Partners in Crime

‘Oh! Really. I say, you’re awfully young, aren’t you?’

‘The day of the Old Men is over,’ said Tommy, waving his hand. ‘Who caused the war? The Old Men. Who is responsible for the present state of unemployment? The Old Men. Who is responsible for every single rotten thing that has happened? Again I say, the Old Men!’

‘I expect you are right,’ said the client, ‘I know a fellow who is a poet – at least he says he is a poet – and he always talks like that.’

‘Let me tell you this, sir, not a person on my highly trained staff is a day over twenty-five. That is the truth.’

Since the highly trained staff consisted of Tuppence and Albert, the statement was truth itself.

‘And now – the facts,’ said Mr Blunt.

‘I want you to find someone that’s missing,’ blurted out the young man.

‘Quite so. Will you give me the details?’

‘Well, you see, it’s rather difficult. I mean, it’s a frightfully delicate business and all that. She might be frightfully waxy about it. I mean – well, it’s so dashed difficult to explain.’

He looked helplessly at Tommy. Tommy felt annoyed. He had been on the point of going out to lunch, but he foresaw that getting the facts out of this client would be a long and tedious business.

‘Did she disappear of her own free will, or do you suspect abduction?’ he demanded crisply.

‘I don’t know,’ said the young man. ‘I don’t know anything.’

Tommy reached for a pad and pencil.

‘First of all,’ he said, ‘will you give me your name? My office boy is trained never to ask names. In that way consultations can remain completely confidential.’

‘Oh! rather,’ said the young man. ‘Jolly good idea. My name – er – my name’s Smith.’

‘Oh! no,’ said Tommy. ‘The real one, please.’

His visitor looked at him in awe.

‘Er – St Vincent,’ he said. ‘Lawrence St Vincent.’

‘It’s a curious thing,’ said Tommy, ‘how very few people there are whose real name is Smith. Personally, I don’t know anyone called Smith. But nine men out of ten who wish to conceal their real name give that of Smith. I am writing a monograph upon the subject.’

At that moment a buzzer purred discreetly on his desk. That meant that Tuppence was requesting to take hold. Tommy, who wanted his lunch, and who felt profoundly unsympathetic towards Mr St Vincent, was only too pleased to relinquish the helm.

‘Excuse me,’ he said, and picked up the telephone.

Across his face there shot rapid changes – surprise, consternation, slight elation.

‘You don’t say so,’ he said into the phone. ‘The Prime Minister himself? Of course, in that case, I will come round at once.’

He replaced the receiver on the hook, and turned to his client.

‘My dear sir, I must ask you to excuse me. A most urgent summons. If you will give the facts of the case to my confidential secretary, she will deal with them.’

He strode to the adjoining door.

‘Miss Robinson.’

Tuppence, very neat and demure with smooth black head and dainty collars and cuffs, tripped in. Tommy made the necessary introductions and departed.

‘A lady you take an interest in has disappeared, I understand, Mr St Vincent,’ said Tuppence, in her soft voice, as she sat down and took up Mr Blunt’s pad and pencil. ‘A young lady?’

‘Oh! rather,’ said St Vincent. ‘Young – and – and – awfully good-looking and all that sort of thing.’

Tuppence’s face grew grave.

‘Dear me,’ she murmured. ‘I hope that –’

‘You don’t think anything’s really happened to her?’ demanded Mr St Vincent, in lively concern.

‘Oh! we must hope for the best,’ said Tuppence, with a kind of false cheerfulness which depressed Mr St Vincent horribly.

‘Oh! look here, Miss Robinson. I say, you must do something. Spare no expense. I wouldn’t have anything happen to her for the world. You seem awfully sympathetic, and I don’t mind telling you in confidence that I simply worship the ground that girl walks on. She’s a topper, an absolute topper.’

‘Please tell me her name and all about her.’

‘Her name’s Jeanette – I don’t know her second name. She works in a hat shop – Madame Violette’s in Brook Street – but she’s as straight as they make them. Has ticked me off no end of times – I went round there yesterday – waiting for her to come out – all the others came, but not her. Then I found that she’d never turned up that morning to work at all – sent no message either – old Madame was furious about it. I got the address of her lodgings, and I went round there. She hadn’t come home the night before, and they didn’t know where she was. I was simply frantic. I thought of going to the police. But I knew that Jeanette would be absolutely furious with me for doing that if she were really all right and had gone off on her own. Then I remembered that she herself had pointed out your advertisement to me one day in the paper and told me that one of the women who’d been in buying hats had simply raved about your ability and discretion and all that sort of thing. So I toddled along here right away.’

‘I see,’ said Tuppence. ‘What is the address of her lodgings?’

The young man gave it to her.

‘That’s all, I think,’ said Tuppence reflectively. ‘That is to say – am I to understand that you are engaged to this young lady?’

Mr St Vincent turned a brick red.

‘Well, no – not exactly. I never said anything. But I can tell you this, I mean to ask her to marry me as soon as ever I see her – if I ever do see her again.’

Tuppence laid aside her pad.

‘Do you wish for our special twenty-four hour service?’ she asked in business-like tones.

‘What’s that?’

‘The fees are doubled, but we put all our available staff on to the case. Mr St Vincent, if the lady is alive, I shall be able to tell you where she is by this time tomorrow.’

‘What? I say, that’s wonderful.’

‘We only employ experts – and we guarantee results,’ said Tuppence crisply.

‘But I say, you know. You must have the most topping staff.’

‘Oh! we have,’ said Tuppence. ‘By the way, you haven’t given me a description of the young lady.’