by John Creasey
The door was flung open; and then Dragoli saw the police.
He stood there for a fraction of a second and then swung round. Colliss turned with him, firing towards the Toff, while Dragoli used a second gun, with his left hand, for Frensham. But the Toff was shooting, and he found their forearms. He was still amongst the litter from the table. Frensham was out of the line of fire behind the sideboard.
Dragoli, both arms useless, made a mad dash for the window, but the Toff sprang then, as though released by a spring. He tripped the Egyptian up, and as Colliss tried to hit him the Toff’s fist crashed under his chin. Colliss went sprawling, and when he did get to his feet he was surrounded by policemen.
McNab and Warrender were with the Toff.
The Toff’s eyes were still very grim.
‘That’s a nice parcel for you, Mac, and I can give you the whole racket. It was neatly worked out, I’ll admit that. Daisy or Colliss will tell you of the other firms they’re using. But – have you had anything from Miss Farraway?’
Warrender looked awkward.
‘Not a word, Rollison.’
Frensham swore. He looked a mess, but the Toff knew he was prepared to go on until he dropped.
‘All right, I’m going to the “Steam Packet” –’
It was Daisy Lee who spoke, sullenly, on his words.
‘You needn’t, Rollison. She ain’t there. We never had the little squirt; we only played that on you. We tried to get her with Frensham as bait, but she’d left the place when we went, so we worked on that. Got me?’
The Toff this time was convinced that she was telling the whole truth. With no object for lying, Dragoli and Colliss confirmed it. They had tried to get Anne Farraway, but she had left the Tennant’s house before they had succeeded.
Two hours afterwards, when the ‘Steam Packet’ was raided, and Blind Sletter, with the two remaining gangsters of Garrotty’s brigade, were taken into custody – after a complete rout, for none of them had expected the raid as late as it came: Dragoli had told them it would probably be about ten o’clock – the Toff was forced to the conclusion that the girl had gone off on her own.
‘But where?’ asked Frensham helplessly. ‘She must have had some reason.’
The Toff said nothing.
He was ‘thinking, bitterly, that the only two uncertain things now were the parts played by Anne Farraway and Mark Kellson. No other angle was open. Kellson, it seemed, had been frightened by Dragoli and fled the country.
Had Anne had reason for doing the same?
At three o’clock, with Frensham at his side, he reached the Gresham Terrace flat. Warrender and McNab were at the Yard, with the prisoners. Rollison had grown tired of answering questions. How he had believed Daisy up to a point, but when she had claimed to have been allowed to see the ‘prisoners’, even accidentally, he had found it too much to swallow, and realized she was in the racket – a racket, as they had known, to distribute cocaine throughout the country.
Using different distributing centres, like Willow and Kellson’s, at different times, Dragoli had reduced the chances of a complete discovery to a minimum. Had he lost one place there were eleven others to fall back on; with Daisy Lee and Colliss dead, Dragoli would have been the only man in England to know everything. Ali – still a prisoner at the ‘River Tavern’ – had known a little, but not enough to do lasting damage to the Black Circle’s English organization.
The one-ounce packets of boracic acid had been a clever stall. Other Black Circle agents ordered them from abroad so that every so often the cocaine could be substituted without arousing suspicion.
Well, it was over. Frensham was cleared of suspicion, Owen and the police – excepting Colliss, who had fallen a victim to snow so easily – were equally clear. Colliss, of course, had passed on the police news to Dragoli.
And there remained Anne Farraway.
The Toff seemed to see an image of her gleaming eyes, teasing him a little, as he entered the flat. Frensham had not spoken for over an, hour. He seemed to the Toff like a dead man.
And then the Toff saw Jolly, fully dressed.
‘Good Lord, man, can’t you sleep? But as you’re up, some strong coffee, and –’
But Jolly for once ignored an order. He closed the door, and then opened that of the Toff’s bedroom. And on the threshold stood Anne Farraway, smiling a little just as the Toff had imagined.
‘Apart from these personal pleasantries,’ said the Toff with some irony, and feeling very much wider awake, ‘what happened, young woman? I don’t like having things put across me.’
Frensham stood back from Anne, flushing a little. The Toff was telling himself that there was little likelihood of a broken engagement in that quarter, and he was glad. But she was a tantalizingly beautiful little imp!
Anne eyed him steadily.
‘Go on,’ said the Toff, ‘tell me what it’s all about. The Tennants are worried to death, the police are searching for you all over the country – and apparently all you did was to walk out of the place and come here. After a telephone-call or so. Who phoned, and –’
The girl’s voice was lower than usual.
‘It was – Kellson – who phoned.’
‘Kellson!’ exclaimed Frensham, but the Toff waved him back. Anne went on quickly.
‘He needed to get out of the country quickly and ho wanted to see me before he went. He had a special aeroplane ready, and – he’s well away by now. They won’t catch him. It wasn’t his fault altogether. Apart from – from dodging the Customs, and Willow was as much to blame for that as he was, it was – John’s fault.’
‘John!’ Frensham exclaimed, and the Toff wagged a finger.
‘Don’t shout, little man. You mean your brother. Anne?’
‘That’s right,’ said Anne Farraway. ‘Oh, it’s all been a beastly mix-up, but – Kellson was my step-father. Mother died, and for a year or two he – was pretty decent. Then I learned he was fooling with the Customs. I left him when he wouldn’t stop. But I couldn’t get away from the chemical firms, because I met Ted, and –’
‘Ted finished you,’ said the Toff slowly. ‘This doesn’t exactly coincide with the first story you told me, sweet one.’
‘I know. But it’s all true now. I wanted to keep Father out of it if I could. He was scared to death as it was. And John – well, it was John who told Dragoli about the smuggling, put Father in Dragoli’s hands. I – I’d always refused to take money from Father. I told you John always sent cash to me, and what I did with it. It was true, but – I hated their work and the way they made money. I meant to keep clear of it, until – I learned about Dragoli and John. Then I saw Father, asked him – and learned he was playing a part. I – I think I would have told the police, but’ – her eyes gleamed a little, although she looked very tired –’you came along. Rolly, and you seemed more than capable of looking after things. I warned Father to get away –’
‘Well, well!’ exclaimed the Toff. ‘You phoned him ten minutes before I reached him the other day. I’m not so sure you oughtn’t to be spanked, but –’
‘I couldn’t have told you more than you’d found out,’ said Anne. ‘I’d promised myself to tell you everything, on condition you didn’t pass it on to the police, as soon as you were active again. But you move pretty fast, Roily.’
‘Enough of your blarney,’ said the Toff, in mock ill humour. ‘I suppose you two aren’t married, by any chance? All right, Jolly’ll have to sleep in a chair, and I’ll have his bed. That’ll give you a room apiece and preserve the proprieties. I wonder what McNab would say if he knew?’
McNab, to the best of the Toff’s knowledge, never knew; nor did Warrender. Kellson was posted in the Yard’s missing-but-wanted file, and was likely to remain there for ever. If the Toff had any satisfaction out of the Kellson angle, it was the vindication of his belief that Anne Farraway had kept something up her sleeve.
When he sent them a wedding present, two months later, it was with a good heart, even
if he wondered a little wryly what he would have done had Anne been free. And James Willow, relieved from blackmail, a bouncing, rather common little man who had not been so light-hearted for years, accepted what appeared to him an excellent suggestion from Rollison: he offered Frensham a partnership, and undertook to play no more games with the revenue authorities.
Dragoli, Colliss, and Garrotty were hanged some time after the wedding, and when the Frenshams were on the high seas, for a month’s honeymoon. Daisy Lee was serving ten years in prison; others had long terms to serve. The organization, bit by bit, was smashed. The Black Circle could operate in Stamboul, but in England it was broken beyond repair.
It was just six months after the affair at Camberley that the Toff visited Randle Street. It was a warm, early spring day, and he saw Old Ben – recovered from his wounds – in the window.
Old Ben had been sent fifty pounds when he had come out of hospital, and he wondered, day by day, who had sent it. He had no idea it was the spruce-looking man who was then knocking at the door of the house opposite. A chubby little woman opened the door and saw the Toff. Her eyes widened with pleasure as she asked him into a spotless sitting-room, well furnished now. The once-scared youngster was at school, but she came in soon afterwards. And Miller himself followed her.
The man’s eyes brightened when he saw the Toff, and he shook hands warmly.
‘I’ve wanted to see you for a long time, Mr. Rollison. I didn’t like to write and say so, but I’d guessed who got me the job with Willow and Kellson. They’re a darned fine firm, too – they’re treating me well.’
‘You can’t tell me much about Willow and Kellson,’ smiled the Toff, and he was chuckling to himself when he left Randle Street soon afterwards. Apart from busting Dragoli’s game, there were other things he would remember the Black Circle affair for: and the Millers, with their new prosperity and happiness, were by no means the least important.
And another family in London came to venerate the Toff.
Series Information
Published or to be published by
House of Stratus
Dates given are those of first publication
‘The Toff’ Series
These Titles can be read as a series, or randomly as standalone novels
Title Also Published as:
1 Introducing the Toff It’s the Toff ! 1938
2 The Toff Goes On 1939
3 The Toff Steps Out 1939
4 Here Comes the Toff 1940
5 The Toff Breaks In 1940
6 Salute the Toff 1941
7 The Toff Proceeds 1941
8 The Toff Goes to Market 1942
9 The Toff Is Back 1942
10 The Toff on the Trail (short stories) 1942
11 The Toff among the Millions 1943
12 Accuse the Toff 1943
13 The Toff and the Deadly Parson The Toff and the Curate 1944
14 The Toff and the Great Illusion 1944
15 Feathers for the Toff 1945
16 The Toff and the Lady 1946
17 Poison for the Toff The Toff on Ice 1946
18 Hammer the Toff 1947
19 The Toff in Town 1948
20 The Toff Takes Shares 1948
21 The Toff and Old Harry 1949
22 The Toff on Board 1949
23 Fool the Toff 1950
24 Kill the Toff 1950
25 A Knife for the Toff 1951
26 A Mask for the Toff The Toff Goes Gay 1951
27 Hunt the Toff 1952
28 Call the Toff 1953
29 The Toff Down Under Break the Toff 1953
30 Murder Out of the Past (short stories) 1953
31 The Toff at Camp The Toff at Butlins 1954
32 The Toff at the Fair 1954
33 A Six for the Toff A Score for the Toff 1955
34 The Toff and the Deep Blue Sea 1955
35 Kiss the Toff Make-Up for the Toff 1956
36 The Toff in New York 1956
37 Model for the Toff 1957
38 The Toff on Fire 1957
39 The Toff and the Stolen Tresses 1958
40 Terror for the Toff The Toff on the Farm 1958
41 Double for the Toff 1959
42 The Toff and the Runaway Bride 1959
43 A Rocket for the Toff 1960
44 The Toff and the Kidnapped The Kidnapped Child 1960
45 Follow the Toff 1961
46 The Toff and the Toughs The Toff and the Teds 1961
47 A Doll for the Toff 1963
48 Leave It to the Toff 1963
49 The Toff and the Spider 1965
50 The Toff in Wax 1966
51 A Bundle for the Toff 1967
52 Stars for the Toff 1968
53 The Toff and the Golden Boy 1969
54 The Toff and the Fallen Angels 1970
55 Vote for the Toff 1971
56 The Toff and the Trip-Trip-Triplets 1972
57 The Toff and the Terrified Taxman 1973
58 The Toff and the Sleepy Cowboy 1975
59 The Toff and the Crooked Copper 1977
Series by John Creasey
Published by House of Stratus
‘Department ‘Z’’ (28 titles)
‘Dr. Palfrey Novels’ (34 titles)
‘Inspector West’ (43 titles)
‘Sexton Blake’ (5 titles)
‘The Baron’ (47 titles) (writing as Anthony Morton)
‘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 also 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.
Select Synopses
Gideon’s Day
Gideon’s day is a busy one. He balances family commitments with solving a series of seemingly unrelated crimes from which a plot nonetheless evolves and a mystery is solved. One of the most senior officers within Scotland Yard, George Gideon’s crime solving abilities are in the finest traditions of London’s world famous police headquarters. His analytical brain and sense of fairness is respected by colleagues and villains alike.
Meet the Baron
John Mannering (The Baron) makes his first appearance in this volume. Lord Fauntley cannot help showing off both his daughter and the security under which his precious jewels are kept. Mannering finds himself attracted to both .... Money is tight and so he plans a burglary, but this fails and unexpected consequnces result. The relationship with Lorna Fauntley flourishes, and a series of high profile thefts and adventures ensure Mannering’s future, so he believes, until Lorna equates him with The Baron. One of the many further twists in this award winning novel occurs when the police appear to seek Mannering’s help, only to have everything turned upside down as the plot develops . . .
The House of the Bears
Standing alone in the bleak Yorkshire Moors is Sir Rufus Marne’s ‘House of the Bears’. Dr. Palfrey is asked to journey there to examine an invalid - whom he finds has disappeared. Moreover, Marne’s daughter lies terribly injured after a fall from the minstrel’s gallery, which Dr. Palfrey discovers was no accident. He sets out to look into both matters, but the discoveries he makes are truly fantastic. A deserted mine, powerful explosive and a submarine all feature in this powerful mystery. The results are even capable of surprising him ...
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