Gently through the Mill csg-5

by Alan Hunter

  ‘I’m making you both a good offer…’

  ‘Now isn’t that sweet of a stinking cop!’

  ‘Right, then!’ Gently levered his tortured hips out of the chair. ‘We’ll do it the hard way, since that’s how you want it — from now on you can consider yourselves as being under surveillance. You won’t leave Lynton and you’ll hold yourselves available for questioning. And heaven help you if we find that you know a fraction more than you’ve told us!’

  He didn’t slam the door, which seemed unlikely to survive such a gesture; but the panache of his exit suggested that a door had been slammed.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  ‘ Paypor — Paypor! Latest on the Mill Murder!’

  Gently bought a copy from the vendor shivering by the market stalls.

  ‘ VICTIM GUEST AT LOCAL HOTEL — Police favour “double cross” theory — “All-Stations” alert for associates.

  ‘Latest developments in the investigation of the murder at Lynton of Stephen (“Steinie”) Taylor have led the police to one of the town’s most celebrated old Coaching Inns…

  ‘In an interview this morning with Chief Inspector Gently of the Yard, who is conducting the investigation, our reporter was told that the facts justified the theory that Taylor…’

  And there was the picture of Gently outside the hotel, making him look like a congenital idiot.

  Soon the grey streets would be lively with the factory workers, grabbing their papers as they hurried in to tea. Did they believe them, these glossied accounts, with their factual-sounding guesses? Over kippers in the kitchen, would they pass current for the truth?

  He tucked the paper into his pocket and plodded across the square to headquarters. As he pushed through the swing doors the sergeant on the desk nodded to him respectfully.

  ‘Has my man left a message?’

  Gently had sent Dutt to poke around the docks.

  ‘Yes, sir, soon after lunch. He rang up from the railway station, sir.’

  Nothing if not thorough, Dutt had returned to the station to question some of the staff he had missed earlier. As a result he had found a booking clerk who remembered the departure of Ames and Roscoe.

  ‘He said to tell you they booked singles to Ely, sir. They were first-class tickets, and the two chummies seemed to be in a big hurry. They went off on the two fifteen London.’

  ‘Ely, was it?’

  Gently made a face. From Ely one could take a train to almost anywhere else in the country.

  ‘Doesn’t give you much scope, sir.’

  The sergeant sounded sympathetic.

  ‘No — but you’d better get on to Ely for me and see what they can dig up. Oh, and if my man comes in…’

  ‘Yes, sir?’

  ‘… tell him I’ve got a tail job for him, and fix him up with a bike. I want him to keep tabs on the foreman at the mill — obvious tabs. I want the fellow worried.’

  The mood was still with him, the mood of confident expectation. He’d got his teeth into something, whatever that something was.

  On his way back to the mill he turned aside into the drying-ground, pausing again before the enigmatic stable.

  There was nobody to be seen there now. The place had a sleepy, neglected atmosphere; all the buildings around seemed to have turned their backs on it. The thumping of the naphtha engine, subdued and asthmatical, owned something of the quality of the cricket in Blythely’s bakehouse.

  Wasn’t it the perfect spot for an assignation… or a crime? It was overlooked by nothing except the bleary windows of the mill’s posterior.

  He passed on down the passage. In the engine-room two men were standing, apparently engaged in earnest conversation. One of them, the silent one, was the miller; the other — Gently sighed — was Lynton’s egregious mayor-elect.

  If only the fellow would leave his tenants to stew in their iniquity!

  ‘Ah… Inspector!’

  Pershore had caught sight of him and came strutting out of the engine-room.

  ‘I’ve been on the phone — the superintendent informed me of your magnificent progress. Allow me to congratulate you, my dear fellow. I was sure that Press would get a good man down!’

  Gently mumbled something, but his eyes were fixed on Fuller. If ever one had seen desperation in a face…

  ‘Mind you, I was pretty certain of the way things were shaping. As I said to you this morning, it was obvious that his associates… and all the while you were on the trail, my dear fellow — you had as good as got your hand on them! As a citizen of Lynton — not, perhaps, the least eminent…’

  ‘We haven’t arrested them yet, sir.’ Gently was rude in his interruption. ‘And as a matter of fact, it’s not certain that they did it — the evidence we have can be construed either way.’

  ‘But upon my word, Inspector-!’

  Gently shut his ears to the man’s expostulations. It was Fuller he was talking to, Fuller he wanted to goad. And the hunted look the miller was wearing was more eloquent than a dozen Pershores…

  ‘But the whole trend of what the superintendent was telling me…’

  Blacker had known something damning, it was too transparent.

  ‘And at Newmarket anything can happen. From my own experience…’

  Now Fuller was expecting his imminent arrest.

  ‘Let’s go into the office.’

  ‘Eh?’ Pershore broke off offendedly.

  ‘I said let’s go into the office. I want to talk to Mr Fuller.’

  Protesting, the mayor-elect followed the two of them into the office. Fuller, walking unsteadily, led them into that part of it hidden from the road by the screen. His clerk made to rise from her typewriter, but Gently motioned her to remain.

  ‘Don’t go, Miss Playford… you may be able to help us. I dare say you have records of what occurred here last Thursday.’

  ‘Last Thursday!’ echoed Pershore. ‘I fail to understand, Inspector.’

  Gently shrugged. ‘It’s quite simple. I’m proposing to reconstruct the day of the crime.’

  He got Pershore quiet at last, though wriggling with resentment. The second citizen of Lynton was alarmed by this fresh attack on his shining tenantry.

  He took a seat in a corner from which he could command the proceedings, and seemed to be daring Gently to find one smutch on the miller’s record.

  To an unprejudiced eye the task could not have seemed a difficult one. Fuller, sitting slumped near the typewriter, had the appearance of being at the end of his tether. His clerk was looking shaken too. She kept darting agonized glances at her distressed employer.

  In this connection, was it barely possible that Blacker’s hint had been genuine…?

  ‘As far as you can remember it I want an account of Thursday the twelfth. Begin where you left home after breakfast, and continue to when you locked up to go to tea.’

  ‘You can’t expect… it’s nearly a week ago…’

  ‘So was the stag party — but you seem to have remembered that pretty well!’

  About to say something, Fuller hesitated. Instead, he looked up at Gently with a wild appeal in his eyes.

  Put him out of his misery — that was the message! He’d had as much as he could stand, and now he would welcome the inevitable touch on the shoulder…

  ‘Go on — when did you leave the house?’

  The relief of arrest was not coming yet.

  Fuller’s eyes sank again and his fists clenched tightly; when he spoke it was to the rough planks of the office floor.

  ‘I… half past eight. That’s my usual time. As far as I can remember I wasn’t late that morning.’

  ‘You drove straight to the mill?’

  ‘Yes… no, I stopped to buy something. There was a milling article in The Listener — they mentioned it before the news.’

  ‘Where did you buy it?’

  ‘At Smith’s in the Watergate.’

  ‘Who did you talk to there?’

  ‘Nobody… the assistant.’

&n
bsp; ‘You spoke to nobody else on your way here?’

  ‘No. I drove straight on to the mill.’

  ‘Describe to me what happened directly after you arrived.’

  ‘I–I parked my car outside.’ Fuller sounded lost without the lead of interrogation. ‘Mary showed me the mail… it was just the usual. Some invoices, receipts, an order from Bretts’ — a stupid firm in Norchester wanting to sell me a cash-register. I told her what to get on with and then went into the mill.

  ‘Two of the men were loading a lorry with the hoist — maize, supers, Kositos, the usual mixture for our farmer customers. Two more were sacking flour… Tom was minding the engine. The rest were putting some oats through — later on it was English wheat.’

  ‘You saw that all of them were at their jobs, did you?’

  ‘Naturally — I go round every morning. And I check stocks and keep an eye on the belting and machinery.’

  ‘You noticed nothing out of the ordinary that morning?’

  ‘There was a slipping belt on one of the bolters…’

  ‘What was Blacker doing, for instance?’

  ‘Blacker…’ Fuller’s voice wavered. ‘I don’t particularly remember

  … he might have been helping to load.’

  ‘How long were you in the mill?’

  ‘An hour, the best part of. After that I checked the loading on Bob Tillet’s lorry… then one of my customers came in to pay his bill, and another about a wrong consignment. There’s always plenty to do in the office, with the phone ringing every five minutes.

  ‘At one o’clock I went to lunch-’

  ‘Just a minute! Who were those customers who came in?’

  Fuller gave a feeble shrug. ‘One day is like another. Mr Blakey from Torrington was one of them — then there was a farmer called Howard, and the man from Hillside Dairies. They were all customers — Mary can tell you that.’

  ‘What about Mr Blythely — didn’t you see him that morning?’

  ‘I suppose so… yes, I did. I met him in the yard.’

  ‘And you had a conversation?’

  ‘I… not what you could call one.’

  ‘What do you mean by that, Mr Fuller?’

  ‘Well, we passed the time of day!’

  ‘Hmn.’ Gently’s dissatisfaction was emphatic. ‘Who else is there you’ve forgotten to mention? Take your time, Mr Fuller… wewon’t rush this memory of yours!’

  ‘Excuse me, Chief Inspector!’

  The mayor-elect was butting in.

  ‘Since you’ve such a passion for the truth, however irrelevant it may seem-’

  Wearily Gently fished out his pipe and stuck it into his mouth. Before long he was going to jump on this Lynton worthy, though it blighted the super’s life from now until Christmas…

  ‘Would you mind not interrupting, sir?’

  ‘Interrupt, sir? I have something of importance to contribute!’

  ‘I am endeavouring to conduct an enquiry-’

  ‘And I, sir, am trying to assist you — however pointless your mode of proceeding appears to strike me!’

  With an effort Gently held his peace. It was a long time since he had enjoyed the luxury of losing his temper officially. As a rule he suffered fools, if not gladly, at least intelligently…

  ‘Very well, sir — provided it’s relevant.’

  ‘Thank you, Inspector. I feel sure you will think it so. The fact is that on Thursday last I paid a visit to the mill — though I am not surprised at my tenant having forgotten it, considering your hectoring treatment of him. Now why this should be-’

  ‘At what time was that, sir?’

  ‘Time?’ Pershore snorted. ‘I was in Lynton during the morning — naturally, I had no occasion to allot times to my movements. But if you will permit me to say so-’

  ‘What was the purpose of your visit?’

  ‘Eh?’ Pershore’s eyes opened wide. ‘Do you dispute that this is my property? I came to view it, sir — I frequently overlook my investments! The keystone of success in business — and, speaking personally-’

  ‘You went over the mill, did you?’

  ‘And the bakehouse, since you are so precise.’

  ‘Accompanied by Mr Fuller?’

  ‘Certainly, as regards the mill.’

  ‘Asking him questions, no doubt?’

  ‘It has always been my unswerving policy-’

  ‘So you were aware that the furthermost hopper contained spoiled flour?’

  ‘That was something which I was unlikely to miss.’

  Gently shook his head with monumental slowness.

  ‘A little advice! Your position is ambiguous, if you don’t mind my saying so. Your alibi is flimsy. You are apparently a frequenter of Newmarket. As the owner of this property, you will no doubt have some keys. And to cap it all, you admit knowing about the hopper of spoiled flour. Can’t you see what the attitude of the average policeman would be?’

  The mayor-elect’s mouth opened incredulously.

  ‘You can’t be serious, Inspector!’

  ‘I assure you I am, sir. You could quite easily become involved.’

  ‘But I told you this morning-!’

  ‘That you had not been in Lynton? I’m afraid we’d need witnesses to prove the truth of that.’

  The great man of Lynton rocked slightly in his chair. Even Fuller had been roused from his apathy to stare at his landlord. As for the clerk, she seemed unable to believe her ears…

  ‘So I would advise you to avoid drawing attention… if you value your civic reputation! Once the press get hold of these things they take a lot of living down. On the whole, the less your name appears in this business the better.’

  It was a palpable threat, and Pershore was visibly shaken by it. An automatic protest died haplessly on his lips. One could have homicidal tenants — that was one thing! — but prospective mayors should not be personal participants…

  ‘Of course, I–I see your point, Inspector!’

  ‘Mmm.’ Gently struck a match and set it to his pipe.

  ‘It was never my intention — I think I know better-’

  ‘If you don’t mind I’d like to be getting on with my enquiry.’

  Pershore lapsed into a dismal silence and Gently blew a number of smoke-rings. In the yard a lorry had drawn up, its idling motor providing an undertone to the beat of the naphtha engine.

  Fuller, probably, should be out there giving the driver instructions.

  ‘Why didn’t you mention Mr Pershore’s visit?’

  ‘I’d forgotten about that.’

  The miller sounded sullen, but somehow more composed. The Pershore interference had unfortunately given him time to pull himself together.

  ‘It was quite a big thing to forget. Does Mr Pershore come round so often?’

  ‘No, it isn’t that — I’d just forgotten what day he came on.’

  ‘But naturally, you remember it now?’

  ‘He was here on Thursday morning.’

  ‘At what time was that?’

  ‘It was about eleven or just after.’

  ‘What makes you so certain?’

  ‘Mary fetches in the coffee about then, and she was out after it when Mr Pershore arrived.’

  ‘What else have you forgotten?’

  ‘Nothing… I’ve told you all I remember.’

  Privately Gently was wishing Pershore would fry in hell for his self-consequential interruption. Fuller had been offered a breathing space, and his returning confidence showed what use he had made of it. If Blacker had talked, why was Gently going this devious way to work with the miller?

  He couldn’t have talked, and Fuller realized it…

  ‘How long were you without a foreman?’

  ‘How long? Roughly six or eight-’

  ‘Quite a time in fact! Yet you suddenly appointed a new one.’

  ‘It meant extra work…’

  ‘Then why did you wait so long?’

  ‘At first-’

  �
��Meaning what?’

  ‘The first week or two-’

  ‘But you talked of six or eight weeks!’

  ‘I know! It was later on-’

  ‘So you were overworked for a month or six weeks, but did nothing about it till last Friday?’

  ‘I’d been meaning to-’

  ‘How long has Blacker worked here?’

  ‘Several years — Mary will tell you-!’

  ‘Six years. What about the others?’

  ‘Of course, there’s some of them-’

  ‘Ten years? Twenty? One or two of them who worked here before you took the mill over?’

  ‘Yes — one or two!’

  ‘Then why was Blacker made foreman?’

  ‘Because he’s got the-’

  ‘After a bare six years?’

  ‘It’s enough-’

  ‘Over the heads of the others — and a man of his character?’

  ‘I tell you-’

  ‘Good for discipline, eh? Just the move to keep them happy!’

  ‘I made him up on his ability!’

  ‘About twelve hours after a murder on the premises!’

  Pershore seemed about to break in again, but Gently nailed him down with a glance that made the mayor-elect shiver. Let him interfere this time — only let him dare! But Pershore had appreciated the threat of that glance…

  ‘Why are you afraid of Blacker?’

  ‘That’s ridiculous…’

  ‘Don’t tell me you like the man!’

  ‘We’ve always got on-’

  ‘He’s a bad lot, and you know it. He haunts the pubs and keeps company with prostitutes — probably runs one of them, if I know anything about it! And he’s a slacker and a troublemaker, despised by the men you’ve put under him, on top of which he’s insolent to you personally. If you’re not afraid of him, why don’t you kick him out? Of all the others, why make that fellow the foreman of your mill?’

  ‘You don’t know him, I tell you!’

  ‘Oh, yes, I do — I’ve met Blackers before! They are constitutional parasites, Mr Fuller, one meets them at all levels. They are a work-shy race always on the lookout for the easy touch. And Blacker has found one in you, hasn’t he? He’s found a way of putting the pressure on! He saw something — he heard something — and now you’re under his thumb.

  ‘And that was on Thursday night, because he put the bite on you first thing on Friday morning.