Death on the Air: and other stories

‘Ah. His peculiar habits, in fact?’

‘It’s my opinion, sir, he was mad. Stark, staring.’

‘With regard to the radio. Did he tinker with it?’

‘I can’t say I’ve ever noticed, sir. I believe he knew quite a lot about wireless.’ .

‘When he tuned the thing, had he any particular method? Any characteristic attitude or gesture?’

‘I don’t think so, sir. I never noticed, and yet I’ve often come into the room when he was at it. I can seem to see him now, sir.’

‘Yes, yes,’ said Alleyn swiftly. ‘That’s what we want. A clear mental picture. How was it now? Like this?’

In a moment he was across the room and seated in Septimus’s chair. He swung round to the cabinet and raised his right hand to the tuning control.

‘Like this?’

‘No, sir,’ said Chase promptly, ‘that’s not him at all. Both hands it should be.’

‘Ah.’ Up went Alleyn’s left hand to the volume control. ‘More like this?’

‘Yes, sir,’ said Chase slowly. ‘But there’s something else and I can’t recollect what it was. Something he was always doing. It’s in the back of my head. You know, sir. Just on the edge of my memory, as you might say.’

‘I know.’

‘It’s a kind – something – to do with irritation,’ said Chase slowly.

‘Irritation? His?’

‘No. It’s no good, sir. I can’t get it.’

‘Perhaps later. Now look here, Chase, what happened to all of you last night? All the servants, I mean.’

‘We were all out, sir. It being Christmas Eve. The mistress sent for me yesterday morning. She said we could take the evening off as soon as I had taken in Mr Tonks’ grog-tray at nine o’clock. So we went,’ ended Chase simply.

‘When?’

‘The rest of the staff got away about nine. I left at ten past, sir, and returned about eleven twenty. The others were back then, and all in bed. I went straight to bed myself, sir.’

‘You came in by a back door, I suppose?’

‘Yes, sir. We’ve been talking it over. None of us noticed anything unusual.’

‘Can you hear the wireless in your part of the house?’

‘No, sir.’

‘Well,’ said Alleyn, looking up from his notes, ‘that’ll do, thank you.’

Before Chase reached the door Fox came in.

‘Beg pardon, sir,’ said Fox, ‘I just want to take a look at the Radio Times on the desk.’

He bent over the paper, wetted a gigantic thumb, and turned a page.

‘That’s it, sir,’ shouted Chase suddenly. ‘That’s what I tried to think of. That’s what he was always doing.’

‘But what?’

‘Licking his fingers, sir. It was a habit,’ said Chase. ‘That’s what he always did when he sat down to the radio. I heard Mr Hislop tell the doctor it nearly drove him demented, the way the master couldn’t touch a thing without first licking his fingers.’

‘Quite so,’ said Alleyn. ‘In about ten minutes, ask Mr Hislop if he will be good enough to come in for a moment. That will be all, thank you, Chase.’

‘Well, sir,’ remarked Fox when Chase had gone, ‘if that’s the case and what I think’s right, it’d certainly make matters worse.’

‘Good heavens, Fox, what an elaborate remark. What does it mean?’

‘If metal knobs were substituted for bakelite ones and fine wires brought through those holes to make contact, then he’d get a bigger bump if he tuned in with damp fingers.’

‘Yes. And he always used both hands. Fox!’

‘Sir.’

‘Approach the Tonkses again. You haven’t left them alone, of course?’

‘Bailey’s in there making out he’s interested in the light switches. He’s found the main switchboard under the stairs. There’s signs of a blown fuse having been fixed recently. In a cupboard underneath there are odd lengths of flex and so on. Same brand as this on the wireless and the heater.’

‘Ah, yes. Could the cord from the adapter to the radiator be brought into play?’

‘By gum,’ said Fox, ‘you’re right! That’s how it was done, Chief. The heavier flex was cut away from the radiator and shoved through. There was a fire, so he wouldn’t want the radiator and wouldn’t notice.’

‘It might have been done that way, certainly, but there’s little to prove it. Return to the bereaved Tonkses, my Fox, and ask prettily if any of them remember Septimus’s peculiarities when tuning his wireless.’

Fox met little Mr Hislop at the door and left him alone with Alleyn. Phillipa had been right, reflected the Inspector, when she said Richard Hislop was not a noticeable man. He was nondescript. Grey eyes, drab hair; rather pale, rather short, rather insignificant; and yet last night there had flashed up between those two the realization of love. Romantic but rum, thought Alleyn.

‘Do sit down,’ he said. ‘I want you, if you will, to tell me what happened between you and Mr Tonks last evening.’

‘What happened?’

‘Yes. You all dined at eight, I understand. Then you and Mr Tonks came in here?’

‘Yes.’

‘What did you do?’

‘He dictated several letters.’

‘Anything unusual take place?’