I hadn’t heard him, but for once I took the hint and left.
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L. A. Nisula also writes fantasy novels under the name Lisa Anne Nisula. You can find out more about her and her other books at
http://www.lanisula.com
and
http://www.LisaAnneNisula.com