Dead to the World
Page 21
‘You’ve certainly got a nerve, young man,’ said the ventriloquist, ‘and if it wasn’t for Mr Temple you might have found yourself in the hands of the police.’
‘It was a lucky thing you phoned me, Clive,’ smiled Temple. ‘After that remarkable impersonation. I couldn’t be too hard on you. I’m sure your headmaster will see you are punished, but you’ve caused Mr Mount and your mother a lot of worry; I hope you realise that.’
‘I’m sorry, Mr Temple,’ said the boy, looking very uncomfortable.
‘All right. Well, I’m going to telephone your mother, then we are going to take you straight back to school.’
In the car they were silent for a while. The ventriloquist was figuring out the useful publicity he would get when this human little story was reported in the papers. Presently he said:
‘I’m thinking of putting on a special show for the youngsters during the next holidays, Clive. I could probably use a bright young boy like you.’
Clive positively bounced on the seat in his excitement.
‘Could you really, Mr Mount? I’d work like a beaver – I promise.’
‘I’ll drop you a line at school when it’s all fixed up,’ promised the ventriloquist.
As the car drew up at the school, the boy thrust a small parcel into Temple’s arms.
‘If you see my mother, Mr Temple, would you please give her this?’ begged Clive. ‘And tell her I’m sorry she’s been upset.’
‘Fair enough, Clive,’ smiled Temple, and placed the electric toaster carefully on the seat beside him.
Footnotes
Chapter One
fn1 See The Desperate People, 1966.
By the same author
Beware of Johnny Washington
When a gang of desperate criminals begins leaving calling cards inscribed ‘With the Compliments of Johnny Washington’, the real Johnny Washington is encouraged by an attractive newspaper columnist to throw in his lot with the police. Johnny, an American ‘gentleman of leisure’ who has settled at a quiet country house in Kent to enjoy the fishing, soon finds himself involved with the mysterious Horatio Quince, a retired schoolmaster who is on the trail of the gang’s unscrupulous leader, the elusive ‘Grey Moose’.
Best known for creating Paul Temple for BBC radio in 1938, Francis Durbridge’s prolific output of crime and mystery stories, encompassing plays, radio, television, films and books, made him a household name for more than 50 years. A new radio character, Johnny Washington Esquire, hit the airwaves in 1949, leading to the publication of this one-off novel in 1951.
This Detective Club classic is introduced by writer and bibliographer Melvyn Barnes, author of Francis Durbridge: A Centenary Appreciation, who reveals how Johnny Washington’s only literary outing was actually a reworking of Durbridge’s own Send for Paul Temple.
Another Woman’s Shoes
It was an open-and-shut case: Lucy Staines was murdered by her hot-headed fiancé Harold Weldon. But something about it is troubling ex-Fleet Street crime reporter Mike Baxter – why was one of Lucy’s shoes missing from the crime scene? When an identical murder occurs while Weldon is safely behind bars, the whole case is re-opened – and everything revolves around another woman’s shoes …
Another Woman’s Shoes is Francis Durbridge’s rewrite of his radio serial Paul Temple and the Gilbert Case, in which Mike and Linda Baxter take the places of Paul and Steve Temple in pursuing the killer. This new edition is introduced by bibliographer Melvyn Barnes and includes the short story ‘Paul Temple and the Nightingale’.
Design for Murder
The Assistant Commissioner of Scotland Yard visits a retired detective with the news that an old adversary has struck again, strangling an innocent girl. Wyatt is reluctant to return to police work, but then another body is found – this time at his own home, with a chilling message: ‘With the compliments of Mr Rossiter’.
In Design for Murder, Francis Durbridge adapted his longest Paul Temple serial, Paul Temple and the Gregory Affair, into a full-length novel. All the obligatory elements from the thrilling radio episodes were present, but in a new twist, he renamed the principal characters: Paul and Steve Temple became Lionel and Sally Wyatt, and ‘Mr Rossiter’ replaced the villainous Gregory. Reprinted for the first time in 66 years, fans of Francis Durbridge and of Paul Temple can finally relive this ingenious adventure.
Includes the exclusive 1946 Radio Times short story ‘Paul Temple’s White Christmas’.
About the Author
Francis Henry Durbridge was born in Hull, Yorkshire, in 1912 and was educated at Bradford Grammar School. He was encouraged at an early age to write by his English teacher and went on to read English at Birmingham University. At the age of twenty-one he sold a radio play to the BBC and continued to write following his graduation whilst working as a stockbroker’s clerk.
In 1938, he created the character Paul Temple, a crime novelist and detective. For thirty years the radio serials were hugely successful until the last of the series was completed in 1968. In 1969, Paul Temple was adapted for television and four of the adventures prior to this had been adapted for cinema, albeit with less success than radio and TV. Francis Durbridge also wrote for the stage and continued doing so up until 1991, when Sweet Revenge was completed. Additionally, he wrote over twenty other well-received novels, most of which were on the general subject of crime. The last, Fatal Encounter, was published after his death in 1998.
Also in This Series
Send for Paul Temple
Paul Temple and the Front Page Men
News of Paul Temple
Paul Temple Intervenes
Send for Paul Temple Again!
Back Room Girl
Paul Temple and the Tyler Mystery
Design for Murder
Paul Temple: East of Algiers
Another Woman’s Shoes
Paul Temple and the Kelby Affair
Paul Temple and the Harkdale Robbery
Paul Temple and the Geneva Mystery
Paul Temple and the Curzon Case
Paul Temple and the Margo Mystery
Paul Temple and the Madison Case
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