by John Creasey
There was still uncertainty about Sara Gentian, but on the whole the reports of her were good.
Ethel turned up for work in the middle of the morning after all, bright and cheerful and rather excited by what had happened.
“And I actually had my name and my picture in the paper, sir!”
Chittering telephoned. “If you get anything else on this job, John, remember that I want to know quickly.”
“And you shall,” promised Mannering.
Bristow telephoned. “I’m told that Lord Gentian is very ill, John – I still haven’t been able to question him. His doctor says that he isn’t likely to live more than a few weeks. I’m beginning to think that the real motive was the obvious one – that Orde simply wanted to make sure that he inherited the estate. Old Hebble tells me that Lord Gentian’s will leaves everything to Sara Gentian. I hope she’s able to enjoy it.”
“John,” Lorna said, in the early evening three days later, “I talked to Sara this afternoon. I believe she’s perfectly normal.” Lorna, lovely in a green suit, fully recovered and looking very young, held his hand. “The shock of what happened here seems to have made her better, not worse – and the knowledge that Orde is in prison and is likely to stay there for a long time has helped her. She talked very freely, too. She said that she had always been frightened of Orde, ever since she can remember – even as a child, just after the death of her parents, he used to call her mad, and tell her stories of how insanity could affect a person. I think she needs a long rest, with a feeling of absolute security. Where do you think she had better go?”
“I think she can take up residence at Gentian House,” Mannering said. “I fancy we can persuade her that it will soon belong to her, and that it’s the only place for her to go. Tell her you want her to put on an exhibition of your paintings.”
“I wonder if you’re right,” Lorna mused.
Two days later, “Lord Gentian” died of natural causes.
In the days which followed, a lot of questions were answered, some by Sara, some by Gentian’s butler, some by the solicitors. The butler told how Sara had come to Gentian House after she had run away from the nursing home, and how Orde had given him some “aspirins” for Sara to have in some hot milk.
“She took them on trust, coming from the old man, but they were veronal,” Mannering said. “When she lost consciousness, Claude took her up on the roof, and closed all the means of access to it. He kept the keys, and he would have pushed her off the roof if—”
“If you hadn’t climbed up,” Lorna said. “Did Orde cause that accident to Gentian?”
“We can take it that he did, as part of the scare campaign,” Mannering said. “He wanted a terrified old man completely at his mercy, but didn’t quite succeed.”
Three months later, in late autumn, an Exhibition of Drawings and Paintings by Lorna Mannering was held at Gentian House, the main hall and the staircase, the ballroom and the library being used for it. Sara, beautiful in a powder blue dress which matched her eyes and in jewellery which seemed to put stars in them, welcomed the guests at the preview. The party met in the great circular hall, and Mannering saw that on one side, against the great staircase, a pair of blue velvet drapes concealed an exhibit. Sara moved towards this, and David Levinson stepped after her. He had been “on loan” from Quinns for several weeks, to help Sara organise the exhibition, prepare catalogues, make out lists for this preview. Many of the most exclusive art dealers, most of the private collectors and representatives from art galleries and museums were present when Sara stepped beneath a tasselled cord attached to the drapes.
“May we have your attention for one moment, please,” Levinson called out in a booming voice.
Everyone fell silent. In that silence, Mannering gripped Lorna’s arm, and pointed upwards.
“There is one exhibit which is not a painting but might be called by courtesy of Mr and Mrs John Mannering,” Sara declared. “This is the first time that it has been on display for many years.” She pulled the cord and the drapes moved aside. On that instant the whole hall, the staircase and the gallery above it seemed to blaze with fiery beauty. There were the two Mogul Swords, crossed, with the miniature beneath them. The chandeliers caught the jewels and created a splendour so great, so breathtaking, that no one moved or spoke; and no one seemed to breathe.
“I think I can promise you that they will never be broken up again,” Sara said huskily.
That evening, Sara, Levinson, and the Mannerings had dinner together in the smaller dining room. Already there were more servants at Gentian House, it had a more open, lived in look. And already Sara Gentian seemed to have forgotten much of the horror of the past. Orde had been found guilty of attempting to murder her, and had been sentenced to twelve years’ imprisonment.
“John, I want to ask you a very great favour,” Sara said. “I need help – how I need help! – to run the estate, to deal with the details of disposing of it, and to help me to handle the money. Can you spare David? I’ve asked him, and he tells me that it is entirely up to you.”
She was across the table from Mannering; there was pleading in her eyes.
Lorna kicked Mannering’s ankle.
“I think we could spare him,” Mannering conceded drily, “but on one condition.”
“Just name it!”
Levinson looked as if this was everything he wanted of the world.
“It’s very simple,” Mannering said. “I want you to tell me why you took the first Mogul Sword in the first place, and why you wanted to have the other one back at Gentian House. What difference did it make?”
“I took it because I believed it belonged to me,” Sara answered, without hesitation. “I hid it at the flat next to mine at the mews – I used to do leather work there, I used to enjoy that until Claude found out. Then he took the flat over. He—he took women there, whenever he felt like it, but I still used it when I wanted to do some work – it was a kind of therapy, I suppose.”
“I found some powder there, and found out that it was used for filling in flaws in leather,” Mannering said. “I nearly made a big mystery out of it. Sara – why didn’t you tell me more when you came to Quinns?”
“Because I knew that Claude would tell you I was mad, and I thought my uncle – I don’t think I will ever realise he was my grandfather – would confirm that. In a way I was out of my mind, I suppose. I never dreamt that he came to you about the second sword to try to get you involved, so as to help me. I hardly knew or cared what I said to make you work against him. Did I make him sound dreadful?”
“You didn’t do badly for someone who was frantic with worry and fear,” Mannering said. “Where did you put the sword after Claude drove you from the second flat in Hillbery Mews?”
“I asked my solicitors to look after it, and they put it in a safe deposit,” Sara answered. “I really wasn’t an absolute fool. Was I?” she asked anxiously.
“I hope young David has half as much sense,” said Mannering.
Series Information
Published or to be published by
House of Stratus
Dates given are those of first publication
Alternative titles in brackets
'The Baron' (47 titles) (writing as Anthony Morton)
'Department 'Z'' (28 titles)
'Dr. Palfrey Novels' (34 titles)
'Gideon of Scotland Yard' (22 titles)
'Inspector West' (43 titles)
'Sexton Blake' (5 titles)
'The Toff' (59 titles)
along with:
The Masters of Bow Street
This epic novel embraces the story of the Bow Street Runners and the Marine Police, forerunners of the modern police force, who were founded by novelist Henry Fielding in 1748. They were the earliest detective force operating from the courts to enforce the decisions of magistrates. John Creasey's account als
o gives a fascinating insight into family life of the time and the struggle between crime and justice, and ends with the establishment of the Metropolitan Police after the passing of Peel's Act in 1829.
'The Baron' Series
These Titles can be read as a series, or randomly as standalone novels
Meet the Baron (The Man in the Blue Mask) (1937)
The Baron Returns (The Return of the Blue Mask) (1937)
The Baron Again (Salute Blue Mask) (1938)
The Baron at Bay (Blue Mask at Bay) (1938)
Alias the Baron (Alias Blue Mask) (1939)
The Baron at Large (Challenge Blue Mask!) (1939)
Versus the Baron (Blue Mask Strikes Again) (1940)
Call for the Baron (Blue Mask Victorious) (1940)
The Baron Comes Back (1943)
A Case for the Baron (1945)
Reward for the Baron (1945)
Career for the Baron (1946)
Blood Diamond (The Baron and the Beggar) (1947)
Blame the Baron (1948)
A Rope for the Baron (1948)
Books for the Baron (1949)
Cry for the Baron (1950)
Trap the Baron (1950)
Attack the Baron (1951)
Shadow the Baron (1951)
Warn the Baron (1952)
The Baron Goes East (1953)
The Baron in France (1953)
Danger for the Baron (1953)
The Baron Goes Fast (1954)
Nest-Egg for the Baron (Deaf, Dumb and Blonde) (1954)
Help from the Baron (1955)
Hide the Baron (1956)
The Double Frame (Frame the Baron) (1957)
Blood Red (Red Eye for the Baron) (1958)
If Anything Happens to Hester (Black for the Baron) (1959)
Salute for the Baron (1960)
The Baron Branches Out (A Branch for the Baron) (1961)
The Baron and the Stolen Legacy (Bad for the Baron) (1962)
A Sword for the Baron (The Baron and the Mogul Swords) (1963)
The Baron on Board (The Mask of Sumi) (1964)
The Baron and the Chinese Puzzle (1964)
Sport for the Baron (1966)
Affair for the Baron (1967)
The Baron and the Missing Old Masters (1968)
The Baron and the Unfinished Portrait (1969)
Last Laugh for the Baron (1970)
The Baron Goes A-Buying (1971)
The Baron and the Arrogant Artist (1972)
Burgle the Baron (1973)
The Baron - King Maker (1975)
Love for the Baron (1979)
'Department Z' Novels
These Titles can be read as a series, or randomly as standalone novels
The Death Miser (1932)
Redhead (1934)
First Came a Murder (1934)
Death Round the Corner (1935)
The Mark of the Crescent (1935)
Thunder in Europe (1936)
The Terror Trap (1936)
Carriers of Death (1937)
Days of Danger (1937)
Death Stands By (1938)
Menace! (1938)
Murder Must Wait (1939)
Panic! (1939)
Death by Night (1940)
The Island of Peril (1940)
Sabotage (1941)
Go Away Death (1941)
The Day of Disaster (1942)
Prepare for Action (1942)
No Darker Crime (1943)
Dark Peril (1944)
The Peril Ahead (1946)
The League of Dark Men (1947)
The Department of Death (1949)
The Enemy Within (1950)
Dead or Alive (1951)
A Kind of Prisoner (1954)
The Black Spiders (1957)
Doctor Palfrey Novels
These Titles can be read as a series, or randomly as standalone novels
Traitor's Doom (1942)
The Legion of the Lost (1943)
The Valley of Fear (The Perilous Country) (1943)
Dangerous Quest (1944)
Death in the Rising Sun (1945)
The Hounds of Vengeance (1945)
Shadow of Doom (1946)
The House of the Bears (1946)
Dark Harvest (1947)
The Wings of Peace (1948)
The Sons of Satan (1948)
The Dawn of Darkness (1949)
The League of Light (1949)
The Man Who Shook the World (1950)
The Prophet of Fire (1951)
The Children of Hate (The Killers of Innocence; The Children of Despair) (1952)
The Touch of Death (1954)
The Mists of Fear (1955)
The Flood (1956)
The Plague of Silence (1958)
Dry Spell (The Drought) (1959)
The Terror (1962)
The Depths (1963)
The Sleep (1964)
The Inferno (1965)
The Famine (1967)
The Blight (1968)
The Oasis (1970)
The Smog (1970)
The Unbegotten (1971)
The Insulators (1972)
The Voiceless Ones (1973)
The Thunder-Maker (1976)
The Whirlwind (1979)
Gideon Series
(Writing as JJ Marric)
These Titles can be read as a series, or randomly as standalone novels
Gideon's Day (Gideon of Scotland Yard) (1955)
Seven Days to Death (Gideon's Week) (1956)
Gideon's Night (1957)
A Backwards Jump (Gideon's Month) (1958)
Thugs and Economies (Gideon's Staff) (1959)
Gideon Combats Influence (Gideon's Risk) (1960)
Gideon's Fire (1961)
A Conference for Assassins (Gideon's March) (1962)
Travelling Crimes (Gideon's Ride) (1963)
An Uncivilised Election (Gideon's Vote) (1964)
Criminal Imports (Gideon's Lot) (1965)
To Nail a Serial Killer (Gideon's Badge) (1966)
From Murder to a Cathedral (Gideon's Wrath) (1967)
Gideon's River (1968)
Darkness and Confusion (Gideon's Power) (1969)
Sport, Heat & Scotland Yard (Gideon's Sport) (1970)
Gideon's Art (1971)
No Relaxation at Scotland Yard (Gideon's Men) (1972)
Impartiality Against the Mob (Gideon's Press) (1973)
Not Hidden by the Fog (Gideon's Fog) (1975)
Good and Justice (Gideon's Drive) (1976)
Vigilantes & Biscuits (Gideon's Force) (1978)
Inspector West Series
These Titles can be read as a series, or randomly as standalone novels
Inspector West Takes Charge (1942)
Go Away to Murder (Inspector West Leaves Town) (1943)
An Apostle of Gloom (Inspector West At Home) (1944)
Inspector West Regrets (1945)
Holiday for Inspector West (1946)
Battle for Inspector West (1948)
The Case Against Paul Raeburn (Triumph for Inspector West) (1948)
Inspector West Kicks Off (Sport for Inspector West) (1949)
Inspector West Alone (1950)
Inspector West Cries Wolf (The Creepers) (1950)
The Figure in the Dusk (A Case for Inspector West) (1951)
The Dissemblers (Puzzle for Inspector West) (1951)
The Case of the Acid Throwers (The Blind Spot; Inspector West at Bay) (1952)
Give a Man a Gun (A Gun for Inspector West) (1953)
Send Inspector West (1953)
So Young, So Cold, So Fair (A Beauty for Inspector West; The Beauty Queen Killer) (1954)
Murder Makes Haste (Inspector West Makes Haste; The Gelignite Gang; Night of the Watchman) (1955)
Murder: One, Two, Three (Two for Inspector West) (1955)
Death of a Postman (Parcels for Inspector West) (1956)
Death of an Assassin (A Prince for Inspector West) (1956)
/> Hit and Run (Accident for Inspector West) (1957)
The Trouble at Saxby's (Find Inspector West; Doorway to Death) (1957)
Murder, London - New York (1958)
Strike for Death (The Killing Strike) (1958)
Death of a Racehorse (1959)
The Case of the Innocent Victims (1959)
Murder on the Line (1960)
Death in Cold Print (1961)
The Scene of the Crime (1961)
Policeman's Dread (1962)
Hang the Little Man (1963)
Look Three Ways at Murder (1964)
Murder, London - Australia (1965)
Murder, London - South Africa (1966)
The Executioners (1967)
So Young to Burn (1968)
Murder, London - Miami (1969)
A Part for a Policeman (1970)
Alibi for Inspector West (1971)
A Splinter of Glass (1972)
The Theft of Magna Carta (1973)
The Extortioners (1974)
A Sharp Rise in Crime (1978)
'The Toff' Series
These Titles can be read as a series, or randomly as standalone novels
Introducing the Toff (It's the Toff!) (1938)
The Toff Goes On (1939)
The Toff Steps Out (1939)
Here Comes the Toff (1940)
The Toff Breaks In (1940)
Salute the Toff (1941)
The Toff Proceeds (1941)
The Toff Goes to Market (1942)
The Toff Is Back (1942)
The Toff on the Trail (short stories) (1942)
The Toff among the Millions (1943)
Accuse the Toff (1943)
The Toff and the Deadly Priest (The Toff and the Curate) (1944)
The Toff and the Great Illusion (1944)
Feathers for the Toff (1945)
The Toff and the Lady (1946)
Poison for the Toff (The Toff on Ice) (1946)
Hammer the Toff (1947)
The Toff in Town (1948)
The Toff Takes Shares (1948)
The Toff and Old Harry (1949)
The Toff on Board (1949)
Fool the Toff (1950)