by John Creasey
Roger paused, but Hardy made no comment.
‘There was a factor we couldn’t hope to find quickly, and which made the confusion much worse. Clint and Ashley – the ex-husband and the ex-fiancé – were still bitter rivals for Telisa Rapelli, although they were partners in the fraud. Clint had the better mind, and did the organising. He sent Ashley to New York to see Telisa, and then had Pillitzer kill Rapelli – he’d been in New York a few days earlier, and Pillitzer knew exactly what to do. On a telephone call from Clint – there was a call to a New York number from Meyer’s Warehouse while Ashley was on the aircraft – Pillitzer did exactly what he had been told.
‘So Rapelli was killed in the same way as Margaret, and Ashley had the opportunity in both cases. It looked as if Ashley would be perfectly framed. Everything was laid on to destroy the faked paintings by fire – and so destroy the evidence of the motive. Clint, knowing by then that he’d lost Telisa for good, sent for Ashley, at Gossen’s. Ashley says that Clint fooled him by saying he was ready to clear Ashley, at a price. Instead, Ashley was nearly killed and the runner, Hill, murdered.
‘After that, Clint had to kill Gossen – who could damn him, for Gossen was in the racket all the time – and then flew to New York. He went to see Telisa, to try to win her back. She killed him.’
After a pause, Hardy said: ‘Where did Wickham come in?’
‘He knew nothing at all about it,’ Roger answered. ‘He suspected Clint, but played dumb because his cousin had told him he’d been framed. There’s a kind of stiff-necked loyalty about James Wickham.’
Hardy looked very straight into Roger’s eyes.
‘There’s a stiff-necked loyalty about you, too,’ he said. ‘What really happened at Chelsea? Why was Turnbull there alone?’
‘With luck, he’ll be able to speak for himself,’ Roger answered. ‘Why not let him?’
Hardy said: ‘I’ll wait a week, that’s all. Don’t go and ruin your own future by protecting Turnbull’s, Roger. He’s a good detective but a bad policeman. I can’t risk having bad policemen on the force.’
Roger didn’t speak.
Goodison, still with an arm in the sling, made the formal charge against Telisa Rapelli, while holding the warrant of arrest. Hank Jensen stood close to her, to make sure she made no attempt to injure herself. She listened impassively, and made no reply.
‘You can tell me this,’ Goodison said. ‘What made my life worth saving in that warehouse fire?’
She did not answer; but the answer came to him. He would have been bound to doubt whether a guilty woman would have saved him. She must have hoped that it would help to convince him, and so the police, of her innocence.
‘Take her away,’ Goodison said.
They took her past the apartment where her father had been killed, across the apartment where she had killed Clint, and down the stairs; she moved like a queen, and did not speak or show any sign of emotion. Goodison watched as she was hustled into a police car, and then driven off through the crowd which had gathered, with a detective on either side of her.
Goodison went to his Mercury.
‘Any personal comment for us?’ a newspaperman called out.
‘Sure have. I don’t like humidity at eighty-nine.’
‘That right your friend Superintendent West disarmed a gunman with his bare hands?’
‘It sounds right.’
‘You any opinion about the police carrying guns, Lootenant?’
‘If I were in England maybe I wouldn’t want one, but in New York I’d feel naked,’ Goodison answered. ‘That’s all, fellas.’
‘Hold it, Lootenant, we want a picture.’
Lights flashed.
‘That right Ashley and Clint worked with Telisa Rapelli?’ a man called.
‘You wouldn’t want me to say anything prejudicial to an arrested person’s case, would you?’ asked Goodison, straight faced. ‘You can quote me as saying that I think the murderers began by hoping that they could make it look like a psycho job, but it didn’t work out that way. Then they tried to destroy the evidence of faked pictures. Pillitzer was the fall guy on this side, Clint on the other side. That’s all for today, folks.’
‘I’ve got news for you,’ a newspaperman called out.
‘Later, Charley.’
‘West of Scotland Yard said you’d done a damned good job,’ the newspaperman said. ‘Aren’t you going to return the compliment?’
‘Here and now,’ Goodison said eagerly. ‘You can quote me …’
On the following day Roger read the statement that Goodison had made to the press. He was in his office, preparing all the documents and exhibits in the case for Ashley’s trial. He knew that Wickham and Vanity Roy were planning to get married; that Goodison was on top of the world, and that Turnbull had recovered consciousness. He could be visited that afternoon.
Roger went to the hospital by himself.
Turnbull looked pale and weak, and his eyes lacked their usual fire. But he managed a grin, and spoke before Roger.
‘I’m told you haven’t made your report on me yet, Handsome. That true?’
‘I prefer a man to speak for himself,’ Roger said.
‘Pity you don’t prefer a man to act for himself,’ Turnbull said, with a flash of spirit. ‘But I’ll talk. You can tell the world I’m retiring from the Yard, I’ll work on my own in future. If you could fix it so that I’m allowed to resign—’
He broke off, hating to ask a favour.
‘I’ll fix it,’ Roger promised, and was really glad that he could.
On his way out, he saw Turnbull’s wife entering the hospital. He deliberately avoided her, but wasn’t surprised when Janet told him, weeks later, that the Turnbulls were going to make a fresh start.
Inspector West Series
Published or to be published by
House of Stratus
Dates given are those of first publication
These Titles can be read as a series, or randomly as standalone novels
Title Also Published as:
1 Inspector West Takes Charge 1942
2 Go Away to Murder Inspector West Leaves Town 1943
3 Inspector West at Home 1944
4 Inspector West Regrets 1945
5 Holiday for Inspector West 1946
6 Battle for Inspector West 1948
7 The Case Against Paul Raeburn Triumph for Inspector West 1948
8 Inspector West Kicks Off Sport for Inspector West 1949
9 Inspector West Alone 1950
10 Inspector West Cries Wolf The Creepers 1950
11 The Figure in the Dusk A Case for Inspector West 1951
12 The Dissemblers Puzzle for Inspector West 1951
13 The Case of the Acid Throwers The Blind Spot; Inspector West at Bay 1952
14 Give a Man a Gun A Gun for Inspector West 1953
15 Send Inspector West 1953
16 So Young, So Cold, So Fair A Beauty for Inspector West; The Beauty Queen Killer 1954
17 Murder Makes Haste Inspector West Makes Haste; The Gelignite Gang; Night of the Watchman 1955
18 Murder: One, Two, Three Two for Inspector West 1955
19 Death of a Postman Parcels for Inspector West 1956
20 Death of an Assassin A Prince for Inspector West 1956
21 Hit and Run Accident for Inspector West 1957
22 The Trouble at Saxby’s Find Inspector West; Doorway to Death 1957
23 Murder, London - New York 1958
24 Strike for Death The Killing Strike 1958
25 Death of a Racehorse 1959
26 The Case of the Innocent Victims 1959
27 Murder on the Line 1960
28 Death in Cold Print 1961
29 The Scene of the Crime 1961
30 Policeman’s Dread 1962
31 Hang the Little Man 1963
32 Look Three Ways at Murder 1964
33 Murder, London - Australia 1965
34 Murder, London - South Africa 1966
35 The Executioners 1967
36 So Young to Burn 1968
37 Murder, London - Miami 1969
38 A Part for a Policeman 1970
39 Alibi for Inspector West 1971
40 A Splinter of Glass 1972
41 The Theft of Magna Carta 1973
42 The Extortioners 1974
43 A Sharp Rise in Crime 1978
Other Series by John Creasey
Published or to be 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.
Gideon’s Night
On this particular night Commander George Gideon has to deal with a couple of psychopaths who trail pain and blood in their wake. One targets infants, and the other young women on London’s foggy streets. There’s also an explosive gang war in the offing, and one way or another all of these cases are coming to their breathtaking conclusions at the same time. Can Scotland Yard’s finest cope with such a nightmarish scenario, with what would ordinarily be months of time consuming police work crammed into just one night?
Gideon’s Fire
Commander George Gideon of Scotland Yard has to deal successively with news of a mass murderer, a depraved maniac, and the deaths of a family in an arson attack on an old building south of the river. This leaves little time for the crisis developing at home …
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 …
Shadow The Baron
John Mannering (‘The Baron’) is called in by Scorland Yard’s Superintendent Bristow to help catch the mysterious jewel thief ‘The Shadow’. No one know the thief’s identity, but he has managed to pull off many high profile robberies. However, as Mannering proceeds to track down the target, he finds the pursuer becomes the pursued…..
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 …
Inspector West Takes Charge
Extortion is the name of the game, as one victim after another is ruthlessly targeted. Chief Inspector Roger West must now solve the problem, along with a tangle of murders - but the case becomes more frightening as every minute passes.
The Case Against Paul Raeburn
Chief Inspector Roger West has been watching and waiting for over two years - he is determined to catch Paul Raeburn out. The millionaire racketeer may have made a mistake, following the killing of a small time crook. Can the ace detective triumph over the evil Raeburn in what are very difficult circumstances? This cannot be assumed as not eveything, it would seem, is as simple as it first appears …..
Introducing The Toff
The Toff is the Hon. Richard Rollison; the ultimate sleuth who revels in solving crimes. Whilst returning home across the Essex countryside from a day’s cricket at his father’s Norfolk home, he happens upon an accident that sets him on a new trail. This involves murder, suspense and thrilling action as The Toff applies his mind with its usual precision and thoroughness.
The Toff in New York
‘Say, Miss Hall, I hope that brother of yours hasn’t run into any trouble.’ But Will Hall had been kidnapped and the Honourable Richard Rollison, known by many by the apt if absurd soubriquet of the ‘Toff’ is soon on the scene, but not before a murdered man had fallen into Valerie Hallís arms. There’s lots of action in ‘millionaire surroundings’, with a rich private eye and the NYPD all on the case, whilst the Toff tracks Dutch Himmy, surely the worst man in New York…..
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