Inspector Alleyn 3-Book Collection 2: Death in Ecstasy, Vintage Murder, Artists in Crime

The letter ran on to eight pages.

‘Very peculiar indeed, sir,’ said Fox who read the whole thing through with a perfectly impassive demeanour. ‘That will be the money Mr Ogden and monsieur talked about. In the safe here, they said.’

‘They did. I’m about to tackle the safe.’

Alleyn moved across the room, pulled aside a strip of Javanese tapestry, and disclosed a small built-in safe. He found the key on the ring Father Garnette had given him, opened the safe and began, with great method, to remove the contents and array them neatly on the table.

‘Bank-book. Let’s see. He paid in fifty pounds last Monday. I suppose we shan’t find much cash. Any offertory tonight, Bathgate?’

‘No. I imagine we didn’t get so far.’

‘I suppose not. There’s a bag of something. Petty cash, perhaps. What’s this? Cheque from Mr Ogden. Twenty pounds. Dated last Wednesday.’

‘How he gets it out of the gentlemen fairly beats me,’ said Fox.

‘Extraordinary, isn’t it? But you know, Fox, there is a kind of simple, shrewd business brain that’ll believe any tarradiddle outside its own province.’

‘Would you say Mr Ogden’s was that sort, sir?’ Alleyn flipped the cheque at him.

‘Looks like it,’ he said, and turned again to the safe. ‘Hullo! This is more the sort of thing.’

He pulled out a package and laid it on the table. It was a largish brown-paper parcel tied up with red ribbon. It was addressed to ‘The Reverend Father Jasper Garnette,’ and the writing was undoubtedly Cara Quayne’s. Alleyn stared fixedly at the ribbon. He turned the parcel over once or twice.

‘Aren’t you going to open it?’ asked Nigel.

‘Oh, yes. Yes.’ But he hesitated a little while longer and at last, laying the parcel on the table, slipped the ribbon very gingerly over one end, cautiously pulled out the folds of paper, and peered into the open end. He held the parcel under a lamp, and examined it even more closely. Then he dropped it back on to the table.

‘Well?’ asked Nigel.

‘Well, Bathgate, I wish Mr Garnette was not so sound asleep.’

‘Why on earth?’

‘I should like him to have a look at this.’ Fox lifted the parcel by the open end and looked in.

‘Cripes!’ he said.

‘Here!’ Nigel ejaculated. ‘Let me look.’

‘Don’t pick it up. Look inside.’

Nigel did so. Fox flashed his torch into the parcel. Nigel glanced up at the two policemen, peered again into the parcel, grinned, looked doubtful, and at last said:

‘But is that all?’

‘I think so, oh yes,’ answered Alleyn.

‘But,’ said Nigel, ‘it’s – it’s all newspaper.’ He thrust a finger in and ferreted round.

‘So it is,’ agreed Alleyn.

‘By gum!’ ejaculated Nigel. ‘The motive!’

‘Very like, very like.’

‘Garnette has pinched the bonds.’

‘Somebody’s pinched them. Ask Bailey to come in and get the prints, if any, will you, Bathgate?’

Bailey was grubbing about in the vestry. He returned with Nigel, produced his insufflator and got to work on the parcel. Alleyn had sat down at the table and was tackling the rest of the material from the safe. Fox embarked on a meticulous search of the sideboard drawers. Nigel, with a sidelong glance at the Chief Detective-Inspector, pulled out his pad, sank into Father Garnette’s most spacious armchair, lit a cigarette, and began to write.

‘Copy?’ inquired Alleyn mildly.

‘And why not?’ said Nigel defiantly.

‘No reason at all. Let me see it before you send it in.’

‘That’s a pretty piece of effrontery, that is,’ said Nigel hotly. ‘Who was here from the start? Who called you in? I consider I displayed remarkable presence of mind. You’ve come in on a hot scent. This is a big story and I’m going to make it so. Eyewitness of a murder. That’s what I was, and they’re going to know it.’

‘All right. All right. I merely ask to see your story.’

‘Yes, and you’ll blue pencil it out of existence.’

‘No, I won’t. Don’t mention the bearer bonds.’

‘There you go, you see!’

‘And pray, Bathgate, don’t refer to me as “The indefatigable Chief Detective-Inspector Alleyn.”’

‘But, Alleyn,’ Nigel protested, ‘That is altogether unfair. I have never made use of such a phrase. You merely speak for your own amusement.’

‘What style are you adopting? You have been reading George Moore again, I notice.’

‘What makes you suppose that?’ asked Nigel, turning pink.

‘His style has touched your conversation and left it self-conscious.’

‘Nonsense.’

‘Nevertheless it is an admirable style, though I shall be interested to see how you apply it to journalism and the mechanics of police investigation.’

‘That is merely ridiculous,’ said Nigel. He returned pointedly to his work and after a moment’s consideration erased a word or two.

‘Any prints on the parcel, Bailey?’ asked Alleyn.

‘Yes, sir. All one brand. The Reverend, I’ll bet. I’ve got a sample of him off that glass.’

‘Ah,’ said Alleyn.